At the end of his show on Friday, Fox Business Network host Lou Dobbs signed off by reminding his viewers to “Have a great weekend.”
He added: “The president makes such a thing possible for us all.”
Trump Hopes to Convert Nonvoters
Associated Press: “Less than 14 months before Election Day, the president’s team is banking his reelection hopes on identifying and bringing to the polls hundreds of thousands of Trump supporters… — people in closely contested states who didn’t vote in 2016. The campaign is betting that it may be easier to make voters out of these electoral rarities than to win over millions of Trump skeptics in the center of the electorate.”
“It’s a risky wager borne of political necessity, and helps explain Trump’s provocative communications strategy, from his attacks on the media to his racially polarizing rhetoric. Trump, aides and allies say, knows he needs to fire up his supporters, and anger is a powerful motivator.”
Biden Will Release Medical Records
“Joe Biden committed to publicly releasing his medical records before the Iowa caucuses after questions of whether the 76-year-old former vice president is fit for the rigors of the presidency and to take on President Donald Trump, aged 73, in a grueling 2020 campaign,” CNN reports.
Taliban Visits Moscow
Associated Press: “Russian state news agency Tass cited the Taliban’s Qatar-based spokesman Suhail Shaheen as saying the delegation had held consultations with Zamir Kabulov, President Vladimir Putin’s envoy for Afghanistan.”
“The visit also was confirmed to The Associated Press by a Taliban official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to reporters. It was the Taliban’s first international visit following the collapse of talks with Washington. The team was being led by Mullah Sher Mohammad Stanikzai.”
Biden and Warren Avoid Direct Conflict
New York Times: “If Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren are headed for a showdown, neither of them appears in a hurry to get there.”
“The two candidates have seemed to be on a collision course for much of the last few months: Mr. Biden as the Democratic front-runner and de facto leader of the party’s moderate wing, with a steady but hardly dominant lead in polls, and Ms. Warren as his rising challenger, slowly trimming his lead and perhaps surpassing Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont as the focal point of progressive energy in the race.”
Republicans Don’t Trust New Fundraising Platform
Playbook: “Almost no one at the White House or in GOP leadership wants to hear this, but WinRed has a big issue on its hands. Members of Congress are skeptical of them, because they don’t know who is profiting off of it and they can’t get straight answers about what’s going to happen with their data.
“The retort from Republican involved is, trust us, get on board or else you’ll continue to get smoked by your Democratic opponents. That’s probably true, but lawmakers want answers and they aren’t getting them. And until then, there is going to be angst and doubts — no matter how many presentations they get, or veiled threats they hear from the leadership and White House-linked operatives. Of course, there are members who have signed up — more than 100 — and the service is drawing donations. That does not negate the skepticism.”
“Republicans — pushed by Jared Kushner — created WinRed to compete with ActBlue. But ActBlue was a private company that caught fire because it was good. WinRed is being foisted upon lawmakers by the party leadership.”
Candidate Scramble for Cash
Washington Post: “Candidates for the Democratic presidential nomination are sprinting from coast to coast in search of campaign donations over the next 18 days, moving urgently to stockpile cash for their big fall push — and to avoid a death spiral that a weak third-quarter fundraising tally might prompt.”
“With the third debate behind them — the fourth is in mid-October, well after the fundraising deadline — the candidates are devoting themselves to finishing with a flourish what is typically a difficult three-month fundraising period.”
McCarthy Doubles Down on Trump
“House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has set a goal no party has done in 65 years, winning back the majority just two years after losing it,” the Washington Post reports.
“But the California Republican knows better than to over promise and under deliver. So he makes only one guarantee for the 2020 elections.”
Said McCarthy: “House Republicans will gain seats. We will gain seats.”
“McCarthy is doubling down on the GOP’s recent strategy of denouncing Democrats and casting them as socialists who want a complete government takeover of everything from health care to straws. Rather than encourage distance from an unpopular president, McCarthy wants Republicans to stick close to President Trump — an intentional break from the previous tension that existed between the White House and his predecessor, Paul D. Ryan (R-WI), a close McCarthy friend.
Trump Challengers Write Joint Op-Ed
Mark Sanford, Joe Walsh, and Bill Weld write in the Washington Post that the Republican Party has “taken a wrong turn” in canceling primaries.
