“The Democratic Party this week plans to name 75 people including lobbyists and political operatives to leadership posts that come with superdelegate votes at its next presidential convention, potentially aggravating old intraparty tensions as it struggles to confront President Trump,” Bloomberg reports.
Bipartisan Health Bill Not Dead Yet
Sam Baker: “Yes, the Senate’s bipartisan Affordable Care Act bill ran into some political roadblocks yesterday. The White House said President Trump, who had taken several positions over the course of the day, is against it. House Speaker Paul Ryan is also against it. And conservatives are against it.”
“The story of the Alexander-Murray bill likely won’t be over until December, when Congress has to take care of several must-pass bills, in negotiations where Democrats have a lot of leverage. The December agenda already includes funding the government and raising the debt ceiling — must-pass items that can only pass with a lot of Democratic votes, just like Alexander-Murray.”
GOP Senators Press McConnell for 24/7 Senate
Nine Republican senators have signed a letter to Mitch McConnell calling on him to “turn the Senate on full time, 24/7, to advance the president’s agenda,” Axios reports.
The senators write that “perversion of Senate rules” by Democrats, “designed to imperil” President Trump’s agenda, necessitates the step.
Trump Says He Wants Bipartisan Tax Reform Process
“President Trump suggested at a meeting with senators that the Senate create a bipartisan working group for tax reform, surprising Republicans who’ve been planning to pass a party-line bill,” Politico reports.
“While everyone in the room nodded along with Trump’s hopes for bipartisanship, there was no agreement among senators to actually create such a group, which is viewed by some Republicans as redundant to the existing Finance Committee.”
Playbook: “The ship has sailed on a bipartisan tax overhaul. Republicans have been working for months on their proposal. This does highlight, though, the reason Republicans are skittish about working with the president. You never know what he’ll do.”
Senior Republican Plans to Quit Early
New York Times: “In a sign of mounting frustration among Republicans in Washington, Representative Pat Tiberi of Ohio, a senior lawmaker with close ties to his party’s leaders, is expected to resign and take up an executive post with a business group in his home state.”
“Mr. Tiberi, 54, could announce his plan to leave Congress as soon as this week, Republican officials said, though it is unclear when he intends to vacate his seat. Two Republicans who were briefed on Mr. Tiberi’s decision said he had indicated that he plans to join the Ohio Business Roundtable.”
Playbook: “It would be stunning — and quite the statement — if he leaves before tax reform is done.”
Bannon’s Motley Crew of Challengers
Wall Street Journal: “Steve Bannon, the failed presidential adviser and alt-right sympathizer, has declared war on incumbent Republicans, particularly Sen. Mitch McConnell. From his perch at Breitbart, Mr. Bannon is vowing to defeat officeholders who back Mr. McConnell as majority leader or who won’t sign onto Mr. Bannon’s populist agenda. So what kind of challengers is Mr. Bannon marshaling for the midterms?”
“One is fresh out of prison. Another held a town hall to discuss ‘chemtrail’ theories… In open seats or races with Democratic incumbents, Mr. Bannon is backing consensus mainstream candidates.”
Exchange of the Day
Bill O’Reilly: “Sean Hannity kicking serious butt in the ratings. Tapper on CNN as low as you can go.”
Jake Tapper: “‘Low’ would be sexually harassing staffers and then getting fired for it — humiliated in front of the world. Now THAT would be low.”
Shakeup at the DNC
“A shakeup is underway at the Democratic National Committee as several key longtime officials have lost their posts, exposing a still-raw rift in the party and igniting anger among those in its progressive wing who see retaliation for their opposition to DNC Chairman Tom Perez,” NBC News reports.
“The ousters come ahead of the DNC’s first meeting, in Las Vegas, Nevada, since Perez took over as chairman with a pledge earlier this year that he would unite the party that had become badly divided during the brutal Bernie Sanders-Hillary Clinton 2016 primary.”
Trump Tells Senators They Might See His Taxes One Day
President Trump told a bipartisan group of senators that they may see his tax returns one day, Bloomberg reports.
“The aide said the remark appeared to be flippant, and it’s not clear the attendees believed the president. Democrats have pushed for Trump to release his tax returns; he departed from roughly four decades of tradition for presidential candidates by refusing to disclose any of them during the 2016 campaign.”
Salt Lake Mayor Challenges Mia Love
Salt Lake County Mayor Ben McAdams (D) announced he is running for Utah’s 4th Congressional District, teeing up a 2018 challenge against two-term Rep. Mia Love (R-UT), the Salt Lake Tribune reports.
