“I am not looking forward to the next time I see him.”
— Chuck Todd, talking to Conan O’Brien about his new book, The Stranger: Barack Obama in the White House.
Gruber Spoke of ‘Mislabeling’ Obamacare Tax
“In a 2011 conversation about the Affordable Care Act, MIT economist Jonathan Gruber, one of the architects of the law more commonly known as Obamacare, talked about how the bill would get rid of all tax credits for employer-based health insurance through ‘mislabeling’ what the tax is and who it would hit,” CNN reports.
“In previously posted but only recently noticed speeches, Gruber discusses how those pushing the bill took part in an ‘exploitation of the lack of economic understanding of the American voter,’ taking advantage of voters’ ‘stupidity’ to create a law that would ultimately be good for them.”
Wonk Wire: Was Jonathan Gruber really the architect of Obamacare?
Threats of Government Shutdown Grow
“Conservative House Republicans say they’re willing to shut down the government to prevent President Obama from carrying out what they see as unconstitutional actions on immigration,” The Hill reports.
“Tea Party lawmakers emboldened by the GOP’s big midterm gains say they will insist on attaching a policy rider to legislation keeping the government open that would block funding for agencies carrying out Obama’s promised executive actions limiting deportations.”
New York Times: “The taunt by Mr. Obama seems to have worked… A rerun of the 2013 shutdown battles over the Affordable Care Act has the potential to drown out the new Republican message before the party even takes control of Congress.”
Paul Presidential Campaign Seems Certain
Politico: “Over steak and ravioli at The Liaison hotel on Capitol Hill on Wednesday night, about 50 aides, advisers and supporters of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) got pumped up for a presidential campaign they now believe is a 95 percent certainty. The senator introduced his wife, Kelley, and we’re told a final check-in with his family is his last hoop before settling on a presidential campaign. Paul is still saying he’ll decide this spring, with April the target for a fly-around announcement in the early states.”
Quote of the Day
“I get a big kick out of them using the word ‘progressive.’ My gosh, they’re just straight old dumb-ass liberals anyway.”
— Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), quoted by Huffington Post.
Podesta Seen as Likely Chair of Clinton Campaign
Sources tell Al Hunt that Hillary Clinton has discussed bringing John Podesta to served as chairman of her possible presidential campaign.
“There may be no one in Democratic circles who commands more respect than Podesta. His standing is similar that of James Baker, the former secretary of state, in Republican circles three decades ago. Podesta was chief of staff to President Bill Clinton and then started the most successful Democratic think tank, the Center for American Progress. He was the major player in the negotiations with China, which culminated in this week’s joint agreement to cut greenhouse emissions.”
“The unsuccessful Hillary Clinton 2008 campaign was marked by chaotic infighting and, at least initially, a lack of direction. Prominent Democrats believe it’ll take someone of Podesta’s stature to bring order to her expected 2016 quest.”
Earlier on Political Wire: Jockeying begins for Clinton campaign jobs
Elizabeth Warren Rises in Prominence
“Not many Democrats emerged from the midterm election rubble unscathed. One exception may be Sen. Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts Democrat who is becoming a new center of gravity in a demoralized party,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“In a nod to her growing influence, Senate Democrats rewarded the populist firebrand with a spot in the party’s leadership this week. A group called ‘Ready for Warren’ said it would step up its efforts to draft her for a presidential bid and plans to hire staff in states with early nomination contests. The number of small donors to the group rose eightfold compared with the week before the election, said Erica Sagrans, Ready for Warren campaign manager and a former Obama campaign aide.”
Will Ted Cruz Run for President?
“Politics may be stressful, but that doesn’t mean anyone in politics loses weight accidentally. When they begin looking trim in better-cut suits, then you know something’s afoot. Ted Cruz is looking trim these days,” Politico notes.
“And while he has kept a relatively low profile during this year’s elections, his new look, along with his numerous trips to early-voting states like Iowa and South Carolina, means it’s safe to conclude that he’s seriously considering a run for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. If so, he’ll have a long road ahead to build the type of national organization and national stature necessary for a presidential run. But he’ll be in a better position to do so than his critics might think.”
Liberal and Moderate Democrats Square Off
“The Democrats’ widespread losses last week have revived a debate inside the party about its fundamental identity, a long-running feud between center and left that has taken on new urgency in the aftermath of a disastrous election and in a time of deeply felt economic anxiety,” the New York Times reports.
“The discussion is taking place in post-election meetings, conference calls and dueling memos from liberals and moderates. But it will soon grow louder, shaping the actions of congressional Democrats in President Obama’s final two years and, more notably, defining the party’s presidential primary in 2016.”
Jockeying Begins for Clinton Campaign Jobs
National Journal: “If Clinton hopes to return to the White House after the 2016 election, she’d better hope the people around her follow that advice better than they did last time. The positioning for jobs on a campaign that doesn’t even exist has already quietly begun. And it has the potential to get ugly.”
“Every presidential campaign faces difficult and potentially messy staffing choices, as it balances the competing desires to reward loyalty, make room for new ideas, and impose command and control. Simple math dictates that there will be bruised egos: There are too many people who want good jobs, and not nearly enough to go around.”
