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Quote of the Day

April 1, 2015 at 12:53 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

“Over the past few months, my administration has received a lot of recognition for our bipartisan approach to governance. It seems to me that approach is something that is desperately lacking in Washington, D.C. So after much encouragement and reflection, I’ve come to the decision today to announce my candidacy for the president of the United States.”

— Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R), quoted by the Baltimore Sun, before noting it was April Fool’s Day.

Politico: Pols celebrate April Fools’ Day with terrible, terrible jokes

Arkansas Governor Will Not Sign ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill

April 1, 2015 at 12:40 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 51 Comments

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) said he “will not sign a controversial religious liberty bill, saying he wants lawmakers to recall the bill and change it so that it more closely resembles federal law,” the Washington Post reports.

Said Hutchinson: “This is a bill that in ordinary times would not be controversial. But these are not ordinary times.”

New York Times: “Several businesses, including the state’s largest employer, Walmart, as well as the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce, the Arkansas Municipal League and other civic groups have come out against the legislation.”

Kentucky Says Straight People Can’t Have Same-Sex Marriage Either

April 1, 2015 at 11:16 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 61 Comments

Kentucky Gov. Steve Beshear (D) “says the state’s ban on gay marriage should be upheld in part because it is not discriminatory in that both gay and straight people are barred from marrying people of the same gender,” the Louisville Courier Journal reports.

“In an argument labeled absurd by gay marriage advocates, Beshear’s lawyer says in a brief filed last week at the U.S. Supreme Court that ‘men and women, whether heterosexual or homosexual, cannot marry persons of the same sex’ under Kentucky law, making the law non-discriminatory.”

“The argument mirrors that offered by the state of Virginia nearly 50 years ago when it defended laws barring interracial marriage there and in 15 other states, including Kentucky, by saying they weren’t discriminatory because whites were barred from marrying blacks just as blacks were barred from marrying whites.”

Are Republicans Losing Big Business?

April 1, 2015 at 9:40 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

Rick Klein: “The culture wars are raging again, bringing the predictable splits. Democrats say one thing; Republicans – including all of the potential 2016ers — say another, reflecting real divisions among voters. But there’s something missing on the GOP side: some of the biggest voices in the business community. Leading the way in criticizing the new Indiana law and its cousins in other states are titans of the corporate world: Apple, Walmart, Marriott, Eli Lilly, even Indiana’s Chamber of Commerce.”

“There are few signs that corporate leaders’ splits with the political right will last permanently, or matter for things like campaign contributions. But it’s instructive to see how things are lining up in this fight. It’s as if big slices of corporate America are glimpsing a demographic and ideological future ahead of their political counterparts.”

Wonk Wire: An erosion of gay rights?

A Lesson for Republicans in Indiana

April 1, 2015 at 9:29 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 35 Comments

First Read: “Here’s the bad news for Republicans: The political fight over religious freedom and gay rights that erupted in Indiana has forced Gov. Mike Pence to retreat; put the Republican 2016 contenders to the RIGHT of Pence; and further exposed that the GOP is in a different place on gay rights than the rest of the country. That includes big business. But here’s the good news for the party: They’re learning this lesson early — as opposed to having it play out next spring or even in the fall of 2016.”

Jonathan Bernstein: “The positions that play well in a small bubble of party politics and on Fox News may go wrong when the larger November 2016 electorate is exposed to them.”

More Approve of Congressional Democrats Than GOP

April 1, 2015 at 9:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

Washington Post: “Congressional Democrats get higher approval ratings than congressional Republicans, and the gap has widened since last fall. In October, 30 percent said they approved of congressional Democrats compared with 25 percent who approved of congressional Republicans. In the new survey, approval of congressional Democrats has risen to 38 percent while congressional Republicans are up a slight 2 points, to 27 percent.”

“Public approval of Congress remains low, though not as low as it was in the year after the partial shutdown of the government in October 2013. Today, 22 percent of Americans say they approve of the way Congress is doing its job — a 7 point increase since last September. with the shift driven by a rise in support among independents and Republicans.”

Could Anyone Beat Clinton?

April 1, 2015 at 8:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 62 Comments

New York Times: “We asked three of the smartest Democratic strategists we know to imagine this situation: You are running the campaign of a liberal Democrat against Mrs. Clinton. You have $50 million to spend. What is your message? How do you run against her?”

“The strategists agreed to sketch out a blueprint anonymously, so as not to anger Mrs. Clinton. Some common themes immediately emerged.”

Cruz MIA at the Senate Armed Services Committee

April 1, 2015 at 8:37 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 16 Comments

“Sen. Ted Cruz, has the committee’s worst attendance record — by far. The Texas Republican attended just three of the panel’s 16 public hearings so far this year, according to a Politico review of transcripts from full committee hearings. The average committee member attended 13 of the 16 hearings, and Cruz is the only one of the panel’s 26 members with an attendance rate below 50 percent.”

GOP Hopefuls Attack Obamacare While Taking the Money

April 1, 2015 at 8:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

“Several Republican governors likely to run for president have secured hundreds millions of dollars under Obamacare while working to dismantle the healthcare law,” Reuters reports.

“Governors Scott Walker of Wisconsin, Chris Christie of New Jersey, Bobby Jindal of Louisiana and former Texas Governor Rick Perry, all staunch opponents of President Barack Obama’s 2010 Affordable Care Act, have collectively applied for and won at least $352 million through grant programs set up by the law, federal records show.”

