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How to Get the Perfect Political Job

February 20, 2015 at 4:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just published: Political Job Hunt: An Insider’s Guide to Finding a Job That Makes a Difference.

This 236-page ebook contains more than a hundred actionable tips to help you find a job in politics, public policy and government affairs. You’ll get the book in three formats so you can read it on a Kindle, iPad, your computer or a device of your choosing.

Here are some of the things you’ll learn:

How to treat your job search like a political campaign
Use LinkedIn to jump start your political networking
Find the “real” political job openings
Ask the right question in the interview
Tips for getting an offer and negotiating a higher salary

Special Offer: Political Wire readers save 20% with offer code “filibuster”

And don’t forget to check the latest political job listings!

Clinton Is Inevitable Now

February 20, 2015 at 3:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 47 Comments

Nate Cohn: “I remember that Mrs. Clinton was ‘inevitable,’ and I see why today’s discussions of Mrs. Clinton’s strength sound familiar. But there is no equivalence between Mrs. Clinton’s strength then and now. She was never inevitable eight years ago. If a candidate has ever been inevitable — for the nomination — it is Mrs. Clinton today.”

“No candidate, excluding incumbent presidents, has ever fared so well in the early primary polls as Mrs. Clinton. She holds about 60 percent of the vote of Democratic voters, a tally dwarfing the 40 percent she held this time in the last election cycle.”

Obama Mocks Republicans on Economy

February 20, 2015 at 1:09 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 43 Comments

President Obama “ridiculed Republicans on Friday, describing them as a party seeking to mimic the Democratic Party’s middle class rhetoric even as Republican officials and candidates pursued policies that enrich the wealthy,” the New York Times reports.

“In a speech at the winter meeting of the Democratic National Committee, Mr. Obama highlighted the economic progress the country has made during his time in office and pushed back against attacks on his record from Republicans who are already gearing up for the 2016 presidential campaign.”

Former Virginia First Lady Sentenced to Year in Prison

February 20, 2015 at 12:47 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

Former Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell “was sentenced to 12 months and 1 day Friday on federal corruption charges. Judge James R. Spencer also ordered two years supervised probation and allowed her to remain free pending appeal,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.

The judge “said he did not want to allow a disparity in the McDonnells’ sentences because there was ‘joint criminal behavior.’ Bob McDonnell had been sentenced to two years last month.”

Washington Post: “In the federal system, inmates with sentences longer than a year can get them reduced 54 days a year for good behavior. If McDonnell had received a sentence of a year or less, she would not have been eligible.”

Bush Hires Communications Director

February 20, 2015 at 11:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

Jeb Bush plans to name Tim Miller, executive director of America Rising PAC, as his top communications aide, Politico reports.

“Miller is an aggressive, younger operative who can be expected to inject a pugilistic style into Bush’s high command. America Rising – based in Arlington, Va. — is the two-year-old GOP opposition-research group that relentlessly spattered Democratic Senate candidates during the last cycle.”

Clinton Follows Nixon’s Strategy of Laying Low

February 20, 2015 at 10:33 am EST By Taegan Goddard 38 Comments

CNN: “As Clinton eyes another run at the presidency in 2016, some close to her — especially those who are cheering reports she may wait until summer to officially announce a bid — point to Nixon’s successful 1968 presidential bid as a positive sign, particularly how Nixon’s public operation went dark for about six months before entering the race.”

“Despite being the presumed Democratic front-runner since Obama was reelected in 2012, Clinton has been largely absent from the public spotlight since the midterms wrapped in November 2014. And with the exception of the occasional paid speech and non-profit event, she could lay-low through the spring, a months-long hiatus similar to one Nixon took more than fifty years ago before winning the presidency for the first time.”

The Quiet Man

February 20, 2015 at 10:26 am EST By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

Coming this summer: The Quiet Man: The Indispensable Presidency of George H.W. Bush by John H. Sununu.

Sign Up Period for Obamacare Extended

February 20, 2015 at 10:19 am EST By Taegan Goddard 24 Comments

“The Obama administration said it would allow people to sign up for plans on HealthCare.gov through April to avoid tax penalties for going uncovered in 2015,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The extension, which adds more than two months to the enrollment period for health coverage this year, was announced by Health and Human Services officials on Friday.”

Man Behind Secret GOP Poll Revealed

February 20, 2015 at 10:11 am EST By Taegan Goddard 2 Comments

“The source of the extensive, private polling data on the 2016 Republican presidential field was shrouded in secrecy. But its conclusions were widely felt,” the New York Times reports.

“The data jolted Mitt Romney when it was shared with him, encouraging him to weigh running for president a third time, and has since given comfort to former Gov. Jeb Bush of Florida, the all-but-announced candidate for the Republican nomination.”

