South Carolina Democrat Blasts Sanders
Rep. Joe Cunningham (D-SC), one of only two Democratic congressmen from South Carolina, forcefully rebuked Sen. Bernie Sanders, jolting the state’s “First in the South” presidential primary race just hours after the Vermont senator won in New Hampshire, the Charleston Post & Courier reports.
Said Cunningham: “South Carolinians don’t want socialism. We want to know how you are going to get things done and how you are going to pay for them. Bernie’s proposals to raise taxes on almost everyone is not something the Lowcountry wants and not something I’d ever support.”
Kyle Kondik: “Impossible not to think about how some Republicans dealt with Trump four years ago.”
Steyer Spent $1,900 Per Vote
Tom Steyer spent $19.2 million in New Hampshire on television and radio advertisements and received about 10,272 votes, the Washington Post reports.
That’s nearly $1,900 spent per vote.
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“That the Democrats are crooked… that they shouldn’t have brought impeachment and my poll numbers are 10 points higher.”
— President Trump, when asked if he learned any lessons from being impeached.
Barr Agrees to Testify Before House Judiciary
Attorney General Bill Barr has accepted an invitation to testify before the House Judiciary Committee on March 31, the New York Times reports.
Politico notes the appearance will end a year-long standoff that began when the panel first demanded his testimony in the aftermath of special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation.
New Hampshire Turnout Set New Record for Democrats
“The turnout in Tuesday night’s Democratic New Hampshire primary was the party’s highest ever and provided a hopeful sign to Democrats disappointed by low enthusiasm demonstrated in Iowa last week,” CNN reports.
Bloomberg Spends $1 Million a Day on Facebook Ads
“Mike Bloomberg is spending so much money on Facebook ads that he has surpassed President Trump, the reigning king of the social media realm,” NBC News reports.
“Bloomberg spent more than $1 million a day on average over the past two weeks on Facebook. That’s five times more than Trump spent during the same period — and more than three times what Trump spent per day during his victorious fall 2016 campaign.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“He has a plan, that’s for sure. You have to recognize, the man — he really was a good mayor of a huge, huge, city, the largest city in America. I like him, I’ve always liked him. Nobody’s done more on guns and climate than he has. No one.”
— Former Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), talking to Vice about Michael Bloomberg.
Prepare for a Long Slog
Ron Bownstein: “These results raise pointed questions about whether Sanders can truly build a coalition broad enough to pull away from his rivals. Given the modest size of Sanders’s New Hampshire victory, Greenberg said, ‘I don’t see it producing a surge in the states following it.'”
“Of course, no one else in the race has given any indication they can assemble a broader coalition of voters than Sanders has done. The limits constraining all of the top-tier contenders—and the prospect of Bloomberg further splintering the electorate with his unprecedented spending—is why more Democrats are beginning to contemplate what seemed unimaginable not long ago: that for the first time since 1952 they will arrive at their party convention in Milwaukee this July without anyone laying claim to a majority of delegates.”
Trending on the political dictionary: brokered convention.
Of course, who will broker a convention when there are no power brokers left?
House Republicans Boycott Intelligence Committee Hearing
House Republicans boycotted an Intelligence Committee hearing Wednesday as a hangover of bitter feelings over President Trump’s impeachment continues to roil Congress, Bloomberg reports.
Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA), the panel’s ranking Republican, complained in a letter to Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff that under his leadership the committee “has strayed far from its mandate of overseeing the intelligence community.”
Rivals Worry Bloomberg Will Splinter Moderate Vote
Washington Post: “Rival campaigns have also begun to raise concerns about whether Bloomberg’s strength could help speed Sanders’s path to the nomination by further splitting the moderate vote in the party. Under Democratic rules, candidates can only accrue delegates if they clear 15 percent support thresholds, which are measured on both statewide and congressional district levels.”
“Bloomberg’s aides, who privately share the same concern about the moderate vote splitting in a way that helps Sanders, said the burden is on other candidates ‘to get out’ if they have failed to perform in the early contests.”
“Behind the scenes, Bloomberg, who is worth more than $50 billion, has stepped up his debate preparations, which began last year, as he faces what is likely to be the next major test of his campaign.”
Harry Reid Says Iowa Should No Longer Go First
Former Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV) told Vice the Iowa caucuses should no longer be first in the presidential nomination process.
Said Reid: “Iowa has forfeited its chance to be number one. I don’t think that’ll happen anymore.”
He added: “Since the debacle in Iowa, many have been talking about Nevada should be the first state. Why? Because we’re a state that’s heavily diverse. It’s really a state that represents what the country is all about. So I think that Iowa really was an embarrassment to everybody.”
The Revolution Has Not Yet Arrived
Ryan Lizza: “Sanders overpromised and underdelivered. He has premised his campaign on nothing less than sparking a political revolution in which disaffected and first-time voters — especially young ones — pour into American politics to carry him to the White House. It didn’t happen in Iowa, and it didn’t happen in New Hampshire.”
“Sanders dominated the state in 2016, winning every county. Buttigieg and Klobuchar ripped holes through that map everywhere, turning color-coded maps from 2016 that showed a Sanders rout into a patchwork of colors.”
Sean Spicer Selling Valentine’s Day Videos
Former White House press secretary Sean Spicer will record you a Valentine’s Day message for your loved one for just $199.
Inside Bloomberg’s Play for Black Voters
Associated Press: “While Mike Bloomberg’s rivals battled it out in majority-white Iowa and New Hampshire, the billionaire presidential candidate aggressively courted the black voters critical to any Democrat’s chance of winning of the nomination. The effort, backed by millions of dollars in ads, has taken him across Southern states that vote on March 3, from Montgomery, Alabama, and this week Raleigh, North Carolina, and Chattanooga, Tennessee, states where African American voters can decide a Democratic primary.”
“His pitch is one of electability and competence — hoping to capitalize on black Democrats’ hunger to oust President Donald Trump. But as he courts black voters he’ll also have to reconcile his own record as mayor of New York and past remarks on criminal justice.”
We’re Witnessing the Corruption of Justice
Lawfare: “Corruption of the justice system has two major elements. The first—at issue in the Ukraine scandal—is the use of state power to go after one’s enemies. The other is the ability to restrain government power to reward one’s friends and allies.”
“A dramatic display of this latter power took place today, Feb. 11, when the U.S. Department of Justice, having articulated in court its view of an appropriate sentence for President Trump’s associate Roger Stone—convicted recently on multiple felony counts—confronted an angry presidential tweet and then meekly reversed course in a second filing.”
Kim Wehle: “Of course, this president’s abuse of the massive powers of his office will continue because he knows that there is no one within the federal government who is able or willing to stop him.”
For members: How we’ll lose our democracy.
Quote of the Day
“There haven’t been very strong indicators this week that he has.”
— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), quoted by the New York Times, when asked by reporters if President Trump had learned a lesson from impeachment.
