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Clinton Emails Raise Questions on Management Style

May 23, 2015 at 7:06 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

“For those who have worried that Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign would be a repeat of the chaotic operation she ran eight years ago, her advisers have often pointed to her time in between at the State Department — which by comparison was an archetype of crisp managerial efficiency,” the Washington Post reports.

“But a trove of newly released e-mails suggests that one of Clinton’s tendencies persisted during her time as secretary of state — an inability to separate her longtime loyalties from the business at hand. The e-mails from her private account reveal that she passed along no fewer than 25 memos about Libya from friend and political ally Sidney Blumenthal. Blumenthal had business interests in Libya but no diplomatic expertise there.”

The Wall Street Journal has made all of the emails available online.

Sanchez Stumbles Again

May 23, 2015 at 7:03 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-CA) is not having the best Senate campaign roll out, Politico reports.

“After having a ‘draft’ of her official launch announcement leak and making a ‘war cry’ gesture while describing Native Americans at a California Democratic convention, Sanchez was caught on camera dancing in front of signs blasting Rep. Ami Bera, a fellow California lawmaker who is facing criticism from progressives and union leaders for his decision to support fast track authority.”

“It’s highly uncommon for lawmakers of the same party to appear at events where their colleagues are being protested but a video dated May 18 shows Sanchez clapping in front of signs blasting pro-trade lawmakers like Bera. One sign slams him directly.”

Fox News Takes Control of the GOP Primary

May 23, 2015 at 6:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

Paul Waldman: “Liberals often say that Fox News is the house organ of the Republican Party, but in the 2016 election, the network is becoming something more: a kind of stern boss, setting the agenda, plotting the group’s course, and weeding out the weak performers. As powerful as the network has been within the conservative movement, the 2016 election has given it the opportunity to increase its influence even further.”

“That’s partly because someone has to organize the chaos that is the Republican primary race, and no one’s better positioned to do it.”

Senate Passes Fast-Track Trade Legislation

May 22, 2015 at 9:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

The U.S. Senate “passed major trade legislation that would pave the way for President Barack Obama’s signature Pacific trade deal, marking a victory for the Obama administration and Republican leaders in Congress and sending the bill toward an uncertain fate in the House,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The Senate voted 62-37 to approve so-called fast track, which would help conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership with Japan and 10 other countries and ensure that the Pacific deal and others would get an up-or-down vote in Congress without amendments.”

Does Hillary Clinton Fear Marco Rubio Most?

May 22, 2015 at 5:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 96 Comments

The New York Times notes an “incipient sense of anxiety is tugging at some Democrats — a feeling tersely captured in four words from a blog post written recently by a seasoned party strategist in Florida: ‘Marco Rubio scares me.'”

“What is so unnerving to them at this early phase of the 2016 presidential campaign still seems, at worst, a distant danger: the prospect of a head-to-head general-election contest between Mr. Rubio, the Republican senator from Florida, and Hillary Rodham Clinton. Yet the worriers include some on Mrs. Clinton’s team. And even former President Bill Clinton is said to worry that Mr. Rubio could become the Republican nominee, whittle away at Mrs. Clinton’s support from Hispanics and jeopardize her chances of carrying Florida’s vital 29 electoral votes.”

Lawmakers Tell Jindal to Pay for His Own Travel

May 22, 2015 at 2:46 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

Louisiana legislators clipped Gov. Bobby Jindal’s wings “by inserting wording into the state budget that would require the governor’s office to pay the out-of-state travel expenses of his security detail,” the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.

“Jindal spent almost 45 percent of 2014 outside Louisiana attending political events. He has kept up the pace so far in 2015 and since forming a presidential exploratory committee early this week, is likely to continue his aggressive travel schedule.”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

May 22, 2015 at 2:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

“Well, what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger (as I have rationalized for years).”

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, in a 2012 email released by the State Department.

Bonus Quote of the Day

May 22, 2015 at 12:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 188 Comments

“No purpose whatsoever is served by those who are now trying to discredit Josh or his family by sensationalizing the story. Good people make mistakes and do regrettable and even disgusting things.”

— Mike Huckabee, writing on Facebook, on Josh Duggar admitting to molesting children, including his own sisters.

