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Lawmaker Arrested in Sex-for-Rent Scheme

May 9, 2015 at 9:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

Vermont state Sen. Norman McAllister (R) “has pleaded not guilty to three felony counts of sexual assault and three misdemeanors of prohibited acts, the charges arising from what police describe as a sex-for-rent scheme involving several unwilling tenants,” the Burlington Free Press reports.

Prosecutors allege McAllister, “over a period of several years sexually assaulted two women who were his tenants and employees, and that he attempted to solicit a third woman… The allegations, explained in sometimes graphic detail in court papers, shocked the governor and McAllister’s Statehouse colleagues, several of whom witnessed his arrest outside the Capitol on Thursday evening.”

GOP Will Drag Benghazi Investigation Into 2016

May 9, 2015 at 8:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

Hillary Clinton “has agreed to testify before the Benghazi committee this month but don’t expect Republicans to be satisfied with her appearance,” The Hill reports.

“House Republicans have now spent a full year investigating the 2012 terrorist attacks in Libya — including whether any of the former secretary of State’s actions may have contributed to the incident — and there are few indications there will be a speedy conclusion to their inquiries.”

How Bernie Sanders ‘Bought’ BernieSanders.com

May 9, 2015 at 8:27 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

Representatives from Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) political action committee reached out and asked Paul Joffe if he would be willing to sell the domain name BernieSanders.com to them, CNN reports.

“He gave them a flat no. He didn’t want money, he told them. All he wanted was to meet the senator.”

“The story of how Sanders, the newly minted presidential candidate, came to own BernieSanders.com exemplifies the kind of grassroots liberal support the independent senator enjoys. And the story of his acquisition contrasts vividly with domain name mistakes that have hurt other presidential candidates.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

May 8, 2015 at 4:08 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 46 Comments

“In all my years as journalist and strategist, I’ve never seen as stark a failure of polling as in the UK.”

— David Axelrod, quoted by the Daily Beast.

Jeb Bush Building a Massive Super PAC

May 8, 2015 at 4:02 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

Jeb Bush “is putting in motion an ambitious plan to develop a super PAC that would be unprecedented in its size and scope — a blueprint growing in scale and intensity as he nears the formal launch of his presidential campaign,” Politico reports.

“The group, called Right to Rise, is said to be on track for raising an historic $100 million by the end of May, and its budget is expected to dwarf that of Bush’s official campaign many times over.”

“Bush is even setting the timing of his official campaign announcement — which is increasingly likely to come in mid-June, following a trip to Europe — around a cross-country fundraising tour. In the final weeks leading up to the launch, his strategists have been devising a plan to allow both arms of the campaign — the official one and the super PAC — to work seamlessly, even as they will be legally barred from coordinating once he officially becomes a candidate.”

De Blasio’s ‘Contract with America’ Leaks

May 8, 2015 at 3:04 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“According to a draft of the document provided to The Daily Beast by someone asked to join the effort, de Blasio will call for a number of measures for which he has already pushed in New York City, including national paid sick leave and free, universal pre-kindergarten and afterschool programs.”

“The contract will also put de Blasio in the center of some of the debates currently roiling Washington. According to a draft of the document circulated this week, de Blasio will call for the passage of comprehensive immigration and for Democrats to ‘oppose trade deals that hand more power to corporations at the expense of American jobs, workers’ rights, and the environment.'”

Quote of the Day

May 8, 2015 at 12:47 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 112 Comments

“I said he reminds you of a psychopath, because they tend to be extremely smooth, charming people who can tell a lie to your face with complete — it looks like sincerity, even though they know it’s a lie. I think he knows full well that the unemployment rate is not 5.5%. He knows that.”

— Ben Carson, Friday on CNBC interview, about his characterization of President Obama as a psychopath.

Record Number of Americans Renounce Citizenship

May 8, 2015 at 12:10 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 89 Comments

“A record 1,335 Americans living overseas renounced their citizenship in the first three months of 2015,” The Hill reports.

“That number is 18 percent higher than the previous record… In all of 2014, 3,415 individuals gave up their U.S. citizenship, the second straight year when renouncements hit a new record high.”

O’Malley Hires Political Director Before Likely Run

May 8, 2015 at 12:07 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Martin O’Malley “is moving to solidify his team for his all-but-certain 2016 presidential campaign, bringing on a former aide to President Obama as his national political director,” the New York Times reports.

“Karine Jean-Pierre was the deputy battleground states director for Mr. Obama’s re-election campaign in 2012. Before that she worked as regional political director in the White House Office of Political Affairs.”

Romney Will Host Candidate Retreat

May 8, 2015 at 9:53 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 42 Comments

“Mitt Romney, who earlier this year decided against a third presidential bid after briefly flirting with a run, will jump back into the national political scene next month when he hosts GOP presidential hopefuls and some of the party’s biggest donors in Utah,” the Washington Post reports.

