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Schultz Pledges Not to be a Spoiler

February 19, 2019 at 7:08 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Howard Schultz pledged in a letter to supporters that he is committed to making sure an independent run for president would do “nothing to re-elect Donald Trump,” Axios reports.

Said Schultz: “As I’m sure you’ve seen, there have been some skeptical and even downright angry comments from party activists and inside-the-Beltway pundits in the press and on social media. Others have expressed genuine fears that an independent candidate could help re-elect President Trump.”

He added: “I hear and respect this overriding concern, and have repeatedly promised that I will not be a spoiler. I am committed to ensuring that I will do nothing to re-elect Donald Trump. I mean it.”

Sanders Announces Run for President

February 19, 2019 at 6:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) confirmed to Vermont Public Radio that he is seeking the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination.

Said Sanders: “I wanted to let the people of the state of Vermont know about this first. And what I promise to do is, as I go around the country, is to take the values that all of us in Vermont are proud of — a belief in justice, in community, in grassroots politics, in town meetings — that’s what I’m going to carry all over this country.”

Washington Post: “After Donald Trump became president, Sanders began to take a bigger role shaping the party, reintroducing ambitious bills, starting with ‘Medicare-for-all’ legislation. Those ideas have gained popularity since his 2016 run, but he now faces a diverse field of candidates, many of whom share his policy positions if not his democratic socialist beliefs.”

NBC News quotes from his email to supporters: “Together, you and I and our 2016 campaign began the political revolution. Now, it is time to complete that revolution and implement the vision that we fought for.”

Klobuchar Runs to the Center

February 19, 2019 at 6:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) “placed herself firmly in the center lane of the Democratic primary on Monday, calling popular progressive policy platforms ‘aspirational,’ and declining to fully commit to them,” Politico reports.

“The Minnesota Democrat called the Green New Deal ‘aspirational’ and said that Medicare-for-all is ‘something we can look to in the future,’ during a CNN town hall hosted in Manchester, N.H., on Monday night. On free four-year college, Klobuchar said: ‘No, I am not for four-year college for all.’”

Bloomberg Calls In His Chits

February 19, 2019 at 6:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “From shuttering coal-fired power plants to fighting the gun lobby, obesity and Big Tobacco, Michael Bloomberg’s philanthropy has given away $6.4 billion and earned the love and respect of progressive-minded activists across the country. The question is whether that goodwill is enough to fuel a Democratic presidential primary campaign.”

“The network of Bloomberg Philanthropies recipients is vast, and it includes mayors throughout the country as well as grassroots climate-change, gun-control and education advocates and others who could form a ready-made army of campaign supporters, volunteers and paid staffers. Bloomberg’s political team is beginning to press the issue. As the former New York mayor nears a decision on whether to run, his advisers — led by right-hand man Kevin Sheekey — are asking beneficiaries of his largesse if they’d be on board for his presidential bid.”

King Asks Crowd to Pray for His Committee Seats

February 19, 2019 at 6:32 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In front of another friendly audience Monday, Rep. Steve King (R-IA) urged his supporters to pray for House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to restore King’s committee assignments, saying the California Republican needs to ‘separate his ego from this issue and look at it objectively,'” the Sioux City Journal reports.

“McCarthy stripped King of all his committee assignments for the next two years following a national uproar over King’s quote in a New York Times story in which he asked, ‘White nationalist, white supremacist, Western civilization — how did that language become offensive?’”

Most Don’t See an Emergency on the Border

February 19, 2019 at 6:20 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“More than 6-in-10 Americans disapprove of President Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency so he can build barriers along the U.S border with Mexico,” a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds.

“Nearly 6-in-10 also don’t believe there is an emergency at the southern border and that the president is misusing his presidential authority. They also believe that his decision should be challenged in court.”

U.S. May Open Liaison Office In North Korea

February 19, 2019 at 6:20 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The U.S. is considering opening a liaison office in North Korea, in what would be another potential step toward normalizing relations while the two sides negotiate to curtail Pyongyang’s nuclear and missile forces,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The proposal comes as President Trump prepares to meet later this month in Hanoi, Vietnam, with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un. The plan would allow North Korea to also open an office in the U.S., the official said, but it wasn’t immediately clear how strongly North Korea supported the idea.”

A Guide to Campaigning In South Carolina

February 19, 2019 at 6:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Charleston Post and Courier: ““Make nice with party officials at every level … Develop a taste for barbecue: If you’re trying to watch your red meat intake while on the trail — or if you’re a vegan like U.S. Sen. Cory Booker — good luck. Even the collard greens will likely have some pork in them.”

