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Christie Says Parents Deserve Choice About Vaccinations

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Amid an outbreak of measles that has spread across 14 states, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) said that parents “need to have some measure of choice” about vaccinating their children against the virus, breaking with President Obama and much of the medical profession, the New York Times reports.

Said Christie: “It’s more important what you think as a parent than what you think as a public official. I also understand that parents need to have some measure of choice in things as well. So that’s the balance that the government has to decide.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]So Christie thinks it’s acceptable to imprison a nurse possibly infected with Ebola but vaccinations of children aren’t important? [/speech_bubble]

McCain Defends Palin’s Bizarre Speech

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Sen. John McCain said he hadn’t seen Sarah Palin’s widely-panned speech last month, but told CNN that it wasn’t a disqualifier if she wanted to run for president.

Said McCain: “If she did not give a good speech, she’s not the first politician that didn’t give a good speech from time to time, including me.”

He added Palin could still be an asset for the GOP in 2016, and said he’ll “absolutely” have her campaign with him as he seeks re-election in Arizona.


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How Republicans Built an Edge

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National Journal: “It is undeniable… that the current Democratic coalition does better in presidential years than it does in midterm elections. Yet all of these explanations have a common problem: They obscure the possibility that 2014 was not an isolated event but rather the latest manifestation of a resurgent Republican coalition.”

“These advantages remain partially in place for Democrats today, but they are being severely undermined by two trends that have emerged in the past few elections—one surprising, the other less so. The less surprising trend is that Democrats have continued to hemorrhage support among white working-class voters—a group that generally works in blue-collar and lower-income service jobs and that is roughly identifiable in exit polls as those whites who have not graduated from a four-year college. These voters, and particularly those well above the poverty line, began to shift toward the GOP decades ago, but in recent years that shift has become progressively more pronounced.”

“The more surprising trend is that Republicans are gaining dramatically among a group that had tilted toward Democrats in 2006 and 2008: Call them middle-class Americans.”

Clinton Works to Hone Economic Message

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“Hillary Clinton has been consulting with an array of economists and academics—including liberal Joseph Stiglitz, former Fed chairman Paul Volcker and new faces outside the traditional orbit of Democratic policy experts—as she prepares for a likely presidential campaign that would make sluggish wage growth and middle-class prosperity a central focus,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“One of Mrs. Clinton’s broader goals is to develop ways to address economic anxiety without sounding like a combative populist or demonizing high-income groups, said a person familiar with her thinking.”

Ryan Will Stay Neutral During Primaries

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Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) told NBC News that he’s staying neutral in the Republican presidential primary.

Said Ryan: “Had Mitt jumped in, I think that would have changed circumstances. But since I’m the chair of this trust, chair of the fund to get ready for the eventual nominee, that requires my neutrality.”

Ryan chairs the Presidential Trust, which is responsible for raising funds for the Republican Party’s presidential nominee. It is a position he also held in 2012.

GOP Candidates Race to Lock Down Staff

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“Republican presidential contenders are locked in a behind-the-scenes struggle to secure experienced staff to run core parts of their campaigns, a boon for top GOP firms that are so flooded with requests they might take on multiple candidates,” National Journal reports.

“Jeb Bush’s early and aggressive moves to build a team have sent other campaigns scrambling to avoid being left with inexperienced staffers who are ill-prepared for the rigors of a presidential contest. Compounding the problem, candidates will also need well-run super PACs aiding them, further stretching the pool of qualified operatives.”

Ahmadinejad Eyes Possible Return in Iran

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“Iran’s hardline former president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Sunday launched his official website, in a possible return to the political scene a year before legislative elections,” AFP reports.

“The hardline conservative has stayed out of the public eye since his mandate ended in June 2013 and the election of Hassan Rouhani, his moderate successor as president of the Islamic republic.”

Obama Will Address Income Inequality in Budget Proposal

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“President Obama will propose a 10-year budget on Monday that stabilizes the federal deficit but does not seek balance, instead focusing on policies to address income inequality as he adds nearly $6 trillion to the debt,” the New York Times reports.

“The central question Mr. Obama’s budget will pose to Congress is this: Should Washington worry about what may be the defining economic issue of the era — the rising gap between the rich and everyone else — or should policy makers primarily seek to address a mountain of debt that the White House hopes to control but only marginally reduce as a share of the economy?”

Huckabee Compares Being Gay to Drinking and Swearing

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Mike Huckabee says expecting Christians to accept same-sex marriage is “like asking someone who’s Jewish to start serving bacon-wrapped shrimp in their deli,” CNN reports.

