Sen. Angus King (I-ME) praised Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) for his work on the Senate Intelligence Committee, according to Knox VillageSoup:
KING: “Richard, that was a great press conference. You and Mark did a terrific job. It’s important for the American people to be together on this. Like they say in Hamilton, ‘History has it’s eyes on you.'”
BURR: “Angus, I don’t know if you want to quote Hamilton to me, since my great, great grandfather shot him.”
“Paul Manafort has told people he is being treated like a ‘VIP’ in jail, where he has his own phone and computer, writes emails and does not have to wear a uniform,” the Washington Post reports.
“In arguing that Manafort’s July 25 trial in Alexandria federal court on bank and fraud charges should not be delayed, prosecutors said the former Trump campaign manager has been fully able to prepare while incarcerated in Northern Neck Regional Jail… He speaks to his attorneys every day and often multiple times a day, they said. While the calls are limited to 15 minutes in length, there is no limit on how many calls he can make.”
A must-read, out next week: The Death of Truth: Notes on Falsehood in the Age of Trump by Michiko Kakutani.
Rolling Stone calls the book “a clear-eyed, if dismal, blueprint for how we got here and why our society has been pushed to the very brink.”
“It’s the fluidity and grace of her prose, however, that leave the reader amazed by Kakutani’s virtuoso talent and command.”
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“The United States is preparing to undertake a review of its strategy in Afghanistan, U.S. officials told Reuters, a year after President Trump begrudgingly agreed to extend America’s involvement in the 17-year-old war,” Reuters reports.
“Officials said Trump has shown signs of frustration over the lack of progress since he unveiled a strategy last August that committed to an open-ended deployment of U.S. military advisers, trainers and special forces and increased air support for Afghan security forces. The goal was to force the Taliban militants to open peace talks with the Kabul government.”
“Trump was opposed to remaining in America’s longest war, but was convinced by his advisers to give it more time.”
Pew Research: “When asked which president has done the best job in their lifetimes, more Americans name Barack Obama than any other president. More than four-in-ten (44%) say Obama is the best or second best president of their lifetimes, compared with about a third who mention Bill Clinton (33%) or Ronald Reagan (32%).”
CNN: “Democrats are hoping Collins will defy her party once again and vote against President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh… But a Collins “no” vote on Trump’s nominee is not something Democrats should bet on. She’s never voted against a Supreme Court nominee of either party. Further, Collins is a Republican, and the person nominating Kavanaugh is a Republican. That’s normally a recipe for a vote for confirmation to the Supreme Court.”
“Even worse for Democrats’ hopes, Collins was a more reliable vote for her party last year than in any other year she’s been a senator.”
“Until their split last year, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann were the golden boys of American political journalism. Their collaboration led to a best-selling book about the 2008 presidential campaign, Game Change, which became an Emmy-winning HBO movie, which led to lucrative reporting and TV deals for Halperin and Heilemann at Bloomberg News, Showtime and NBC News,” the Washington Post reports.
“But ever since Halperin’s career imploded amid sexual harassment allegations last fall, the two men have gone from partners to adversaries.”
“For months, Heileman, 52, and Halperin, 53, have engaged in negotiations over material that was to be part of a follow-up Game Change book and TV miniseries about the 2016 presidential campaign. Halperin appears to hold the key to the project: Notes and transcripts of interviews with Donald Trump and his campaign advisers and staff… The two men have been unable to agree on a price for Halperin’s material, which has made it impossible for any project based on it to go forward.”
“Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, says it’s all about health care. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) worries about the impact on the special counsel investigation. And Sen. Kamala Harris (D-CA) sees an assault that could set women’s rights back decades,” the AP reports.
“There’s so much for Democrats to dislike about Brett Kavanaugh, President Trump’s Supreme Court pick. And that may be the problem.”
“In the hours after the Republican president tapped the conservative jurist, Democrats struggled to unify behind a clear and coherent message to combat the nomination, which could shift the court to the right for decades.”
“The White House on Monday immediately played up Brett Kavanaugh’s pro-business, anti-regulation record and is asking industry trade groups for help pushing his confirmation through the Senate… In the one-page document, which was obtained by Politico, the White House wrote that Kavanaugh has overruled federal regulators 75 times on cases involving clean air, consumer protections, net neutrality and other issues.”
A new Civitas poll in North Carolina’s 9th congressional district finds Dan McReady (D) leading Mark Harris (R) by seven points, 43% to 36%.
