“I think 2019 will be the most vitriolic year in American politics since before the Civil War. And I include Vietnam in that. I think we’re in for a very nasty 2019.”
— Stephen Bannon, in an interview with CBS News.
“I think 2019 will be the most vitriolic year in American politics since before the Civil War. And I include Vietnam in that. I think we’re in for a very nasty 2019.”
— Stephen Bannon, in an interview with CBS News.
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) told ABC News that House Democrats will subpoena special counsel Robert Mueller to testify before Congress if his report on Russian interference in the 2016 election is not made public.
Said Schiff: “Well, we will obviously subpoena the report. We will bring Bob Mueller in to testify before Congress. We will take it to court if necessary. And in the end, I think the Department of Justice understands they’re going to have to make this public. I think Attorney General William Barr will ultimately understand that, as well.”
“We know he’s indicted 37 people and 199 different counts, including Trump’s inner circle. People like Michael Flynn, his national security adviser, Paul Manafort, his campaign manager, Michael Cohen, his personal lawyer. So if this is a witch hunt Mueller’s found a coven at this point.”
— Former acting Solicitor General Neil Katyal, on Meet the Press.
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New York Times: “Dozens of interviews, court filings and other documents show Konstantin Kilimnik to be an operator who moved easily between Russian, Ukrainian and American patrons, playing one off the other while leaving a jumble of conflicting suspicions in his wake. The effort to disentangle the mysteries surrounding him seems likely to leave questions even after the conclusion of the special counsel’s work.”
“The Daleys collectively ruled Chicago for a total of four decades, dating back to the 1950s. Now, after a brief interregnum, the family reign might be extended. Bill Daley, the former chief of staff to President Barack Obama, is emerging as a late contender in the crowded Feb. 26 mayoral race, a contest featuring 14 people vying to succeed two-term Mayor Rahm Emanuel,” Politico reports.
“With the race in the nation’s third-largest city just two days away, Daley — who hopes to advance the legacy left by his father, the original ‘Boss,’ Richard J. Daley, and his brother, Richard M. Daley — has shot toward the front of the pack. After first barely registering in the polls, he now stands a strong chance of being one of the top two finishers to advance to a runoff election.”
Chicago Tribune: “The lack of electoral clarity makes it likely no candidate will receive more than 50 percent of the vote Tuesday, leaving the top two finishers to face off in an April 2 runoff election. Further complicating the picture are signs that Chicagoans haven’t been all that interested so far in the historically competitive race — at least when it comes to early voting.”
“U.S. trade officials are looking to knock down speculation of a split on China policy between President Trump and his lead trade negotiator, Robert Lighthizer, following a testy exchange between the two in the Oval Office,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The incident occurred in front of reporters Friday afternoon, as the president and cabinet officials met with China’s top trade envoy, Vice Premier Liu He, to announce that talks aimed at settling the U.S.-China trade dispute were making progress and would be extended through the weekend.”
“Mr. Trump appeared to upbraid Mr. Lighthizer, who said he was negotiating memorandums of understanding with China.”
“An attempt at an Electoral College workaround is gaining momentum in the Mountain West,” NPR reports.
“Democrats in Colorado and New Mexico are pushing ahead with legislation to pledge their 14 collective electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote — no matter who wins each state. The plan only goes into effect if the law passes in states representing an electoral majority. That threshold is 270 votes, which is the same number needed to win the presidency.”
“So far, 11 states — including New York, California and New Jersey — have joined the effort along with the District of Columbia, putting the effort 98 votes short of its goal. Colorado appears poised to join as the 12th state.”
For more: What is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact?
“As she moves swiftly to build a juggernaut in her home state, California Sen. Kamala Harris is revealing what looks like an audacious strategy for delivering a mortal blow to her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination next March,” NBC News reports.
“It relies on her geographical edge at home, her perceived demographic advantage in the South and a primary calendar that brings them together on March 3 — known as ‘Super Tuesday’ because it is the date on which the most delegates to the party’s convention are in play in primaries across the country.”
