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Two Very Different Bets for 2022

March 16, 2021 at 10:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

First Read: “President Biden and the Democrats have bet big on the coronavirus and the economy, ramping up vaccine distribution, passing the Covid relief law, and getting $1,400 checks in the hands of most Americans.”

“Republicans, meanwhile, are no longer even trying to message on the coronavirus and the Covid relief law – and they’re instead focused on immigration and the influx of migrants at the border.”

“These different messages have exposed political vulnerabilities for the other side.”

“Republicans have taken their eye off a pandemic that’s killed more than 500,000 Americans, and when it comes to the economy, they’re arguing that a boom was coming even before Biden’s stimulus.”

Arizona GOP Ordered to Pay Legal Fees

March 16, 2021 at 9:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Calling its lawsuit challenging 2020 election procedures “groundless” and “disingenuous,” a judge has ordered the Arizona Republican Party — and its lawyers — to pay the state thousands of dollars in legal fees, the Arizona Republic reports.

Joe Biden’s 2021 Campaign

March 16, 2021 at 8:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“All the muscles of the Democratic Party are engaged in selling President Biden’s COVID-19 relief bill just days after it was signed, with Democrats treating the $1.9 trillion package like a candidate,” Axios reports.

“The efforts underscore how closely Biden himself — and the broader Democratic machine — have tied the popularity of his first major piece of legislation to the success and ultimate survival of his presidency.”

Army Pushed to Deny Request for National Guard

March 16, 2021 at 8:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Army initially pushed to reject the D.C. government’s request for a modest National Guard presence ahead of the Jan. 6 rally that led to the Capitol riot, underscoring the deep reluctance of some higher-ups at the Pentagon to involve the military in security arrangements that day,” the Washington Post reports.

Trump Staffers Jumped Line for Vaccine

March 16, 2021 at 8:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Staffers working for Trump officials who publicly flouted coronavirus health safety guidelines secretly scrambled to get a COVID-19 vaccine at the beginning of the U.S. rollout, Vanity Fair reports.

Ex-officials told Insider the effort was like first-class passengers on the Titanic rushing to the lifeboats.

McCarthy Claims Terrorists Are Crossing the Border

March 16, 2021 at 7:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) claimed that he’d spoken to border agents in El Paso who told him that suspected terrorists have attempted to cross the border into the United States—but he provided no evidence to back it up, the Washington Post reports.

Democrats Have Lost Cuban-Americans Again

March 16, 2021 at 7:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Bendixen & Amandi poll of Cuban-American voters in Florida shows that an overwhelming majority — 66% — is solidly opposed to the Biden administration reengaging with the island dictatorship — and their brief drift toward Democrats has been totally reversed.

Bernie Sanders Is No Longer an Outsider

March 16, 2021 at 7:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Los Angeles Times: “The democratic socialist who once encapsulated his time in Congress by writing a book titled ‘Outsider in the House’ has now become the consummate insider in the Senate. The Bernie who honeymooned in the Soviet Union, who declared the Democratic Party hopeless, who sparked a revolt against an Obama administration tax deal during an 8 ½-hour filibuster, has transitioned into the Bernie orchestrating trillion-dollar deals.”

“The 79-year-old who lost to President Biden in the 2020 primary is following a path carved out by earlier political celebrities such as Republican John McCain and Democrat Edward M. Kennedy, who bounced from defeat in their insurgent White House bids to final acts as legislative maestros.”

Democrats Shun Repeal of Trump Regulations

March 16, 2021 at 7:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Democrats have yet to use the Congressional Review Act to claw back any Trump-era regulations as of mid-March. The 25-year-old law allows the congressional majority party to essentially veto out regulations established during the waning days of an administration without facing a Senate filibuster.”

“Nearly two months into the new administration, time is running out to use the maneuver given the constraints of using the so-called CRA within 60 legislative days of a new regulation.”

How Katie Porter Lost Her Prized Committee Seat

March 16, 2021 at 7:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Los Angeles Times has the backstory of how Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA) lost her seat on the House Financial Services Committee.

Playbook: “This story is another reminder of how different the Democratic Party is from the GOP — not merely on ideals but in terms of how they operate on Capitol Hill. Congressional Republicans routinely cause problems for their leadership; it’s almost expected. But Democratic members can be punished for stepping out of line.”

Can Biden Stay on the Sidelines of the Cuomo Saga?

