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Volunteers Worry Ahead of Nevada Caucuses

February 14, 2020 at 10:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“With the Nevada Democratic caucuses only a week away, both caucus workers and presidential campaigns are worried about the lack of detail the state party is providing about how the results reporting process will work,” CNN reports.

The party scrapped plans to use the app that imploded in Iowa in favor of a new “user friendly” calculator, “but caucus volunteers have yet to get their hands on the calculator even though they’re the ones expected to use it on caucus day, and they have been given few details about it.”

Jeffries Says Bloomberg Apology Was Based on the Data

February 14, 2020 at 9:38 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) talked to GQ about Michael Bloomberg’s “stop and frisk” policy when he was New York City mayor.

Said Jeffries: “We fought Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Police Commissioner Ray Kelly to dismantle the unconstitutional and out-of-control stop-and-frisk program as implemented in New York City. It was outrageous, it was harmful, and it was destructive in the manner in which communities of color were treated.”

He added: “That said, I do believe that Mayor Bloomberg’s apology was heartfelt and authentic, in part because Mike Bloomberg prides himself on evaluating the data. In fact, when he was mayor of New York, he would often say, ‘Trust in God. All others bring data.’ That’s what he’s all about. Any evaluation of the data after stop-and-frisk was dismantled suggests that crime didn’t go up; it went down significantly. The data makes clear that stop-and-frisk, as aggressively practiced during the Bloomberg years, had nothing to do with the decline in crime because crime went down dramatically once stop-and-frisk was declared unconstitutional. As a result, I believe that Michael Bloomberg, looking at the data, could authentically conclude that he was wrong and therefore should apologize.”

Trump Claims Right to Interfere In Criminal Cases

February 14, 2020 at 9:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump tweeted his first response to Attorney General William Barr’s criticism about meddling in criminal cases last night.

Said Trump: “This doesn’t mean that I do not have, as President, the legal right to do so, I do, but I have so far chosen not to!”

Trump’s tweet followed a remarkable interview with ABC News, in which Barr said, “I think it’s time to stop the tweeting about Department of Justice criminal cases,” adding that such statements “about the department, about people in the department, our men and women here, about cases pending here, and about judges before whom we have cases, make it impossible for me to do my job and to assure the courts and the prosecutors and the department that we’re doing our work with integrity.”

Quote of the Day

February 14, 2020 at 9:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“If you’re asking me a hypothetical about whether this Republican Senate would confirm a member of the Supreme Court due to a vacancy created this year — yeah, we would fill it.”

— Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY), on Fox News.

Trump Raged When Comey Wasn’t Charged

February 14, 2020 at 8:18 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

When the Justice Department decided not to charge former FBI Director James Comey with criminal charges “that sent Trump into a rage,” the Washington Post reports.

“He complained so loudly and swore so frequently in the Oval Office that some of his aides discussed it for days… Trump repeatedly said that Comey deserved to be charged.”

Said Trump: “Can you fucking believe they didn’t charge him?”

“Trump has also wanted charges filed against Comey’s former deputy, Andrew McCabe. A separate inspector general investigation concluded that McCabe lied to investigators about his role in authorizing disclosures for a Wall Street Journal story in October 2016 about internal FBI tensions over an investigation of the Clinton Foundation. A grand jury in Washington seemed poised to make a decision on the case last year before fizzling into inaction.”

Warren Says She Raised $6 Million Since Iowa

February 14, 2020 at 8:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Elizabeth Warren said that she has raised over $6 million dollars since the Iowa caucuses, the AP reports.

Said Warren: “Right now, it’s wide open. There’s a lot of froth. It’s going to be a long process.”

Another Trump Fed Pick Faces Doubts

February 14, 2020 at 7:57 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump’s pick for the Federal Reserve Board, Judy Shelton, came under fire from Republican lawmakers on Thursday, signaling trouble ahead for her nomination,” Bloomberg reports.

“Speaking to reporters after a Senate Banking Committee hearing on her appointment, Senators Richard Shelby from Alabama, Patrick Toomey from Pennsylvania and John Kennedy from Louisiana all said they had not decided if they would vote for her confirmation.”

Bloomberg’s Philanthropy Pays Off In Emerging Campaign

February 14, 2020 at 7:04 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Mike Bloomberg may have been a late addition to the 2020 race for president, but the billionaire businessman and former New York City mayor has for years been quietly using his wealth to build what would become a national political network — with a massive scope that’s just now becoming visible,” ABC News reports.

“Bloomberg has pumped hundreds of millions of dollars into political donations and philanthropic urban grants that benefited progressive candidates and mayors.”

Candidate for Paris Mayor Withdraws Over Sex Video

February 14, 2020 at 7:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Emmanuel Macron’s candidate for Paris mayor pulled out of the race Friday after the publication of a sexually explicit video on social media sites, further complicating the French president’s attempt to gain a foothold in local elections next month,” Bloomberg reports.

