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House Passes Fast-Track Trade Bill

June 18, 2015 at 1:31 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“The House passed legislation to restore presidential power to ease trade pacts through Congress, as Republicans and pro-trade Democrats drove through a new fast-track bill a week after liberals brought down a similar measure in an uprising against their own president,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The 218-208 vote was the House’s second attempt to give President Barack Obama the power to submit trade deals to Congress for an up-or-down vote without amendments. But the course forward is uncertain. The fate of the fast-track legislation is intertwined with a related measure to help workers hurt by international trade. Many pro-trade Senate Democrats say they won’t vote for the fast-track bill without evidence the workers’ aid program will pass both chambers.

Walker Holds Clear Lead Among Conservatives

June 18, 2015 at 1:29 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) “is the clear favorite of conservative voters as he readies an expected bid for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016,” according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll.

Walker and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “can each claim about a quarter of the most conservative party members, the poll shows. While ardent conservatives only account for 1 in 10 Republican voters, they are more likely to vote in primary contests and take an active role in politics. He also wins a large share of conservative-leaning voters who are less inclined to see every issue in terms of black and white.”

Quote of the Day

June 18, 2015 at 12:09 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 59 Comments

“The reason I think we need to seal our borders completely, all of our borders—north, south, east, west—is not so much because I’m afraid of somebody in Honduras … I’m afraid of someone from Syria that wants to bomb us and wants to do bad things.”

— Ben Carson (R), quoted by National Journal.

GOP Launches Campaign Against Non-Candidate

June 18, 2015 at 12:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

New Hampshire Gov. Maggie Hassan (D) still hasn’t decided whether she’ll run for Senate, National Journal reports.

“But that hasn’t stopped New Hampshire Republicans from already spending over a million early dollars against” her. That’s because the “biggest boost Republicans could give” Sen. Kelly Ayotte’s (R) “reelection campaign at this point would be to either damage the popular Hassan ahead of her campaign or maybe even dissuade her from running at all.”

Ballot Measure Inc.

June 18, 2015 at 11:49 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

The Center for Public Integrity looks at the “powerful electoral-industrial complex” funded by moneyed interests that belies the quaint notion of “citizen democracy” that ballot measures are assumed to represent.

“Active in the 26 states that have citizen-initiated ballot measures, the network of pollsters, direct mail specialists, lawyers, consultants, signature gatherers and voting data whizzes were paid at least $400 million for 85 statewide measures across the country in 2014… In presidential election years, state and local measures are a billion-dollar industry.”

Lawmaker Calls on Police to Find ‘Jackass’ Shooter

June 18, 2015 at 9:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 36 Comments

South Carolina state Sen. Larry Grooms (R) called on police to catch the “jackass” who shot and killed his friend and colleague, state Sen. Clementa Pinckney (D), along with eight others during a Bible study last night in Charleston, TPM reports.

Said Grooms: “He was my colleague but he was also my brother in Christ, and the news of his death and the deaths of the others, made me physically ill.”

He added: “The first thing we do, we’ve got to find this jackass and bring him to justice. It’s evil. He is evil.”

Walker Takes More Steps Towards White House Bid

June 18, 2015 at 9:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

In his firmest step yet toward a White House bid, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) has created a “testing the waters” committee that will allow him to raise money for an eventual campaign, Bloomberg reports.

“The new committee allows Walker to raise resources to be directly controlled by him and his prospective campaign. The new fund is on top of Our American Revival, a tax-exempt group he’s had since January, and a super political action committee, Unintimidated PAC, formed in April by former top aides.”

South Carolina Shootings Likely to Influence Primaries

June 18, 2015 at 9:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

First Read says the shootings last night in South Carolina “will influence — one way or another — next year’s primaries in the state.”

“Do note that this is the second high-profile race-related crime in South Carolina — after a policeman was caught on camera shooting a fleeing black man. So these shootings will forge a backdrop to both the Democratic and Republican primaries that will take in South Carolina early next year. The two events aren’t connected, but yet they are.”

Iowa and New Hampshire Fret About Power Loss

June 18, 2015 at 7:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 51 Comments

“For nearly a half century, Iowa and New Hampshire have played a pivotal role in American electoral politics. But their top place on the nominating calendar is under threat like never before,” the Boston Globe reports.

Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-NH) and Iowa Gov. Terry Branstad (R) “added their voices this week to dozens of political figures who have complained their states’ stature will be undercut by Fox News’ plans to limit the first presidential debate to the top 10 GOP candidates in national polls. The network’s truncated invitation list could do the job usually handled by Iowa’s caucuses and New Hampshire’s primary — winnowing a crowded field.”

“The signs abound that the selection process is changing as candidates shift their strategies to run a national primary campaign, instead of one that runs solely through early nominating states.”

