The Wrap: “In what might be the subjectively raciest political ad ever, Democratic lobby group Progress Action Fund debuted a steamy sex scene takedown of the GOP this week…
“Per its website, the Progress Action Fund’s slogan is, “Democrats are afraid to fight back. We aren’t.” We’d say this ad at the very least is living up to that promise.”
“We won a district where we can nominate a bag of cement… and we won by 1,000 votes. That means… they are playing 50 seats deep in our infield and almost winning. What does that tell you about our midterms?”
— GOP strategist Mike Murphy, quoted by The Atlantic, on what last night’s Ohio special election says for the November midterms.
Of Gov. John Kasich’s constituents think he should quit the presidential race, compared to 38% who think it’s time for him to drop out, according to a new Public Policy Polling survey in Ohio.
Donald Trump’s lead in the GOP primary race in Ohio, followed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich at 26%, Ted Cruz at 21%, Marco Rubio at 13% and Ben Carson at 5%, according to a new Quinnipiac poll in Ohio. Said pollster Peter Brown: “A Kasich Ohio win is crucial to the Republicans trying to stop the New York businessman’s nomination. If Trump can defeat Kasich in his home state, that would be an impressive demonstration of his strength in a state that is just now getting attention.” On the Democratic side, Hillary Clinton leads Bernie Sanders, 55% to 40%.
I’m just hoping that as we go forward he’s going to be a unifier. Because I’m going to tell you, you can’t win the White House without winning Ohio. If we have a candidate that comes into Ohio who is a divider, there’s no chance they’re going to win it.
— Gov. John Kasich, quoted by The Hill, noting that Donald Trump has “toned down the rhetoric” lately.
John Kasich’s standing rises to an all-time high among voters as he campaigns for the Republican presidential nomination, a new Quinnipiac poll in Ohio finds. Voter approval of Kasich’s job performance is even stronger numbers among Republicans at 84% to 10%.
We’re not yet halfway through 2015 but the 2016 race for control of the U.S. Senate is starting to take shape. This week The Hill ranked the 10 most competitive races — and since then there has been a development in the race The Hill listed as likely to be the easiest pickup for Democrats.
Yesterday former Sen. Russ Feingold, the Democratic incumbent who was unseated by current Sen. Ron Johnson in 2010, announced he was entering the race. Johnson, a tea partyist, won by 5 percentage points in the tea party’s anti-Obamacare wave election after spending millions of his own money. The Hill quotes him as saying he won’t self-fund this year — which only means he’ll rely on his wealthy cronies to spend unlimited money anonymously to fund his campaign. The Hill cited a poll by PPP taken before Feingold’s announcement that found Feingold with 50 percent support against Johnson’s 41 percent. Wisconsin has voted for the Democratic candidate in every presidential cycle since 1984.
Within hours after Feingold’s announcement, Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts endorsed him, according to an email sent by the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee.
This is Josh Mandel, the Republican Party’s candidate for the U.S. Senate in Ohio. Watch as he nods, but refuses to say out loud, that he agrees with Indiana GOP Senate candidate Richard Mourdock — and GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan — that there should be no exception for rape when the Republican Party outlaws abortion. Mourdock suggested that rapes that produce children are God’s will.
Signs are emerging that the campaign of GOP frontrunner and disgraced former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is in disarray. Gingrich, who has a reputation in Washington for being undisciplined, nearly missed the filing deadline to be on the New Hampshire primary ballot and then missed the deadline for Missouri’s primary altogether.
Even the Washington Times, a GOP propaganda sheet owned by the right-wing South Korean cult leader Sun Myung Moon, has taken notice:
“We are going to give it our damnedest. We are going to do everything in our capacity to meet this deadline,” Gingrich spokesman R.C. Hammand said of the Ohio deadline. “As far as the next deadline, we’re on pace for everything else.”
Gingrich backers said the campaign could mount a write-in effort in Ohio if need be. But missing that state’s 4 p.m. Wednesday deadline would be the latest embarrassment for Mr. Gingrich’s organization.
Trump’s cheated multiple times on multiple wives, it’s true.
He’s cheated the Tax Man out of millions, not just a few.
