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Bush Says Obama Must Fire OPM Director

July 10, 2015 at 8:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 82 Comments

Jeb Bush wants President Obama “to fire the head of the Office of Personnel Management amid a cascade of revelations about the size and scope of an enormous hack of federal employee data from the agency,” National Journal reports.

Said Bush: “You have a political hack — you have the national political director of the Obama reelection campaign as the head of this. And just as has been the case across the board when we have this sheer incompetence or scandalous behavior, there’s no accountability. No one ever seems—no one seems to be fired. If I was president of the United States, that person would be fired.”

A New Chapter in American Politics

July 10, 2015 at 8:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 22 Comments

Rick Klein: “The unprecedented and eye-popping $103 million brought in by Jeb Bush’s super PAC over the first half of the year brings a modicum of clarity to the GOP field, along with some new rules of presidential politics. For starters, Bush has to be considered the frontrunner at this point, simply based on the math. It’s highly unlikely that any of his rivals will be anywhere close to having the $114 million at his direct or indirect disposal at this stage. (And keep in mind he’s been a formal candidate for less than a month.)”

“Secondly, and perhaps more significantly, the strings to the biggest purse will be controlled thousands of miles from Bush’s Miami headquarters. This amount of money, at the control of Mike Murphy in Los Angeles, will mean heretofore basic campaign functions – advertising, most prominently, but not exclusively – will be handled by an outside entity. This is a major change in how campaigns are conducted – and Jeb won’t be the last to have his operation shift in this fashion.”

Quote of the Day

July 10, 2015 at 7:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

“I just don’t know how the story got out. Nobody called us for verification and honestly, I can’t blame him unless he gave out the story, which is possible. Probably he did.”

— Donald Trump, quoted by The Hill, on a phone call he had with RNC Chairman Reince Priebus earlier this week. Trump told CNN the call wasn’t to chastise but had a more “congratulatory” tone.

Trump Is Ready for the GOP Debates

July 10, 2015 at 7:12 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 55 Comments

New York Times: “With the party’s first debate scheduled for Aug. 6, Republicans are absorbing the likelihood that Mr. Trump, and his parade of provocations, will be on stage. Fox News has set criteria for participation primarily on the candidates’ standing in national polls, and Mr. Trump is now comfortably ensconced in the top 10.”

Said Trump adviser Michael Cohen: “He’s 100 percent going to do the debates.”

Will Andrew Cuomo Change?

July 10, 2015 at 7:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

New York Times: “Many fellow Democrats have seethed for years about what they view as Mr. Cuomo’s heavy-handed methods. But in a rare season of open criticism against the governor of New York, he has found himself unexpectedly on the defensive over an approach to politics Democrats call dismissive and domineering.”

“Confronted with a restive party, Mr. Cuomo, 57, now faces the most consequential political choice of his second term: whether to appease downtrodden Democrats by adjusting his personal style, or to continue relying on a set of hard-edged methods that his supporters call essential to maintaining political order in the state.”

Bush Holds Donor Retreat at Parent’s Home

July 10, 2015 at 7:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

Washington Post: “The confab for some of the GOP’s wealthiest donors came just hours after Bush’s campaign and an allied super PAC announced that they’d donated more than $114 million to support the former governor — an unprecedented sum in American politics that gives him a sizable financial advantage over more than a dozen GOP rivals.”

“Bush had announced plans for the Kennebunkport donor retreat at the start of his campaign, dangling one of the most cherished chits in Republican politics — a visit to his family’s storied beachfront estate — as an incentive to entice benefactors to deliver.”

Clinton Embraces Gun Control

July 9, 2015 at 9:31 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 75 Comments

“In a sign that the political environment on guns has shifted in the wake of recent mass shootings — and of Hillary Clinton’s determination to stake out liberal ground in her primary race against insurgent Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) — Clinton is not only initiating a debate about gun control but also vowing to fight the National Rifle Association,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Clinton: “I’m going to speak out against the uncontrollable use of guns in our country because I believe we can do better.”

Why the GOP Won’t Renounce Trump

July 9, 2015 at 9:19 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 41 Comments

“Republican Party leaders agonize over the prospect that Donald Trump will mount a third-party candidacy that could undermine their nominee. They fear insulting the white working-class voters who admire him. They are loath to tangle with a threat-flinging firebrand for whom there are no rules of engagement,” the New York Times reports.

“Since the start of Mr. Trump’s presidential campaign, a vexing question has hovered over his candidacy: Why have so many party leaders — privately appalled by Mr. Trump’s remarks about immigrants from Mexico — not renounced him?”

“It turns out, interviews show, that the mathematical delicacy of a Republican victory in 2016 — and its dependence on aging, anxious white voters — make it exceedingly perilous for the Republican Party to treat Mr. Trump as the pariah many of its leaders now wish he would become.”

