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Isakson Will Run for Third Term

November 11, 2014 at 9:49 am EST By Taegan Goddard 3 Comments

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA) “wants there to be no doubt he’s running for re-election,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution.

“Georgia’s soon-to-be senior senator is formally announcing he will seek a third term at 11 a.m. on Monday at the state capitol… Isakson has been eager to put to rest rumors that he wouldn’t run for another term – and scare off any potential GOP rivals. Among them is former Florida Rep. Allen West, though he has dismissed such talk, and a gaggle of ambitious up-and-coming Republicans.”

“Several rising Democratic contenders are also closely watching the race, though it’s unclear whether a marquee candidate would risk challenging Isakson.”

Perry Won’t Make Decision for 6 Months

November 11, 2014 at 9:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) insisted that he is still six to seven months away from making a decision on a second run for the GOP presidential nomination, NH Journal reports.

Said Perry: “May or June would be my guess when I’ll made a decision on whether I’m going to go forward.”

Rick Klein: “Granted, that’s earlier than the August 2011 start he chose last cycle, though we can probably stipulate that the problems with his candidacy couldn’t have been fixed with two extra months of campaigning. We’re looking at a dozen or more credible candidates on GOP debate stages in the fall, whether or not Perry chooses to join them. But the window for early-announcers is officially open. If Perry won’t be the first serious candidate in, there’s an opportunity for someone (Rand Paul? Ted Cruz?) not to wait for months to start outlining a vision for a party that wants a new voice.”

Money is a Pretty Good Predictor of Who Will Win

November 11, 2014 at 9:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard 4 Comments

Morning Line: “We already know that the $4 billion spent on this midterm election was more than any other midterm in history. It was the most on congressional elections ever, including during a presidential year. What do the numbers really tell us? These two stats jumped out at us from a post-analysis done by the Center for Responsive Politics:

94 percent of biggest spenders in House races won, up slightly from 2012
82 percent of biggest spenders in Senate races won, up from 76 percent in 2012

What that means is, as one of us noted on NewsHour Monday night money, more specifically who spends the most, is about as good a predictor that there is of who will win a race. Those numbers, by the way, are pretty close to the incumbent reelection rates.”

Were District Lines Drawn Because of Race or Party?

November 11, 2014 at 9:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

Rick Hasen: “Recognizing this major overlap of race and party in the South is key to understanding Wednesday’s Supreme Court case involving a constitutional challenge to Alabama’s legislative redistricting. No one disputes that the Alabama legislature packed black voters into a few legislative districts, thus strengthening Republican control in the majority of districts throughout the rest of the state. But whether or not that action is constitutional depends a great deal on whether the court views this as a case about race (in which case Alabama may have acted unconstitutionally) or one about party (in which case Alabama’s actions are constitutional, if unsavory politics as usual).”

Republicans Vow to Fight EPA Rules and Approve Pipeline

November 11, 2014 at 9:13 am EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

“The new Republican Congress is headed for a clash with the White House over two ambitious Environmental Protection Agency regulations that are the heart of President Obama’s climate change agenda,” the New York Times reports.

“Senator Mitch McConnell, the next majority leader, has already vowed to fight the rules, which could curb planet-warming carbon pollution but ultimately shut down coal-fired power plants in his native Kentucky. Mr. McConnell and other Republicans are, in the meantime, stepping up their demands that the president approve construction of the Keystone XL pipeline to carry petroleum from Canadian oil sands to refineries on the Gulf Coast.”

“At this point, Republicans do not have the votes to repeal the E.P.A. regulations, which will have far more impact on curbing carbon emissions than stopping the pipeline, but they say they will use their new powers to delay, defund and otherwise undermine them.”

Obamacare Death Panel Found

November 11, 2014 at 8:39 am EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

Wonk Wire: “So it turns out there is an Obamacare death panel after all. It has nine members and it operates out of a marble building directly across the street from the Capitol.”

Early Obama Decisions Still Costing Democrats

November 11, 2014 at 8:28 am EST By Taegan Goddard 35 Comments

Charlie Cook: “In mid-summer 2009, polls universally showed that Americans wanted the president, along with the overwhelmingly Democratic Congress, to focus on the economy and job creation. Instead, in its infinite wisdom, Congress chose to focus almost exclusively and obsessively on health care reform. Although this was a worthy objective, the effort would likely have been better spent in a time when people weren’t so worried about their economic well-being. This horrific choice, to focus on the Affordable Care Act rather than the economy, besides costing Democrats their House majority—not to mention platoons of Democratic governors and state legislators who would have been handy in drawing the congressional redistricting maps the next year—created scar tissue that remains to this day.”

“Americans resent the policy choices that Obama and congressional Democrats made early on… Choices have consequences, and elections have consequences. The decisions of 2009 and 2010 just keep on having consequences for Democrats.”

Where’s the Next Generation of Democrats?

November 11, 2014 at 8:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

Wall Street Journal: “Indeed, one of the most puzzling questions about the Democrats is this one: If the presidential nomination doesn’t go to either Mrs. Clinton or Mr. Biden, who are the plausible younger alternatives?”

“There isn’t a long list. Perhaps Sen. Elizabeth Warren, 65, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo , 56, or departing Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, 51—though the stunning loss by his lieutenant governor, Anthony Brown, once seen as a potential bright new star, has tarnished the O’Malley legacy. In any case, the list of young leaders lining up behind Mrs. Clinton isn’t a long or obvious one. It’s an unusual position for a party whose core constituencies include young voters.”

