April 18, 2019: anything but Mueller
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TOP HEADLINES
Bernie has wildly successful Town Hall on Fox News; earns Trump’s ire (Mediaite). . .
Biden continues to stand strong in polls (The Hill) . . .
Learn the name “Buttigieg” - ‘Mayor Pete’ continues his ascension (Vox). . .
Kamala Harris owns a gun for personal protection (CNN). . .
Elizabeth Warren finds her lane as scrappy underdog (Slate). . .
Terry McAuliffe is OUT (AP News). . .
Trump blows past all Dem candidates with a $30 million haul in Q1 (Axios). . .
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GET TO KNOW ‘MAYOR PETE’
“Buttigieg” is pronounced Boo-tih-jige. ‘Mayor Pete’ also served two tours of Military duty in Afghanistan while Mayor of Seth Bend. Buttigieg is the first openly gay municipal executive in Indiana. And he’s skyrocketing in the polls - here’s a video from his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.
Here’s the prerequisite Ellen photo:
(photo credit: IndyStar)
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ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
It seems that the Beto O’Rourke wave may have crested with his Vanity Fair cover. His poll numbers are stagnant, and the whirlwind energy necessary for back-to-back campaigns (2018 Texas Senate/2020 U.S. President) may be untenable, even for a rock star candidate. Recent unforced errors (calling Israeli PM Netanyahu a racist; comparing Trump to the Third Reich of Nazi Germany) may be indicative of fatigue, or worse - a campaign struggling to concoct a narrative based on issues. Regardless, he is on the descent, at least at this point.
(photo credit: The Rivard Report)
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WHY ARE THERE SO MANY CANDIDATES?!?!
The Democratic presidential field for 2020 is more crowded than typical for this early in an election cycle. Here is the count of candidates each week before Election Day, since 1972.
(source: New York Times)
But WHY are there so many? Simple: “There’s just absolutely no downside and only upside.” Potential ‘wins’ even for the losers include:
. . .a cabinet position
. . .building a profile (and donor base) for future races
. . .book deals
. . .television contracts
. . .paid speeches
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NAME RECOGNITION, FAVORABILITY
(Morning Consult) The latest results are based on 13,644 interviews with registered voters, collected from April 1-7 2019. Respondents were asked whether they had a favorable impression of each of the following, and also had the option of saying they hadn’t heard of that person or had no opinion about them.
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THE CANDIDATES
Joe Biden (American Possibilities)
. . .has a polling lead that can not be discounted (CNN)
. . .but may be less electable than he looks (New York Magazine)
. . .is being in touch without touching (Wall Street Journal, paywall)
. . .chose the wrong side of history in 1976 over desegregating schools (Splinter)
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. . .makes no apologies at combative Fox News town hall (Fox News)
. . .quiets critics as he becomes 2020 frontrunner (AP News)
. . .is being given a ‘pass’ by political handicappers (NBC News)
. . .hits 1 million donations (The Daily Beast)
. . .is a millionaire, but so what? (New York Magazine)
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Pete Buttigieg (It’s time for a new generation of American leadership)
. . .joins the 2020 race as the ‘face of a new generation’ (AP News)
. . .responds to Vice President Pence’s criticism on Ellen (Ellen, video)
. . .is the hottest thing in politics (L.A. Times)
. . .is outpolling most of the Democratic field in early states (USA Today)
. . .is putting a spotlight on the prejudices of the Christian Right (New York Magazine)
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Kamala Harris (For the People)
. . .owns a gun for personal protection (The Hill)
. . .releases 15 years of tax returns; has income near $2 million (Fortune)
. . .receives endorsement from CNN pundit (Washington Examiner)
. . .collected millions from big California donors (LA Times)
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Beto O’ Rourke (Beto for America)
. . .felt frustrated with Vanity Fair quote (CNN, video)
. . .blasts Trump’s immigration policies (Washington Times)
. . .enjoys interacting with crowds, but lacks big ideas (Politico)
. . .confronted at Town Hall about meager charitable donations (Fox News)
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Elizabeth Warren (We Will Save Our Democracy)
. . .was a diehard conservative (Politico)
. . .is everything Hillary Clinton pretended to be (The Week)
. . .proposes broad plan to protect public lands (New York Times)
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Cory Booker (We Will Rise Together)
. . .not surging in the 2020 race – and his campaign says that's just fine (Fox News)
. . .calls Trump's 9/11 tweet 'vicious, crass, disgusting' (The Hill)
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Kirsten Gillibrand (Brave Wins)
. . .has a stalled campaign (The New Yorker)
. . .isn't raising a lot of money, and her campaign claims that's because of how brave she is (Washington Examiner)
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Andrew Yang (A Campaign of Ideas)
. . .unveils plans to campaign remotely using a 3D hologram (The Verge)
. . .and supporters struggle to push away extremists, leaked chats show (NBC News)
. . .says foreign policy should be ‘restrained and judicious’ (RealClearPolitics)
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Amy Kloubachar (Amy for America)
. . .visits Tallahassee (Tallahassee Democrat)
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Julián Castro (Julián for the Future)
. . .says Trump administration's cruelty toward immigrants 'never seems to end' (Washington Examiner)
. . .could be 2020’s dark horse candidate (New York Magazine)
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Jay Inslee (Our Moment)
. . .stays upbeat despite stumbling on the campaign trail (KUOW)
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John Hickenlooper (It’s Time for Our Nation to Come Together and Get Things Done)
. . .pitches ‘progressive alternatives’ to nationalizing health care, free college (Daily Iowan)
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Eric Swalwell (Go Big. Be Bold. Do Good)
. . .kicks off presidential run focused on gun reform (CNN, video)
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Tim Ryan (Tim Ryan for America)
. . .calls the president ‘lazy’ (MSNBC, video)
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Tulsi Gabbard (For the Country We Love)
. . .qualifies for 2020 Democratic presidential primary debates (Honolulu Star-Advertiser)
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John Delaney (Focus on the Future)
. . .campaigns in New Hampshire (WMUR)
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Marianne Williamson (Repair, restore, and renew America)
. . .wants 'Capitalism with a conscience' (Laconia Daily Sun)
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Wayne Messam (Are you ready to run with Wayne?)
. . .condemns Joe Biden (Miami New Times)
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Mike Gravel (The time has come)
. . .has a plan to rock the Democratic Primary (The Atlantic)
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DAYS UNTIL 2020 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION: 564
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Debate Schedule
June 26, 27: Miami, Florida. (Telecast: NBC, MSNBC and Telemundo)
July 30, 31: Detroit, Michigan (Telecast: CNN)
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Don’t Forget These Dates (2020)
February 3: the Iowa caucus
March 3: Super Tuesday (Alabama, California, Massachusetts, Minnesota, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, and Virginia primaries)
July 13-16: The Democratic National Convention (Milwaukee, WI)
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“Liberalism itself has failed, and for a pretty good reason. It has been too often compromised by the people who represented it.”
- Hunter S. Thompson, Fear & Loathing on the Campaign Trail ‘72
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