Democrats Work Overtime to Define Jeb Bush

July 9, 2015 at 9:05 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

Jeb Bush’s statement “that Americans should ‘work longer hours‘ thrust the Democratic attack machine into high gear for the first time this cycle, as operatives seized on the opportunity to paint the GOP’s leading 2016 contender with the same devastating brush they used on Mitt Romney four years ago,” Politico reports.

“Their objective isn’t just a few days of bad news coverage that might diminish his standing in the Republican primary field; it’s to establish a critique that will endure for the duration of the campaign.”

Could Hillary Clinton Lose the Primary?

July 9, 2015 at 9:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 28 Comments

Stuart Stevens: “Here’s what we know has happened so far in the Democratic primary for president. Since Hillary Clinton started spending money, hiring staff and campaigning, she has lost votes. In Iowa and New Hampshire, she was doing better in the polls in January than she is today. Heck, she had more votes last month than she has today.”

“Politics is about trends and the one thing we know is that trends escalate in speed as elections near. Even starting out with the huge lead that she did, Clinton can’t allow Sanders to keep gaining votes while she loses votes in the hope that the bleeding won’t be fatal in the long run.”

Bush Races Past Rivals in Fundraising

July 9, 2015 at 9:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

Jeb Bush and his allies announced on “that they had amassed more than $114 million in campaign cash over the last six months, dwarfing the combined fund-raising of his Republican rivals for the party’s presidential nomination,” the New York Times reports.

Wall Street Journal: “Only one-tenth of Mr. Bush’s haul went to his Miami-based campaign, with the rest going to the technically independent super PAC, which is based in California and is legally barred from coordinating its activities with his team.”

Summer Flings with Candidates Typically Don’t Last

July 9, 2015 at 3:48 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

Boston Globe: “For the past three decades, there has been a rhythm in presidential politics. Every four years, in the summer before Iowa and New Hampshire vote, some candidate comes out of nowhere, surges in the polls, gets buzz, and then eventually returns to nowhere.”

Speech of the Day

July 9, 2015 at 3:40 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

The plight of South Carolina’s slaves was rarely mentioned until late in the debate, when state Rep. Joseph Neal (D) rose to speak, the Los Angeles Times reports.

Every GOP Candidate Will Skip Latino Convention

July 9, 2015 at 2:30 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 65 Comments

“The nation’s largest Latino advocacy group says it invited every presidential candidate to annual convention next week. Not a single Republican plans to attend,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Candidates Must File Disclosures to Participate in Debate

July 9, 2015 at 1:46 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 47 Comments

“The large field of Republican presidential hopefuls jockeying to make the cut for the first 2016 debate will have to file a public disclosure of their personal finances on time to participate,” the Washington Post reports.

“That means every candidate who declared before July 6 — a group of 14 contenders including former Florida governor Jeb Bush and real estate magnate Donald Trump — will have to reveal information about their assets and debts to get into the Aug. 6 event in Cleveland.”

Donald Trump said that he will file his financial disclosure ahead of schedule, perhaps next week.

Trump Won’t Commit to Supporting GOP Nominee

July 9, 2015 at 1:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 39 Comments

In a wide-ranging, 30-minute interview with thge Washington Post, Donald Trump said he has “serious concerns about other Republican candidates and refused to commit to supporting the eventual nominee in the general election.”

Said Trump: “So many people want me to run as an independent — so many people. I have been asked by — you have no idea, everybody wants me to do it. I think the best chance of defeating the Democrats and to make America great again is to win as a Republican because I don’t want to be splitting up votes.”

Has Donald Trump Already Peaked?

July 9, 2015 at 11:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 73 Comments

First Read: “Here’s a fairly safe prediction: Trump’s poll position in the GOP race is going to go down. It might not happen tomorrow, or next month before the first debate, or the month after that. But it’s going to happen. And it won’t be due to immigration, but instead past statements on a slew of important issues to the GOP base.”

“Exhibit A: His comment to NBC’s Tim Russert in 1999 that ‘I’m very pro-choice.’ … Exhibit B: His remark on not opposing gays serving in the military in that same 1999 interview. ‘Hey, I’ve lived in New York City and Manhattan all of my life. So my views are a little different than had I lived in Iowa.’ (Expect that line in a TV ad to Iowa voters.) Exhibit C: Another 1999 quote from Trump via Buzzfeed. ‘I’m very liberal when it comes to health care. I believe in universal health care.’ Make no mistake, GOP rivals and outside groups will make Iowa and New Hampshire voters know about those lines if Trump is still riding high in the polls by November or December.”

The Latest on Wonk Wire

July 9, 2015 at 10:24 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 3 Comments

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