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Today’s Republicans Look Like Democrats in 1988

November 13, 2012 at 4:16 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jeff Greenfield: “You’re looking at a political party that has lost the popular vote in five of the past six elections; whose one winning presidential candidate achieved the White House thanks to a fluke; and whose prospects for the future seem doomed by demography and geography.”

“No, it’s not today’s Republican Party you’re looking at–it’s the Democratic Party after the 1988 elections. And the past (nearly) quarter-century is an object lesson in the peril of long-term assumptions about the nature and direction of our political path.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

November 13, 2012 at 3:31 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I think that there was a period of time when the Romney campaign was falling apart, people were not optimistic, nobody thought there was a chance of victory and I felt that it was my duty at that point to go out and say what I said.”

— Dick Morris, in an interview on Fox News, explaining why he predicted a landslide for Mitt Romney in the presidential election.

Pundit Shaming

November 13, 2012 at 3:14 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new website compiles bad 2012 election predictions. It’s a fun read.

Jackson Leaves Mayo Clinic

November 13, 2012 at 1:30 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. (D-IL) left the Mayo Clinic in Minnesota but it’s not clear if he’s returning to Washington, D.C. for votes scheduled later today, the Chicago Tribune reports.

Jackson is under federal investigation for alleged misuse of campaign funds and has been on a medical leave of absence from Congress since June while undergoing treatment for bipolar disorder.

King Will Make Caucus Decision Soon

November 13, 2012 at 12:59 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen.-elect Angus King (I-ME) said that he could announce a decision on which caucus to join in time for tomorrow’s party leadership elections, Roll Call reports.

While King is widely expected to caucus with the Democratic majority, he still has not ruled out joining the Republicans.

Politico: “Angus King is gunning for a seat on the powerful Senate Finance Committee, using his leverage as the potential 55th vote for Democrats in a bid to win a spot that would otherwise be off-limits for a newly elected freshman.”

ABC Affiliate Runs Altered Cover of Petraeus Book

November 13, 2012 at 12:58 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

ABC’s Denver affiliate accidentally ran a fake cover of Paula Broadwell’s biography of General David Petraeus in a story on the burgeoning sex scandal, Americablog reports.

The book’s real title is All In. The doctored book cover read, All Up In My Snatch.

[Read more…]

Lawmaker Wants to be Paid in Gold and Silver Coins

November 13, 2012 at 12:09 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Montana state Rep. Jerry O’Neil (R) “is spooked enough about the country’s fiscal picture to request that his legislative pay come in the form of gold and silver coins,” the Daily Inter Lake reports.

O’Neil said he is largely trying to make a point and get “people to start thinking about what will happen if our money collapses. Also, I would like the state to think about the logistics of actually following the Constitution when it comes to gold and silver coin.”

What They Could Have Bought

November 13, 2012 at 11:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The Daily Beast looks at better uses for the billions spent on election campaigns this year.

Conservatives Losing the Culture War

November 13, 2012 at 11:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Harry Enten: “The 1990s culture wars were fought over many social issues that many on the right thought were being redefined from their traditional normals by progressive activists and the liberal media for the next generation. Three of the key points of contention were abortion, gay rights, and recreational drug use. The results from last Tuesday’s election indicates that the right is losing the war on these three issues.”

Fiscal Cliff Negotiations Predicted to Fail

November 13, 2012 at 11:10 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Washington Post-Pew Research Center poll finds that most Americans think President Obama and House Republicans will fail to reach an agreement in time to avoid the fiscal cliff, 51% to 38%.

Congress Returns

November 13, 2012 at 10:39 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Amid a global fright over Washington’s political brinkmanship, U.S. lawmakers return to the capital on Tuesday with a seven-week deadline to reach agreement on scheduled tax hikes and budget cuts that threaten to trigger another recession,” Reuters reports.

“The post-election battle over the so-called fiscal cliff is shaping up as an extension of the political campaign with Democrats trying to rally support for raising taxes on the wealthy as part of any deal, and Republicans countering that such an approach would devastate ‘job creators’ across the country.”

