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Rebekah Mercer Orchestrates Parler’s Return

February 24, 2021 at 3:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “When social media website Parler’s founding CEO John Matze was pushed out last month, it was at the direction of a quiet but powerful political megadonor backing the right-leaning site. Rebekah Mercer … increasingly pulls the strings at the company.”

“Now Mercer, who is credited with helping get Donald Trump elected president in 2016, is working to revive the site. … It’s the latest in a long line of maneuvers by the Mercer family to create an alternative media industry that pushes a version of the news that fits with their right-wing, populist political agenda — while keeping a low profile themselves.”

Docuseries Says Jim Jordan Ignored Abuse Claims

February 24, 2021 at 3:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“George Clooney is producing a docuseries about the decades-long sexual abuse scandal in the athletic department at Ohio State University, where Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) was once an assistant coach of the wrestling team,” Mediaite reports.

Steve Bannon Investigation Gains Steam

February 24, 2021 at 2:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Manhattan district attorney’s office has subpoenaed financial records related to Steve Bannon’s crowd-funding border-wall effort, signaling that its criminal investigation into former President Donald Trump’s chief strategist is advancing,” CNN reports.

“Prosecutors sent the subpoenas after Trump pardoned Bannon in late January for federal conspiracy crimes tied to the southern border-wall project, making Bannon among the Trump world figures — including the former president — subjects of criminal investigations by Manhattan district attorney Cyrus Vance.”


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Don Jr. Deposed In Inaugural Funds Lawsuit

February 24, 2021 at 2:28 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Donald Trump Jr. was deposed as part of the Washington, DC, attorney general’s lawsuit alleging the misuse of Trump inaugural funds, CNN reports.

Grassley Punts on Re-Election Decision

February 24, 2021 at 2:13 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said he expects to make a decision about whether to seek re-election “sometime in September, October or November’ of this year, the Des Moines Register reports.

Said Grassley: “That’s plenty of time to make up my mind. And in the meantime, I’ve got a job working for Iowans. I love my work. I’m working hard.”

Earlier this month, Grassley said a decision would be coming within “several weeks.”

Democrats to Research ‘Why the Polling Sucked”

February 24, 2021 at 2:05 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney (D-NY), the chairman of the House Democratic campaign arm, said he’s doing a deep dive into the party’s election failures in 2020, including a look at “why the polling sucked,” The Hill reports.

“Maloney said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has commissioned a report examining why the party lost more than a dozen House seats over the course of an election in which they won the White House and a majority in the Senate.”

More Americans Identifying as LGBT

February 24, 2021 at 2:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Gallup: “Gallup’s latest update on lesbian, gay, bisexual or transgender identification finds 5.6% of U.S. adults identifying as LGBT. The current estimate is up from 4.5% in Gallup’s previous update based on 2017 data.”

The Underticket Races to Watch

February 24, 2021 at 1:51 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Secretaries of state will be on the ballot in five of the 10 closest presidential battlegrounds next year.”

Capitol Hill Staff Doesn’t Reflect Diversity Back Home

February 24, 2021 at 1:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Despite efforts to diversify the Hill over the past several years, the racial makeup of House and Senate staffs don’t align with their districts and voting bases. Among top-level staffers, the lack of diversity is most striking: there are only two Black chiefs of staff in the Senate and only four Latinos.”

Working With Cuomo

February 24, 2021 at 12:56 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Lindsey Boylan accused New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) of sexual harassment and bullying “so pervasive that it is not only condoned but expected.”

“His inappropriate behavior toward women was an affirmation that he liked you, that you must be doing something right. He used intimidation to silence his critics. And if you dared to speak up, you would face consequences.”

South Dakota Attorney General’s Story Falls Apart

February 24, 2021 at 12:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Days after South Dakota Attorney General Jason Ravnsborg (R) fatally struck a man while driving in September, detectives told the Republican official they had found a pair of broken reading glasses inside his Ford Taurus. They belonged to the man he killed,” the Washington Post reports.