“Now, the identity of the wealthy Republican donor who commissioned the polling is no longer a mystery: It was, according to people interviewed on the matter, Muneer A. Satter, a former partner at Goldman Sachs and a major Republican donor in Chicago.”

North Dakota GOP Cancels Opening Prayer by Muslim

February 20, 2015 at 10:03 am EST By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

“Republican leaders in the North Dakota House of Representatives said they canceled the opening prayer by a Muslim on Ash Wednesday because some members thought it was more appropriate to have a Christian deliver the invocation,” the Fargo Forum reports.

Early Warning Signs for Republicans?

February 20, 2015 at 9:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard 35 Comments

Bill Kristol: “It’s of course very early in the 2016 cycle. But it’s never too early for some healthy alarm. Are we the only ones who are struck that many of the leading Republican candidates, whether moderate or conservative, seem to be planning stale and tired campaigns? Hillary will herself, it’s safe to predict, run a stale campaign with tired themes. But the polls suggest she would prevail in a conventional matchup of boring campaigns. We’re all free to ignore the fire bell in the night, and hope for the best. But it would be a shame to have to explain in November 2016 how the Republican party decided to sleepwalk to defeat.”

Republicans Focus Fire on Obama

February 20, 2015 at 9:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

First Read: “After the midterms, we assumed that the party’s focus and energies would be devoted to the Clintons. And to be sure, the RNC and GOP oppo groups have devoted more of their time and resources to the Clintons. But for other Republicans and conservatives — the 2016ers, the grassroots, media outlets — the focus continues to be on Obama.”

New Hampshire Republicans Say Walker Qualified to Run

February 20, 2015 at 8:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard 51 Comments

A new NH1 News Poll in New Hampshire finds that 85 percent of Republicans and independents likely to vote in next year’s GOP presidential primary say it doesn’t matter that Gov. Scott Walker (R) didn’t graduate college, and that he’s qualified to be the next president.

Schock’s Private Flights May Have Violated House Rules

February 20, 2015 at 8:33 am EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Rep. Aaron Schock (R-IL) “has repeatedly spent taxpayer and campaign funds to rent aircraft that are not certified charter services, despite House rules and federal law that generally prohibit the use of private aircraft for official and campaign use,” USA Today reports.

Two Problems with Kasich Strategy

February 20, 2015 at 8:09 am EST By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

The Cleveland Plain Dealer says there are two potential problems with Gov. John Kasich’s “playing-hard-to-get strategy” as he mulls a presidential bid.

“One, Kasich seems to be enjoying the attention a little too much. He knew that a trip to an electorally significant state would invite even more questions about his plans. But when those predictable questions came, Kasich was even coyer than usual… The second problem is that Kasich has done little to put himself in the competitive position he sees for himself at some undisclosed point in the future. He has no organization in early caucus or primary states. Republicans here say that, until this week, Kasich had not been on their radar screens as a presidential prospect.”

Frenetic Bush Fundraising Paying Off

February 20, 2015 at 7:27 am EST By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

Bloomberg: “Jeb Bush recently called himself a ‘gladiator’ because he has been on the road so much this year raising money for a possible presidential run. With a goal of banking $100 million by the end of March, the former Florida governor’s intense schedule–60 fundraisers in three months–is paying off: He has locked down much of 2012 Republican nominee Mitt Romney’s fundraising team in the three weeks since Romney decided not to make another run.”

Wasserman Schultz Offered to Switch Position for Donor

February 20, 2015 at 7:12 am EST By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s office “offered to change her position on medical marijuana if a major Florida donor recanted his withering criticism of her,” according to emails obtained by Politico.

“The proposal to Orlando trial lawyer John Morgan was straightforward: retract critical statements he made to a reporter in return for Wasserman Schultz publicly backing his cannabis initiative that she had trashed just months earlier. Morgan declined the offer with a sharp email reply sent to a go-between, who described the congresswoman as being in a ‘tizzy.'”

Christie Losing Key Supporters

February 20, 2015 at 7:05 am EST By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

Gov. Chris Christie “is rapidly losing support among some of his most prominent home-state donors and power brokers, who are either hesitant to back him or shifting allegiance to former Florida governor Jeb Bush,” the Washington Post reports.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports, “He does not return phone calls. He does not ask for support. He arrives late for meetings. And he acts as if he has all the time in the world.”

“The complaints have piled up for weeks, dismaying many longtime supporters of Gov. Chris Christie of New Jersey and sending others into the arms of his rivals for the presidential nomination… As a half-dozen other candidates aggressively raise money and chase endorsements in Iowa and New Hampshire, friends and detractors alike say Mr. Christie’s view of his status and pre-eminence within the Republican field is increasingly at odds with the picture outside his inner circle.”

Politico: Christie slips from top tier