Political Wire

Democrats Eye Wider Deal with Joe Manchin

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“Democratic leaders have finalized a revised proposal to lower prescription drug prices for seniors, part of a broader scramble to satisfy Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and resurrect a long-stalled economic package that they hope to advance as soon as this summer,” the Washington Post reports.

“The development follows weeks of highly private talks between Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Manchin, a centrist holdout whose spending concerns scuttled an earlier bill known as the Build Back Better Act. It positions Democrats to jumpstart a key part of the legislative process around their agenda, even as they wrangle with the West Virginia lawmaker over other plans to lower health-care costs and combat climate change.”

NBC News: Senate Democrats see “major progress” on Biden agenda bill, hope for July vote.

Punchbowl News: “So will this happen? Will Washington’s Oddest Couple actually reach an agreement, thereby ending months of slow motion drama? Still unclear. But there’s been progress.”

Biden Pitches Democrats on Biden for President in 2024

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“At fundraisers and on the sidelines of events in recent weeks, Joe Biden has been selling Democrats — on Joe Biden for 2024,” NBC News reports.

“It’s an unusual sales pitch reflecting an unusual political moment: the nation’s oldest sitting president, with a weakened political standing, grappling with questions in his own party about whether he will, or even should, run for another term, shaped by the prospect of a rematch against Donald Trump.”

Biden Unlikely to Meet Bold Demands After Abortion Ruling

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“The White House is unlikely to take up the bold steps to protect women’s right to have an abortion that Democratic lawmakers have called for in recent days,“ Reuters reports.

“Lawmakers including Senator Elizabeth Warren and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez have suggested Biden limit the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction or expand its membership, end the legislative “filibuster” rule, build abortion clinics on federal lands, declare a national emergency and establish Planned Parenthood outposts outside U.S. national parks, among other options.”

Most Say Nation on Wrong Track

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An overwhelming and growing majority of Americans say the U.S. is heading in the wrong direction, including nearly 8 in 10 Democrats, according to a new AP-NORC poll that finds deep pessimism about the economy plaguing President Joe Biden.

Key takeaway: 85% of U.S. adults say the country is on the wrong track, and 79% describe the economy as poor.

Young Voters are Down on Biden

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“President Joe Biden and young voters have always had a marriage of convenience. While they turned out in record numbers to vote against Donald Trump in 2020, the youngest generations have soured on Biden and lost faith in his agenda,” Time reports.

“Biden’s approval rating with voters under 30 has dropped 23 points since the first months of his presidency, according to Gallup polling. It’s fallen 17 points with voters between 30 and 50. Only 34% of Millennials and Gen Z voters say they approve of Biden’s presidency so far, according to a Marist poll sponsored by NPR and PBS, and only 2% say they strongly approve.”

“The trend could spell trouble for Democrats in the midterms. Young voters are crucial to the party’s coalition, boosting Democrats with record turnout in the 2018 and 2020 elections. Yet many young people feel the Biden Administration has failed to deliver on its promises as the President’s domestic agenda stalls.”

Sturgeon Sets Out Plan for Scottish Independence Vote

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“Scotland’s leader Nicola Sturgeon laid out plans to hold a fresh independence referendum in October 2023, attempting to break a legal logjam on any potential secession by referring the legality of a vote to the U.K.’s Supreme Court,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Her move Tuesday appears set to escalate a long-running standoff with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. Mr. Johnson has repeatedly rebuffed Ms. Sturgeon’s requests to authorize a referendum on leaving the U.K. after pro-independence parties secured a majority in elections to Scotland’s parliament last year, saying an earlier referendum in 2014 settled the question. The independence camp lost that vote by 45% to 55%, but Ms. Sturgeon and her supporters say the political landscape has changed since then, notably with Britain’s exit from the European Union, which a large majority of voters in Scotland opposed.”

Fed More Concerned About Inflation Than Recession

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Fed Chair Jerome Powell said he’s “more concerned about the risk of failing to stamp out high inflation than he was about the possibility of raising interest rates too high and pushing the economy into a recession,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said Powell: “Is there a risk we would go too far? Certainly there’s a risk. The bigger mistake to make — let’s put it that way — would be to fail to restore price stability.”

The Vanishing Moderate Democrat

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New York Times: “The bigger, more consequential question — not just for the moderates but for all Democrats — is whether this projected midterm wipeout is merely a cyclical occurrence or the manifestation of a much deeper and more intractable problem.”

“While some of them remain reluctant to publicly concede the reality that the Democratic Party has indeed shifted left — either out of fear of angering their fellow Democrats or validating Republican attacks — they will readily acknowledge that voters perceive the party as having drifted out of the mainstream. And they are convinced that this is threatening their political survival.”

Newspapers Keep Failing

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“Over 360 newspapers in the United States have gone out of business since just before the start of the pandemic,“ the New York Times reports.

“Overall, 2,500 newspapers in the United States — a quarter of them — have closed since 2005. The country is set up to lose one-third of its newspapers by 2025. And in many places, the surviving local media outlets have made major cuts to staff and circulation.”

John Wood Launches Independent Missouri Senate Bid

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John Wood, a former senior investigator for the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the US Capitol, launched a Senate campaign in Missouri as an independent, calling for a “commonsense alternative” to the field of Republican and Democratic candidates, CNN reports.

Wood predicted in an interview with the St. Louis Post Dispatch that former Gov. Eric Greitens (R) would win the GOP primary on Aug. 2 and said voters deserved an alternative in the heavily Republican state.

“Wood’s entry will represent a seismic shift in the Senate race — if he can generate the financial backing and grassroots support necessary to mount a serious campaign.”

Cassidy Hutchinson Stands By Her Testimony

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“Cassidy Hutchinson, an aide to former Trump White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, released a new statement standing by her blockbuster testimony revealed in a hearing with the House select committee investigating January 6, in light of some pushback on her testimony,” CNN reports.

Washington Post: Assessing the basis for aide’s explosive claims.

Quote of the Day

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“Listen, I think that we need to focus on keeping a democracy for anybody to be president in the next couple of years.”

— Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), quoted by the HuffPost, when asked if she’s going to run for president.

About Political Wire

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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