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Democrats Fall in Line on Iran Deal

July 14, 2015 at 9:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 45 Comments

“Many members of Congress remain deeply skeptical of the landmark deal announced Tuesday to halt Iran’s nuclear ambitions but are unlikely to have the votes to stop it,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“While Democrats largely back President Obama’s pursuit of an agreement to lift sanctions on Iran in return for measures to prevent the country from building nuclear weapons, Republicans, who have the majority in the House and Senate, say the administration should walk away from a deal they fear concedes too much.”

“But in a promising sign for Obama, few Democrats stood up publicly Tuesday to oppose the deal and the party’s presidential front-runner, Hillary Clinton, expressed support.”

Washington Post: “Clinton’s endorsement also underscores the degree to which her political fortunes have been joined with Obama’s legacy.”

Obama Makes His Case on Iran Deal

July 14, 2015 at 9:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

President Obama defended his nuclear deal with Iran in an interview with Thomas Friedman, who concluded the president “is a man who evinces no second thoughts whatsoever about the deal he struck.”

“In a 45-minute interview in the Cabinet Room, the president kept stressing one argument: Don’t judge me on whether this deal transforms Iran, ends Iran’s aggressive behavior toward some of its Arab neighbors or leads to détente between Shiites and Sunnis. Judge me on one thing: Does this deal prevent Iran from breaking out with a nuclear weapon for the next 10 years and is that a better outcome for America, Israel and our Arab allies than any other alternative on the table?”

Top GOP Donors Form New Mystery PAC

July 14, 2015 at 9:17 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“A trio of Republican financiers—including Paul Singer and Ken Griffin, two of the most prominent GOP donors in the country—has formed a new federal committee focused on the 2016 presidential race and seeded it with $600,000,” National Journal reports.

“The new group is called Future45, a play on the fact that President Obama is the 44th president and that his successor will be the 45th.”

Ex-Harrisburg Mayor Charged with Hundreds of Counts

July 14, 2015 at 4:58 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

Former Harrisburg, PA Mayor Stephen Reed (D) was charged with dozens of counts “for allegedly using city money to fund obsessive buying sprees of artifacts that helped plunge the state capital into debt,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Reed was also charged “with running a corrupt organization, bribery and multiple counts of theft… Reed served as Harrisburg’s mayor for 28 years, leaving in early 2010.”

PennLive has the long list of criminal charges.

Bonus Trump Quote of the Day

July 14, 2015 at 4:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

“Why would I be doing this? I take abuse from everybody, and I’m doing this for fun? This isn’t fun — I want to make America great again.”

— Donald Trump, quoted by CNN.

Trump Leads Among GOP Voters Nationwide

July 14, 2015 at 3:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 118 Comments

A new Suffolk University/USA TODAY national poll finds Donald Trump leading the Republican presidential field with 17%, followed by Jeb Bush at 14%, Scott Walker at 8%, Ted Cruz at 6%, Marco Rubio at 5%, Ben Carson at 4%, Mike Huckabee at 4% and Chris Christie at 3%.

Said pollster David Paleologos: “Trump is making daily headlines in advance of the primary season. This has vaulted him to the top of the pack on the backs of conservative voters.”

Former Romney Aides Join Bush Team

July 14, 2015 at 1:56 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

Boston Globe: “Beth Myers, who was Romney’s chief of staff when he was governor of Massachusetts and campaign manager for his 2008 presidential run before serving as senior adviser on his 2012 bid, and Peter Flaherty, a State House aide who was deputy campaign manager in 2008 and a senior adviser in 2012, will endorse Bush and work as advisers, said the people briefed on the decision. The two are expected to help Bush prepare for the series of candidate debates that begins next month.”

U.S. Offer to Help Find ‘El Chapo’ Ignored by Mexico

July 14, 2015 at 1:25 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

“Hours after the world’s most infamous drug lord, Joaquín ‘Chapo’ Guzmán Loera, escaped Mexico’s highest security prison over the weekend, the United States offered everything it has — Marshals, drones, even a binational task force — to help find and recapture the kingpin,” the New York Times reports.

“But the Mexicans have kept the Americans at bay, without giving an answer on the extra help, according to Mexican and American officials, confounding law enforcement agencies on both sides of the border and undermining efforts to recapture Mr. Guzmán, the billionaire head of the Sinaloa Cartel, before his wealth and global connections help him disappear.”

Ted Cruz Has the Money to Compete

July 14, 2015 at 12:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

Chris Cillizza points out that Jeb Bush’s $114 million fundraising haul during the last six months was impressive, but that Sen. Ted Cruz’s fundraising totals we’re more important.

“Cruz raised $14 million through his campaign committee and another $37 million through a constellation of super PACs set up to aid his campaign. That total of $51 million raised put him second behind Bush in total fundraising.”

“Cruz’s ability to raise large amounts of money — through both a campaign account and super PACS — not only differentiates him from other ideological warrior candidates of the past but also gives him a real chance at breaking into the top tier of candidates as the race continues.”

