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Liz Cheney Not Waiting Her Turn

July 7, 2013 at 8:13 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Liz Cheney is showing up everywhere in the Wyoming, the New York Times reports, “from chicken dinners to cattle growers’ meetings, sometimes with her parents in tow. She has made it clear that she wants to run for the Senate seat now held by Michael B. Enzi, a soft-spoken Republican and onetime fly-fishing partner of her father.”

“But Ms. Cheney’s move threatens to start a civil war within the state’s Republican establishment, despite the reverence many hold for her family.”

Enzi “says he is not ready to retire, and many Republicans say he has done nothing to deserve being turned out.”

House GOP Preps Debt Ceiling Playbook

July 7, 2013 at 8:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“With an anxious eye toward the coming debt-ceiling negotiations, House Republicans are drafting what members call a ‘menu’ of mandatory spending cuts to offer the White House in exchange for raising the country’s borrowing limit,” National Journal reports.

“This menu is more a matrix of politically fraught options for the Obama administration to consider: Go small on cuts and get a short extension of the debt ceiling. Go big – by agreeing to privatize Social Security, for example – and get a deal that will raise the ceiling for the rest of Obama’s term.”

“It’s a strategy meant to show the GOP is ready to deal. But even conservatives admit that this gambit might do little to help them avoid blame should the negotiations reach a crisis stage.”

Co-opting Obama

July 6, 2013 at 9:20 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Dana Millbank says the real point of This Town by Mark Leibovich, is that it “is really about how Obama and his team came to Washington
with solemn vows to change it but then wound up joining the
revolving-door culture.”


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GOP Recall Candidate Also Writes Erotic Novels

July 6, 2013 at 9:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jaxine Bubis (R), who is vying to represent the GOP in a fall recall election of Democratic Senate President John Morse, “has drawn ire from some constituents for her hot-and-heavy prose,” the Denver Post reports.

For much of the past decade, Bubis has written novels under the pseudonym “Jaxine Daniels,” and describes herself as a “grammy who writes erotic romance.”

In her candidacy, Bubis has the endorsements from some of the state’s most conservative lawmakers.

Political Rival Claims Handshake was Assault

July 6, 2013 at 8:34 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Robert “Bert” Webbe (R) says a handshake from Easton, CT First Selectman Tom Herrmann (R) was nothing short of an assault, and he wants the three-term incumbent exposed for the “bully he is,” the Connecticut Post reports.

Said Webbe: “He’s a brute. At first, I didn’t want to file a complaint because I didn’t want it to influence anyone in a special election last year that I was running in. But I’ve had enough of his tactics and the way he does business — through intimidation — it has to stop.”

Does Asylum Even Matter if Snowden Can’t Leave?

July 6, 2013 at 8:25 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Both Venezuela and Nicaragua reportedly are prepared to grant Edward Snowden asylum but ABC News wonders if he can ever get there.

“The accused NSA leaker has been stuck in the transit area of Moscow’s Sheremedevo International Airport for nearly two weeks, with no way to enter Russia, no valid U.S. passport to travel on because the United States revoked it, and no route to safe haven that avoids a U.S. extradition treaty.”

A senior U.S. official tells the Wall Street Journal the invitations “appeared at this point to be symbolic, because Mr. Snowden’s fate, he said, still largely depends on the Russian government.”

Missouri Threatens Return of Gas Chamber

July 6, 2013 at 8:18 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“With drugs needed for lethal injection in short supply and courts wrangling over how to execute prisoners without them,” the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster (D) “is floating one possible solution: Bring back the gas chamber.”

Koster says Missouri statutes “allow two options for executions: lethal injection and death by gas. Koster’s comments come amid his growing frustration over the Missouri Supreme Court’s refusal to set execution dates until lethal injection issues are resolved.”

The Guardian notes Koster’s extraordinary statement “is a sign of the increasing fall-out on the 32 death-penalty states of the boycott on sales of medical drugs for use in executions. Drugs companies in America, Europe and Asia have refused on ethical grounds to sell their products to corrections departments, and the European Commission has imposed tough restrictions on the export of anaesthetics to the US.”

Walker Signs Restrictive Abortion Bill

July 6, 2013 at 8:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed a bill “requiring doctors who perform abortions to have hospital admitting privileges, and abortion clinics responded by immediately suing state officials over the measure,” the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports.

“The law — signed Friday by Walker in a private ceremony — would cut the number of clinics offering abortions in Wisconsin from four to two, and one of the remaining clinics would have to dramatically cut the number of abortions it provides, according to the operators of the clinics.”

The Washington Post notes the measure is “part of a wave of abortion limits passed this year by conservative lawmakers and governors, who have approved more than 40 restrictions in statehouses around the country.”

Bush Will Endorse Immigration Reform

July 5, 2013 at 9:45 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

George W. Bush “will deliver opening remarks at an citizenship ceremony and immigration forum at the Dallas presidential center bearing his name, where it’s expected he will talk about how immigration reform will be good for America,” the Dallas Morning News reports.

