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Sebelius Questions Gruber’s Role

December 2, 2014 at 5:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 11 Comments

Former Health and Human Services secretary Kathleen Sebelius, “disputing the description of MIT professor Jonathan Gruber as an architect of the Affordable Care Act, says she had never met with him and minimized the significance of his controversial comments describing passage of the law,” USA Today reports.

In fact, she says she never met with him.

Said Sebelius: “Maybe he was in a large room; he could have been on a phone call. But in terms of small meetings, discussing policy, that never happened.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

December 2, 2014 at 3:15 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 52 Comments

“I would assume you could have a mulligan here, a major do-over.”

— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, suggesting a major revamp of national health care legislation if the Supreme Court rules against a key provision of Obamacare.

McConnell Is ‘Perplexed’ by Obama

December 2, 2014 at 3:12 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 55 Comments

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told the Wall Street Journal that President Obama has lurched to the left since suffering a “butt-kicking” during November’s midterm elections.

Said McConnell: “By any objective standard the president got crushed in this election. So I’ve been perplexed by the reaction since the election, the sort of in your face dramatic move to the left. I don’t know what we can expect in terms of reaching bipartisan agreement.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]I wonder if Obama was perplexed when McConnell said his only goal was making him a one-term president. [/speech_bubble]

House GOP Will Hold Symbolic Vote on Immigration

December 2, 2014 at 1:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

“House Republicans on Tuesday emerged from a closed-door meeting determined to avoid a government shutdown,” the New York Times reports.

“The lawmakers began coalescing around a two-part plan that would allow a symbolic vote to show their frustration with President Obama’s executive action on immigration, before funding the government ahead of a Dec. 11 deadline. The proposal, presented by Speaker John A. Boehner, first calls for House Republicans to vote on a resolution proposed by Representative Ted Yoho, Republican of Florida, that says that the president does not have the power to take the executive action he took last month.”

Roll Call: House GOP floats multi-pronged effort to avert shutdown

More Americans Shift to Republicans

December 2, 2014 at 1:24 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 32 Comments

Gallup: “Since the Republican Party’s strong showing on Election Day last month, Americans’ political allegiances have shifted toward the GOP. Prior to the elections, 43% of Americans identified as Democrats or leaned toward the Democratic Party, while 39% identified as or leaned Republican. Since then, Republicans have opened up a slight advantage, 42% to 41%, representing a net shift of five percentage points in the partisanship gap.”

Chuck Todd’s Wife Working for Jim Webb

December 2, 2014 at 11:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard 45 Comments

“Kristian Denny Todd, the Democratic strategist and wife of Meet The Press moderator Chuck Todd, is working with former Sen. Jim Webb as he considers a 2016 presidential bid,” Politico reports.

“Todd previously served as the communications director for Webb’s 2006 Senate campaign in Virginia. She is not currently being paid by Webb’s office, according to spending reports for Webb’s political action committee.”

House and Senate Republicans Set Joint Retreat

December 2, 2014 at 11:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard 19 Comments

House and Senate Republicans expect to hold a joint retreat early in the next Congress in Hershey, Pennsylvania, sources tell Roll Call.

Politico: “The announcement is a sign that Republicans in chambers that have often found themselves at odds are looking for ways to work together and at least start the new Congress with a show of unity. With the GOP taking control of the Senate in the new year, the fractious party will have a chance to promote a common front, which would make it a more forceful counter-weight to President Barack Obama. The retreat will also help promote a unified front and coherent agenda for the party going into 2016.”

Best and Worst of 2014

December 2, 2014 at 9:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard 2 Comments

Stu Rothenberg looks at the best and worst of the 2014 midterm election campaign.

Why Did the White House Kill Harry Reid’s Tax Deal?

December 2, 2014 at 9:39 am EST By Taegan Goddard 44 Comments

“The White House worked closely with liberal House Democrats last week to torpedo a tax deal that Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) was negotiating with Republicans,” The Hill reports.

“The unusual move to kill a Reid-backed proposal has raised suspicions among Senate negotiators about the White House’s motivations. They believe President Obama’s team is eyeing a broad corporate tax reform deal in 2015, when Republicans will control the Senate and the House.”

Ash Carter Picked as Next Defense Secretary

December 2, 2014 at 9:28 am EST By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

Ashton Carter will be President Obama’s choice as secretary of defense, “barring last-minute complications,” CNN reports.