“California voters alone will send more than 400 delegates to the convention, nearly double second-ranking Texas, and Harris, who is one of two African-American candidates in the race, is likely to have a shot at consolidating the black electorates in Southern states voting on Super Tuesday, including Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.”
President Trump announced that he plans to speak at an Independence Day event at the Lincoln Memorial:
“We will be having one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C., on July 4th. It will be called ‘A Salute To America’ and will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. Major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!”
Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), campaigning Saturday in Iowa ahead of a possible presidential run, dismissed the idea that he might end up running for Senate instead in 2020, Politico reports.
Said Hickenlooper: “I’m not cut out to be a senator. Senators don’t build teams. Senators sit and debate in small groups, which is important, right? But I’m not sure that’s my — I’m a doer. That’s what gives me joy.”
Senate Democratic leaders have approached Hickenlooper about running against Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO).
U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer agreed to modify the terminology he uses about a trade agreement with China after President Trump contradicted him in an Oval Office meeting.
The video of the exchange is quite amazing.
“The same congressional Republicans who joined me in blasting President Obama’s executive overreach now cry out for a king to usurp legislative powers. If your faithfulness to the Constitution depends on which party controls the White House, then you are not faithful to it.”
— Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), on Twitter.
Special counsel Robert Mueller has filed a 880+ page sentencing memo for President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort, Axios reports.
“Mueller does not take a position on how much time in prison Manafort should serve, but accuses him of ‘repeatedly and brazenly’ breaking the law for over a decade, even after he was indicted.”
CNN: “The prosecutors specifically note that they don’t believe Manafort accepted responsibility for his crimes, and there’s no reason his agreement to plead guilty and cooperate should help him at sentencing.”
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Friday evening that Native Americans should be ‘part of the conversation’ on reparations, showing a willingness to expand the debate over whether minority groups that have faced discrimination should be financially compensated by the federal government,” the Washington Post reports.
“Warren is one of four Democratic presidential hopefuls who have said in recent days that they’re open to providing some type of reparations to African Americans who are descendants of people who were enslaved in the United States, although they’ve offered varying levels of details about how the goal would be achieved.”
“House Democrats are laying the groundwork to subpoena the Trump administration for a trove of documents relating to its controversial migrant family separation policy at the border,” Politico reports.
“The House Oversight Committee will vote next Tuesday to authorize three subpoenas for the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Health and Human Services, teeing up the first subpoena of the panel’s new Democratic majority.”
“Republican politicians across the country have for years railed against the threat of voter fraud. Some have made unproven claims about how rampant it has become in order to pass voter ID laws and open sweeping investigations. The sanctity of the vote, they have said, must be protected at all costs,” the New York Times reports.
“But when a hard-fought congressional election in North Carolina — in which a Republican candidate appeared to narrowly beat his Democratic opponent — was overturned this week because of election fraud by a Republican political operative, the party was measured, and largely muted, in its response.”
Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) “isn’t backing the Green New Deal, and she wasn’t shy about letting a group who does support it know it — even if they are children,” NBC News reports.
“A group of schoolchildren visited the senator at her San Francisco office Friday and urged her to get on board with the renewable energy legislation. But the conversation quickly turned into somewhat of a confrontation, and Feinstein has been criticized online for the tone she took. Edited video of the 85-year-old lecturing more than a dozen kids went viral Friday.”
“Her supporters said a longer video of the confrontation depicts Feinstein in a kinder light.”
Aaron Blake: “O’Rourke’s decision on whether to run is due in the coming days, and it looks as though he’s in. But what exactly will he run on? We tend to judge candidates like O’Rourke relative to whom they’re running against — in O’Rourke’s case in 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). But is he really the liberal hero Democrats are looking for, or just the guy they really wanted to unseat Cruz?”
“O’Rourke didn’t exactly run on a hugely liberal platform, and there will be pressure to define himself almost immediately if he gets in.”
Taegan 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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