Former Maine Gov. Paul LePage (R), “who is living in Florida, has appeared on several radio talk shows, speaking repeatedly about running against” current Maine Gov. Janet Mills (D) “in four years if she does not keep government spending under control,” the Portland Press Herald reports.
McConnell Will Hold Vote on Green New Deal
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) said that the Senate would hold an upcoming vote on the Green New Deal resolution introduced last week by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), CNBC reports.
Said McConnell: “I’ve noted with great interest the Green New Deal, and we’re going to be voting on that in the Senate to give everybody an opportunity to go on record.”
Axios: “McConnell wants to get Senate Democrats, especially the 2020 presidential election hopefuls, on the record about their support of the sweeping climate resolution.”
The Whip Count That Matters for the Border Deal
Philip Bump: “In other words, the whip count that matters here is not really what legislators on Capitol Hill think. It is probably — and we recognize the bizarreness of this sentence — more important what conservative commentators and Fox News presenters think of the deal than it is what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) thinks.”
“Trump’s mornings often begin with watching recorded episodes of Fox News programs that aired the night before and tuning in to ‘Fox & Friends.’ So here is a modern-day presidential whip count of what those programs are saying.”
2020 Democrats Face Most Diverse Electorate Ever
Ron Brownstein: “One of the defining characteristics of the 2020 Democratic presidential contest is the unprecedented diversity of the field, which already features more women and minority candidates than ever.”
“But even more significant than the increasing variety of the contenders may be the growing diversity of the primary voters who will choose among them. Over the past decade, the electorate in the Democratic presidential primary has grown more racially diverse, better educated and more heavily tilted toward female voters.”
“Party strategists almost universally expect those trends to persist, and even accelerate in 2020, as minority, white-collar and female voters continue to recoil from President Trump.”
Trump Slams Bipartisan Border Deal
President Trump slammed a bipartisan deal to avert a government shutdown while providing some funding for barriers along the U.S.-Mexico border, The Hill reports.
Said Trump: “I can’t say I’m happy. I can’t say I’m thrilled.”
He did not say whether he would sign or veto the proposal but added he would hold a meeting to discuss it later.
House Judiciary Adds Legal Firepower
“The House Judiciary Committee is building out its legal team with an eye toward an aggressive oversight agenda, tasking new outside attorneys with a review of issues that could be at the heart of an impeachment case against President Trump,” NBC News reports.
“The Democratic-led panel on Tuesday received approval to hire two ‘special oversight counsels’ — Norm Eisen, a former ethics official in the Obama administration, and Barry Berke, a New York-based criminal defense attorney.”
“Committee officials stress that the new hires should not be seen as the precursor to impeachment. But the very issues they will be focused on — abuses of power, the rule of law and obstruction of justice — could well produce threads that lawmakers could use to lay the groundwork for that.”
Politico: “Berke and Eisen have also partnered in a series of opinion articles suggesting Trump has already committed obstruction of justice that could put him on the verge of a criminal indictment.”
Trump Is Lying to Get His Border Wall
Jake Tapper does a pretty good job debunking President Trump’s claim that violent crime decreased in El Paso, Texas, because of barriers built at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Said Tapper: “The president is lying to you to get his border wall.”
Mueller Investigation May Soon Break Even
USA Today: “Some time soon, federal authorities will begin selling off what’s left of Paul Manafort’s life, a small fortune amassed through a decade of illicit lobbying work. When they do, the investigation into Russian election interference stands to breach an unusual milestone: bringing in more money than it has cost.”
Democrats Look to Build Small-Dollar Donor Bases
Washington Post: “Historically, these early low-dollar contributions were viewed largely as a sign of grass-roots support and an indication of potential voter enthusiasm. But that has changed in recent elections as small contributions have increasingly filled the coffers of many candidates — providing the fuel that allows them to be viable contenders.”
“Being able to raise a lot of money from a lot of small donors is now a test — not only of a candidate’s ability to tap this source of funds, but to go head-to-head against [Trump] and his army of grass-roots donors.”