Wonk Wire: Will 2016 hopefuls sink a grand bargain on the nation’s debt?

Ranking the Election Day Meltdowns

November 13, 2012 at 9:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

E! Online has tweets and video clips of Donald Trump, Karl Rove, Ted Nugent and others upset with President Obama’s re-election.

Is Pelosi Planning to Step Down?

November 13, 2012 at 9:23 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico:
“House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi will meet with top Democrats on
Tuesday night — followed by another leadership-only session early
Wednesday as she prepares for a meeting with all House Democrats — but
it is still unclear whether she will stay or go after nearly a decade in
power. Pelosi has declined to discuss her plans since Democrats picked
up as many as eight seats on Election Day.”

Woman Runs Over Her Husband for Not Voting

November 13, 2012 at 9:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A pregnant Arizona woman was arrested after allegedly running over her husband with her SUV after learning he did not vote in last week’s election, Fox News reports.

Police say Holly Solomon was enraged when she discovered her husband Daniel did not vote because she believes President Obama’s re-election will bring hardship to their family.

Quote of the Day

November 13, 2012 at 9:15 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“We’ve got to make sure that we are not the party of big business, big banks, big Wall Street bailouts, big corporate loopholes, big anything. We cannot be, we must not be, the party that simply protects the rich so they get to keep their toys.”

— Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), quoted by Politico, urging Republicans to “stop being the stupid party.”

The Election Was Close But Not Really

November 13, 2012 at 9:12 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Charlie Cook: “It’s certainly true that 51 percent (rounding up from 50.5) to 48 percent is close, but since the end of World War II, five elections have been closer. Mitt Romney won only two more states (Indiana and North Carolina) than John McCain did, and even if he had won Florida, the GOP nominee would still have needed to win Ohio, Virginia, and either Colorado or Iowa, based on the sequence of the election margins.”

“The danger for Republicans clinging to that solace is that it sidesteps the inconvenient truth that they have now lost the popular vote in five of the past six presidential elections, from 1992 on. For the GOP, this was more than one bad night.”

Walsh Weighs Bid for Illinois Governor or Senate

November 13, 2012 at 9:05 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Less than 12 hours after his concession speech to Tammy Duckworth (D), Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) told the Daily Herald he was not ruling out a future bid for governor or U.S. Senate.

Said Walsh: “You know that I believe fervently in that vision. I don’t know of many other candidates who articulate that vision. Am I going to do something? Oh gosh, I don’t know. People approach me every day and ask, ‘Walsh, are you going to run for the governor? Are you going to run for Senate?’ I want to do my part to lead a movement to present a vision to this. I’d rather go down fighting. Democrats have ruined this state but they’ve been able to do it because the Republicans have allowed them to.”

Another Four-Star General Caught in Email Scandal

November 13, 2012 at 5:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Marine Gen. John R. Allen, the four-star U.S. commander of the war in Afghanistan, exchanged thousands of “potentially inappropriate” emails with Jill Kelley, the Tampa woman who claimed to have been harassed by the ex-mistress of former CIA Director David Petraeus, Politico reports.

The FBI notified the Defense Department on Sunday of “potentially inappropriate communications” between Allen and Kelley, and turned over to Pentagon lawyers 20,000 to 30,000 pages of emails exchanged by the two from 2010 to 2012.”

The Washington Post reports the developing scandal “further calls into question the personal behavior of two
of the U.S. military’s highest-ranking and most respected figures, who
apparently ignored concerns about the highly sensitive nature of their
jobs as they embraced personal relationships with younger women who
were not their wives.”

However, the New York Times says a defense official could not explain how the e-mails between Ms.
Kelley and General Allen were related to the e-mails between
Mr. Petraeus and his his biographer Paula Broadwell and e-mails between Ms. Broadwell and Ms.
Kelley.

Daily Beast: Five facts about the Petraeus affair’s mystery woman, Jill Kelley.

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About Political Wire

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.

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