POLITICO Playbook, presented by General Motors -- GOP CHAOS: House, Senate fear big losses if Trump tops ticket – BEN SMITH’s new Trump policy
Good Wednesday morning. GAME CHANGE? "South Carolina evangelicals coalescing around Cruz: Following his Iowa script, Texas senator reaps support as Carson appears to fade," by Katie Glueck: "[T]here are signs that the same Christian conservatives-focused approach Cruz used to surge in Iowa, largely at Carson's expense, is making him a formidable candidate in South Carolina, ... a state in which 65 percent of Republican primary voters in 2012 identified themselves in exit polls as 'born-again or evangelical Christians.'" https://politi.co/1R9vP5t
By Mike Allen (@mikeallen; [email protected]) and Daniel Lippman (@dlippman; [email protected])
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SIREN - "Republicans fear Trump could jeopardize control of Congress ," by Jake Sherman and Anna Palmer: "With the Iowa caucuses just 55 days away, Republicans are beginning to see Trump as a dire threat to their majorities on Capitol Hill. ... From vulnerable senators to top party officials, the fear is palpable and bursting into public view. Congressional Republicans face a tough 2016 landscape even without Trump. Senate Republicans are clinging to a four-seat majority as they defend 24 seats versus just 10 for Democrats. And House Republicans are expecting to lose roughly a dozen seats in 2016.
"Trump's rhetoric, they fear, could cause those losses to grow substantially. ... [T]he party is seemingly powerless to stop his stubborn lead in most polls. Many congressional Republicans have been hesitant to criticize him, cognizant of his appeal to the populist elements of the party. ... [A]s long as he remains a force in the nomination fight, other Republicans are forced to respond to his rhetoric instead of spending time criticizing ... Hillary Clinton." https://politi.co/1SNMkC4
-- "GOP struggles to escape Trump trap: Republicans condemn their poll leader but don't lift pledge to support his nomination, should he win it," by Politico's Eli Stokols: "They can't snatch away his campaign cash or limit his media exposure; they can't keep him off ballots. The party brass can't reason with Trump and can't afford to alienate him to the point that he runs an independent. And they must swallow the reality that many self-identifying Republicans prefer Trump's nativism and bombast to their more mainstream, inclusive style of conservatism." https://politi.co/1SNrS4l
FIRST LOOK: Hillary for America is releasing a new web video, "The 2016 Republican Field: Extreme Across the Board," "which documents the entire Republican field's attitudes of intolerance in light of Donald Trump's newest proposal." 1-min. video https://bit.ly/1QejgFP
--HILLARY on Medium, "No, Donald Trump. We're not barring Muslims from entering the country"https://bit.ly/1SNtHyb
--CLINTON campaign, in blast email from Huma Abedin, offers #LoveTrumpsHate sticker for $1 donation.See the sticker. https://politi.co/1M2AIW9
N.Y. DAILY NEWS cover shows Trump beheading the Statue of Liberty. https://nydn.us/vp5qdB
FLASHBACK -- @realDonaldTrump, May 4: "The U.S. has enough problems without publicity seekers going out and openly mocking religion in order to provoke attacks and death. BE SMART" (h/t @BuzzFeedAndrew)
TOP TWEETS: @jk_rowling: "How horrible. Voldemort was nowhere near as bad" ... @JakeSherman:"RYAN PUBLICLY REBUKES TRUMP 'This is not conservatism. What was proposed is not what this party stands for'" ... Laura Ingraham (@IngrahamAngle): "Anyone who thinks @realDonaldTrump comments will hurt him don't know the temperature of the American ppl."
