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Organizers Hope for More Subdued Fancy Farm

August 1, 2014 at 9:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“When Mitch McConnell (R) and Alison Lundergan Grimes (D) get up to speak Saturday at Fancy Farm, organizer Mark Wilson doesn’t want the constant chanting and noisemaking that has made the event more a test of will than a political speaking contest,” the Louisville Courier Journal reports.

Said Wilson: “We want to get some more civility to the program. The last few years, it got a little bit worse than it had been.”

“There’s a long tradition of showmanship and heckling at Fancy Farm, but it wasn’t always like it is today — where politicians have to strain to be heard over a screaming crowd.”

Republicans Hand Democrats a Campaign Message

August 1, 2014 at 9:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

First Read: “Another stunning legislative embarrassment for House Republicans has handed Democrats a mighty big talking point over the next three months until the midterm elections: The GOP is incapable — if not unwilling — to govern, they will argue…”

“In other words, Democrats now have something fresh to run against. And you couldn’t necessarily say that on July 1. Yes, there was the government shutdown last fall. But that was a year ago — and it got immediately overshadowed by the months-long story about HealthCare.Gov’s failure (an example of the Obama’s administration own difficulty in governing). But what’s significant about yesterday’s legislative embarrassment for Republicans is that 1) it comes just three months before the midterm elections, and 2) it came a day after the House, in a partisan vote, moved to sue the president. That’s why Democrats have a chance to exploit this — that is, of course, until we see the next Democratic misstep or national/international crisis.”

David Perdue, Then and Now

August 1, 2014 at 9:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“My answer is no.”

— Georgia U.S. Senate candidate David Perdue (R), quoted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution in May, when asked if he would support Mitch McConnell (R) as Senate Majority Leader.

“I don’t want to put words in his mouth… but he was very clear with the Leader that he’s going to be a team player.”

— Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), quoted by the Atlanta Journal Constitution, on Perdue’s apparent change of heart after talking to McConnell this week.


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Democrats Propose Tele-Caucuses in Iowa

August 1, 2014 at 9:33 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Des Moines Register: “Members of the military could participate in the 2016 Democratic caucuses by phone, under a set of proposals the Iowa Democratic Party is rolling out for national party members today. Democrats have been mulling ideas for expanding participation in the caucuses and removing some of the barriers for certain voters who can’t attend a precinct meeting in person.”

Brown Making History in New Hampshire

August 1, 2014 at 9:26 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Smart Politics notes that if Scott Brown (R) “wins the New Hampshire GOP primary, he would become just the fourth major party politician in U.S. history to face three female major party U.S. Senate nominees, and, if he loses to” Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), “would become the first to lose to two of them.”

Hundreds of Big Donors are Ready for Hillary

August 1, 2014 at 9:24 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Washington Post: “At least 222 donors have signed up as co-chairs of Ready for Hillary’s national finance council — a commitment that requires donating or raising $25,000 each, or at least $5.6 million between them… More than 600 other donors are considered members of the finance council, required to give or raise $5,000 each. The Ready for Hillary fundraising team includes scores of President Obama’s biggest campaign bundlers.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

August 1, 2014 at 8:19 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I should have never placed my hands on the young man.”

— Rep. Don Young (R-AK), quoted by Roll Call, about an altercation with a GOP staffer caught on video.

Inside the Secret George W. Bush Book Project

August 1, 2014 at 7:54 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “When Bush’s book comes out on Nov. 11, it’s sure to force a re-evaluation of the Bushes on many levels: the history of the elder Bush’s presidency, the true nature of the relationship between the father and the son, the novelty of one president writing about another, the evolution of the younger Bush in his post-presidential years, and the political future of the Bush dynasty. And it promises a unique perspective — it’s not as if there’s a massive collection of presidential biographies by other presidents.”

Quote of the Day

August 1, 2014 at 7:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“If I open the newspaper tomorrow and I learn that Obama resigned, I wouldn’t be surprised.”

— Dick Morris, quoted by Newsmax.

Clinton Described His Chance to Get Osama Bin Laden

August 1, 2014 at 7:22 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Hours before the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001, former President Bill Clinton told an audience in Australia about his missed chance to kill attack mastermind Osama bin Laden, ABC News reports.

