“The lease is signed: Hillary Clinton’s campaign headquarters will work out of 1 Pierrepont Plaza in Brooklyn Heights,” Politico reports.
“The campaign will occupy two full floors of the office building, which is close to 12 subways lines and a dozen bus lines, and will be taking them as is – no buildout. The Clinton team’s neighbors in the building will be Morgan Stanley and the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York.”
Here’s a must read: Political Animals: How Our Stone-Age Brain Gets in the Way of Smart Politics by Rick Shenkman
“Drawing on cutting-edge research in neuroscience, evolutionary psychology, and behavioral psychology, he explains that evolution has left us with a brain wired for the Stone Age. While these ancient instincts often work to our advantage in our personal lives, in politics they usually don’t. Modern cues set off ancient instinctive responses that prompt us to behave in ways contrary to the good governance of our nation.”
Wonk Wire: President Obama’s claim that 50,000 have not died in hospitals because of the Affordable Care Act is found to be largely true.
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“Negotiators from Iran and major world powers reached agreement Thursday on a framework for a final agreement to curb Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for relief from international sanctions, an accord that President Obama hailed as a ‘good deal’ that would make the world a safer place,” the Washington Post reports.
“Participants in the talks said the sides, including the United States and its key European allies, would promptly start drafting a final accord to be completed by a June 30 deadline.”
Wall Street Journal: “The deal would place strong constraints and controls on Iran’s nuclear work for up to 25 years, with severe limits for the first decade. U.S. officials said Iran’s timeline for amassing enough nuclear fuel for a weapon would rise to at least one year for the first decade of a deal. That is in line with the key Western demand. Iran’s so-called breakout time is currently two to three months.”
“But it was still unclear how two of the major sticking points in the final days of negotiations were resolved. One unanswered question was when exactly sanctions would be eased, and the other was how quickly Iran will be able to scale up its nuclear activities after the first decade.”
New York Times: “There was no mistaking the upbeat mood surrounding the announcement, following eight days of intense debate between Secretary of State John Kerry and his Iranian counterpart, Mohammad Javad Zarif.”
Politico: Republicans trash Iran deal
Washington Post: “Much of President Obama’s foreign policy agenda has been foisted upon him during his six years in office. He inherited two wars, in Iraq and Afghanistan, neither of which he’s been able to end. He’s had to react to chaos in the Middle East and a Russian incursion in Ukraine.”
“The negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program are a different matter. They are Obama’s choice, and he’s fought to keep them moving since the beginning of his presidency despite setbacks and second-guessing from Republicans, fellow Democrats and longtime foreign allies.”
An aide to Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) told the Associated Press the senator will return campaign contributions she received from Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ), who was charged with 14 criminal counts, including bribery.
USA Today notes Klobuchar “matches the description of a lawmaker known as Senator 1 in the indictment, which says Menendez and this lawmaker agreed to raise $25,000 for each other in their 2012 re-election bids.”
Jeb Bush’s campaign team “has been quietly taping his private appearances in hopes of pushing back on false narratives dished by donors to reporters and to have a record to disprove any misinformation wafting from closed-door events,” National Journal reports.
“The self-taping also represents an acknowledgement that with smart phones and new live-streaming social-media apps like Meerkat and Periscope, nothing is truly off-the-record. It is also, presumably, a way to make that point particularly clear for Bush, who hasn’t run for office in more than a decade.”
Brad Phillips reports on a new opposition research firm which analyzes political staffers’ online media presence for indications of how their postings might embarrass their bosses.
“Frankly, I’m surprised it took this long for somebody to advertise the service specifically for political staffs, because staffers’ social media accounts have caused trouble in the past for countless politicians.”
Rick Klein: “Ex-presidents aren’t created equal. Or, at least, they’re not equal by the time history gets to judge. George W. Bush fans are likely to be Jeb Bush fans, just as Bill Clinton fans overwhelmingly favor Hillary Clinton in 2016, according to the new ABC News/Washington Post poll. But Hillary has a deeper pool to draw from than W.: Bill Clinton has a 73 percent approval rate, while George W. Bush’s is at 47 percent. Enough said? Unless you also say … Barack Obama has an identical 47 percent approval rating in the poll. Hillary Clinton’s is down to 49 percent – 18 points below her high point, which came as she was leaving office as Secretary of State.”