TRUMP to Barbara Walters last night: "I'm the worst thing that's ever happened to ISIS." https://politi.co/1ITDih6
--"The 15 most offensive things that have come out of Trump's mouth," by Nick Gass https://politi.co/1m9H0hY
--TRUMP leads all three prestige London papers: Times, "Trump attacked after he claims British police fear Muslims" https://politi.co/1NLvj70 ... Guardian, "Trump faces backlash over Muslim tirade: Presidential frontrunner disowned by Republican leaders as outrage grows" https://politi.co/1QvfSoE ... Telegraph, "British backlash against Trump: US presidential candidate condemned by [Prime Minister David] Cameron and [London Mayor Boris] Johnson for 'divisive' comments on Muslims." https://politi.co/1XVq2F9
--Boston Globe, top of A1, "Trump's N.H. supporters undeterred: Plan to ban Muslims from traveling to US pleases his fans, draws the wrath of others," by Akilah Johnson in Portsmouth, N.H.: "In more than two dozen interviews with voters around New Hampshire, supporters repeatedly expressed fears about the recent string of terrorist attacks and what they saw as a need for the United States to protect its borders." https://bit.ly/1OQ3fEJ
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OUT TODAY from Politico's The Agenda: The Cyber Issue! "POLITICO's online policy magazine explores the mission teams that the military has deployed to combat the threat, the cyberweapons that the country actually has in its arsenal, and the crucial questions still unanswered. https://politi.co/1m9nNNr
MEDIAWATCH -- "NPR talk-show legend Diane Rehm will retire from broadcasting next year," by WashPost's Paul Farhi: "Rehm, the host of one of public radio's longest-running and most popular news discussion programs, will retire next year, ending nearly 40 years on the air. A retirement date has not been firmly established, but Rehm, who is 79, says she will end her eponymous program, produced by Washington public station WAMU-FM (88.5), after the presidential election in November. ... 'The Diane Rehm Show' ... is carried on 197 stations and attracts an audience of about 2.5 million weekly." https://wapo.st/1OSHemQ
--"Fox Business Network to host additional GOP presidential primary debate on January 14": "The RNC sanctioned debate will take place at the North Charleston Coliseum and Performing Arts Center in North Charleston, South Carolina two days after the State of the Union address."
--46 million people watched President Obama's address to the nation Sunday night, on average across 12 networks, according to Nielsen. (h/t Politico Media Pro)
HAPPENING at 8 a.m., from Politico Events: Please drop by the Hyatt Regency, 400 New Jersey Ave. NW, if you're on the Hill - "Solving for Y: Exploring Opportunities for the Next Generation": Anna Palmer and Ben Schreckinger interview Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii); Rep. Will Hurd (R-Texas); Cliff Maloney, Rand Paul's national youth director; and Symone Sanders, Bernie Sanders' national press secretary. RSVP https://politi.co/1jKrxD6Livestream www.POLITICO.com/live
BEN SMITH emails BuzzFeed staff : "We've gotten a question or two about how to talk about Donald Trump in social media - and whether calling him, say, a liar and a racist violates our policy asking ... you not to be political partisans on social media. ... It is ... entirely fair to call him a mendacious racist ... He's out there saying things that are false, and running an overtly anti-Muslim campaign." https://bit.ly/1SNK7Xf
--TOM BROKAW video essay from Arlington National Cemetery, show closer for "NBC Nightly News": "a dangerous proposal that overrides history, the law, and the foundation of America itself." https://nbcnews.to/1ITFvcp
--"Fox's Shep Smith: Trump Is 'Representing the Worst, Darkest Part of All That Is America'" Videohttps://bit.ly/1IDSAM8
--"Trump retweets Murdoch's musings on whether he's gone too far," by Hadas Gold: "Trump retweeted a tweet by News Corp chief Rupert Murdoch questioning whether [Trump] has gone too far ... Murdoch countered his own question by noting the public is 'obsessed on radical Muslim dangers,' adding that a 'complete refugee pause to fix vetting makes sense.' Murdoch has made clear his preference for retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson in previous comments and tweets, while writing negatively about Trump." https://politi.co/1IDTdoZ
--DAN BALZ "The Take" column, A1 above fold (under news story), "No comparison in generations": "One must scroll back decades for echoes, ... from the populist and racially based appeals of then-Alabama Gov. George Wallace in 1968 and 1972 to the anti-Semitic diatribes of the radio preacher Charles Coughlin during the 1930s. Historian David Kennedy of Stanford University said there are few comparisons, adding that, in branding an entire religious class of people as not welcome, Trump 'is further out there than almost anyone in the annals of [U.S.] history.'" https://wapo.st/1XVh2zL
--JEB BUSH to press in Manchester N.H., via Politico's Steven Shepard: "He's playing you guys like a fine Stradivarius violin. ... This is what he does ... He's an expert at this. He's phenomenal at garnering attention. This campaign should be about the big ideas that we need to implement to fix the things that are broken in our country and to restore America's leadership in the world." https://politi.co/1IDJ6AC
WHAT S.C. (perhaps Trump's strongest state) IS READING - Lead story of The (Columbia) State: Gov. Nikki "Haley [a daughter of Indian immigrants] slams Trump's plan for Muslim travel ban" ... (Charleston) Post and Courier, bottom of A1, "Haley: Trump's idea 'an embarrassment': Mosque invites candidate to visit."