Said pollster Donald Bryson: “This race has all the indications of being a nail-biter into November, but Republicans should be concerned with a negative 7-point spread in a district that has an R+7 rating.”
Harris has questioned whether careers were appropriate for women.
“British comedian Sacha Baron Cohen has a mysterious new show about America on Showtime, and it’s sure to fit in fit in nicely with the current political climate by trolling politicians who hit their apex years ago,” The Week reports.
Sarah Palin revealed in a Facebook post, that like former Vice President Dick Cheney, she had been “duped” by Cohen: “I join a long list of American public personalities who have fallen victim to the evil, exploitive, sick ‘humor’ of the British ‘comedian.'”
“Vice President Mike Pence begins a campaign swing through the Midwest on Wednesday designed to fire up the base in three battleground House districts. But there’s also a secondary mission: damage control,” Politico reports.
“In the face of a trade war that intensified just four days ago, Pence is quietly setting up one-on-one meetings with major Midwestern donors where he is prepared to blunt concerns over an escalating situation that’s beginning to wreak havoc on markets, farmers and employers across the region.”
“For Senate Republicans, the rejection of President Trump’s Supreme Court nominee, Brett Kavanaugh, could foment a political disaster in the midterm elections,” the Washington Examiner reports.
“The conservative grassroots base is cheering Kavanaugh’s selection to succeed retiring Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy; they expect the Republican controlled Senate to seal his confirmation before Election Day. Failure to deliver on this vital issue to the GOP base could depress voter turnout and jeopardize the party’s congressional majorities.”
“I’ll put it this way. People forced to play defense tend to get sloppy, they tend to make mistakes. And look, if I didn’t think Michael was doing a good job, I would fire his ass…. Every time I watch him work, I think, This is what it must have been like to see the Sistine Chapel being painted. But instead of paint, Michael uses the tears of his enemies.”
— Stormy Daniels, quoted by the New York Times, about her attorney, Michael Avenatti.
Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI) “wants everyone to know she could lose. It’s an unusual message for any candidate, but the liberal Democrat from Wisconsin is sounding the alarm after Mitch McConnell and Chuck Schumer effectively declared the first-term senator a favorite to keep her seat in November by leaving her off their lists of top-tier Senate races,” Politico reports.
“After their pronouncements, major outside groups in both parties skipped Wisconsin in their initial $120 million of spending planned for this fall — triggering fears among state Democrats that the party will take victory for granted. But there’s palpable concern here among Democrats — and Baldwin especially — that Wisconsin is ripe for a repeat of 2016, when Donald Trump carried the state by less than a percentage point and GOP Sen. Ron Johnson surged to a surprise reelection behind a flood of late spending from conservative groups.”
Wall Street Journal: “Republican officials were finalizing details Tuesday on a deal to bring the party’s 2020 convention to Charlotte, N.C., making a southern city in a battleground state the site for President Trump’s expected nomination for a second term.”
“Republicans familiar with the site-selection process said party officials have moved away from Las Vegas as the convention site and settled on North Carolina’s most populous city as the top choice. Charlotte, one of the nation’s preeminent financial centers, hosted the Democratic convention in 2012, when the party nominated Barack Obama for the second time.”
Playbook: “House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy raised $12,120,531 into his four fundraising committees, a sum that insiders believe is the highest quarterly take by a majority leader.”
“McCarthy has raised $40 million this cycle, and has raised and contributed $20 million for other House Republicans in events in D.C. and around the country.”
“Since 2009, the California Republican has been traveling the country, helping raise money and recruit candidates for the GOP. But now, McCarthy is putting together an impressive fundraising resume that will, at some point, make a case for why he thinks he should lead the party. Piling up eight-figure fundraising quarters is a big deal, and usually reserved for the speaker and minority leader. Plus, Republicans will need every last dime of this cash if they want a chance at keeping their majority come this fall.”
“Donald Trump has launched an extraordinary tirade against Germany on the opening day of the Nato summit in Brussels, accusing Berlin of being a ‘a captive of the Russians’ because of its dependency on energy supplies,” the Guardian reports.
“NATO officials had been nervously awaiting the first meeting as an indicator of how Trump – who arrived in Brussels on Tuesday night – would behave over the next two days. Within minutes they had their answer.”
“This summit is shaping up to be the most divisive in Nato’s 69-year history. Normally, Nato summits are mostly fixed in advance and proceed in an orderly fashion. Trump’s first words signalled this one was not going to be like that.”
Wall Street Journal: “A NATO official said that expectations were very low for the summit, given Mr. Trump’s unabashed criticism of Germany. “
Taegan 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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