March 16, 2021 at 7:10 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Mr. Biden is one of the very few people in the nation with the potential to prevent a protracted standoff between an increasingly isolated Mr. Cuomo and the rest of the Democratic Party. That has strained Mr. Biden’s efforts to stay firmly on the sidelines as the governor faces a fusillade of calls to resign.”

“Mr. Biden and Mr. Cuomo have not spoken, people close to both men said.”

Biden May Tap Fewer Political Ambassadors

March 16, 2021 at 7:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Biden still plans to dole out ambassadorships to major campaign donors, but some diplomats say slashing the number of fundraisers sent to overseas posts would restore confidence in the federal government, boost State Department morale and send a message around the globe.”

“Most presidents in recent decades have given 30 percent of ambassadorships to political appointees, including major campaign donors. But Trump increased that number to roughly 44 percent, which included posts in some countries that usually went to career diplomats, such Thailand and Kenya.”

Quote of the Day

March 16, 2021 at 7:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I’m not going to say that you must get rid of the filibuster entirely. I would say you would do well to develop a Manchin-Sinema rule on getting around the filibuster as it relates to race and civil rights.”

Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), quoted by The Guardian.

Pro-Trump Scam PAC Returns with a Vengeance

March 16, 2021 at 6:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Over the past few weeks, Politico has received a number of robocalls from generically named political groups asking for cash in order to help in very Trump-specific missions. A donation of $100, for example, would help return Trump to Twitter. Or, for a similar amount, a potential donor can ‘stop Kamala Harris and socialism,’ the calls claim.”

“But the calls aren’t being made by Trump’s Save America political action committee. In fact, it’s not entirely clear who’s behind them. … One telemarketer said he was calling from the 33rd floor of a Dallas office building — a building which is home to a WeWork office that’s been linked to a man named Matthew Tunstall. Tunstall is the treasurer of the Support American Leaders PAC … A Politico investigation in 2019 identified Support American Leaders PAC as one of more than a dozen pro-Trump PACs with no actual ties to Trump.”

Josh Harder Knows How to Survive

March 16, 2021 at 6:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Josh Harder (D-CA) “pulled off an upset to defeat a Republican in the 2018 election, but in 2020 he did something more impressive: He won again,” the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

“Harder was one of only a handful of swing-seat Democrats to survive last year’s elections, which ended with a sharply reduced House majority for the party.”

“Harder, 34, and those who know him credit his success to focusing on issues that matter to his district and efforts at bipartisanship. Democrats hope he can serve as a model for their candidates in next year’s midterms, which historically are rough for the president’s party.”

All Eyes on Kathy Hochul

March 16, 2021 at 5:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “With Albany engulfed in controversy, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul has sought to exude an attitude of normalcy through her carefully controlled public appearances and statements. In recent days, she has tended to local Chambers of Commerce, addressed events focused on women and deployed a stream of often-chipper, emoji-laden tweets. On Friday, she livestreamed her Covid-19 vaccination.”

“Yet as Mr. Cuomo confronts the greatest political crisis of his decade in power, it is clear that his little-known lieutenant governor has entered a new, challenging and increasingly high-profile phase of her own.”

Is North Carolina the Next to Turn Blue?

March 15, 2021 at 11:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Gary Pearce writes on North Carolina’s political transformation since 2008 and why its political future is so difficult to predict:

“Democrats here have been inspired by Democrats in Georgia, which went for President Biden and elected two Democratic senators. Efforts have begun to replicate Georgia Democrats’ voter registration and turnout juggernaut.”

“But North Carolina isn’t Georgia. We’re more rural. While both states have over 10 million people, Georgia’s rural population is about 1.8 million; North Carolina’s is over 3 million. Georgia has more Black voters — 30% of the total electorate, compared to North Carolina’s 20%.”

At Least 22 Governors Haven’t Been Vaccinated

March 15, 2021 at 10:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Insider: “12 Republicans and 10 Democrats tell Insider they’re waiting their turn, abiding by the vaccination distribution guidelines they’ve helped set or waiting for the vaccine supplies in their state to increase.”

“One senior level staffer for a Democratic governor told Insider she’s worried about her boss, who hasn’t been vaccinated because he won’t jump the line… Health officials contacted by Insider said it’s certainly fair for governors to receive the COVID-19 vaccine to help encourage others to do so.”