Mercury/Clark & Weinstock
Partner at the Washington, DC-based public strategy firm of Mercury (formerly Mercury/Clark & Weinstock); former advisor to Jeb Bush's 2016 and Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaigns; former Republican Congressman for Minnesota (1981-1993); co-chairman of Tim Pawlenty's political action committee
Does "Make American Great Again" Mean 'Turn Back the Clock?' Day Two of the GOP convention was more about demonizing Hillary Clinton than extolling Donald Trump -- nominated by delegates who were still divided. Tonight, the major speaker is Vice Presidential choice Mike Pence, the born-again Indiana Governor accused of using religious freedom to foster discrimination. There's a rift between the traditional values of white Christian Protestants and the need to broaden the party's appeal to a changing America. Is the Era of White Christian America ending? We hear about the reaction of Black Republicans to speeches about racial violence and relations with the police.
Donald Trump Divides the Republican Party Surrogates for Donald Trump claim he's no racist, but his attack on a federal judge with Mexican ancestors was the last straw for many Republicans. Some GOP Senators are refusing to back him, and one is calling for the convention in Cleveland to choose somebody else. Other party leaders are gritting their teeth and supporting the presumptive nominee, even House Speaker Paul Ryan, who called Trump's attack "racist." We hear more about the case against Trump — and the case for Party unity.
Does the GOP Really Matter? After one of the nastiest primary campaigns in America's political history, Donald Trump claims he can unite Republicans – but he's also said it's not all that important. Trump has questioned the tradition of giving the senior leader, House Speaker Paul Ryan, leadership of the nominating convention. As he looks for a running mate with insider credentials, some GOP veterans are openly dreaming about a Third Party. The billionaire now says he'll need to raise money, but many senior contributors are spending on the House and the Senate. Can new voters bring life to the GOP?
Cleaning the Barn and Passing the Gavel Today, Congress is likely to pass the first federal budget in five years. If the Senate agrees, the government will stay open and pay the bills until after the next election. For the most part, Democrats will be happy to go along, but Republican candidates for President and the right wing of the GOP are on the warpath against it . The likely new Speaker, Paul Ryan, won't have to deal with default or a government shutdown, but that looks like a curse to conservative colleagues. We hear how a temporary return to business as usual is dramatizing the Republican Party's radical change.
The Anti-Hillary Campaign Is Up and Running Hillary Clinton hasn't announced her presidential candidacy, but her every move is being analyzed as if she had. This week, after she charmed 5000 professional women with talk of breaking the "glass ceiling," comment on her own status as part of the 1% was inevitable. (Clinton got her usual fee of $300,000 for delivering that populist message.) A Republican PAC has produced a TV spot using the voice of Elizabeth Warren out of context as if she'd attacked Clinton's links to "powerful interests," and there are claims of conflicts of interest between her work as Secretary of State and contributions to the Clinton Foundation.
GOP Chances of Winning the Senate Are Looking Up There are some certainties in the mid-term elections: Republicans will hold the House. The Democrats still have the White House. But control of the US Senate is surprisingly close. Yet by most accounts, Republicans maintain an edge — right now they have a 67% chance of gaining a majority in the Senate according to the Upshot’s Senate Forecasting Model.
Are Republicans Getting their Party Together? There were primary elections for the US Senate and Congress in eight states yesterday. For Democrats, it was mostly business as usual, but Republicans were looking for signs of unity or division between the GOP Establishment and Tea Party supporters. In Iowa, Mitt Romney and Sarah Palin unified the factions behind Senate candidate Joni Ernst , who campaigned on her ability to castrate a hog. In Mississippi, there was no final decision, and six-term Senate incumbent Thad Cochran faces a run-off with the well funded Tea-Party challenger, Chris McDaniel . How deep does party unity really go? Is it key to re-taking the Senate and nominating a presidential winner in 2016?
Two Economies, Immigration, Syria, and Second Term Woes The Syrian ‘red line’ seems to have moved. Are good job numbers really that good? Congress looks again at immigration reform. And is Obama blowing his second term?
