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Rand Paul’s Iowa Problem

February 5, 2015 at 9:18 am EST By Taegan Goddard 33 Comments

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “opens 2015 with an enviable base of support in Iowa from his father’s two presidential bids. But as he tries to broaden his appeal beyond the hard-core liberty activists who lifted Ron Paul to a third place finish in 2012, the senator is encountering an unlikely roadblock: his own campaign team,” National Journal reports.

“One of Paul’s two top Iowa operatives, A.J. Spiker, is so deeply disliked and mistrusted by so much of the Iowa Republican establishment that party activists, officials, and strategists say he is damaging Paul’s credibility in the state.”

Bush Says He’ll Do It On His Own

February 5, 2015 at 9:16 am EST By Taegan Goddard 56 Comments

Jeb Bush called his father “the greatest man alive” and said that “I love my brother, and I think he’s been a great president,” NBC News reports.

But he said he’s going to make his own case to the American people: “I’m going to have to do it on my own.”

Clinton Picks Communications Team for Campaign

February 5, 2015 at 8:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

Jennifer Palmieri will leave her job as White House communications director for a comparable role with Hillary Clinton’s expected presidential campaign, the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The move locks in place another top position on Mrs. Clinton’s campaign team, should she choose to run. Ms. Palmieri has connections to both the Obama and Clinton worlds, having worked in Bill Clinton ’s White House in the 1990s. She is also close to another figure who bridges both the Obama and Clinton worlds: John Podesta.”

New York Times: “Given the transformed media landscape, Ms. Palmieri is expected to have a team that will include other senior press aides. Brian Fallon, currently at the Justice Department, is expected to potentially handle rapid response, and Karen Finney, a longtime Democratic operative and MSNBC regular, could serve as a press secretary.”

Scholars Rank Kissinger Most Effective Diplomat

February 5, 2015 at 7:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

A new Foreign Policy magazine survey ranks the most effective U.S. secretary of states of the past 50 years.

Nobel Peace Prize winner Henry A. Kissinger, who was secretary for four years during the Nixon and Ford administrations, topped the list. Current Secretary of State John Kerry ranked dead last.

Quote of the Day

February 5, 2015 at 7:02 am EST By Taegan Goddard 99 Comments

“If an individual has sex with their wife while she is unconscious… a prosecutor could then charge that spouse with rape, theoretically. That makes sense in a first-date scenario, but to me, not where people have a history of years of sexual activity.”

— Utah state Rep. Brian Greene (R), quoted by the Salt Lake Tribune.

The Most Democratic and Republican States

February 5, 2015 at 6:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard 49 Comments

Gallup: “Massachusetts and Maryland rank as the most Democratic states, and Wyoming and Utah are the most Republican, based on the political party identification and leanings of their state residents in 2014. The Democratic advantage in Massachusetts and Maryland exceeds 20 percentage points, while Utah and Wyoming show Republican advantages of more than 30 points.”

What’s Up with a GOP Virgin Islands PAC?

February 5, 2015 at 6:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

“The strange case of the Virgin Islands political action committee took another strange twist,” the New York Times reports.

“Prominent members of the Virgin Islands Republican Party who were caught unaware by the creation of a federal PAC run by a political operative in Virginia more than a year ago now find themselves in an unusual position: One of them is responsible for it, at least on paper.”

“As we’ve reported before, VIGOP is a strange beast. It appears to raise no significant amount of money from the Virgin Islands, an American territory. (Most state parties depend on in-state support from individual donors.) It also had no Virgin Islander listed on the committee’s forms.”

A New Bush Already in the Spotlight

February 5, 2015 at 6:47 am EST By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“George P. Bush’s new job as Texas land commissioner has nothing to do with abortion, and it lacks any authority to funnel public dollars to private schools. But after barely 30 days in office, he’s already headlined high-profile rallies on both issues,” the AP reports.

“The 38-year-old has a political surname far better known than his obscure office, which administers Texas’ vast public lands and mineral rights. Though he insists he’s not yet eying any moves up Texas’ political ladder, the newest Bush in politics has wasted no time becoming a leading voice for top conservative causes and seizing the spotlight in a state already full of powerful Republicans.”

Bush Was Offered Post of NFL Commissioner

February 5, 2015 at 6:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard 6 Comments

Jeb Bush said that he only seriously considered becoming commissioner of the National Football League for “about 10 minutes” back in 2006, Politico reports.

“During his final year as governor of Florida, a few team owners reached out to the Republican. The job instead went to Roger Goodell, who has been criticized during his tenure for mishandling everything from players accused of domestic violence to how to deal with the rate of concussions.”