Said McAdams: “We sat down with our kids and we told them that we expect that this will be ugly. There will be a lot of negativity. And that does give me pause. Ultimately, the moment that good people are bullied out of running for office because of fear of the negativity, then Washington really is lost.”
Trump Staffers Pushed Russian Propaganda
Daily Beast: “Some of the Trump campaign’s most prominent names and supporters, including Trump’s campaign manager, digital director and son, pushed tweets from professional trolls paid by the Russian government in the heat of the 2016 election campaign.”
“The discovery of the now-unavailable tweets presents the first evidence that several members of the Trump campaign pushed covert Russian propaganda on social media in the run-up to the 2016 election.”
Gillespie Strategist Quits Campaign
“The man who rallied Southwest Virginia to vote for Donald Trump last year quit Republican Ed Gillespie’s gubernatorial campaign this week, offended by a personal snub and exasperated by the campaign’s highly cautious stance toward the president,” the Washington Post reports.
“Jack Morgan’s departure follows a half-empty Gillespie rally headlined by Vice President Pence on Saturday in Southwest Virginia, a coal country region that voted overwhelmingly for Trump in November.”
Obama Hits Campaign Trail to Rally Black Voters
President Obama “will hit the campaign trail on Thursday to rally black voters behind candidates for governor in Virginia and New Jersey amid stern warnings that African Americans may not come out in force on an Election Day that is just three weeks away,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Obama’s appearances on behalf of Virginia’s lieutenant governor, Ralph S. Northam, in Richmond and the financier Philip D. Murphy in Newark — two white candidates in predominantly black cities — come as Democrats struggle to inspire African-Americans to vote this year. While Mr. Murphy appears comfortably in the lead in New Jersey, the race in Virginia is close.“
Cochran Says He’s Not Retiring
Sen. Thad Cochran (R-MS) “insists that he is not retiring from Congress, despite widespread speculation about the veteran lawmaker’s health and political future,” Politico reports.
“The 79-year-old Cochran appeared frail and at times disoriented during a brief hallway interview on Wednesday. He was unable to answer whether he would remain chairman of the Appropriations Committee, and at one point, needed a staffer to remind him where the Senate chamber is located.”
Trump Promised, Never Gave $25K to Soldier’s Family
President Trump, ”in a personal phone call to a grieving military father, offered him $25,000 and said he would direct his staff to establish an online fundraiser for the family, but neither happened,” the Washington Post reports.
“Chris Baldridge, the father of Army Cpl. Dillon Baldridge, told The Washington Post that Trump called him at his home in Zebulon, N.C., a few weeks after his 22-year-old son and two fellow soldiers were gunned down by an Afghan police officer in a suspected insider attack June 10. Their phone conversation lasted about 15 minutes, Baldridge said, and centered for a time on the father’s struggle with the manner in which his son was killed.”
Northam Up Big In New Virginia Poll
A new Quinnipiac poll in Virginia finds Ralph Northam (D) with a large lead over Ed Gillespie (R) in the race for governor, 53% to 39%.
Said pollster Peter Brown: “One number says it all. Northam’s 14-point lead among independent voters is all you need to know about the race to be Virginia’s next governor. The two major-party candidates do about the same among their respective party bases, but a candidate who carries independent voters by double-digits is almost always a winner.”
A new Fox News poll shows Northam leading by seven points, 49% to 42%.
Pence’s Brother Plans Run for Congress
“Greg Pence, one of Mike Pence’s older brothers, has filed a tax document indicating he will seek the eastern Indiana congressional seat that the vice president and former governor represented for 12 years,” CBS News reports.
“As the vice president’s brother, he is likely the hands-down favorite to win in the overwhelmingly Republican district. He has a famous name, owns an antique business in the area and even bears a striking resemblance to his brother, with a close-cropped head of white hair.”
Fake News Ads Appear on Fact-Checking Sites
The New York Times reports that as recently as last week, fake news stories “were being promoted with prominent ads served by Google on PolitiFact and Snopes, fact-checking sites created precisely to dispel such falsehoods.”
“The fake news ads all worked the same way: They would display headlines at the top of the fact-checking sites that, once clicked, took readers to sites that mimicked the logos and page designs of legitimate publications. The fake stories began with headlines and large photos of the celebrities in question, but after a few sentences, they transitioned into an ad for an anti-aging skin cream.”
[alert type=”general” dismiss=”no”]The inability of publishers to adequately block these ads is one reason I moved Political Wire to a membership model. Join today and you’ll get many benefits, including no ads. [/alert]
