Herman Cain insists the Tea Party is still strong despite relatively weak showings in GOP primaries this year, Politico reports.
Said Cain: “The tea party movement, in terms of its impact, is still very strong. The key thing is it’s called many of the incumbents to move more towards the right relative to what the tea party message is.”
“Republicans are launching a fundraising effort that will let donors cut six-figure checks to support GOP Senate candidates this fall — a move that capitalizes on the Supreme Court’s landmark McCutcheon v. FEC decision,” Politico reports.
“Senate Republicans have filed paperwork to form the Targeted State Victory Committee, a joint fundraising effort between the National Republican Senatorial Committee and Republican state parties in 13 Senate battleground states.”
Since stepping down as British prime minister in 2007, Tony Blair “has tried to fashion a second act as a globe-trotting do-gooder… But at home, enthusiasm for such endeavors has been tempered by
criticism of his equally ambitious business enterprises, through a
private consultancy called Tony Blair Associates, whose clients have
included controversial monarchs and autocrats,” the New York Times reports.
“In many ways, Mr. Blair faces a perception problem. Years into his postpolitical makeover, confusion lingers about what particular hat he wears at any given time… His various roles often intersect with polarizing figures, which has only given the press more fodder.”
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A new Vox Populi (R) poll in Montana finds Steve Daines (R) way ahead of Sen. John Walsh (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 47% to 34%.
A man who claimed Sen. Thad Cochran’s (R-MS) campaign asked him to pay people to vote for Cochran now says he was actually paid $2,000 by a member of Chris McDaniel’s (R) campaign to make the accusation, the Jackson Clarion Ledger reports.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) denied running away from a potential confrontation with an immigration activist in Iowa, Business Insider reports.
Said Paul: “Now you know my life. You know my life on the campaign trail. About five minutes before that — or two minutes before that — the video doesn’t show that — another reporter came up and said, ‘Will you do an interview?’ I said, ‘I need to take a couple more bites and we’ll do an interview.’ And then I was told we need to leave.”
Justin Levitt: “I’ve been tracking allegations of fraud for years now, including the fraud ID laws are designed to stop. In 2008, when the Supreme Court weighed in on voter ID, I looked at every single allegation put before the Court. And since then, I’ve been following reports wherever they crop up.”
“To be clear, I’m not just talking about prosecutions. I track any specific, credible allegation that someone may have pretended to be someone else at the polls, in any way that an ID law could fix. So far, I’ve found about 31 different incidents (some of which involve multiple ballots) since 2000, anywhere in the country.”
“To put this in perspective, the 31 incidents below come in the context of general, primary, special, and municipal elections from 2000 through 2014. In general and primary elections alone, more than 1 billion ballots were cast in that period.”
Wonk Wire: The economy grows faster under Democratic presidents
Bloomberg says the cost of the GOP civil war has been more than $135 million already this year.
“The yearlong fight over the direction of the Republican Party — stretched over two dozen Senate and House primaries involving more than 50 candidates — means the tug-of-war will go on, extending into next year’s debate on the debt ceiling and the 2016 presidential and congressional races.”
A new Survey USA poll in Florida finds Gov. Rick Scott (R) edging challenger Charlie Crist (D) in the race for governor, 45% to 43%.
Wall Street Journal: “Women have served in the House since 1917 and in the Senate since 1922. Only recently have they cracked another formerly male preserve: the club of congressional office sleepers.”
“Reps. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, Lynn Jenkins of Kansas and Jaime Herrera Beutler of Washington are believed to be the first congresswomen to bunk in their offices, joining the ranks of lawmakers eschewing rent and a commute for an air mattress and showers at one of the congressional gyms. Like their male counterparts, the women are forgoing beds, bathtubs and home-cooked meals primarily to save money and maximize efficiency–and for some, to also make a political point–on the four days a week they generally spend in Washington. All three previously lived in apartments, not always close to the Capitol.”
“I want to say to lobbyist Pete Hoekstra, you’re a disgrace. I’m glad we could hand you one more loss before you fade into total obscurity and irrelevance.”
— Rep. Justin Amash (R-MI), quoted by WOOD-TV, in an unusually harsh primary victory speech.
“My problem with what my party is trying to do to sue is it will cost the taxpayers between two and three million dollars. Use the Constitution, that’s what it is there for.”
— Rep. Walter Jones (R-NC), quoted by BuzzFeed, saying GOP leaders should drop the lawsuit against President Obama and just impeach him.
Sen. John Walsh (D-MT) “is engaged in internal deliberations with his political team about whether to stay on the ballot this year, sources said Tuesday, in the wake of a plagiarism scandal that has tarnished the appointed Democratic lawmaker’s standing,” Politico reports.
“Senate Democratic leaders in Washington and the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee are not playing an active role in the discussions, allowing the situation to be sorted out between Walsh and his Montana Democratic colleagues… The talks come ahead of a key deadline on Monday, the last day for a candidate to withdraw from the race.”
The AP notes Walsh has already postponed several upcoming campaign events.
A pair of tropical cyclones are on track to hit Hawaii just before Saturday’s primary elections, CNN reports.
“Local media reported that many turned up for early voting in anticipation of severe weather on election day. Others are concerned that voting turnout could be affected.”
The Daily Show has a hilarious look for a presidential candidate not named Clinton or Bush, “the Coke and Pepsi of politics.”
“Michigan’s gay marriage ban is set for another legal showdown, only this one involves more players, more judges and likely more drama,” the Detroit Free Press reports.
“On Wednesday, the historic civil rights case that centers on the right to marry heads to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, where three federal appeals judges will decide the fate of same-sex marriage bans in Michigan, Tennessee, Kentucky and Ohio. In each of these states, a judge has ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, though all rulings have been appealed.”
“Democrats are throwing the kitchen sink at Republicans in a bid to keep the Senate and erode the GOP’s House majority in November’s elections,” The Hill reports.
“While the Democrats’ official campaign strategy focuses wholly on the economy, education and women’s rights, party leaders have charged into the August recess with a much broader message that paints Republicans as too tough on immigrants, too easy on corporate election donors and too focused on toppling President Obama in lieu of helping the middle class.”
“The wider emphasis could pay dividends in November’s midterms, as the Democrats are highlighting issues that tend to poll strongly in their favor. But the strategy is not without its perils, as calling attention to a spectrum of topics also risks muddling their message ahead of the elections.”
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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