Political Wire

Idaho Drivers Harass Buses of Migrant Children

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Angry drivers have been following buses full of migrant children on their way to education programs in Idaho, the Idaho Statesman reports.

“The Community Council of Idaho plans to remove and conceal signage on buses they use to transport local children of farmworkers and Head Start participants, after repeated experiences of harassment from motorists across the state… The staff said they assume the drivers are harassing the buses — labeled ‘Migrant and Seasonal Head Start’ — because they assume that migrant means undocumented.”

Trump Rule Would Indefinitely Detain Migrant Families

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“The Trump administration announced a new rule on Wednesday that would allow migrant families to be kept in detention centers long-term,” Axios reports.

“A decades-old court decision — the Flores agreement — has prevented the government from holding minors in detention for longer than 20 days. The new regulation would replace that and give the federal government more power in determining how to care for migrant minors in its custody. The rule was first proposed following the family separation crisis last spring, and is certain to face legal challenges.”

Trump’s Erratic Style More Problematic as Economy Slows

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James Hohmann: “These erratic, contradictory pronouncements induce whiplash. They’re also de rigueur in this administration. This is a feature, not a bug, of Trumpism. During his first 928 days in office, Trump made more than 12,000 demonstrably false or misleading claims. Our Fact Checker has documented them in a database… There are dozens of separate examples of the president’s spokespeople – predating Gidley and Grisham – saying something adamantly, only to have the president cut their legs out from under them later in the day. Why would you take anything they or the president say at face value?”

“This behavior is riskier in challenging economic times. When the business cycle turns, the wherewithal of our system depends on people having as much confidence and certainty as possible. Trump and his White House flacks inspire neither feelings of confidence nor certainty. Trump’s penchant for contradicting himself and his aides, as well as changing his mind hastily, which together fuel the credibility gap, would be problematic in a financial crisis. Investors want a steady hand on the ship of state’s tiller. That’s how you prevent runs on the banks, freefalls in the stock market and freezes in business investment.”

Cindy McCain Sees No ‘Voice of Reason’ In the GOP

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Cindy McCain told ABC News that no one in the Republican Party has become the party’s “voice of reason” after her husband’s death last year.

Said McCain: “That was a tough torch to carry and, as John said, there were many lonely days because he always said what was on his mind. I don’t see anybody carrying that mantle at all, I don’t see anyone carrying the voice — the voice of reason.”

No Way to Run a Country

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First Read says President Trump’s cancellation of his trip to Denmark over them not being willing to sell Greenland shows the president’s “behavior in office isn’t getting better. Instead, it’s getting worse.”

“This is no way to run a country. Or to talk about its citizens. Or to treat an American ally.”

“Everyone who works in Washington knows this. Staff members at the White House know this. Top officials inside the Republican Party know this.”

“Yet here we are.”

Parkland Students Push New Gun Control Plan

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“The student activists who crashed the political arena after the mass shooting last year at their high school in Parkland, Fla., are throwing their weight behind a new and ambitious gun-control program that they hope will set the tone for the debate following the most recent mass shootings and headed into the 2020 elections,” the Washington Post reports.

Axios has highlights of the proposal.

Danish Lawmakers Furious Over Trump’s Cancelled Visit

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“Danish lawmakers on Wednesday reacted in fury to President’s Trump’s postponement of his two-day visit in early September to Denmark after its prime minister said she was not interested in selling him the autonomous island of Greenland,” the Washington Post reports.

“Parliamentarians and former government ministers slammed the president’s behavior as juvenile, undiplomatic and insulting, though the government itself has yet to comment on the visit’s cancellation and instead scheduled a news conference for the afternoon.”

According to Politico, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen “is scheduled to speak to the press at 3 p.m. local time to address the U.S. snub — and there have been calls for her to avoid making the situation worse and risking a political crisis.”

Trump Launches Campaign for Suburban Women

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“President Trump’s reelection campaign will dispatch more than a dozen female surrogates on Thursday to some of the most important 2020 battleground states in its first major push to mobilize suburban women — a critical voting bloc that revolted against Republican candidates as recently as the midterm elections last fall,” Politico reports.

“Campaign officials have billed the cross-country events as both a celebration of women’s suffrage — Sunday marks the 99th anniversary of the adoption of the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote — and a coordinated effort to train pro-Trump women to become effective volunteers in their communities.”

Trump Critics Weigh GOP Primary Race

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Washington Post: “The anti-Trump movement inside the Republican Party — long a political wasteland — is feeling new urgency to mount a credible opposition to Trump before it’s too late. With state deadlines for nominating contests rapidly approaching in the fall, potential candidates face pressure to decide on running within the next few weeks. So far, only former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld has declared that he is running, but he has struggled to gain traction.”

“Republicans considering bids, as well as those trying to draft other candidates, acknowledge that defeating Trump appears to be nearly impossible but argue that a recession or an unforeseen change in the political climate could weaken him enough to make a primary challenge more than a Never Trump fantasy.”

Outside Money Pours Into Maine Senate Race

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Associated Press: “Money is pouring into Maine’s high-profile Senate race, threatening to upend the state’s reputation for genteel politics and giving way to a new era of partisanship.”

“Advertising data shows Democrats plan to spend at least $1.2 million on ads through December, including a spot that aired for the first time this month that accuses Collins of failing to protect Medicare. A newly formed GOP group, meanwhile, has $800,000 already in the bank, thanks to a small group of wealthy financiers.”

Buttigieg Has Trouble Connecting with Black Voters

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Chicago Tribune: “Pete Buttigieg held a self-described grassroots campaign rally in Bronzeville on Tuesday night, but the overwhelmingly white audience he drew to the event in a historic black neighborhood reinforced the difficulty the Democratic presidential hopeful has had in connecting with African American voters.”

“Buttigieg did not acknowledge the makeup of the audience in his remarks or in answering questions from the 1,000 people at the sold-out event, but did touch on it briefly as he closed the hourlong rally with a plea for his supporters.”

Said Buttigieg: “Find the people who don’t look like most of you in this room and let them know they have the chance, not just to support this campaign, but to shape it.”

Trump Postpones Meeting with Denmark’s Leader

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President Trump announced he was postponing a planned meeting with the prime minister of Denmark after she shot down his talk of possibly purchasing Greenland, an autonomous Danish territory, The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “Denmark is a very special country with incredible people, but based on Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen’s comments, that she would have no interest in discussing the purchase of Greenland, I will be postponing our meeting scheduled in two weeks for another time. The Prime Minister was able to save a great deal of expense and effort for both the United States and Denmark by being so direct.”

Trump Officials Tell Donors Recession Will Be Short

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“In public, President Trump and top White House officials keep extolling the strength of the U.S. economy. In private, they’re increasingly worrying about a global economic slowdown triggering a U.S. recession — and weighing options to shore up the economy in an election year,” Politico reports.

“At a fundraising luncheon this week in Jackson, Wyo., headlined by Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney acknowledged the risks to the GOP elite behind closed doors. If the U.S. hypothetically were to face a recession it would be ‘moderate and short,’ Mulvaney told roughly 50 donors, according to an attendee.”

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.

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