“It has to go down as the biggest cover-up in the history of the United States. Nobody wants to touch it.”
— Recently-pardoned Sheriff Joe Arpaio, quoted by the San Jose Mercury News, saying he plans on continuing a long-running investigation into Barack Obama’s birth certificate.
A new Opinion Savvy poll in Alabama finds Roy Moore (R) leading Doug Jones (D) in the U.S. Senate race by five points, 50% to 45%.
Jason Reese (R), who is running for the Oklahoma state House of Representatives, listed online pornography in his most recent campaign expense report, the Lost Ogle reports.
Reese later blamed the incident on “human error.”
Associated Press: “Oklahoma Republicans have been rocked by a series of sex-related scandals this year. Former state Sen. Bryce Marlatt resigned earlier this month after an Uber driver told police he grabbed her head and kissed her neck while she drove him to a bar in June. State Rep. Dan Kirby resigned in February after being accused of sexually harassing two former legislative assistants, and ex-state Sen. Ralph Shortey was indicted in federal court this month on charges of child sex trafficking and producing and transporting child.”
Vanity Fair: “Of all the avenues in the sprawling Russia investigation, Robert Mueller appears to have advanced the furthest toward assembling an argument that Donald Trump obstructed justice. And in the coming weeks, the special counsel’s team will interview a former top White House aide who could verify key pieces of the puzzle. Then Mueller would confront the thorniest question yet: does he prosecute the cover-up or hold out to try to nail possible underlying crimes?”
“I cannot point to a law that sets any qualifications to run for governor. So a dog has never tried to file — I don’t know what would happen if one tried to.”
— Kansas elections director Bryan Caskey, quoted by the Kansas City Star, on three teenagers filing to run for governor in 2018.
San Juan Mayor Carmen Yulín Cruz lashed out at acting Secretary of Homeland Security Elaine Duke’s comment that the Hurricane Maria relief efforts are a “good news story,” saying, that in reality, it’s a “people are dying story,” Politico reports.
Said Cruz: “Well, maybe from where she’s standing, it’s a good news story. When you’re drinking from a creek, it’s not a good news story. When you don’t have food for a baby, it’s not a good news story. When you have to pull people down from their buildings — I’m sorry, but that really upsets me and frustrates me. You know, I would ask her to come down here and visit the towns, and then make a statement like that, which frankly, it is an irresponsible statement.”
“Seventeen months after being released from prison for tax fraud, Michael Grimm (R) will formally announce his campaign for Congress, challenging the man who filled his seat when he pleaded guilty, Rep. Daniel Donovan (R-NY),” the Staten Island Advance reports.
“Grimm served eight months in federal prison beginning in 2015 after pleading guilty to a single count of tax fraud related to a Manhattan health food restaurant he co-owned before taking office.”
Nate Cohn: “The Republican structural edge in the House is fully realized only with the added advantage of incumbency. The Democrats would be overwhelming favorites to retake the House in this political environment if no incumbents chose to run for re-election, even with all of the burdens of gerrymandering and geography.”
“So far, four Republicans have announced they will not seek re-election in highly competitive districts.”
“My colleagues Jonathan Martin and Alex Burns reported recently that Republicans fear a wave of additional retirements. And Roy Moore’s victory over the establishment-backed Luther Strange in the Alabama Republican Senate primary this week could further embolden primary challenges to G.O.P. House incumbents, increasing the chances that they step aside.”
“But without a string of retirements, the Democratic path to control of the House is challenging. Incumbents are just that hard to beat.”
Two sources tell CBS News the U.S. is preparing to announce a major withdrawal of staff and family from the U.S. embassy in Cuba in response to attacks targeting diplomats.
“Diplomats have complained about symptoms ranging from hearing loss and nausea to headaches and balance issues after the State Department said ‘incidents’ began affecting them in late 2016. In total, the State Department says there are 21 medically confirmed cases. The attacks were directed at their homes, which the Cuban government provides. The last reported incident was in August.”
