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Why Republicans Will Never Have a Health Care Plan

March 12, 2015 at 1:21 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 92 Comments

Jonathan Chait: “All the Republican predictions have failed. Just this week, the Congressional Budget Office once again revised down its cost projections for the law, which is now projected to cost 20 percent less than originally estimated. Given conservative certainty that the opposite would occur, you might expect some revision. But conservatives have not abandoned or even reduced their fervent opposition to Obamacare. This is because the right’s specific, measurable predictions about the law are subordinate to deeper, philosophical beliefs.”

“They oppose the law’s methods (more taxes, spending, and regulation) on principle. They believe those methods will fail to achieve their stated goals, but even if they succeed, they oppose them anyway. Republicans cannot design a partywide health-care alternative because they cannot reconcile the specific things most Americans want from the health-care system (access to affordable insurance, protection from discrimination against preexisting conditions) with their ideological commitments.”

Clinton Adversaries Almost Always Overplay Their Hand

March 12, 2015 at 8:43 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 57 Comments

Time: “Along with her husband—the 42nd President of the United States—Hillary Clinton is the co-creator of a soap-operatic political universe in which documents vanish, words like is take on multiple meanings and foes almost always overplay their hand. Impeachment can be a route to higher approval ratings; the occasional (and rare) defeat merely marks the start of the next campaign. Whatever rules may apply to them, the law of gravity is not one. Still, Clinton’s failure to defuse the email issue, along with a growing list of questions about the family’s relentless fundraising and her husband’s choice of companions, has revived hopes among erstwhile rivals in the Democratic Party that the Hillary dreadnought might actually be sinkable. Backbiting inside the Clinton campaign—a hallmark of her failed 2008 presidential effort—has begun to leak into the political press. Republicans who were morose over their presidential chances mere months ago have a spring in their step.”

“Though members of Congress are calling for her to turn over the email server for forensic examination, they would be wise to proceed cautiously. A key page in the Clinton rule book is the one that reads: When in doubt, drive your enemies crazy—then sit back and watch them implode.”

Do Democrats Have a Weak Bench?

March 12, 2015 at 8:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 45 Comments

Jonathan Bernstein: “Look, the way those solid politicians become Serious Presidential Candidates and not just random governors and senators — I’m talking here about folks such as Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Bobby Jindal — is to start running, and visibly enough so the press notices.”

“Yes, Republicans have an unusually strong candidate field in 2016. The Democrats have Clinton and a few leftovers, gadflies and protest candidates. But that isn’t because Democrats have a weak bench…. all those perfectly viable other candidates either dropped out or never seriously considered the race. Had Clinton chosen not to run, plenty of the others would have jumped in, and the field would have been comparable to what the Republicans have put together.”

Americans Think Government Is the Nation’s Top Problem

March 12, 2015 at 8:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Gallup: “Americans continue to name the government (18%) as the most important U.S. problem, a distinction it has had for the past four months. Americans’ mentions of the economy as the top problem (11%) dropped this month, leaving it tied with jobs (10%) for second place.”

Iran’s Top Leader Says U.S. Is Disintegrating

March 12, 2015 at 8:02 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that a letter from Republican lawmakers warning that any nuclear deal could be scrapped by the next U.S. president is a sign of “disintegration” in Washington, the New York Times reports.

Said Khamenei: “Isn’t this the ultimate degree of the collapse of political ethics and the U.S. system’s internal disintegration?”

He added that whenever the talks approach a deadline, “the tone of the other party, particularly the Americans, becomes harsher, harder and more violent. This is part of their tricks and deceits.”

Quote of the Day

March 12, 2015 at 7:24 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

“Maybe I’m not what they think a conservative should look like.”

— Gov. Bobby Jindal, in an interview on CNBC.

Buzz Grows for Rubio

March 12, 2015 at 7:23 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 2 Comments

National Review: “The beneficiary in terms of buzz is Marco Rubio, who now has many of the party’s top donors looking at him in a way they weren’t even a month ago. Though Rubio hasn’t made as much noise as his competitors as the 2016 campaign has gotten underway in earnest, his knowledgeable presentations and obvious political talent are nonetheless turning heads or, at least, enough of them. Rubio hasn’t made a big splash, neither building a ‘shock and awe’ campaign like Bush nor delivering a marquee speech like Walker (who afterward seemed almost to be caught off guard by his rapid ascent). Instead, Rubio appears to be gambling on the idea that, in what is sure to be a long primary with a crowded field, a slow-and-steady approach will prevail.”

Republicans Find Unity on Foreign Policy

March 12, 2015 at 7:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 1 Comment

“Congressional Republicans, struggling in their first months of controlling Congress, have struck upon one unifying force: challenging President Obama on Iran and other aspects of his foreign policy,” the New York Times reports.

“The renewed emphasis on foreign policy has done more than provide Republicans with a rallying point — it has also given them a respite from internal divisions that were exposed in an unsuccessful effort to block the president’s immigration actions and the embarrassing collapse of border security and abortion legislation in the House.”

