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Ellison May Step Down as Deputy DNC Chairman

October 3, 2018 at 5:14 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) told WCCO that he’s considering stepping down from his role as deputy DNC chairman to focus on his bid to become the Minnesota’s attorney general.

Said Ellison: “I need to put 100 percent of my time, energy and resources into the race and into my office, and so it’s something I am taking consideration on. I’ll put it like this though, I’ll be 110 percent for Minnesota all the time every time without fail, so that’s something that we are beginning to evaluate right now.”

The Fifth Risk

October 3, 2018 at 4:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just published: The Fifth Risk by Michael Lewis.

The Guardian has an excerpt:

Not long after the people on TV announced that Trump had won Pennsylvania, Jared Kushner grabbed Christie anxiously and said: “We have to have a transition meeting tomorrow morning!” Even before that meeting, Christie had made sure that Trump knew the protocol for his discussions with foreign leaders. The transition team had prepared a document to let him know how these were meant to go. The first few calls were easy – the very first was always with the prime minister of Great Britain – but two dozen calls in you were talking to some kleptocrat and tiptoeing around sensitive security issues. Before any of the calls could be made, however, the president of Egypt called in to the switchboard at Trump Tower and somehow got the operator to put him straight through to Trump. “Trump was like … I love the Bangles! You know that song Walk Like an Egyptian?” recalled one of his advisers on the scene.

That had been the first hint Christie had of trouble.

Vice

October 3, 2018 at 4:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Vice, a new movie from Adam McKay, looks at “the epic story about how a bureaucratic Washington insider quietly became the most powerful man in the world as Vice-President to George W. Bush.”

What an amazing cast: Christian Bale as Cheney, Steve Carell as Donald Rumsfeld, Amy Adams as Lynne Cheney, and Sam Rockwell as George W. Bush.

Democratic Enthusiasm Edge Evaporates

October 3, 2018 at 3:48 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll finds the wide Democratic enthusiasm advantage that has defined the 2018 campaign up to this point has disappeared.

“In July, there was a 10-point gap between the number of Democrats and Republicans saying the November elections were ‘very important.’ Now, that’s down to 2 points, a statistical tie.”

Trump Bets Midterms on Kavanaugh

October 3, 2018 at 2:54 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “is gambling that unflinching support for his imperiled Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, will drive Republican voters to the polls in November and save his party’s control of Congress,” Bloomberg reports.

“The president and his political advisers are so convinced that Kavanaugh represents an untapped cultural undercurrent that in Mississippi on Tuesday Trump finally dropped any pretense of sympathy for women who have accused the nominee of sexual misconduct. As a crowd at a political rally chanted ‘we want Kavanaugh,’ Trump lit into the judge’s accusers, picking at inconsistencies and gaps in their allegations.”

Senate Republicans Expect FBI Report Today

October 3, 2018 at 2:48 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Senate Republican leaders expect the FBI to provide its supplementary background report on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh on Wednesday and to hold a vote on the nominee Friday or Saturday,” The Hill reports.

“Senators said they were told during a closed-door caucus meeting that the FBI could hand over the highly anticipated report later Wednesday, though some hedged that could slip into Thursday.”

First Presidential Alerts Sent Today

October 3, 2018 at 2:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Federal officials will run the first nationwide test of the wireless emergency alert system today. It uses a type of alert that can only be sent by the president to cellphones and that you are not able to turn off.

The first messages will be sent at 2:18 p.m. ET.

Bloomberg: “Cell towers will broadcast the message for about 30 minutes and devices that are switched on and in range of an active cell tower will get the message only once during that period.”

FBI Not Allowed to Talk to Kavanaugh or Ford

October 3, 2018 at 1:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The FBI hasn’t interviewed Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh or Christine Blasey Ford because it doesn’t have clear authority from the White House to do so,” Bloomberg reports.

“Instead, the White House has indicated to the FBI that testimony from Kavanaugh and Ford, who has accused him of attempting to rape her when they were in high school, before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week is sufficient.”

Opposition to Kavanaugh Grows

October 3, 2018 at 1:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds 41% of Americans opposed to Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, while 33% support him and 26% said they did not know.

“Opposition to Kavanaugh grew 4 percentage points after the Sept. 27 Judiciary Committee hearing… Opposition grew every day after the hearing in the poll, conducted between Sept. 25 and Oct. 1.”