“The saying ‘may the best man win’ is a quintessential value that the Republican Party must honor if we are to command the respect of the American people. Cowards run from fights.”
Republicans Clash Over Fundraising Platform
“House Republicans sparred behind closed doors with Trump-aligned political operatives at a GOP retreat over the new online fundraising platform backed by party leaders and the White House,” Politico reports.
“The creation of WinRed was a top priority for the GOP that has been plagued with implementation problems over the last year. If the initiative isn’t a success, Republicans fear their chances of taking back the House and holding on to the White House in 2020 will be imperiled.”
“Since launching, WinRed has come under fire from critics who have questioned who stands to profit from the donations it gathers.”
Did a Grand Jury Refuse to Indict Andrew McCabe?
Lawfare: “No media organization has reported that this is what happened Thursday, but something clearly happened when the grand jury met—and that something wasn’t the McCabe indictment that everyone was expecting.”
“Normally, when the Justice Department informs a criminal target that it is moving ahead with charges, particularly when the target is a high-profile one, the indictment follows immediately. Yet in this case, no indictment materialized. And that wasn’t because the grand jury didn’t meet.”
Harry Litman: “A Grand Jury’s refusal to return an indictment is something that happens maybe once every five years in a given office. If it occurred here, given the magnitude and visibility of the McCabe case, it is a stunning and humiliating rebuke for overreaching and playing politics.“
Trump Promises ‘Very Inspirational’ Tax Cuts
President Trump “is reviving last year’s promise to slash taxes for America’s middle class as he seeks to bolster his reelection bid against Democratic pledges to help people suffering under piles of student loan debt and wrestling to pay oversized medical bills,” CNN reports.
Trump promised — yet again — new tax cuts next year, claiming they would be “very, very substantial,” without offering any more details.
Said Trump: “We’re working on a tax cut for the middle-income people that is going to be very, very inspirational. It’s going to be something that I think everyone is looking for.”
Rand Paul Calls Wyoming TV to Discuss Liz Cheney Feud
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) called into KTWO to discuss his feud with Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and said that he thought Wyoming Republicans were in agreement with him on foreign policy issues like the Afghanistan war.
Said Paul: “I really think that the Western Republicans, the one that I’ve met in Wyoming and the ones I’ve met throughout the West, are very, very independent. They’re tired of spending $50 billion a year in Afghanistan. They’re tired of building roads in Afghanistan. They’re tired of $45 million gas stations in Afghanistan and $90 million hotels. I think a lot of people in Wyoming would rather see that money spent at home.”
Flashback Quote of the Day
“We have to stop. No. The military is going to be stronger and bigger and more modernized than ever before. The military is so important. That’s number one, two and three on my list. We have to, we need security in this country, especially now with what’s going on.”
— Donald Trump, in a 2016 Newsday interview, when asked if he would redirect military funds to build infrastructure.
‘Where’s My Favorite Dictator?’
“Inside a room of the ornately decorated Hotel du Palais during last month’s Group of Seven summit in Biarritz, France, President Trump awaited a meeting with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al Sisi,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Mr. Trump looked over a gathering of American and Egyptian officials and called out in a loud voice: ‘Where’s my favorite dictator?’ Several people who were in the room at the time said they heard the question.”
“The witnesses said they believed the president made the comment jokingly, but said his question was met by a stunned silence.”
Who Won the Third Democratic Debate?
A new FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos poll interviewed the same group of voters twice to capture both the “before” and “after” picture of the debate.
“Warren was one of the better-liked candidates going into the debate, but her performance was still rated higher than we’d expect based on her favorability alone. The same was true of Booker, Buttigieg and (especially) O’Rourke.”
“Interestingly, Klobuchar didn’t get a great debate rating, but it’s not bad considering her pre-debate favorability, which was pretty neutral. Biden (who’s very popular among Democrats) and Castro stand out for performing worse than expected given their pre-debate favorability.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“It’s being destroyed from within.”
— Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL), quoted by the Montgomery Advertiser, on the Alabama Democratic Party.
Next Democratic Debate Announced
The New York Times and CNN will co-host the next Democratic debate near Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 15, with the possibility of a second round one night later depending on how many candidates meet the qualifying criteria, the New York Times reports.
