Wake Up To Politics - April 22, 2015
Wake Up To Politics - April 22, 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 22, 2015
566 Days Until Election Day 2016It's Wednesday, April 22, 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!!!
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Capitol Hill News
Senate Reaches Deal on Lynch, Trafficking Bill The Senate votes today on amendments to the human trafficking bill and then on passage of the legislation, , which sets up a fund for victims of trafficking.
This comes after a deal was struck Tuesday on the controversial abortion provision in the bill that caused Democrats to filibuster it. Both parties agreed that no money in the bill would go toward abortions. The deal-breaker: the word “abortion” was not included; the language says the fund will not use money for health care, but instead can get health care under a separate program.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) had refused to bring Attorney General nominee Loretta Lynch up for a vote until the trafficking bill was passed; because it likely will today, a cloture vote on Lynch has been scheduled for Thursday, with a confirmation vote expected soon.
White House Watch
The President’s Schedule At 10:20 AM, President Obama will depart the White House, arriving in Miami at 1 PM. Obama heads to Florida for an Earth Day visit to “climate change ground zero”, the Everglades.
At 1:50 PM, the President will tour Everglades National Park in Homestead, Florida. Also visiting the Everglades with the President: Bill Nye the Science Guy, a climate change defender, who tweeted Tuesday, “Heading down to DC to catch an #EarthDay flight on Air Force One tomorrow with the President. We're going to #ActOnClimate,” using the Obama Administration’s climate change hashtag.
At 3:55 PM, President Obama speaks at the Everglades. His remarks will focus on the threat climate change holds to the world, the American economy and way of life, and to “national treasures” like the Everglades, which are threatened by global warming.
The President will criticize Republicans for opposing his environmental legislation, and praise his Administration’s efforts to combat climate change, many of which were done with executive orders.
At 5:45 PM, he departs Miami, arriving back at the White House at 8:10 PM.
Election Central
Race for the Senate 2016: Must-Reads Former Clinton adviser Doug Sosnik writes for Politico Magazine: “Mitch McConnell Shouldn’t Get Comfortable: Why Democrats are poised to recapture the Senate.”
“1. The 2016 presidential and Senate target states are almost perfectly aligned…2. A state’s vote for a Senate candidate increasingly mirrors the vote for president…3. Changing demographics and increased turnout during a presidential election year will benefit all Democrats on the ballot…4. The Senate math favors Democrats…5. The party that wins the White House will control a 50/50 Senate…”
The Washington Post adds more good news for Democrats’ chances of retaking the Senate in 2016: “Presidential bids by Rubio, Paul deal 2016 blow to Senate GOP” by Sean Sullivan and Katie Zezima. The piece details Rubio’s need to give up his Florida Senate seat (a loss of Republicans, whose strongest candidate is Rubio), and Paul’s risky plan to run for President and the Senate at the same time.
Race for the Senate 2018: Must-Reads Washington Post’s Chris Cilliza looks ahead to 2018, and why decisions in 2015 by senators on whether to run for re-election or for governor has a huge effect on the 2018 race for Senate control: http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/wp/2015/04/21/why-joe-manchins-decision-to-run-for-senate-reelection-is-a-huge-deal-for-democrats/
Race to 45: Must-Reads A great piece in New York Times Magazine on the future of campaign finance: “The Next Era of Campaign-Finance Craziness is Already Underway” by Jim Rutenberg.