“That was a problem, detectives said, because Ravnsborg said he didn’t know he had hit a man until the following day, when he returned to the scene and found the body of Joseph Boever in a ditch.”

Said the detective on video: “They’re Joe’s glasses, so that means his face came through your windshield.”

The Sioux Falls Argus Leader reports Ravnsborg won’t resign, despite articles of impeachment being drafted in the state House of Representatives.

The Andrew Cuomo Show Has Lost the Plot

February 24, 2021 at 12:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Alex Pareene: “The press often describes him berating and threatening his ostensible political allies in the Democratic Party, notes that he seemingly faces no electoral penalty for doing so, and concludes that that kind of behavior is baked into his appeal as a politician. People have been reading stories about it for years, and they keep electing him anyway: Maybe they actually like it.”

“This is, I think, a misreading of Cuomo’s political appeal and strategy, and misses what has made his recent round of terrible press so interesting. What is happening now is that fans of Andrew Cuomo the television character are being introduced to Andrew Cuomo the newspaper character.”

Most Republicans Support Biden’s Relief Plan

February 24, 2021 at 12:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Morning Consult: “While Republicans offered the lowest amount of support, more than half of GOP voters still back the stimulus package at 60 percent. Thirty percent said they somewhat or strongly oppose the package.”

Exchange of the Day

February 24, 2021 at 11:52 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The House Republican leadership, including Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), at a press conference:

REPORTER: Do you believe former President Trump should speaking at CPAC?

McCARTHY: Yes he should.

CHENEY: That’s up to CPAC… Following January 6, I don’t believe that he should be playing a role in the future of the party or the country.

McCARTHY: On that high note, thank you very much.

Florida’s Only Statewide Elected Democrat Makes Play

February 24, 2021 at 11:47 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ (R) profile is growing, and Nikki Fried (D) has noticed, Politico reports.

“As DeSantis quickly becomes the national conservative media’s favorite governor and basks in recent polling that his approval rating is above 50 percent, the state’s agriculture commissioner is trying to increase her profile ahead of a likely gubernatorial run. She’s hired a top-tier Democratic consultant, is plotting high-profile attacks on DeSantis and growing her presence both on social media and national cable shows.”

“The jockeying as DeSantis’ star rises suggests that Fried, Florida’s only statewide elected Democrat, is trying to solidify herself as her party’s best shot at knocking off DeSantis in 2022, an election cycle that is expected to feature a crowded Democratic primary field.”

Republicans Leaving the Party Only Helps Trump

February 24, 2021 at 11:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “Tens of thousands of Republicans have left the party in the weeks since the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol, a move that sidelines members who could have loosened Donald Trump’s ever-tightening grip on the GOP.”

“That’s a sliver of the 74.2 million people who voted for Trump in November… Yet the actual effect on partisan politics might be the opposite of what was intended. The remaining Republicans are likely to be those most loyal to Trump — which could help Trump-backed candidates get elected in primaries that often are decided by just a few votes.”

The Dangers of Reverse Engineering Your Politics

February 24, 2021 at 11:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece for members is by David T.S. Jonas.

The simplest explanation for why we’re seeing a rise in prominence of conspiracy theorists within the Republican Party can be summed up like this: voters and politicians will reverse engineer their understanding of reality to justify their political identity.

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Of Course Biden Is Running For Re-Election

February 24, 2021 at 11:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

David Hopkins: “The idea of the self-declared single-term president has had a romantic appeal to editorial-page writers (and few others) since well before Biden became the oldest person in history elected to the job. Like many other ideas with romantic appeal, it is disconnected from political reality.”

“Declaring oneself a lame duck from the early days of an administration is not an effective strategy for a president to build or maintain influence, both inside and outside the party. The perception that you might be there awhile is a much better way to attract talented subordinates, pursue ambitious goals, and pressure members of Congress for support, and the inability to seek re-election is one reason why modern presidents’ second terms tend to be less focused and successful than their first.”

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Word of the Day

Night of the Long Knives: In June of 1934, Adolph Hitler ordered his troops to carry out a large-scale purge of suspected dissidents within the Nazi party.

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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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