Political Wire

Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!

Clinton Has a Much Bigger Bernie Sanders Problem

July 27, 2015 at 2:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 55 Comments

Mark Halperin: “Let’s all please stop asserting that Bernie Sanders can’t beat Hillary Clinton in the Democratic nomination race. Pundits and journalists galore have been declaring (alleged margin of error: zero) that the Vermont senator will lose to his party’s front-runner. Sure, his odds are long, but so far he’s shown substance, grit, and surprising appeal…. Sanders’ surprising success has already influenced Clinton’s conduct and fortunes, and there is every reason to believe that he will continue to challenge her, influence her, and create significant problems for her as the race continues.”

“There are plenty of recent examples of underdog candidates in both parties who ‘couldn’t’ win the nomination in the estimation of the chattering class but who nonetheless had an outsized influence on the contours and, indeed, outcome of the race. These include Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich in 2012 against Mitt Romney; Pat Buchanan in 1992 against George H.W. Bush; and Jesse Jackson in 1988 against Michael Dukakis. Based on how things are shaping up so far, Sanders has the potential to adversely affect Clinton in numerous ways, echoing the underdogs who ran before. “

The Latest on Wonk Wire

July 27, 2015 at 11:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 2 Comments

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

Bonus Quote of the Day

July 27, 2015 at 9:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 84 Comments

“The particular comments of Mr. Huckabee are I think part of just a general pattern we’ve seen… that would be considered ridiculous if it weren’t so sad. Maybe this is just an effort to push Mr. Trump out of the headlines but it’s not the kind of leadership that’s needed for America right now.”

— President Obama, quoted by ABC News, on Mike Huckabee’s inflammatory comments on the Iran deal.

Perry: Guns in Movie Theaters Would Prevent Shootings

July 27, 2015 at 8:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 137 Comments

Rick Perry (R) told CNN that if people could bring their guns to the movies, they could prevent the movie theater shootings.

Said Perry: “These concepts of gun-free zones are a bad idea. I think that you allow the citizens of this country — who have been appropriately trained, appropriately backgrounded, know how to handle and use firearms — to carry them. I believe that, with all my heart, that if you have the citizens who are well trained, and particularly in these places that are considered to be gun-free zones, that we can stop that type of activity, or stop it before there’s as many people that are impacted as what we saw in Lafayette.”

Wonk Wire: States with gun control have fewer gun deaths

How Donald Trump Uses Numbers

July 27, 2015 at 8:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

Allan Sloan: “I’ve spent more than 40 years making my living by writing about numbers, and I’ve never run across anyone who uses them the way that Trump does. He just spews numbers forth, based on heaven knows what, and people are supposed to take them on faith.”

“That FEC document has tons and tons of numbers. But it’s hard to figure out what—if anything—they tell you about Trump, other than that he’s got fingers in several hundred pies.”

Combative Christie Defends Gun Record in Iowa

July 27, 2015 at 8:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

“Potential Iowa caucus-goers got their first look at Chris Christie’s fiery side Saturday, when he defended his record on gun control and scolded a gun rights activist who challenged him during a town hall,” the Des Moines Register reports.

Said Christie: “I’m still waiting for one fact from you, one fact about me being anti-gun. Give me one. One fact. Got one?”

Quote of the Day

July 27, 2015 at 7:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 52 Comments

“I think our candidates should pledge not to run as a third-party candidate.”

— RNC Chairman Reince Priebus, quoted by Politico.

U.K. Official Resigns Amid Drug and Prostitution Scandal

July 27, 2015 at 7:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 16 Comments

The deputy speaker of Britain’s House of Lords, John Sewel, “has resigned his position after publication of photos and a video allegedly showing him using cocaine with prostitutes,” the AP reports.

Republicans Scramble to Make Debate Stage

July 27, 2015 at 6:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

“The race is on for the final spots on stage for the first Republican debate. With the highly-anticipated showdown less than two weeks away, candidates with low polling numbers are in a high-stakes scramble to qualify for an event that represents their best shot at breaking out,” The Hill reports.

“Based on five polls used by RealClearPolitics, eight candidates look like locks to make the stage, while the race for the final two slots is headed for a controversial photo finish. For the candidates currently ranked between 9th place and 14th place, the polling differential is negligible.”

