Hillary Clinton’s top campaign lawyer “has filed a second voter-access lawsuit accusing a Republican-led state of trying to suppress the vote — this time in Wisconsin, home to Scott Walker, the governor and likely Republican 2016 presidential candidate,” the New York Times reports.
Clinton Plans Formal Kick Off for June 13
“Hillary Clinton will officially launch her campaign for president on June 13 with a rally on New York City’s Roosevelt Island, ending the gradual ramp-up phase of her bid for president,” Time reports.
“The former Secretary of State will speak to a crowd open to the public on the four-mile-long island in the East River of New York at midday, a Clinton campaign official said on Monday. In her remarks, Clinton will lay our her vision for the campaign and her view of the country. Immediately following her campaign speech, she will travel to all four early primary states, first to Iowa, then to New Hampshire, South Carolina and Nevada.”
Coffman Decides Against Senate Bid in Colorado
Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) won’t challenge Sen. Michael Bennet (D-CO) in Colorado’s Senate race next year, “setting in motion a wild scramble to find a Republican candidate for 2016,” the Denver Post reports.
“A number of Democrats have assumed Coffman would be the nominee, as evidence by the heightened number of attacks in him in recent months.”
Hastert Judge Is a Campaign Donor
Politico: “The federal judge assigned to preside over the criminal case against former House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) donated at least twice to Hastert’s congressional campaigns… U.S. District Court Judge Thomas Durkin gave Hastert for Congress $500 in 2002 and $1000 in 2004… The donations could fuel questions about the judge’s impartiality in the case.”
Is a Third Party Ready to Break Out?
Gerald Seib: “Listen to the early sounds of the 2016 presidential campaign, in which candidates of the left and the right sound almost identical populist, anti-Wall Street, antiestablishment themes, and the idea doesn’t seem so crazy. When you have Republican presidential contenders opposing free-trade agreements, and at least one backing an increase in the minimum wage; when Democratic firebrand Bernie Sanders (technically an independent to begin with) is speaking to overflow crowds; and when left and right come together to halt a prominent national-security program backed by the foreign-policy establishment—well, something is going on.”
Where’s Dennis Hastert?
Washington Post: “Hastert’s longtime network of aides and associates in Washington remain bewildered by the lack of information, both about the nature of the sexual abuse allegations and whether Hastert has even hired a criminal defense lawyer. When a current or former public official is charged, usually an attorney representing the official quickly releases a statement defending his client. Yet no information has been made available about the identity of Hastert’s legal team.”
“In another unusual aspect of Hastert’s case, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Chicago said Hastert would be ordered to appear for arraignment on a ‘later date’ in federal court, but that date has not yet been specified. Initial court appearances quickly follow an indictment in most federal cases.”
Jeb Bush Struggles to Win Over Brother’s Team
New York Times: “A sampling conducted largely by email of about 120 people who worked for George W. Bush — from cabinet secretaries to foreign policy advisers to advance aides — found about 25 who said they were supporting his younger brother. Fifty others said they were neutral or supporting another candidate, while the rest did not respond, passing up a chance to declare allegiance to the next Bush candidacy.”
Extra Bonus Quote of the Day
“My brother’s not going to be a problem at all. I seek out his advice. I love him dearly. I’ve learned from his successes.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by the Washington Post.
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Bonus Quote of the Day
“For a guy like me, it’s pretty simple. I do well in Iowa and finish in the top tier in New Hampshire, I’ll win South Carolina. By the end of South Carolina there are three or four people left at the most.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by the Washington Post.
The Democrats Have a Primary Race
Rick Klein: “The scrum to become the anti-Hillary candidate is now joined, with flaws and foibles evident in both men who seem best positioned to give the Democratic frontrunner a run for her money. While this is Martin O’Malley’s announcement moment, it’s an early Bernie Sanders momentum moment, with polls and press coverage casting the Vermont senator as on the move. It’s important to remember that Sanders has more of a built-in base, particularly without Elizabeth Warren running. He’s the candidate for the far left, and the even farther left beyond.”
