Apr 1, 2015 6 min read

Wake Up To Politics - April 1, 2015

To read today's edition of Wake Up To Politics in a PDF format, click here. Continue reading to find the text of the Wake Up in the body of the email!

Wednesday, April 1, 2015
548 Days Until Election Day 2016It's Wednesday, April 1, 2015, I'm Gabe Fleisher for Wake Up To Politics, and reporting from WUTP world HQ in my bedroom - Good morning: THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!!!
To send me questions, comments, tips, new subscribers, and more: email me at wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com. To learn more about WUTP or subscribe, visit the site: wakeuptopolitics.com, or read my tweets and follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/Wakeup2Politics or read stories on Wake Up To Politics by clicking the media logos at the bottom.
From the Editor's Desk

Hello everyone! I am back from Boston, and ready to return to Wake Up To Politics. There is a special on the way detailing the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate and the dedication ceremony for it I attended in Boston.

With that, to the news (there will be no fooling today…or will there....there won’t).

Happy April!
Gabe Fleisher
Editor-in-Chief
Wake Up To Politics

Presidential Madness

Voting lasts in the Presidential Madness Final Four until April 4, when the championship will start.
The two match-ups are Lincoln vs. Washington and FDR vs. Clinton, and you can vote in both match-ups for the president you think is better by 1) emailing me (wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com), 2) voting in the survey here, or 3) in the survey at the bottom of my website's Presidential Madness page (http://www.wakeuptopolitics.com/#!presidential-madness/c1fom), where you can also see the updated bracket.
Make sure to vote!!!

2016 Central

Jeb Bush Fundraises for Super PAC in California, As Such Trips Have Come Under Question Former Florida Gov. and potential presidential canidate Jeb Bush (R) is on the third day of a four-day, five city fundraising tour through California. Today, he raises money for his Right to Rise super PAC at a Palo Alto luncheon hosted by former Export-Import Bank chairman Bill Draper, former Ambassador to Portugal Tom Stephenson, and school choice advocates Bill and Susan Oberndorf, among others, according to the Washington Post.
Bush’s California swing comes as fundraising trips by potential presidential candidates are coming into question, because they raise more money than primary candidates are allowed to, and don’t have to report anything because they are not technically “testing the waters”.
Two groups, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21, filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday against Republicans Jeb Bush, Rick Santorum, and Scott Walker, and Democrat Martin O’Malley.
“These 2016 presidential contenders must take the American people for fools,” Paul Ryan, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Counsel said, “[They are] flying repeatedly to Iowa and New Hampshire to meet with party leaders and voters, hiring campaign staff and raising millions of dollars from deep-pocketed mega donors, all the while denying that they are even ‘testing the waters’ of a presidential campaign.”
Bush has pushed the limits of campaign finance rules even further, by endorsing Right to Rise Policy Solutions, a nonprofit group with the same name as Bush’s leadership PAC and super PAC.
The super PAC is a step up from a campaign committee, since there is a limit to individual donations to campaigns, while unlimited sums can be given to super PACs. But the new group is even a step up from the super PAC and leadership PAC, because donors remain anonymous.
Race to 45 – Travel Tracker Ted Cruz’s first Iowa swing since announcing his presidential campaign starts today. Cruz will visit five cities across the first-in-the-nation presidential caucus state in two days.
According to the Des Moines Register, today’s events are a town hall at Morningside College in Sioux City, Iowa, with Rep. Steve King (R-IA); and a Durango, Iowa reception to raise money for the Dubunque County Republican Party, with Rep. Rod Blum (R-IA).

White House Watch

The President’s Schedule The only event on President Obama’s public schedule today is lunch with Vice President Joe Biden.
Obama will also be monitoring the Iran nuclear talks all day today. The negotiations, taking place in Switzerland, were supposed to end by the U.S.-set deadline of Tuesday, but after that was passed, an extension was agreed to.
The United States is joined by a number of allies in offering reduced sanctions on Iran, if the country stops its nuclear program – the question is whether Iran will keep the promises made in the yet-to-be-agreed-on deal.

Website

Twitter

Scribd

Hello everyone! I am back from Spring Break, but am going now to Boston for a quick trip to attend the opening dedication ceremonies of the Edward M. Kennedy Institute for the United States Senate. I will be attending as a credentialed member of the press, and you will hear a lot more about the Institute in my upcoming special, which will be published in the Wake Up after my trip.
Because I am going to Boston, the return of Wake Up To Politics will be delayed until Monday, April 1. I apologize, but this is an amazing opportunity and I think you will all enjoy hearing about the Institute and my trip in the special. For now, follow me on Twitter @WakeUp2Politics for updates all day Monday on the opening.
However: Presidential Madness must continue.
And we now have a Final Four: George Washington, facing against Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin Delano Roosevelt against William Jefferson Clinton.
Thank you all for voting in the first three rounds! Now, we've reached another opportunity to influence the election for most important office in the world: Presidential Madness Champion, a title we are getting closer to crown.
As you know, we will be using the bracket (updated to the Final Four, see below), created by the National Constitution Center, and narrowing down presidents in four rounds, like the NCAA.
As I said, all but four presidents from the 32 we started with have been eliminated, and the match-ups this round are: George Washington vs. Abraham Lincoln and Franklin Roosevelt vs. Bill Clinton.
Final Four voting will last until Saturday, April 4 (when the NCAA Final Four round is completed). Then - you will vote in the championship from April 4 until April 6, the NCAA Championship Game.
Vote in each Final Four match-up for the president you think is better by 1) emailing me (wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com), 2) voting in the survey here, or 3) in the survey at the bottom of my website's Presidential Madness page (http://www.wakeuptopolitics.com/#!presidential-madness/c1fom)
So, to recap - email me or go on the website to vote in both or some of the two match-ups in the fourth and penultimate round of Presidential Madness: the Final Four.