Rick Klein: “The demise of the Iowa straw poll robbed us of the main midsummer winnowing contest in the Republican race. But another has emerged – setting up what could be the most exciting and chaotic 10-day stretch of the campaign this calendar year. The scramble to secure one of the 10 invitations to the first GOP presidential debate has Rand Paul torching the federal tax code, Lindsey Graham pulverizing flip phones, Rick Perry identifying a certain ‘cancer’ in his party, and Chris Christie spending a quarter-million dollars in July. Getting noticed matters; it may even explain why Mike Huckabee is doubling down with his comment that the Iran deal is marching Israelis ‘to the door of the oven.’ Never before has registering in the top X in polling mattered as much as it will during this stretch.”

Jindal Says Other States Need Stronger Gun Laws

July 27, 2015 at 6:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) “called for tougher gun laws in other states on Sunday, breaking his silence on the issue three days after a gunman with a history of mental illness and violence opened fire in a movie theater in the state’s fourth-largest city,” the New York Times reports.

“Jindal called for states to adopt laws similar to Louisiana’s that feed information about mental illness into a federal background check system for potential gun buyers.”

Cruz Gets $15 Million Donation

July 27, 2015 at 6:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

“Two low-profile Texas brothers have donated $15 million to support Sen. Ted Cruz, a record-setting contribution that amounts to the largest known donation so far in the 2016 presidential campaign,” CNN reports.

Christie Made Habit of Appointing High School Friends

July 27, 2015 at 6:19 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

“Christie has remained especially close to his high school friends. He checks in by phone and attends reunions. But he’s also made a habit of appointing and nominating his former classmates to plum state positions, including judgeships. An Associated Press review of his senior class yearbook, state payroll records, agency websites and state press releases found that a handful of Christie’s former high school classmates have ended up in state positions since he took office. That number increases to nearly a dozen if Christie’s former classmates from Seton Hall law school are counted.”

Republicans Alter Script on Abortion

July 27, 2015 at 6:05 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

New York Times: “With help from a well-funded, well-researched and invigorated anti-abortion movement, Republican politicians have refined how they are talking about pregnancy and abortion rights, choosing their words in a way they hope puts Democrats on the defensive.”

“The goal, social conservatives say, is to shift the debate away from the ‘war on women’ paradigm that has proved so harmful to their party’s image.”

Where Does Trump Stand on the Issues?

July 27, 2015 at 6:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 16 Comments

Politico: “Over the past two decades he was a Republican, then an independent, then a Democrat, then a Republican. Now, registered as an independent, he leads the Republican 2016 presidential field.”

“But what does Donald Trump really believe on policy? It’s hard to tell — his campaign will identify no policy director, he has no “issues” tab on his campaign website and he hasn’t given any substantive policy speeches on the campaign trail.”

Marco Rubio Leads Field in Missed Votes

July 27, 2015 at 6:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 6 Comments

Politico: “As the Florida Republican has catapulted to the top tier of the crowded GOP presidential field, Rubio has been absent more often than other senators seeking the White House. Since announcing his run in mid-April, Rubio has missed 42 votes, more than a third of roll calls on the Senate floor. Trailing not far behind him on the absentee scale are Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Ted Cruz (R-Texas). At the other end of the spectrum is Rand Paul of Kentucky, who has missed just two votes.”

Trump Calls Clinton’s Email Practices ‘Criminal’

July 26, 2015 at 7:38 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 49 Comments

Donald Trump charged that Hillary Clinton’s private email practices as secretary of state were “criminal,” Politico reports.

Said Trump: “What she did is far worse than what Gen. Petraeus did, and he’s gone down in disgrace. What she did is criminal.”

Senate Resurrects Export-Import Bank

July 26, 2015 at 6:31 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

“In a rare and fiery weekend session, the Senate voted on Sunday to resurrect the federal Export-Import Bank, handing the Republican Party’s most conservative wing a major defeat and setting up a showdown this week with House leaders divided over the moribund export credit agency,” the New York Times reports.

Politico: “Ted Cruz just wanted a roll call vote on Sunday. Instead, he got a smackdown.”

Huckabee: Iran Deal Will Take Israelis to ‘Door of Oven’

July 26, 2015 at 6:28 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 49 Comments

Mike Huckabee escalated the rhetoric over President Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran, saying that the pending agreement “will take the Israelis and march them to the door of the oven,” the Washington Post reports.

“The reference to the Holocaust — in which Jews were killed in Nazi gas chambers and their bodies cremated in ovens — created a backlash Sunday on Twitter, with numerous users condemning Huckabee’s remarks.”