Political Wire

Members should sign in for the full experience.

The Imposters

By Leave a Comment

Coming soon: The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics by Steve Benen.

“Republicans, simply put, have quit governing… The contemporary GOP has become a ‘post-policy party.’ Republicans are effectively impostors, presenting themselves as officials who are ready to take seriously the substance of problem solving, but whose sole focus is the pursuit and maintenance of power.”

The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics
The Impostors: How Republicans Quit Governing and Seized American Politics
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • Benen, Steve (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 400 Pages - 06/16/2020 (Publication Date) - Custom House (Publisher)
Check Price on Amazon

White House Says Trump Won’t Fire Dr. Fauci

By Leave a Comment

“President Trump isn’t firing Anthony Fauci, the White House said Monday, seeking to extinguish speculation that flared over the weekend after Mr. Trump retweeted a critic who called for the member of his administration’s coronavirus task force to be dismissed after he said lives could have been saved if the government had acted more quickly,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Said spokesman Hogan Gidley: “This media chatter is ridiculous—President Trump is not firing Dr. Fauci. Dr. Fauci has been and remains a trusted advisor to President Trump.”


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.




Bernie Sanders Endorses Joe Biden

By Leave a Comment

Sen. Bernie Sanders announced on a livestream Monday that he’s endorsing Joe Biden for president, five days after suspending his own presidential campaign, Axios reports.

Said Sanders to Biden: “We have to make Trump a one-term president and we need you in the White House.”

It took Sanders 36 days to endorse Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Congressional Deadlock Deepens as Urgency Increases

By Leave a Comment

Politico: “After the Senate adjourned with no action on Monday, it became clear that a slugfest between Democratic and Republican leaders will bleed into its second week over how to deliver the next tranche of economic stimulus. A continued deadlock is untenable: A popular small business program is set to run out of funds as soon as the end of the week and governors are begging for more money.”

“But neither party seems ready to buckle.”

Louisiana Official Admits He Was Wrong on Coronavirus

By Leave a Comment

Louisiana Lt. Gov. Billy Nungesser (R) admitted he was “wrong” for advocating that events in New Orleans go on despite the growing coronavirus crisis, CNN reports.

He added that he “absolutely” regrets his comments.

Nungesser also apologized to New Orleans Mayor LaToya Cantrell (D) for criticizing her decision to cancel events: “So the mayor did the right thing. In hindsight, I was wrong and she was right.”

Ron DeSantis Sinks In Florida

By Leave a Comment

Tampa Bay Times: “Unlike other governors, DeSantis doesn’t hold regular public briefings. He has ceded the biggest decisions, like whether to close beaches, to city and county officials, yet he hasn’t talked to many of them. Early on, he clashed with federal officials over whether Florida had community spread of the virus.”

“DeSantis’ uneven response has made him an outlier among his counterparts across the country. The approval ratings of most governors have soared during the crisis. DeSantis, one of America’s most popular governors a few months ago, has seen his support plummet. One poll found him the third-worst rated governor at handling the coronavirus in the country.”

Companies Warn Economic Recovery Will Be Slow

By Leave a Comment

“President Trump is in a rush to lift restrictions on economic activity amid the coronavirus pandemic, convinced that the move will rocket the economy out of a deep recession,” the New York Times reports.

“Companies say otherwise. So do a wide variety of economic and survey data, which suggest the economy will recovery slowly even after the government begins to ease limits on public gatherings and allow certain restaurants and other closed shops to reopen.”

“The evidence suggests it’s not just stay-at-home orders and other government restrictions that have chilled economic activity in the United States over the last month: it’s also a behavioral response from workers and consumers scared of contracting the virus.”

Workers of the World Didn’t Unite

By Leave a Comment

David Atkins: “The reality is that leftist policy has never been more ascendant in the Democratic Party since at least the 1960s if not the 1930s. The Biden 2020 campaign platform is well to the left of the Clinton 2016 platform, which was itself well to the left of the Obama 2008 platform. Every major candidate in the 2020 field ran either on some version of Medicare for All, or at least a public option and Medicare expansion as a pathway toward it. Every major candidate proposed much bolder action on climate change than the Obama administration, and major policies to address student debt and college tuition. And on social policy from LGBT rights to criminal justice, the difference between the Democratic Party of today and that of 10 years ago could not be more stark…”

“What did lose unequivocally, however, was a certain brand of anti-partisan class revolutionary electoral politics rooted in industrial-era Marxist theory. Zack Beauchamp’s excellent analysis at Vox is essential reading on this topic, but the upshot is that regardless of leftist policy, a strain of Marxist theory since the late 19th century has posited that the left can usher in a socialist utopia by uniting the workers of the world–and that any cultural divisions within the working class that get in the way are the product of false consciousness and manufactured consent to prevent the proletariat from arising together to overthrow their capitalist chains.”

Quote of the Day

By Leave a Comment

“I think you can say, ‘The worst is over.'”

— Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D), quoted by the New York Times, while noting precautions will need to be taken for many months to come, even if restrictions are somewhat eased.

Trump Is Terrible at Governing

By Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

A series of stories over the weekend reported that President Trump had plenty of early warning about the coronavirus and the resulting health and economic risks. But he rejected every one of them — until it was too late.

Join now to continue reading.

Members get exclusive analysis, bonus features and no advertising. Learn more.

If you’re already a member, sign in to your account.

Trump Falsely Claims Power to Reopen the Economy

By Leave a Comment

President Trump falsely claimed in a tweet that he has the authority to determine when the country’s economy reopens.

Said Trump: “It is the decision of the President, and for many good reasons. With that being said, the Administration and I are working closely with the Governors, and this will continue.”

USA Today: “Federal law allows Washington to impose quarantines in some circumstances and limit travel between states, but the Trump administration has not invoked those powers. And the Supreme Court has struck down attempts by the federal government to intervene within states.”

Plagues and Peoples

By Leave a Comment

Another excellent book: Plagues and Peoples by William McNeill.

“From the conquest of Mexico by smallpox as much as by the Spanish, to the bubonic plague in China, to the typhoid epidemic in Europe, the history of disease is the history of humankind.”

Plagues and Peoples
Plagues and Peoples
  • Amazon Kindle Edition
  • McNeill, William (Author)
  • English (Publication Language)
  • 354 Pages - 10/27/2010 (Publication Date) - Anchor (Publisher)
Check Price on Amazon

Many Small Firms Expect to Fail If Crisis Lasts 6 Months

By Leave a Comment

A National Bureau of Economic Research survey of small businesses finds that when firms are told to expect a one-month crisis, the expectation of remaining open by the end of the year hovers around 70% across all industries with the exception of Arts and Entertainment, and Personal Services. In those industries, the expectation of remaining open drops to 65% and 57% respectively.

When firms are told to expect a six-month crisis, the average expectation of remaining open falls to 38%, and there is significant heterogeneity between sectors. The expected survival probability for firms in Arts and Entertainment drops precipitously to 35% if the crisis lasts 6 months. The expected probability of being open for Personal Services firms fall to 22% if the crisis lasts six months.

The restaurant industry seems particularly vulnerable to a long crisis. Restaurateurs believe that they have a 72% chance of survival if the crisis lasts one month, but if the crisis lasts six months, then they expect to survive with only a 15% probability. Likewise, the chance of survival for firms in tourism and lodging drops to 27% by the 6-month mark.

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.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.