“He’s basically furniture in the Senate, and the people in Kansas know that. You could give the average Kansan 24 hours to come up with something Pat Roberts has done in the Senate, and after 24 hours, even the crickets would be standing there befuddled.”
— GOP strategist John Weaver, quoted by the Washington Post.
Illinois state representative candidate Kathy Myalls (R) “has voted in both Illinois and Wisconsin in recent years,” the Chicago Sun Times reports.
“In one case, she cast a vote in a primary election in Illinois. Then just three months later, records show she voted in Wisconsin to cast a ballot in the state’s recall election… Myalls then voted in Wisconsin’s presidential general election in 2012 before returning to Illinois to vote the following spring. ”
First Read: “If it feels like 2002-2004 all over again due to ISIS and the U.S. military campaign against it, well, that’s also reflected on the campaign trail and in the TV ads, especially on the Republican side…”
“There are two reasons why these anti-terror messages from Republicans are beginning to pop up on the campaign trail. The first: It’s embedded in the party’s DNA. Since the beginning of the Cold War, the GOP’s first instinct has always been to assert how it’s tougher and stronger on communism/terrorism than the Democratic Party is… The second reason: Republicans want to keep the midterms a nationalized election. And so when the national conversation turns away from health care and the economy to national security, the GOP’s TV ads and campaign messages will follow. Why do they want it nationalized? Take one look at the right track/wrong track poll numbers coupled with the president’s job rating. The more local this campaign is, the less likely the GOP wins the Senate or adds to their House majority.”
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Politico: “The joint appearance highlighted a reality for the current president and his former secretary of state: Her political needs aren’t always in sync with his, but more often than not their interests do align.”
“Hillary Clinton needs to keep Obama’s supporters behind her if she runs for president in 2016… Some Obama advisers, meanwhile, see Clinton as a lifeline — the best chance the lame-duck Democrat has to preserve his legacy, particularly Obamacare, after the open-seat election in 2016.”
A new Roanoke College poll in Virginia finds Sen. Mark Warner (D) holds a 19-point lead over challenger Ed Gillespie (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 27%.
Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg told Elle magazine that says she’s not going to retire as long as she can still “do the job full steam.”
Said Ginsburg: “Who do you think President Obama could appoint at this very day, given the boundaries that we have? If I resign any time this year, he could not successfully appoint anyone I would like to see on the court… So anybody who thinks that if I step down, Obama could appoint someone like me, they’re misguided. As long as I can do the job full steam…. I think I’ll recognize when the time comes that I can’t any longer. But now I can.”
“Can I say that without getting in trouble like Gov. Romney. The 47 percent is true. It’s bigger now.”
— Nevada congressional candidate Crescent Hardy (R), quoted by TPM.
“A man who went on national television and told how family members of former Gov. Sarah Palin were involved in a brawl at an Anchorage birthday party says he was fired from a his job at a local paving company after speaking up. Eric Thompson, who appeared on ABC’s Good Morning America last week, posted a video on YouTube Tuesday seeking work,” the Alaska Dispatch News reports.
A new Survey USA poll in Georgia finds David Perdue (R) barely leading Michelle Nunn (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 45%.
In the race for governor, Jason Carter (D) edges Gov. Nathan Deal (R), 45% to 44%.
New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet said he has a firm rule for reporters who interview President Obama, the New York Times reports.
Said Baquet: “I don’t think the president gets to talk off the record to me or to news reporters. I don’t think that anything the president has to say should be off limits to the readers of The New York Times. I would not have a news reporter in that room.”
Brendan Nyhan predicts a boom in speculation that a third party candidate might mount a viable presidential bid in 2016.
“It’s possible that the memories of these recent third-party failures are fresh enough that candidates and the press won’t make the same mistake this time around. I’m skeptical, though — the temptation for politicians to get flattering publicity and for the media to fill space may again be too difficult to overcome.”
Wonk Wire: Majority want a third political party.
“Our foreign policy has become a tangled mess in many cases of what can only be called situational ethics. In the area of international relations, it’s not a healthy thing when the world’s dominant military and economic power has a policy based on vagueness.”
— Former Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA), quoted by the Wall Street Journal, while saying he’s “seriously considering” a White House bid in 2016.
Elect Project has a very useful early voting tracker.
“For months, several clusters of conservative lawmakers have been secretly huddling inside and outside the Capitol, plotting to oust John Boehner from the Speaker’s office when House Republicans regroup after the November elections,” The Hill reports.
“The strategy — for now — seems disorganized and fluid: Find a way to push the Speaker’s race to a second ballot, create turmoil in the conference, portray Boehner as highly vulnerable and offer up an alternative.”
A new Quinnipiac poll in Florida finds Gov. Rick Scott (R) edging challenger Charlie Crist (D) in the race for governor, 44% to 42%.
“Quinnipiac’s survey shows the relentlessly negative tone of the campaign is having an effect on the mood of voters as fewer than four out of 10 voters say Scott or Crist is honest and trustworthy. However, Scott outpaces Crist on leadership qualities by 58% to 46%, and Scott performs better among independent voters than Crist, 44% to 37%.”
A new SurveyUSA poll has Scott ahead 43% to 42%.
A new WPRI 12/Providence Journal poll finds former Providence Mayor Vincent “Buddy” Cianci Jr. has a small lead over Jorge Elorza six weeks ahead of the election, 38% to 32%.
Cianci was mayor from 1974 to 1984 and again from 1990 to 2002, but was twice forced from office both times after felony convictions.
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Arkansas finds Tom Cotton (R) leading Sen. Mark Pryor (D) by five points, 43% to 38%.
Key finding: “Cotton’s lead is up slightly from 41/39 on our previous poll. Voters aren’t in love with him- 40% see him favorably to 41% with an unfavorable opinion. But Pryor continues to have tough approval ratings, with 36% giving him good marks to 51% who disapprove.”
“We have to change course because our country is heading for national socialism. That’s not right. It’s changing our culture. It’s changing what we’re all about.”
— Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS), quoted by TPM.
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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