Said Clinton: “I’m just saying, you know, if I were Osama bin Laden … He’s a very smart guy. I spent a lot of time thinking about him. And I nearly got him once. I nearly got him. And I could have killed him, but I would have had to destroy a little town called Kandahar in Afghanistan and kill 300 innocent women and children, and then I would have been no better than him.”

Sky News has the audio.

Skinny Dipping Veep

August 1, 2014 at 7:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“It’s the Joe Biden you didn’t know — and might not want to see. Secret Service agents dread being assigned to protect the vice president, in part because Biden’s a big fan of skinny dipping, according to a new tell-all book,” the New York Daily News reports.

“In The First Family Detail, author Robert Kessler quotes unnamed Secret Service agents dishing about the supposedly ‘hidden lives’ of Presidents and the other important people they protect.”

How Ted Cruz Became a Power in the House

August 1, 2014 at 7:07 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Careful not to be viewed as orchestrating action in the House, even though he holds regular ‘fellowship’ meetings with members,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) “listened quietly and nodded along as his guests laid out their concerns and discussed possible demands for Boehner,” the Washington Post reports.

“He agreed that Boehner was distracted and said they should stick to their principles. The freshman senator also reminded them to be skeptical of promises from House leaders, particularly of ‘show votes’ — legislative action designed to placate conservatives that carry little, if any, weight.”

“That quiet assurance was enough to persuade the conservatives to effectively topple Boehner’s plan, at least on Thursday, by balking when he said he would hold a largely symbolic standalone vote on Obama’s program.”

Cuomo’s Back Room Style Challenged

August 1, 2014 at 7:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) “is a skilled back-room operator, renowned for pressuring allies and foes behind the scenes to achieve results that show him in the best possible light,” the New York Times reports.

“But in Preet Bharara, the United States attorney for the Southern District of New York, he has encountered an adversary who seems eager for the spotlight and is challenging the very way the governor does business.”

Cantor Will Resign from Congress

August 1, 2014 at 6:55 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Less than two months after his stunning primary upset and just hours after stepping down as House majority leader, Rep. Eric Cantor (R-VA) said Thursday that he will resign his seat in the House of Representatives effective Aug. 18,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.

“Cantor said he has asked Gov. Terry McAuliffe to call a special election for his district that coincides with the general election on Nov. 4. By having a special election in November, the winner would take office immediately, rather than in January with the next Congress.”

Big Majority Wants to Keep Obamacare

August 1, 2014 at 6:17 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Kaiser Family Foundation poll finds a strong majority of the public continues to prefer that Congress work on improving the Affordable Care Act (60 percent) rather than working to repeal and replace it with something else (35 percent), shares that have been consistent over the last several months.

Abercrombie Trails Badly in Hawaii

August 1, 2014 at 6:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Civil Beat poll in Hawaii finds David Ige (D) leading Gov. Neil Abercrombie (D) in the Democratic primary for governor by double-digits, 51% to 41%.

Bonus Quote of the Day

July 31, 2014 at 7:59 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In order for Washington to work better, and for Republicans to work better, and for Republicans to come together to defend conservative principles, we need to build relationships between both chambers and I’m working hard to do so.”

— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by the Washington Post, on his efforts to derail the border bill that failed in the House of Representatives.

Sessions Helped Tank Border Bill

July 31, 2014 at 7:50 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Some Republicans frustrated over the last-minute collapse of support for a border bill have been blaming Texas Sen. Ted Cruz. But it turns out they may have the wrong Republican senator in their sights,” the Washington Examiner reports.

“A number of sources on Capitol Hill say lobbying by Alabama Sen. Jeff Sessions helped sway that state’s House delegation against the bill, leading to the collapse… Aides said that Sessions’ behind-the-scenes and public opposition to the package played an outsize role in its failure.”

Said one staffer: “If you think this had more to do with Sessions than Cruz, I could say absolutely, there’s no doubt about it.”

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Word of the Day

Night of the Long Knives: In June of 1934, Adolph Hitler ordered his troops to carry out a large-scale purge of suspected dissidents within the Nazi party.

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan 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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