“The action is at odds with the public stance of all four potential candidates, who have blasted the law as an unprecedented expansion of government and called for its repeal.”

Walker Is Allergic to Dogs

April 1, 2015 at 8:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 29 Comments

Gov. Scott Walker (R) “is allergic to dog dander,” an aide told the New York Times.

“And in that, he is running against the long sweep of United States political history. If the ritual for presidential candidates wooing American voters had a handbook, ‘must love dogs’ would be somewhere near the front.”

New Group Will Secretly Funnel Money to Bush

April 1, 2015 at 7:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

Jeb Bush “has given his tacit endorsement to a new group that can collect unlimited amounts of money in secret, part of a bold effort by his advisers to create a robust external political operation before he declares his expected White House bid,” the Washington Post reports.

“The nonprofit group, Right to Rise Policy Solutions, was quietly established in Arkansas in February by a friend and former Bush staffer. The group shares the name of two political committees for which Bush has been aggressively raising money — blurring the line that is supposed to separate a campaign from independent groups.”

“While ideological nonprofits have become major players in national politics in recent years, this marks the first time one has been so embedded in the network of a prospective candidate.”

GOP Candidates Backed Into Corner Over Indiana Law

April 1, 2015 at 6:59 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

Gov. Mike Pence (R) “just lobbed a grenade into the Republican presidential field,” Politico reports.

“The Indiana governor’s religious freedom law has ignited yet another controversial culture war debate that has Republican contenders juggling awkward questions about issues they would just as soon not touch.”

Washington Post: “Republicans had sought to avoid such disputes in 2016, but most top GOP presidential contenders quickly backed the bill, putting them out of step with growing national support for gay rights.”

Arkansas Passes ‘Religious Freedom’ Bill

April 1, 2015 at 6:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

“The Arkansas legislature on Tuesday passed its version of a bill described by proponents as a religious freedom law, even as Indiana’s political leaders struggled to gain control over a growing backlash that has led to calls to boycott the state because of criticism that its law could be a vehicle for discrimination against gay couples,” the New York Times reports.

“The Arkansas bill now goes to the state’s Republican governor, Asa Hutchinson, who expressed reservations about an earlier version but more recently said he would sign the measure if it ‘reaches my desk in similar form as to what has been passed in 20 other states.’ But the bill already faces a significant corporate backlash, including from Doug McMillon, the chief executive of Walmart, the state’s largest corporation, who said Tuesday afternoon that Mr. Hutchinson should veto it.”

Clinton Foundation Makes It Hard to Follow the Money

April 1, 2015 at 6:15 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

The Atlantic: “That conflict of interest was inappropriate for a Cabinet secretary. It ought to be intolerable in a president. Foreign governments would obviously attempt to curry favor or avoid wrath by contributing to an organization that is helping to shape her husband’s legacy, providing a livelihood for her daughter, and would perhaps constitute her base of power and influence in the years after she left the White House.”

“Yet the Clinton family seems to think it would be OK for Bill and Chelsea to keep running the foundation during the campaign (when foreign governments will surely wonder if generous donations might pay off later) and even if Hillary is president!”

Mike Pence, Then and Now

March 31, 2015 at 2:42 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

“Congress should oppose any effort to recognize homosexual’s as a ‘discreet and insular minority’ entitled to the protection of anti-discrimination laws similar to those extended to women and ethnic minorities.”

— Rep. Mike Pence (R-IN), on his campaign website in 2000.

“I don’t support discrimination against anyone. I don’t support discrimination against gays and lesbians or anyone else. I abhor discrimination.”

— Gov. Mike Pence (R), quoted by the Indianapolis Star at a press conference addressing his controversial “religious freedom” law.

Staffer Killed Himself Over Unemployment

March 31, 2015 at 2:27 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

Spence Jackson, spokesman for the late Missouri gubernatorial candidate Tom Schweich (R), “apparently faced unemployment in the wake of his boss’ suicide last month. And that, according to a note Jackson left, was the reason he took his own life Friday,” the St. Louis Post Dispatch reports.

Jackson left a suicide note saying in its entirety: “I’m so sorry. I just can’t take being unemployed again.”

Menendez Expects Indictment Tomorrow

March 31, 2015 at 2:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Bob Menendez (D-NJ) is expecting a federal indictment Wednesday, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.

“Menendez has been traveling, but is expected to be back in New Jersey tomorrow and people around him expect the long-awaited corruption charges to be brought then. The case is being handled by the Department of Justice in Washington, but a grand jury has been meeting in Newark.”

The GOP’s Warning Signal?

March 31, 2015 at 1:52 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 56 Comments

Jill Lawrence: “If there’s one takeaway from Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s ‘religious freedom restoration’ debacle, it’s that Republicans ignore today’s cultural environment at their peril. Conservatives can continue to live in a bubble if they want to, but they should expect blowback, because outside that bubble is a far different reality.”

“Maybe Pence simply decided to cross his fingers and hope for the best. Or maybe, cosseted in the Christian right echo chamber, he was oblivious to how all of this would be received in the wider world. Either way, his action, and its reflection on his party, is about as forward-looking as the revived Republican hostility to immigration reform. Forget about the future, it doesn’t even acknowledge the world as it exists today.”