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?
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
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
“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
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?
“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.”
Walker Leads Tight Pack in Iowa
A new Des Moines Register poll in Iowa finds Gov. Scott Walker leading the GOP presidential pack with 16%, followed by Sen. Rand Paul at 15%, Mitt Romney at 13%, Mike Huckabee at 10%, Ben Carson at 9%, Jeb Bush at 8%, Ted Cruz at 5%, Chris Christie at 4%, Rick Santorum at 4%, Rick Perry at 3% and Marco Rubio at 3%.
The Battle for Romney’s Donors Is On
Gov. Chris Christie and Jeb Bush “plunged into all-out battle this weekend for the biggest unclaimed prize in American politics and the decisive advantage that could go with it: the billion-dollar donor network once harnessed by Mitt Romney,” the New York Times reports.
“In hundreds of phone calls that began even before Mr. Romney formally announced on Friday that he was forgoing a third bid for the presidency, allies of Mr. Christie and Mr. Bush began putting polite but intense pressure on Mr. Romney’s supporters to pick a side. And now donors have nowhere to hide, since virtually every contender for the Republican nomination has established a leadership PAC or other fund-raising vehicle in recent weeks, and the candidates are leaning on them to make a commitment.”
Rauner Jacks Up Pay for Top Staffers
“While criticizing state spending and state worker salaries as too high, Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) is paying top members of his administration significantly more than their predecessors in Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn’s administration,” a review by the Associated Press has found.
The review of state payroll records “found nine of ten top administrative posts paying more under Rauner, who took office earlier this month. On an annual basis, those Rauner staffers will make more than the equivalent Quinn staffers by nearly 36 percent, or roughly $380,000.”
GOP Presidential Race Wide Open Again
“Mitt Romney’s exit from the 2016 presidential campaign pushes the GOP race back where it was three weeks ago, before his brief flirtation: a wide-open contest among the establishment, religiously oriented, and libertarian wings of the Republican Party,” the Los Angeles Times reports.
Big GOP Donors Move Towards Bush and Christie
Wall Street Journal: “Republican donors could finally exhale Friday, as onetime GOP nominee Mitt Romney told supporters he wouldn’t run for president in 2016, resolving a dilemma for fundraisers who gravitate toward the party’s so-called establishment wing.”
“The decision boosts the money-raising prospects for other pro-business Republicans weighing a presidential campaign, primarily former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie , donors said.”
Politico: “Romney’s exit from the 2016 presidential race sets up a critical challenge for Jeb Bush, top Republicans say: If the former Florida governor can scoop up many of Romney’s big donors, he would set himself up as the dominant front-runner in the establishment wing of the party — and make life much more difficult for New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.”
Bush Gains Most From Romney Exit
A new Fox News poll suggests that Jeb Bush stands to gain the most from Mitt Romney’s decision not to run for president for the third time.
“Although Mr. Romney would have led the field with 21% of Republicans surveyed by Fox, the poll found that in his absence Mr. Bush rose to No. 1 spot with 15%, followed by Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee and Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky tied with 13% each.”
Why Romney Backed Out
New York Times: “The news on Friday that Mr. Romney would opt out of the race revealed as much about the party in 2015 as it did about the former Massachusetts governor’s weaknesses as a candidate. Republican leaders, especially the party’s wealthiest donors, are in an impatient and determined mood. They are eager to turn to a new face they believe can defeat what they anticipate will be a strong, well-funded Democratic opponent, Hillary Rodham Clinton.”
“The campaign to deny Mr. Romney another chance began almost immediately after he mused to donors at a Friday get-together in New York City on Jan. 9 that he was open to the possibility of another run. By that Sunday afternoon, William Oberndorf, a prominent California investor who supported Mr. Romney in both of his previous presidential campaigns, had emailed a group of 52 powerful Republicans, including former Secretary of State George Shultz, the investor Charles Schwab, Gov. Bruce Rauner of Illinois and the Michigan billionaire Betsy DeVos with a blunt message: we need to support someone else.”
Brown Files for Pension in Massachusetts
Scott Brown (R), “who won a Senate seat in Massachusetts and lost one in New Hampshire, is ready for retirement. Brown has applied for his state pension, in Massachusetts, based on his nearly 17 years of state, county, and municipal service, which also entitles him to retiree health benefits,” the Boston Globe reports.
“Availing himself of the public pension to which he contributed during his time in office clouds Brown’s political future, particularly if he chooses to remain in New Hampshire… Part of Brown’s core argument in last year’s campaign was that he had roots in the state, and was more philosophically aligned with its residents than with those in Massachusetts.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“He should be ashamed. And I think people really need to know what type of person he is. To bring as much pain as he did, to me and my family, that should be an issue.”
— Michael Schiavo, quoted by Politico, on how Jeb Bush handled a “contentious, drawn-out conflict” over his brain dead wife, Terri Schiavo while serving as Florida governor.
Jeb Bush’s Early Days
The Boston Globe runs a profile of Jeb Bush during his high school days at Andover, where both his father and older brother attended.
“But this Bush almost ran aground in those first, formative prep school days. He bore little resemblance to his father, a star on many fronts at Andover, and might have been an even worse student than brother George. Classmates said he smoked a notable amount of pot — as many did — and sometimes bullied smaller students.”
“Resolutely apolitical despite his lineage, he refused to join the Progressive Andover Republicans club and often declined even to participate in informal bull sessions with classmates. In a tumultuous season in American life, he seemed to his peers strangely detached and indifferent… Meanwhile, his grades were so poor that he was in danger of being expelled, which would have been a huge embarrassment to his father, a member of Congress and of the school’s board of trustees.”
Pennsylvania Treasurer Will Plead Guilty
Pennsylvania State Treasurer Rob McCord (D) “will plead guilty to federal charges that he used the lure of state business to strongarm political contributors during his failed gubernatorial bid last year,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
McCord, in a video statement, apologized for the mistake: “I stepped over the line by trying to take advantage of the fact that two potential contributors hoped to continue to do business with the Commonwealth – and by developing talking points to remind them that I could make things difficult for them. The mistake and fault here is mine and mine alone.”
Romney Faced a Big Hurdle in Iowa
A new Bloomberg Politics/Des Moines Register Iowa Poll finds that just 40% of Republicans likely to participate in the 2016 Iowa caucuses viewed Mitt Romney unfavorably, while his approval rating dropped was just 57%.
Likely caucus-goers were also skeptical about Romney running again as 45% didn’t want him to do so.
