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Archives for February 2018

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A Two-Dimensional President

February 1, 2018 at 11:46 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Matt Bai: “What we know of Trump, filtered through those closest to him, is that he’s given to passing tirades and is easily distracted, that he goes to bed early and watches ‘Fox & Friends’….But what profoundly moves or humbles him? When does he admit self-doubt, and to whom? What delights him or weighs him down?”

“When he was a TV performer, it was reasonable to assume that Trump was hiding some pivotal part of who he really was. Now you have to wonder if the persona is all there is… He seems always to be a man out of his element, uncomfortable…There must be private hours of sadness or self-doubt, humanizing moments he hides from the world. Inevitably, though, Trump responds publicly with the only real emotion he has consistently displayed as president — the bottomless rage against otherness that binds him tightly to his supporters. It is the closest he comes to a heartfelt humanity.”

Filed Under: White House

Wray Has Shown Willingness to Resign Before

February 1, 2018 at 11:33 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Wray, who worked as a top Justice Department official during the George W. Bush administration and left a law firm position to lead the FBI, has had to defend himself and the bureau from Trump’s attacks before.”

“He has shown a willingness to consider resigning when the department is under political pressure. When [James] Comey in 2004 was prepared to quit as the deputy attorney general over concerns about reauthorization of a secretive domestic surveillance program, Wray approached him in the hall at the Justice Department and said, ‘Look, I don’t know what’s going on, but before you guys all pull the rip cords, please give me a heads-up so I can jump with you,’ according to an account of the incident in the Washingtonian magazine.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Christopher Wray

Let’s Play Alternate Universe

February 1, 2018 at 11:04 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bret Stephens looks at a “little thought experiment” from Naval War College professor Tom Nichols:

“It’s 2017, and President Hillary Clinton is facing charges that Chelsea met with Russians who offered oppo on Trump. Chelsea didn’t call the FBI; and Clinton nat sec adviser Jake Sullivan lied to the FBI about talking to the Russians.”

President Clinton fires the F.B.I. director after he declines her request to “let it go” on Sullivan. “Then, at least three other Clinton campaign officials end up indicted. All of them are tied in some way to a hostile foreign power.” Later, she threatens to “yank FOX’s license” because she didn’t like its critical coverage.

“I’m sure … totally sure …” Nichols added with no little irony, “that stalwarts of the G.O.P. would say: Look, this is a nothingburger, you can’t define ‘collusion,’ it’s just ‘the coffee boy,’ and on and on.”

Filed Under: White House


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Thune Urges House GOP to Listen to FBI Warnings

February 1, 2018 at 10:51 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. John Thune (R-SD) urged House Republicans “to slow their push to release a secret staff-written memo said to accuse the F.B.I. and Justice Department of abusing their authorities to obtain a warrant to spy on a former Trump campaign associate,” the New York Times reports.

Said Thune: “They need to pay careful attention to what our folks who protect us have to say about what this, you know, how this bears on our national security.”

“Thune also called for a Democratic memo rebutting the Republican document to be shown to the public at the same time.”

Filed Under: Senate Tagged With: John Thune

Don’t Assume Releasing Memo Will Backfire on Trump

February 1, 2018 at 10:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

James Hohmann: “It’s going to be very hard for members of the intelligence community and Democrats to push back on the information in the memo after it comes out because doing so would require the disclosure of even more sensitive information about sources and methods. And Trump defenders will get fodder to question the integrity of the underlying probe.”

Filed Under: White House

Trump Says Memo Will Help Him Discredit Investigation

February 1, 2018 at 9:53 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “continues to tell his associates he believed the highly controversial Republican memo alleging the FBI abused its surveillance tools could help discredit the Russia investigation,” CNN reports.

“In phone calls last night and over the past days, Trump has told friends he believes the memo would expose bias within the agency’s top ranks and make it easier for him to argue the Russia investigations are prejudiced against him.”

Also important: “People familiar with the President’s thinking say the fate of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein remains in question amid the expected release of the Nunes memo.”

For members: Trump Sure Seems to Be Hiding Something

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Rod Rosenstein

Quote of the Day

February 1, 2018 at 9:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“2017 was the best year for conservatives in the 30 years that I’ve been here. The best year on all fronts. And a lot of people were shocked because we didn’t know what we were getting with Donald Trump.”

— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), in a Fox News interview.

Filed Under: Republicans Tagged With: Mitch McConnell

Newsom Builds War Chest In Bid for California Governor

February 1, 2018 at 9:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

California Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) “has amassed a war chest of more than $16 million for his 2018 bid for governor, far outpacing his rivals and cementing his position as the clear front-runner in a race that’s just starting to liven up,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

Filed Under: 2018 Campaign Tagged With: CA-Gov

Hawley Blames Sex Trafficking on the Sexual Revolution

February 1, 2018 at 9:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Missouri U.S. Senate candidate Josh Hawley (R) linked the problem of sex trafficking to the sexual revolution of the 1960s, according to leaked audio obtained by the Kansas City Star.

Said Hawley: “We have a human trafficking crisis in our state and in this city and in our country because people are willing to purchase women, young women, and treat them like commodities. There is a market for it. Why is there? Because our culture has completely lost its way. The sexual revolution has led to exploitation of women on a scale that we would never have imagined, never have imagined.”

