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Hagel Stepping Down as Defense Secretary

November 24, 2014 at 9:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard 39 Comments

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel “is stepping down under pressure, the first cabinet-level casualty of the collapse of President Obama’s Democratic majority in the Senate and a beleaguered national security team that has struggled to stay ahead of an onslaught of global crises,” the New York Times reports.

“The president, who is expected to announce Mr. Hagel’s resignation in a Rose Garden appearance on Monday, made the decision to ask his defense secretary — the sole Republican on his national security team — to step down last Friday after a series of meetings over the past two weeks… The officials described Mr. Obama’s decision to remove Mr. Hagel, 68, as a recognition that the threat from the Islamic State would require a different kind of skills than those that Mr. Hagel was brought on to employ.”

One administration official “insisted that Mr. Hagel was not fired, saying that he initiated discussions about his future two weeks ago with the president, and that the two men mutually agreed that it was time for him to leave.”

However, senior defense officials confirmed to NBC News that Hagel was forced to resign. Said one: “He wasn’t up to the job.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]Obama’s relationship with all three of his defense secretaries – Gates, Panetta and Hagel – has ended badly. [/speech_bubble]

The Most Powerful Woman in the World

November 24, 2014 at 7:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard 16 Comments

The New Yorker has a must-read piece on the rise of German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

Said former U.S. Ambassador to Germany John Kornblum: “If you cross her, you end up dead. There’s nothing cushy about her. There’s a whole list of alpha males who thought they would get her out of the way, and they’re all now in other walks of life.”

Paul Will Introduce War Resolution

November 24, 2014 at 7:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard 48 Comments

Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) will introduce a measure in the U.S. Senate next month to declare war on the Islamic State, the Daily Beast reports.

“The move is part of Paul’s ongoing campaign to position himself as a foreign-policy heavyweight ahead of the Republican presidential primaries, when he is expected to mount a campaign for the nomination. But it may simply be dismissed as a tit-for-tat gesture as Republicans complain of executive overreach in the aftermath of President Obama’s executive order on immigration.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]A very clever move that helps quell doubts about Paul’s desire to use the military abroad while at the same time reasserting congressional authority.[/speech_bubble]

GOP Hopefuls Avoid Specifics in Response to Obama

November 24, 2014 at 7:11 am EST By Taegan Goddard 21 Comments

“The rhetoric is barbed, but Republican presidential hopefuls generally fell in line behind the voices of restraint in the wake of President Obama’s order blocking deportation for millions of immigrants in the country unlawfully,” the AP reports.

“Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas has been an exception. He said the new Republican-controlled Senate that takes office in January should refuse to confirm any of Obama’s nominees except for vital national security positions as long as the president’s order remains in effect.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]Of course, they’re mostly avoiding specifics because Republican voters are divided on immigration reform.[/speech_bubble]

Christie Leads GOP Field in New Hampshire

November 24, 2014 at 7:09 am EST By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

A new Bloomberg Politics/Saint Anselm New Hampshire Poll finds Chris Christie leading the GOP presidential field in New Hampshire with 22%, followed by Jeb Bush at 20%, Sen. Rand Paul at 19%, Mike Huckabee at 8%, Ben Carson at 7% and Rep. Paul Ryan at 5%.

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]If there’s any news in this very early poll, it’s Rand Paul’s strength in New Hampshire. He has real potential to shake up the GOP presidential primaries.[/speech_bubble]

McConnell Already Plotting to Keep Majority in 2016

November 24, 2014 at 6:51 am EST By Taegan Goddard 23 Comments

Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) “is quietly pushing his fellow Republican senators to beef up their political shops. He’s considering a new super PAC that could spend millions on Senate races. And he’s locking down operatives for another cycle who were key to GOP triumphs this month,” Politico reports.

“The under-the-radar moves less than three weeks after the 2014 midterms and a month-and-a-half before McConnell takes over for Harry Reid makes clear the brutal reality in front of Republicans: Their majority could be short lived.”

No Republican Next In Line This Time

November 23, 2014 at 5:50 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 61 Comments

“Republican presidential primaries have for decades been orderly affairs, with any momentary drama mitigated by the expectation that the party would inevitably nominate its tested, often graying front-runner,” the New York Times reports.

“But as the 2016 White House campaign effectively began in the last week, it became apparent that this race might be different: a fluid contest, verging on chaotic, that will showcase the party’s deep bench of talent but also highlight its ideological and generational divisions.”

‘I’m Just an Executive Order’

November 23, 2014 at 1:13 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

SNL mocked President Obama’s use of an executive order to change the country’s immigration policy.

Graham Says White House Bid Possible

November 23, 2014 at 12:23 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 51 Comments

Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) will not rule out a 2016 presidential bid, The Hill reports.

