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Vitter Appears Vulnerable in Governor’s Race

September 24, 2015 at 12:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

A new Public Policy Polling survey of Louisiana voters finds that Sen. David Vitter “has seen a large decline in his popularity over the last year, and that while he’s still favored to make the runoff for Governor he is in a bad position when it comes to a head to head match up with John Bel Edwards.”

Edwards now leads Vitter, 50% to 38%.

Key findings: “Vitter has become quite unpopular, with only 34% of voters rating him favorably to 51% with a negative opinion of him… A year ago Vitter looked like a clear favorite but he’s become very unpopular in the time since, and now it appears that there is a very good chance he will be defeated this fall.”

Pope Urges Congress to Take Action on World Problems

September 24, 2015 at 11:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 49 Comments

Pope Francis “challenged Congress and by extension the mightiest nation in history on Thursday to break out of its cycle of polarization and paralysis to finally use its power to heal the ‘open wounds’ of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution,” the New York Times reports.

“Taking a rostrum never before occupied by the bishop of Rome, the pontiff issued a vigorous call to action on issues largely favored by liberals, including a powerful defense of immigration, a critique of the excesses of capitalism, an endorsement of environmental legislation, a blistering condemnation of the arms trade and a plea to abolish the death penalty.”

Politico: “In white robes that glowed against the austere setting, flanked by two former Catholic altar boys — House Speaker John Boehner and Vice President Joe Biden — the pope delivered a stern exhortation to show more legislative responsibility and compassion for all citizens.”

How to Forecast a Government Shutdown

September 24, 2015 at 11:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

Stan Collender says that four questions will determine if there’s a government shutdown:

Will Ted Cruz go quietly?
Is the coup danger to Boehner real? Or an empty gesture?
Will the House Democrats play and help Boehner?
Does Boehner need a shutdown in order to keep his job?

First Read: “Indeed, it’s that last point that should give everyone pause: Can any congressional watcher envision a scenario where both shutdown DOESN’T happen and Boehner KEEPS his job?”

The Latest on Wonk Wire

September 24, 2015 at 11:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Here’s what’s trending on Wonk Wire today:

Trump Rivals Smell Blood

September 24, 2015 at 10:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 36 Comments

Rick Klein: “His rivals are smelling something – whether or not that’s coming out of his … whatever. Three new national polls show Donald Trump’s lead softening, with his fellow outsiders and even some – gasp – elected officeholders rising. Scott Walker left the race with a cry for help in dumping Trump. Trump is now at war with just about anybody in sight – Fox News, Carly Fiorina, Jeb Bush, and now Marco Rubio, his critique of whom includes his youth and his propensity to perspire. It suggests a potential inflection point in a GOP race Trump has owned virtually from the moment his got on that escalator. The frontrunner looks vulnerable – and, perhaps oddly, it’s not his policy positions or political history that matter in this equation. It’s his very Trump-ness that has him now in this position, with rival campaigns seeing signs that its novelty is wearing off.”

Big Majority Think America No Longer as Great

September 24, 2015 at 8:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 87 Comments

A new Bloomberg poll finds that 72% of Americans “think their country isn’t as great as it once was—a central theme of front-runner Donald Trump’s campaign. More than a third prefer a presidential candidate without experience in public office.”

The poll also shows Trump leading the GOP race with 21%, followed by Ben Carson at 16%, Jeb Bush at 13%, Carly Fiorina at 11%, Marco Rubio at 8% and Ted Cruz at 5%.

Rubio Gets the Trump Treatment

September 24, 2015 at 7:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 33 Comments

Donald Trump picked campaign swing through South Carolina to place a new candidate firmly in his crosshairs: Marco Rubio, BuzzFeed News reports.

“At two stops, the first in North Charleston and the second in Columbia, Trump lobbed insult after insult at Rubio, indicating that Rubio has become enough of a threat to merit the full Trump insult comic routine. Trump has cycled through periods of antagonizing others, most notably Rand Paul, Jeb Bush, and Carly Fiorina. Now that the last debate left Rubio rising, Trump appears eager to neutralize him.”

“At various points over the course of the day, Trump mocked Rubio as a ‘lightweight,’ sweaty, and financially unsuccessful.”

Trump Quote of the Day

September 24, 2015 at 7:51 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

“I have this thing called Twitter and Facebook, which is amazing actually. It’s like owning The New York Times without the losses.”

— Donald Trump, in an interview on MSNBC.

