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GOP Insiders Fret Trump Bump

June 26, 2015 at 6:57 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 33 Comments

Politico: “He has virtually zero chance of winning the presidential nomination. But insiders worry that the loud-mouthed mogul is more than just a minor comedic nuisance on cable news; they fret that he’s a loose cannon whose rants about Mexicans and scorched-earth attacks on his rivals will damage the eventual nominee and hurt a party struggling to connect with women and minorities and desperate to win.”

“Those risks were amplified this week after a trio of polls showed him likely to earn a coveted invitation to the party’s debates, which ironically were restructured with the very goal of avoiding the circus-like atmosphere of 2012. Having Trump introduce the 2016 field to a national audience was not exactly the Big Tent the party’s bigwigs had in mind.”

Conservatives Feel Betrayed by Roberts

June 26, 2015 at 6:52 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 37 Comments

“Conservatives were left baffled after Chief Justice John Roberts saved Obamacare three years ago. On Thursday, as the George W. Bush appointee again helped President Barack Obama’s signature legislative achievement avoid a potentially devastating blow, they felt betrayed,” Politico reports.

“Adding to the sting: The chief justice wasn’t just along for the ride. When the court’s ruling allowing the law’s insurance subsidies to be offered nationwide emerged, he wrote the majority opinion and delivered it from the bench.”

Wall Street Journal: “The ruling, however, made clear the chief justice is building another kind of legacy, one in which he is trying to keep the Supreme Court out of Congress’s way in important and potentially divisive policy areas.”

Quote of the Day

June 26, 2015 at 6:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“The point is, this is not an abstract thing anymore. This is not a set of political talking points. For all the misinformation campaigns, all the doomsday predictions, all the talk of death panels and job destruction, for all the repeal attempts — this law is now helping tens of millions of Americans.”

— President Obama, quoted by the New York Times, on the Supreme Court’s vindication of the Affordable Care Act.

Terry McAuliffe’s Other Big Job

June 26, 2015 at 6:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

“Terry McAuliffe tells political associates that he’s focused on his day job as Virginia governor, so he won’t have any formal responsibilities in his friend Hillary’s campaign,” Politico reports.

“But the Clinton loyalist, fundraiser and 2008 campaign chairman is already shaping a significant role for himself… Despite the daily demands of running the state he was elected to lead in 2013, he’s emerging as Hillary’s informal liaison to governors and the party’s biggest donors, while also keeping a finger on the pulse of the camp’s central operations in Brooklyn.”

Clinton Didn’t Turn Over All Emails

June 25, 2015 at 9:18 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 54 Comments

The State Department said Hillary Clinton “didn’t hand over at least 15 emails that appear to be work-related from her personal server, contradicting her claims that all her work emails were in the hands of the federal government,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The emails in question were uncovered as part of a subpoena from a congressional committee to Sidney Blumenthal, a longtime Clinton confidant and former White House aide in Bill Clinton’s administration. At least 15 emails given by Mr. Blumenthal to the committee don’t match any in the archive of more than 30,000 emails turned over by Mrs. Clinton to the State Department late last year.”

Legacies of Obama and Roberts Forever Intertwined

June 25, 2015 at 8:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

President Obama and Chief Justice John Roberts “got off to a rough start from the very beginning, when they tripped over each other’s words during a key line in the oath at Obama’s first inauguration,” the Washington Post reports.

“Both Harvard Law School graduates, they occupy nearly opposite ends of the ideological spectrum. Obama, as a senator, had voted against Roberts’s confirmation the court, saying the judge lacked sufficient empathy for the powerless and could not be counted on to vote the right way in the most important cases.”

“But in Thursday’s Supreme Court decision upholding federal subsidies offered under the Affordable Care Act, Roberts again helped sustain the president’s policy legacy in a way that few could have anticipated when Obama took office. In voting with the majority and writing the opinion, the chief justice has ensured that the legacies of both the Obama presidency and the Roberts court are forever intertwined.”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

June 25, 2015 at 8:57 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 44 Comments

“It means that the most significant domestic issue in 2016, at every House race, in every Senate race and for president will be centered around whether or not the country wants to keep Obamacare.”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by Politico, on the Supreme Court decision upholding Obamacare subsidies.

Univison Ends Relationship with Donald Trump

June 25, 2015 at 8:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

Univision said it is ending its relationship with the Miss Universe organization, which is part owned by Donald Trump, following his remarks about Mexico sending its criminals and rapists to the U.S., NBC News reports.

Meanwhile, the Hollywood Reporter says NBC “is evaluating its commitment to the upcoming Miss USA pageant hours after Univision’s decision to drop the program over comments made by Donald Trump.”

Clinton and Bush Hold Small Leads in New Hampshire

June 25, 2015 at 8:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

A new WMUR/CNN Granite State Poll finds Hillary Clinton with an 8 point lead over Bernie Sanders in the Democratic race for president, 43% to 35%.

