Wonk Wire takes a look at campaign finance disclosures.
Mike Huckabee Ponders Topless Women
Mike Huckabee said that it’s getting harder to keep up with feminists who, on one hand, call tabloids regularly featuring topless models “sexist,” and on the other hand fill “the internet with topless photos of themselves” to protest public nudity laws, BuzzFeed reports.
Said Huckabee: “It’s getting harder to keep up with what you’re supposed to believe to be a good feminist… Are topless photos of women an offensive display of sexism, or an empowering display against sexism? I have a feeling most men don’t care much either way.”
Quote of the Day
“It’s not nation-building. We are assisting them in building their nation.”
— Sen. Marco Rubio, quoted by Business Insider, on his vision for Iraq.
The Hunger Games Primary
New York Times: “The announcements by Fox News and CNN that they will limit the first two debates to candidates who rank in the top 10 in national polls has given the Republican Party a Hunger Games-type atmosphere. Facing the possibility of being excluded from the first nationally televised face-offs of the 2016 election – and deprived of the priceless media attention the events can generate – some of the lesser-known candidates are under tremendous pressure to raise their visibility.”
“They are imploring supporters to give more money. They are increasing their national television presence. And they are not waiting for the spotlight to find them.”
Democrats Find Success in Recruiting for Senate
The Fix: “Senate Democrats are having a very good 2015. The party has recruited top-tier candidates in each of the four most competitive seats up next November and have another four solid candidates in Republican-held seats that could help them expand the national playing field as they try to retake the Senate after two years in the minority. In most of these states — though not all — the preferred Democratic nominee has no serious primary challenge or even the prospect of one looming.”
O’Malley Once Urged Move to Center
Martin O’Malley (D), “who has tried to seize the progressive mantle in his White House bid, wrote an op-ed he eight years ago where he argued that the center – not the left – should be the Democratic Party’s focus,” according to NBC News.
“The 2007 Washington Post op-ed was co-authored with former Rep. Harold Ford Jr. (D-TN), then the chairman of the centrist Democratic Leadership Council… The op-ed is a contrast with what O’Malley has been promoting in his presidential bid.”
How About a Science Debate?
ScienceDebate is ramping up efforts to host a live presidential debate on science policy in 2016. Their goal is to get candidates on the record on issues such as human health, climate change, space exploration and more.
Over 42K supporters — including lawmakers, Nobel laureates, over 100 university presidents, and many organizations — have signed the petition so far.
Walker Holds Slim Lead in Iowa
A new Gravis Marketing survey in Iowa finds Scott Walker leading the GOP presidential field with 17%, followed by Marco Rubio at 13%, Ben Carson at 12%, Jeb Bush at 10%, Mike Huckabee at 8%, Ted Cruz at 6%, Rick Santorum at 6%, Carly Fiorina at 5%, Rand Paul at 4% and Chris Chrsitie at 4%.
In the Democratic race, Hillary Clinton is way ahead at 59%, followed by Bernie Sanders at 15%.
Authorities Unlikely to Stop Fundraising Free-for-All
“White House hopefuls raking in record amounts of money in the 2016 presidential race are already being accused by watchdog groups of breaking campaign fundraising laws. But the Department of Justice is unlikely to prosecute possible violations and halt the funding free-for-all, say current and former department officials,” Reuters reports.
“With deadlock in the campaign finance regulator, the Federal Election Commission, watchdog groups are calling on the Justice Department to investigate contenders such as Republican Jeb Bush, who they say is conducting a charade of ‘non candidacy’ to skirt federal election fundraising laws.”
Indictment Hangs Over Perry Bid
Rick Perry will announce today his intentions to run for the Republican presidential nomination.
But McClatchy notes “unlike the more than a dozen other Republicans who are either in the presidential race already or on the verge, he has another factor at play. Hanging over his head is an indictment in Texas on charges of abuse of power when he was governor.”
Carson Reports Huge Earnings from Books, Speeches
“Ben Carson and his wife, Candy, earned between $8.9 million and $27 million in a recent 16-month period, largely fueled by book royalties, speaking engagements and Mr. Carson’s service on the board of directors for two big companies. The figures were included in Mr. Carson’s personal financial disclosure,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Bush Will Announce Bid on June 15
Nearly six months after announcing he would explore a presidential bid, the Miami Herald reports Jeb Bush will officially enter the race June 15.
“The announcement will follow a weeklong trip for Bush to Europe that begins Monday, giving him a close look at foreign policy issues that have been a central focus of the presidential contest so far.”
Just Half of Iowa Republicans Care About Straw Poll
“Republican presidential candidates who skip the Iowa Straw Poll in August aren’t likely to pay much of a price for their decisions. Only 51% of likely Republican caucus-goers in the latest Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll say they think it’s important for a candidate to attend the party fundraiser, a customary marker in the run-up to the Iowa caucuses.”
Whoa, If True
Dave Weigel has started a great series that looks at the “wild and false tales that make it into the mainstream of presidential campaign news.” It’s really good stuff.
Rick Perry Gets In the GOP Race
CNN: “Four years after his first presidential campaign was crushed by the weight of his debate gaffe and stump speech mishaps, the governor who spent 14 years presiding over Texas is launching his second bid for the Republican nomination on Thursday.”
“He’s ditched the signature cowboy boots and added black-rimmed glasses. He’s spent the intervening years recovering from health problems and boning up on policy. Now, Perry will ask GOP primary voters for a second chance.”
The Rise of Negative Partisanship
Alan Abramowitz: “The 2012 election saw the highest levels of party loyalty and straight-ticket voting since the American National Election Studies began tracking American voting patterns in 1952. Over 90% of Democrats and Republicans, including voters who claimed to be independents but indicated that they leaned toward one party or the other, supported their party’s presidential candidate. Close to 90% supported their party’s House and Senate candidates as well, and 83% cast a straight-party ballot for president, House, and Senate.”
“These exceptionally high levels of party loyalty and straight-ticket voting combined with increasing reluctance to openly identify oneself as a party supporter reflect a fundamental change in the way Americans relate to the Democratic and Republican parties — the rise of negative partisanship. A growing number of Americans have been voting against the opposing party rather than for their own party.”
Will There Be a Democratic Race After All?
Washington Post: “A once-sleepy Democratic presidential primary contest is fast coming alive as Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers fall and a diverse array of long-shot opponents step forward to challenge her. The recent developments mark a dramatic evolution in the 2016 sweepstakes, which until now has been shaped by the large assortment of hopefuls on the Republican side, where there is no front-runner.”
Limbaugh Urges Republicans to Denounce Caitlyn Jenner
Rush Limbaugh “thinks Republicans should reject Caitlyn Jenner, even if she agrees with them politically,” Politico reports.
Limbaugh said on his radio show that liberals are trying to “redefine normalcy” in an effort to stigmatize conservatives… Under this system, “conservatives and Republicans are the new weirdos, the new kooks and that is part of the political objective here in normalizing all of this really marginal behavior.”
