“Washington DC is a vicious, vicious place. The attacks, the bad mouthing, the speaking behind your back, but you know, and in my way, I feel very comfortable here.”
— President Trump, in an interview on 60 Minutes.
GOP Blame Game Begins
“Republicans have begun to concede defeat in the evolving fight to preserve the House majority. The party’s candidates may not go quietly, but from the Arizona mountains to suburban Denver to the cornfields of Iowa, the GOP’s most powerful players this midterm season are actively shifting resources away from vulnerable Republican House candidates deemed too far gone and toward those thought to have a better chance of political survival,” the AP reports.
“And as they initiate a painful and strategic triage, the early Republican-on-Republican blame game has begun as well. GOP operatives connected to several vulnerable candidates complain that the committee responsible for electing House Republicans has failed to deliver on its promise to invest $62 million in political advertising across 11 states this fall, a promise detailed in a September memo that declared, ‘The cavalry is coming.'”
Republicans Fall Flat In Trump Country
“A number of Republicans running for governor or senator in Wisconsin, Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania, including several who hitched their wagon to Trump’s political movement, are behind in polls by double digits, a remarkable turnabout in swing states that were key to the president’s 2016 victory,” the Washington Post reports.
“If current polling averages hold, Democrats will maintain all their Senate seats in those states, pick up a handful of House seats and, in some cases, retake the governors’ mansions.”
Will the House Be Decided on Election Day?
Playbook: “Republicans increasingly believe it it is more likely than not that they are going to lose the House. But members of both parties are becoming more and more concerned that control of the House will not be decided for a few weeks after the election, as recounts in key states like California drag on. If that’s the case, that could not only complicate plans for both parties to organize their internal leadership teams but also throw a wrench in legislative items like keeping the government open and funded.”
Elizabeth Warren Releases DNA Test
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) “has released a DNA test that provides ‘strong evidence’ she had a Native American in her family tree dating back 6 to 10 generations, an unprecedented move by one of the top possible contenders for the 2020 Democratic nomination for president,” the Boston Globe reports.
“Warren, whose claims to Native American blood have been mocked by President Trump and other Republicans, provided the test results to the Globe on Sunday in an effort to defuse questions about her ancestry that have persisted for years. She planned an elaborate rollout Monday of the results as she aimed for widespread attention.”
“The analysis of Warren’s DNA was done by Carlos D. Bustamante, a Stanford University professor and expert in the field who won a 2010 MacArthur fellowship, also known as a genius grant, for his work on tracking population migration via DNA analysis.”
Democratic Governors Raise $100 Million
“The Democratic Governors Association will announce today that it raised more than $100 million for the 2018 midterm cycle, with $22.2 million of it coming in September — the largest haul ever for an organization that sometimes struggles for attention during battles for the House and Senate,” the Washington Post reports.
Democrats Surging In Pennsylvania
Politico: “Pennsylvania was the linchpin of Donald Trump’s 2016 victory, but it could be ground zero of Democrats’ 2018 comeback. Not only are the incumbent Democratic senator and governor prohibitive favorites to win reelection, but Democrats could also pick up as many as a half-dozen congressional seats — roughly a quarter of the seats the party needs nationwide to win back the House.”
Arizona Senate Race Tightens
“For most of this year, Democratic U.S. Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona has run what has been viewed widely as one of the best races in the nation. But with less than a month to go to Election Day, there are doubts whether she can make it across the finish line,” Reuters reports.
“Her matchup with Republican Martha McSally appears to be tightening at the same time that some voters are casting their ballots with the start of early voting in the state. That is unwelcome news for Democrats, who just weeks ago believed they had a chance to gain more than the two seats they need to take control of the Senate.”
It’s O.K. To Call Her Stormy Daniels
Stormy Daniels tells The Cut that it’s annoying when reporters use her birth name, Stephanie Clifford, in stories about her relationship with Donald Trump.
Said Daniels: “Yeah. And also, they insist upon printing my real name in every fucking story. They don’t do that to Bruno Mars or Lady Gaga or Charlie Sheen — but even the most feminist, evolved journalists, they still think subconsciously that I’m less human and I’m not worth the respect of printing my chosen name.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“Well, I — I don’t pledge anything. But I will tell you, I have no intention of doing that. I think it’s a very unfair investigation because there was no collusion of any kind. There is no collusion. I don’t want to pledge. Why should I pledge to you? If I pledge, I’ll pledge. I don’t have to pledge to you. But I have — I have no intention of doing that.”
