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Republicans Caught Democrats on Ground Game

November 8, 2014 at 7:13 am EST By Taegan Goddard 33 Comments

New York Times: “The Republicans’ ground game and digital strategy in 2012 were disasters, bad enough to become a political punch line. The party was determined not to repeat those mistakes, and operatives were well on their way to overhauling its systems this election cycle when the Democrats announced their ‘Bannock Street project,’ an ambitious voter-mobilization program.”

“Though the Republicans were already building a national ground game, they decided to leverage the Democrats’ $60 million get-out-the-vote effort to their own advantage. They devoured news reports about the project and scoured Federal Election Commission filings to learn as much as they could about how their rivals were structuring their turnout operations in battleground states.”

Huffington Post: Democrats argue their ground game worked

Peters Defeats DeMaio in California

November 8, 2014 at 7:10 am EST By Taegan Goddard 6 Comments

Rep. Scott Peters (D-CA) took a seemingly insurmountable lead over Carl DeMaio (R) on Friday in California’s closely-watched 52nd congressional district race, the San Diego Union Tribune reports.

The Associated Press has projected a Peters victory. The DeMaio campaign has not publicly reacted to the new vote totals.

Roll Call reports there are still 10 uncalled races from Tuesday’s elections.

Obama Alone

November 8, 2014 at 6:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard 36 Comments

David Rothkopf: “In the wake of Tuesday’s elections, U.S. President Barack Obama cuts a lonely figure. In fact, he may end his term of office as the most isolated president since Richard Nixon. If that is the case, it will largely be a plight of his own making.”

“The isolation starts with the fact that from the beginning, for the president and his campaign team, it was never about the Democratic Party. It was never about the rest of their team in the administration. It was never about a network of international relationships. It was always about one man who was the product, the messenger, the mission, and the raison d’être all wrapped into one. And for the next two years, it seems highly likely that any brave post-election faces they try to put on this to the contrary, Obama will reap the results of his political and policy narcissism in a way that will not only be difficult for him personally but will be bad for America and its role in the world.”

Is Sarah Palin TV Tanking?

November 7, 2014 at 1:52 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

“Three months after the launch, former CNN President Jonathan Klein—whose niche digital television company, TAPP, is backing the channel—claims it’s already turning a profit,” Lloyd Grove reports.

Said Klein: “It’s going really well. She asked us from the very beginning never to talk about specific numbers, because for her she says it’s not about the numbers. It’s about the message and enabling her followers to all get together and talk freely. So I can’t give you numbers. I can tell you that she’s hit all our milestones and that she’s posting content constantly.”

“Yet while it’s impossible to know, absent hard figures, whether the Sarah Palin Channel is succeeding in attracting an audience, it’s significant that the channel’s Web traffic, expressed in terms of unique visitors, is a tiny fraction of The Blaze’s 15.3 million in September (the most recent available numbers from Media Trend). The Sarah Palin Channel, by contrast, had a barely measurable 36,000 visitors in September, according to Quantcast.”

Guide to the New Congress

November 7, 2014 at 1:09 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 5 Comments

Free download: CQ Roll Call’s exclusive 76-page Guide to the New Congress.

“There are more than 50 new lawmakers to meet. Nine House committees will have new leaders. Every single committee in the Senate will have a new chair. And the power dynamics between the two chambers and the White House has been altered completely.”

Supreme Court to Hear New Obamacare Challenge

November 7, 2014 at 12:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 93 Comments

SCOTUSblog: “The Supreme Court, moving back into the deep controversy over the new health care law, agreed early Friday afternoon to decide how far the federal government can extend its program of subsidies to buyers of health insurance.”

“By adding the case to its decision docket at this point, without waiting for further action in lower federal courts, as the Obama administration had asked, the Court assured that it would rule on the case during the current term.”

Jonathan Cohn: “The latest legal challenge to Obamacare just became very credible—and very dangerous.”

Rubio Will Decide on Presidential Bid Soon

November 7, 2014 at 12:53 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 26 Comments

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) said that he will make up his mind on a 2016 run for the White House “in the coming weeks,” the Tampa Bay Times reports.

Said Rubio: “For me, the decision is made based on the following: I have my agenda that I have talked about for more than 4 years and the decision that I have to make is where is the best place to advance this agenda as a presidential candidate or continue at the majority in the Senate, that is a decision I will make in the coming weeks along with my family because it requires a whole series of things.”

