The Hill: “Many of the White House hopefuls are showing they are rookies on the presidential campaign trail. None of the early mistakes, gaffes or lapses in judgment so far are bid-killers, but they do highlight candidates who are adjusting to the brightest spotlight in politics.”
We Could Elect the 2nd Oldest or 3rd Youngest President
“If she receives the Democratic presidential nomination (which she will) and wins the presidency (which she might), Hillary Clinton will be the second-oldest person ever to be inaugurated as president. When Bill Clinton was inaugurated, he was third-youngest, and the second-youngest ever to be elected. (Teddy Roosevelt became president when William McKinley was assassinated.) Bill Clinton could enter the White House first as one of the youngest presidents and again as one of the oldest first spouses,” the Washington Post reports.
“The youngest possible president in 2017 is Marco Rubio (currently 43 years old). He could enter as the 3rd youngest president ever.”
Bush and Rubio Can’t Count on Florida
National Journal: “One of the biggest political stories of the coming 2016 presidential election happened in Florida last week via an explosion that didn’t happen. President Obama notified Congress that he intended to take Cuba off a list of state sponsors of terrorism, another step toward normalizing relations with the island nation. One or two decades ago, such an act would have unleashed storms of protest in Miami, with bipartisan outrage among Florida’s elected leaders.”
“The response last week? Almost nothing. No marches on federal buildings. No mass demonstration on Calle Ocho. What was one of the most reliable voting blocs for Republican candidates in Florida is no longer unified on what once had been an organizing principle—Cuban regime change. A Florida International University study last year shows that a majority of Cuban-Americans in Miami-Dade County are in favor of ending the embargo, with the younger generations overwhelmingly supportive.”
Fiorina Will Announce Bid on May 4
Carly Fiorina (R) “plans to launch her presidential campaign on May 4, in an online announcement that dispenses with the pageantry that has become de rigueur in 2016 White House runs,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The lack of fanfare stands in contrast to GOP candidates who already have declared. Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida held choreographed events to officially launch their 2016 efforts. Mrs. Fiorina won’t hold a public event the day she begins her campaign. It will also put Mrs. Fiorina at odds with two other GOP candidates announcing their 2016 plans that week.”
Bonus Quote of the Day
“At the end of the day, his record, in my view, shows a foreign policy vision one step behind leading from behind. And all I can say is that if he’s the nominee, I will support him. But if he’s the nominee of the party, we risk giving up the central issue of the 2016 campaign which will be foreign policy.”
— Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), quoted by Politico, taking offense at Sen. Rand Paul’s comparison of him as one of President Obama’s lap dogs.
Clinton Flies Home In First Class
“With her first campaign trip drawing to a close, Hillary Clinton traded the Scooby road-trip van for a first-class airplane seat to make the trip back to Washington,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“The luxury ride was a different one that Mrs. Clinton used to start her campaign. After announcing her run for president April 12, she left for Iowa from New York in a van nicknamed ‘Scooby,’ after the children’s cartoon show ‘Scooby Doo.’ She then made stops in New Hampshire.”
Secret Koch Memo Details 2016 Plans
“The Koch brothers’ political machine is expanding into new states and recruiting new donors as it seeks to shape the Republican Party — and its presidential field — headed into 2016,” according to confidential donor briefing documents obtained by Politico.
“The documents detail plans to beef up the network’s state-of-the-art data system, and pay hundreds of staff embedded in local communities across the country in preparation for get-out-the-vote efforts that are unprecedented from a third-party group.”
Romney Son Interested in Elected Office
Josh Romney, son of 2012 GOP presidential nominee Mitt Romney, told the Deseret News that he won’t challenge Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT) in next year’s U.S. Senate race but said he’d like to see another Republican run against the first-term senator.
He also confirmed he’s interested in running for office someday.
Said Romney: “Politics is in my blood, unfortunately. It’s something I’ve seen and I’ve loved. I’m not sure what I’d do, or what capacity I’d run in, but I’m definitely looking to it.”
Senate Cook Goes On Strike
Bertrand Olotara: “Every day, I serve food to some of the most powerful people on earth – including many of the senators who are running for president: I’m a cook for the federal contractor that runs the US Senate cafeteria. But today, they’ll have to get their meals from someone else’s hands, because I’m on strike. I am walking off my job because I want the presidential hopefuls to know that I live in poverty. Many senators canvas the country giving speeches about creating ‘opportunity’ for workers and helping our kids achieve the ‘American dream’ – most don’t seem to notice or care that workers in their own building are struggling to survive.”