HOW IT'S PLAYING: N.Y. Times 1-col. lead story of paper, "TRUMP DEFLECTS WITHERING FIRE ON MUSLIM PLAN: INVOKES WORLD WAR II -- Praise on Far Right, but Wide Criticism From Republicans" ... With a 1-col. story next to it (top of col. 5), with London dateline: "World Reaction To a Proposal: Befuddlement -- Trump Is Condemned in Many Languages" ... USA Today 1A , above fold, "If Trump bolts GOP, backers would, too: Poll taken before his call to bar Muslims" ...
... WashPost 2-col. lead story of paper, "Trump's call to bar Muslims stirs bipartisan anger: SHARPEST CRITICISM OF CANDIDATE YET -- But GOP front-runner's supporters are jubilant" ... WSJ A1, above fold, "Trump Sets Off A Brawl In GOP" ... Financial Times, p. 1 of U.S. edition, below fold, "Trump defiant as Republican party condemns his call to bar Muslims."
FOR YOUR RADAR -- L.A. Times A1, bottom of page, "Justices hint at remaking political map: Ruling could redraw electoral districts, to the GOP's benefit," by David Savage: "The Supreme Court sounded poised Tuesday to order a significant shift in how political power is allocated in this country, one that could give more clout to rural and mostly Republican areas at the expense of Democratic-dominated cities. The justices heard arguments in a Texas case that could force all 50 states to change the way they draw election districts for members of the House of Representatives, state legislatures, city councils and other local bodies. ...
"[T]wo Texas Republicans who live in rural districts say they are denied the 'equal protection of the laws' because the state's election districts undercount ... U.S. citizens and overcount those who live in districts with large numbers of immigrants. ... The court's conservatives, including Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, appeared to agree." https://lat.ms/1NaZckd
NEW ON THE TWITTERS: Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara, @PreetBharara
POWER PLAYERS -- "Elly Spinweber Burke Joins The Glover Park Group's Health and Wellness Practice" : "She most recently served as Director of Communications and Marketing for the Partnership for a Healthier America (PHA), which works with the private sector and PHA Honorary Chair First Lady Michelle Obama to make healthier choices easier for busy parents and families." https://politi.co/1YXP5nT
--Opposition researcher Jeff Berkowitz -- WashPost's Catherine Ho: "Berkowitz, the former chief researcher for the [RNC], has launched a new opposition research firm, Delve, that gathers intelligence for super PACs, corporations and campaigns to use against their opponents and industry competitors. ... 'You can monitor [competitors]." https://wapo.st/1XURra1
--"Top Freedom Caucus staffer joins Cruz office," by Politico's Lauren French: "Steve Chartan - the group's top strategist, who oversaw policy and communications for the Freedom Caucus - will serve in a policy role for Cruz's Senate office. Chartan joined the Freedom caucus last March from Utah Republican Sen. Mike Lee's office, where he was a policy adviser for the Senate Steering Committee. He previously worked under Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.)." https://politi.co/1RDCXXc
TRAILER OF THE DAY - "Michael Moore's 'Where to Invade Next,'" out Dec. 23: https://yhoo.it/1XUNQcd
SEN. BEN SASSE (R-Neb) spoke on the Senate floor last night: "You want to stop Islamaphobia? Stop lecturing Americans that they're supposedly stupid to be frightened about jihadis who actually do want to bomb their sporting event. And instead use your pen and phone as Commander-in-Chief to start telling us what your plan is."