A Terrible Election for Environmentalists

November 7, 2014 at 12:49 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“The urgency with which activists (and scientists and the United Nations) view the threat of climate change is not matched on Capitol Hill. 2014 was meant to be change that, with environmental groups and one particular billionaire investing heavily in demonstrating that climate was an electoral winner. Instead, 2015 will arrive with environmentalists in a much worse position than they were even a year ago,” the Washington Post reports.

Wonk Wire: A dismal outlook for climate policy

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

November 7, 2014 at 12:43 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 50 Comments

“The President is bright and very articulate and speaks very well. People just don’t believe he cares. That’s the disconnect that I’m seeing.”

— Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), in an interview with Time.

Bonus Quote of the Day

November 7, 2014 at 12:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 31 Comments

“When an administration says ‘no,’ it’s no different than when Andrew Jackson marched Indians down the Trail of Tears, to their death.”

— Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA), quoted by Politico, on the Obama administration’s transparency.

Daley Tapped for Rauner Transition in Illinois

November 7, 2014 at 12:23 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Illinois Gov.-elect Bruce Rauner (R) named 25 people to his transition team, including former Obama White House chief of staff Bill Daley (D), who started a run for governor and quickly dropped out in 2013, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Brooklyn Prosecutor Likely as Next Attorney General

November 7, 2014 at 12:04 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 16 Comments

Loretta Lynch, “the top federal prosecutor in Brooklyn, has emerged as a leading contender to be the next attorney general, officials close to the process said, as President Obama looks outside his inner circle to fill a crucial post,” the New York Times reports.

“The White House declined to comment on whether Mr. Obama would tap Ms. Lynch, who if chosen and confirmed would be the first African-American woman to serve as the nation’s top law enforcement official. She would replace Eric H. Holder Jr., who is stepping down.”

CNN: “An announcement is expected in the coming days, though timing is complicated by the president’s plans to travel to Asia this weekend.”

Juror 68 Helped Edwards

November 7, 2014 at 11:21 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

As Edwin Edwards (D) celebrated making a 6th Congressional District runoff spot in Louisiana, “his past was in evidence all over the party,” the Baton Rouge Advocate reports.

One supporter was Victor Durand, known as Juror 68, an old juror from the federal trial that sent him to prison on racketeering charges: “I have been helping him on my own during the campaign. I got an invitation and I wanted to be there.”

Baker Won’t Get Involved in National GOP Politics

November 7, 2014 at 11:16 am EST By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

Massachusetts Gov.-elect Charlie Baker (R) told the Boston Globe that he “plans to eschew the national Republican Party, distancing himself from the GOP just days after it swept the political landscape and declining to show support for any of his party’s prospective standard-bearers in two years.”

Said Baker: “I have no thoughts about that. I don’t view myself as a national anything. I would hope that one of the lessons that some of the Republicans nationally would take from this race is that it’s a good idea to chase 100 percent of the vote and to make the case in as many forums and as many places as they possibly can.”

McConnell Endorses Paul for President

November 7, 2014 at 11:11 am EST By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) endorsed Sen. Rand Paul’s (R-KY) widely expected 2016 presidential run, adding an important establishment name to the effort, the Lexington Herald Leader reports.

Said McConnell: “I don’t think he’s made a final decision on that. But he’ll be able to count on me.”

Running Away from Obama Didn’t Work

November 7, 2014 at 10:29 am EST By Taegan Goddard 68 Comments

First Read: “For all Southern Democrats’ efforts to distance themselves from Obama – (ie refusing to say whether they voted for the president, pushing pro-gun and pro-coal policies) it’s notable that NONE of the Democrats in ’14 ran significantly better in the South (including West Virginia and Kentucky) than Obama did in ’12. And in some cases, they were worse.”

Obama Says He’ll Listen to Those Who Didn’t Vote

November 7, 2014 at 10:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard 39 Comments

“President Obama did something extraordinary, perhaps unprecedented, in his post-election news conference Wednesday: He claimed a mandate on behalf of voters who didn’t vote,” Byron York reports.

Said Obama: “To everyone who voted, I want you to know that I hear you. To the two-thirds of voters who chose not to participate in the process yesterday, I hear you, too.”

The Midterm Elections Weren’t Even Close

November 7, 2014 at 10:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

“Say what you want about the American people; on Tuesday, they were decisive. Very decisive. In fact, of the 435 House and 36 Senate races, only about nine percent of them (41) were decided by single digits,” the Washington Post reports.

“By contrast, in the 2012 presidential election, 83 House districts and 15 states were decided by single digits — about 20 percent of all House districts and 30 percent of all states.”