“Confirmed speakers from the likely 2016 Republican field include Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, Sen. Marco Rubio, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, Ohio Gov. John Kasich, and Sen. Lindsey Graham. Former Florida governor Jeb Bush, long seen as a Romney rival due to tensions between their camps, was invited but will not attend, per a Romney ally.”

Why Is Lincoln Chafee Running?

May 8, 2015 at 9:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

Former Rhode Island governor Lincoln Chafee’s “exploration of a presidential run has been met with a mix of bewilderment and derision in his home state,” the Boston Globe reports.

“The Providence Journal, in a stinging editorial, tore into his single term as governor and declared it ‘preposterous’ that ‘such a dismal record in an executive position would be a recommendation for the presidency (of the United States!).'”

“The national press, for its part, has largely ignored his near-candidacy. The endless dissections of prohibitive favorite Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential bid make at least passing reference to other Democratic hopefuls, such as Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley. Chafee, the Republican-turned-independent now seeking the Democratic nomination? Not so much.”

Will Money Make a Difference When So Many Have Money?

May 8, 2015 at 9:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 15 Comments

“The GOP could have a dozen deep-pocketed presidential contenders, and they’ll all learn next year that when it comes to actual votes, that extra money doesn’t buy what it used to,” National Journal reports.

“Already, super PACs are arming second- and third-tier candidates with tens of millions of dollars while the supposed GOP front-runner, Jeb Bush, promises a record-setting haul. This combined fundraising guarantees that by the time Republicans have picked their nominee in summer 2016, the candidates will have spent more to reach voters than ever before.”

“But to what end? At some point – after the candidates make an initial investment of tens of millions of dollars for voter outreach in paid media and the ground game – the money available to spend simply can’t buy the advantage it once did. And that’s because the primary contest will still depend mightily on the outcomes of each of the first four contests, all of which provide invaluable momentum and none of which are held in large or expensive states where candidates have to invest heavily to have an impact.”

Another Strong Jobs Report

May 8, 2015 at 9:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 34 Comments

Wonk Wire: U.S. added 233K jobs last month as unemployment rate dips to 5.4%, a 7-year low.

Conservative PACs Troll for Dollars

May 8, 2015 at 7:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

Matt Lewis has a must-read look at the conservative PACs seeking donations to support unlikely conservative candidates.

“This kind of pitch to Republican donors has become all too familiar… There is some evidence of similar behavior on the Democratic side, but scam PACs, as they have come to be called, disproportionately target conservatives. Perhaps this is because GOP donors tend to be older, or because their skepticism of the party establishment makes them more likely to open their wallets for outside groups.”

Karl Rove Waves White Flag on Obamacare

May 8, 2015 at 7:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

Wonk Wire: Karl Rove says Republicans should stop trying to repeal Obamacare

Nate Silver Blames Polls for Poor Forecast

May 8, 2015 at 7:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

Nate Silver “fared terribly in Thursday’s UK election: In his pre-election forecast, he gave 278 seats to Conservatives and 267 to Labour. Shortly after midnight, he was forecasting 272 seats for Conservatives and 271 for Labour. But when the sun rose in London on Friday, Conservatives had an expected 329 seats, against Labour’s 233,” Politico reports.

Nate Silver: “But if the polls have a poor election, it won’t be the first time. In fact, it’s become harder to find an election in which the polls did all that well… Perhaps it’s just been a run of bad luck. But there are lots of reasons to worry about the state of the polling industry.”

Huckabee the Huckster

May 8, 2015 at 7:00 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

“Behind former Gov. Mike Huckabee’s warm smile, inclusive rhetoric, and gee-whiz populism lies an ethics record that would make a Clinton blush. His greedy, cheesy money grabs in Arkansas were a preview of today’s greedy, cheesy money grabs,” National Journal reports.

“As part of what the New York Times called ‘unconventional ways to fund a campaign,’ the newly minted GOP presidential candidate recently pitched a dubious medical treatment via infomercial… But that’s not all! Huckabee is allowing his mailing list – the names and email addresses of his political supporters – to be used to peddle cancer cures based on Bible verses.”

Cameron Surprises With Solid Victory

May 8, 2015 at 6:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

British Prime Minister David Cameron “is on course to secure an astonishing electoral triumph as the Conservative party headed towards an overall majority and unseated a raft of senior political opponents including the Labour shadow chancellor, Ed Balls, and the Lib Dem business secretary, Vince Cable,” the Guardian reports.

“The result – devastating Labour and the Liberal Democrats, and leaving Scotland a near one-party state under the control of the Scottish National party – probably represents the biggest surprise in a general election since 1945.”

The BBC forecast, with 635 of 650 seats declared, is Conservative 331, Labour 232, the Lib Dems 8, the SNP 56, Plaid Cymru 3, UKIP 1, the Greens 1 and others 19.