April 2017 – James Arkin

Trump Makes Closing Argument in New Hampshire

MANCHESTER, N.H. — Donald Trump campaigned at a packed and raucous arena here Monday night, rallying the same supporters who gave him his first political victory in the primary nine months ago, setting him on the path that ends Tuesday night with either a come-from-behind victory, or a third consecutive Republican presidential defeat that would leave the party’s future in question.

Senate Republicans are bullish about the 2018 midterms as they target Democrats running for re-election in states carried by President Trump. But facing a turbulent political environment and seasoned Democrats who have won tough races before, some Republicans are growing concerned about their recruitment progress, anxious that potential GOP challengers aren’t stepping up to run in top-tier races.

Most Republicans caution patience, arguing it’s still early in the cycle and pointing out they have potential candidates in most of the races expected to be focal points next year. But others say that unless those potential candidates make their bids official soon, their prospects might not be as rosy as most believe.

House Picture Murky As GOP Aims To Limit Losses

Democrats are poised to gain seats in the House of Representatives this year, but with well over a dozen competitive races still viewed as tossups just one week before Election Day, the extent of that gain — and whether Republicans can stem the bleeding and keep a strong grip on their majority — remains uncertain.

Democrats for months have hoped to nationalize races, tying Republicans down the ballot to Donald Trump and hoping a big loss by Trump could flip a significant number of seats. They saw gains early in October when Republican polling in swing districts fell after the release of the “Access Hollywood” recording in which Trump boasted about making unwanted sexual advances on women — something that prompted more than a dozen Republicans to withdraw their support for the party’s nominee.

ORLANDO, Fla. — Sen. Marco Rubio stood behind Donald Trump this week, but he didn’t stand up with him.

The junior senator didn’t appear at any of the four rallies the GOP nominee held across the state. Dozens of other Republicans have withdrawn their support from Trump’s flagging campaign in the wake of a published video of him uttering lewd comments about women and saying he made unwanted sexual advances.

Rubio did not join those who fled the campaign, but in a tweet Friday, he did condemn Trump’s comments. In a statement Tuesday, Rubio said that while he had rejected Trump’s “offensive rhetoric and behavior” and wished there were “better choices for President,” he viewed Trump as the lesser of two evils.

PHILADELPHIA – Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, two progressive senators who are among the most popular and well-regarded figures in the Democratic Party, are making their much-anticipated debuts on the campaign trail for Senate candidates by stumping for Katie McGinty, who is challenging incumbent Pat Toomey in Pennsylvania.

The appearance of the two most popular Democratic figures outside of President Obama and Vice President Biden is a sign of how critical Pennsylvania will be in determining which party controls the Senate in 2017. But it’s also a sign that of all the Democrats challenging incumbent GOP senators this year, McGinty might need the most help.

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Meanwhile, Portman has opened up a sizable lead in the Senate race over the last month and is outpacing Trump by double digits in the state.

Republicans point to Portman’s campaign as an exemplar of how to run a down-ballot race in 2016 and think he’s positioned himself to win whether or not Clinton carries the state.

Democrats counter that Portman’s numbers are inflated and the race will tighten in the coming weeks. With Republicans holding a slim four-seat majority in the Senate and defending a number of toss-up races, Ohio could prove critical in deciding which party has the majority in the upper chamber next year.

Republican senators are growing impatient with the White House’s slow pace in filling out the administration and are pushing President Trump to speed the nomination process, concerned that the dearth of Cabinet deputies could hamper the executive branch’s ability to function.

The Senate has taken longer to confirm Trump’s nominees than it has those of past presidents, but Trump also has been slower than his predecessors to make nominations.

After seven years of campaign promises to repeal and replace Obamacare — a call that yielded Republicans the House, Senate and ultimately the White House — and after dozens of votes in Congress to undo President Obama’s signature legislative achievement, Speaker Paul Ryan conceded Friday that it would remain in place “for the foreseeable future.”

His remarks came after the House GOP failed to repeal the Affordable Care Act Friday, lacking enough party support to pass their measure and canceling a vote just minutes before it was scheduled to take place.

Sen. Ted Cruz’s unyielding opposition to the Affordable Care Act and his willingness to publicly take the fight to fellow Republicans helped cause a brief government shutdown four years ago. But now, with a Republican in the White House and repeal legislation working its way through Congress, the Texas Republican is keeping a low profile, putting his head down and working back rooms to influence the legislation.

The war against ISIS began with airstrikes a year ago this week and lawmakers have spent significant time in the last 12 months debating the strategy and, in many cases, criticizing the way the Obama administration is conducting the fight. But one thing members of Congress have yet to do is have a vote – or even a substantive debate – over authorizing the military campaign.

Instead, President Obama has relied on past authorizations for the use of military force (AUMFs) against al-Qaeda in 2001 and in Iraq in 2002 as the legal justification for the current campaign against the terrorist organization operating mostly in Iraq and Syria. Despite the White House’s insistence, lawmakers are split on whether they agree. Some believe the president is operating within a legitimate legal framework. Others don’t.

Ernest Moniz, nuclear physicist and former MIT professor heading the Department of Energy, landed a role above his typical job description in February when he became a key negotiator of the historic nuclear agreement with Iran.

Now, the White House has dispatched Moniz a little closer to home: he’s been spending his days on Capitol Hill, using his scientific expertise to press lawmakers to support the agreement he played a crucial role in negotiating.

[…read more…]

Where’s Schumer on Iran?

One of the enduring, and some ways endearing, jokes in the nation’s capital is that the most dangerous place in Washington is between Chuck Schumer and a television camera. Not this month. Since President Obama announced the nuclear deal with Iran, the usually gregarious New York Democrat has mostly avoided talking about the agreement other than to say he plans to study it carefully, and his critical support or opposition has been difficult to pin down.

When the agreement was initially announced last week, Schumer released a short statement with no hints as to which way he might be leaning, only saying he intended to “go through this agreement with a fine-tooth comb, speak with administration officials, and hear from experts on all sides.” He pointed to his support for legislation that gave Congress a say in the agreement, and added that the deal “is not a decision to be made lightly.”

[…read more…]

Month: April 2017

James Arkin: Campaign writing samples

James Arkin: Congressional writing samples