Wake Up To Politics - October 23, 2014
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!
Thursday, October 23, 2014
12 Days Until Election Day 2014
747 Days Until Election Day 2016
I talk politics with Ken Rudin on his "Political Junkie" podcast, NH Sen race tightens, and Coburn releases his final Wastebook: It's Thursday, October 23, 2014, 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, visit the site: wakeuptopolitics.com, or read my tweets: twitter.com/Wakeup2Politics.
From the Editor's Desk
Longtime subscribers may recall December 2012 when I made my public radio debut on NPR’s “Talk of the Nation,” in which I faced off in a “Stump the Junkie” trivia contest with NPR’s resident political junkie Ken Rudin (and won). Now, Ken has his own podcast and website (krpoliticaljunkie.com/), and invited me on for his latest episode: Episode #48, “Early Voting, Early Bedtime” to talk politics, and of course, engage in a little trivia (#SethPadelford). Click the link to listen to me by downloading the podcast (I am at about 50:20 in)!
Capitol Hill News
- Coburn vs. NIH in his Last “Wastebook” For the past five years, Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK) has published a “Wastebook” of 100 examples of wasteful government spending. Now, Coburn is about to retire, but won’t let up in his career-long campaign against spending: his final “Wastebook” was released Wednesday, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is one of many victims.
- Coburn hits the NIH hard, in light of the Ebola outbreak, highlighting the agency “[coming] up with the money to pay to give Swedish massages for rabbits,” while the NIH director “claims a vaccine for Ebola ‘probably’ would have been developed by now if not for the stagnant funding for the agency”.
- Sen. Coburn, known as “Dr. No,” is a good friend of President Barack Obama dating back to the latter’s days in the Senate, and is the ranking member of the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. The Oklahoman, who prefers to be referred to as Dr. Coburn – he is an optician – retires in January, but “Wastebook” may continue with Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), who would become chairman of the Government Affairs panel if Republicans take control of the Senate.
Election Central
- Race Tightens in New Hampshire A new CNN poll in the New Hampshire Senate race shows incumbent Jeanne Shaheen (D) at 49%, a 2-point lead over Republican Scott Brown’s 47%.
- This is just one example of a series of surveys showing the two neck-and-neck, as the midterm elections approach.
- Shaheen is popular in the Granite State, having served as governor before she was elected to the U.S. Senate, but Scott Brown has served up surprises before.
- In 2010, in a special election to take the seat of the late Ted Kennedy, Brown unexpectedly beat Democrat Martha Coakley…in deep-blue Massachusetts. Two years later, in the race for a full term in the seat, Brown was bested by Democrat Elizabeth Warren. Now, Brown has moved to New Hampshire, and is challenging Shaheen.
- Sen. Warren visits New Hampshire on Saturday to campaign for Shaheen, who could have a tough time getting out the vote in November.
- Scott Brown may just win another Senate seat in a different state…and this time Elizabeth Warren probably won’t be there to defeat him later.
Washington Post publisher Katherine Graham (seated, left) is briefed on her paper’s Watergate reporting by executive editor Ben Bradlee (seated, right), managing editor Howard Simons (seated on desk, right), and Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward (seated on desk, left and center, respectively), the journalistic team termed “Woodstein” by Bradlee.
Photo: Mark Godfrey, April 1973.
White House Watch
- The President’s Schedule At 10 AM, President Obama receives the Presidential Daily Briefing.
- At 3 PM, the President sits down with Ron Klain. This is Klain’s first day as Ebola Response Coordinator, or “Ebola czar”.
- At 4:45 PM, Obama meets with senior advisors.
