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Most Oppose Overturning Roe. v. Wade

January 16, 2013 at 10:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

As the 40th anniversary of the Supreme Court’s Roe v. Wade decision approaches, a new Pew Research poll finds 63% of Americans remain opposed to overturning the historic ruling on abortion, while just 29% want it reversed.

These opinions are little changed from surveys conducted 10 and 20 years ago.

Agents Ordered Not to Arrest Menendez Intern

January 16, 2013 at 10:01 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Federal immigration agents were prepared to arrest an illegal immigrant and registered sex offender days before the November elections but were ordered by Washington to hold off after officials warned of ‘significant interest’ from Congress and news organizations because the suspect was a volunteer intern for Sen. Robert Menendez,” the AP reports.

When the story first came to light last month, the Homeland Security Department insisted it was “categorically false.”

John Avlon: “This should all be a big story — even more so because with the appointment of John Kerry to be the next secretary of state, Senator Menendez is slated to become the chairman of the prestigious Senate Foreign Relations Committee… Given the stakes — and the combined seriousness and salaciousness of the allegations — it is stunning that the scandal has not gotten more attention.”

Hurricane Relief Passes with Minority of the Majority

January 16, 2013 at 9:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Last night, the House passed legislation providing an additional $50 billion for Hurricane Sandy relief by a 241-180 vote.

But First Read points out “the real story is the vote breakdown: Only 49 Republicans voted for the measure — so just 20% of the caucus — while a whopping 179 Republicans voted against the measure. By comparison, 192 Democrats voted for the legislation, and just one (Tennessee Congressman Jim Cooper) voted against.”

So for the second time in the last two weeks, we’ve seen the House pass legislation by violating the Hastert rule.


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Republicans to Try “Fool the Markets” Strategy

January 16, 2013 at 9:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Reuters: “Republican lawmakers are preparing to introduce legislation to direct the U.S. Treasury to make interest payments on U.S. bonds first and then prioritize other government outlays in case Congress does not raise the debt ceiling. Supporters of the idea see it as a politically palatable alternative to default, which could rattle markets as occurred in the summer of 2011…  But critics, including some Republicans, say prioritizing payments is largely unworkable and would not fool the markets.”

Obama Gun Plan to Test Lawmakers

January 16, 2013 at 8:56 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Obama will start “a push for the most sweeping changes to gun laws in nearly two decades, testing whether lawmakers, including powerful members of his own party, are willing to ban the most controversial weapons and toughen requirements for prospective owners,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Flanked by children who wrote him in the aftermath of the deadly shooting spree last month at a Connecticut elementary school, Mr. Obama will call for Congress to end the sale of certain semiautomatic rifles and high-capacity ammunition magazines, and to require background checks to screen gun buyers for criminal violations and serious mental illness.”

First Read
points out Obama “is going about as big as he can go, realizing there’s
little political downside (at least in the short term).”

But Politico notes “there are strong indications that any comprehensive legislation restricting weapons and ammunition won’t even see a vote on the House floor.”

Majority Don’t Want Spending Cuts Linked to Debt Ceiling

January 16, 2013 at 8:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds 58% of Americans say the debt ceiling should be handled separately from the debate on spending cuts, while 36% favor linking the two.

The Wall Street Journal reports many GOP leaders “are anxious about a growing clamor among conservatives to use the need to raise the government’s $16.4 trillion debt limit as the vehicle to force spending cuts.”

The Cloakroom: Republicans getting cold feet on debt ceiling threat.

Salazar Will Leave Cabinet

January 16, 2013 at 7:20 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Interior Secretary Ken Salazar “will step down from his cabinet position in the Obama administration and return to Colorado to spend time with his family,” the Denver Post reports.

Emanuel Ramps Up Fundraising

January 16, 2013 at 7:09 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Chicago Tribune: “With a potential re-election bid still two years away, Mayor Rahm Emanuel is quietly accelerating his campaign fundraising, tapping donors to President Barack Obama, venture capitalists, law firms and leaders of his economic development team.”

The Republicans’ Plan for the New President

January 15, 2013 at 3:00 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

From a must-watch Frontline airing tonight: “On the night of Barack Obama’s inauguration, a group of top GOP luminaries quietly gathered in a Washington steakhouse to lick their wounds and ultimately create the outline of a plan for how to deal with the incoming administration.”

