Coming early next year: The Global War on Morris: A Novel by Rep. Steve Israel (D-NY).
Israel told Roll Call he wrote most of the satirical novel on his iPhone.
Another Poll Shows Ernst Ahead in Iowa
A new Vox Populi (R) poll in Iowa finds Joni Ernst (R) leads Bruce Braley in the U.S. Senate race by five points, 49% to 44%.
Virginia Lawmaker Suddenly Quits
Virginia state Sen. Phillip Puckett (D) “is expected to announce Monday that he is resigning his state Senate seat, suddenly giving Republicans a 20-19 edge in the chamber and dealing a setback to Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s push to expand Medicaid,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
“Puckett’s stunning resignation throws Democratic budget strategy into chaos and opens the way for Republicans to seize control of the chamber and reorganize its committees with GOP majorities.”
“Del. Terry Kilgore (R), chairman of the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, said he is interested in Puckett taking a job with the commission and has discussed it with him… Kilgore also said he believes the difficulty Puckett’s daughter, Martha P. Ketron, has had in gaining Senate approval for a judicial appointment given his status as a sitting senator ‘played a big role’ in his decision to resign.”
First Read: “Wow. This entire episode was so brazenly transactional, it’s stunning.”
Obama Has Completed His Domestic Agenda
Jonathan Chait: “On January 20, 2009, when Obama delivered his inaugural address as president, he outlined his coming domestic agenda in two sentences summarizing the challenges he identified: ‘Homes have been lost, jobs shed, businesses shuttered. Our health care is too costly, our schools fail too many, and each day brings further evidence that the ways we use energy strengthen our adversaries and threaten our planet.'”
“Those were the four major areas of domestic reform: economic recovery measures, health-care reform, a response to climate change, and education reform. (To the justifiable dismay of immigration advocates, Obama did not call for immigration reform at the time, and immigration reform is now the only possible remaining area for significant domestic reform.) With the announcement of the largest piece of his environmental program last Monday, Obama has now accomplished major policy responses on all these things. There is enormous room left to debate whether Obama’s agenda in all these areas qualifies as good or bad, but “ineffectual” seems as though it should be ruled out at this point.”
McDaniel Has Edge in Mississippi Runoff
A new Chism poll in Mississippi finds Chris McDaniel (R) with a small lead over Sen. Thad Cochran (R) in the U.S. Senate runoff, 51% to 48%.
Key takeaway: “The race is fluid and the election is more than two weeks away. In this unusual campaign, we don’t know if and when another bombshell will drop and how it would impact voters.”
Clinton Defends Speaking Fees
Hillary Clinton defended the millions of dollars she and her husband, former President Bill Clinton, have earned giving paid speeches since leaving public office in an interview with ABC News.
Said Clinton: “We came out of the White House not only dead broke, but in debt. We had no money when we got there, and we struggled to, you know, piece together the resources for mortgages, for houses, for Chelsea’s education. You know, it was not easy.”
She added: “Bill has worked really hard — and it’s been amazing to me — he’s worked very hard. First of all, we had to pay off all our debts, which was, you know, he had to make double the money because of obviously taxes and then pay off the debts and get us houses and take care of family members.”
Ted Cruz Has Taken Over the Texas GOP
Washington Post: “This year’s Republican primaries proved beyond doubt that in the Lone Star State, the tea party is now the mainstream of Republicanism. Indeed, the entire Texas GOP appears to have been made over in Cruz’s image.”
“Come January, barring a massive shift in the state’s political winds, candidates who ran by his playbook will hold just about every statewide office. And all of the dozen or so that Cruz endorsed or said nice things about will have won.”
The Week: “To outsiders — and many Republican insiders — the Tea Party looks insanely fratricidal. But there is a method to the right’s madness. The real question is how often their method pays off.”
Clinton Seeks Distance from Obama
President Obama and Hillary Clinton “have begun a delicate dance to 2016,” The Hill reports.
“As the former Secretary of State edges toward a presidential run, she is putting some daylight between herself and the man she would succeed, on issues ranging from the release of Bowe Bergdahl to the civil war in Syria.”
Politico: “Clinton’s relationship with Obama presents a delicate challenge for the former secretary of state as she rolls out her book this week and potentially a presidential campaign months from now. She does not want to appear disloyal to her former boss but could use some separation given his anemic poll numbers. She’d have to have Obama supporters enthusiastically on board a presidential campaign, while fending off Republican attempts to depict her as representing a third Obama term.”
