Political Wire

Rove Kicks Off the 2016 Campaign

May 13, 2013 at 9:01 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

John Avlon reviews Karl Rove’s new attack on Hillary Clinton, calling it “the freshest evidence that hyper-partisan Super-PAC slush-funds are now a core part of the permanent campaign.”

“This American Crossroads ad matters because of its unsubtle purpose: a pre-emptive strike against a potential Clinton presidential campaign in 2016. Remember that through 2008, Clinton was widely considered the most polarizing figure in American politics. The days of Hillary as Republicans’ favorite member of the Obama cabinet are over. This dynamic was unlikely to the point of absurdity–a case of political amnesia brought on by a combination of her voting record in the Senate and the ’08 campaign-era conviction that the enemy of my enemy is my friend.”

Gates Would Have Handled Benghazi Same Way

May 13, 2013 at 6:48 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Secretary of Defense Robert Gates forcefully defended the Obama administration against charges that it did not do enough to prevent the tragedy in Benghazi, telling CBS News that some critics of the administration have a “cartoonish impression of military capabilities and military forces.”

Said Gates: “Frankly, had I been in the job at the time, I think my decisions would have been just as theirs were.”

IRS Scandal Unifies Republicans

May 13, 2013 at 6:32 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New York Times: “Since last year’s elections, Republicans in Congress have struggled for traction on their legislative efforts, torn between conservatives who drove the agenda after their 2010 landslide and new voices counseling a shift in course to reflect President Obama’s re-election and the loss of Republican seats in the House and the Senate.”

“But the accusations of I.R.S. abuse are sure to fuel an effort that appears to be uniting dispirited Republicans and their conservative political base: investigating Mr. Obama and his administration. Republicans are pushing a portrayal of an administration overreaching its authority and punishing its enemies.”

The Washington Post says the series of revelations suggest “it could grow into a major political problem for Democrats over the coming months.”

The Stories Missing From Your Feed

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Paul Seeks to Win Over Evangelicals

May 13, 2013 at 6:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Washington Post reports that Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) has aggressively courted evangelical Christians over the last few months.

“Paul’s play for evangelical support is part of a broader effort by the rookie senator to court the Republican establishment — much of which views him with suspicion — and become a mainstream political player in a way his father never was. The younger Paul, for instance, does not call himself a libertarian, but rather a ‘libertarian Republican.'”

“As he openly considers a run for president in 2016, Paul’s rebranding effort is a test of his political skills as well as the state of the Republican Party. For the senator, the question is whether he can win over the establishment without upsetting his tea party base. For the GOP, Paul again raises the question of whether anyone can gain the trust of both sides.”

Clintons Freeze Out Weiner

May 13, 2013 at 6:14 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Bill and Hillary Clinton will not support Anthony Weiner in his dream of becoming mayor even though they love his wife, Huma Abedin,” the New York Post reports. reports.

Said one source: “The Clintons wish Weiner would just disappear. Every time he pops up, it’s a reminder of Bill’s scandal with Monica Lewinsky, and it isn’t helpful to Hillary’s hopes for 2016.”

Bloomberg Admits Allowing Reporters to Snoop on Users

May 13, 2013 at 6:08 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Reporters at Bloomberg News were trained to use a function on the company’s financial data terminals that allowed them to view subscribers’ contact information and, in some cases, monitor login activity in order to advance news coverage,” the New York Times reports.

“More than 315,000 Bloomberg subscribers worldwide use the terminals for instant market news, trading information and communication. Reporters at Bloomberg News, a separate division from the terminal business, were nonetheless told to use the terminals to get an edge in the competitive world of financial journalism where every second counts.”

Bloomberg News editor-in-chief Matthew Winkler apologized in a column today.

Shaheen Leads Possible Rivals for Re-Election

May 12, 2013 at 10:13 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Dartmouth College poll in New Hampshire finds Sen. Jeanne Shaheen (D) leading Jeb Bradley (R) in a possible re-election match up, 48% to 25%.

Shaheen also leads former Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), 44% to 30%.

IRS Scrutiny Was Deeper Than Thought

May 12, 2013 at 4:24 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Investigators have found that the IRS “scrutinized conservative groups for raising political concerns over government spending, debt and taxes or even for advocating making America a better place to live,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“The latest details about the IRS handling of applications for tax-exempt status by tea party, patriot and other conservative groups in recent years were provided to congressional investigators by the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration.”

