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Northam Plans ‘Listening Tour’

February 11, 2019 at 7:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam continues to resist calls to step down over the racist photo on his medical school yearbook page, he and his advisers are close to finalizing plans for a statewide ‘listening tour‘ to engage different communities in conversations about race,” BuzzFeed News reports.

“Additionally, a source close to the governor said Northam is telling people privately that if the commonwealth’s legislature puts a bill on his desk that provides the authority to bring down Confederate statues that he would sign it.”

Former Aide Sues Trump for Going After Him

February 11, 2019 at 6:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Cliff Sims, the former White House communications aide who wrote an insider account of life working for President Trump, is suing the president in his official capacity, alleging that he used his campaign organization as a ‘cutout’ to improperly seek retribution against former employees and keep them from invoking their First Amendment rights,” the New York Times reports.

“Mr. Sims was a White House aide from the beginning of the administration. But it was the campaign organization that filed an arbitration claim against him last week, accusing him of violating the nondisclosure agreement he signed with it during the 2016 presidential race with the publication of his book, Team of Vipers, last month.”

“The White House had dozens of people sign such agreements at the beginning of the president’s term. But those agreements are widely seen as likely unenforceable.”

Iowa Democrats Propose ‘Virtual Caucuses’

February 11, 2019 at 5:06 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Iowa Democratic Party laid out a proposal Monday that would add a major change to its presidential caucuses, allowing for absentee voting by phone on six different days through virtual caucuses,” Politico reports.

“The proposed change… would allow Democrats to phone in absentee votes, rating their presidential preferences in a ranked choice style. Previously, only those who physically attended the Iowa caucuses could register their votes.”

Harris Says Background Check Failed to Find Felonies

February 11, 2019 at 5:01 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mark Harris (R), in the nation’s last undecided congressional election, told the AP that “he recruited a political operative now at the center of a ballot fraud investigation because he produced election results in his rural North Carolina county and other Republicans vouched for him.”

“Harris said he didn’t know before November’s election that state elections board investigators found evidence that operative Leslie McCrae Dowless Jr. may have illegally handled ballots in 2016. Harris said he didn’t know that that evidence was referred to federal prosecutors. A background check by Harris’ political consultants missed Dowless’ previous felony convictions for insurance fraud and perjury.”

GOP Lawmaker Compares Gays to the Ku Klux Klan

February 11, 2019 at 4:28 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

West Virginia Delegate Eric Porterfield (R) compared the gay community to the Ku Klux Klan after an anti-gay and lesbian rant he delivered in committee, the West Virginia Mail Gazette reports.

Said Porterfield: “The LGBTQ is a modern day version of the Ku Klux Klan, without wearing hoods with their antics of hate.”

He also called the gay community a “terrorist group” and said he is being “persecuted” by the gay community in retaliation for his remarks, including receiving threats on Facebook and voicemails.

Fairfax Staffers Quit After Sexual Assault Allegations

February 11, 2019 at 3:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Two of the three government staffers to Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) and two employees of his political action committee resigned following news Friday of a second sexual assault allegation against him, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.

Meanwhile, the job of lieutenant governor is part time. Fairfax is a lawyer at the firm Morrison & Foerster, which has placed him on paid leave.

House Leaders Call Ilhan Omar’s Tweets ‘Anti-Semitic’

February 11, 2019 at 1:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“House Democratic leaders are calling on Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) to apologize for what many saw as anti-Semitic comments perpetuating the tired stereotype that Jews control politics with money,” the Washington Post reports.

“The statement comes after two Jewish House Democrats, alarmed by what they consider anti-Semitic comments from new Muslim colleagues, urged Pelosi and her top lieutenants to denounce the divisive rhetoric and take action to stop it.”

Update: She has now apologized.

Scott Will No Longer Keep Assets In Blind Trust

February 11, 2019 at 12:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Rick Scott (R-FL) “will no longer keep his vast wealth in a blind trust, like he did during his eight years as Florida’s governor,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.

“Instead, Scott said he will report his assets to the public in annual financial disclosure forms required of all members of Congress. He didn’t elaborate further.”

