Hank Greenberg, “who built AIG into a world-wide financial powerhouse before its controversial government bailout, has donated $10 million to the super PAC backing Republican presidential candidate Jeb Bush, making him one of the largest contributors in the 2016 race,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
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Ethanol Backers Mobilize Against Cruz in Iowa
Wall Street Journal: “The state’s biggest ethanol trade groups are in the midst of a multi-million-dollar campaign to stop Mr. Cruz from becoming the first presidential candidate in either party to win the state while opposing the standard since it was enacted.”
“For the trade groups that represent Iowa’s ethanol producers, Mr. Cruz represents an existential crisis: If he proves a presidential candidate can win Iowa without the approval of the ethanol lobby—represented here by a group called America’s Renewable Future—the fear is no candidate will ever back their agenda again.”
Will Clinton Sex Scandals Still Resonate?
“The ghosts of the 1990s have returned to confront Hillary Clinton, released from the vault by Donald Trump and revved up by a 21st-century version of the scandal machine that almost destroyed her husband’s presidency,” the Washington Post reports.
“This is a moment that her campaign has long expected. What remains to be seen is whether a reminder of allegations of sexual impropriety against Bill Clinton — which were deemed to have varying levels of credibility when they were first aired — can gain new traction in a different context.”
Trump Threatens to Pull $1 Billion UK Investment
Donald Trump “has threatened to cancel over 700 million pounds ($1 billion) of planned investments in golf courses in Scotland if Britain slaps him with a travel ban,” Reuters reports.
“The threat from Trump, owner of two golf courses in his mother’s homeland of Scotland, comes as British lawmakers prepare to hold a debate on a petition signed by over half a million people calling for him to be barred from the country after his proposal to stop Muslims entering the United States.”
Quote of the Day
“I regret it every day, but it was the right decision for my family and for me.”
— Vice President Joe Biden, quoted by NBC Connecticut, on not running for president.
Trump Says He’ll Write Book on Obama Citizenship
Donald Trump brushed off questions about whether President Obama is a natural-born citizen, Business Insider reports.
Said Trump: “Who knows? Who cares right now? We’re talking about something else, OK?”
He added: “I mean, I have my own theory on Obama. Someday I’ll write a book. I’ll do another book. It’ll do very successfully.”
Rubio Ditches Commercial Flights
“After spending most of 2015 bragging about its thriftiness when it came to flying commercial and coach, Marco Rubio quietly has been using a private jet almost exclusively for his campaign travel for nearly two months and plans to continue to do so through the primaries,” Politico reports.
Trump Leads by Double-Digits in New Hampshire
A new Public Policy Polling survey in New Hampshire finds Donald Trump leading the GOP field with 29%, followed by Marco Rubio at 15%, Chris Christie at 11%, John Kasich at 11%, Jeb Bush at 10% and Ted Cruz at 10%. All other candidates receive 4% or less.
Key finding: Trump’s support has the greatest intensity among the top level candidates: 68% of his supporters say they’re firmly committed to him compared to 63% for Cruz, 58% for Bush, 46% for Rubio, 40% for Christie, and just 34% for Kasich on that metric.
Related for members: New Hampshire will be an epic race
Alabama Justice Insists Gay Marriage Ban Be Upheld
Alabama Chief Justice Roy Moore issued an order saying that a ruling issued last March by the Alabama Supreme Court remains in effect and that probate judges “have a ministerial duty not to issue any marriage license contrary” to Alabama’s law and constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage, the Birmingham News reports.
When Will We Know the GOP Nominee?
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Widening ‘Trump Gap’ Presents GOP with a Problem
“A widening distance between perspectives about Donald Trump among Republicans and all other voters—the Trump gap—presents GOP leaders with a conundrum as the primaries approach,” Ron Brownstein writes.
“Republican partisans and some other conservative-leaning constituencies are demonstrably warming in their attitudes toward the blustery business executive. But views of Trump generally remain stagnant, or are even deteriorating, among adults who identify as Democrats or independents. Within that mix, the groups at the core of the coalition that powered President Obama’s two victories express especially toxic opinions about him.”
“The dynamic suggests that more Republicans are growing comfortable with the prospect of Trump winning the party nomination, even as resistance to him is solidifying among the voters he would need to win the general election.”
Ideological Gap Within the GOP Is as Wide as Ever
Nate Silver: “When Republicans stand in opposition to Democrats, these differences don’t matter all that much. According to DW-Nominate, the most liberal Republicans in Congress are now to the right of the most conservative Democrats. But when the Republican Party is working on its own, choosing strategies, legislative priorities and candidates for office, they can reveal considerable dissent within the party. Should Republicans win the White House next year, they’ll probably have unified control of government. That might prove trickier for Republicans to manage than you might think, and now they’ll have to do it without Boehner at the helm.”
How Clinton Built a Diverse Campaign Staff
Fast Company notes that Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign has hired more than 500 staffers nationwide.
Over 50% of staff is female and more than one-third are people of color.
Digging Into Clinton’s Inner Circle
Vanity Fair profiles top Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin and looks at everything from her unique job status at the State Department to her husband, disgraced ex-Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-NY).
First Read: “It’s not the most flattering of pieces — and could make Abedin even more of a target on the right.”
How Flawed Are the Establishment Candidates?
First Read: “With the BIG exception of Rubio, a majority of GOP primary voters say they can’t see themselves supporting these establishment candidates, according to our Dec. 2015 NBC/WSJ poll:
- Rubio: 64% said they could see themselves supporting him, 29% couldn’t (+35)
- Christie: 43% said they could see themselves supporting him, 50% couldn’t (-7)
- Bush: 45% said they could see themselves supporting him, 53% couldn’t (-8)
- Kasich: 22% said they could see themselves supporting him, 53% couldn’t (-31)
“Folks, those were the numbers before these candidates starting attacking each other, so it’s likely that they will get worse. How does this end well? These numbers also suggest that Rubio is maybe the strongest in this establishment lane. Then again, he doesn’t appear (for now) to have an easy path to victory in Iowa or New Hampshire.”
Quote of the Day
“You can’t be a moderate, you can’t be a progressive, you can’t be for the TPP and against the TPP, for the Keystone Pipeline, against the Keystone Pipeline. You know, I have been fairly consistent my entire political life. Some people say I’m kind of boring because I have been saying the same thing for 30 years.”
— Sen. Bernie Sanders, in an interview on Morning Joe, on how he’s different than Hillary Clinton.
Paul Ryan, Then and Now
“You know, there is a loophole here. We should address that.”
— Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), in an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in 2013, on the gun show loophole.
“There is no loophole… This is a distraction.”
— Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI), quoted by the AP today.
