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Midwestern Democrats Want Less Focus on Russia Probe

April 24, 2018 at 2:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In battleground states in the middle of the country, some Democrats watched with frustration as their party grabbed headlines last week with a splashy new lawsuit alleging a vast conspiracy between President Trump and Russia,” BuzzFeed News reports.

“The DNC’s drumbeat of messaging on Trump and his relationship with Russia is wearing thin with some Democrats in purple states — particularly in the Midwest, where people on the ground say voters are uninterested and even turned off by the issue. The suit exposes a gap, they say, between the party’s strategy nationally and what Midwest Democrats believe will win elections in their state.”

Sessions Won’t Recuse Himself from Cohen Probe

April 24, 2018 at 1:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Attorney General Jeff Sessions has decided against recusing himself from the investigation into President Trump’s personal lawyer, Michael Cohen, but will consider stepping back from specific questions tied to the probe,” Bloomberg reports.

Pruitt Declines White House Help for Hearings

April 24, 2018 at 1:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

EPA chief Scott Pruitt “faces a make-or-break moment on Thursday, when he’s slated for a pair of congressional hearings, but he’ll be heading to the Hill without the full backing of the Trump White House,” the Daily Beast reports.

“Two sources familiar with Pruitt’s preparation for the hearing say that the EPA has turned down an offer from the White House to help prepare the administrator for what is sure to be a bruising few hours of questions about the ethics and government spending controversies that have dogged him of late.”

A White House official characterized the EPA’s response as “get lost.”


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Trump VA Nominee Accused of Drinking at Work

April 24, 2018 at 1:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump acknowledged Tuesday that Dr. Ronny L. Jackson, his nominee to lead the Veterans Affairs Department, is in serious trouble amid allegations that he oversaw a hostile work environment as the White House doctor, allowed the overprescribing of drugs and possibly drank on the job,” the New York Times reports.

Playbook: “Shouldn’t this alarm us? The president’s physician should not be drinking at all while working.”

The Rise of the Right

April 24, 2018 at 1:41 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Recently published: Whip: The Rise of the Right by former Rep. David Bonior (D-MI).

Bonus Quote of the Day

April 24, 2018 at 12:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I don’t want to get into it because I have to work with him. It’s totally bullshit. He’s already doing it.”

— Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT), quoted by Politico, on Sen. Steve Daines (R-MT) pledging to refrain from attacks and be “respectful of my important teammate” as Tester faces re-election.

Trump Keeps Acting Like He’s Guilty

April 24, 2018 at 12:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “By asserting that the government would not be able to ‘flip’ Cohen, Trump invited a question: If the Russia probe is the ‘witch hunt’ the president says it is — and if he is as innocent as he so often proclaims — what incriminating evidence would Cohen have on Trump that would give him leverage to flip?”

“It was only the latest instance of the president adopting a posture vis-a-vis his legal troubles that is both combative and defensive — and, perhaps unwittingly, seems to assume guilt.”

“Trump accused the FBI of going rogue by seizing Cohen’s records. He went to court to try to deny investigators access to his communications with Cohen. And he threatened to fire Justice Department officials, protesting overreach. Again and again, many legal experts say, the president has taken the steps of a subject who has something to hide, creating the appearance of a coverup even if there is no crime to cover up.”

Trump Calls Kim Jong Un ‘Very Honorable’

April 24, 2018 at 12:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump called North Korea’s leader a “very honorable” person and expressed hope their meeting will occur “as soon as possible,” The Hill reports.

Said Trump: “He really has been very open and, I think, very honorable from everything we’re seeing.”

Comey’s Book Outselling Other Recent Political Books

April 24, 2018 at 10:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former FBI director James Comey’s book, A Higher Loyalty: Truth, Lies, and Leadership, “has dominated headlines for more than a week, and became an instant blockbuster, selling more than 600,000 copies in all formats during its first week on sale,” the New York Times reports.

“The early sales figures for Mr. Comey’s book dwarfed other recent political best sellers. Hillary Clinton’s memoir, What Happened, sold more than 300,000 copies in all formats in its first week on sale. And Fire and Fury, Michael Wolff’s explosive look inside the Trump White House, sold around 200,000 hardcover copies in its first full week on sale.”

Hogan’s Approval Soars In Maryland

April 24, 2018 at 10:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Goucher College poll finds 69% of Marylanders approve of the way Gov. Larry Hogan (R) is handling his job, an increase from 61% in February.

“Hogan is vying to become the second GOP governor in 60 years to be reelected in Maryland, where registered Democrats outnumber registered Republicans 2 to 1. He has tried hard to avoid a partisan label and has repeatedly distanced himself from Trump and Republicans in Congress.”

