Become a member. Already a member? Log in.
Montana state Rep. Steve Lavin (R) has introduced a bill that would allow property owners in Montana to vote and run for office in municipal elections even if they are not residents of the municipalities in which they’re voting, James Conner reports.
Even more startling, Lavin’s bill can be construed as giving the out-of-state corporate owners of property a vote.
Sources tell KRNV-TV that embattled Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks (D) attempted to purchase a firearm at a sporting goods store but was denied.
Brooks was recently held for psychiatric evaluation after several incidents, including threatening to kill the Speaker of the state assembly.
“Is this journalism or oppo research? There’s not really any reporting
involved in this.”
— Romney strategist Stu Stevens, quoted by the Washington Post, on Mother Jones winning a George Polk Award for uncovering the “47% video.”
Get smarter about politics with exclusive insights, bonus newsletters, a private podcast and no advertising -- join Political Wire today and save 20% off an annual membership.
Jane Mayer reports that Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), a 1995 graduate of Harvard Law School, gave a speech several years ago in which he accused a dozen professors of being communists who were committed to “overthrowing the United States government.”
Said Cruz: “There were fewer declared Republicans in the faculty when we were there than Communists! There was one Republican. But there were twelve who would say they were Marxists who believed in the Communists overthrowing the United States government.”
He added that President Obama “would have made a perfect president of Harvard Law School.”
“Like many high-profile politicians, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) gives few on-the-record interviews. But there may be one person who questions him publicly more than anyone else–Andrew Cuomo,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“During his two years in office, Mr. Cuomo has developed a habit of answering reporters’ queries by asking his own questions. He sometimes engages in a lengthy back-and-forth, asking four or five questions and replying in a single response.”
“It is a classic rhetorical tactic known as ‘anthypophora,’ a device found in Shakespeare, the Bible and the speeches of former presidents, linguistic scholars say.”
A new Pew Research survey finds “limited public support for reducing spending for a range of specific programs, including defense, entitlements, education and health care.”
“For 18 of 19 programs tested, majorities want either to increase spending or maintain it at current levels. The only exception is assistance for needy people around the world.”
“The Democrats’ story is the Republicans are the party of the rich, the
Democrats are the party of everybody else. And if that’s the narrative
people believe, we’ll never win another national election.”
— Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), quoted by the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Former President Jimmy Carter told Piers Morgan he enjoyed watching Argo but said the movie about rescuing six American hostages from Iran was not entirely accurate.
Said Carter: “Well, let me say first of all, it’s a great drama. And I hope it gets the Academy Award for best film because I think it deserves it. The other thing that I would say was that 90 percent of the contributions to the ideas and the consummation of the plan was Canadian. And the movie gives almost full credit to the American CIA. And with that exception, the movie is very good.”
He gave the most credit to Canadian ambassador Ken Taylor “who orchestrated the entire process.”
First Read: “We know that supporters of freshmen Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D) and Ted Cruz (R) don’t enjoy the comparisons between the two senators, especially since they couldn’t be more different ideologically. That said, the comparisons are also hard to resist. They’re both ambitious. They’ve both set up leadership PACs… to make sure everyone KNOWS they are ambitious! Unlike the cautious courses that Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, and even Marco Rubio set after being elected, both have been more than willing to shake things up. And, as a result, both aren’t necessarily viewed as team players — a quality that their supporters appreciate.”
Former Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson writes that Republican primary voters, party activists and party leaders “have a choice to make, ruthlessly clarified by recent events. They can take the path of Democrats in 1988, doubling down on a faltering ideology. Or they can follow the model of Democrats in 1992 and their own party in 2000, giving their nominee the leeway needed to oppose outworn or extreme ideas and to produce an agenda relevant to our time.”
A former congressional candidate under investigation with former Rep David Rivera (R-FL) is scheduled to be charged with federal crimes over his campaign finances, sources tell the Miami Herald.
The FBI suggests Justin Lamar Sternad’s (D) campaign finance reports “could have concealed as much as $100,000 in services and mailers, some of which attacked a Democratic rival of Rivera, who is a Republican.”
“Although Rivera is a target of the investigation, his name is nowhere in the indictment of Sternad.”
