Sep 8, 2015 7 min read

Wake Up To Politics - September 8, 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!

Thursday, September 3, 2015
432 Days until Election Day
40 Days until the 1st Democratic Debate
13 Days until the Next Republican DebateIt's Thursday, September 3, 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 or subscribe, visit the site: wakeuptopolitics.com, or read my tweets and follow me on Twitter: twitter.com/Wakeup2Politics or read stories on Wake Up To Politics by clicking the media logos at the bottom.

2016 Central

Joementum Vice President Joe Biden spoke Wednesday in Miami, Florida on education – a fairly normal topic for him, the “same speech he's been giving for years,” Bloomberg’s Jennifer Epstein said. As the Washington Post wrote, “Rarely has a speech on the importance of community colleges been more closely scrutinized.”
As of late, Biden’s every move has been devoted a lot more attention in the media while the vice president mulls a presidential bid. With an announcement on his 2016 plans expected this month, much has been made of Biden’s recent travels: from Florida, where his education remarks sounded very much of a stump speech and then attended a fundraiser with top Democratic donors, to a meeting in Washington, D.C. with Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) two weeks ago, and a visit to a political event in Delaware over the weekend.
While in Florida today, Biden will hold a meeting at the Jewish community center in Davie to speak with skeptics of the Iran nuclear deal. Then, it’s off to Atlanta for more meetings with Jewish community leaders on the Iran agreement, and then to Pittsburg to march with AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka at a Labor Day parade Monday.
Meanwhile, the possibility of a Biden bid has been gaining momentum: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has endorsed Hillary Clinton, shared his thoughts Wednesday, telling reporters, “If [Biden] did run, I think all Democrats would be in a bind, because they’d have a choice of a number of good candidates.” Cuomo also said there was “a certain natural logic” to Biden considering a run.
In addition, Biden’s as-yet-announced campaign picked up an endorsement Tuesday from his home state senator, Delaware’s Chris Coons, who said, “I would support Joe Biden as a candidate for president. I think his senior and seasoned record on foreign policy and national security is unmatched.” Coons even told CQ Roll Call that he would be “honored” to campaign for Biden in Iowa.
Finally, in an interview with the Boston Globe, Sen. Elizabeth Warren commented on her August 22 meeting with Vice President Joe Biden. Warren said the meeting came after Biden personally called her twice requesting a sit-down, and described the meeting as a “good, long, rambly policy conversation”. Warren wouldn’t answer much about her Biden meeting, however: she deflected when asked if the two discussed teaming up as a ticket in the upcoming election, refused to commit to serving out her Senate term, and wouldn't even give a definitive answer on the lunch they shared. Does she plan to endorse a presidential candidate in the Democratic primary? “Yeah, I imagine,” Warren said.
As Hillary Clinton’s poll numbers are falling, Biden’s are rising. A Reuters/Ispos poll released Tuesday showed Clinton remains the first choice of 45% of Democratic voters, her lowest amount of support since 2012. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders is at 25%, Vice President Joe Biden is at 16%. However, the poll found Biden is the first choice of Democratic voters if Clinton were to lose to Republicans in polling; over 38% said Biden would be their choice in that event, Sanders would be the choice of 30%. Less than a quarter of voters said they would remain behind Clinton if she appeared vulnerable in the general election.
No Third-Party Run for Trump The Republican National Committee emailed all 17 GOP presidential campaigns Wednesday with a loyalty otath for the candidates to sign. The statement the RNC is asking each candidate to sign, which forces the candidate to endorse the Republican nominee in 2016 and not run as a third-party candidate, is seen as directed at Donald Trump, the only candidate who has not already pledged to do both those things.
“I, [name], affirm that if I do not win the 2016 Republican nomination for President of the United States I will endorse the 2016 Republican presidential nominee regardless of who it is,” the pledge, first reported by Politico and obtained by the New York Times, states. “I further pledge that I will not seek to run as an independent or write-in candidate nor will I seek or accept the nomination for president of any other party.”
The statement was printed on RNC letterhead, with space for the candidate to sign and print their name, and for RNC chairman Reince Priebus to sign as a witness as well.
Priebus is meeting with Donald Trump in New York City today, before a 2 PM news conference at Trump Towers where he is expected to announce his signature of the oath.
2016 Trends #colbert The Jeb Bush campaign emailed supporters last week with an offer for tickets to Stephen Colbert’s debut “Late Show,” which Bush will be a guest on.
“Today we’re formally launching our Stephen Colbert Late Show contest, where we’ll fly one lucky winner to New York for an all-expense paid trip to watch the very first taping of the Late Show with Stephen Colbert live,” Bush wrote.
To enter, you just donate $3 to Bush’s campaign. This offer was repeated again with an email from Columba Bush yesterday. She wrote: “Let me walk you through your day [in New York City if you win the sweepstakes]. You’ll meet with Jeb for a one on one, and then you’ll head off to the taping, where you’ll be a VIP for the very first episode of one of America’s greatest late night shows. But there’s a new twist. I’ve asked a top member of our team to make sure the rest of your night is just as special. Woody Johnson, our National Finance Chairman, wanted to grab dinner with you after the taping… If that doesn’t convince you, I don’t know what will.”
Stephen Colbert himself took note of Columba’s email, charging in a web video that Bush did not ask him before fundraising off of his first show and offering VIP tickets, and mocking the campaign’s offer to give supporters dinner with their National Finance Chairman. Colbert responded by starting his own “Jeb Bush on the Stephen Colbert Late Show Raffle,” offering a ticket to his first show to the winner, who will also be able to submit a question for Colbert to ask Bush. To enter…you must donate $3, to the Yellow Ribbon Fund, an organization helping injured veterans.
Bush responded with a tweet, writing “.@StephenAtHome I’m in. See you September 8th my man,” with a video where the former Florida governor said just for Colbert, they were pushing their contest down to $1 and said he was donating to the Yellow Ribbon Fund, and asked supporters to join him.

Capitol Hill News

Done Deal: Obama Secures Votes on Iran Agreement With Maryland Sen. Barbara Mikulski’s Wednesday announcement that she supports the Iran nuclear deal, President Barack Obama has at least 34 senators behind him – enough to sustain his expected veto of a congressional resolution to disapprove the deal. Mikulski, a retiring Democrat, was #34.
The White House will continue to push the deal, hoping to get 41 votes in the Senate, allowing supporters of the nuclear agreement to filibuster the disapproval resolution – stopping it from going to Obama’s desk for a veto in the first place.
House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that she was confident that her caucus would also provide enough votes to sustain a veto, although it appears House Republicans will pass the disapproval resolution when it comes up for a vote next week.
To get to 41 votes in the Senate, the White House will have to convince each of the seven remaining undecided Democrats, including Mikulski’s home-state colleage, Ben Cardin. But how do you vote when your arm is being twisted by your rabbi? From the Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/md-politics/with-just-10-senators-still-undecided-on-iran-many-eyes-on-ben-cardin/2015/09/01/a52d7130-50c7-11e5-933e-7d06c647a395_story.html
National Journal – “How President Obama Played the Long Game and Saved the Iran Deal”: http://www.nationaljournal.com/congress/2015/09/02/how-president-obama-played-long-game-saved-iran-deal?mref=home

White House Watch

The President’s Schedule The only thing on Obama’s schedule today is his flight back from Alaska to D.C.
A look back at the President’s historic Alaska trip in his poorly-taken Instagrams and selfies.