“So far, the strategy seems to have worked. Seventy percent of Marylanders disapprove of Trump, nearly the opposite of Hogan’s approval rating… But 47% of Marylanders polled say Hogan has distanced himself ‘about the right amount’ from Trump. Twenty-seven percent say he’s distanced himself too little, and 9% say too much.”

Trump Voters Driven by Fear of Losing Status

April 24, 2018 at 10:12 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “A study published on Monday… is the latest to suggest that Trump voters weren’t driven by anger over the past, but rather fear of what may come. White, Christian and male voters, the study suggests, turned to Mr. Trump because they felt their status was at risk.”

Said author Diana Mutz: “It’s much more of a symbolic threat that people feel. It’s not a threat to their own economic well-being; it’s a threat to their group’s dominance in our country over all.”

“Losing a job or income between 2012 and 2016 did not make a person any more likely to support Mr. Trump… Neither did the mere perception that one’s financial situation had worsened. A person’s opinion on how trade affected personal finances had little bearing on political preferences. Neither did unemployment or the density of manufacturing jobs in one’s area.”

Koch Network Re-Evaluates Midterm Strategy

April 24, 2018 at 9:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The network of groups affiliated with billionaire conservative donors Charles and David Koch are taking a new look at which Republican candidates to support this year,” The Hill reports.

“The groups still plan to spend up to $400 million on politics and policies this election cycle, but they’re deeply frustrated by what they view as the GOP’s refusal to take up major legislation ahead of the midterm election.”

“Some of the network’s donors privately tell us that the House majority looks like a lost cause, potentially accelerating the movement of money toward protecting the Senate majority.”

Trump Almost Brought Nunes Into His Administration

April 24, 2018 at 9:10 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “The Trump team was so impressed with Nunes that, according to the transition official, it considered bringing him into the administration. A few weeks after the election, the congressman traveled to Trump Tower, where, according to transition officials, he and Trump discussed the possibility of his becoming the director of national intelligence and overseeing an ambitious reorganization of the intelligence community. But Trump ultimately decided to shelve those plans and appoint as director a less disruptive figure, Dan Coats, a former Indiana senator. Besides, with Pompeo leaving Capitol Hill for Langley, Trump’s circle believed that Nunes would be even more valuable to the administration if he remained in Congress, running the Intelligence Committee.”

“Some 17 months later, that looks to have been a remarkably prescient decision — as Trump appears to have been able to influence Nunes to a remarkable degree.”

Hannity’s Real Estate Venture Linked to Fraudulent Dealer

April 24, 2018 at 9:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sean Hannity’s real estate venture bought houses through a property dealer who was involved in a criminal conspiracy to fraudulently obtain foreclosed homes, according to records reviewed by the Guardian.

Exchange of the Day

April 24, 2018 at 8:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Emily’s List President Stephanie Schriock spoke to CNBC‘s John Harwood:

HARWOOD: What do you advise people as a matter of strategy to do about situations like Conor Lamb found himself in when he was running? You want a Democratic majority. He’s trying to win a very Trumpy district. And he says in the campaign, “I don’t support Pelosi for speaker.” How do you feel about that and what do you advise women candidates in more conservative districts to say to that question?

SCHRIOCK: We need to win. So if you feel like you’re in a district that you need other make those types of positions, you’ve got to do what you’ve got to do to win.

HARWOOD: You don’t care?

SCHRIOCK: We just have to win. We have to take back the majority, and that’s really critically important.

Quote of the Day

April 24, 2018 at 7:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“When we get to it, we collectively as a country will know it — as we did with, like, Richard Nixon… You don’t just treat… the policy standard of impeachment as a political tool.”

— Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel (D), quoted by Axios.

Blankenship Fades In West Virginia Primary

April 24, 2018 at 7:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A National Research Inc. poll in West Virginia finds Patrick Morrisey (R) leading the GOP Senate primary with 24%, followed by Evan Jenkins (R) with 20% and Don Blankenship (R) at 12%. Thirty-nine percent were undecided.

Trump’s False Claims About Moscow Could Aid Mueller

April 24, 2018 at 7:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “A conscious effort by Trump to mislead the FBI director could lend weight to the allegation—contained in a largely unverified private research dossier compiled by a former British spy in 2016—that Trump engaged in compromising activity during the trip that exposed him to Russian government blackmail.”

“It has also likely caught the eye of special counsel Robert Mueller, legal analysts say. False statements to Comey about the trip could demonstrate that Trump has ‘consciousness of guilt,’ according Pete Zeidenberg, a former federal prosecutor who worked for special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald’s investigation of national security-related leaks during the George W. Bush administration.”

“That could bolster a legal case against Trump.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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