Graham Explains Why He Never Married

June 18, 2015 at 7:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 49 Comments

“There are many subjects South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham wants to talk about on the campaign trail, but it’s the fascination about his bachelor status that has surprised him most,” CNN reports.

“So Graham — best known as a flame-thrower on immigration reform and an outspoken critic of President Obama’s foreign policy — has opened up about his lost loves and a near proposal to a Lufthansa flight attendant in a 126-page e-book released on his website this week.”

What If Supreme Court Rules Against Obamacare?

June 18, 2015 at 7:33 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

Wonk Wire: Economists predict “shockwaves” if Supreme Court rules against Obamacare subsidies.

Bush Team Seeks to ‘Weaponize’ Fundraising Total

June 18, 2015 at 7:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

“The super PAC supporting Jeb Bush, now walled off from the candidate because of campaign finance rules, hopes to ‘weaponize‘ its fund-raising total for the first six months of the year,” the New York Times reports.

“The comment from Mike Murphy, a veteran adviser to Mr. Bush who is now running the political action committee that will back the campaign, came as the group is focused on raising as much money as possible in the final days of its first fund-raising period, contributing to what is expected to be a significant financial edge over the rest of the Republican field.”

GOP Candidates Urged to Reject Gay Marriage

June 18, 2015 at 7:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

CNN: “Candidates seeking the Republican presidential nomination will be urged Thursday to sign a pledge promising to support a constitutional amendment defining marriage as being between one man and one woman. The National Organization for Marriage’s request comes as the nation waits to see if the U.S. Supreme Court will rule this month to legalize same sex marriage across the country.”

Trump Paid to Use Neil Young Song

June 18, 2015 at 7:04 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

“When Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he’s running for president, the soundtrack at the Trump Tower event was Neil Young’s Rockin’ in the Free World, which was played loudly and repeatedly. But afterward, Young said Trump had used the song without permission — and that he’s a Bernie Sanders guy, anyway,” NPR reports.

Byron York: “But perhaps it is time for a Republican candidate to fight back. There is no legal reason why Trump could not play ‘Rockin’ in the Free World’ at his event yesterday, provided that Trump paid the appropriate fee for the right to use the music. And in many of the most common circumstances of life on the campaign trail, Republicans who pay those appropriate fees are as entitled as anyone else to use any artist’s music they choose.”

The Trump campaign confirmed to Fox News that they paid for the right to use the recording.

Treasury Will Put Woman on $10 Bill

June 18, 2015 at 6:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

“For the first time in more than a century, a woman’s face will appear on an American bill. The Treasury Department announced Wednesday it will replace the main image of its own founder, Alexander Hamilton, on the $10 bill, with a woman as yet to be determined. Mr. Hamilton will remain on the bill in a diminished way,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

The Washington Examiner reports the news “left many wondering why Andrew Jackson’s face on the $20 bill wasn’t being replaced instead. But Treasury Secretary Jack Lew says there’s a straightforward explanation. The $10 bill is currently scheduled for a redesign, and creating new currency is a painstaking process that takes years to plan and complete.”

Pope Calls for Swift Action on Climate Change

June 18, 2015 at 6:41 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

Pope Francis “called for a radical transformation of politics, economics and individual lifestyles to confront environmental degradation and climate change, as his much-awaited papal encyclical blended a biting critique of consumerism and irresponsible development with a plea for swift and unified global action,” the New York Times reports.

“The vision that Francis outlined in the 184-page encyclical is sweeping in ambition and scope: He described a relentless exploitation and destruction of the environment, which he blamed on apathy, the reckless pursuit of profits, excessive faith in technology, and political shortsightedness. The most vulnerable victims are the world’s poorest people, he declared, who are being dislocated and disregarded.”

Wall Street Journal: “The pontiff also denounced in bold and uncompromising terms what he described as the sinful plundering of the earth by powerful political and economic interests at the expense of the poor and future generations.”

Wonk Wire: Catholics divided over global warming

GOP Candidates Woo Evangelical Voters

June 18, 2015 at 6:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

“The annual Faith & Freedom Coalition Policy Conference kicks off Thursday in Washington, giving top-tier presidential contenders as well as long shots such as Rick Santorum and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal a chance to compete for the large evangelical Christian base in the crowded Republican primary contest,” Bloomberg reports.

“For the Republicans preparing to address the conference, it presents a quandary: Whether to go all in with an evangelical base that remains opposed to gay marriage and risk alienating a growing majority of the country.”

“Among those scheduled to attend the conference are Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, and Senator Marco Rubio of Florida, at this point the three strongest contenders for the Republican nomination in polls. Walker, the son of a Baptist preacher, in particular is making an aggressive play for the evangelical vote.”

Trump Lets Voters Touch His Hair

June 18, 2015 at 6:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

At a campaign stop in New Hampshire, Fox News caught Donald Trump allowing a woman to walk up to the stage to touch his hair.