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Joe Walsh Eyes Comeback Bid

February 16, 2015 at 6:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 28 Comments

Former Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) told The Hill that he is considering a challenge to Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL).

Said Walsh: “I am very seriously considering challenging him in a primary. Mark Kirk has got to be challenged.”

“The one-term lawmaker isn’t backing off his inflammatory comments that made him a conservative star, though, as he weighs a quixotic comeback bid… Walsh has since built a local following in the Chicago area with his conservative talk show — and if anything has upped the controversy level with a string of racially charged comments in the past few years.”

Quote of the Day

February 16, 2015 at 5:54 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

“The current Congress is not equipped really to do anything. The kind of result that we got in the Ledbetter case is not easily achieved today. Someday, we will go back to having the kind of legislature that we should, where members, whatever party they belong to, want to make the thing work and cooperate with each other to see that that will happen.”

— Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, in an interview on MSNBC.

Is Hillary Clinton Really Favored to Win in 2016?

February 16, 2015 at 4:45 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 97 Comments

National Journal: “Washington is pretty certain Hillary Clinton is the favorite to win the White House. Democrats have a natural turnout advantage in presidential years, seasoned political operatives reason. Five of the past six popular-vote tallies have gone to the Democratic candidate. And early polls that show Clinton sporting a big lead, especially among women, have strategists wondering how the Republican nominee could ever catch up.”

“But outside of the capital, from Georgia to New York to California, there’s another set of political professionals watching this race: academics and model-makers. And based on the data they track, Democrats have little reason to be so bullish about Clinton’s chances.”

Lawmaker Wants to Acknowledge God in Constitution

February 16, 2015 at 2:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 61 Comments

Tennessee state Rep. James VanHuss (R) wants to change the state’s constitution so that it includes the phrase: “We recognize that our liberties do not come from governments, but from Almighty God, our Creator and Savior,” the Tennessean reports.

Ted Cruz’s Path to the GOP Nomination

February 16, 2015 at 12:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 89 Comments

Washington Post: “This leaves the tea party lane, which is both relatively large and entirely Cruz’s… What that means — particularly in the early stages of the primary process in places such as Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina — is that he will probably be able to win, place or show repeatedly, racking up enough strong-ish performances to keep going even as the establishment and social-conservative lanes thin out. (Cruz’s ability to raise money, which remains a question, is less important for him than it is for other candidates — especially those in the establishment lane. His people are going to be for him no matter how much — or little — communicating he does with them.)”

“The trick for Cruz, the consultant said, is to hang around long enough to be the preeminent figure not only in the tea party lane but also in the social-conservative lane. (Cruz is decidedly conservative on social issues and talks regularly on the campaign trail about his faith. ) The complicating figure in that consolidation effort is Huckabee, who is (a) likely to run, (b) an ordained Southern Baptist minister and (c) likely to be able to stay in the race for an extended period because of the number of early Southern primaries.”

The Most Powerful Unelected Democrat

February 16, 2015 at 12:28 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

New York Times: “Wiry, ascetic, profane and relentless, John Podesta has become the Democratic Party’s marathon man in more ways than one. He helped save Bill Clinton’s presidency from the fires of scandal and impeachment. He spent the last year trying to salvage Barack Obama’s presidency from gridlock and malaise. And now he has handed in his White House pass to try to create a Hillary Rodham Clinton presidency from the ashes of her last failed campaign.”

“Perhaps no other unelected Democrat has shaped his party as much over the last two decades.”

It’s Still Not Clear Lynch Will Be Confirmed

February 16, 2015 at 12:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

“President Obama’s pick to serve as the next attorney general is having a hard time finding Republican supporters,” The Hill reports.

“To be confirmed by the Senate, attorney general nominee Loretta Lynch only needs four Republicans to support her nomination. But it is unclear where those votes will come from. Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) is the only Republican so far who has signaled his intention to vote for Lynch, though several others have spoken favorably about her.”

Is Obama a Great President?

February 16, 2015 at 9:41 am EST By Taegan Goddard 85 Comments

A Brookings survey of political scientists finds that President Obama ranks 18th overall among presidents, “but beneath the surface of the aggregate figures lurks evidence of significant ambivalence. For example, those who view Obama as one of the worst American presidents outnumber those who view him as one of the best by nearly a 3-1 margin. Similarly, nearly twice as many respondents view Obama as over-rated than do those who consider him under-rated.”

“One area where there is significant expert consensus about the president, however, concerns how polarizing he is viewed as being – only George W. Bush was viewed as more a more polarizing president.”

“Next, Obama does not perform well on more specific dimensions of presidential greatness, often viewed as average or worse. For example, he is the midpoint in terms of both personal integrity and military skill (e.g., 10th of 19 in both categories), but falls to 11th when it comes to diplomatic skill and 13th with respect to legislative skill.”

Republicans Losing Another Shutdown Showdown

February 16, 2015 at 9:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard 65 Comments

First Read: “In our experience, there’s a simple rule to follow to make sense of any shutdown showdown: The side that’s divided usually loses. And Republicans are the ones who are divided in the battle over funding the Department of Homeland Security — over whether or not to include riders overturning Obama’s executive actions on immigration.”