But just when you thought
There was something that couldn’t be bought,
Turns out he cheats at golf (only at his own courses), too.
“He’s never won a championship at a course he doesn’t own and operate. He’s played in Pebble Beach, he’s played in the Tahoe one, where there are rules and judges and cameras. And in those, he’s never finished in the top half. So he wins when anybody who disagrees that he won is out of the club. That’s how he gets it.”
— Sportswriter Rick Reilly called BS on Donald Trump after the former president declared himself the winner of both the club championship and senior club championship at the Trump International Golf Club in Florida, the HuffPost reports.
“RFK was never a serious threat to win a lot of votes, but with each passing day his candidacy looks increasingly like a dagger pointed at the heart of MAGA. And his choice of running mate is wild. … Yesterday, Kennedy announced that his VP will be Nicole Shanahan, who isn’t just the least-qualified, most preposterous character ever to appear on a presidential ticket polling above 5 percent. She’s also going to be catnip to a particular kind of low-intensity Trump voter.”
“And this is very important and very important to me. I want to have a lot of people have it. You have to have it for your heart, for your soul. …. We’ve lost religion in our country. All Americans need a Bible in their home and I have many, it’s my favorite book, it’s a lot of people’s favorite book. This Bible is a reminder that the biggest thing we have to bring back America and to make America great again is our religion. Religion is so important, it’s so missing.”
— Donald Trump is celebrating Easter by selling copies of his latest product, the God Bless the USA Bible, for $59.99 each.
“Wow! Ronna McDaniel got fired by Fake News NBC. She only lasted two days, and this after McDaniel went out of her way to say what they wanted to hear. It leaves her in a very strange place, it’s called NEVER NEVERLAND, and it’s not a place you want to be.”
— Donald Trump made fun of Ronna McDaniel after NBC News ended its contract with her following an internal uproar across the company, The Hill reports.
President Biden’s campaign slammed Donald Trump as “weak and desperate – both as a man and a candidate for president.” The statement continued: “He spent the weekend golfing, the morning comparing himself to Jesus, and the afternoon lying about having money he definitely doesn’t have. His campaign can’t raise money, he is uninterested in campaigning outside his country club, and every time he opens his mouth, he pushes moderate and suburban voters away with his dangerous agenda.” It concludes: “America deserves better than a feeble, confused, and tired Donald Trump.”
“Donald Trump’s idea to implement a 10% tariff on all imported goods would spike prices by as much as $1,500 annually for American families,” Semafor reports. “Published by the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the report estimates that yearly costs would rise by $90 for food, $90 for pharmaceutical drugs, and $120 oil-related products like gasoline.
Punchbowl News: “Congress approved more than $71 million in earmarks for lawmakers who voted against the most recent minibus spending bill, according to a Punchbowl News analysis. This is a prime example of what former Speaker Nancy Pelosi says: They voted no but took the dough. We have a simple spreadsheet of the lawmakers who landed projects and then voted against the $1.2 trillion spending package.”
In a head-to-head presidential election match up, a new Quinnipiac poll finds President Biden leading Donald Trump nationally, 48% to 45%. When the match up is expanded to include independent candidates, Trump edges Biden, 39% to 38%, with Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. at 13%, Jill Stein at 4% and Cornel West at 3%. Pollster Tim Malloy: “Way too close to call on the head-to-head and even closer when third party candidates are counted. The backstretch is months away and this is about as close as it can get.”
A new Fox News poll finds 59% of Americans think abortion should be legal in all or most cases, up from the previous high of 57% in September 2022. Voters oppose a 15-week ban by 11 points (54% oppose vs. 43% favor), which is in direct contrast with results in 2023 when it was favored by 12 points (42% oppose vs. 54% favor).
“President Joe Biden has gained ground against Republican Donald Trump in six of seven key swing states, and significantly so in at least two of them. The results make for the Democrat’s strongest position yet in a monthly Bloomberg News/Morning Consult poll. …. The shift was significant in Wisconsin, where Biden leads Trump by one point after trailing him by four points in February, and in Pennsylvania, where the candidates are tied after Trump held a six-point lead last month. They are also tied in Michigan.”