Politico: “North Carolinians came out in droves for Obamacare enrollment, signing up at a rate that beat nearly every other red state. But that doesn’t mean they’re going to come out for the law — or the Democratic senator who supported it — at the voting booth in November.”
“More than any other state, North Carolina may represent the huge disconnect between Obamacare’s success in getting people health insurance and its failure to help the Democratic politicians who voted for the law.”
The Sacramento Bee reports that the recount for California state controller “could run through January if it includes all of the counties sought by John Pérez (R). It could end earlier if Pérez calls off the recount or takes a lead that Betty Yee (D) does not contest. Yee or a supporter, though, also could seek a recount, and litigation is another possibility.”
“Nothing.”
— Liz Cheney, quoted by the Huffington Post, when asked what the Republican Party should do to address climate change.
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A new HuffPost/YouGov poll shows that 35% of all Americans — and 68% of Republicans — think President Obama should be impeached.
A new Public Policy Polling survey finds most Americans think Speaker John Boehner’s (R-OH) lawsuit over President Obama’s delayed implementation of Obamacare’s employer mandate is a “political stunt.”
The survey found that 51% of voters don’t believe the lawsuit is legitimate, versus just 41% who do. Moreover, 56% say the lawsuit is wasteful spending, with just 36% saying it is a good use of taxpayer dollars.
A new We Ask America poll in Illinois finds Bruce Rauner (R) crushing Gov. Pat Quinn (D) in the race for governor, 51% to 39%.
A new NBC News/Marist Poll in Michigan finds Gary Peters (D) ahead of Terri Lynn Land (R) for U.S. Senate, 43% to 37%.
In the race for governor, Gov. Rick Snyder (R) edges challenger Mark Schauer (D) by two points, 46% to 44%.
A new NBC News/Marist poll in Colorado finds Sen. Mark Udall (D) leading challenger Cory Gardner (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 41%.
In the race for governor, Gov. John Hickenlooper (D) leads challenger Bob Beauprez (R), 49% to 43%.
A new Gravis Marketing poll in Arkansas finds Tom Cotton (R) leading Sen. Mark Pryor (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 51% to 43%.
“Elizabeth Warren is to the left of the left of the Democratic party.”
— Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), quoted by WCHS, while campaigning in West Virginia.
“Populist Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) got a rock-star reception during a standing-room-only campaign rally here Monday, as hundreds of liberal activists cheered her broadsides against corporate interests and voiced hopes that her presence might shift the political winds in an increasingly Republican state,” the Washington Post reports.
“The rally on behalf of Senate candidate Natalie Tennant was the latest in a string of recent Warren appearances in red and blue states alike, where Democratic base voters have embraced her fiery message as an envoy to working-class voters frustrated with both Wall Street and the Obama administration.”
National Journal: “It may trigger some cognitive dissonance to picture Warren in one of the reddest states on the 2014 Senate map–but the freshman senator from Massachusetts has nothing to lose and everything to gain by helping out Democratic candidates in important races this year, particularly if she’s considering a national campaign in 2016 or beyond.”
A new Public Policy Polling survey in Georgia finds Jack Kingston (R) leading David Perdue (R) in the GOP Senate runoff by six points, 47% to 41%.
Washington Post: “Like a high schooler collecting yearbook messages before summer break, Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) is roaming the halls of the Senate before August recess asking his peers to pose for selfies… Booker wants to photograph himself cheek to cheek all 99 senators (there’s a lot of free time on Capitol Hill these days) and he’s up to 10 since starting this project four weeks ago.”
The photos are posted on Instagram.
“Not everybody needs to go to Yale. I don’t know about you guys, but I went to a regular ol’ Kentucky college. And some people would say I’ve done okay.”
— Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), quoted by the Huffington Post, on the solution to soaring college tuition.
The Guardian: “The opening scene in Blood Feud, the new book by Ed Klein about the Clintons and the Obamas, is a classic of the 77-year-old author’s scurrilous brand of political non-fiction… On a sunny afternoon in May last year, we are told, Hillary Clinton gathered six girlfriends from Wellesley’s class of 1969 for a boozy lunch at Le Jardin du Roi, a bistro near her home in Chappaqua, New York… Klein discloses breathlessly that ‘the wines had been carefully chosen by Roi, the owner of the restaurant,’ and that ‘Roi waited on Hillary personally and prepared a special vegan dish for her after the former first lady told him that she was trying to lose weight.'”
“There is, however, a problem with this centrepiece of Blood Feud‘s prologue. Le Jardin du Roi was not named after the backyard of a man called Roi. It means ‘The Garden of the King’, or ‘The King’s Garden’ in French. ‘It’s just the name of the restaurant,’ a puzzled staff member told the Guardian when reached by telephone. The name of the man who owns the restaurant is Joe.”
Marc Ambinder: “Like bad writing in movies, Klein’s scenes seem designed to paper over enormous plot holes. Unlike good writing in movies, Klein does not do much to make the reader forget how utterly…improbable…his dialogue seems. Like clever high school students, many of Klein’s claims are almost deliberately uncheckable.”
Katherine Miller: “Almost every chapter has something truly insane in it… Look, let’s cut right to the chase here: Blood Feud is the funniest book of 2014. Maybe ever.”
The head Georgia’s state ethics commission said she was threatened and pressured by Gov. Nathan Deal’s (R) office in 2012 to “make the complaints” against the governor “go away,” according to a memo obtained by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
“The complaints included claims Deal improperly paid for use of a private aircraft for campaign travel and questioned his use of campaign funds to pay legal fees during his 2010 campaign.”
John Oliver had some fun with the recent revelation of President Warren G. Harding’s love letters.
Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) takes not answering a question to a new level.
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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