Political Wire

  • Front Page
  • Members
    • Subscribe
    • Sign In
  • Trending
  • Resources
    • Politics Extra
    • Political Job Hunt
    • Political Dictionary
    • Electoral Vote Map
  • Advertise
  • Newsletter
  • Contact Us
Members should sign in for the full experience.

Fate of ‘Fast Track’ Still Unclear in House

June 8, 2015 at 5:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

“Supporters of a controversial trade bill are increasingly confident they can secure the votes needed to pass so-called fast-track legislation when it hits the House floor, which could come as early as this week,” Politico reports.

“Still, House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California and other GOP leaders have not yet committed to bringing up Trade Promotion Authority by week’s end, a sign that while pro-trade leaders in the House are closing in on the 217 ayes they need to pass the bill, the contentious vote remains very close.”

Wall Street Journal: “The decades-old argument that trade agreements boost both exports and jobs at home is losing its political punch, even in some of the U.S.’s most export-heavy regions.”

Majority Wants Court to Keep Obamacare Intact

June 8, 2015 at 5:19 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“The Affordable Care Act hangs in the balance in the Supreme Court for the second time in three years, but the public has rendered a judgment ahead of the court’s ruling. By a margin of 55 percent to 38 percent, more people say the court should not take action to block federal subsidies in states that didn’t set up their own exchanges,” according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll.

Turkey’s Election Is a Blow to Erdogan

June 8, 2015 at 4:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“Turkish voters delivered a dramatic blow to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his ruling Justice Development Party on Sunday, with results showing it losing its majority in parliament,” the Washington Post reports.

“And, in a historic first, a party dominated by ethnic Kurds surged into the Grand National Assembly in Ankara, marking a new moment in the evolution of Turkey’s democracy as well as a direct challenge to Erdogan’s own ambitions to consolidate power as president.”


You're reading the free version of Political Wire

Upgrade to a paid membership to unlock full access. The process is quick and easy. You can even use Apple Pay.

    Upgrade Now

  • ✔ Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, a trending news page, no advertising and more!
  • ✔ If you're already a member, log in for the full experience.



Quote of the Day

June 7, 2015 at 1:49 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 123 Comments

“She doesn’t know what she’s talking about. Folks in New Jersey have plenty of an opportunity to vote. Maybe, you know, if she took some questions some places and learned some things, maybe she wouldn’t make such ridiculous statements.”

— Gov. Chris Christie (R), quoted by Politico, on Hillary Clinton’s critique of state voting restrictions.

Number of Abortions Dropping

June 7, 2015 at 1:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

“Abortions have declined in states where new laws make it harder to have them — but they’ve also waned in states where abortion rights are protected, an Associated Press survey finds. Nearly everywhere, in red states and blue, abortions are down since 2010.”

“Explanations vary. Abortion-rights advocates attribute it to expanded access to effective contraceptives and a drop in unintended pregnancies. Some foes of abortion say there has been a shift in societal attitudes, with more women choosing to carry their pregnancies to term.”

Jindal at New Low as He Launches Presidential Bid

June 7, 2015 at 9:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 56 Comments

“Just weeks before he is expected to announce his presidential campaign, Bobby Jindal is at the nadir of his political career,” the Washington Post reports.

“The Republican governor is at open war with many of his erstwhile allies in the business community and the legislature. He spent weeks pushing a ‘religious freedom’ bill that failed to pass, while having little contact with legislators trying to solve Louisiana’s worst budget crisis in 25 years.”

“Jindal is now so unpopular in deep-red Louisiana that his approval rating plunged to 32% in a recent poll — compared with 42% for President Obama, who lost the state by 17 percentage points in 2012.”

Clinton Opts for Narrow Path to White House

June 7, 2015 at 9:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 98 Comments

Hillary Clinton “appears to be dispensing with the nationwide electoral strategy that won her husband two terms in the White House and brought white working-class voters and great stretches of what is now red-state America back to Democrats,” the New York Times reports.

“Instead, she is poised to retrace Barack Obama’s far narrower path to the presidency: a campaign focused more on mobilizing supporters in the Great Lakes states and in parts of the West and South than on persuading undecided voters.”

“Mrs. Clinton’s aides say it is the only way to win in an era of heightened polarization, when a declining pool of voters is truly up for grabs… This early in the campaign, however, forgoing a determined outreach effort to all 50 states, or even most of them, could mean missing out on the kind of spirited conversation that can be a unifying feature of a presidential election.”

How Hastert Rushed to Make Money

June 7, 2015 at 9:42 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

“After a relatively slow start to his career as a consultant and lobbyist, J. Dennis Hastert, the former speaker of the House of Representatives, became very busy in 2010…. He also made an unusual request to one of his business associates: to find a financial adviser who could come up with a plan for an annuity that would generate a substantial cash payout each year,” the New York Times reports.

“The request came just a few weeks before Mr. Hastert, according to charges in a federal indictment, made his first payment to a man known as ‘Individual A’ in what was to be a total of $3.5 million.”

Walker Hopes Midwestern Roots Will Prevail in Iowa

June 7, 2015 at 7:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

“In a fluid race where there’s no consensus frontrunner and even the eventual size of the presidential field is up in the air, there’s one thing that most Republicans can agree on: In Iowa at least, Scott Walker is the man to beat,” Politico reports.