Most Say Guinta Should Resign

May 22, 2015 at 11:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

A new American Research Group survey finds that 74% of registered voters in New Hampshire’s 1st congressional district say Rep. Frank Guinta (R-NH) should resign from Congress following the FEC finding that Guinta broke federal campaign finance laws by accepting illegal campaign contributions from his parents.

The Death of the Political Campaign Reporter

May 22, 2015 at 9:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 28 Comments

Ryan Cooper: “The 2016 election may be the first one in which the political press is totally sidelined. Politicians now have a professional grasp of social media — Barack Obama just got his third Twitter account — and they don’t need media middlemen to communicate with voters.”

“What’s more, no journalist has the kind of celebrity and cultural credibility (as Tim Russert used to have) that once made interviews mandatory for aspiring presidents.”

Duggar Quits After Child Molestation Claims

May 22, 2015 at 9:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 53 Comments

Josh Duggar “has resigned his role as executive director of the Family Research Council’s lobbying arm amid multiple allegations of child molestation,” The Hill reports.

According to a police report obtained by In Touch magazine, Duggar sexually molested a number of underage girls, including his sisters, when he was a teenager.

Quote of the Day

May 22, 2015 at 9:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 37 Comments

“The idea that a national poll has any relationship to the viability of a candidate—ask Rudy Giuliani that. Ask Phil Gramm that. You can go on down the list of folks who were doing real well in national polls and didn’t win a single state and were not a viable candidate.”

— Rick Santorum, quoted by National Journal.

Still Waiting for the Republican Health Care Plan

May 22, 2015 at 9:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

Wonk Wire: GOP’s Obamacare Plan? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Also on Wonk Wire:

McConnell Won’t Allow Recess Until Work is Done

May 22, 2015 at 8:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “is turning up the pressure on senators to make a deal on three important bills, vowing to keep the chamber in session until its work is done,” The Hill reports.

“The Senate is quickly approaching a week-long Memorial Day recess, but it still has to finish work on a ‘fast-track’ trade proposal, expiring provisions of the Patriot Act and highway legislation.”

Ireland Votes on Same Sex Marriage

May 22, 2015 at 8:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

“Turnout in the world’s first referendum on same sex marriage and on the age of candidates for the presidency is reported to be brisk,” the Irish Times reports.

U.S. Won’t Release Bin Laden’s Porn Stash

May 22, 2015 at 8:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

“Newly declassified documents from the compound in Pakistan where Osama bin Laden was killed in 2011 have revealed the late al-Qaida leader’s remarkable English-language library, including books by Noam Chomsky, Bob Woodward and even 9/11 conspiracy theorist David Ray Griffin,” the Washington Post reports.

“Yet the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which released the files on Wednesday, has not released all the material found in the compound. In fact, there’s a rather notorious stash that the U.S. government apparently doesn’t want you to see: a cache of pornography.”

Bevin Faces Divided Party in Kentucky

May 22, 2015 at 8:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Presumptive Kentucky GOP gubernatorial nominee Matt Bevin (R) is facing a divided party as he prepares for the fall election, the Lexington Herald Leader reports.

“Bevin has clearly tried to begin winning over some of the Republican establishment… But Bevin, as he has since last November, blamed the media for creating a perception that he didn’t support U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell after losing to him in the primary last year. Although Bevin repeatedly declined to publicly endorse McConnell, he argued that he did work hard for the Republican ticket last fall.”

Cook Political Report: “Democrats – and specifically state Attorney General Jack Conway – were the biggest winners on primary night. Conway faced just token opposition for Democratic nomination for this open seat. The race for the Republicans nomination was far more interesting and ultimately beneficial to Democrats.”

Jeb Bush Offers Rare Criticism of His Brother

May 22, 2015 at 7:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 36 Comments

Jeb Bush “put a bit more space between himself and his brother, part of a slow-motion and seemingly reluctant distancing effort as he moves toward a White House bid,” the Washington Post reports.

“After being asked by a questioner at a sports bar here whether there is any ‘space’ between the Bush brothers on issues, Jeb Bush pointed to the scale of government spending during the George W. Bush presidency.”

Said Bush: “I think that in Washington, during my brother’s time, Republicans spent too much money. I think he could have used the veto power — he didn’t have line-item veto power, but he could have brought budget discipline to Washington, D.C.”