Oct 9, 2015 5 min read

Wake Up To Politics - October 9, 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!

Friday, October 9, 2015
396 Days until Election Day 2016
115 Days until the Iowa Caucuses
19 Days until the Next Republican Debate
4 Days Until the 1st Democratic DebateIt's Friday, October 9, 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 and subscribe, visit the site: wakeuptopolitics.com, or like me on Twitter and Facebook. More ways to engage with WUTP at the bottom.

Capitol Hill News

McCarthy Drops Out: Next Speaker Unknown, House GOP in Chaos The House Republican Conference leadership elections set to be held Thursday were postponed after Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s stunning withdrawal from the race to succeed Speaker of the House John Boehner, despite his front-runner status in the contest.
McCarthy’s announcement came just nine minutes into the meeting when House Republicans had planned to nominate their candidate for Speaker; “I’m not the one,” the majority leader, setting off shock and sorrow from the congressmen gathered.
Roll Call reported quotes from Reps. Phil Roe (“It was shock, more so then when Speaker Boehner resigned”) and Mark Sanford (“Mayhem,” “Members were crying”) attesting to a funeral-like atmosphere (Roll Call also reported, “It felt like a funeral, said one person present, with a ‘receiving line’ of members queueing up to shake McCarthy’s hands and wish him well, even though McCarthy hasn’t said he plans on going anywhere.”)
Once the dust settles, and the chaos subsides (in and outside of the Republican Conference itself), a new Speaker must be chosen. Many candidates have already been floated; the House GOP meets Friday at 9am to sort out the path forward, and possibly re-schedule the elections.
With Boehner dead set on retiring at the end of the month, and McCarthy staying put as Majority Leader, new candidates for the speakership must emerge. Potential contenders include: Reps. Lynn Westmoreland (R-GA), who said he was “thinking about it”; Tom Price (R-GA), chairman of the Budget Committee; Darrell Issa (R-CA), Jeb Hensarling (R-TX), chairman of the Financial Services Committee; and Pete Sessions (R-TX), chairman of the Rules Committee. There are also a number of members of leadership considering running for a promotion, among them Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA), Conference Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Chief Deputy Whip Patrick McHenry (R-NC), NRCC Chairman Greg Walden (R-OR). And the final tier of candidates: those who have already announced. Reps. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT) and Daniel Webster (R-FL) were McCarthy’s two opponents for the speakership, but despite calling members for support for weeks, neither’s chances seem to have improved in the light of their biggest rival dropping out.
But one name hangs over them all: Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI), chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee and his party’s 2012 vice presidential nominee. Ryan has insisted again and again, before and after McCarthy’s withdrawal, that he does not want to be Speaker, and will not run: but many Republicans see him as the only one who can unite the party, and conference members from Boehner and McCarthy on down are encouraging him to run.
Will he run? “I've got no news for you,” the Wisconsin lawmaker told reporters Thursday night.
BEHIND THE SCENES The path to “no”: Politico’s tick-tock on McCarthy’s decision: http://www.politico.com/story/2015/10/kevin-mccarthy-behind-decision-bail-house-speaker-214573 and a look at the Draft Ryan campaign, from CNN: http://www.cnn.com/2015/10/08/politics/paul-ryan-recruitment-campaign/index.html

White House Watch

The President’s Schedule President Obama heads West for a previously-scheduled fundraising trip, with a recently-added stop to the Oregon town that experienced a shooting last week.
At 9:15am Eastern Time, the President departs the White House, arriving in Eugene, Oregon at 11:40am Pacific Time.
At 12:40pm, Obama will meet with families of the victims of the Umpqua Community College shooting in Roseburg, Oregon.
BLAST FROM THE PAST 47 years before the mass shooting in the town – and two weeks before his death – presidential candidate and Sen. Robert F. Kennedy traveled to Roseburg, Oregon…and spoke about gun control. Eerie coincidence: http://www.thetrace.org/2015/10/robert-f-kennedy-roseburg-oregon-gun-control-video/
At 2:45pm, he departs Eugene for Seattle, Washington, where he arrives at 3:45pm.
At 4:20pm, President Obama will participate in a DNC roundtable at the Westin Hotel in Seattle.
At 6:05pm, he will speak at a fundraising event to benefit the Washington State Democratic Party and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) at the Seattle Westin.
Following the Seattle events, the President departs Seattle at 7pm for San Francisco, arriving at 8:45pm.
Finally, Obama will participate in another DNC roundtable, at a private residence in San Francisco.
The President will remain in San Francisco overnight; over the weekend, he travels to the Los Angeles area to hold events for the DNC and DSCC.

Question of the Day

Today’s trivia question comes from WUTP reader and trivia master Joe Bookman, about Speaker candidate Jason Chaffetz: Who was the first wife of Jason Chaffetz’s father?
Send me the correct answer via email (wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com) today, Saturday, or Sunday, and your name will be on Monday’s Wake Up!
Have a trivia question you think I should ask? Send those to me at wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com as well!