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Democrats Are Desperate for Mary Peltola to Run

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“Senate Democrats are trying to recruit Mary Peltola, the one candidate they think can make next year’s race in Alaska competitive. But the former congresswoman hasn’t said ‘yes’ — yet — in part because she hasn’t ruled out a different statewide run,” NOTUS reports.

“With high name recognition, the proven political chops to build a winning coalition in Alaska and a national fundraising machine behind her, the former lawmaker is the Democratic Party’s undisputed favorite candidate to run for governor, Senate or House.”

Thai Prime Minister Ousted Over Leaked Phone Call

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“Thailand’s Constitutional Court on Friday removed Prime Minister Paetongtarn Shinawatra citing serious ethical breaches related to a phone call this summer with the former strongman of neighboring Cambodia,” the New York Times reports.

“The court had already suspended Paetongtarn last month after a group of senators lodged a complaint with the court over her conversation with Hun Sen, Cambodia’s longtime leader and the father of the country’s former prime minister. During that call to discuss an escalating border dispute between the two countries, Paetongtarn appeared submissive, referring to Hun Sen as ‘uncle’ and to Thailand’s powerful military as the ‘opposing side.’”

“Hun Sen later released a recording of the call, setting off a political crisis in Thailand just as the border dispute turned into a full-blown military confrontation.”


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Gavin Newsom Trolls Trumpworld

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“Is Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new MAGA-inspired merchandise a big hit, a bad joke, or some combination thereof?,” the New York Times reports.

“On sale at Mr. Newsom’s ‘Patriot Shop,’ unveiled on Sunday, the merchandise generated about $300,000 in sales on its first day, according to the governor’s team, with healthy demand for items like a T-shirt depicting the governor as ‘the chosen one’ — touched by a haloed Hulk Hogan — and a familiar red hat reading ‘Newsom was right about everything!’”

“Those products are both legitimate campaign swag — with proceeds going to support a California ballot measure meant to tip congressional districts toward Democrats — and an elaborate parody, reflecting the look of President Trump’s own merchandise, which has come to dominate the nation’s political iconography over the last decade.”

The Guardian: Can Democrats win by trolling Trump?

Trump Said Covid Vaccine Was His Accomplishment

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“As President Trump sat with top donors at his New Jersey golf club this month, he made a private admission: He believed the coronavirus vaccine was one of the biggest accomplishments of his presidency, but he couldn’t bask in it,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Trump told donors—who were paying $1 million to be there—that he wished he could talk more about Operation Warp Speed, the government program he initiated that helped expedite the development of the vaccine…”

“Trump’s private comments illuminate the fraught politics around vaccines that the White House is confronting, which reached a boiling point Wednesday after the administration fired the head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and other top officials quit their jobs in the midst of disagreements with Health and Human Services Secretary Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over vaccine policy.”

Chaos Engulfs CDC Headquarters

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“The nation’s top public health agency was left reeling and leaderless as the White House works to expel its handpicked director from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and three senior officials were escorted from its headquarters on Thursday,” the AP reports.

“The turmoil triggered rare bipartisan alarm as President Donald Trump’s health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., tries to advance anti-vaccine policies that are contradicted by decades of scientific research.”

“The chaos comes weeks before a key advisory committee, which Kennedy has reshaped with vaccine skeptics, is expected to meet to issue new recommendations on immunizations.”

The Guardian: CDC officials who quit in protest lead call to “get politics out of public health.”

Axios: How RFK Jr. could exploit the CDC’s power vacuum.

GOP Candidate Said Gay People Were ‘Immoral’

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Virginia gubernatorial nominee Winsome Earle-Sears (R) expressed strong opposition to a series of LGBTQ+ rights in a candidate questionnaire completed when she unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2004, the Virginia Mercury reports.

She responded “yes” to questions about whether she would vote to block same-sex couples from adopting children and oppose workplace protections for gay people, and she indicated that she believed homosexuality is an “immoral lifestyle choice.”

RFK Jr.’s Deputy Tapped to Head CDC

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“The White House on Thursday selected a top deputy of Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to serve as acting head of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention after a clash over vaccine policy ended in the departure of several agency leaders,” the Washington Post reports.

Republicans Prepare to Go Nuclear for Trump Picks

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“President Donald Trump’s frustration with his long list of stalled nominees is about to land back in the lap of the Senate,” Semafor reports.

“And Republicans are still prepared to change the chamber’s rules unilaterally to quicken the pace of confirming Trump’s picks.”

Said Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY): “We need a change in behavior with the Democrats or we’re going to need to change the rules, one way or the other. There was a lot of agreement that we need to do something. Because this can’t continue.”

Trump’s Reach for Power Is Growing

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“President Donald Trump has activated the military on U.S. streets, attempted to oust a Federal Reserve board governor and threatened to prosecute his political opponents — all in the past few weeks,” NOTUS reports.

“Trump is testing the limits of presidential authority at a steady clip. And some of his opponents fear that with a conservative majority on the Supreme Court, not even the courts will stop the president from overreach.”

Democrats Spotlight Inflation in New Ads

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House Democrats are launching the five-figure ad buy in 35 congressional districts it says are “in play,” CBS News reports.

“The ads will run on Instagram and You Tube and are aimed at young men between the ages of 18 and 44 – a demographic that proved pivotal in the 2024 presidential contest.”

“The ads direct voters to a website dubbed HouseRepublicanPriceHike.com. The interactive tool enables them to click on popular food items like cheese, hamburger meat and ice cream to view the latest price data before checking out with an estimated receipt. For instance, a bottle of beer costs $1.82, up 9 percent since 2022.”

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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