Become a member. Already a member? Log in.
Rep. Chris Gibson (R-NY) “will not seek reelection in 2016 as he eyes a bid for statewide office in the future,” The Hill reports.
“The news comes just two months after Gibson trounced Democratic multi-millionaire Sean Eldridge to win his third term in the House.”
First Read: “With this seat and the one vacated by Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY), Democrats have a good shot at winning one or two seats in special elections this year.”
“Should sodomy be elevated to the same constitutional status as race and religion? My answer is No.”
— Jeb Bush, quoted by BuzzFeed, arguing against gay marriage in a 1994 Miami Herald op-ed piece.
Rick Santorum has invited former aides to Washington next week for a “private briefing” on his plans for a possible 2016 presidential bid, CNN reports.
The invitation was sent by a Santorum aide to more than two dozen “friends and former colleagues” from past campaigns and his time in the U.S. House and Senate.
Every day, your health data, location history, app usage, and purchase records are quietly scooped up by data brokers — then made accessible to anyone willing to pay.
That means bad actors could trace protest attendance, infer donor lists, expose journalists’ sources, or flag activists with just a few clicks.
Incogni helps scrub your personal information from hundreds of data brokers automatically, shrinking your exposure before it’s too late.
Take control of your data now — sign up for Incogni and get 55% off with this link.
“Jeb Bush’s flirtation with running for president in 2016 will take the former Florida governor to the familiar and lush stomping grounds of the Bush political clan: Greenwich,” the Connecticut Post reports.
“The Republican will raise money for his newly-created leadership PAC at a reception Wednesday in the hometown of his father, former President George H.W. Bush. Proof that not all of Greenwich winters in Florida, a popular tax-Haven for Connecticut residents, Bush will be hosted by an assemblage of relatives and political allies with ties to his father and brother.”
In the lead-up to the 2012 presidential election, Think Progress reminds us that Westgate Resorts CEO David Siegel sent an email to all employees: “Of course, as your employer, I can’t tell you whom to vote for” but he noted that re-electing President Obama would “threaten your job” and result in “less benefits and certainly less opportunity for everyone.”
Two years later, Siegel informed employees that he would boost their salaries because 2014 beat all expectations: “We’re experiencing the best year in our history and I wanted to do something to show my gratitude for the employees who make that possible.” He told the Orlando Business Journal that “things have never been better.”
Roll Call: “This Senate race could make for interesting dinner conversation in one Colorado household. Republicans say battle-tested Rep. Mike Coffman and his wife, Cynthia Coffman, the state’s newly elected attorney general, are two of the party’s top prospects to challenge Democratic Sen. Michael Bennet in 2016.”
“Colorado marks one of the few states where Republicans have the opportunity to go on offense in 2016, a year when the GOP must defend 24 seats — the vast majority of the map. And after incoming GOP Sen. Cory Gardner’s victory last year, Republicans are newly emboldened about their statewide prospects — and potential candidates.”
First Read: “Huckabee’s announcement on Saturday is also a story about Jeb Bush, because we’re pretty sure that Huckabee wouldn’t have departed his Fox job as soon as he did if Bush hadn’t been making his own moves. We’re cautious to call Jeb the GOP frontrunner right now, but fellow Republicans sure are reacting to him like he’s the frontrunner — he’s dictating the rules and pace.”
Rick Klein: “This was supposed to be the week that was about results, not process. But a rough holiday break removed that possibility from what was supposed to be a triumphal week for House Speaker John Boehner. Before he gets settled into a third term as speaker, he has one Republican member resigning after a felony conviction, and a top member of his leadership team under intense scrutiny for a not-really-that-long-ago speech in front of a white supremacist group. Then there’s the leadership challenge – a personal affront to Boehner, since the real time to run for House speaker would have been in GOP leadership elections shortly after Republicans expanded their majority to its new historic level. Ted Yoho/Louie Gohmert/Steve King won’t stop Boehner from continuing to serve as House speaker. But Boehner will once again have to tame the impulses of his own fractious conference, before his expanded House majority even votes on a bill. What’s that say about the year ahead?”
