Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 191
Blue Wave Update
“Behind a string of recent leftist victories in Democratic primaries across the country is a growing ecosystem of progressive media consulting firms and strategists positioning themselves ahead of a wide-open 2028 presidential cycle,” NOTUS reports.
“One of those firms, Middle Seat, has quietly racked up a string of victories by working with what have turned out to be some of the highest-profile names to come out of this year’s primaries.”
Politico: “Veteran Illinois GOP consultant Collin Corbett announced he’s leaving the Republican Party and becoming an independent, marking a notable break for a strategist who has spent two decades advising Republican candidates in Illinois and across the country.”
“Four years after receiving a pardon from President Donald Trump for crimes related to foreign lobbying, Paul Manafort is again seeking business from political interests abroad,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Manafort, who led Mr. Trump’s 2016 campaign for a few months, has assembled a team of consultants who helped run Mr. Trump’s 2024 effort and is looking to advise campaigns for opposition and far-right political factions in Latin America and Europe.”
“Mr. Manafort has discussed working for a French billionaire supporting anti-immigration politicians including Marine Le Pen, as well as an ultraconservative Peruvian mayor seen as a possible presidential candidate. Mr. Manafort has even engaged with interests in Ukraine, the country where his work for Russia-aligned interests led to his downfall.”
A Republican strategist is lashing out at Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) months after he says he fired her as a client, dubbing the far-right lawmaker a “pitiful embarrassment,” the Daily Beast reports.
Said Wesley Donehue: “I fired Nancy Mace as client a few months back because I’m a political consultant and not a babysitter, a sex therapist or a doctor who can prescribe fixes for chemical imbalances. I don’t have time for her constant egotistical bullshit and drama in my life.”
He added: “I’ve been worried about Nancy Mace for a while now. Mental health is a serious issue. I want her to get better and seek treatment.”
Jill Filipovic: “If everyone is a sexual predator, then no one’s history of misdeeds matters (or, at least, no one needs to be held accountable).”
“MAGA Republicans seem to be having their own #MeToo moment, except here, a growing cohort of men is essentially saying: Oh, another man accused of sexual predation? #MeToo—and so what? Being accused of sexual harassment, abuse, or assault is no longer disqualifying; on the right, it has been normalized. It may even be an asset.”
Just after the election results came in, David Plouffe took a dig at President Biden: “We dug out of a deep hole but not enough.”
He then deleted his X account.
“The Federal Communications Commission on Thursday finalized a $6 million fine for a political consultant over fake robocalls that mimicked President Joe Biden’s voice, urging New Hampshire voters not to vote in that state’s Democratic primary,” Reuters reports.
James Carville has made no qualms about his dislike of Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) and on his podcast promised to “deal with him” after the November election.
Said Carville: “He’s somebody that must be dealt with, and must be dealt with in real terms.”
He also called Fetterman “one of the great backstabbers in modern Democratic politics.”
“Stephen Bannon, the longtime ally of former President Donald Trump, will have to report to federal prison on Monday after the Supreme Court rejected his final effort to stave off a four-month sentence for contempt of Congress,” the New York Times reports.
“Paul Manafort, the longtime Republican strategist who was chairman of Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, helped stave off efforts to thwart his nomination at the convention, went to prison and was pardoned by Mr. Trump, has begun advising efforts for the Republican National Convention,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Manafort, for decades a lobbyist who worked with foreign governments and had extensive experience with past Republican conventions, was present last week for meetings in Milwaukee, where the July convention will take place.”
“After pleading guilty to money laundering and obstruction of justice, Paul Manafort, the globe-trotting political consultant and former campaign chairman for Donald Trump, asked for leniency in his sentencing, telling a federal judge five years ago that he was nearly 70 years old, struggling with health concerns and remorseful for his actions,” the Washington Post reports.
“The judge rejected his entreaties in the spring of 2019, ordering Manafort to remain behind bars for more than seven years. Less than two years later, however, Manafort’s criminal record was wiped clean when Trump pardoned him. He was among the dozens of allies, extended family members and former campaign staffers allowed to walk free.”
“With his freedom, Manafort hardly retired to a quiet home life. Instead, the longtime power broker — briefly brought low by the investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election — reengaged in international consulting.”
“Donald Trump and people in his inner circle have told down-ballot Republican candidates not to hire Republican strategist Jeff Roe or his political consulting firm after Roe worked to elect Ron DeSantis,“ Politico reports.
“The admonition against hiring Roe represents an attempt to choke off revenue for his consulting firm, Axiom, in an act of political retribution. Roe was a top strategist for the DeSantis super PAC, Never Back Down. Roe resigned in mid-December after the Washington Post published a story detailing backbiting at the super PAC.”
Adam Kinzinger: “This morning my wife informed me about a tweet from Nick Ayers, former good guy staffer of Mike Pence, making some typical alt right-pedophile-dem-and-the Republicans-were-peaceful-on-Jan-6 garbage message. Yet another one bites the dust. Nick Ayers was one of the good guys. But in the world of politics, campaign staff need money, and only the Trumpers are paying right now.”
Donald Trump’s allies are warning Speaker Mike Johnson through other House Republican lawmakers not to associate with GOP operative Jeff Roe, who is the top strategist for the super PAC backing Ron DeSantis, Punchbowl News reports.
“A political consultant closely tied to the effort to elect Tim Scott president repeatedly used the N-word when he was playing a card game with friends,” a video obtained by Politico shows.
“Precision Strategies, a leading Democratic consulting firm with close ties to the White House, has taken the first step toward becoming a union shop for some of its employees,” Axios reports.
“The Trump campaign has sent a warning shot to the Republican Party’s House campaign arm and some of its most prominent digital consultants: Stop using the former president’s image and likeness in your fundraising pitches or you will pay,” Politico reports.
“In a letter sent on Thursday afternoon to the National Republican Campaign Committee and ten GOP consulting firms, Trump’s top two campaign officials, Susie Wiles and Chris LaCivita, said the former president may not endorse candidates who used firms that were fundraising off of Trump without his consent.”
“The Republican staffer who accused conservative stalwart Matt Schlapp of sexual assault and filed a lawsuit against him for nearly $10 million has filed a separate suit against another top GOP operative alleging defamation,” Politico reports.
Taegan Goddard
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire -- which for more than two decades has been one of the nation's most influential political news sites.
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