Quote of the Day

May 12, 2013 at 11:38 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“It is absolutely chilling that the IRS was singling out conservative groups for extra review. And I think that it’s very disappointing that the president hasn’t personally condemned this and spoken out.”

— Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), in an interview on CNN.

Like Nixon?

May 12, 2013 at 11:35 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Joe Klein: “Previous Presidents, including great ones like Roosevelt, have used
the IRS against their enemies. But I don’t think Barack Obama ever
wanted to be on the same page as Richard Nixon. In this specific case,
he now is.”

How Think Tanks Cloak Lobbying Work

May 12, 2013 at 11:30 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

New Republic: “Washington lobbyists are required by law to disclose who they work for, how much they get paid and what issues they advocate for. But they’re not obliged to mention it when they do other work–like, say, appear as a policy expert at a think-tank event… We found at least 49 people who have simultaneously worked as lobbyists for outside entities while serving as top staff.”

The Second Term Curse

May 12, 2013 at 8:56 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Not four months after his ambitious inaugural address, President Obama finds himself struggling to move his legislative agenda through an unbudging Congress,” the Washington Post reports.

“And over the past week, two flaring controversies — one over his administration’s handling of the killing of the U.S. ambassador and three other Americans in Libya, the other over Internal Revenue Service employees targeting tea party groups for special scrutiny — have dominated the discussion in Washington.”

“It is far from clear how big a political liability either will turn out to be. At a minimum, they represent diversions working against a president who is keenly aware of how little time he has left to achieve big things. And they are a test of the insular Obama team’s skill at keeping its footing in an environment of hyperpartisan politics and hair-trigger media.”

Stu Rothenberg: “The last five presidents elected to a second consecutive term – Dwight Eisenhower, Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton and George W. Bush – all suffered through problems, ranging from economic and foreign policy to personal.”

Bloomberg Reporters Accessed Usage Data of Top Officials

May 11, 2013 at 8:19 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A former Bloomberg employee told CNBC that he “accessed usage information of the company’s data terminals of Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and former U.S. Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner.”

“The information appeared to concern general functions used by the officials and the frequency with which those functions — such as looking at a bond, equity markets or news — were accessed. The source said all Bloomberg journalists who knew of this capability of the terminal would have had access to the usage information of the officials.”

BuzzFeed reports Bloomberg officials knew of the practice since at least 2011.

Senior IRS Officials Knew of Political Targeting

May 11, 2013 at 5:38 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Senior Internal Revenue Service officials knew employees were singling out conservative groups for extra scrutiny as early as 2011, according to a watchdog agency’s report set to be released next week,” Politico reports.

“The disclosure that senior officials knew agents were flagging applications containing the words ‘patriot’ or ‘tea party’ contradicts public statements by former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman. He repeatedly denied that his agency was targeting conservative groups when asked by Congress last year.”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

May 11, 2013 at 4:22 pm EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I don’t know about you, but watching anti-American globalists plot against our Constitution makes me sick.”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), in a fundraising letter, about President Obama’s efforts to push new gun control measures.

Christie Goes Negative Despite Huge Lead

May 11, 2013 at 11:47 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Sky-high approval ratings be damned — New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is going on air next week with an ad that paints his Democratic rival Barbara Buono as a tax-hiker who is yoked to unpopular former governor Jon Corzine,” Politico reports.

“The spot, which begins running Monday, is part of an $800,000 ad buy over the course of roughly a week… The source provided a script of the ad, which is an introductory spot about Buono, a long-serving state legislator who has been struggling mightily to gain traction in the race.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

May 11, 2013 at 11:12 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I am traveling to a lot of states that just coincidentally have early primaries.”

— Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), quoted by Radio Iowa.

How a Bill Becomes a Mess

May 11, 2013 at 10:20 am EDT By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Martin reviews Act of Congress by Bob Kaiser which presents readers a detailed “tick-tock” through origins and passage of the 2010 Dodd-Frank financial-regulation bill.

“What makes Act of Congress a somewhat surprising addition to the Broken Congress genre is that Dodd-Frank would seem to be an example of the system working: Politicians responded to the perceived needs of their constituents, and a bill was passed. Yet, Mr. Kaiser argues, the process itself illustrated what’s wrong with Washington, and the legislation ultimately passed more because of luck and circumstance than the wisdom of judicious lawmakers.”

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