“O’Malley’s advantages would be more likely to stand out in a more traditional competitive primary. He has governing experience, a generational argument to make, and generally looks the part more than Sanders. The race’s dynamics could wind up driving its competitive nature. If Hillary Clinton cruises wire-to-wire, Sanders could easily be the default runner-up. But the moment Clinton looks vulnerable enough to actually be beaten, it might be time for O’Mentum.”
It’s Going to be Hillary vs. Jeb
Bill Scher: “That Hillary will coast I doubt surprises you. Sure, has her B-list challengers stoking the populist embers in the Democratic base. Bernie Sanders and Martin O’Malley are in. Lincoln Chafee and Jim Webb may soon follow suit. Each may put up a good fight, raise some decent money and earn a moment in the sun. Collectively, they will force Hillary to finesse sticky issues that pit the Democratic Party’s working class against its donor class. But they won’t fundamentally alter the trajectory of the race.”
“The Republican Party is just too splintered and too fractionalized. And any conservative consolidation project is severely hampered by the bottomless pit of Republican candidates. Each of these hopefuls may be more implausible than the next. But the more candidates that can claim their own chunk of the conservative base—Santorum’s blue-collar social conservatives, Graham’s hard-core hawks, Trump’s angry rich guys who dole out ‘wife bonuses’—the harder it is for conservatives to pool their resources.”
“And if there’s one thing Jeb Bush will have that the rest of the field won’t, it is resources. His latest round of ‘I haven’t made a final decision’ coyness is just so can he legally milk every last dollar from the Bush family’s vast donor network for his Right to Rise Super PAC before he becomes an official candidate and canvasses his rich friends all over again for direct donations.”
Celebrity Justice
Rick Hasen: “It is not your imagination. Supreme Court Justices are in the news more than ever, whether they are selling books, testifying before Congress, addressing a Federalist Society, or American Constitution Society event, or just talking to a Muppet on Sesame Street. The number of books about the Court and particular Justices continues to grow. Websites are now devoted to tracking the Justices’ movements as they crisscross the country (and the world) speaking to various audiences. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is even promoted on T-shirts as the “Notorious R.B.G.,” a riff on the name of famous rap artist Notorious B.I.G. She will soon be the topic of a biopic staring Natalie Portman.”
“That Supreme Court Justices have become celebrities is not news. Indeed, Justices’ public statements about same-sex marriage or Bush v. Gore often get extensive coverage, and extrajudicial comments on issues in pending cases sometimes lead to (ignored) calls for judicial recusal. However, until now no one has quantified the increase in the number of publicly reported events and interviews done by Justices overall and which Justices engage most reported extrajudicial speech.”
Clinton Gets Prized Email List
“Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign late last week obtained access to the full Ready for Hillary email list, a data gold mine that will immediately bolster the Democratic front-runner’s fundraising and organizing efforts,” Politico reports.
Bush Wants to Push Back Retirement Age
Jeb Bush wants to push back the retirement age for Social Security by as many as five years, The Hill reports.
Said Bush: “I think it needs to be phased in over an extended period of time. We need to look over the horizon and begin to phase in, over an extended period of time, going from 65 to 68 or 70. And that, by itself, will help sustain the retirement system for anybody under the age of 40.”
“At the same time, Bush said that he would be open to cutting back benefits for wealthy people and their beneficiaries, a reform proposal known as means testing.”
Lessons Not Learned
My column in The Week: The GOP is completely ignoring its 2012 autopsy report.
Cheney Looks to Get Back in the Fray
Former Vice President Dick Cheney “is looking to make a splash on the national stage with a new book to be published in September and a group he and his daughter Liz launched to advance their views,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The effort is sure to play directly into the 2016 presidential debate, in which national-security policy is already a point of difference between the Republican candidates, many of whom are looking to turn the page on George W. Bush’s administration.”
Quote of the Day
“People here in town think I’m making a huge mistake. Some of them I think, secretly want there to be an attack on the United States, so they can blame it on me.”
— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by The Hill, on his efforts to let the Patriot Act expire.