“In a race with echoes of history, it looks like which history major candidates are able to tap into could be determinative. As for now, Clinton leads her major possible rivals in head-to-head matchups. She would beat Jeb Bush by 12 points; Scott Walker by 14, Marco Rubio by 15, and Ted Cruz by 17.”
“I’d rather go to Singapore and have them beat me with whips.”
— Sen. Harry Reid (D-NV), quoted by the New York Times, when asked if he would become a lobbyist after retiring from the U.S. Senate.
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “had strong words for business leaders who haven’t defended religious freedom laws like the one in Indiana, which has sparked a firestorm of debate,” the Des Moines Register reports.
Said Cruz: “The Fortune 500 is running shamelessly to endorse the radical gay marriage agenda over religious liberty to say: ‘We will persecute a Christian pastor, a Catholic priest, a Jewish rabbi.’ Any person of faith is subject to persecution if they dare disagree, if their religious faith parts way from their political commitment to gay marriage.”
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds Jeb Bush tops the GOP presidential field with 20%, followed by Ted Cruz at 13% and Gov. Scott Walker at 12%. Five other Republicans receive at least 6% support, with an additional six candidates at either 2% or 1%.
“Bush, Cruz and Walker are the only three to register noticeable gains since the last Post-ABC survey on the GOP race in December.”
Jeb Bush “appeared to modify his public comments about Indiana’s ‘religious freedom’ law on Wednesday in a closed-door Silicon Valley fund-raiser, telling a small group of potential supporters that a ‘consensus-oriented’ approach would have been better at the outset,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Bush’s comments were strikingly different in tone and in scope from what he said on Monday night in an interview with the conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt. In that interview he praised Gov. Mike Pence of Indiana for doing the ‘right thing’ and said that the new law was similar to one in Florida and to a law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993.”
First Read: “The problem for Bush is that all of this only feeds the narrative that conservatives can’t trust him on these types of issues — compared with the rest of the GOP field. It also cuts against the identity he has created for himself — as someone who prefers running a general-election campaign instead of a race to please the base. It’s a tricky place to be in, because it ultimately ends up pleasing no one. “
“I wouldn’t have believed that I would be involved in as much foreign policy as I am today. And it certainly isn’t by choice. It’s just that the world is on fire. And I don’t think enough Americans or enough people in the administration understand how serious the problems that we’re facing in the world are.”
— House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH), in an interview with Politico.
“Indiana Republican leaders are set to announce a deal Thursday morning that alters Indiana’s controversial ‘religious freedom’ law to ensure it does not discriminate against gay and lesbian customers of Indiana businesses,” the Indianapolis Star reports.
“The proposal — which grants new protections for LGBT customers, employees and tenants — is set for a 9 a.m. rollout at the Statehouse and a 9:30 a.m. committee hearing. It closely mirrors a draft plan that was circulated early Wednesday morning and could potentially quell concerns that have made Indiana the focus of national derision for one very intense week.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “raised about $4 million in the eight days after he formally announced his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination, his campaign staff said, indicating donations are coming at a faster clip than for some GOP candidates in past years,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The fundraising tally comes as Mr. Cruz tries to answer questions about whether he can raise enough money to compete with big-donor magnets such as former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush.”
Sen. Dick Durbin’s (D-IL) job as Democratic whip “is in danger in the absence of a crucial endorsement from New York Sen. Charles Schumer, the incoming Democratic leader,” The Hill reports.
“Democratic aides say Schumer’s backing could make or break Durbin’s bid to hang onto his job as the Senate’s No. 2 Democratic leader.”
“No one has said they will challenge Durbin for whip but, tellingly, Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), the fourth-ranking member of the Democratic leadership hasn’t ruled it out, either.”
Washington Post: “So much for a neat, orderly succession for Senate Democrats.”
New York Times: “The Republican Party is in the middle of an argument with itself. State laws seen as discriminatory against gay couples have laid bare and intensified longtime divisions in the party between social conservatives opposed to gay rights and the pro-business wing of the party that sees economic peril in the fight.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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