Walker Apologizes to Donors

September 24, 2015 at 7:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

Gov. Scott Walker “apologized to donors and supporters for the collapse of his presidential campaign, saying in a call that he saw no hope to turnaround sagging fundraising fortunes,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Walker told donors he considered keeping the campaign alive and making a big staff shakeup, but decided that didn’t seem likely to make the effort financially viable.”

Is Trump Finally Faltering?

September 24, 2015 at 7:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

“After faltering in last week’s debate, Donald Trump showed signs that the campaign grind has taken its toll. He’s taking longer to shake off controversial remarks, delivering relatively subdued performances during interviews and campaign appearances, and, most disconcertingly, stalling in polls,” Politico reports.

“The latest national Quinnipiac University survey released Thursday provided some fuel to wishful rivals. Trump still leads among registered Republican voters with 25 percent, statistically unchanged from last month’s Quinnipiac survey that put him at 28 percent. Yet it’s the second major national poll this week showing a slight decrease from last month.”

RNC Assigns Staff to Possible Biden Run

September 24, 2015 at 7:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

Politico: “The RNC has assigned staff to prepare for a Biden run, getting ready to roll out charges of flip flops and failures over his long career. A month ago, the RNC decided to dedicate time of key staff members and policy experts in the communications department (which includes research) to build up the book on Biden. The RNC’s Biden bank includes voting records, videos, his positions on key issues.”

Rubio Stays Out of the Spotlight

September 24, 2015 at 7:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

Washington Post: “Ten days after Sen. Marco Rubio launched his campaign for president in April, his aides doused cold water on a poll showing him leading the Republican pack. When he won positive reviews in the first debate in August, he retreated to a quiet schedule of raising money and holding small-scale events. Now with one of his chief potential rivals out of the picture, he is again warning against hype.”

“What seems like a series of missed opportunities is actually the Florida Republican’s playbook: Avoid peaking early, stay on message, and keep out of the daily fray that has eaten other candidates alive.”

Ayotte Says GOP Is ‘Playing Games’ on Budget

September 23, 2015 at 8:48 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 45 Comments

Sen. Kelly Ayotte chided her fellow Republicans for pushing a budget fight over Planned Parenthood funding which is a “game of chicken,” the Huffington Post reports.

Said Ayotte: “I’m tired of the political games. I’m tired of the president’s game on this. I’m tired of the people on my side of the aisle who are pushing this strategy even though they know they don’t have the votes to pass the U.S. Senate, and they certainly don’t have the votes to override a presidential veto.”

Trump Still Leading Nationally

September 23, 2015 at 8:34 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

A new Fox News poll finds Donald Trump leading the GOP field nationally with 26%, followed by Ben Carson at 18%, Carly Fiorina at 9%, Marco Rubio at 9%, Ted Cruz at 8%, Jeb Bush at 7% and Chris Christie at 5%.

On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads with 44%, followed by Bernie Sanders at 30% and Joe Biden at 18%.

Trump Crushing Rubio and Bush in Florida

September 23, 2015 at 8:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

A new Florida Atlantic University poll in Florida finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 32%, followed by Marco Rubio at 19%, Jeb Bush at 11%, Ben Carson at 10% and Carly Fiorina at 8%.

Quote of the Day

September 23, 2015 at 5:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 107 Comments

“We should not have a multicultural society. When you create pockets of isolation — and in some places the process of assimilation has been retarded because they’ve slowed down — it’s wrong. It limits people’s aspirations.”

— Jeb Bush, quoted by ABC News.

Huckabee Says Obama Pretends to be a Christian

September 23, 2015 at 4:12 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 115 Comments

Mike Huckabee told Newsmax that President Obama “pretends to be” a Christian.

Said Huckabee: “I’m less concerned about what faith the person has. I’m more concerned about the authenticity of their faith and how that plays out in their politics … I’m also concerned about a guy that believes he’s a Christian and pretends to be and then says he is, but then does things that makes it very difficult for people to practice their Christian faith.”

Trump Feuds with Fox News Again

September 23, 2015 at 3:17 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 34 Comments

Donald Trump announced that he “won’t be doing any more Fox shows for the foreseeable future,” as the channel “has been treating me very unfairly,” Politico reports.

“He was scheduled to appear on The O’Reilly Factor at 8 p.m. Thursday. The show is the most watched program on cable news, and Trump has appeared every now and again during the course of his campaign.”