Daily Archives

November 10, 2017

23 posts · Friday

Romney Moves Towards Senate Bid

November 10, 2017 at 7:12 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The former GOP presidential nominee is huddling with Utah’s class of GOP power brokers, contacting the state’s major political donors, and hitting the trail for candidates running in local races amid mounting speculation that the state’s longtime senator, Orrin Hatch, will retire. Romney is also raising money for House and Senate Republicans, winning him favor with GOP leaders ahead of a treacherous midterm election.”

“The Senate might seem like an unexpected landing place for the 70-year-old former Massachusetts governor and two-time presidential candidate. Yet those who’ve spoken with Romney in recent days are convinced he’s prepared to jump in. After falling short in his quest for the White House and then being passed over by President Donald Trump for secretary of state, friends say Romney still has unquenched political ambitions.”

Mounting GOP Retirements Threaten House Majority

November 10, 2017 at 7:06 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A retirement wave has hit House Republicans, emboldening Democrats who have become increasingly bullish about their prospects of winning back a majority in 2018,” The Hill reports.

“Republicans said more retirement announcements are expected in the coming days and weeks. The other veteran GOP chairmen who are facing term limits and could retire are Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster (R-PA), Foreign Affairs Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Homeland Security Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX).”

“Another long-serving Texas Republican, powerful Rules Chairman Pete Sessions, isn’t facing term limits but represents a congressional district that’s trending blue. Sessions is on Democrats’ retirement watch list, as well as Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-NJ), former Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton (R-MI), former Homeland Security Chairman Peter King (R-NY), and Reps. Leonard Lance (R-NJ), Patrick Meehan (R-PA) and Bruce Poliquin (R-ME).

Russian Bots Rushed to Deflect Bad Trump News

November 10, 2017 at 7:01 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Disguised Russian agents on Twitter rushed to deflect scandalous news about Donald Trump just before last year’s presidential election while straining to refocus criticism on the mainstream media and Hillary Clinton’s campaign,” according to an Associated Press analysis of since-deleted accounts.

“The analysis illuminates the obvious strategy behind the Russian cyber meddling: swiftly react, distort and distract attention from any negative Mr. Trump news.”

Revenge of the Obama Coalition

November 10, 2017 at 7:00 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michelle Goldberg: “if you squint at Tuesday’s results, you can sort of see a synthesis emerging between Obama and Hillary Clinton’s theory of the emerging Democratic electorate — in which Democrats win by appealing to a coalition of white professionals and minorities — and Bernie Sanders’s focus on grass-roots organizing and economic populism.”

“In some ways the election was the revenge of the Obama coalition. Educated white liberals joined people of color to elect an amazingly diverse group of candidates. A Latina single mother, Michelle De La Isla, was elected mayor of Topeka, Kan. Wilmot Collins, a refugee from Liberia, won the mayoral race in Helena, Mont. Seattle elected its first lesbian mayor, Jenny Durkan. After a year in which liberals have been bludgeoned by demands that they abandon identity politics and empathize with resentful Trump voters, the election was a reminder that white men needn’t be the center of the political universe.”

Mueller Likely to Probe Gates’ Side Gig as Movie Producer

November 10, 2017 at 6:06 am ET By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

McClatchy: “Rick Gates, indicted last week with his former boss and mentor Paul Manafort in the special counsel investigation of Russia’s meddling in the 2016 presidential election, is best known as a political consultant and lobbyist. Less well known is his sideline as a Hollywood producer. Gates has been involved in a handful of films, including this year’s Walk of Fame, which starred Clint Eastwood’s son Scott.”

“Gates himself has not been sued or charged in connection with any movies. But given that his co-producers have been, and that film production is known for being forgiving when it comes to clouding the original source of funds invested, experts say it’s extremely unlikely that Mueller is not investigating this part of Gates’ finances.”

“Gates’s film connections also have a distinctly former Soviet flavor.”