“Previously unreported court documents suggest that” Jeb Bush was more involved with a Florida company “that marketed prefabricated housing materials for use in disaster zones and other places in need … than has been publicly known — and that he deepened his role even as others… grew concerned about its financial practices,” the Washington Post reports.
Jindal Insists Muslim ‘No Go Zones’ Exist in Europe
Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) continued to claim Muslim “no-go zones” exist in Europe, even as British political leaders and American media outlets issued statements reputing such statements, the New Orleans Times Picayune reports.
In a London speech during his 10 day trade mission, Jindal “claimed there were Muslim communities in Europe that are not subjected to normal legal controls and allowed to enforce a version of Islamic religious law instead. Jindal labeled these Muslim communities — where Islamic law is supposedly enforced instead of the parent countries’ regulations — as ‘no-go zones.’
The Burning Question
Gerald Seib: “The next cycle in politics belongs to the party that can devise, articulate and implement a solution to today’s fundamental economic mystery, which is why the economy is growing but leaving wages stagnant, the middle class stuck and inequality on the rise. If we’re thinking either about the state of the union, or the state of the party, that’s the burning question.”
Clinton Building Data-Driven Campaign
Hillary Clinton “is assembling a heavily research-driven campaign designed to prevent a repeat of her poor performance in 2008,” the Washington Post reports.
“Clinton still faces many of the same challenges she had seven years ago, when she went from being a juggernaut and most likely the first female president in American history to a perceived stumblebum out of touch with the political moment… But backers say this time Clinton is developing a smarter, more relevant campaign message… The former secretary of state is also trying to play down any sense of inevitability and aims to adopt many of the same data-focused strategies that Barack Obama used to snatch the race from her in 2008.”
Quote of the Day
“Would it kill Republicans to crack a joke? I actually think for some Republicans it might. You know, lighten up a little. … So many Republicans run a Soviet-style campaign.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by Politico.
Republicans Prefer Romney Over Bush
A new Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll finds Mitt Romney begins the 2016 Republican presidential primary campaign with significant advantages over Jeb Bush, his chief rival for GOP establishment support.
“More than half (52%) of all Republicans still maintain a positive view of the party’s 2012 nominee, compared to just 37% who said the same about Mr. Bush, the former Florida governor. Mr. Romney does more than 20 percentage points better among self-identified tea party supporters and core Republican voters than does Mr. Bush, who last ran for office in 2002.”
Obama Uses State of the Union to Influence 2016 Debate
“Key elements of the economic proposals President Obama will outline in his State of the Union address Tuesday appear to be aimed at driving the debate in the 2016 election on income inequality and middle-class economic issues, rather than setting a realistic agenda for Congress,” the AP reports.
The Hill: “The GOP hoped Obama would be humbled by the midterm elections that saw Democrats swept from power in the Senate. Instead, when Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress completely controlled by the GOP on Tuesday, Republicans will see a confident Obama who is bullish about his own approval ratings and no longer worried about anyone else’s reelection.”
White House Seeks Broader Audience Through Social Media
“The Obama administration has revamped its digital communications strategy in an attempt to reach new audiences for the State of the Union speech — a classic old-media event — and sidestep the skeptical filter often applied by White House reporters,” the New York Times reports.
The Most Sarcastic Justice
Rick Hasen: “Justice Scalia is the most sarcastic Justice on the Supreme Court. He has been for at least the last thirty years, and there is good reason to believe no other Justice in history has come close to his level of sarcasm. Now your first reaction to this claim, if you are a (sarcastic) Supreme Court aficionado, is probably: ‘Well, duh!’ And your second reaction is likely: ‘Oh really? Well how can you prove that?'”
Cruz Begins to Build Team for White House Bid
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) is building out a presidential campaign team which could start before this spring, the Washington Examiner reports.
“The Republican senator from Texas tentatively plans to fill senior campaign positions with the triumvirate he signed last summer to expand his political operation. At the top is Jeff Roe, whose organizational title is undefined but who would be the campaign’s chief strategic and logistics decision-maker. Jason Miller would shape and oversee campaign messaging; Lauren Lofstrom would direct fundraising.”
“Cruz is in the process of ‘feeling out’ additional campaign hires and prospective donors in preparation to join the field of 2016 candidates. If the senator decides to run for president, he wants to hit the ground at full speed, a senior Cruz advisor confirmed Monday.”
Duckworth Mulls Senate Bid in Illinois
Rep. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) told Roll Call that she is seriously considering challenging vulnerable Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL) in 2016.
Said Duckworth: “My baby just turned eight weeks old. The first two months with her coming early were 110 percent focused on her. I’m getting ready to get back to work in a few weeks, and I’m starting to listen to folks throughout the state, listen to Illinois families about the challenges they’re facing, listen to my friends and closest advisers and taking a real serious look at 2016.”