“The increase in opposition to Kavanaugh, facing a confirmation vote in the Senate after being nominated by Trump for a lifetime position on the court, appears to be driven by those who previously did not have an opinion.”

New Poll Shows Menendez with Double-Digit Lead

October 3, 2018 at 1:40 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Quinnipiac poll in New Jersey finds Sen. Robert Menendez (D-NJ) leading Bob Hugin (R) in the U.S. Senate race by 11 points, 53% to 42% among likely voters.

Only 5% of likely voters remain undecided, but 13% of voters who do name a candidate say they could change their mind by Election Day.

Sinema Holds Small Lead In Arizona

October 3, 2018 at 1:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Arizona Republic poll finds Kyrsten Sinema (D) leading Martha McSally (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 45% to 42% with 11% undecided and Green Party candidate Angela Green at 2%.

Key finding: “About 44 percent of voters viewed Sinema as favorable and about 36 percent saw her as unfavorable… More voters viewed McSally as unfavorable than favorable. About 43 percent saw her as unfavorable and about 41 percent viewed her as favorable.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

October 3, 2018 at 1:17 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I am taking everything into account. I think the president’s comments yesterday mocking Dr. Ford were wholly inappropriate and in my view unacceptable.”

— Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), quoted by The Hill, when asked how President Trump’s mockery of Christine Blasey Ford would impact her vote to confirm Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

Graham Says Midterms Are Now All About Kavanaugh

October 3, 2018 at 1:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Lindsay Graham (R-SC) explained his support for Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, saying the Republican Party has never been more unified than it is now because of Democrats’ actions, Axios reports.

Said Graham: “Whether you’re a Trump Republican, a Bush Republican, a McCain Republican, a libertarian or a vegetarian — you’re pissed. I’ve never seen the Republican Party so unified as I do right now. The defining issue in 2018 has changed. It’s about this.”

One Third Don’t Know Their Party’s Candidate

October 3, 2018 at 11:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds that 34% of registered Republican voters and 32.5% of registered Democratic voters were unable to name their party’s congressional candidate less than five weeks before the midterm election.

Kansas Democrat Outraises Incumbent with Huge Haul

October 3, 2018 at 11:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sharice Davids (D) outraised Rep. Kevin Yoder (R-KS) by more than $1.6 million over the past three months, “a strong sign of Democratic enthusiasm in a race that could determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives,” McClatchy reports.

Davids is Kansas’s first openly gay, Native American nominee for Congress.

GOP Sees Majority Swept Away by ‘Spending Tsunami’

October 3, 2018 at 11:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Examiner: “From financially flush super PACs flooding the zone with advertising to grassroots organizations directing money and volunteers to targeted races, around a dozen political groups are fueling the Democratic Party’s campaign to flip 23 seats and capture the House on Nov. 6.”

“In a toxic environment driven by discontent with President Donald Trump, the barrage has become too much to handle for the two groups manning the barricades for House Republicans: the National Republican Congressional Committee, their official campaign arm, and the Congressional Leadership Fund, their designated super PAC.”

Said one GOP consultant: “We are facing a spending tsunami.”

Fitzpatrick Hanging On In New Pennsylvania District

October 3, 2018 at 11:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Monmouth poll in Pennsylvania’s newly drawn 1st Congressional District finds Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R) has inched ahead of challenger Scott Wallace (D), 50% to 46% among likely voters.

“The race narrows to a virtual tie of 49% for Fitzpatrick and 48% for Wallace using a model that incorporates a turnout surge in Democratic precincts. A model projecting lower overall turnout shows Fitzpatrick with a larger 52% to 45% edge over Wallace.”

David Weigel: “NRCC chairman Steve Stivers has called Scott Wallace the worst Democratic nominee in the country, and he’s down by 4 points.”

FBI Has Not Contacted Dozens In Kavanaugh Probe

October 3, 2018 at 10:56 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“More than 40 people with potential information into the sexual misconduct allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh have not been contacted by the FBI,” NBC News reports.

“The bureau is expected to wrap up its expanded background investigation as early as Wednesday into two allegations against Kavanaugh — one from Christine Blasey Ford and the other from Deborah Ramirez.”