Trump Quote of the Day

July 14, 2015 at 11:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 52 Comments

“The last person she wants to face is Donald Trump.”

— Donald Trump, quoted by the Washington Times, saying that Hillary Clinton’s criticism of him is “desperate” and “sad.”

On Feeding the Animals

July 14, 2015 at 11:40 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 72 Comments

In a Facebook post, the Oklahoma Republican Party says it’s ironic that the federal government distributes food stamps to 46 million people while at the same time discourages national park visitors from feeding the animals.

Do Voters Need to Trust Hillary Clinton?

July 14, 2015 at 11:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

“One topic that often comes up in serious conversations about 2016 presidential politics is whether questions about Hillary Clinton’s trustworthiness will be her undoing. Not surprisingly, many of her fiercest critics passionately want this to be the case, but even some of her closest advisers are known to be very concerned about it,” National Journal reports.

“There is no doubt that voters want to be able to trust a president, but it should be remembered that Bill Clinton won an election in 1992 with large deficits in the honesty department…. Four years later, when Clinton was seeking reelection, he was underwater on the ABC/Post honesty question… In October—before his reelection by a margin of more than 8 percentage points and 200 electoral votes—22 percent of respondents said the president was more honest, and 52 percent said he was less. People had doubts—but elected and reelected him anyway.”

A new Morning Consult poll shows just 19% of voters say Clinton is honest and trustworthy.

Bush Picks James Polk as a Favorite President

July 14, 2015 at 10:24 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 73 Comments

After his father and his brother, Jeb Bush said his favorite president was James K. Polk (D), the Des Moines Register reports.

Said Bush: “One of the presidents that I really admire, and he’s not — I think people rank him pretty good, the historians who look at this — is James K. Polk… He said what he was going to do and he did what he said he was going to do, and then he left.”

“Although Bush didn’t mention it, Polk is perhaps best known for presiding over the Mexican-American War, in which U.S. forces battled all the way to Mexico City and won control of what is now New Mexico and California. The territorial expansion seen under Polk is now seen as fueling the fight over slavery of the mid-1800s. Polk himself was a slaveowner.”

Republicans Vow to Kill Iran Nuclear Deal

July 14, 2015 at 9:19 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 58 Comments

It will be days before Congress receives the full nuclear agreement with Iran and all of its classified annexes for review, but hawkish GOP lawmakers instantaneously began picking apart the final deal reached early Tuesday as “dangerous” and a “possible death sentence for Israel,” Politico reports.

“The GOP-led Congress plans to review the deal for two months before voting on whether to lift sanctions sometime in September.”

First Read: “If Congress passes a joint resolution of disapproval (from both the House and Senate), and sends it to President Obama’s desk for his signature, it would start another 12-day clock which gives Obama the ability to veto the resolution. After President Obama presumably vetoes the resolution, Congress would have 10 days to attempt to override the veto, which would require a two-thirds vote from both chambers.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

July 14, 2015 at 9:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

“I don’t see any real opportunities for us over the next six months to break out.”

— Rick Santorum, quoted by the Washington Post, suggesting he’s “the tortoise-and-the-hare kind” of presidential candidate.

Rubio Keeps Burn Rate Low

July 14, 2015 at 8:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

National Review: “The rate at which a candidate spends the money he raises — the burn rate — is important too. One top Republican strategist and pollster tells me that the burn rate is an indicator of the kind of campaign a candidate is running. A candidate with a low burn rate is spending little money, say, on personnel and, essentially, anything that’s not directed toward message delivery.”

“With the exception of Marco Rubio, none of the other candidates, that I’m aware of, have released cash-on-hand figures that would allow a burn-rate calculation. Others, like Scott Walker, haven’t been in the race long enough to make a calculation. But Rubio’s burn rate is around 19 percent, which is low, and suggests he’s running a streamlined campaign that’s not bleeding money on consultants and staffers. His campaign released a cash-on-hand figure, which suggests they’re proud of this.”

Maine Democrats Say 51 More Bills Became Law

July 14, 2015 at 8:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

Maine Democratic lawmakers said that another 51 bills have become law after Gov. Paul LePage (R) missed his deadline to act on them by midnight Saturday, the Portland Press Herald reports.

“But LePage has said he won’t enforce the laws and is expected to take the issue to the Maine Supreme Judicial Court. He said that because lawmakers adjourned last month, the requirement that he must act on a bill within 10 days doesn’t apply. Democratic leaders insist the Legislature did not adjourn, but instead ‘recessed’ until Thursday to take up more vetoes expected from the governor and finish other work for the session. A recess would keep the 10-day deadline in place.”

Graham Says Obama Essentially Declared War on Israel

July 14, 2015 at 7:31 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 71 Comments

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) told Bloomberg that the newly announced deal between Iran and six world powers is “akin to declaring war on Israel and the Sunni Arabs,” and will be a huge problem for Hillary Clinton.

Said Graham: “My initial impression is that this deal is far worse than I ever dreamed it could be and will be a nightmare for the region, our national security and eventually the world at large.”