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Jon Stewart Rips Rand Paul for Blocking 9/11 Bill

July 18, 2019 at 9:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Comedian Jon Stewart blasted Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) on Fox News for his objection to a bipartisan bill to ensure a compensation fund for victims of the 2001 terrorist attacks never runs out of money.

Said Stewart: “Pardon me if I’m not impressed in any way by Rand Paul’s fiscal responsibility virtue signaling.”

He pointed out that Paul supported President Trump’s tax cut that “added hundreds of billions of dollars to our deficit.”

Mark Sanford Releases a Video

July 18, 2019 at 8:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just a day after hinting he might challenge President Trump in the Republican primaries, former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford (R) is out with a video.

Said Sanford: “I’m frustrated with many things in Washington these days. But on the top of my list is the way people there have seemingly forgotten that debt, deficits and spending really do matter.”

First Read: “Remember, modern incumbent presidents who have avoided credible primary challenges have gone on to win re-election (Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama).”

“And those who received credible primary challenges have lost (Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush).”

Where Is Ivanka?

July 18, 2019 at 8:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Elaina Plott: “Since joining her father’s White House as a senior adviser in early 2017, the first daughter has reserved the right to toggle between a strict and loose construction of her portfolio. When flashy opportunities arise—such as the chance to play diplomat with Kim Jong Un—the edges of her purview, which she often defines as ‘women’s economic empowerment,’ become conveniently blurry. But when the issue du jour is particularly messy, she is quick to clarify its limits, thus absolving herself of accountability for problems that exist outside it. When The View’s Abby Huntsman, for example, asked Trump in February why she didn’t speak up about family separations along the U.S.-Mexico border, she objected that she is ‘not president of all women’s issues.'”

“This awkward dance underscores the true nature of Trump’s silence on a flurry of new controversies surrounding her father: She is declining to speak out not because of the limits of her portfolio. She simply does not want to.”

Said one former White House official: “It’s an exclusive club. People who want to be in charge of everything, but when the going gets weird, just disappear.”


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An Odd Impeachment Vote

July 18, 2019 at 8:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

The House of Representatives once again tabled Rep. Al Green’s (D-TX) resolution to impeach President Trump.

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The Case for Challenging Trump In a Primary

July 18, 2019 at 7:28 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Matt Bai: “OK, at least seven in 10 Republicans approve of Trump, whatever that really means. That’s marginally impressive. Except that we don’t know what those voters would do when faced with an actual choice — not between Trump and Democrats, or Trump and the media, but between Trump and a thoughtful conservative who doesn’t tweet insults in the middle of the night.”

“We don’t know how Trump would fare with Republicans in a field of two (or three), rather than in a field of 17, where all the more established candidates fractured their vote into tiny shards last time around.”

“We don’t know what Trump is going to say or do in the intervening months, or on the eve of the primaries, that could tip the balance very quickly toward a Republican alternative.”

“And we don’t know yet where independent voters are going, especially in New Hampshire, where they make up the largest bloc and can vote in primaries.”

DNC Tinkers With Debate Format

July 18, 2019 at 6:33 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “The Democratic National Committee and CNN are making sure both nights of the July 2020 presidential debates have their fair share of top-tier candidates, insuring that there won’t be a pileup of leading candidates on one night that could hurt ratings.”

“The network and the DNC announced Wednesday that candidates will first be split into three tiers, before being randomly split across the two nights. The tiers are based off public polling.”

Obama and Clinton Rainmakers Place Their Bets

July 18, 2019 at 6:31 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Big-money Democratic donors have jumped off the sidelines of the presidential race, and three candidates are the clear winners of their support: Joe Biden, Pete Buttigieg and Kamala Harris.”

“Each of those three candidates received more than 220 donations from top fundraisers who helped raise at least $100,000 (and sometimes many multiples more) for Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign or at least $50,000 for Barack Obama in 2012.”

Will Netanyahu Bar Ilhan Omar from Entering Israel?

July 18, 2019 at 6:24 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A government official told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s National Security Council was reviewing the issue and would offer him recommendations on how to respond.”

“According to the dry law, Omar, whose legislation explicitly calls for the boycott of Israel, could be denied entry to Israel. However, due to her status as a US congresswoman, Israel is unlikely to use the legislation which if done, could spark an international crisis.”

Playbook: “We’s have to imagine Trump would be pretty pleased if his friend and ally Benjamin Netanyahu declined to allow Omar and Tlaib — the president’s enemies, at the moment — into Israel. This could cause a diplomatic row, though, since Omar and Tlaib are elected federal officials.”

Senate Republicans Pray Trump Takes Budget Deal

July 18, 2019 at 6:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Republican senators are pushing Trump to accept an agreement with Democrats that would avoid stiff budget cuts, steer clear of a potential default and provide a huge measure of certainty through the presidential campaign.”

“Trump has been warm to the proposal as it’s taken shape, according to multiple senators who have spoken with him in recent days. But GOP backers of a deal fear a last-ditch push from hard-line conservatives inside the administration and Congress to reject any bipartisan compromise.”

