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Tax Cuts Are Only Thing Holding GOP Together

October 25, 2017 at 7:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “With divisions roiling the party, the prospect of a once-in-a-generation bill to cut taxes on businesses and individuals increasingly appears to be the last, best hope for a fractured establishment desperate to find common ground and advance an effort it has long championed as the pinnacle of Republican orthodoxy…”

“In the face of those divides, Republican leaders retreated to the only safe ground they have left: a partisan, fast-tracked tax bill, which party leaders hope to introduce next week in the House and deliver to Mr. Trump’s desk by Christmas. The stakes are rising by the day, as Republican donors and voters watch the intraparty dispute unfold and worry about the party advancing the legislative priorities it has long espoused, let alone holding its congressional majorities in the 2018 midterms.”

“Pressure is only increasing on Republican lawmakers, with conservative commentators and other observers saying failure on a tax bill is not an option.”

What Did Flake In

October 25, 2017 at 7:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Playbook: “People involved in the race tell us Flake’s support completely disappeared after he released his book, Conscience of a Conservative: A Rejection of Destructive Politics and a Return to Principle. Republicans say they and Flake, himself, knew he was going to lose.”

Flake Says There’s No Place for ‘a Republican Like Me’

October 25, 2017 at 7:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just before Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announced he would not run for re-election, he told the Arizona Republic that “there may not be a place for a Republican like me in the current Republican climate or the current Republican Party.”

Said Flake: “Here’s the bottom line: The path that I would have to travel to get the Republican nomination is a path I’m not willing to take, and that I can’t in good conscience take… It would require me to believe in positions I don’t hold on such issues as trade and immigration, and it would require me to condone behavior that I cannot condone.”

Flake also has an op-ed in the Washington Post:

There is a sickness in our system — and it is contagious. How many more disgraceful public feuds with Gold Star families can we witness in silence before we ourselves are disgraced? How many more times will we see moral ambiguity in the face of shocking bigotry and shrug it off? How many more childish insults do we need to see hurled at a hostile foreign power before we acknowledge the senseless danger of it? How much more damage to our democracy and to the institutions of American liberty do we need to witness in silence before we count ourselves as complicit in that damage?


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Scott Brown Investigated for Inappropriate Comments

October 25, 2017 at 7:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

U.S. ambassador to New Zealand Scott Brown has admitted he has been investigated over allegations he made inappropriate comments on his inaugural trip to Samoa, of which he is also the U.S. representative, the Guardian reports.

Brown told reporters that the official complaints related to comments he had made at a party in the Samoan capital, Apia, where he told attendees they looked “beautiful” and could make hundreds of dollars working in the hospitality industry in the U.S. Brown said he had “no idea” the comments would be regarded as offensive.

Trump Purges Enemies and Reshapes the GOP

October 25, 2017 at 7:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump “is squeezing out his enemies in the Republican Party – diminishing the power of the GOP establishment and reshaping his party in his own image,” Politico reports.

“With the looming exits of Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake and Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker, come 2019 Trump will have rid himself of his two most outspoken Republican detractors. What happens in the meantime — Corker and Flake demonstrated Tuesday they are fully emboldened now to take on the president without fear of consequences – could determine the success or failure of the GOP-controlled Congress through the 2018 midterms.”

“But in the short-term, there is no question: Trump, and his former strategist and now-Breitbart chief Steve Bannon, are winning. The casualty list of Trump critics is bleeding over to the House.”

James Hohmann: “Purges like this are always bloody. If they knew American political history better, Nick Ayers, Sean Hannity and Bannon might be a little more careful about what they wish for.”

Over 500 Military Officials Sanctioned for Misconduct

October 25, 2017 at 6:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

USA Today: “Since 2013, military investigators have documented at least 500 cases of serious misconduct among its generals, admirals and senior civilians, almost half of those instances involving personal or ethical lapses.”

“Many cases involve sex scandals, including a promiscuous Army general who led a swinging lifestyle, another who lived rent-free in the home of a defense contractor after his affair fell apart and another who is under investigation for sending steamy Facebook messages to the wife of an enlisted soldier on his post. Yet despite the widespread abuses, the Pentagon does no trend analysis to determine whether the problem is worsening, nor does it regularly announce punishments for generals and admirals — all public figures.”

Done with the Republican Party

October 24, 2017 at 11:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Max Boot, writing for Foreign Policy:

It becomes ever harder to disagree with the verdict of foreign-policy sage Robert Kagan, like me an erstwhile Republican, who writes that the GOP in its current form is doomed and that Republicans who cannot stomach Trumpism “should change their registration and start voting for Democratic moderates and centrists, as some Republicans did in Virginia recently, to give them a leg up in their fight against the party’s left wing.” As I’ve explained before, I have my qualms about the Democratic Party, which is lurching to the left, but I am done, done, done with the GOP after more than 30 years as a loyal Republican.

This is truly Trump’s party, and that leaves me to root for Democrats to win a landslide victory in the midterm elections next fall. I have my differences with many Democratic candidates, but on the most important issue facing our nation — whether Trump is fit for office — they are right and Republicans are a disgrace.