— President Trump, in an interview on 60 Minutes, on whether he would pledge not to fire special counsel Robert Mueller.
Trump Gives RNC Chair Another Term
As President Trump builds his team for 2020, he has asked Republican National Committee chair Ronna McDaniel to serve a second term, according to Axios.
Lewd Conduct Has Created ‘Toxic’ Iowa Statehouse
“For more than a decade, Iowa legislators and staff members engaged in lewd and sexually aggressive behavior, creating a “toxic” environment and a “culture of secrets” at the state Capitol,” according to detailed court depositions reviewed by the Des Moines Register.
“The depositions, taken under oath by about two-dozen lawmakers and legislative staffers, comprise more than 1,000 pages of documents previously unreleased to the public. They were part of a landmark sexual harassment case that resulted in the state of Iowa paying a $1.75 million settlement last year.”
“The depositions detail more than 50 instances of inappropriate behavior that played out over years at the Capitol.”
Sasse Warns of ‘Deepfake’ Perfect Storm
Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE) — who’ll be out Tuesday with his second book, Them: Why We Hate Each Other — and How to Heal — tells Axios about new artificial intelligence algorithms that can create convincing fake images, audio and video and potentially disrupt our politics.
Said Sasse: “I had a conversation last month with one of the most senior U.S. intelligence officials, who told me that many leaders in the intelligence community worry that we’re on the verge of a deepfakes ‘perfect storm.'”
Exchange of the Day
President Trump was interviewed by Lesley Stahl on 60 Minutes:
TRUMP: I think I’m very tough with him personally. I had a meeting with him. The two of us. It was a very tough meeting and it was a very good meeting.
STAHL: Do you agree that Vladimir Putin is involved in assassinations? In poisonings?
TRUMP: Probably he is, yeah. Probably. I mean, I don’t–
STAHL: Probably?
TRUMP: But I rely on them, it’s not in our country.
STAHL: Why not– they shouldn’t do it. This is a terrible thing.
TRUMP: Of course they shouldn’t do it-
Bevin Throws Grenades In New Video
Perdue Grabs Student’s Phone
“An attempted conversation between a Georgia Tech student and Sen. David Perdue (R-Ga.) ended abruptly with the lawmaker snatching the student’s cellphone away while he was being asked about possible voter suppression in the state,” the Washington Post reports.
Said the student: “Hey, so, uh, how can you endorse a candidate — ”
“That was as far into the question as the student got. Before he could continue, Perdue snatched the phone out of the student’s hands, as evidence shows in a video suddenly turned erratic.”
Michael Cohen Urges People to Vote
Michael Cohen, President Trump’s former personal attorney, is urging the public to vote next month in what “might be the most important vote in our lifetime,” the Washington Post reports.
“Cohen is out on bail until his sentencing in December, meaning he remains eligible to cast a ballot on Nov. 6. The midterms could be his last opportunity to vote for some time: He faces 46 to 63 months in prison, according to court filings.”
Cohen changed his party registration to the Democrats last week.
Warren Has Built an Expansive Campaign Ahead of 2020
“During the past six months, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) has quietly built a shadow war room designed to elect Democrats across the country in the midterm elections, overtaking some of the traditional duties of Democratic Party campaign committees and further positioning herself for an all-but-certain 2020 presidential bid,” the Washington Post reports.
“Her effort, which goes far beyond the fundraising and endorsement speeches in which prospective presidential candidates typically engage, has encompassed work in all 50 states and close coordination with more than 150 campaigns. The result is a wide-ranging network that includes those running for state treasurer in Nevada, state legislature in Iowa and congressional offices around the country.”
“It is unmistakably aimed at some of the early-primary states that Warren would need to contest in a presidential campaign. She has deployed staffers to all four early primary states — two to New Hampshire and one each to Iowa, South Carolina, and Nevada — as well as to traditional powerhouses like Ohio, Florida, Michigan and Wisconsin.”
