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Popular Vote Movement Gains Momentum In States

February 24, 2019 at 8:27 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“An attempt at an Electoral College workaround is gaining momentum in the Mountain West,” NPR reports.

“Democrats in Colorado and New Mexico are pushing ahead with legislation to pledge their 14 collective electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote — no matter who wins each state. The plan only goes into effect if the law passes in states representing an electoral majority. That threshold is 270 votes, which is the same number needed to win the presidency.”

“So far, 11 states — including New York, California and New Jersey — have joined the effort along with the District of Columbia, putting the effort 98 votes short of its goal. Colorado appears poised to join as the 12th state.”

For more: What is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact?

How Kamala Harris Plans to Crush Her Rivals

February 24, 2019 at 8:16 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As she moves swiftly to build a juggernaut in her home state, California Sen. Kamala Harris is revealing what looks like an audacious strategy for delivering a mortal blow to her rivals for the Democratic presidential nomination next March,” NBC News reports.

“It relies on her geographical edge at home, her perceived demographic advantage in the South and a primary calendar that brings them together on March 3 — known as ‘Super Tuesday’ because it is the date on which the most delegates to the party’s convention are in play in primaries across the country.”

“California voters alone will send more than 400 delegates to the convention, nearly double second-ranking Texas, and Harris, who is one of two African-American candidates in the race, is likely to have a shot at consolidating the black electorates in Southern states voting on Super Tuesday, including Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia.”

Trump Plans July 4th Event

February 24, 2019 at 8:10 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump announced that he plans to speak at an Independence Day event at the Lincoln Memorial:

“We will be having one of the biggest gatherings in the history of Washington, D.C., on July 4th. It will be called ‘A Salute To America’ and will be held at the Lincoln Memorial. Major fireworks display, entertainment and an address by your favorite President, me!”

Hickenlooper Dismisses Idea of Senate Run

February 23, 2019 at 9:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D), campaigning Saturday in Iowa ahead of a possible presidential run, dismissed the idea that he might end up running for Senate instead in 2020, Politico reports.

Said Hickenlooper: “I’m not cut out to be a senator. Senators don’t build teams. Senators sit and debate in small groups, which is important, right? But I’m not sure that’s my — I’m a doer. That’s what gives me joy.”

Senate Democratic leaders have approached Hickenlooper about running against Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO).

Trade Negotiator Clashes with Trump Over Terminology

February 23, 2019 at 5:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer agreed to modify the terminology he uses about a trade agreement with China after President Trump contradicted him in an Oval Office meeting.

The video of the exchange is quite amazing.

Quote of the Day

February 23, 2019 at 5:35 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The same congressional Republicans who joined me in blasting President Obama’s executive overreach now cry out for a king to usurp legislative powers. If your faithfulness to the Constitution depends on which party controls the White House, then you are not faithful to it.”

— Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), on Twitter.

Mueller Files Lengthy Sentencing Memo for Manafort

February 23, 2019 at 3:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Special counsel Robert Mueller has filed a 880+ page sentencing memo for President Trump’s former campaign manager Paul Manafort, Axios reports.

“Mueller does not take a position on how much time in prison Manafort should serve, but accuses him of ‘repeatedly and brazenly’ breaking the law for over a decade, even after he was indicted.”

CNN: “The prosecutors specifically note that they don’t believe Manafort accepted responsibility for his crimes, and there’s no reason his agreement to plead guilty and cooperate should help him at sentencing.”

Warren Opens Door to Native American Reparations

February 23, 2019 at 11:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sen. Elizabeth Warren said Friday evening that Native Americans should be ‘part of the conversation’ on reparations, showing a willingness to expand the debate over whether minority groups that have faced discrimination should be financially compensated by the federal government,” the Washington Post reports.

“Warren is one of four Democratic presidential hopefuls who have said in recent days that they’re open to providing some type of reparations to African Americans who are descendants of people who were enslaved in the United States, although they’ve offered varying levels of details about how the goal would be achieved.”

House Preps Subpoena on Family Separation Docs

February 23, 2019 at 10:28 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“House Democrats are laying the groundwork to subpoena the Trump administration for a trove of documents relating to its controversial migrant family separation policy at the border,” Politico reports.

“The House Oversight Committee will vote next Tuesday to authorize three subpoenas for the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, and Health and Human Services, teeing up the first subpoena of the panel’s new Democratic majority.”

Republican Silent on Voter Fraud Scheme Tied to Party

February 23, 2019 at 8:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Republican politicians across the country have for years railed against the threat of voter fraud. Some have made unproven claims about how rampant it has become in order to pass voter ID laws and open sweeping investigations. The sanctity of the vote, they have said, must be protected at all costs,” the New York Times reports.

“But when a hard-fought congressional election in North Carolina — in which a Republican candidate appeared to narrowly beat his Democratic opponent — was overturned this week because of election fraud by a Republican political operative, the party was measured, and largely muted, in its response.”