Pence Vote Strikes Down Consumer Rule

October 24, 2017 at 11:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Senate Republicans voted to strike down a sweeping new rule that would have allowed millions of Americans to band together in class-action lawsuits against financial institutions,” the New York Times reports.

“The overturning of the rule, with Vice President Mike Pence breaking a 50-to-50 tie, will further loosen regulation of Wall Street as the Trump administration and Republicans move to roll back Obama-era policies enacted in the wake of the 2008 economic crisis. By defeating the rule, Republicans are dismantling a major effort of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the watchdog created by Congress in the aftermath of the mortgage mess.”

Clinton, DNC Funded Research that Led to Russia Dossier

October 24, 2017 at 6:32 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Clinton campaign and DNC “helped fund research that resulted in a now-famous dossier containing allegations about Donald Trump’s connections to Russia and possible coordination between his campaign and the Kremlin,” the Washington Post reports.

“Marc Elias, a lawyer representing the Clinton campaign and the DNC, retained Fusion GPS, a Washington firm, to conduct the research. Fusion GPS hired dossier author Christopher Steele, a former British intelligence officer with ties to the FBI and the U.S. intelligence community.”

“Fusion GPS gave Steele’s reports and other research documents to Elias, the people familiar with the matter said. It is unclear how or how much of that information was shared with the campaign and DNC, and who in those organizations was aware of the roles of Fusion GPS and Steele. One person close to the matter said the campaign and the DNC weren’t informed of Fusion GPS’s role by the law firm.”

Flake Was a Goner

October 24, 2017 at 6:15 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Swan: “Flake was dead. Everybody knew it, including Republican leadership and the NRSC. The public polls showed he was going to lose badly to Kelli Ward and I’m told the internal polling wasn’t much better.”

“The GOP has a commitment to defend incumbents but money is finite, and they’re not about to pour endless amounts of cash into a losing race. Some senior officials, including several people who considered themselves close to Flake, were blindsided by his anti-Trump book.”

Why Trump Will Probably Face a Primary Challenge

October 24, 2017 at 5:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

With multiple Republican senators now publicly criticizing him, it seems impossible that President Trump won’t face a serious primary challenge in 2020.

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Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

October 24, 2017 at 3:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“We must stop pretending that the degradation of politics in our executive branch are normal, they’re not normal… it’s reckless, outrageous, and undignified… it’s dangerous to our democracy.”

— Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), in a speech announcing he will not run for re-election.

Arizona Senate Race Still a ‘Toss Up’

October 24, 2017 at 3:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

With Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) announcing he will not run for re-election, the Cook Political Report keeps the Arizona Senate race as a “toss up.”

“Right now, there are more questions than answers. The most important is whether an open seat will attract a first-tier candidate who is acceptable to both establishment and Trump Republicans. Other candidates will undoubtedly get into the race now, but Republicans need one who brings some gravitas and fundraising ability to the contest. Today, the identity of that candidate (or candidates) is not obvious.”

Flake Will Not Run for Re-Election

October 24, 2017 at 2:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Condemning the nastiness of Republican politics in the era of President Trump, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) on Tuesday announced he will serve out the remainder of his term but will not seek re-election in 2018,” the Arizona Republic reports.

“The bombshell… will further roil Republican hopes of keeping the party’s 52-seat Senate majority in the midterm elections of Trump’s first term, when the president’s party historically loses seats in Congress.”

Both Political Parties Think They’re Losing

October 24, 2017 at 2:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Despite President Trump’s promises that Americans would be “sick of winning,” more than 6 in 10 Americans say they believe their “side” is losing on the issues that matter most, the Los Angeles Times reports.

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Top Brady Strategist May Be Indicted for Payoff

October 24, 2017 at 1:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Bob Brady’s (D-PA) “longtime political strategist has become the latest target in a widening federal probe of a $90,000 payment the congressman made to a primary challenger in 2012 to convince the man to drop out of the race,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

“Ken Smukler, whom prosecutors have accused of helping to secretly funnel some of that money to the rival campaign, is expected to be indicted by a federal grand jury Tuesday.”

Said Brady: “He didn’t do nothing wrong. I don’t know what this is all about.”

House GOP Opens Probe Into Clinton Investigation

October 24, 2017 at 1:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Two powerful House Republican chairmen announced Tuesday that they would jointly investigate the Justice Department’s handling of its 2016 Hillary Clinton investigation — a potential counter-punch to the FBI’s probe of the Trump campaign’s Russia connections,” Politico reports.

“House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte and House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy said they have a host of questions about the FBI’s probe of Clinton’s treatment of classified information.”

Corker Stopped Short of Calling for Trump’s Removal

October 24, 2017 at 11:40 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) unloaded on President Trump during a CNN interview, stating that Trump will be most remembered for “the debasement of our nation.”

He added: “I think at the end of the day, when his term is over. I think the debasing of our nation, the constant not truth telling, just the name calling, the things… I think the debasement of our nation will be what he’ll be remembered most for and that’s regretful.”

Corker also said that he “would not” support Trump again, though he stopped short of saying that Trump should be removed from office.

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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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