Wake Up To Politics - April 15, 2015
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Wednesday, April 15, 2015
573 Days Until Election Day 2016It's Wednesday, April 15, 2015, I'm Gabe Fleisher for this Tax Day edition of Wake Up To Politics, and reporting from WUTP world HQ in my bedroom - Good morning: THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL!!!
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Capitol Hill News
Senate Panel Unanimously Approves Bipartisan Iran Bill After a bipartisan compromise was agreed to by congressional Republicans and the White House, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted 19-0 Tuesday to approve a bill giving Congress review power over any nuclear deal struck with Iran.
The compromise legislation, authored by Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Ben Cardin (D-MD), the chairman and ranking member of the Foreign Relations panel, respectively, grants Congress a 30-day review period of a nuclear agreement after it is signed. During this time, lawmakers could reject any sanctions lifted in the deal, but cannot strike down the entire deal. After the review period has ended, if no rejection has been passed, President Barack Obama can lift sanctions set by Congress against Iran.
Next week, the full Senate is expected to take up the bill, where it will most likely pass, before heading to the House.
There is a June 30 deadline set by the United States to finish nuclear negotiations with Iran.
White House Watch
Obama to Remove Cuba from Terrorist List After a review of the situation, the State Department announced Tuesday its recommendation that Cuba be taken off of the U.S. list of state sponsors of terrorism. Hours later, after a weekend meeting with Cuban President Raul Castro, President Obama agreed and removed Cuba from the list.
Obama’s action is a step towards normalized relations with Cuba, after a half century of Cold War-era hostilities. Obama wrote a message to Congress alerting them of his actions, but he needs to approval to take Cuba off the list: there will be a 45-day review period, however, where lawmakers could reject the action, although a veto-proof majority is unlikely.
Cuba’s status on the list, joined only by Iran, Sudan, and Syria, was a sticking point for Obama’s efforts to host a Cuban embassy in Washington, and build an American embassy in Havana.
Why did President Obama decide to take Cuba off the list? As deputy White House National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes tweeted, “Put simply, POTUS is acting to remove #Cuba from the State Sponsor of Terrorism list because Cuba is not a State Sponsor of Terrorism”.
Race to 45
Travel Tracker Christie --> New Hampshire New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a potential GOP presidential candidate, will visit the first-in-the-nation primary state of New Hampshire today.
Christie will bring his “Tell It Like It Is” town hall series to New Hampshire; the governor, known for his straight-talking persona, has held over 100 such town halls in New Jersey since taking office. If he decides to run for the White House, they are expected to be a major part of his bid.
Also today: in Manchester, New Hampshire, Christie and wife Mary Pat will sit down with NBC’s Matt Lauer for an interview to air on NBC Nightly News tonight, and on “Today” tomorrow morning.
In an interview with Yahoo News Tuesday, Christie said he would announce if he was running for president in June.
Kelley Paul --> New Hampshire In the first solo visit to New Hampshire by a potential First Lady of the 2016 cycle, Kelley Paul will appear at a “Tax Day Tea and Book Singing” in Bedford, New Hampshire at 2 PM today.
While in the Granite State, Kelley Paul is tasked with making her husband, presidential candidate Rand Paul, more “approachable”. She will do so at the tea event, hosted by the New Hampshire Federation of Republican Women, and set to take place at the home of Marie Banfield, who, as education liaison of the conservative group Cornerstone Action, has emerged as a top opponent of Common Core.
Paul will be signing copies of her book “True and Constant Friends: Love and Inspiration from Our Grandmothers, Mothers, and Friends,” which was released Monday, and is a celebration of lifelong friends and the female bond.
Question of the Day
Today’s Question In honor of the 150th anniversary of Abraham Lincoln’s death, which is today: Who was supposed to be Lincoln’s guest at Ford’s Theatre the night he was killed (150 years from yesterday)
Lincoln Links Also: the 150th anniversary has brought upon a bit of Lincoln hype this week. Some great articles about the Lincoln legacy are compiled below:
Politico Magazine: “The Man Who Created the Lincoln We Know”
Smithsonian Magazine: “The History of How We Came to Revere Abraham Lincoln”
The Atlantic: “How the World Mourned Lincoln”
The New York Times: “Abraham Lincoln, the One President All of Them Want to Be More Like”
Associated Press: “AP Was There: Original AP Report of Lincoln’s Assassination”
Dead Presidents: Booth Family Links to Presidents
The Daily Best: “The Untold Miracle of Lincoln’s Last Day on Earth”