Feinstein Lectures Children on Green New Deal

February 23, 2019 at 8:02 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) “isn’t backing the Green New Deal, and she wasn’t shy about letting a group who does support it know it — even if they are children,” NBC News reports.

“A group of schoolchildren visited the senator at her San Francisco office Friday and urged her to get on board with the renewable energy legislation. But the conversation quickly turned into somewhat of a confrontation, and Feinstein has been criticized online for the tone she took. Edited video of the 85-year-old lecturing more than a dozen kids went viral Friday.”

“Her supporters said a longer video of the confrontation depicts Feinstein in a kinder light.”

What Will Beto O’Rourke Run On?

February 23, 2019 at 7:41 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Aaron Blake: “O’Rourke’s decision on whether to run is due in the coming days, and it looks as though he’s in. But what exactly will he run on? We tend to judge candidates like O’Rourke relative to whom they’re running against — in O’Rourke’s case in 2018, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX). But is he really the liberal hero Democrats are looking for, or just the guy they really wanted to unseat Cruz?”

“O’Rourke didn’t exactly run on a hugely liberal platform, and there will be pressure to define himself almost immediately if he gets in.”

Average Tax Refunds Down Double-Digits

February 23, 2019 at 7:40 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Average tax refund amounts are down double-digits compared to last year, according to the latest batch of weekly IRS data about the 2019 tax-filing season released late Friday,” The Hill reports.

“The average refund through Feb. 15 was $2,640, which is 16.7 percent smaller than the average refund through Feb. 16, 2018, according to the IRS data.”

Murkowski Will Oppose Trump Emergency Order

February 23, 2019 at 6:33 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) said she is likely to support a resolution of disapproval over President Trump’s declaration of a national emergency to secure more money for a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border, the Anchorage Daily News reports.

Manafort Filing Still Not Public

February 23, 2019 at 6:28 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The public will have to wait a little longer to read Paul Manafort’s sentencing memo from special counsel Robert Mueller,” CNN reports.

“The critical filing had a midnight Friday deadline set by the federal court, but the report was not publicly released.”

Associated Press: “Mueller’s team was to have weighed in by the end of the day Friday on Manafort’s punishment in one of his two criminal cases. But the memo was not publicly filed by midnight Friday, an indication that the document includes sensitive information and that prosecutors are seeking a judge’s approval to redact, or black out, that material.”

Biden Sees Opening In Democratic Field on Foreign Policy

February 23, 2019 at 6:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

ABC News: “In speeches over the past month, Biden sought to position himself as an authoritative counterweight to President Trump’s isolationist and nationalistic impulses.”

“The moves reflect the vulnerabilities the 76-year-old Biden could face in a crowded primary with rivals who are decades younger and looking to appeal to the party’s liberal base. In that kind of race, Biden could carve out space as a battle-tested statesman with the experience to stabilize America’s role in the world.”

Some Democrats Worried About Party’s Drift to the Left

February 23, 2019 at 6:22 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Reuters: “Party activists have been energized as Cory Booker, Kirsten Gillibrand, Kamala Harris and other candidates endorsed plans to provide Medicare coverage to every American, some form of tuition-free college, a national $15 minimum wage and the so-called ‘Green New Deal’ advocated by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.”

“But Trump and his allies in the Republican Party have seized on those stances to attack the Democratic 2020 field as outside the American political mainstream — a claim the president plans to make throughout his re-election campaign, according to sources with knowledge of his strategy.”

“Some Democrats fear the argument has potency. They worry the primary may produce a nominee who will not appeal to centrist working and middle-class voters who voted for Trump in 2016 but whom Democrats believe they can win back.”

Politico: 2020 Democrats’ progressive gamble about to get real.

The 6 Essential Cons that Define Trump’s Success

February 22, 2019 at 9:34 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Greenberg: “Nearly four decades ago, Donald Trump deceived me into including him on the first Forbes 400 list of the richest Americans. He claimed a net worth of $100 million but was actually worth less than a tenth of that. Last week, President Trump declared a national state of emergency to bypass the constitutional budgeting powers of Congress and divert money to build a wall on the border with Mexico. What do these acts have in common? Only that they are the first and latest entries on the continuum of cons that have defined Trump’s success.”

“A real estate insider told me back in the 1980s that Trump’s win-at-all-costs father, Fred, ‘loves a crook and he loves a showman.’ Donald Trump has built his extraordinary career by exhibiting the characteristics of both. He is a self-promoter willing to lie, swindle and destroy to advance his insatiable self-interest. I am not the first journalist to observe that for Trump, the ‘Art of the Deal’ has been the art of the con. But as the first journalist to enable the consummate con man’s career-boosting deceptions, I have a completist’s view of the pernicious racket that is his playbook. Here, in roughly chronological order, are the six essential cons around which Trump has built and sustained his success.”