Senate Has Found No Evidence of Collusion with Russia
“After two years and 200 interviews, the Senate Intelligence Committee is approaching the end of its investigation into the 2016 election, having uncovered no direct evidence of a conspiracy between the Trump campaign and Russia,” NBC News reports.
“But investigators disagree along party lines when it comes to the implications of a pattern of contacts they have documented between Trump associates and Russians — contacts that occurred before, during and after Russian intelligence operatives were seeking to help Trump by leaking hacked Democratic emails and attacking his opponent on social media.”
Said Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC): “If we write a report based upon the facts that we have, then we don’t have anything that would suggest there was collusion by the Trump campaign and Russia.”
Cuomo’s Job Approval Plummets
A new Siena College poll in New York finds Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) had a precipitous eight-point drop in his favorability rating, down to 43% from 51% last month.
And that may have been the good news: Cuomo’s job-performance rating was even worse, with just 35% of those surveyed saying he was doing a “excellent” or “good” job.
DeSantis Surprises Nearly Everyone In Florida
“It was a moment lost on Election Night. As newly elected Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) faced a blockade of TV cameras in Orlando, he told reporters that he had been misunderstood, or ‘unfairly demagogued,’ by political rivals and the media,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.
“At the end of a bitter campaign in which he cast himself as an uncompromising conservative who reveled in his support from President Trump, DeSantis said he was eager to move on and work with those who had tried to defeat him.”
“Three months later, his short time in office has already shattered assumptions that he would govern exclusively from the right. He has drawn unexpected praise from Republicans and Democrats.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“The tragic reality is this planet simply can’t sustain billions of people consuming industrially produced animal agriculture because of environmental impact. It’s just not possible.”
— Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ), in an interview with VegNews.
Mark Kelly to Run for Senate In Arizona
Mark Kelly, former astronaut and husband to former Rep. Gabby Giffords (D-AZ), released a video announcing his campaign to challenge appointed Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) In 2020.
USA Today: “McSally is considered one of the most vulnerable Republican senators heading into the 2020 election. McSally is a former Air Force pilot and was the first woman to fly combat missions.”
Trump Compares Crowd Sizes
When his rally in El Paso, TX got underway last night, President Trump claimed that “69,000 signed up to be here. The arena holds about 8,000,” the El Paso Times reports.
He then thanked the fire department for getting 10,000 people in the El Paso County Coliseum, while noting that “tens of thousands of people are watching the screens outside.”
However, a fire department spokesman said 6,500 people were inside the venue and denied any special accommodations were made.
Trump then mocked the crowd size at Beto O’Rourke’s rally held at the same time saying it was no more than 300 people. However, the Texas Tribune reports the O’Rourke rally drew at least 7,000 people.
First Read: “Trump sure did elevate O’Rourke – by 1) going to El Paso in the first place and 2) deliberately trying to understate his crowd.”
Trump Supporter Attacks BBC Camerman
A supporter of President Trump wearing a “Make American Great Again” hat attacked a BBC cameraman at a campaign rally in El Paso, Texas, the BBC reports.
Video of the incident shows the cameraman being shoved off balance before the man is pulled away by security while screaming “Fuck the media.”
Ex-Trump Lawyer Predicts No Mueller Report
John Dowd, who headed President Trump’s legal team during a crucial stretch of the special counsel investigation, told ABC News that the entire affair will end in silence from special counsel Robert Mueller, and called the massive two-year probe into Russian interference in the 2016 campaign “a terrible waste of time.”
Said Dowd: “I don’t think there’ll be a report. I will be shocked if anything regarding the president is made public, other than ‘We’re done.’”
Americans Say Mueller Is More Credible Than Trump
A new Washington Post-Schar School poll finds more Americans say they trust special counsel Robert Mueller’s version of the facts than President Trump’s, 56% to 33%.
And by nearly as wide a margin, more believe Mueller is mainly interested in “finding out the truth” than trying to “hurt Trump politically.”
The survey finds that 81% of adults nationally believe Mueller’s report should be released, including 79% of Republicans.
Most interesting: 61% would support impeaching Trump if Mueller finds Trump authorized his 2016 campaign to coordinate with the Russian government, including 29% of Republicans.
