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Republicans Follow Trump on Climate Change

December 3, 2018 at 2:18 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “As President Trump’s rejection of climate science isolates the United States on the world stage, illustrated by the small U.S. delegation dispatched to this week’s United Nations climate summit in Poland, he has also presided over a transformation in the Republican Party — placing climate change skepticism squarely in the GOP’s ideological mainstream.”

“Where the last Republican president, George W. Bush, acknowledged that the Earth was warming and that ‘an increase in greenhouse gases caused by humans is contributing to the problem,’ the prevailing GOP view expressed on the campaign trail this year and espoused by many members of Congress is built on the false premise that climate science is an open question.”

“The small number of voices supporting the science have been largely drowned out.”

Party Leaders Duped Voters with ‘Dubious’ Midterm Ads

December 3, 2018 at 1:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Newly elected members of Congress benefited from millions of dollars indirectly tied to party leaders in Washington. But much of that money was spent on ads that appeared to be from local groups,” Roll Call reports.

“The tactic is legal, thanks to campaign finance laws that have not been updated since the dawn of the digital age and Supreme Court rulings that have struck down limits on money in politics. But such strategies, laid out in the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center’s Dodging Disclosure report, represent the acceleration of ‘big money trends’ that have given deep-pocketed groups outsize influence over elections and made the 2018 midterms the most expensive in American history.”

Iowa Democrats Want the Next Generation

December 3, 2018 at 12:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “Of the 76 Democratic county party leaders who responded to the survey, 43 said they would prefer a young candidate.”

“They said they want a fresh face and expressed interest in potential candidates who haven’t run for president before. They yearn for a nominee with the energizing charisma of President Barack Obama to counter President Donald Trump’s rowdy base. Most said gender wouldn’t be a determining factor.”

Democrats Signal Support to Delay Shutdown Deadline

December 3, 2018 at 12:47 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “Democratic Hill leaders appear likely to support a two-week government funding bill, according to two sources familiar with the discussions. This timeline puts the funding fight up against Christmas. An announcement could come as soon as this afternoon.”

Trump Picks Hard-Liner to Lead China Talks

December 3, 2018 at 12:45 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump has appointed U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, a China hard-liner, to lead the next round of U.S.-China talks, after the two sides agreed to a trade truce while they negotiate on a range of difficult issues, the Wall Street Journal reports.

Trump Says Roger Stone Has ‘Guts’ for Not Flipping

December 3, 2018 at 12:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump praised longtime associate Roger Stone for refusing to talk to special counsel Robert Mueller, Politico reports.

Said Trump on Twitter: “‘I will never testify against Trump.’ This statement was recently made by Roger Stone, essentially stating that he will not be forced by a rogue and out-of-control prosecutor to make up lies and stories about ‘President Trump. Nice to know that some people still have ‘guts!'”

Biden Leads the 2020 Democratic Field

December 3, 2018 at 12:35 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Harvard CAPS/Harris poll finds Joe Biden is the most popular Democrat in a potential 2020 presidential primary, with 28% of Democratic and independent voters saying they’d most likely vote for him.

Biden is followed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) at 21% and Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-TX) at 7%.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) as well as former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (D) — who are all openly considering 2020 campaigns — all polled in the low single-digits.

Kennedy Will Not Run for Louisiana Governor

December 3, 2018 at 11:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) announced Monday that he has decided against a run for governor next year, the New Orleans Times-Picayune reports.

The announcement “came as shock to Republican insiders and some who are close to him, who had said they expected him to enter the race.”

“If he had entered the race, Kennedy would have joined the field as the Republican candidate with the strongest name recognition among voters, most potential for raising campaign money and longest history in state government.”

Trump Says Cohen Should Go to Prison

December 3, 2018 at 11:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump said Michael Cohen does not deserve leniency for cooperating with special counsel Robert Mueller, arguing that his former personal lawyer should serve a “full and complete” prison sentence, The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “He makes up stories to get a GREAT & ALREADY reduced deal for himself, and get his wife and father-in-law (who has the money?) off Scott Free [sic]. He lied for this outcome and should, in my opinion, serve a full and complete sentence.”

Michelle Obama Says No to White House Bid Again

December 3, 2018 at 9:57 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Michelle Obama repeated that she has no intention of running for president, the New York Post reports.

Said Obama: “My path has never been politics. I just happened to marry somebody whose passion was politics. Just because he likes it doesn’t mean that I like it!”

Trump Hails ‘Big Leap Forward’ In Chinese Relations

December 3, 2018 at 9:42 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Whether intentionally or not, President Trump on Monday conjured images of mass death and tragedy in China while hailing diplomatic progress with it,” the Washington Post reports.

