Political Wire

Archives for May 2016

Vince Foster’s Sister Responds

By 27 Comments

Sheila Foster Anthony: “It is beyond contempt that a politician would use a family tragedy to further his candidacy, but such is the character of Donald Trump displayed in his recent comments to The Washington Post. In this interview, Trump cynically, crassly and recklessly insinuated that my brother, Vincent W. Foster Jr., may have been murdered because ‘he had intimate knowledge of what was going on’ and that Hillary Clinton may have somehow played a role in Vince’s death.”

“How wrong. How irresponsible. How cruel.”

Baylor Demotes Ken Starr

By 34 Comments

Kenneth Starr, the independent counsel who delivered a report that served as the basis for President Bill Clinton’s impeachment in 1998, was demoted by Baylor University, where he had served as president and chancellor, after an investigation found “fundamental failure” by the university in its handling of accusations of sexual assault against football players, the New York Times reports.

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How Is Hillary Worse?

By 52 Comments

Walter Shapiro: “The Clintonian penchant for parsing the language in order to mislead — shared by both the former president and first lady — might be troubling. Except when compared to the non-stop outpouring of lies from the man whom the GOP will nominate in Cleveland.”

“Yes, Hillary’s stubborn refusal to provide the transcripts of her presumably fawning speeches at Goldman Sachs events is a symbol of her obsession with secrecy. But Trump,  defying four decades of political tradition, balks at even releasing his tax returns.  ”

“For Republicans appalled by Trump, there are, in truth, only two reasons to support the top of the ticket — careerism and a timorous fear of being tarred with disloyalty. It would be more intellectually honest for these Republicans to announce that they are writing in The Incredible Hulk for president than to facilely argue that Hillary is worse.”

Split Over Israel Threatens to Keep Democrats Divided

By 85 Comments

“A bitter divide over the Middle East could threaten Democratic Party unity as representatives of Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont vowed to upend what they see as the party’s lopsided support of Israel,” the New York Times reports.

“Two of the senator’s appointees to the party’s platform drafting committee, Cornel West and James Zogby, on Wednesday denounced Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and Gaza and said they believed that rank-and-file Democrats no longer hewed to the party’s staunch support of the Israeli government. They said they would try to get their views incorporated into the platform, the party’s statement of core beliefs, at the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia in July.”

Hatch Reacts to Meeting Before It Occurs

By 33 Comments

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) accidentally published an op-ed in the Deseret News claiming that his meeting with Judge Merrick Garland didn’t change his mind about delaying action on the nomination until after the presidential election, the Washington Post reports.

The problem: Hatch hasn’t even met with Garland yet.

The article was removed from the Deseret News website but remains available in a Google database.

Trump Officially Clinches the GOP Nomination

By 41 Comments

“Donald Trump on Thursday reached the number of delegates needed to clinch the Republican nomination for president, completing an unlikely rise that has upended the political landscape and sets the stage for a bitter fall campaign,” the AP reports.

“Trump was put over the top in the Associated Press delegate count by a small number of the party’s unbound delegates who told the AP they would support him at the convention.”

A Trump vs. Sanders Debate?

By 122 Comments

Rick Klein: “Did we close the door on debate season too soon? Donald Trump told Jimmy Kimmel Wednesday that he’d consider debating Bernie Sanders one-on-one … and Sanders quickly indicated that he’s interested. There are plenty of reasons to be skeptical of whether this is real, starting with Trump’s insistence that Sanders pony up cash for charity as a precondition. (We’ve seen where such demands ended in the past.) But this might be a wacky enough idea to happen.”

“Trump would love to elevate Sanders as a means of tweaking Hillary Clinton before the general election is officially upon us; Clinton, of course, is refusing to debate Sanders in California. And Sanders would love to showcase the general-election matchup he is pitching as stronger for Democrats in advance of voting in California June 7. The matchup only ‘SNL’ could imagine might be a fitting end to a wacky primary season.”

Jonathan Chait: “Sanders would get to be elevated to the role of imaginary Democratic candidate, using the platform to display himself outperforming Trump, as he has always claimed he could. The Trump debate would be a media spectacle, providing him with gobs of free publicity. Trump’s incentive is, perhaps, even stronger.”

Clinton’s Email Problems Aren’t Going Away

By 81 Comments

Politico: “A newly issued report on Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server flatly rejects one of her core defenses in the controversy — that she was playing by the rules.”

“And while the findings of the State Department Inspector General probe don’t land any devastating blows against the Democratic front-runner, they provide ample grist to keep questions about her handling of the situation alive as the general election campaign gears up.”

Trump Says He Won’t Need That Much Money to Win

By 27 Comments

Donald Trump tells Bloomberg that he won’t need to raise $1 billion to win the presidency.

Said Trump: “No, I’d say over $500 million. I just don’t know why you need that much money.”

He added: “They’ve been wrong so much. Nate Silver, I watched him. It destroyed his career. He was this big guru that never missed a call. He wasn’t even close. And he actually did say a few months ago, Trump is a whole phenomenon that’s a hard thing to figure. He sort of gave up.”

Democratic Unity Should Be Easier Than 2008

By 60 Comments

Alan Abramowitz: “Perhaps the key lesson that we can learn from the results of the 2008 battle between Clinton and Obama is that Sanders supporters probably do not have to love Clinton in order to vote for her in the general election. They merely have to like her as well or better than Trump, and that should be a very easy bar to clear.”

“Trump has far less appeal to Democratic voters in 2016 than McCain had in 2008. According to the 2008 ANES data, McCain was viewed favorably by 23% of all Democratic identifiers and leaners and unfavorably by 58%. In contrast, according to four recent national polls… Donald Trump is viewed favorably by only 5% to 12% of Democratic voters and unfavorably by 82% to 89%. And while these polls did not provide data on Trump favorability among Clinton and Sanders supporters, it seems unlikely that he is viewed more favorably by Sanders voters, who tend to be, if anything, further to the left and more suspicious of billionaires than Clinton supporters.”

Trump Trails Among Rust Belt Voters

By 34 Comments

A new Bloomberg poll finds Donald Trump trails Hillary Clinton among likely voters with annual family incomes of $30,000 to $75,000 in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin back Clinton over Trump, 46% to 39%.

“The findings should sound an alarm for Trump because they show he’s failing—at least so far—to dominate among the sort of voters thought to be more sympathetic to him. The poll also splashes cold water on suggestions that the real-estate developer and TV personality is well positioned to win in the Rust Belt.”

A new Public Opinion Strategies (R) poll in Wisconsin shows Clinton leading Trump, 43% to 31%.

Exchange of the Day

By 18 Comments

Jimmy Kimmel asked Donald Trump about his once-effusive take on the Clintons, ABC News reports. Trump took the bait, acknowledging his past kind words. “She’s wonderful, the husband, everybody’s wonderful including contributions.”

Kimmel interjected and asked, “So you were full of shit?”

Trump’s response? “A little bit.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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