He also called homosexuality part of a lifestyle, like drinking and swearing.

Said Huckabee: “People can be my friends who have lifestyles that are not necessarily my lifestyle. I don’t shut people out of my circle or out of my life because they have a different point of view. I don’t drink alcohol, but gosh — a lot of my friends, maybe most of them, do. You know, I don’t use profanity, but believe me, I’ve got a lot of friends who do. Some people really like classical music and ballet and opera — it’s not my cup of tea.”

Walker Backs an ‘Aggressive’ Foreign Policy

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Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) was interviewed on ABC News by Martha Raddatz and the discussion on foreign policy didn’t go so well.

Walker: “Aggressively, we need to take the fight to ISIS and any other radical Islamic terrorists around the world… I think we need to have an aggressive strategy anywhere around the world.”

Raddatz: “But what does that mean? I don’t know what ‘aggressive strategy’ means.”

Walker: “Ultimately, we have to be prepared to put boots on the ground, if that’s what it takes.”

Raddatz: “U.S. boots on the ground in Syria?”

Walker: “Well, I don’t think that’s an immediate plan.”

The Power of Blue State Republicans

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“There is a basic mystery at the heart of modern Republican presidential politics. The party’s voters, despite electing conservatives to the House and Senate, have repeatedly chosen relatively moderate nominees, like Mitt Romney and John McCain, in the primaries,” Nate Cohn observes.

“How does a Republican Party seemingly dominated by the South, energized by the Tea Party and elected by conservative voters also consistently support relatively moderate presidential nominees? The answer is the blue-state Republicans.”

“The blue-state Republicans make it far harder for a very conservative candidate to win the party’s nomination than the party’s reputation suggests. They also give a candidate who might seem somewhat out of touch with today’s Republican Party, like Jeb Bush, a larger base of potential support than is commonly thought.”

Candidates Use Secret Primary Period to Push Limits

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Huffington Post: “Technically, presidential candidates are required to launch an official presidential exploratory committee, subject to source and contribution limits. But ever since this system was established, people have been finding ways around it… The 2016 election is already shaping up to be the first where candidates who are in the secret primary period are truly pushing the boundaries of the unlimited spending opened up by the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision.”

How Do You Prepare for a Race with No Rivals?

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The challenge ahead for Hillary Clinton “is one faced by few White House hopefuls: running a primary campaign in which she faces little competition, if any at all,” the AP reports.

“Clinton has been meeting in New York with a group of advisers that includes longtime loyalists and veterans of Obama’s races. But the work of campaign planning involves trying to figure out when to get into the race, how to avoid giving off a sense of inevitability and how to generate enthusiasm among the party’s base for the general election without the benefit of a spirited fight for the nomination.”

Nebraska Moves to Change Electoral College Rules

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New York Times: “Nebraska is one of just two states, along with Maine, that do not award all their electoral voters to the statewide winner. And that meant that in 2008, Barack Obama picked up an electoral vote from the congressional district around Omaha, even as Senator John McCain trounced him across the rest of the state.”

“So this year, a longstanding proposal to change the state’s Electoral College system to winner-take-all may finally reach the Republican governor’s desk, amid a renewed push by conservative lawmakers hoping to have new rules in place for the 2016 presidential election.”

Quote of the Day

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“You would think he’d have a little more understanding then. I think that’s the real hypocrisy, is that people on our side, which include a lot of people who made mistakes growing up, admit their mistakes but now still want to put people in jail for that. Had he been caught at Andover, he’d have never been governor, he’d probably never have a chance to run for the presidency.”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by The Hill, on Jeb Bush’s reported use of marijuana while in high school.

Politico: Is pot the new gay marriage for the GOP?

Perry Says Governors Make Better Presidents

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Rick Perry (R) told the Daily Caller that governors are much better suited for the presidency than senators.

Said Perry: “Governors have to make choices every day. Governors are judged on the results of what we do. Senators talk.”

He added: “United States senators, by choosing to go into that line of work, don’t get to do that. They don’t get to learn, or to exhibit their leadership ability and have clear results of their actions.”

Is Jeb Bush Really the GOP Frontrunner?

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“Mitt Romney’s decision to forgo a third try at the White House has settled the question of whether the 2016 GOP presidential field has a front-runner — bestowing a coveted status on former Florida governor Jeb Bush that also raises new challenges and perils,” the Washington Post reports.

“But this is a particularly unsettled time for the party. It is struggling to define its identity amid open warfare among its various factions. And there are a raft of fresh and potentially appealing faces emerging on the scene, comprising what many Republicans believe could be the strongest undercard of early-bout contenders in decades.”

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan 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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