GOP Finds a Secret Weapon
“Republicans believe they have identified a potent weapon in their fight against President Obama’s regulatory agenda,” The Hill reports.
“GOP lawmakers plan to employ the seldom-used Congressional Review Act (CRA), which gives lawmakers the power to formally disapprove of major agency rules, as they seek to ratchet up their attacks on federal red tape.”
Why Obama’s Approval Rating Still Matters for 2016
Nate Cohn: “Only a handful of modern elections have not had an incumbent president on the ballot. In these contests, the president’s approval ratings are unsurprisingly less important than when a president is running for re-election. So Mr. Obama’s approval ratings will matter in 2016, but it is hard to say exactly how much.”
“The balance of evidence suggests that the break-even point for the presidential party’s odds of victory is at or nearly 50 percent approval. If the only thing you knew about the 2016 election was Mr. Obama’s approval rating on Election Day, you might guess that the Democrats had a 37 percent chance of holding the White House with a 46 percent rating — rather than a 23 percent chance with a 41 percent rating. The difference between 41 and 46 might be worth between one and two percentage points to the Democratic candidate in 2016 — the difference between a close race and a modest but clear Republican victory.”
Republicans Support Raising Taxes to Reagan Levels
A new GBA Strategies poll finds that Republican voters are divided over the idea of increasing taxes on wealthy U.S. taxpayers.
“When asked whether they support raising the tax rate on personal income above $1 million annually, 36% of Republicans supported the plan and 47% of Republicans were opposed. The rest were undecided.”
“But when asked whether they supported raising the personal income tax on those earning $1 million a year to 50%, ‘the same rate taxed under President Reagan,’ Republicans shifted their support, with 53% supporting and 33% opposing.”
Pope Francis Angers Conservatives on Climate Change
“Conservative distrust of Pope Francis, which has been building in the U.S. throughout his pontificate, is reaching a boiling point over his plan to urge action on climate change — and to do so through a document traditionally used for the most important papal teachings,” the AP reports.
“For months, Francis has been drafting an encyclical on the environment and global warming which he hopes to release by June or July. Encyclicals are written with the help of a small group of advisers working under strict secrecy. But in a news conference as he traveled last week to the Philippines, Francis gave his strongest signal yet of the direction he’ll take. He said global warming was ‘mostly’ man-made. And he said he wanted his encyclical out in plenty of time to be absorbed before the next round of U.N. climate change talks in Paris in November after the last round in Lima, Peru, failed to reach an agreement.”
Emily’s List May Inherit Pro-Clinton Social Media
“Ready for Hillary, the energetic, pro-Clinton super PAC, plans to shut down for good if and when Clinton announces for president, but not before finding a home for two key assets: A massive e-mail list of roughly 3 million supporters that the group has generated and its extensive social media network, which includes more than 2 million Facebook fans and roughly 150,000 Twitter followers,” ABC News reports.
“Both are seen as opportunities for marketing and outreach that can live beyond the existence of Ready for Hillary. The e-mail list and corresponding data are expected to be transferred to Clinton’s official campaign in what is called a ‘list swap’ – a legally complicated process that will surely be scrutinized by outside groups, such as the Campaign Legal Center, which work to enforce campaign finance laws.”
“The fate of Ready for Hillary’s social media accounts is still undecided. But, Adam Parkhomenko, the Executive Director of the super PAC has an idea: Transfer its Facebook and Twitter accounts in to the hands of another pro-Democratic group, Emily’s List.”
Obama Dares Republicans Not to Cut Taxes
President Obama “will use his State of the Union address Tuesday night to stake out a populist vision of tax reform and new middle-class benefits — and practically dare Republicans to say no,” Politico reports.
“It’s a way for Obama to position himself as a defender of the middle class and a fighter against stagnant wages, as an opening bid in any negotiations with Republicans on revamping the Tax Code — one of the few areas where GOP leaders say there could be the potential for a deal with Obama during his final two years in office.”
Wonk Wire: Obama tax plan rekindles debate on income gap
Obama’s Views on Race Stay Steady
“During racially tense moments that have beset the nation recently, many Americans have longed for President Obama to display some of the passion and soaring rhetoric that made the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who would have turned 86 last week, a civil rights legend,” the Washington Post reports.
“But the messages of restraint Obama has given in response to outcry over police violence are the same ones he has been dispensing for 20 to 30 years, echoes of thoughts he has had ever since he was a young community organizer in Chicago. His central tenets: Don’t give in to anger and violence; work to improve, not destroy, the legal system; and accept that change will come and things are getting better, albeit more slowly than many would like.”
“Though Obama’s views have evolved on issues such as gay marriage and national security during his six years in office, his views on race have remained remarkably consistent, and recent events appear to have affirmed rather than altered those views.”