“In a tweet after he and Chinese President Xi Jinping reached a truce in the ongoing trade war, Trump suggested relations with China were taking a ‘BIG leap forward.'”

“But ‘leap forward’ is a hugely fraught phrase when it comes to China. The Communist Party’s ‘Great Leap Forward’ was an economic and social program of the late 1950s and early 1960s that aimed to modernize the country’s economy but has been linked to crippling famine and tens of millions of deaths.”

A History of Presidential Funerals

December 3, 2018 at 9:33 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

USA Today: “Since Washington’s death, the loss of one of its former leaders has united America in a way few other events can. Americans tend to put political animosity aside and to momentarily forgive a president’s faults, to honor the fallen leader and to celebrate the shared history reflected in his time in office.”

“Each president’s death since Washington has been commemorated with that solemnity and tragedy, though the specifics and form of the memorial have evolved and varied according to the wishes of the president and his family. Still, a general framework for presidential funerals has formed over time.”

The Beginning of a Nightmare

December 3, 2018 at 9:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Charles Blow: “I expect Trump to admit nothing, even if faced with proof positive of his own misconduct. There is nothing in the record to convince me otherwise. He will call the truth a lie and vice versa.”

“I also don’t think that Trump would ever voluntarily leave office as Nixon did, even if he felt impeachment was imminent. I’m not even sure that he would willingly leave if he were impeached and the Senate moved to convict, a scenario that is hard to imagine at this point.”

“I don’t think any of this gets better, even as the evidence becomes clearer. I don’t believe that Trump’s supporters would reverse course in the same way that Nixon’s did. I don’t believe that the facts Mueller presents will be considered unassailable. I don’t believe Trump will go down without bringing the country down with him.”

“In short, I don’t believe we are reaching the end of a nightmare, but rather we are entering one. This will not get easier, but harder.”

Quote of the Day

December 3, 2018 at 7:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Let’s be honest. It’s going to be ugly. When you break things, it is painful. And you get cut. And you bleed.”

— Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA), in an interview with NBC News, on the 2020 presidential race.

Last Stand for the Never Trumpers

December 3, 2018 at 7:47 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “One defiant Republican is seeking to protect the special counsel investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, another wants to toughen U.S. policy toward Saudi Arabia, and a third is warning that embracing Trump is perilous for the future of the Republican Party.”

“The moves amount to a last gasp from a wing of the GOP that has been unable steer the party away from Trump during the first two years of his presidency and will see its ranks diminished in the next Congress. The shifting dynamic reflects Trump’s dominance in the party and the marginalization of dissenting voices, even after a disappointing midterm election for Republicans in which Democrats won back the House.”

Sanders Plans an Even Bigger Campaign This Time

December 3, 2018 at 7:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“An insurgent underdog no more, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is laying the groundwork to launch a bigger presidential campaign than his first, as advisers predict he would open the 2020 Democratic presidential primary season as a political powerhouse,” the AP reports.

“A final decision has not been made, but those closest to the 77-year-old self-described democratic socialist suggest that neither age nor interest from a glut of progressive presidential prospects would dissuade him from undertaking a second shot at the presidency. And as Sanders’ brain trust gathered for a retreat in Vermont over the weekend, some spoke openly about a 2020 White House bid as if it was almost a foregone conclusion.”

Mueller Leaves a Trail of Breadcrumbs

December 3, 2018 at 7:04 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Garrett Graff: “One of the least-noticed elements of the special counsel’s approach is that all along, he has been making his case bit by bit, in public, since his very first court filing. With his major court filings so far, Mueller has already written more than 290 pages of the ‘Mueller Report.’ And there are still lots of loose ends in those documents — breadcrumbs Mueller is apparently leaving for later.”

“By making such detailed filings, Mueller is actually increasing his burden of proof — suggesting a supreme confidence that he has the goods.”

“And by making so much public as he goes along, Mueller is also insuring against his probe being shut down or otherwise curtailed by the White House.”

Control of Alaska House Hinges on One Vote

December 3, 2018 at 6:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

NBC News: “Control of Alaska’s House for the next two years rests on the razor-thin race between Barton LeBon (R) and Kathryn Dodge (D). Following a Friday recount, LeBon held a one-vote lead over Dodge. Entering that recount, the candidates were in a dead heat with 2,661 votes each.”

“At the time, a mystery ballot marked for Dodge and found by an election worker at a Fairbanks voting precinct appeared likely to play a crucial role in determining the outcome, but that voted was tossed Friday after election officials determined it belonged to a voter who had made a mistake and then submitted a new ballot.”