“I’m a single father and I only make $12 an hour; I had to take a second job at a grocery store to make ends meet. But even though I work seven days a week – putting in 70 hours between my two jobs – I can’t manage to pay the rent, buy school supplies for my kids or even put food on the table. I hate to admit it, but I have to use food stamps so that my kids don’t go to bed hungry.”
Bachmann Says Obama Is Intent on Ending the World
Former Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) said President Obama is bringing the world to “end times,” TPM reports.
Said Bachmann: “We need to cry out to a Holy God. This is coming faster than anyone can see. Barack Obama is intent, it is his number one goal, to ensure that Iran has a nuclear weapon. Why? Why would you put the nuclear weapon in the hands of madmen who are Islamic radicals?”
Arizona Independents Not Shut Out of GOP Primaries
“Arizona’s nearly 1.2 million political independents will be able to continue to influence who Republicans nominate for office, at least for the foreseeable future,” the Verde Independent reports.
“The executive committee of the Arizona Republican Party on Saturday rejected a proposal to try to close future primaries and limit participation to the 1.1 million who are officially members of the Grand Old Party. Party spokesman Tim Sifert said committee members concluded it made no sense to try to challenge a 1998 voter-approved measure which paved the way for independents to vote.”
Republicans Need to Run Against the Last 16 Years
Charles C.W. Cooke: “There is no doubt that the manner in which Obama has behaved as president has contributed significantly to our present anxieties. Indeed, one can only imagine that students of political language will one day be fascinated by the gaping hole that has opened up between his campaign rhetoric and his governing prose.”
“And yet, for all of the incumbent’s failures, it seems clear that America’s present funk did not begin in earnest on January 20, 2009. Rather, it can be dated back to the attacks of September 11, and to their various consequences. In a similar vein, it should by now be obvious to conservatives that the last American Golden Age obtained not during George W. Bush’s rather disappointing tenure, but in the mid- to late- 1990s, when the Republican party ran both houses of Congress and Democrat Bill Clinton ran the executive branch. If they are to run a successful campaign — and, crucially, if they are to capitalize upon the electorate’s present dissatisfactions — Republicans will need to acknowledge that they are not only running against the Obama administration, but against a broader national melancholia to which they themselves have contributed.”
The Key Question for 2016
Wonk Wire: “Will you take away my health insurance?”
Walker Doesn’t Support Legal Immigration?
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s (R) “newfound skepticism of legal immigration levels is a potential turning point in the still nascent presidential race, potentially dragging the Republican Party further to the right than Mitt Romney’s hardline immigration platform in 2012,” MSNBC reports.
Said Walker: “In terms of legal immigration, how we need to approach that going forward is saying – the next president and the next Congress need to make decisions about a legal immigration system that’s based on, first and foremost, on protecting American workers and American wages. It is a fundamentally lost issue by many in elected positions today – what is this doing for American workers looking for jobs, what is this doing to wages, and we need to have that be at the forefront of our discussion going forward.”
Obama Marks Earth Day with Florida Visit
President Obama spends Earth Day in the Florida Everglades, “promoting his climate change policies. After touring Everglades National Park in the afternoon, Obama will speak ‘on the threat that climate change poses to our economy and to the world,’ says the White House schedule. The president will stress his efforts to reduce carbon emissions, while criticizing congressional Republicans for opposing his environmental policies,” USA Today reports.
Wonk Wire: It’s Earth Day: EPA cites victories over pollutants
Congressional Candidate Gets Unlikely Donation
“One of the candidates running for the late Rep. Alan Nunnelee’s Mississippi seat got some help from beyond the grave last month,” Roll Call reports.
Trent Kelly “received a $4,000 donation from Nunnelee for Congress. Consultants for the late congressman — including one now working for Kelly — told CQ Roll Call the March 27 donation was made at the behest of Nunnelee’s widow, Tori.”
Perino Blasts Reid as ‘Poisonous’
Former White House press secretary Dana Perino excoriated Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) in an interview on her time in the George W. Bush White House, The Hill reports.
Said Perino: “He’s an absolutely poisonous figure in Washington D.C., he’s been a disaster for the country.”
“The criticism came after Hewitt asked Perino to respond to Reid’s condemnation of her former boss.”
‘Would You Attend a Gay Wedding?’
Jon Stewart looks at how the 2016 GOP presidential candidates answer the question.