“It’s the difference between succeeding as a party and failing. It’s the difference between having a majority in 2018 or losing it. It’s the difference between one term and two.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by NBC News, on the need to pass the Republican tax reform package.
A new Public Policy Institute of California poll finds that 50% of California’s likely voters think Sen. Diane Feinstein (D-CA) should not run for re-election in 2018, while 43% support another run.
Still, the poll found that Feinstein remains popular. More than half of likely voters — 54% — approve of the job she’s doing, compared with 38% who disapprove.
“The head of the Air Force Academy stood all his 4,000 cadets at attention Thursday to deliver a message on racial slurs found written on message boards at the academy’s preparatory school,” the Colorado Gazette reports.
“Chins in and chests out, the cadets were flanked by 1,500 officers, sergeants, athletic coaches and civilian professors inside cavernous Mitchell Hall. Lt. Gen. Jay Silveria told them to take out their smartphones and record his words.”
Said Silveria: “If you can’t treat someone with dignity and respect, then get out.”
David Wasserman: “The Alabama Senate special election and the Virginia gubernatorial race are near-certain to dominate political pundits’ attention this fall. But they could be poor predictors of 2018. The former is taking place in a deeply red, racially polarized state that bears little resemblance to most swing House districts. The latter is unfolding in a purple state, but the GOP nominee, Ed Gillespie, holds uncommon appeal with upscale voters who couldn’t stomach Donald Trump.
“The races that could best harbingers of November 2018 aren’t likely to get much national coverage at all: all 100 seats in the Virginia House of Delegates are up for election this November.”
Rep. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) is running for the Senate seat held by Jeff Flake (R-AZ), “ending months of speculation about her political future and giving Democrats a top-tier fundraiser with experience on Capitol Hill,” the Arizona Republic reports.
The Cook Political Report rates the race a “toss up.”
“Offering to pay back a fraction of the cost of his private jet travel has not helped Health and Human Services secretary Tom Price climb out of his political hole. If anything, it seems to be getting deeper,” Axios reports.
“Price only plans to pay back only ‘his portion’ of the charter flights he has taken since becoming secretary, HHS confirmed yesterday. That would be about $52,000, or 13% of the $400,000 total… This partial reimbursement will not make Price’s troubles go away. Sure, he only took up one seat on each flight, but everyone else was there because he decided to fly private instead of commercial.”
Meanwhile, Politico reports last night that Price also used military planes for international travel that added up to more than $500,000.
And BuzzFeed reports Price ” wanted to reopen his department’s executive dining room.”
Rick Klein: “The first two storms, it appears, were only wind-ups to the presidential moment that presents itself now. The crisis in Puerto Rico figures to define President Trump’s responses to this remarkable string of powerful storms. After first seeming to blame Puerto Rico’s poor infrastructure and fiscal crises, Trump is now praising FEMA and expressing his wish that the ‘press would treat fairly.’ But this is one where claims of ‘fake news’ will likely be subsumed by the images and realities.”
“Those realities include millions of American citizens in total crisis. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) is warning that the lack of ‘clear command, control and communication’ will cause the situation to ‘deteriorate rapidly.’ The general who oversaw the federal response to Hurricane Katrina is calling the situation – yes – ‘like Katrina.'”
Ryan Lizza: “The Big Six… couldn’t agree on enough reforms to raise revenue. Paul Ryan had one idea, a so-called border-adjustment tax, which would have raised a trillion dollars to offset some of the rate cuts in the plan by taxing imports. But that was nixed by the White House and never replaced with anything as ambitious. In the end, the Big Six also couldn’t agree on as many details as the group originally proclaimed.”
“Instead of doing the hard work of crafting a revenue-neutral tax reform, which requires taking on powerful political constituencies and working with Democrats, Republicans will fall back on arguing that the economic effects of the tax legislation will be so powerful that it will pay for itself with growth.”
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.