A new Crain’s/Ipsos poll in Chicago finds Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s (D) popularity has fallen sharply since last surveyed in September. He now has a net minus 16 rating, down from the plus 4 he had in September.
While many Republicans dismiss the idea that Texas could be competitive in 2016, Texas GOP Chairman Steve Munisteri tells Real Clear Politics that his state could become a battleground in the next presidential election, particularly if Hillary Clinton is the Democratic nominee.
Said Munisteri: “If she’s the nominee, I would say that this is a ‘lean Republican’ state but not a ‘solid Republican’ state. I don’t know anyone nationally who’s scoffing at this. The national party leadership is aware and tells me they’re taking it seriously.”
“Jon Huntsman would make a great Democrat.”
— Utah Democratic Party Chairman Jim Dabakis, quoted by the Deseret News, in response to Jon Huntsman’s support of same-sex marriage.
Oscar Hernandez, the unschooled and illiterate former mayor of the scandal-ridden suburban city of Bell, CA claimed in court that he had no training that would have alerted him that his huge salary was illegal, the AP reports.
“Hernandez is among six former Bell city officials charged with misappropriating funds. He was earning just under $100,000 a year for the part-time job.”
“Legally, the officials could have paid themselves $673 a month for what was a part-time job, since they didn’t actually run the city… But in addition to their inflated council salaries, the officials appointed each other to commissions that did nothing and often met yearly just to increase their pay, he said.”
President Obama “is just seven days away from the first significant test of his second term as deep spending cuts loom, yet inside the White House a clear sense of confidence stands in contrast to the air of crisis that surrounded previous fiscal showdowns with Republicans,” the New York Times reports.
“The confrontation holds peril for both the president and Republicans. But for now, Mr. Obama believes he is acting from a greater position of strength, advisers say, pointing to several recent polls that show he holds an upper hand in the budget debate. Yet his standing would be at risk if the so-called sequester caused economic growth to collapse.”
Byron York: “There’s no doubt President Obama is using the so-called Washington Monument maneuver
in the fight with Republicans over sequestration budget cuts. It’s a
time-honored tactic of bureaucratic warfare: When faced with cuts, pick
the best-known and most revered symbol of government and threaten to
shut it down.”
Sen. John Thune (R-SD) told some elementary school students that he does not plan to seek the presidency, Roll Call reports.
Said Thune: “Do I plan on running for president? I don’t. I enjoy the job I have. And being the president is a very, very hard job.”
Former President Jimmy Carter, whose grandson James helped uncover the infamous “47% video” during last year’s presidential campaign, told Piers Morgan that President Obama thanked James Carter “profusely” when the two met last week.
Said Carter: “When James went to meet President Obama, President Obama ran across the room, embraced him and thanked him profusely for his time.”
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.
“There are a lot of blogs and news sites claiming to understand politics, but only a few actually do. Political Wire is one of them.”
— Chuck Todd, host of “Meet the Press”
“Concise. Relevant. To the point. Political Wire is the first site I check when I’m looking for the latest political nugget. That pretty much says it all.”
— Stuart Rothenberg, editor of the Rothenberg Political Report
“Political Wire is one of only four or five sites that I check every day and sometimes several times a day, for the latest political news and developments.”
— Charlie Cook, editor of the Cook Political Report
“The big news, delicious tidbits, pearls of wisdom — nicely packaged, constantly updated… What political junkie could ask for more?”
— Larry Sabato, Center for Politics, University of Virginia
“Political Wire is a great, great site.”
— Joe Scarborough, host of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe”
“Taegan Goddard has a knack for digging out political gems that too often get passed over by the mainstream press, and for delivering the latest electoral developments in a sharp, no frills style that makes his Political Wire an addictive blog habit you don’t want to kick.”
— Arianna Huffington, founder of The Huffington Post
“Political Wire is one of the absolute must-read sites in the blogosphere.”
— Glenn Reynolds, founder of Instapundit
“I rely on Taegan Goddard’s Political Wire for straight, fair political news, he gets right to the point. It’s an eagerly anticipated part of my news reading.”
— Craig Newmark, founder of Craigslist.