Said Graham: “I’m thinking of trying to fix illegal immigration and replacing sequestration. I will let you know if I think about running for president. It’s the hardest thing one could ever do. You go through personal hell. You have got to raise a ton of money. I’m nowhere near there.”

Asked if his response could be labeled as a “maybe,” Graham nodded and said, “That’s what it was.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]There’s no downside to saying you’re considering running for president but I’d be very surprised if Graham jumped in the race.[/speech_bubble]

Democrats Have Given Up on Landrieu

November 23, 2014 at 12:21 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 41 Comments

Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) “is running out of ways to win her runoff in Louisiana next month,” National Journal reports.

“At this point, her party isn’t swooping in to save the day: National Democrats have pulled the plug on her race. With roughly $10 million in debt from the 2014 election cycle and a pile of losses from Arkansas to Colorado, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee canceled roughly $2 million in television advertising spots it had reserved when Landrieu’s runoff race was still seen as competitive or possibly the deciding race for control of the Senate.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]Landrieu is the last Democratic senator in the Deep South. It may be quite a while before there’s another one.[/speech_bubble]

Obama Kicks Off Long Fight

November 23, 2014 at 12:19 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 36 Comments

President Obama “did more in 15 minutes Thursday night to ignite a divisive debate across the country he had once promised to unite than at any other moment during his six years in the White House,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“As a result, Mr. Obama now faces a final two years in office likely to be consumed by a new set of legal challenges and bitter political battles that will stretch far beyond the divided halls of government in Washington.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

November 23, 2014 at 12:16 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 13 Comments

“Shame on us as Republicans for having a body that cannot generate a solution to an issue that’s national security, that’s cultural, that’s economic. I’m close to the people in the House, but I’m disappointed in my party. Are we still the party of self-deportation?”

— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by The Hill.

Nevada Republican Will Step Down

November 23, 2014 at 9:32 am EST By Taegan Goddard 26 Comments

One day after thanking people for their support and saying he was the victim of character assassination, incoming Nevada Speaker Ira Hansen (R) sent an early morning email to his caucus declaring his intention to step down, Jon Ralston reports.

Hansen has been under fire since his controversial and racist writings over 20 years came to light last week.

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]It’s amusing that he thinks making his own writings known to the world is “character assassination.” [/speech_bubble]

Quote of the Day

November 23, 2014 at 9:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard 12 Comments

“I think the American people, you know, they’re going to want — you know, that new car smell. You know, their own — they want to drive something off the lot that doesn’t have as much mileage as me.”

— President Obama, in an ABC News interview, saying he may not play a prominent role in the 2016 presidential campaign.

Can Republicans Restrain Themselves?

November 23, 2014 at 9:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard 25 Comments

Politico: “What has changed is the underlying balance of power in the party and, perhaps, the terms of debate within the GOP over how to deal with the Democratic Party and its surprisingly aggressive leader. Obama might be behaving like a usurping monarch without a mandate, in the eyes of the newly powerful GOP, but no one is seriously threatening to impeach him — as Republicans have repeatedly done in past years. Nor, despite the angry rhetoric, does there seem to be a serious possibility of government shutdown.”

“Call it thoughtfulness — or call it confusion. All in all, the mild, somewhat subdued response to Obama’s immigration move is evidence that the uncompromising GOP insurgency that so paralyzed Washington in 2013 has lost some potency.”

Marion Barry Dies

November 23, 2014 at 8:58 am EST By Taegan Goddard 10 Comments

New York Times: “Marion S. Barry Jr., a sharecropper’s son and civil rights pioneer who became a flamboyant and polarizing mayor of Washington, went to prison on cocaine charges and then recaptured City Hall in one of the most improbable comebacks in the history of American politics, died early Sunday. He was 78.”

Washington Post: “Charismatic, irrepressible and engaging, Mr. Barry always seemed to get up again.”

[speech_bubble type=”std” subtype=”a” icon=”pwdome.jpg” name=””]I saw the tape: Bitch set him up. [/speech_bubble]

Putin Says He Doesn’t Want Post Forever

November 23, 2014 at 8:26 am EST By Taegan Goddard 8 Comments

“Russian President Vladimir Putin said he would not retain his post forever, but doesn’t rule out running in 2018, and said the Western sanctions against Moscow violate human rights and are aimed at sowing discord in Russian society,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

November 22, 2014 at 5:45 pm EST By Taegan Goddard 9 Comments

“And can you name a single scandal in four years? That’s pretty good in Rhode Island.”

— Gov. Lincoln Chafee (I), quoted by the Providence Journal, on his accomplishments as governor.