“Playing politics with security is always problematic. But it’s doubly problematic when your party is divided.”

Johnson Intends to Renounce U.S. Citizenship

February 16, 2015 at 7:57 am EST By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

London Mayor Boris Johnson, who was born in New York, says he intends to renounce his American citizenship to prove his “commitment to Britain,” the BBC reports.

He said that his citizenship was “an accident of birth that has left me with this thing. I’ve got to find a way of sorting it out.”

The Telegraph says Johnson, who is running for a seat in Parliament, would be “removing a potential obstacle to becoming Prime Minister.”

Boehner Says He Would Allow Shutdown

February 16, 2015 at 7:40 am EST By Taegan Goddard 37 Comments

House Speaker John Boehner said that he was “prepared to allow funding for the Department of Homeland Security to lapse, raising the possibility that one of the government’s largest and most vital agencies could be shut down at the end of the month,” the New York Times reports.

“Coming just two months after Republicans gained full control of Congress, a shutdown would be a major political problem as the party tries to honor a vow to govern responsibly and cooperatively.”

“It would contradict a pledge from Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the majority leader, who said the day after his party won decisively at the polls in November, ‘There will be no government shutdowns.’ And it would exacerbate a rift that has been growing between Republicans in the House and the Senate.”

Republicans Unable to Get Congress Working

February 16, 2015 at 7:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard 43 Comments

“After six weeks in session and 139 roll call votes in a House and Senate that feature some of the largest Republican majorities in generations, one of the most telling statistics from the new Congress is this: President Obama’s veto threats outnumber the bills Congress has been able to send him,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“When Republicans swept into power last November, they promised a new era of productivity and discipline that would break four years of gridlock… But far from striking a bold contrast with the last two terms of stalemate, congressional Republicans have quickly run into familiar obstacles, including partisan paralysis and party infighting.”

National Journal: “Republicans thought they’d get easy wins at the start of the 114th Congress. Instead they got internal strife.”

Webb Not Sure He Can Raise the Money

February 16, 2015 at 7:25 am EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb (D), “exploring a possible 2016 presidential campaign, said he is in the process of deciding whether he can “put together the type of money” needed and still remain independent of special interests,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Webb “said his chief political dilemma is building a realistic campaign without becoming beholden to donors in an era where the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision has allowed individual donors to give millions to support campaigns.”

Conservatives Not Worried About Looming Shutdown

February 15, 2015 at 4:14 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 102 Comments

“Hard-line House GOP conservatives aren’t worried about a looming Department of Homeland Security shutdown as the deadline for congressional action draws near,” The Hill reports.

“Many of the conservative lawmakers who most want to aggressively challenge President Obama’s executive actions on immigration think that if push comes to shove, a shutdown will be worth the fight. And at this point, they don’t think there will be any electoral consequences if there is a shutdown.”

Bush and Walker Lead the GOP Pack

February 15, 2015 at 10:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard 67 Comments

There are three new NBC News/Marist polls of the GOP presidential race from the early voting states.

Key takeaway: “Seven different possible Republican candidates get double-digit support in at least one of the states. But only two candidates — Jeb Bush and Scott Walker — are in double digits in all three states.”

Iowa: Huckabee 17%, Bush 16%, Walker 15%, Christie 9%, Paul 7%

New Hampshire: Bush 18%, Walker 15%, Paul 14%, Christie 13%.

South Carolina: Graham 17%, Bush 15%, Walker 12%, Huckabee 10%, Carson 10%.

Obama Portrayed as Rape Suspect on Fox Affiliate

February 15, 2015 at 10:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard 36 Comments

Fox 5 San Diego briefly portrayed President Obama as a sex-assault suspect on its 10 o’clock news, the Times of San Diego reports.

“At 10:04 p.m., viewers heard anchor Kathleen Bade say: ‘The only suspect in a sex assault at SDSU will not be charged.’ At the same time, a picture of Obama appeared with the legend ‘NO CHARGES.'”

How Jeb Bush Used Family Connections to Get Ahead

February 15, 2015 at 9:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard 26 Comments

New York Times: “For the 12 years that his father held national elective office, Mr. Bush used his unique access to the highest reaches of government to seek favors for Republican allies, push his views and burnish his political profile in his home state, a review of presidential library records shows. In the process, Mr. Bush carefully constructed an elaborate and enduring network of relationships in Florida that helped lead to his election as governor in 1998 and, now, to his place as a top contender for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016.”

Washington Post: “He has his own brand, but Florida’s former governor won’t easily escape the burdens of his family name.”

Obamacare Fans See Supreme Court Case Unraveling

February 14, 2015 at 12:28 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 88 Comments

“Supporters of Obamacare think they’ve found a fatal flaw in the GOP-led legal challenge to the healthcare law at the Supreme Court,” The Hill reports.

“Legal experts in favor of the Affordable Care Act say new information unearthed about the plaintiffs in King v. Burwell could derail the case before the justices have a chance to rule.”