However, the Wall Street Journal notes Walker’s “bet on his regional appeal comes after a generation of Midwestern Republicans flopped in Iowa’s first-in-the-nation presidential caucuses. Michele Bachmann touted her roots in Waterloo, a small city in eastern Iowa. Neighboring governors Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota and Tommy Thompson of Wisconsin dropped out when they didn’t catch fire.”

“Midwestern roots did little to boost their presidential campaigns among Iowa’s Republican voters. Regional appeal, in fact, hasn’t helped any Republican candidate win here since Bob Dole of Kansas carried the GOP caucuses two decades ago.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

June 6, 2015 at 10:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 47 Comments

“In my own mind, I’ve decided, but I haven’t made it official – that’s for the 16th. Can’t tell you yet, though I’d like to!”

— Donald Trump, in an interview on MSNBC, about a possible presidential campaign.

Look Who Pushed Bush’s Anti-Gay Agenda

June 6, 2015 at 9:33 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 67 Comments

Huffington Post: “During the 2004 elections, George W. Bush’s campaign, managed by a closeted gay man, pushed a series of anti-gay ballot initiatives across the country. The House of Representatives, led by a male speaker who allegedly sexually assaulted a male minor, moved a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage after beating back attempts to strengthen hate crimes legislation. And the White House, led in part by a vice president with a lesbian daughter, eagerly encouraged a conservative evangelical base hostile to gay rights.”

Quote of the Day

June 6, 2015 at 9:19 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 77 Comments

“Humanity has been around for at least some 5,000 years or so, and I doubt that the basic challenges as confronted are any worse now, or alas even much different, from what they ever were.”

— Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, quoted by the Washington Post, suggesting he might be a creationist. ThinkProgress notes the earliest Homo sapiens actually lived in Africa about 100,000 years ago.

Carson Campaign Faces Mass Staff Departures

June 6, 2015 at 9:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

“The presidential candidacy of Ben Carson, a tea party star who has catapulted into the top tier of Republican contenders, has been rocked by turmoil with the departures of four senior campaign officials and widespread disarray among his allied super PACs,” the Washington Post reports.

“The moves gutted the core of Carson’s apparatus and left the 63-year-old first-time candidate with only a handful of experienced advisers at his side as he navigates the fluid, crowded and high-stakes contest for the Republican nomination.”

Rubio and Wife Have Bad Driving Records

June 6, 2015 at 8:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 32 Comments

New York Times: “According to a search of the Miami-Dade and Duval County court dockets, the Rubios have been cited for numerous infractions over the years for incidents that included speeding, driving through red lights and careless driving. A review of records dating back to 1997 shows that the couple had a combined 17 citations: Mr. Rubio with four and his wife with 13. On four separate occasions they agreed to attend remedial driving school after a violation.”

GOP Candidates Descend on Iowa

June 6, 2015 at 8:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

Politico: “It’s a newly created political event, hosted by a first-year senator who’s barely known outside her state. Yet seven presidential candidates and the national media horde has descended on this rural town 45 minutes from Des Moines because the significance of the first annual ‘Joni Ernst’s Roast and Ride’ is already clear: amid great uncertainty about which White House hopefuls will choose to compete in the state GOP’s embattled straw poll in August, this could end up being one of Iowa’s most important retail politicking events of the year.”

Ted Cruz Not Catching Fire with Latinos

June 5, 2015 at 11:56 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 75 Comments

Sen. Ted Cruz “finds himself in a strange position as he sees himself eclipsed both by Senator Marco Rubio, also a Cuban-American, and former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, a fluent Spanish-speaker married to a Mexican-American, as early favorites among Hispanic Republicans who could play an increasingly influential role in the nomination process,” Reuters reports.

“To Latinos, Cruz often feels more like an afterthought. And while that’s largely attributed to his hard-right stance on immigration reform, prominent Hispanic conservatives offered insight as to why his problems with Latinos run deeper. Rubio, they said, has embraced his ethnic identity in a way that Cruz, who speaks little Spanish, has not or will not.”

Soros Is Funding Democratic Voting Rights Push

June 5, 2015 at 11:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

“The billionaire philanthropist George Soros, whose first major involvement in politics was with a large-scale voter mobilization effort in the 2004 presidential race, is funding a Democratic legal fight against restrictive voting laws, the New York Times reports.

Pelosi Not Whipping Votes for Trade Bill

June 5, 2015 at 9:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 51 Comments

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said it is not her responsibility to help House Republicans pass a controversial piece of trade legislation at the top of President Obama’s priorities, Politico reports.

“Trade has historically been a top priority for Republicans and the current split between Democrats and the White House means it falls on the Republican-controlled House to pass Obama’s request… Pelosi told Boehner he needs to provide at least 200 votes.”

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 6800
  • 6801
  • 6802
  • 6803
  • 6804
  • …
  • 7906
  • Next Page »

Get Smarter About Politics

Members get exclusive analysis, a trending news page, the Trial Balloon podcast, bonus newsletters and no advertising. Learn more.

Subscribe

Your Account

Sign in

Latest for Members

  • Trump’s Enemies List Often Has a Short Memory
  • Weekly News Quiz
  • The Big Takeaway from the Trump-Musk Feud
  • Godzilla v. Kong
  • Republicans vs. History

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.

Praise for Political Wire

“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”

— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”

“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”

— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report

“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”

— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report

“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”

— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia

“Political Wire is a great, great site.”

— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”

“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”

— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post

“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”

— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit

“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”

— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.

Copyright © 2025 · Goddard Media LLC | Privacy Policy | Corrections Policy

Political Wire ® is a registered trademark of Goddard Media LLC