INSTAGRAMS DU JOUR: V.P. Biden's official photographer David Lienemann took over Instagram account @VP and posted behind-the-scenes images from Biden's Ukraine trip, including the V.P. getting briefed by his staff on Air Force Two https://bit.ly/1ltkVef ... Biden meeting with the children of U.S. Embassy staff https://bit.ly/1OPA3h7
CLICKER - "Who's a 'Gifted Rap Artist,' Who Loves Jalape?os and Who Went to See Adele on Date Night: [2016] Democrats and Republicans' Guilty Pleasures Revealed" - People Magazine https://bit.ly/1XVwEDg
DATA DU JOUR -- "On Capitol Hill, the United States is a very, very white place," by WashPost's Janell Ross: "In fact, people of color make up 36 percent of the U.S. public and 28 percent of those old enough and eligible to vote in the United States, but they are included in just 7.1 percent of all senior-level Senate staff, according to [a new Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies] study. ... [A] decade ago ... people of color made up 6 percent of the entire Senate staff." https://wapo.st/1NFvLZ4 ... The study https://bit.ly/1NhHFom
AIR WARS -- "Local Broadcast TV Industry Launches Nationwide Political Advocacy Campaign New TVB": "We Get Voters launches with a new website housing resources for strategists, followed by the airing of TVB's second television ad in Washington, DC and key primary states [this] Sunday ... Key [findings in a new study by Keller Faye find] 83% of all American political conversations happen face-to-face, with more than five weekly political conversations on average." https://politi.co/1TAaOyI
JOSH KING's book (out April 26) - "Clinton White House image guru Josh King's chronicle of the Age of Optics, called "Off-Script: An Advance Man's Guide To White House Stagecraft, Campaign Spectacle and Political Suicide" ... picks up where he left off with his 2013 POLITICO Magazine long-form deep dive into Dukakis and the Tank, going even deeper into the tank and giving similar treatment to the game-changing visuals of each campaign from 1992 through 2012, reserving the final section of the book for an optical analysis of the Obama years and the early months of the current campaign." Pre-order -- $27.99 on Amazon https://amzn.to/1lNR5kj
FIRST LOOKS - "America Rising will release ... movie trailer ... 'Leading From Behind' ... [which] juxtaposes historical footage of strong leadership from four past presidents - FDR after Pearl Harbor, JFK staring down Khrushchev, Reagan and the Berlin Wall and the famous GWB 9/11 rubble speech - with the weak and feckless leadership of Obama-Clinton." With cameos by George Stephanopoulos, Mika Brzezinski, Chuck Todd, Norah O'Donnell, Jake Tapper and birthday boy James Pindell. 2-min. video https://youtu.be/Nj8heYJebHY
--Rock the Vote and iHeartRadio are today releasing their first PSA, featuring J.Lo, Blake Shelton, Puff Daddy and Nick Jonas, as part of the partnership's #VotingIsTheParty campaign to urge young people to vote.1-min. videohttps://bit.ly/1m9JD3l
VALLEY TALK --"Bitcoin's Creator Satoshi Nakamoto is Probably This Unknown Australian Genius," by Wired Andy Greenberg and Gwern Branwen : "In the last weeks, WIRED has obtained the strongest evidence yet of Satoshi Nakamoto's true identity. The signs point to Craig Steven Wright, a man who never even made it onto any Nakamoto hunters' public list of candidates, yet fits the cryptocurrency creator's profile in nearly every detail. And despite a massive trove of evidence, we still can't say with absolute certainty that the mystery is solved. But two possibilities outweigh all others: Either Wright invented bitcoin, or he's a brilliant hoaxer who very badly wants us to believe he did." https://bit.ly/1lthwfi
HOLIDAY PARTIES: Bluelight Strategies, the Jewish and Democratic firm headed by Steve Rabinowitz and Aaron Keyak, had its 21st annual Lakes & Vodkas party last night -- three types of latkes and more than a dozen types of vodka. Hats and buttons that said "Make Hanukkah Great Again!" were passed around. Pic "of WH Jewish Liaison @MattNosanchuk, @AmbShapiro light[ing] Hanukkah candles" https://bit.ly/1XUPVVs
--"Microsoft hosted its annual Holiday Open House at the Innovation & Policy Center [last night] with more than 1400 attendees and 20+ Members of Congress. Guests experienced the latest Xbox games including Minecraft, Halo 5, Star Wars Battlefront and Just Dance and had caricatures done using Surface Pro 3s. ... [M]ore than 400 toys were collected for Horton's Kids during the event."