The GOP’s Demographic Decay

July 18, 2019 at 6:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Axios: “The numbers simply do not lie. America, as a whole, and swing states, in particular, are growing more diverse, more quickly. There is no way Republicans can change birth rates or curb this trend — and there’s not a single demographic megatrend that favors Republicans.”

“President Trump’s short-term calculation to stir up white voters with race-baiting rhetoric might very well echo for a generation.”

Key takeaway: “Next year, the entire under-18 population will be majority non-white… In less than a decade, the under-30 population will be majority non-white.”

Trump Bets His Re-Election on Racial Polarization

July 18, 2019 at 6:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Associated Press: “Not since George Wallace’s campaign in 1968 has a presidential candidate — and certainly not an incumbent president — put racial polarization at the center of his call to voters. Though Trump’s comments generated outrage and even a resolution of condemnation in the House, the president and his campaign believe the strategy carries far more benefits than risks.”

“Educated suburban voters, especially college-educated women, and minorities in key states like Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin were already threatening to revolt against the Republican president. Trump believes his inflammatory rhetoric will strengthen his support among the white working class and attract a new group of disaffected voters who fear cultural changes across America.”

CNN: Trump’s ugly plan to get re-elected.

Trump Amps Up Racist Attacks at North Carolina Rally

July 17, 2019 at 10:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “It was the latest sign that the president hopes to win a second term in office by playing to racial and nationalist themes that shock the consciences of many Americans, but seem only to delight his most ardent supporters.”

“Mr. Trump doubled down with relish on his previous calls for the four congresswomen — Reps. Ilhan Omar, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley — to ‘go back’ to their countries of origin, even though all but one were born in the United States and all four are citizens. It left no doubt that he was undaunted by furious condemnations of his remarks as racist, including a Tuesday vote by the House.”

Trump Goads Crowd Into Urging Deportation of Omar

July 17, 2019 at 10:34 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Chait: “After President Trump made racist attacks on left-wing Democrats, his supporters engaged in frantic historical revisionism. Trump was not calling his non-white targets foreign or denying their Americanness, they insisted. He merely noted that they may wish to emigrate given their deep ideological disagreement with the country’s institutions and political character.”

“Wednesday night, Trump dispensed with that pretense. After a long and almost entirely dishonest attack on Ilhan Omar, his crowd began echoing Trump’s infamous words, chanting, ‘Send her back!'”

“While most the the party apparatus is committed to the pretense that Trump was merely inviting left-wing America-haters to move to a more congenial place, Trump and his crowd are perfectly aware of what he meant. ‘Send her back’ is not describing voluntary emigration.”

When Trump Partied With Jeffrey Epstein

July 17, 2019 at 9:48 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “Footage of that party, unearthed and aired by NBC News on Wednesday, shows Trump grabbing dancing cheerleaders and socializing with financier Jeffrey Epstein, who was arrested last week and charged with sex trafficking…”

“Trump’s interactions with women at the Mar-a-Lago party — welcome or not — provide visual evidence of the kind of behavior he would later brag about on a 2005 Access Hollywood recording that surfaced at the end of the presidential campaign: that he could grab and kiss women because he was a celebrity.”

“In the footage of the November 1992 party, Trump can be seen putting his arm around the waist of one of the women, yanking her toward him and patting her on the backside as she laughs.”

House Holds Barr and Ross in Contempt

July 17, 2019 at 6:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The House voted Wednesday evening to hold Attorney General William Barr and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross in criminal contempt of Congress for their refusal to turn over key documents related to the Trump administration’s attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census,” the New York Times reports.

“The citations for two cabinet officials will breathe new life into a dispute that has touched all three branches of government over why Trump administration officials pushed to ask census respondents if they were American citizens and what that question’s impact would be.”

Alabama Official Criticizes World Cup Coverage

July 17, 2019 at 6:23 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill (R) “elaborated on his comments about television’s preoccupation with ‘homosexual activities,’ saying that media coverage of the U.S. women soccer team’s World Cup championship has focused too much on the players’ sexual orientation,” the Birmingham News reports.

House Votes to Kill Impeachment Resolution

July 17, 2019 at 5:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The House killed an attempt to impeach President Trump for statements that the chamber condemned this week as racist, the New York Times reports.

“But 95 Democrats signaled their support for impeachment, while 137 opposed it — a dramatic split signaling trouble ahead for a divided party.”

Washington Post: “The vote is likely to rankle the Democratic Party’s left wing, which has been pushing for Trump’s impeachment.”

Remembering John Paul Stevens

July 17, 2019 at 5:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

From a New York Times obituary of Justice John Paul Stevens:

“Justice Stevens was known around the court for treating others with sensitivity and respect. One former law clerk, Christopher L. Eisgruber, described in a 1993 essay an incident at a party for new clerks: Before Justice Stevens arrived, an older male justice had instructed one of the few female clerks present to serve coffee. When Justice Stevens entered, he quickly grasped the situation, walked up to the young woman and said: ‘Thank you for taking your turn with the coffee. I think it’s my turn now.’ He took over the job.”

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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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