On the Republican side, the poll finds Jeb Bush remains on top at 16%, followed by Donald Trump at 11%, Rand Paul at 9%, Scott Walker at 8%, Marco Rubio at 6%, Carly Fiorina at 6%, Ben Carson at 5% and Chris Christie at 5%.

Romney Wants to be the GOP Kingmaker

June 25, 2015 at 5:11 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 32 Comments

“Mitt Romney is asserting himself as a leader of the Republican Party at a time when the GOP lacks a true standard-bearer,” The Hill reports.

“As the huge field of Republican contenders begins the long slog to the party’s 2016 nomination, Romney is working to connect select candidates with his vast political network, urging the party to learn from his past mistakes, attacking Democratic front-runner Hillary Clinton and taking forceful stances on controversial issues.”

Marco Rubio Courts Sheldon Adelson

June 25, 2015 at 5:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

Washington Post: “The Florida senator, who has relentlessly sought the billionaire casino mogul’s backing for 2016, co-sponsored a bill yesterday afternoon to ban online gaming. It is not only Adelson’s top legislative priority, it could significantly boost his company’s bottom line.”

“This is just the latest in an aggressive string of moves by Rubio to win over one of the GOP’s biggest donors. The two men dined together at Charlie Palmer steak house, adjacent to the Capitol, in March. That was one of at least half a dozen private meetings, which we know about, since the Florida senator took office. Politico reported in April that Rubio calls Adelson every fortnight to provide detailed updated about the campaign. Meanwhile, the newspaper Adelson owns in Israel has trumpeted Rubio on its front page so much so that Israelis joke about it.”

Ted Cruz, Then and Now

June 25, 2015 at 4:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 34 Comments

“One of the best constitutional minds in the country.”

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted in 2005 by the South Florida Sun-Sentinel, on Chief Justice John Roberts.

“Unelected judges have once again become legislators, and bad ones at that. They are lawless, and they hide their prevarication in legalese.”

— Cruz, in a statement today on the Obamacare decision written by Roberts.

Obama Health Care Legacy Is Secure

June 25, 2015 at 3:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

“With two Supreme Court victories in the past three years, Republicans lacking a serious alternative and millions of previously uninsured Americans now in health plans, the Affordable Care Act is about as firmly ensconced as a law can be in a politically divided country,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“In the decision, Roberts explicitly blessed the law’s sweeping system for guaranteeing coverage, noting that the model succeeded where previous attempts had failed. And although many Republicans kept up their rhetorical attacks in the ruling’s immediate aftermath, the prospects that the GOP would take away coverage from the more than 20 million Americans who have come to rely on the law have all but evaporated.”

GOP Relieved Over Obamacare Decision Despite Rhetoric

June 25, 2015 at 3:43 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

“Even as Republicans rose in a chorus of outrage Thursday over the U.S. Supreme Court’s refusal to gut the unpopular Affordable Care Act, party leaders were privately breathing a sigh of relief,” the Washington Post reports.

“Had the court gone the other way, Republicans would have faced their most serious governing challenge since taking control of both houses of Congress earlier this year.”

New York Times: “The Supreme Court’s decision was a clear victory for President Obama. But it was also quite good news for Republican presidential candidates. They can keep the issue as a rhetorical device to stoke support among primary and caucus voters, but they will not be burdened by Democratic criticism about millions of people losing health insurance.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

June 25, 2015 at 3:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

“Today, after more than 50 votes in Congress to repeal or weaken this law, after a presidential election based in part on preserving or repealing this law, after multiple challenges to this law before the Supreme Court, the Affordable Care Act is here to stay.”

— President Obama, quoted by the Wall Street Journal.

Push to Remove Confederate Symbols Moves to Capitol

June 25, 2015 at 3:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 6 Comments

New York Times: “Almost overnight, the push to remove Confederate symbols has become a bit like the rush to support same-sex marriage. Although one effort stems from a precipitating event and the other from gradual social forces, in both cases politicians are increasingly finding that one side of the divide is the least comfortable place to stand.”

“There are few places where those symbols are in more abundance than at the United States Capitol, where millions of tourists flock each year to take in the living history of America.”

Supreme Court Allows Obamacare Subsidies Nationwide

June 25, 2015 at 10:40 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 242 Comments

The Supreme Court ruled that President Obama’s health care law “may provide nationwide tax subsidies to help poor and middle-class people buy health insurance,” the New York Times reports.

“Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. wrote the majority opinion in the 6-to-3 decision. The court’s three most conservative members — Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr. — dissented.”

Wonk Wire: Supreme Court Upholds Obamacare Subsidies

The Latest on Wonk Wire

June 25, 2015 at 10:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 1 Comment

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