Obama Feared Huntsman Most in 2012

February 4, 2015 at 8:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 45 Comments

Obama 2012 campaign manager Jim Messina said that “the guy that we were always most afraid of was Jon Huntsman, the governor of Utah, who I think would be a smashingly great general election candidate,” The Hill reports.

Of course, he added, given the Republican Party’s conservative tilt now, “You and I have the same chance he does of getting the Republican nomination for president.”

Major Paper Calls on Oregon Governor to Resign

February 4, 2015 at 8:13 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 35 Comments

The Oregonian has called for Gov. John Kitzhaber (D) to resign over “revelations about the apparently borderless world of public policy and private gain in which he and fiancée Cylvia Hayes exist.”

“More ugliness may surface, but it should be clear by now to Kitzhaber that his credibility has evaporated to such a degree that he can no longer serve effectively as governor. If he wants to serve his constituents he should resign.”

“To recite every reported instance in which Hayes, ostensibly under Kitzhaber’s watchful eye, has used public resources, including public employee time and her ‘first lady’ title, in pursuit of professional gain would require far more space than we have here and, besides, repeat what most readers already know. Suffice it to say there’s a pattern, and the person who bears the responsibility for allowing it to form and persist is Kitzhaber, who should know better. After all, as he pointed out during Friday’s press conference, he’s been serving in public office on and off since the 1970s.”

Brian Williams Admits He Made Up Story

February 4, 2015 at 8:05 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 42 Comments

“After 12 years, Brian Williams is coming clean, admitting the helicopter he traveled in during NBC’s coverage of the 2003 Iraq invasion never once came under fire, despite Williams’ story to the contrary,” according to the Hollywood Reporter.

“On Jan. 30, NBC Nightly News posted a video of Williams to Facebook, in which Williams recounts the false story during a news segment. Williams references ‘a terrible moment a dozen years back during the invasion of Iraq, when the helicopter we were traveling in was forced down after being hit by an RPG.'”

“A user by the name of Lance Reynolds, who claimed to have been serving in Iraq during the incident in question, subsequently commented on the video, writing, ‘Sorry dude, I don’t remember you being on my aircraft.'”

Brad Phillips: Did Brian Williams really misremember being shot at?

Jailed Lawmaker Votes Against Banning Porn in Jail

February 4, 2015 at 5:35 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

Virginia Del. Joe Morrissey (D), who spends his nights in jail for contributing to the delinquency of a minor, is opposing a measure aimed at keeping pornography out of the hands of inmates, NBC Washington reports.

“The bill passed by a broad majority and its sponsor said the state’s wardens support the measure so that they can keep ‘hard-core’ pornography out of the hands of inmates. Morrissey told reporters that the measure won’t survive legal challenges and noted that he is a former constitutional law professor.”

North Korea Threatens U.S. with ‘Final Doom’

February 4, 2015 at 5:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 30 Comments

North Korea’s military leaders said the United States and “cesspool” Obama administration “will face final doom”, Sky News reports.

It added that North Korea was capable of bringing about the “final ruin of the U.S.” with its “precision and diversified nuclear striking means.”

Walker Surges Ahead in New Hampshire

February 4, 2015 at 5:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 33 Comments

A new NH1 poll in New Hampshire shows Gov. Scott Walker (R) leading the Republican presidential race with 21% support, followed by Jeb Bush at 14%, Sen. Rand Paul at 8%, Ben Carson at 8%, Gov. Chris Christie at 6%, Mike Huckabee at 6%, and Sen. Marco Rubio at 5%.

Bibi-Sitter

February 4, 2015 at 5:12 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Peggy Noonan: “Whatever your views on Benjamin Netanyahu, the Likud Party, and the upcoming Israeli elections, put them aside for a moment and appreciate this as sheer political art. It is one of the best political ads I have ever seen—funny, warm, surprising and clever. It seems aimed at what I’d think is one of Netanyahu’s prime problems as a political figure, which is his heavy grimness, his air of aggression and constant warning.”

Clinton Offered Edwards Post In Return for Endorsement

February 4, 2015 at 4:39 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 14 Comments

A new book from David Axelrod claims that Hillary Clinton offered former Sen. John Edwards the position of attorney general if he got out of the race and endorsed her in the 2008 Democratic primary, the New York Daily News reports.

Homophobic Russian Politician Caught in Lesbian Selfie

February 4, 2015 at 3:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

“A homophobic Russian politician found himself an unwitting participant in a piece of gay propaganda, after two women on his flight home from Moscow spotted him and took a photo of themselves kissing as he worked in the background. The politician, Vitaly Milonov, is a city legislator in St. Petersburg and one of the most tireless pushers of the country’s anti-gay legislation,” New York magazine reports.