Sep 16, 2015 5 min read

Wake Up To Politics - September 16, 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, September 16, 2015
419 Days until Election Day
27 Days until the 1st Democratic Debate
0 Days until the Next Republican DebateIt's Wednesday, September 16, 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.

2016 Central

Republicans Gather for Reagan Library Debate, a Pivotal Moment for Many Candidates 15 candidates for the Republican presidential nomination will gather at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, California tonight for a debate that could change the future of the race.
The primetime debate, at 8pm Eastern Time, will feature the 11 top candidates: Donald Trump, Ben Carson, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz, Scott Walker, Marco Rubio, Carly Fiorina, Mike Huckabee, Rand Paul, John Kasich and Chris Christie.
For all the candidates not named Trump, this debate will be an important moment to step out of the businessman’s shadow and for many, attempt to return to their frontrunner (or top tier) statuses (see Bush, Jeb; Walker, Scott; Paul, Rand). For other candidates initially written off but who have surged in the polls since the last debate, tonight will be a key to staying in the limelight and showing they have something real to offer (see Fiorina, Carly; Carson, Ben; Kasich, John ). And then, for most of the remainders, this debate is important just because they are in it (see Rubio, Marco and Christie, Chris). Some of them plan to get a few punches in, hopefully a memorable line or two that will catapult them into media attention.
Then, of course, there is the elephant in the room (get it?): Trump, Donald. Everyone on stage is likely going to be gunning for the Donald tonight, and it will be interesting to watch and see if he holds his own and lives up to expectations, and is able to keep his top dog momentum heading out of the Reagan Library brawl.
The 11 candidates participating in the main debate were in the top 10 in an average of major polls since the last debate, on August 6. Those outside the top 10 (Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki, and Lindsey Graham) will face off in their own 6pm debate. The last “happy hour” debate had seven candidates (as opposed to this one’s four): Jim Gilmore did not qualify for either debate (not even registering 1% in the polls), Rick Perry dropped out of the race, and Carly Fiorina graduated to the main debate.
All four in the JV debate hope to follow the Fiorina model: shine in the early debate, surge in polls, get in main debate, but most are destined for the Perry or Gilmore models: doomed to drop out or fall out of the sphere of polling until they can’t even reach the 1% mark.
Both debates tonight will air on CNN and Salem Radio, both of which are sponsoring along with the Reagan Library, and will be moderated by CNN’s Jake Tapper and Dana Bash with Salem’s Hugh Hewitt, a popular conservative radio host.
Meanwhile, in Democratic Debate News… Martin O’Malley, a candidate for the Democratic presidential nomination, is urging his supporters to attend a protest outside DNC headquarters today to demand the number of Democratic debates (six) is increased.
The movement to change the low number of debates is supported by two vice chairs of the DNC, Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard and former Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak, but so far opposed by DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz, as well as Hillary Clinton’s campaign and the White House.
The protest is organized not by O’Malley’s campaign, but by Allow Debate, a group led by Ben Doernberg, a Sanders supporter according to WUTP research.
Suggested Reading Two interesting reads, both from Politico Magazine, on the Internet this morning relating to the 2016 race: on the GOP’s plan B (Mitt coming in and saving the party from Trump, because apparently the 15 other candidates can’t do it), and on the End of Trump: will there ever be a gaffe that kills him for good?

Capitol Hill News

Iran Deal: Disapproval Resolution Fails to Advance Again The Senate voted for the second time Tuesday on cloture for the Iran nuclear deal disapproval resolution. Once again, the resolution failed to advance, and nabbed even less votes this time: as before, 42 Democrats voted against the resolution, but only 56 voted for it this time (presidential candidates Rand Paul and Lindsey Graham missed the vote), amounting to no vote switches as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell was hoping. 60 votes for cloture were required for the resolution to advance.
Don’t expect McConnell to give up now, however: he will keep on trying, with more of the same vote expected Thursday (the deadline for passage of the disapproval resolution), as he continues his attempt to convince a few more Democrats not to filibuster.
If no more Democrats defect, the Iran nuclear deal will take effect.

White House Watch

Vice President’s Schedule Vice President Joe Biden will join the GOP candidates in southern California today, as talks solar energy in an address to the U.S. – China Climate Leaders Summit.