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Republicans Back Away from Trump at Rowdy Town Halls

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Washington Post: “This week’s congressional town halls have repeatedly found Republicans hedging their support for the new president’s agenda — and in many cases contradicting their past statements. Hostile questions put them on record criticizing some of the fights Trump has picked or pledging to protect policies such as the more popular elements of Obamacare. And voters got it all on tape, promising to keep hounding their lawmakers if they falter.”

For members: No Political Cover for GOP Lawmakers

FBI Refused to Knock Down Trump-Russia Stories

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“The FBI rejected a recent White House request to publicly knock down media reports about communications between Donald Trump’s associates and Russians known to US intelligence during the 2016 presidential campaign,” CNN reports.

“White House officials had sought the help of the bureau and other agencies investigating the Russia matter to say that the reports were wrong and that there had been no contacts.”

“The direct communications between the White House and the FBI were unusual because of decade-old restrictions on such contacts. Such a request from the White House is a violation of procedures that limit communications with the FBI on pending investigations.”


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Rowdy Town Halls Are More Organic Than Organized

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“The White House and prominent Republicans have largely dismissed the noisy eruption of civic activism at town-hall meetings across the U.S. as the work of professional organizers and paid activists, partly because MoveOn and other liberal groups have offered help,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Interviews suggest otherwise. Many participants are first-timers who echo in passion, though not in politics, the people who emerged early in the tea-party movement in 2009, when unhappy voters banded together against what they saw as government overreach by the Obama administration.”

A Few Thoughts on Stephen Bannon

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This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

The joint appearance of Stephen Bannon and Reince Priebus at CPAC was extremely interesting. Both men tried hard to make the case that despite seeming like a political odd couple they actually represent a happy marriage of opposite wings of the Republican Party. At one point Priebus even praised Bannon as “a very dear friend,” while Bannon in turn said the White House chief of staff was “indefatigable.”

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Trump Effort to Justify Travel Ban Causes Concern

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President Trump “has assigned the Department of Homeland Security, working with the Justice Department, to help build the legal case for its temporary travel ban on individuals from seven countries,” CNN reports.

“Other Trump administration sources tell CNN that this is an assignment that has caused concern among some administration intelligence officials, who see the White House charge as the politicization of intelligence — the notion of a conclusion in search of evidence to support it after being blocked by the courts. Still others in the intelligence community disagree with the conclusion and are finding their work disparaged by their own department.”

Trump Favorite for EU Post Falsified His Credentials

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Oxford University has distanced itself from Ted Malloch, “the political scientist who wants to be Donald Trump’s ambassador in Brussels, accusing him of falsely claiming to be a fellow at two of its colleges,” the Financial Times reports.

“This week the FT identified a number of misleading statements in Mr Malloch’s autobiography, including claims that he was ‘knighted’ into the Sovereign Order of St John by the Queen and called a ‘genius’ by Margaret Thatcher… The FT has found further signs that Mr Malloch — whose specialist subjects include business ethics — has exaggerated his academic and diplomatic credentials.”

Pastor Sensed ‘Demonic Activity’ at Trump Rally

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“A Florida pastor who took his 11-year-old daughter to a campaign-style rally for President Trump said he hoped the event would serve as a civics lesson — but that it turned instead into a spectacle where ‘demonic activity was palpable,'” the Washington Post reports.

Joel Tooley writes about his experience on Facebook:

As we began to leave, I knew my daughter could not possibly care less about Air Force One or the fact that she saw the President of the United States and his wife, in the flesh. I truly had hoped that she could have had that sentimental experience.

What she WILL remember is the angry, violent man screaming demonic vitriol at a child and her mother. She will remember the two ladies screaming at her Dad, her pastor – flipping the middle finger and using the F word repeatedly.

Cotton Faces Angry Town Hall Meeting

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Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) “faced an angry crowd Wednesday at a town hall in his home state of Arkansas, as constituents demanded answers on everything from Republicans’ plans to repeal Obamacare and build a border wall to funding for PBS,” CNN reports.