Top Christie Aide to Testify on Bridge Scandal
“The chief of staff to Gov. Chris Christie, Kevin O’Dowd, will testify today before the legislative committee investigating the September lane closings at the George Washington Bridge, which were orchestrated by two of the governor’s political allies,” the Newark Star Ledger reports.
Will Clinton’s Book Sell?
“For all the advance hype and talk of the book’s contents, nothing matters more to Clinton’s allies than whether the book sells,” Politico reports.
“Book sales are treated like an unofficial straw poll when they’re written by a prospective candidate. A best-seller, her allies believe, would go a long way toward answering cries of ‘Clinton fatigue’ from her critics.”
“Clinton is competing not just against other memoir writers, but against herself. Her aides say the book has already pre-sold 1 million advance copies, the same number her last memoir, Living History, sold in its first month. People close to Clinton have said they hope to surpass the first book, which sold 40,000 on its first day.”
Hogan, Brown Lead in Maryland
A new Baltimore Sun poll in Maryland finds Larry Hogan leading the GOP pack for governor with 27%, followed by David Craig at 12%, Charles Lollar at 12% and Ron George at 6%.
On the Democratic side, Anthony Brown leads with 41%, followed by Doug Gansler at 20% and Heather Mizeur at 15%.
This Week on the Podcast
Nate Cohn gives us an inside look the new New York Times Senate forecasting model:
Former White House press secretary Mike McCurry discusses the role of faith in politics:
Subscribe via iTunes or RSS to get episodes automatically downloaded.
Thanks to Harry’s, Stamps.com and Brain HQ for sponsoring the podcast this week. Listen to the ads for great listener discounts.
Quote of the Day
“I’m not positive about that but the way I make decisions, that’s probably likely.”
— Hillary Clinton, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, when asked if she would announce her plans for a possible presidential run next year.
Clinton Has Huge Support Among Democrats
A new ABC News-Washington Post poll gives Hillary Clinton a commanding lead in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination – with 69% of Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents supporting her.
“Clinton also fares well in public perceptions in the new poll: 67% of Americans view her as a strong leader, 60% say she’s honest and trustworthy, and 59% say she has new ideas for the country’s future.”
Rove Stays in the Shadows This Time
Los Angeles Times: “Not that long ago, Karl Rove emerged as a mastermind of a new type of campaign spending, leading a wave of outside groups whose ability to pour money into the 2010 midterm election helped Republicans gain control of the House and bolster GOP ranks in the Senate.”
“This midterm election cycle, though, is shaping up differently. Rove’s two funding groups, American Crossroads, a super PAC that discloses its spending, and Crossroads GPS, a nonprofit that does not, are playing more of a supporting role… The new stars of the dark money circuit are the billionaire Koch brothers, whose Americans for Prosperity has funneled a jaw-dropping $35 million so far into the midterm election cycle, much of it spent even before the first primary ballots were cast this spring.”
Kingston Leads Senate Runoff in Georgia
A new Survey USA poll in Georgia finds Jack Kingston (R) leading David Perdue (R) in the GOP Senate runoff, 52% to 41%.
In possible general election match ups, Kingston leads Michelle Nunn (D), 43% to 37%, while Perdue leads Nunn, 43% to 38%.
Ernst Leads Senate Race in Iowa
A new Loras College poll in Iowa finds Joni Ernst (R) leading Bruce Braley (D) in the U.S. Senate race, 48% to 42%.
Clinton’s Book Paves the Way for Another Campaign
Dan Balz writes that Hillary Clinton’s new memoir, Hard Choices, “is a methodical march through the challenges she encountered as the nation’s top diplomat. Beyond the diplomacy, it includes lighter moments and self-deprecating asides as she seeks to project both a deep understanding of the world and a warm, human side to her personality.”
“Compared with her book Living History, published in 2003, Hard Choices is a more interesting read, enriched not simply by her nearly million miles of international travel to 112 countries but more by her accounts of scores of conversations with world leaders as the administration grappled with one challenge after another. Through nearly 600 pages, she comes across less a visionary and more a practical-minded problem solver.”
New York Times: “The book itself, however, turns out to be a subtle, finely calibrated work that provides a portrait of the former secretary of state and former first lady as a heavy-duty policy wonk.”
Politico compiles “10 key passages” from Clinton’s book.