Politico: “Foreign affairs advisers are suddenly prized commodities on the presidential hiring circuit, being fought over like never before.”

Netanyahu Slips Behind in Polls Ahead of Election

March 12, 2015 at 7:09 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 26 Comments

“Less than a week before Israel’s general elections, the party of incumbent Benjamin Netanyahu has begun to fall behind an opponent who promises to restart talks with Palestinians and smooth the prime minister’s notoriously rocky relations with the White House,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Two polls on Wednesday put Isaac Herzog, leader of the dovish Labor Party, slightly ahead and suggest that support for Mr. Netanyahu and his Likud party among working-class Jews has eroded because of their widespread perception that he has focused on nuclear threats from Iran and extremist Muslims at the expense of economic problems.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

March 11, 2015 at 9:16 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

“I wasn’t healthy. I wasn’t prepared. This time I’m both.”

— Rick Perry, quoted by the Greenville News, on running for president again.

Clinton Feeding Frenzy Takes Over House

March 11, 2015 at 8:55 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 32 Comments

“Now that the Hillary Clinton email flap has blown up into the biggest news story in Washington, seemingly every House Republican wants in on the action,” Politico reports.

“No fewer than three House committees have launched or are considering probes into Clinton’s email practices, a feeding frenzy that could allow the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee to cast the investigations as yet another partisan witch-hunt.”

“It could also become a problem for Speaker John Boehner and his leadership team, which has made a point of trying to prevent multiple committees from tripping over themselves investigating the same topic. They’re now working to keep the Clinton investigations on distinct tracks.”

Arkansas Lawmaker Thought His Children Were Possessed

March 11, 2015 at 8:52 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 28 Comments

Arkansas state Rep. Justin Harris (R-AR) and his wife gave their adopted children to another family after fear they would be charged with abandonment, the Arkansas Times reports.

Several sources said Harris thought his children were possessed and “spoke openly about the supposed demonic possession. A babysitter said one girl was kept isolated from another girl and “was often confined for hours to her room, where she was monitored by a video camera. The reason: The Harrises believed the girls were possessed by demons and could communicate telepathically.”

Harris and his wife once hired specialists to perform an “exorcism” on the two sisters while the babysitter waited outside the house with their other children.

Democrats Start to Worry About Clinton

March 11, 2015 at 8:44 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 59 Comments

“Senior Democrats are increasingly worried that Hillary Clinton is not ready to run for president, fearing that the clumsy and insular handling of the nine-day fracas over her private e-mails was a warning sign about the campaign expected to launch next month,” the Washington Post reports.

“Few Democrats believe that the revelations about her unorthodox e-mail practices as secretary of state are a substantive issue that would damage Clinton with voters, and many said she performed adequately in a Tuesday news conference defending herself. But in interviews Wednesday with The Washington Post, current and former Democratic officeholders and operatives from across the country raised serious questions about her and her political team’s strength and readiness for a 2016 presidential campaign.”

The Media May Be Clinton’s Toughest Adversary

March 11, 2015 at 8:32 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

“With no other powerful Democrats likely to run against her, Hillary Clinton’s toughest adversary for her party’s presidential nomination in 2016 has now become clear. It is an opponent that challenged her in the early 1980s over her use of her maiden name — and was hectoring her again on Tuesday over her use of personal email for State Department business,” the New York Times reports.

“How she and her emerging campaign organization react to critical articles and unwelcome surprises from the news media, as well as to questions posed by journalists in Democratic primary debates, will reveal her strengths and weaknesses as a candidate in some of the same ways that running against Mr. Obama did in 2007 and 2008.”

House Plans Subpoena Over Clinton Emails

March 11, 2015 at 4:32 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 27 Comments

House Oversight Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) said he “was prepared to subpoena former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to answer questions about her private email accounts,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Chaffetz said his committee “would by Friday formally request answers to a series of questions from the State Department and Mrs. Clinton about the former secretary and presumptive 2016 Democratic presidential candidate’s email. The committee will seek, among other things, access to the electronic versions of Mrs. Clinton’s emails, not merely the printed copies she said she submitted to the State Department.”

Conway Has Edge for Kentucky Governor

March 11, 2015 at 3:39 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

A new SurveyUSA poll in Kentucky finds Jack Conway (D) with small leads over all possible Republican rivals in the 2015 race for governor.

Feingold Leads in Possible Senate Rematch

March 11, 2015 at 3:35 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 37 Comments

A new Public Policy Polling survey in Wisconsin shows Russ Feingold (D) with a clear lead over Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) in a hypothetical rematch of their 2010 contest, 50% to 41%.

Crist Mulls Another Senate Bid

March 11, 2015 at 3:33 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

Charlie Crist (D) “might be back on the Florida ballot once again,” CNN reports.

“The former Florida governor, who lost his Republican-turned-Independent bid for Senate in 2010 and then fell short in his comeback attempt as a Democrat in last year’s gubernatorial race, is now considering running for Senate in 2016.”