Love, Respect and the GOP After Monday's cancelled session, delegates packed the Tampa Bay Times Forum last night. First, they called the roll of states and officially nominated Mitt Romney . Then they heard speech after speech by Republican headliners. But the big moments came in prime time, Ann Romney wowed them with talk about "love" and life with her husband. Did she blunt the Democrats' charge about a Republican "war against women?" In his keynote address, New Jersey's Governor Chris Christie said , "We choose respect over love." Is the convention sending mixed messages? The answer may come tonight from vice-presidential nominee Paul Ryan, if he adds any specifics to the generalities we've heard so far. Do Romney strategists think the convention is meeting its goals? How much harder is Hurricane Isaac making that job? We hear excerpts from both speeches, as well as commentary from the Left, the Right — and the Center.
JP Morgan's Long Shadow: Big Banks and Presidential Politics JP Morgan Chase survived the financial crisis with its reputation in tact as the best managed bank on Wall Street. CEO Jamie Dimon has been a voice against increased regulation. Now the loss of $2 billion on risky trading has tarnished the bank and raised questions about Dimon himself. Should JP Morgan-Chase and others be reigned in before taxpayers get left on the hook? We hear from Elizabeth Warren , who chaired the Congressional Oversight Panel that oversaw TARP and is now a Democratic candidate for the US Senate in Massachusetts, and from Romney campaign advisor Vin Weber.
Big Banks and Presidential Politics During the financial crisis, JP Morgan Chase got almost $400 billion in taxpayer loans to protect it from failure. It survived the financial crisis with its reputation in tact as the best managed bank on Wall Street. CEO Jamie Dimon has been a voice against increased regulation. Now the loss of $2 billion on risky trading has tarnished the bank and raised questions about Dimon himself. Can JP Morgan Chase and other banks be trusted to use better judgment or is it time for stepped-up regulation? Democrats and Republicans disagree. We talk with financial expert and Democratic US Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren and Vin Weber with the Romney for President campaign.
What Are the Republicans Waiting For? Haley Barbour has dropped out and, except for Mitt Romney , most other GOP heavyweights are looking for money, while potential donors are sizing them up. One GOP strategist said Thursday's debate in South Carolina "looked like the bar scene from Star Wars," and House Speaker Boehner didn't bother to watch. Republicans, even those with double-digit support in the polls, have been slow to get into the race for the presidential nomination. Today, Newt Gingrich said he'll be the first to announce on Wednesday. Is he big enough to make others worry about being left behind? Is President Obama stronger than they suspected or weak enough that a late start won't matter for the eventual GOP nominee? Other GOP candidates discussed include: Tim Pawlenty Rick Santorum Herman Cain Mitch Daniels
Public Spending and Political Brinksmanship When they controlled both houses of Congress last year, Democrats failed to pass a budget for this year. Now Republicans are in charge of the lower house—where all spending originates. They are demanding massive reductions, while Democrats insist on freezing spending at last year's levels. The deadline for one or the other to blink is next Friday and, if there's no agreement, the government could shut down.
Public Spending and Political Brinksmanship When Democrats dominated Capitol Hill last year, they failed to pass a budget for this year, providing an opportunity for Republicans after they took the House. But the GOP is divided on whether to shut down the government if Democrats don't agree to more spending cuts than they want. Democrats insist on freezing spending at last year's levels. The deadline for one or the other to blink is next Friday. What would that mean for the millions who depend on federal programs? Which party would gain the most political points by refusing to compromise? With the deadline approaching on Friday of next week, we get a report on progress — or the lack of it — on Capitol Hill.
The Trump agenda: where's the beef? President Trump says big things are happening. After celebrating a House bill on health care, he doesn’t yet have Senate agreement. With James Comey’s public testimony scheduled tomorrow, the President today tweeted his selection of a new FBI Director. Is the Chief Executive all style and no substance? Later, terror attacks in Iran and conflicting claims about who’s behind them.
Is the threat from Russia missing from the Russia meddling probe? There's much being made about the Trump administration's possible ties with Russia. But the bottom line is Russia's effort to influence American democracy. Do the President and his aides care enough to take action before voters go back to the polls?
Trump's new look at civil rights and global warming President Trump is reportedly ready to pull the US out of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. We look at the possible consequences. On the second half of the program, we hear about cuts in Obama-Era civil rights programs called for by the Trump Administration's first budget plan.
Ex-FBI Director Comey tells his side of the story Today, former FBI Director James Comey came close to calling the President who fired him a liar. The White House denied the claim and called it insulting, but Republican Senators did not challenge Comey’s truthfulness. Many questions remain: did the President try to obstruct a federal investigation? Later, we’ll go behind the “velvet rope” for a look at 5-Star health care for the richest Americans.