“An administration official had said that Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, a former General Counsel at the Pentagon, was also still on the list of possibilities, but on Tuesday morning, sources said Johnson was no longer being considered. The prospect of an additional confirmation hearing for Johnson’s replacement if he were to move to the Pentagon as the Senate switches to Republican control would have been problematic for the White House.”

GOP Voters Like Romney in 2016

December 2, 2014 at 9:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard 55 Comments

A new CNN/ORC International poll finds Mitt Romney leading the GOP presidential field with 20%, followed by Ben Carson at 10%, Jeb Bush at 9%, Chris Christie at 9% and Mike Huckabee at 7%.

When Romney is left off the survey, Bush takes the top spot.

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]Carson is running ahead of Bush, Christie and Huckabee? [/speech_bubble]

13 Soldiers

December 2, 2014 at 8:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard 17 Comments

Just published: Thirteen Soldiers: A Personal History of Americans at War by Sen. John McCain and Mark Salter.

The personal accounts of thirteen remarkable soldiers who fought in major military conflicts, from the Revolutionary War of 1776 to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Cuomo Has Plenty of Money Left Over

December 2, 2014 at 8:44 am EST By Taegan Goddard 3 Comments

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) finished his re-election campaign with $9.2 million in the bank, Capital New York reports.

“It’s unclear what Cuomo will do with his war chest, particularly if he does not opt to seek a third term. A good-government advocate has said that it could seed a Cuomo-themed super PAC should he choose to become a national candidate. New York law does not have special restrictions on leftover funds in campaign accounts that belong to politicians who decline to seek office again, or die.”

McConnell Tries to Roll Back Campaign Finance Laws

December 2, 2014 at 8:40 am EST By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) is trying to use a massive appropriations bill to loosen campaign finance rules, the Huffington Post reports.

“The Republican leader’s office is attempting to attach a policy rider to the omnibus bill that would effectively end limits imposed on coordinated spending by federal candidates and political party committees.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]I was surprised to learn we still have campaign finance rules. [/speech_bubble]

Republicans Float ‘Impeachment Lite’ Option

December 2, 2014 at 8:31 am EST By Taegan Goddard 18 Comments

Republicans are backing off suggestions they might impeach President Obama over his executive action on immigration but have floated the idea of censuring him instead, TPM reports.

Said Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID): “I think we should censure the president of the United States. I think it’s unfortunate that he did this, I think we need to lay out clearly why this is unlawful.”

“The censure strategy has much of the bombast of impeachment — a formal vehicle for Republicans to vent their disapproval of Obama, and throw red meat to the conservative base — without the risks of a politically nuclear confrontation that could backfire on them… But there’s one big problem with this plan: censuring the president might be unconstitutional. Or at least, any censure resolution that would meaningfully punish the president risks violating the Constitution, legal experts say.”

Quote of the Day

December 2, 2014 at 8:09 am EST By Taegan Goddard 7 Comments

“And perhaps more important, can I do it where the sacrifice for my family is tolerable? Every person that runs for office at any level — it’s a big sacrifice because it’s a pretty ugly business right now.”

— Jeb Bush, quoted by Bloomberg, on running for president.

Has Obama Left a Dangerous Legacy for Democrats?

December 2, 2014 at 8:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard 43 Comments

Byron York: “The Obama damage is two-fold. First, his success relied on a coalition that likely will not survive, or at least survive at full strength, without Obama himself on the ticket. Secondly, Obama drove a significant portion of white voters away from the Democratic Party.”

“Put those two things together — smaller Obama coalition and more alienated whites — and the result could be huge trouble for whoever the Democratic presidential nominee is in 2016.”

Charlie Cook: Democrats paved the way for their own decline

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]It’s not a foregone conclusion that another Democratic presidential candidate can pull together the Obama coalition in 2016. [/speech_bubble]

Hagel Ouster Shines Light on Power Shift

December 2, 2014 at 7:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard 1 Comment

“The forced resignation of Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel is exposing deep tensions between the Pentagon and President Obama’s national security staff,” The Hill reports.

“While administration aides characterized Hagel’s departure as a mutual decision, insiders say it was the culmination of a larger power struggle that has intensified in Obama’s second term… Defense experts say there has long been distrust between the West Wing and the Pentagon, dating back to decisions about the ‘surge’ in Afghanistan in 2009 and the Iraq troop drawdown in 2011.”