Washington Post: “In 2006, after being in the minority for a decade, Democrats re-took the House. Democratic candidates won 30 seats that had been held by the opposition in the previous contest. As of January 2015, only seven of those 30 Democrats will still be in the U.S. House of Representatives.”

Clintons Don’t Come Cheap

November 11, 2014 at 8:12 am EST By Taegan Goddard 2 Comments

“Bill and Hillary Clinton were the most sought after surrogates in the Democratic Party this year. He campaigned for more than 47 candidates. She for more than 26. Supporters estimate that, together, the Clintons headlined 75 rallies and fundraisers — and logged roughly 50,000 miles jetting from state to state,” BuzzFeed reports.

“When the Clintons travel, they fly private. This year, their airfare cost candidates at least $699,000, available state and federal campaign finance reports show.”

Quote of the Day

November 11, 2014 at 8:09 am EST By Taegan Goddard 45 Comments

“That’s bullshit. I’m not going to put up with that.”

— Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), quoted by Politico, on the possibility of Democrats blocking the GOP agenda over the next two years.

A Republican Country

November 11, 2014 at 7:41 am EST By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

The Fix: “While the GOP is likely to control 54 percent of all Senate seats and 56 percent (or so) of the House come January, it also will now control more than two-thirds of state legislative chambers across the country — as in nearly seven in 10. And given Republicans also won at least 31 governorships, they are basically in control of the state government in 25 states. That could soon hit 26 if they win the still-undetermined governor’s race in Alaska.”

“The Democrats, meanwhile, control just six states, with a seventh likely to come when the Vermont legislature picks Gov. Peter Shumlin (D) as the winner of last week’s closer-than-expected election, in which neither candidate attained the necessary 50 percent.”

Wonk Wire: Who bankrolled the new Senate majority?

Karl Rove is Back in the Game

November 11, 2014 at 7:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Bloomberg: “Big Republican donors are back. The 2014 midterms victories lifted their lingering 2012 depression, ending that period of sadness and disbelief that began when the GOP lost the presidency and failed to retake the Senate despite spending record amounts of cash. Republican leaders are stoking these new feelings of glee. Karl Rove’s American Crossroads is already turning to Hillary Clinton as its next target and GOP fundraisers are reminding the giving class that the 2016 Senate map won’t be favorable and the party will contend with a presidential electorate that’s been more supportive to Democrats in recent years.”

George W. Bush Wants a Clinton-Bush Race

November 11, 2014 at 7:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

Former President George W. Bush likes the idea of a 2016 presidential matchup between his brother Jeb Bush and Hillary Clinton, Reuters reports.

Said Bush: “There are some people that’ll say there’s no way I’m going to vote for somebody with that name. Of course if he were to run against Hillary Clinton then I think the name issue would somewhat dissipate and then people would pick which one would be the leader. But neither one of them has declared and I really don’t know if Jeb is going to run.”

Glenn Beck Discloses Brain Illness

November 11, 2014 at 5:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard 20 Comments

Glenn Beck told viewers of The Blaze that he has been suffering from debilitating health problems for the past five years which have included severe pain and seizures.

Said Beck: “I had begun to have a string of health issues that, quite honestly, has made me look crazy. And quite honestly, I have have felt crazy because of them.”

GOP Lawmaker Raises Possibility of Impeaching Obama

November 10, 2014 at 6:11 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 64 Comments

Rep. Joe Barton (R-TX) said that impeaching President Obama “would be a consideration” if he moves forward unilaterally on immigration, TPM reports.

Said Barton: “Well impeachment is indicting in the House and that’s a possibility. But you still have to convict in the Senate and that takes a two-thirds vote. But impeachment would be a consideration, yes sir.”

GOP Hopefuls Face Same-State Uncertainty

November 10, 2014 at 6:08 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 1 Comment

“The uncertain shape of the 2016 Republican presidential field is, to an unusual degree, a product of a historically large number of potential aspirants coming from the same states,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Four states–Wisconsin, Texas, Florida, and Ohio–have two Republicans thinking seriously or already decided about seeking the 2016 GOP presidential nomination.”

“Candidates with a fellow Republican from the same state in the race may find themselves having to share or compete over political and fundraising bases. Some potential candidates may decide to pass on running precisely because they can’t be sure of having the same team they had in previous statewide races.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

November 10, 2014 at 5:09 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

“I think I just don’t really fit the mold.”

— Failed Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke (D), quoted by the Wisconsin State Journal, saying she won’t run for statewide office again.

Romney Allies Still Hoping He’ll Run Again

November 10, 2014 at 3:13 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 32 Comments

“According to several top Republicans, Romney made more than 80 phone calls to GOP candidates last Tuesday and Wednesday to congratulate them on their victories,” the Washington Post reports.

“Some longtime allies also continue to prepare the ground for another Romney presidential campaign, despite his continued disavowals of interest. In the days after the election, a group of Romney supporters began circulating a memo that compared the success of his midterm endorsements with those made by Hillary Rodham Clinton, the front-runner for the 2016 Democratic presidential nomination. The documents concluded that two out of three Romney candidates won their elections, compared with one in three for Clinton.”