James Fallows: “The American public and its political leadership will do anything for the military except take it seriously. The result is a chickenhawk nation in which careless spending and strategic folly combine to lure America into endless wars it can’t win.”
“Well, I don’t think they’re very serious. And frankly, they’re pretty disappointing in the sense that anyone who wanted to run could have run in the conference elections and none of them did. So by going out and not voting for the conference choice, you’re not attacking John Boehner, you’re really attacking the Republican conference that you say you’re part of.”
— Rep. Tom Cole (R-OK), quoted by The Hill, on the GOP challenges to Speaker John Boehner (R-OH).
Just published: America’s Bitter Pill: Money, Politics, Back-Room Deals, and the Fight to Fix Our Broken Healthcare System by Steven Brill.
Malcolm Gladwell: “America’s Bitter Pill is Brill’s attempt at a Woodward. The book is wrapped in the presumption of controversy: reviewers who received early copies had to sign a nondisclosure agreement. The reporting is exhaustive… Brill wants to take us behind the locked door.”
Wonk Wire: How Obamacare fell short of its ambitious goal
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), “looking to build off his work as chairman of the Republican Governors Association last year, will attend a string of governors’ inaugurations this month — including in key early states like Iowa and South Carolina,” Politico reports.
“The trips are part of an effort by Christie to maintain relationships he developed last cycle, when he was at the helm of the GOP governors’ committee. But it also allows him to visit critical early states at a time when he’s seen as likely to announce a 2016 presidential campaign.”
National Journal: “Rand Paul could have a financial edge over many of his prospective presidential rivals… due to a quirk in timing and election law that allows him to tap his biggest donors for campaign cash twice. Paul has said he plans to seek Senate reelection and, if he runs, the Republican presidential nomination simultaneously. And because he would be campaigning for two federal offices, he would be eligible to have two open federal campaign committees.”
“While federal rules do limit how he could spend the money, veteran election lawyers say diligent accounting could allow for legal cost-sharing between the two committees.”
Kelley Paul, wife of Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), will begin a tour for her forthcoming book, True and Constant Friends: Love and Inspiration from Our Grandmothers, Mothers, Sisters, and Friends, the Bowling Green Daily News reports.
“Yes, he sometimes calls me ‘bro.'”
— British Prime Minister David Cameron, in an interview with the Daily Mail, on his relationship with President Obama.
Salt Lake City Tribune: “It’s a big deal because 43.6 percent of Utah voters are now unaffiliated, compared to 45.5 percent who are registered as Republicans and 9.4 percent registered as Democrats. If the nearly half of Utahns who are independents can’t vote in primaries, they have no say about who appears on the general-election ballot.”
“In taking control of Congress on Tuesday, Republicans say they will quickly advance energy and health care legislation that stalled in the Democratic-controlled Senate as they try to make good on claims, and address doubts, that they can govern effectively,” the New York Times reports.
“Republicans hope to strike early with measures that are known to have bipartisan support. The House is set to pass legislation this week expediting the Keystone XL pipeline; the Senate is making it the first order of business as well. The House will also take up a measure that would change the new health care law’s definition of full-time workers to those working 40 hours rather than the current 30 hours — another proposal that has drawn backing from Republicans and Democrats in the House and Senate.”
David Drucker: “Are they a governing party, or are they a brake on President Obama? Can they be both?”
“If Mike Huckabee is going to make a serious run for the Republican presidential nomination, he will have to do something he was unable to do in 2008: raise millions of dollars and build a sprawling national campaign to complement the well of support he has among evangelicals and grass-roots activists in early primary states,” the Washington Post reports.
A senioraide said Huckabee’s team “anticipates the need to raise about $50 million by the time of the Iowa caucuses in early 2016, with the money divided between the campaign’s budget and a super PAC, and said Huckabee has done much work to make that a reachable goal.”
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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.