“Get away from the big three: Spend time in South Carolina’s three major media markets — Charleston, Columbia and Greenville — but don’t count on that alone. … Pay attention to black voters, especially black women … If you don’t have a Southern accent, don’t try one now.”

Sanders Will Announce White House Bid Tomorrow

February 18, 2019 at 9:44 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

WMUR has learned that an email announcing Sen. Bernie Sander’s (I-VT) plans to run for president will be sent to his supporters on Tuesday.

Sanders has reportedly already recorded a video in which he says he is running for president.

Rosenstein Will Leave Justice Department

February 18, 2019 at 9:40 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave the Justice Department in mid-March, CNN reports.

ABC News: “Jeff Rosen, the current deputy at Transportation, is newly-confirmed Attorney General William Barr’s top pick to become deputy attorney general.”

Harris Supports Renaming Columbus Day

February 18, 2019 at 8:25 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Kamala Harris told a crowd Monday that she would push for the federal government to rename Columbus Day “Indigenous Peoples’ Day,” a focal point for some progressives who say the holiday should emphasize the history of Native Americans instead of the European conquerer, BuzzFeed News reports.

Majority Disapprove of Trump’s Emergency Declaration

February 18, 2019 at 6:56 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new HuffPost/YouGov survey finds a majority of Americans ― 55% ― disapprove of President Trump’s decision to declare a national emergency along the U.S.-Mexico border in order to pay for construction of a border wall. Just 37% approve.

The emergency declaration is significantly more unpopular in the poll than building the wall itself, of which 49% disapprove and 45% approve.

Stone Posts Photo of Judge With Crosshairs

February 18, 2019 at 6:44 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Days after a federal judge imposed a limited gag order on him, Roger Stone posted a photograph of that judge to his Instagram page that included her name, a close-up of her face and what appeared to be the crosshairs of a gun sight near her head,” the Washington Post reports.

“Stone, a longtime confidant of President Trump, deleted the picture soon afterward, then reposted it without the crosshairs before deleting that second post as well.”

NBC News says Stone later posted a statement on Instagram saying the image had been “misinterpreted.”

Investigators Find Fraud In North Carolina Election

February 18, 2019 at 6:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“State election officials in North Carolina said that a political operative for Republican Mark Harris orchestrated a ‘coordinated, unlawful, and substantially resourced absentee ballot scheme’ in the 9th Congressional District last year, hiding evidence of the operation as it unfolded and obstructing the state’s investigation after the election,” the Washington Post reports.

“Those explosive charges opened an evidentiary hearing in Raleigh Monday, where the North Carolina State Board of Elections began listening to witness testimony to decide whether enough ballots were tampered with to taint the outcome of the 9th District race.”

The Charlotte Observer has more on the hearing.

Warren to Introduce Universal Child Care Proposal

February 18, 2019 at 6:42 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “will unveil a major new initiative on Tuesday designed to make sure every family can afford high-quality child care,” the HuffPost reports.

“The plan seeks to make access to child care universal… by offering federal funds to providers that offer care at their facilities on a sliding income scale. No family would have to spend more than 7 percent of its household income on child care, no matter the number of kids. Families with incomes below twice the poverty line, which is roughly $50,000 a year for a family of four, would pay nothing.”

Trump Confidant Says Dan Coats Could Be Fired

February 18, 2019 at 6:17 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Chris Ruddy, the founder of the conservative outlet Newsmax and a confidant of President Trump’s, told CNN that — based on what he’s been told by White House sources — he believes Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats could be fired for attacking the administration’s stance on North Korea.

‘I Am Not a Democratic Socialist’

February 18, 2019 at 5:09 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), visiting New Hampshire for the first time in her life, distanced herself from the last candidate to win this state’s Democratic presidential primary, saying she was “not a democratic socialist” like Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), the New York Times reports.

Said Harris: “The people of New Hampshire will tell me what’s required to compete in New Hampshire, but I will tell you I am not a democratic socialist.”

13 States File Lawsuit Over Trump’s ‘National Emergency’

February 18, 2019 at 2:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

California Attorney General Xavier Becerra told NBC News that California and a dozen other states are filing a lawsuit challenging President Trump’s national emergency declaration.

Said Becerra: “The president admitted that there’s not a basis for the declaration, he admitted there’s no crisis at the border, he’s now trying to rob funds that were allocated by Congress legally to the various states and people of our states.”

He added: “The separation of powers is being violated, we’re going to go out there and make sure that Donald Trump cannot steal money from the states and people who need them, since we paid the taxpayer dollars to Washington, D.C. to get those services.”