“Republicans rallied around Kentucky county clerk Kim Davis on Tuesday for refusing to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, with longshot presidential contender Mike Huckabee going so far as to wish he could go to jail in her stead,” Politico reports.
Said Huckabee: “If somebody needs to go to jail then I’m willing to go in her place and I mean that because I’m tired of watching people being just harassed because they believe something of their faith.”
“With front-runner Donald Trump seen as too much of a wild card and Jeb Bush faltering in opinion polls, establishment Republicans are gravitating toward John Kasich, the Ohio governor who vows to shake up their demographically challenged party if he wins its nomination for U.S. president,” Reuters reports.
“If history can be a guide, Kasich may best fit the mold of Sen. John McCain, a self-described maverick who won the party’s nomination in 2008 only to lose the election to Barack Obama. For his part, McCain parted from Republican Party orthodoxy on the hot-button issue of immigration. He ran strong in the early nominating contest in New Hampshire. Kasich’s top strategist, John Weaver, is a veteran of McCain’s team.”
“People like Bernie are always attractive, as I was. They speak truth to power. The problem with candidates like that — and like me — is that as you get closer to election time, you’re more careful about how your vote’s going to be used. You’re going to tend to want to see somebody who you think looks presidential as the nominee of your party. That’s one of the things that sank me.”
— Howard Dean, in an interview with the Washington Post.
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National Journal: “Cruz, it turns out, needs Washington more than ever. With Congress back in session and a long list of to-do items, Cruz’s campaign may be able to leverage this legislative session and win back some of the evangelical and conservative support he will need if he hopes for victory in Iowa.”
“After years of raging against President Obama, unhappy conservatives have a new target for their anger and disgust: the Republicans in Congress,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
“The GOP seized control of the House in 2010 and four years later took the Senate. Yet even with those majorities, Republican lawmakers have failed to achieve such conservative priorities as rolling back Obamacare, their derisive name for the national healthcare law, or cracking down harder on illegal immigration… In short, as many see it, the promise of the 2010 tea party movement and its 2014 echo have been dashed on the marble steps of the Capitol.”
Hillary Clinton, finally, apologized for her decision to rely on a private e-mail server during her time as Secretary of State, the Washington Post reports.
“That’s a different response than Clinton gave Monday to the Associated Press on the same question. And a different one than she gave to NBC’s Andrea Mitchell on Friday. That it took Clinton so long to realize that a full apology — without the caveats of ‘that this has been confusing to people’ etc. — was an absolutely necessary first step to putting the story behind her suggests one of two things is going on: a) Clinton is getting bad advice from her campaign team or b) Clinton is resistant to good advice from her campaign team.”
Charlie Cook: “It’s hard to look at the opinion polling in the GOP presidential nomination contest and conclude anything else. As unexpected as many of the developments on the Democratic side have been, it doesn’t hold a candle to what is unfolding among the Republicans.”
“Clearly, something profound is happening in the usually staid and orderly party. Donald Trump is in first place not only in both Iowa and New Hampshire but in national polling as well, averaging more than a quarter of the vote. Ben Carson, the retired neurologist, is now in second place in Iowa and nationwide, and in a statistical tie in New Hampshire with Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a more traditional candidate. That Jeb Bush is averaging single-digit performances in both crucial states and nationally is just as perplexing.”
“Should we see this as a rebellion against career politicians and the GOP establishment? Or, is roughly 40 percent of the GOP electorate throwing a temper tantrum? The answer is: both.”
“Why don’t they say anything? Because they’re afraid to. Because he’s speaking for them. He just does it in a different tone and different language.”
— Harry Reid, quoted by CNN, on Donald Trump and the GOP presidential field.
“I know of no nation in history that has agreed to guarantee that the means of its own destruction will be in the hands of another nation, particularly one that is hostile. Arming and funding Iran while simultaneously providing them a pathway to nuclear arsenal is not an act of peace. It’s not, as President Obama claims, the only alternative to war. It is madness.”
— Dick Cheney, quoted by MSNBC, arguing that nuclear deal will give Iran the means to launch a nuclear attack on the United States.
“Republicans are growing increasingly concerned that Donald Trump’s inflammatory language is damaging the party, fearing that his remarks are hardening the tone of other candidates on racial issues in ways that could repel the voters they need to take back the White House,” the New York Times reports.
“Some party leaders worry that the favorable response Mr. Trump has received from the Republican electorate is luring other candidates to adopt or echo his remarks. It is a pattern, they say, that could tarnish the party’s image among minority voters.”
Jeb Bush convened an hour-long gathering in Manhattan with three longtime advocates for sweeping tax cuts, seeking their counsel and sharing the details of his campaign’s economic plan, which will be formally unveiled tomorrow, the Washington Post reports.
“The trio of supply-side conservatives — Heritage Foundation economist Stephen Moore, publishing executive Steve Forbes and CNBC contributor Larry Kudlow — met with Bush alongside Johnson, Bush’s national finance chairman… Those Republicans, who requested anonymity to discuss the private session and the Bush campaign’s outlook, said the former Florida governor hopes his tax offering will jumpstart his candidacy, which has lagged behind GOP front-runner Donald Trump for months, by proposing lower corporate tax rates while also eliminating a number of deductions that favor Wall Street investors.”
Former Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) plans to spend some of the nearly $150,000 left in her campaign fund to help former Senate colleagues run for re-election, the Shreveport Times reports.
Landrieu said she also will contribute some leftover campaign money to Republicans: “I’m not opposed to helping one or two of my Republican friends that have helped Louisiana — if they ask. They haven’t asked yet.”
She specifically named Rob Portman of Ohio, who is up for re-election next year, and Susan Collins of Maine, who is up in 2020.
“You have to talk to my wife about that. I’ve got to talk to my wife about that.”
— Vice President Biden, quoted by the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in response to shouted calls for him to run for president.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), one of a handful of undecided Democratic senators, said Tuesday he will vote to disapprove of the Iran nuclear deal, the Washington Post reports.
“Manchin’s decision comes on the day lawmakers are reassembling in Washington after a month long break, with the Iran deal at the top of a high-stakes list of September business. With 38 senators already publicly in favor of the deal — enough to sustain a presidential veto — Manchin is not expected to derail it. But it makes it more unlikely that Democrats will be able to cobble together the 41 votes necessary to prevent a disapproval resolution from reaching President Obama’s desk and forcing a veto.”
A new Monmouth University poll finds Hillary Clinton’s lead in the Democratic presidential race has shrunk over the past month, mainly due to increased support for a candidate who isn’t even in the race.
Clinton leads with 42%, which is down from 52% a month ago. She is followed by Joe Biden at 22% and Bernie Sanders at 20%.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “is heading to Kentucky to visit Kim Davis, the jailed county clerk whose case has become a political lightning rod in the Republican presidential primary and a rallying point for social conservative candidates,” NBC News reports.
A Cruz aide says he “is going to be doing everything in his power to ensure more Americans don’t become victim to religious persecution by the government.”
Rick Klein: “Here’s the thing about Hillary Clinton reinventions and new directions: They’ve all been tried before. The latest… will feature more spontaneity (the scripted kind?), a touch of extra authenticity, and highlight her potential to make history. All worthy goals, though a quarter century in public life and a previous, epic run for president have made surprises harder to achieve than good Chipotle takeout. But she does have some advantages built in that work post-Labor Day. First, having more actual interactions with voters, and having smart reporters ask insightful questions of her, can produce the kinds of moments Clinton needs to produce some excitement. And second, real competition can help. The heating up of the Democratic race can show passions that Clinton backers want to see. If not, there is time left for new directions, again.”
Taegan 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.
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