Filed Under: 2018 Campaign Tagged With: Josh Hawley, MO-Sen

Fox News Contributor Calls Kennedy ‘Little Limp Dick’

February 1, 2018 at 8:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Fox News contributor Tomi Lahren referred to Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-MA) in a video posted to Instagram as “that little limp dick.”

She has since apologized.

Filed Under: Media Buzz Tagged With: Joe Kennedy, Tomi Lahren

Pennsylvania Senate Leader Refuses Order on Redistricting

February 1, 2018 at 8:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Pennsylvania state Senate president pro tempore Joe Scarnati (R) said that he “will not cooperate with the state Supreme Court’s request to turn over data after it found that the state’s congressional map was unconstitutionally gerrymandered,” The Hill reports.

Philadelphia Inquirer: “Republican lawmakers, including Scarnati, have said the court order does not give them enough time to draw a new map, especially because the justices did not provide a full opinion when they released the order overturning the map. By imposing a tight timeline with little guidance, the Republicans argue, the court sets them up to fail, clearing the way for the justices to draw their own map.”

Filed Under: Redistricting Tagged With: Pennsylvania

Nunes Claims Only ‘Minor Edits’ Were Made to Memo

February 1, 2018 at 8:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes (R-CA) claims the changes made to a controversial memo after his committee voted to release it were only “minor edits” and not “secret” and “material,” as Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) described, Buzzfeed News reports.

“Democrats, however, maintained that the changes were not insignificant and that Republicans should redo the vote to declassify the memo.”

Filed Under: House of Representatives Tagged With: Devin Nunes

Trump Falsely Claims Largest Audience In History

February 1, 2018 at 8:04 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump claimed that the 45.6 million people who watched his State of the Union address was “the highest number in history.”

However, the president’s claim is not backed up by Nielsen’s numbers, which show Barack Obama at 48 million viewers in 2010, George W. Bush at 51.7 million in 202 and Bill Clinton at 45.8 million in 1994.

Filed Under: Political History, White House

RNC Holds Huge Financial Edge Heading Into Midterms

February 1, 2018 at 7:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “The RNC, the GOP House and Senate party committees and the two main Republican congressional super PACs together raised nearly $289 million in 2017, according to filings and news reports. Donations to the RNC made up nearly half of that total. And 44 percent of the $123 million raised by the RNC came from small-dollar contributions of less than $200.”

“The Democratic National Committee trailed far behind its Republican counterpart, raising $64.5 million in 2017. But the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee last year both outraised their respective GOP counterparts, the National Republican Senate Committee and the National Republican Congressional Committee.”

Filed Under: 2018 Campaign, Republicans

What Happens If Mueller Gets Fired?

February 1, 2018 at 7:21 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Garrett Graff: “If you’re confused about how the GOP could be criticizing McCabe for appearing to aid Hillary Clinton’s campaign when deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein’s memo accusing Jim Comey and the FBI of treating her unfairly was the purported basis for his firing by Trump last May, well, you’re not alone — this investigation increasingly appears to be taking America through the looking glass.”

“There’s no reason to believe, in fact, that Mueller… hasn’t been organizing his investigation since day one with the expectation that he’d someday be fired and worked to ensure that this, his final chapter in a lifetime of public service at the Justice Department, won’t be curtailed before it has gotten to what Mueller calls ‘ground truth.'”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign, White House Tagged With: Robert Mueller

Gowdy Not Interested In Judicial Appointment

February 1, 2018 at 7:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

In a sign of Rep. Trey Gowdy’s (R-SC) “desire to step back from public life, he recently turned down a golden opportunity to become a federal judge,” Politico reports.

“White House counsel Don McGahn in recent weeks broached Gowdy, a former federal prosecutor, about filling a slot on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals — a newly vacated judgeship that Gowdy has eyed before… His fellow Palmetto State Republicans, Scott and Sen. Lindsey Graham, also urged him to accept the post. But Gowdy, who’s long complained about the increasingly toxic nature of politics, turned down the position.”

Filed Under: Judiciary Tagged With: Trey Gowdy

GOP Faces New Shutdown Threat from Within

February 1, 2018 at 7:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Congress is a week away from another government shutdown. And if it happens this time, the blame may lie with Republicans, who are struggling to keep their lawmakers in line,” Politico reports.

“Republicans have considered a stopgap funding bill that could run one month or possibly deeper into March… Discussions have been fluid, however, as House and Senate Republicans gather this week in West Virginia for their annual retreat. The House could vote as soon as Tuesday, two days before funding runs dry. But many rank-and-file GOP lawmakers who reluctantly backed the last temporary funding bill, including conservatives and defense hawks, are balking at yet another patch.”

Filed Under: Budget & Taxes

Pence Will Campaign Hard This Year

February 1, 2018 at 7:08 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Vice President Mike Pence “is launching one of the most aggressive campaign strategies in recent White House history: he will hopscotch the country over the next three months, making nearly three dozen stops that could raise tens of millions of dollars for House and Senate Republicans, all while promoting the party’s legislative accomplishments,” Politico reports.

“The vice president’s team has devised a unique ancillary strategy to support his cross-country campaigning: partnering with America First Policies — a Trump-backed public-policy non-profit group designed to boost the president’s agenda — to hold public events designed specifically to discuss legislative achievements like the tax bill.”

“Pence’s plan, extraordinary for a vice president, has its roots in a congressional summit at Camp David. In early January, congressional Republicans leaders projected the risk of political peril to White House staff at the presidential retreat.”

Filed Under: 2018 Campaign Tagged With: Mike Pence

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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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