[Read more…]

Bachmann Had “Unnatural” Relationship With Debate Coach

January 15, 2013 at 2:50 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Michele Bachmann staffer Peter Waldron tells BuzzFeed that debate coach Brett O’Donnell developed an “unnatural” and “Rasputin-like” relationship with Bachmann during her failed 2012 presidential campaign.

Waldron said O’Donnell exercised an “unusual power over Mrs. Bachmann” and even “prohibited her husband, Dr. Marcus Bachmann, from sleeping in the same room with wife while on the campaign trail.”

Waldron is one of five staffers who says they are still owed money by the Bachmann campaign.

The Inside Story of Obama’s Last Campaign

January 15, 2013 at 2:18 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Just published: Panic 2012 by Michael Hastings.

“The behind-the-scenes story of the campaign trail: from Obama’s self-destructive performance at the first debate to the harrowing days of Hurricane Sandy, all culminating in his triumphant victory late in the evening on November 6th.”

What’s Really Behind the Hagel Fight

January 15, 2013 at 2:03 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Aaron David Miller points out that the bumpy nomination and confirmation process for Chuck Hagel to be the next defense secretary isn’t really about Hagel himself.

“This is really a fight about Barack Obama. It is being driven by three somewhat overlapping constituencies — a pro-Israel community that doesn’t trust the president, a Republican party and a neoconservative elite struggling unsuccessfully to define its own foreign policy identity, and finally, a party in opposition that is determined to remind Obama that, reelected or not, he doesn’t have a free hand.”

Lawmaker’s Wife Thought Top Aide Was a Stripper

January 15, 2013 at 1:56 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

When freshman Rep. Ted Yoho’s (R-FL) wife, Carolyn, first looked at his 24-year-old chief of staff’s Facebook page, she “was led to believe the young lady was a stripper,” National Journal reports.

Obama Did Fewer Press Conferences Than Bush or Clinton

January 15, 2013 at 1:12 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Obama had fewer press conferences during his first term than any other president since Ronald Reagan, Politico reports.

With Monday’s event, Obama has done a total of 79 over four years. That’s 10 fewer than George W. Bush, 54 fewer than Bill Clinton and 63 fewer than George H.W. Bush.

Reagan had only 27 press conferences during his first term.

NRA Puts Out New Shooting Game

January 15, 2013 at 12:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The National Rifle Association just launched a new game for the iPhone called NRA: Practice Range. It features a shooting range and is geared towards children as young as four.

Just last month, the NRA blamed violent video games for gun violence.

Bill Keller: Is it a hoax?

Obama Close to Picking Another Chief of Staff

January 15, 2013 at 12:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Obama is close to naming Denis McDonough as his fifth chief of staff, with an announcement coming as soon as this week, Bloomberg reports.

McDonough would succeed Jack Lew, Obama’s choice as the next Treasury secretary.

Media Tip: Four Great Ways to Use Statistics

January 15, 2013 at 12:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A guest post from Brad Phillips, author of The Media Training Bible.


If you’re of a certain age, you probably remember those old television commercials for the Christian Children’s Fund. In them, actress Sally Struthers sold viewers on the promise of saving a child for “the price of a cup of coffee.”

A quarter-century later, those ads are still memorable. And the way Ms. Struthers used numbers in those commercials is a big reason why. The ads succeeded by reducing numbers down to a manageable price tag for most viewers: “For about 70 cents, you can buy a can of soda….In Ethiopia, for just 70 cents a day, you can feed a child like Jamal nourishing meals.”

[Read more…]

Lawmaker Threatens to Impeach Obama Over Guns

January 15, 2013 at 11:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Steve Stockman (R-TX) says he’s willing to impeach President Obama should he implement new gun regulations through executive action, the Washington Post reports.

Said Stockman: “The White House’s recent announcement they will use executive orders and executive actions to infringe on our constitutionally-protected right to keep and bear arms is an unconstitutional and unconscionable attack on the very founding principles of this republic. I will seek to thwart this action by any means necessary, including but not limited to eliminating funding for implementation, defunding the White House, and even filing articles of impeachment.”

The Cloakroom: Why new gun controls are inevitable.

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Fishing Expedition: In politics, a fishing expedition is a pejorative phrase to describe an investigation that lacks a clear scope and defined purpose.

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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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