“It’s unclear whether the ex-president will stick to generalities during his remarks at the citizenship ceremony, or elevate the conversation with details about the super-sized immigration bill now being debated in Congress.”

Inside Weiner’s Surprising Rebound

July 5, 2013 at 9:37 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Written off by election experts and shunned by the political establishment,” Anthony Weiner (D) “has once again upended popular conceptions about him, vaulting to the front of the race for mayor,” the New York Times reports.

“Many political insiders are puzzled by Mr. Weiner’s strength in recent polls… But interviews with more than two dozen New York City voters over the past several days reveal a range of reasons for the attraction to Mr. Weiner.”

“One is a fascination with the celebrity he has become: an encounter with Mr. Weiner on the street is an event that other candidates cannot replicate, given his fame and outsize personality. Another factor is his aggressive manner — those who have watched him say he seems ready to fight for their needs. But other voters say it is Mr. Weiner’s flaws, and his attempts to make peace with the past, that are making them take notice.”

Michelle Cottle: “The American electorate is, if not abandoning its hard-core sex-police phase, at least loosening up on the terms of punishment.”

Venezuela Offers Asylum to Snowden

July 5, 2013 at 9:03 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he “had decided to offer asylum to former U.S. intelligence contractor Edward Snowden, who has petitioned several countries to avoid capture by Washington,” the New York Times reports.

Said Maduro: “In the name of America’s dignity … I have decided to offer humanitarian asylum to Edward Snowden.”

Maduro added: “He has told the truth, in the spirit of rebellion, about the U.S. spying on the whole world. Who is the guilty one? A young man… who denounces war plans, or the U.S. government which launches bombs and arms the terrorist Syrian opposition against the people and legitimate President Bashar al-Assad? Who is the terrorist? Who is the global delinquent?”

Kerry Was on Yacht as Egyptian Coup Unfolded

July 5, 2013 at 9:00 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“As regime change was unfolding in Egypt, Secretary of State John Kerry spent time on his boat Wednesday afternoon in Nantucket Sound, the State Department acknowledged to CBS News on Friday, after repeatedly denying that Kerry was aboard any boat.”

“On Thursday night, CBS News obtained a photo of Kerry on his boat and sent it to the State Department, asking whether they still stand by their denial that Kerry was on a boat. The response: Yes.”

Russia Grows Impatient with Snowden

July 5, 2013 at 12:06 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A top Russian official said Edward Snowden should find another country to seek refuge in, “signaling Moscow’s growing impatience over the former U.S. spy agency contractor’s stay at a Moscow airport,” Reuters reports.

“Russian officials have kept Snowden at arm’s length since he landed from Hong Kong on June 23… Moscow has also done nothing to trumpet his presence or parade him before cameras and Putin has avoided the temptation to mock Obama when asked about the affair in public. He said last week he would prefer not to deal with it at all.”

The Magic of Valerie

July 5, 2013 at 11:36 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico pulls a great anecdote from This Town by Mark Leibovich:

“A 33-point memo detailing ways to praise top White House aide Valerie Jarrett was sent out to staffers shortly after an unflattering profile of the adviser was published in the New York Times last year… The memo, written by deputy press secretary Jamie Smith, was titled ‘The Magic of Valerie’ and circulated through the West Wing as the Times was working on the profile.”

GOP Senator Says Obama Didn’t Abuse the IRS

July 5, 2013 at 11:11 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) told the New York Times that it’s unlikely that President Obama used the IRS to go after his political enemies.

Said Blunt: “Presidents have always been very careful about maintaining the appearance of keeping hands off the IRS. I don’t have any reason to believe there wasn’t targeting of conservatives, but it might well have been a lot more than that as well.”

Costa Rica Accidently Legalizes Gay Marriage

July 5, 2013 at 9:45 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Costa Rica’s Legislative Assembly “passed a measure – by accident – that could legalize same-sex civil unions as part of a larger bill,” the Tico Times reports.

“Conservative lawmakers voted for the bill’s passage without recognizing the included language that could be interpreted to change the definition of marriage… Lawmakers immediately called for President Laura Chinchilla to veto the bill.”

Pallone Says Booker is Too Close to Christie

July 5, 2013 at 9:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-NJ) told the New York Times that he’s “very concerned” about Newark Mayor Cory Booker’s (D) close ties with New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R).

Said Pallone: “I’m very concerned about his close relationship with the governor because I don’t think he has used that relationship to advance a progressive or Democratic agenda.”

Economy Picks Up Steam

July 5, 2013 at 9:28 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

U.S. employers added 195,000 jobs in June, a sign of solid improvements in the labor market, the Wall Street Journal reports.

The unemployment rate remained steady at 7.6%.

National Journal: “But now for the really good news: We were quite wrong about job gains in April and May. Initial reports from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed a jobs gain of 149,000 in April and 175,000 in May. In the latest reports, those numbers were revised upward to 199,000 in April and 195,000 in May. That’s a combined gain of 70,000 jobs from earlier reports. So, since April, it turns out that the economy has actually gained nearly 200,000 new jobs a month.”

Wonk Wire will round up reactions and analysis.

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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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