“The venue was at capacity — police said it held 2,000 people — and the audience routinely screamed at the senator throughout the event.”

Trump Out of Step with Voters on Key Issues

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A new Quinnipiac poll finds that President Trump’s policy agenda is not very popular with most American voters:

  • 62% to 31% are against reducing taxes across the board, even if it increases the deficit
  • 51% to 38% are against restarting the Keystone XL and Dakota Access pipelines
  • 76% to 18% are against lowering taxes on the wealthy
  • 50% to 43% are against lowering taxes on businesses and corporations
  • 54% to 34% are against removing regulations on businesses and corporations
  • 63% to 27% are against removing specific regulations intended to combat climate change
  • 54% to 43% are against repealing the Affordable Care Act
  • 60% to 37% are against building the wall on the Mexican border, with 65% to 33% against the wall if the U.S. must pay for it

Said pollster Tim Malloy: “He rattled the rafters with bold calls for pipelines and tax cuts, a big wall and a new health care plan. But while his base may be eating it up, a broad portion of the electorate is telling President Trump there is a big difference between campaign bravado and an agenda that works for all Americans.”

Cruz Predicts Another Supreme Court Vacancy

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Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) made a pretty odd prediction that there would be a Supreme Court vacancy shortly after Neil Gorsuch’s likely confirmation to the existing one, the Washington Post reports.

Said Cruz: “I think we’ll have another Supreme Court vacancy this summer. If that happens, as much as the left is crazy now, Democrats will go full Armageddon.”

Trump Calls Deportation a ‘Military Operation’

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President Trump celebrated what he called “a military operation” to round up and deport undocumented immigrants who have committed crimes or caused violence in the United States, the Washington Post reports.

Said Trump: “We’re getting gang members out, we’re getting drug lords out, we’re getting really bad dudes out of this country — and at a rate that nobody’s ever seen before.”

The Battlegrounds for the Next Round of Redistricting

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This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

Democrats have long complained about Republican control of redistricting this decade, but if they want to avoid this in the next decade there are several important races to win in 2018.

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Can Democrats Pick Off a House Seat in Georgia?

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“National Democrats are deploying resources to Georgia in hopes that the special election to replace Tom Price becomes a referendum on Donald Trump,” the Washington Post reports.

“While 11 Republicans have jumped into the race and are already duking it out, Democrats have mostly coalesced behind a former congressional aide named Jon Ossoff. It’s a jungle primary, which means that all the candidates are going to appear on the same ballot on April 18. The top two finishers will then face off in a June 20 runoff. Democrats hope the contenders in the crowded GOP field beat each other up and try to outdo one another in pledging loyalty to Trump.”

Trump’s Election Drives More Women to Run

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NPR: “Will the election of Donald Trump, who once boasted of grabbing women by the genitalia and has a history of sexist remarks, create a wave of female candidates at all levels of government in the coming years?”

“Early signs from the groups that work with women considering a bid for office suggest a level of intense interest not seen in at least a quarter century.”

GOP Lawmaker Says Nukes Could Come Across Border

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In defending an expensive wall on the Mexican border, Rep. Trent Franks (R-AZ) told CNN that nuclear bombs could be hidden inside bales of marijuana smuggled into the United States.

Said Franks: “I can suggest to you that there are national security implications here for a porous border. We sometimes used to make the point that if someone wanted to smuggle in a dangerous weapon, even a nuclear weapon, into America, how would they do it? And the suggestion was made, well, we’ll simple hide it in a bale of marijuana.”

He added: “And so, the implications of a porous border have national security dimensions that are very significant and that bear a lot of consideration when we talk about costs.”

Boehner Says GOP Won’t Be Able to Repeal Obamacare

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Former House Speaker John Boehner predicted a full repeal and replace of Obamacare is “not going to happen” and is just “happy talk,” Politico reports.

“Instead, he said changes to former President Obama’s signature legislative achievement would likely be relatively modest.”

Said Boehner: “Republicans never ever agree on health care…. Most of the framework of the Affordable Care Act … that’s going to be there.”

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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