Fox News Host Hasn’t Washed Hands for a Decade

February 11, 2019 at 12:40 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Fox News host Pete Hegseth confessed on air that he has not washed his hands for 10 years because “germs are not a real thing,” the BBC reports.

“Speaking on Fox and Friends, Hegseth said the infectious micro-organisms did not exist because they could not be seen with the naked eye.”

Has Beto O’Rourke Waited Too Long?

February 11, 2019 at 12:27 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Dallas Morning News: “Three months ago, in the afterglow of the Texas Senate contest and with few marquee candidates officially running for president as Democrats, Beto-mania was in full swing. Polls showed Beto O’Rourke in the top three, lagging only a former vice president and the runner-up for the party’s nomination in 2016.”

“The big question then was whether he would run.”

“The big question now: Has he missed his window of opportunity?”

Mueller Believes Manafort Kept Lying to Get a Pardon

February 11, 2019 at 12:22 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Last week’s release of the court transcript of a pre-sentencing hearing shows that special counsel Robert Mueller’s team was deeply concerned that Paul Manafort – after he had pleaded guilty and agreed to cooperate them – continued to lie in hopes of receiving a pardon from President Trump, TPM reports.

As prosecutor Andrew Weissmann explained to U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson regarding why the government decided that Manafort has breached his plea agreement, “there was an unusual factor.”

Flashback Quote of the Day

February 11, 2019 at 11:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Because I did not do my job then, I helped kill 4,000 Americans, and I will go to my grave regretting that.”

— Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), quoted by the Raleigh News & Observer in 2015 on voting to authorize the Iraq war.

Jones died yesterday.

The New Rules of Political Design

February 11, 2019 at 11:26 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

CNN: “If there are any emerging design trends among the initial 2020 campaign logos, it’s the use of words over symbols, and the embrace of color outside of the traditional red, white, and blue. Gone are the patriotic single-letter presidential logos popularized over the past decade.”

Harris Backs Legalization of Marijuana

February 11, 2019 at 11:09 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “called for the legalization of marijuana at a federal level in a Monday morning interview, making her the latest 2020 contender to weigh in on an issue that has become front-and-center as the presidential campaign season begins,” Politico reports.

When asked if she opposed legalization, Harris said: “Half my family’s from Jamaica. Are you kidding me?”

She added: “Listen, I think it gives a lot of people joy. And we need more joy.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

February 11, 2019 at 10:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“We’re starting in Wisconsin because, as you remember, there wasn’t a lot of campaigning in Wisconsin in 2016. With me, that changes… I’m going to be there a lot.”

— Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), quoted by the Washington Post, on her first presidential campaign stops.

Harris Defends Her ‘Blackness’

February 11, 2019 at 10:02 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) “directly confronted critics Monday who have questioned her black heritage, her record incarcerating minorities as a prosecutor and her decision to marry a white man,” CNN reports.

Said Harris: “So I was born in Oakland, and raised in the United States except for the years that I was in high school in Montreal, Canada. And look, this is the same thing they did to Barack. This is not new to us and so I think that we know what they are trying to do.”

She added: “They are trying to do what has been happening over the last two years, which is powerful voices trying to sow hate and division, and so we need to recognize when we’re being played.”

Tennessee Tries Again to Prohibit Same-Sex Weddings

February 11, 2019 at 10:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“After failing to advance last session, Republicans have again filed legislation to keep Tennessee from permitting same-sex marriages, a bill officials previously estimated could cost the state more than $9 billion in federal funding,” the Tennessean reports.

“The bill would prohibit government officials — presumably including clerks issuing marriage certificates — from giving recognizing any court ruling that affirms same-sex unions, and specifies they cannot be arrested for failing to comply with court orders that do so.”

Tracking the Negative Narratives

February 11, 2019 at 8:42 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

First Read looks at the 2020 announcements of Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) over the weekend and where news organizations first referred to each candidate’s negative narrative.

Warren and her Native American controversy:

New York Times: 14th paragraph
Washington Post: first paragraph
Politico: in headline

Klobuchar and her staff controversy:

New York Times: 8th paragraph
Washington Post: 17th paragraph
Politico: 8th paragraph