“I think she does the best of her ability to tell the truth but also to protect the President, and so I think that there’s a fine line to draw between those two things.”
— Former White House communications director Anthony Scaramucci, quoted by CNN, on White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders.
A new Change Research survey in Alabama finds Roy Moore (R) has regained his lead over Doug Jones (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 49% to 44%.
“What has changed? The largest difference is turnout: many Republicans who ten days ago said they might not vote, now say they plan to show up on Election Day and vote for Moore.”
Also important: “Compared to ten days ago, fewer Republicans believe the allegations against Moore. While all voters believed the allegations by a 46–30 margin ten days ago, they now believe them by only 42–38. Among Trump voters, the split was 16–51 (believe-don’t believe) in the middle of the month, and it’s 9–63 now.”
First Read: “Complicating all of these stories is the December 12 race in Alabama between Republican Roy Moore and Democrat Doug Jones. If the Senate doesn’t pass its tax plan before then – or if it enters conference negotiations to reconcile its version with the House’s – a Jones victory would mean Senate Republicans could only afford one defection instead of two. Bottom line: Democrats winning here COULD imperil the tax bill as well as the rest of the GOP’s legislative agenda.”
“And then there’s the story of how quickly Jones could get seated if he wins. (For perspective, Scott Brown won his Massachusetts Senate race on Jan. 19, 2010 and he was sworn in on Feb. 4 – so two weeks later.)”
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A blistering editorial from the Minnesota Star Tribune :
Franken’s apology is less a statement of accountability and more akin to “I’m sorry for what you think I did.” Franken may just be trying to ride out the storm, as is the case too often these days…
Franken is right — he has much to do to regain Minnesotans’ trust. It may not be possible. As he continues his reflection, we urge the senator to consider what is best for Minnesota and to weigh that more heavily than what might be best for his political career.
“What he told people was a fraud. It’s in keeping with his bankruptcies and his Trump University. He is a con artist, and that’s what Mike Bloomberg called him at our convention and every day that goes by seems to prove that.”
— Hillary Clinton, in an interview with the Washington Post, on President Trump.
James Hohmann: “Trump campaigned like a populist but governs like a plutocrat. Warren finds herself increasingly well positioned to prosecute that case for Democrats. The effort to dismantle the agency she dreamed up personally pains her, and she pledges to fight tirelessly to protect it, but Mulvaney’s takeover also offers a compelling political rationale to build a 2020 campaign around — if she chooses.”
“Many of the white working-class folks who turned out for Trump across the industrial Midwest did so because they believed he was so wealthy that he could thumb his nose at fat-cat bankers. They took him at his word that he’d be tougher on the big banks and the billionaire class than Hillary Clinton because he didn’t need to give paid speeches or raise money from them for his foundation. With a White House full of Goldman Sachs alumni, the reality has not matched the rhetoric. The GOP tax plan offers additional data points.”
Also worth mentioning: “Trump seems fixated, even obsessed, with Warren. He mentions her all the time.”
Ezra Klein: “Over the past week, I’ve been speaking with conservative tax experts to try to better understand their case for the Senate’s tax bill, which Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is rushing to pass this week. What I’ve found is jarring.”
“Plenty of right-leaning wonks will make the case for cutting corporate taxes and reforming how they’re collected. But it’s harder to find those who think the way this bill goes about it, or finances it, makes much sense.”
“What’s worse: There’s wide agreement that pretty much everything else in the bill — and there’s a lot of other stuff in the bill — is done badly, in ways that are going to create unnecessary problems down the road.”
Mike Allen: “With administration and leadership aides frantically negotiating with holdout senators, the Senate’s tax vote scheduled for late this week could lapse into next week.”
“That would raise everyone’s blood pressure: Everything is fragile.”
“The bill is in the ugly sausage-making phase, with senators taking advantage of their leverage to make demands. At least six GOP senators are holding out (John McCain and Jeff Flake of Arizona, Bob Corker of Tennessee, Susan Collins of Maine, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Steve Daines of Montana). Lose three of those, and the bill is dead.”
Deanna Maher, a former staffer of Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) “said the veteran lawmaker made unwanted sexual advances toward her, including inappropriate touching, adding to allegations by other unnamed former employees that have prompted a congressional investigation,” the Detroit News reports.
Rep. Luis Gutiérrez (D-Ill.), a leading national voice on immigration reform, will not seek reelection, Politico reports.
“Gutierrez, who has held his seat since 1993, is expected to announce Tuesday afternoon he’s withdrawing the nominating petitions he just filed on Monday and will formally endorse Jesus ‘Chuy’ Garcia. Garcia, a Cook County commissioner, had forced Mayor Rahm Emanuel into a runoff election in 2015. His bid for Gutierrez’s seat means Garcia will not challenge Emanuel again in 2019 as he had previously planned.”
Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) said that “he could oppose his party’s tax bill over deficit concerns in an expected Senate Budget Committee vote this week, but added that Republicans were working to resolve his concerns,” Reuters reports.
Said Corker: “I’m not threatening anything. I’m just saying it’s very important for me to know that we’ve got this resolved.”
Asked if he could vote “no” on the tax bill at a committee hearing slated for Tuesday, he replied: “Very possible. Yeah. Sure.”
In a speech before a friendly crowd, Roy Moore (R) adamantly denied all charges of sexual misconduct made against him, the Birmingham News reports.
Said Moore: “These allegations are completely false. They are malicious. Specifically, I do not know any of these women nor have I ever engaged in sexual misconduct with anyone.”
He added: “When a young lady is abused – and I’ve represented many victims on cases such as this – I have not seen one who wants her picture posted on national TV, especially in a political advertisements. This is simply dirty politics.”
“The Republican tax bill hurtling through Congress is increasingly tilting the United States tax code to benefit wealthy Americans, as party leaders race to shore up wavering lawmakers who are requesting more help for high-earning business owners,” the New York Times reports.
“Those include efforts to further reward certain high-income business owners who are already receiving a tax break in the Senate bill but who are at the center of a concerted push by conservative lawmakers and trade groups to sweeten those benefits.”
“As Republican leaders pressed for a Senate floor vote this week, there appeared to be little momentum for amendments that would help low-income Americans.”
Rep. Al Green (D-TX) “issued an unprompted joint statement with a female former staffer who years ago made and later dropped allegations of sexual assault, with the two on Monday calling the matter ‘absolutely resolved,'” Politico reports.
“Green and Lucinda Daniels said that due to the current political ‘climate’ they wished to ‘jointly quiet any curious minds about our former and present relationship with one another.'”
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) tells the Wall Street Journal that he’s undecided on the Senate tax bill and has concerns about “a lot of things” in the plan.
Politico reports GOP leaders are still “trying to appease at least a half-dozen holdouts.”
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“President Trump’s rocky relationship with Capitol Hill faces a crucial test Tuesday in a meeting with top Republican and Democratic congressional leaders that could edge the government closer to a year-end bipartisan fiscal deal — or a federal shutdown,” the Washington Post reports.
“Leaders in both parties spent Monday preparing to make their case to an unpredictable president who abruptly sided with Democrats the last time he sat down with top leaders.”
“With government funding scheduled to dry up on Dec. 8, both sides have floated the possibility of passing a short-term plan that would push negotiations until just before Christmas.”
“Doug Jones and Roy Moore both released new television ads on Monday. But many Alabama voters will only see one of them,” Politico reports.
“That’s because of the massive disparity in TV ad spending between the two candidates in Alabama’s Senate special election, where Jones, the Democratic candidate, is outspending Moore by roughly 7-to-1.”
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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