“But no presidential candidate in recent memory has accumulated as many potential bruised egos as Hillary Clinton. The Clintons are famous for cultivating friends and staff, and after 30-plus years in politics, traveling from the Arkansas governor’s mansion to the White House to the Senate to a presidential campaign to the State Department, there are lots and lots of people who would like—and believe they deserve—a piece of the action. And that doesn’t even include people who worked for Obama or other Democratic campaigns who want in.”
Duckworth is Open to Senate Bid
Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) is “interested, open and curious” about a 2016 Senate run against Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) but for now is focused on the impending birth of her daughter, who is due any day, the Chicago Sun Times reports.
“Duckworth is the only Democrat in Illinois who can cut into the enormous goodwill Kirk has stockpiled as a result of a massive stroke that kept him out of the Senate for almost a year. Both Duckworth and Kirk use wheelchairs and canes.”
Will Loretta Lynch Be Confirmed?
Daily Beast: “The debate really isn’t about her credentials, or whether it’s too big a leap to move from U.S. Attorney to Attorney General. It’s about whether the Democrats want to use their waning power on Obama’s behalf for a single nominee, or whether they will attempt to work out a deal with incoming Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to wave through on voice vote more than a hundred uncontroversial nominees for executive posts, some who’ve been waiting more than a year for confirmations.”
“There are 231 stalled nominations, including unfilled posts at State, Defense, and Homeland Security, and 49 ambassadors waiting to be green-lighted to their new country assignments. Democrat Pat Leahy, chair of Judiciary until Grassley assumes the gavel in January, says 95 percent of the names that are pending are non-controversial, and clearing them in a group is how it was customarily done under both Republican and Democratic presidents.”
Democratic Turnout Efforts Not as Bad as You Might Think
Nate Cohn: “Does the decisive Republican victory mean that the Bannock Street Project, as the Democratic field operation was named, failed to live up to its promise?”
“The preliminary and qualified answer is that the Democratic field effort was probably a success. An analysis of precinct and county-level returns, supported by exit polls and limited voter file data, suggests that the turnout in key Senate battlegrounds was generally more favorable for Democrats than it was in 2010. When it wasn’t, the Democratic turnout still seemed impressive when compared with the states where they did not make significant investments, like Virginia or Maryland.”
“The evidence for a fairly successful Democratic turnout effort is straightforward. Whether judged by county or by precinct where available, turnout tended to increase most over 2010 levels in Democratic-leaning counties in core battleground states. The drop-off in Democratic counties and precincts compared with 2012 — a presidential year, when turnout is higher — was generally more modest in the Senate battlegrounds than elsewhere.”
Flashback of the Day
“With respect to the notion that I can suspend deportations through executive order, that’s just not the case.”
— President Obama, quoted by the Washington Free Beacon, in 2012.
Quote of the Day
“No frickin’ way am I retiring. With all this rehab, for me just to walk was a huge effort. I had to re-learn how to walk again after the stroke. And all the rehab and all the effort shows the mental determination times 10 to keep serving.”
— Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL), quoted by Roll Call, on speculation he might not run for re-election in 2016.
How to Make a Lot of Money in Politics
“The super PAC that has been formed to draft tea party star Dr. Ben Carson to run for president has attracted a lot of attention for its massive fundraising capability, which has raked in more cash than the similar effort to draft Hillary Clinton,” BuzzFeed reports.
“But the National Draft Ben Carson for President Committee is spending as much as it’s taking in: $10,757,609, to be exact, according to Federal Election Commission data. The money is mostly being spent on fundraising efforts and for a digital campaign that the group’s campaign director told BuzzFeed News is modeled on the vaunted Obama operation. It’s also providing a salary for Vernon Robinson, the campaign director, who has made nearly $236,000 from his work so far for the PAC, according to FEC filings.”
The Importance of Running Scared
Charlie Cook: “There’s an old saying that there are only two ways for an incumbent to run: scared or unopposed. Many incumbents raise money almost continuously—call it paranoid or just cautious—as if a multimillionaire self-funder were poised to announce a challenge at any moment. This year, an unusually large number of seemingly out-of-the-blue challengers came within a whisker of pulling off upsets against sitting members—and a few actually did. This suggests that some incumbents forgot to run scared.”
Portman Gears Up for a White House Bid
Sen. Rob Portman (R-OH) “is mapping out a possible presidential run, creating a narrative, talking to fundraisers and looking to change his image from the senator who once ran George W. Bush’s budget office to the anti-Obama from Ohio with a serious resume,” CNN reports.
Said Portman: “I probably have more experience than other people who are running or thinking about running.”
“Portman certainly wouldn’t run as an outsider. He embraces his previous White House experience having worked for both Bush administrations. He went so far as to point out his executive branch background is both foreign and domestic… But his time in Washington is certainly a not-so-subtle counterpoint to that of President Obama, who clocked just two years, a month and six days in Washington before announcing his intention to run it — and the country.”