--Facebook Elections Team had its holiday party at the Long View Gallery last night with signature cocktail Ruby Sipper, "a sparkly Champagne cocktail of citrus vodka, peach liqueur and white cranberry juice shaken with ice, strained into a stemmed flute." Food included tiny lobster rolls, seared sesame tuna on wasabi risotto cakes and a bruschetta station. Dessert: mini hazelnut crème brulee, dulce de leche parfaits and Facebook logo cookies.
CONGRATULATIONS to Alexis Williams, executive director of Politico Events, who today takes her LAST final for her MBA, which she pulled off while leading 90+ events a year.
BIRTHDAYS: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) is 49 ... former Sen. Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) is 68 ... Nathan Daschle ... Terry Moran, chief foreign correspondent for ABC News ... Samantha Tubman (h/t Meredith Carden) ... Treasury alum Neal Wolin ... Jonathan Wald ... N.H. political reporter James Pindell of the Boston Globe and the pride of New Castle, Ind. ... Kathryn Cameron Porter ... Fernando Lujan ... Richard Allen Smith ... Graham Wilson, DLCC's national field director ... Shoshana Weissmann of The Weekly Standard and co-founder of GOP networking organization Network Red ... Richard Wachtel ... Rhett Dawson ... Rick Horten ... Veronique "media maven" Rodman (h/t AEI media dept.) ... Jeff Smith, New School professor, Politico Magazine contributor, "Mr. Smith Goes to Prison" author and proud St. Louis native, is 42 (h/t Peter Hamby) ...
... Cris Turner, head of Americas gov't affairs for Dell (h/t Hillary Maxwell Beightel) ... Kyle Roberts of Smart Media Group ... Tricia Enright, Dean alum and comms. director for Sen. Robert Menendez (h/t Jon Haber) ... Treasury's John E. Smith (h/t Peter Baker) ... Politico's Emily Kopp ... Levick's Andrew Ricci ... Laena Fallon, VP of comms. at the Financial Services Forum, a Cantor and Judd Gregg alum and a native Granite Stater ... Arlington Commonwealth's Attorney Josh Katcher ... Ryan Whalen, once a Chuck Schumer body guy, Mayor Bloomberg alumn, and now director of initiatives and strategy at The Rockefeller Foundation ... Derrick Johnson ...
... Bush 43 WH alum Anne Dudro ... Dawn Wilson ... Robert Kraig (h/ts Teresa Vilmain) ... Kirk Douglas is 99 ... actor-writer Buck Henry is 85 ... Dame Judi Dench is 81 ... Beau Bridges is 74 ... Football Hall-of-Famer Dick Butkus is 73 ... World Golf Hall of Famer Tom Kite is 66 ... Joan Armatrading is 65 ... John Malkovich is 62 ... Donny Osmond is 58 ... songwriter and former "American Idol" judge Kara DioGuardi is 45 ... Olympic gold and silver medal gymnast McKayla Maroney is 20 (h/ts AP)
DESSERT -- "The Search for America's Best Food Cities: Washington D.C.," by WashPost's Tom Sietsema: "[N]eighborhoods that have recently blossomed into food destinations [include] Petworth, Shaw, H Street NE in the District and the Mosaic District in ... Turn in your foodie badge if you haven't heard about the debuts of Convivial, the Dabney, Maketto and Masseria - served to Washingtonians by homegrown talent ...
"After well-considered makeovers, the French-leaning Marcel's and the Asian-inspired Source, among other top brands, are performing at their peak. Thrilling eats, at all price points and in all quadrants, are a large part of what makes Washington such an enticing food destination right now. Lucrative, too, with restaurants projected to ring up an astounding $3 billion in sales this year in the District alone." https://wapo.st/1NaIcuc
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