Barr’s Comments Likely Aimed at Quelling Internal Furor

February 14, 2020 at 6:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: ““The attorney general had been contemplating how to respond since he became aware of Mr. Trump’s attacks on the department… Speaking up could have put Mr. Barr at risk of losing the backing of the president, but remaining silent would have permitted Mr. Trump to continue attacking law enforcement and all but invited open revolt among the some 115,000 employees of the Justice Department. Ultimately, Mr. Barr concluded that he had to speak out to preserve his ability to do his job effectively.”

Politico: “The benign response from the White House prompted speculation from some quarters that Barr‘s message was aimed more at calming the furor at the Justice Department over the episode than actually scolding Trump.”

Republicans Snooped on Democrats’ House Polls

February 14, 2020 at 6:40 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “The DCCC was holding a polling meeting with the blinds wide open, all their information on display for passersby to see. The meeting was billed as part of their Red to Blue program — the GOP seats Democrats are trying to flip. The NRCC aides snapped photos, and you can see their photo document here.”

“Republicans say they gleaned a wealth of valuable intel on the state of key House contests. For example, the NRCC learned that Democrats’ internal polling shows the special election in California’s 25th District — Katie Hill’s former seat — as just a 4-point race, with Republican former Rep. Steve Knight trailing Chrissy Smith 30-26. They also had slides that appeared to show the DCCC’s favorites in contested Democratic primaries.”

The NRCC and DCCC have disagreed on where to draw the line when it comes to opposition research. The Republican committee, for example, has declined to sign an agreement to not use hacked information in its campaigns.”

Sanders Leads In Texas

February 14, 2020 at 6:33 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new University of Texas/Texas Tribune Poll in Texas finds Bernie Sanders leading the Democratic presidential field with 24%, followed by Joe Biden at 22%, Elizabeth Warren at 15%: Mike Bloomberg at 10%, Pete Buttigieg at 7% and Amy Klobuchar at 3%.

In general election match ups, President Trump would beat Sanders by 47% to 45%, within the poll’s margin of error. He’d beat Biden 47% to 43%, Warren 47% to 44%, Bloomberg 46% to 41%, Buttigieg 47% to 42% and Klobuchar 46% to 41%.

Trump Now Admits He Sent Giuliani to Ukraine

February 13, 2020 at 11:16 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Emboldened after his impeachment acquittal, President Trump now openly admits to sending his attorney Rudy Giuliani to Ukraine to find damaging information about his political opponents, even though he strongly denied it during the impeachment inquiry,” CNN reports.

“The reversal came Thursday in a podcast interview Trump did with journalist Geraldo Rivera.”

Democrats Take Aim at Bloomberg

February 13, 2020 at 9:51 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Democratic presidential candidates hoping to revive their flagging campaigns increasingly took aim at Mike Bloomberg on Thursday, blasting their billionaire rival for trying to buy his way into the White House and raising questions about his commitment to racial equality,” the AP reports.

“The sniping reflects the remarkably fluid state of the Democratic race even after two states that typically winnow presidential fields have already voted. The White House hopefuls are trying to blunt Bloomberg, who gained attention by flooding the national airwaves with hundreds of millions of dollars in advertisements and is on the verge of being admitted into next week’s presidential debate. And the lagging candidates are trying to prove that they still have the mettle to stay in the race, even if their path is becoming increasingly difficult.”

Biden Leads Field In Georgia

February 13, 2020 at 9:47 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Landmark Communications poll in Georgia finds Joe Biden leads the Democratic pack with 31%, followed by Bernie Sanders at 14% and Michael Bloomberg with 14%.

All other candidates have less than 5%.

Trump to Attend $580K per Couple Fundraiser

February 13, 2020 at 7:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump will be the guest of honor at a Saturday fundraiser at the palatial Palm Beach estate of billionaire Nelson Peltz,” the Washington Post reports.

“Trump’s fellow guests: donors who gave $580,600 per couple to support the president’s reelection, making it the most expensive such fundraising event since Trump took office.”

Houston Mayor Endorses Bloomberg

February 13, 2020 at 6:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner endorsed Michael Bloomberg for president, the Texas Tribune reports.

“The backing of the mayor of the fourth-largest city in America is Bloomberg’s most high-profile Texas endorsement yet. It also gives Bloomberg another nod from a prominent black elected official as the billionaire grapples with pushback over his use of ‘stop and frisk’ policies while he was mayor of New York City.”

Who Stole Your Vote?

February 13, 2020 at 6:34 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just published: The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back by Thom Hartmann.

“In today’s America, only a slim majority of people register to vote, and a large percentage of registered voters don’t bother to show up: Donald Trump was elected by only 26 percent of eligible voters. Unfortunately, this is not a bug in our system, it’s a feature.”

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The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back (The Thom Hartmann Hidden History Series)
The Hidden History of the War on Voting: Who Stole Your Vote and How to Get It Back (The Thom Hartmann Hidden History Series)
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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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