Quinny Poll in Iowa, Hillary & Christie, Easy March 14, 2014

Politico:

Hillary Clinton leads New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and other Republican presidential contenders in Iowa by double digits, according to a new poll.

Forty-eight percent of Iowan voters support Clinton compared to 35 percent for Christie, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released Thursday. That’s a reversal of December’s poll in which Christie topped Clinton 45 percent to 40 percent.

The former secretary of state also leads Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul 49 percent to 39 percent, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz 51 percent to 35 percent and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush 51 percent to 37 percent.

More: http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=231DA25B-9110-455F-BA91-3C6A9338DC1C

Politico: How Claire Got on Hillary’s Enemies List January 14, 2014

This is an excerpt from the Politico Report of how Missouri Democratic Senator Claire McCaskill angered the Hillary Clinton Presidential campaign in 2008.

“When the Clintons sat in judgment, Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) got the seat closest to the fire. Bill and Hillary had gone all out for her when she ran for Senate in 2006, as had Obama. But McCaskill seemed to forget that favor when NBC’s Tim Russert asked her whether Bill had been a great president, during a Meet the Press debate against then-Sen. Jim Talent (R-Mo.) in October 2006. “He’s been a great leader,” McCaskill said of Bill, “but I don’t want my daughter near him.”
McCaskill regretted her remark instantly; the anguish brought her “to the point of epic tears,” according to a friend. She knew the comment had sounded much more deliberate than a forgivable slip of the tongue. So did Hillary, who immediately canceled a planned fundraiser for McCaskill. A few days later, McCaskill called Bill Clinton to offer a tearful apology. He was gracious, which just made McCaskill feel worse. After winning the seat, she was terrified of running into Hillary Clinton in the Capitol. “I really don’t want to be in an elevator alone with her,” McCaskill confided to the friend.
But Hillary, who was just then embarking on her presidential campaign, still wanted something from McCaskill—the Missourian’s endorsement. Women’s groups, including the pro-choice women’s fundraising network EMILY’s List, pressured McCaskill to jump aboard the Clinton bandwagon, and Hillary courted her new colleague personally, setting up a one-on-one lunch in the Senate Dining Room in early 2007. Rather than ask for McCaskill’s support directly, Hillary took a softer approach, seeking common ground on the struggles of campaigning, including the physical toll. “There’s a much more human side to Hillary,” McCaskill thought.
Obama, meanwhile, was pursuing McCaskill, too, in a string of conversations on the Senate floor. Clearly, Hillary thought she had a shot at McCaskill. But for McCaskill, the choice was always whether to endorse Obama or stay on the sidelines. In January 2008 she not only became the first female senator to endorse Obama, but she also made the case to his team that her support would be amplified if Govs. Kathleen Sebelius and Janet Napolitano came out for him at roughly the same time. McCaskill offered up a small courtesy, calling Hillary’s personal aide, Huma Abedin, ahead of the endorsement to make sure it didn’t blindside Hillary.
But the trifecta of women leaders giving Obama their public nod was a devastating blow. Hate is too weak a word to describe the feelings that Hillary’s core loyalists still have for McCaskill, who seemed to deliver a fresh endorsement of Obama—and a caustic jab at Hillary—every day during the long primary season.

Read more: http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2014/01/hillary-clinton-hit-list-102067_Page2.html#ixzz2qNWvd5Ap

Huelskamp May be Indicating a Change of Strategy By House Conservatives November 8, 2013

Conservative west Kansas Congressman Tim Huelskamp is hinting there may be a chnage of tactics amoung House Conservatives.
Politco reports. That may mean an ed to the tactic of shutting down the government in a showdown over Obamacare.
The article says during a tour of his west Kansas district, often called ‘ The Big First’ , Huelskamp did not talk of using the shutdown strategy in the future.
” There will still be a push to repeal it. there will still be a push to defund it,” Politco quote Huelskamp.
The Congressman says he’ll support efforts at. Passing a law stating American who already have health insurance can keep it, if they choose.
The Politco report says Huelskamp’s remarks may a signal a change in tactics.
Some west Kansas Republicans agree.
” I’ve noticed it. I think they’ve backed off, they’ve surrendered”, Jim Circle Rook County Republican Chairman, according to the report.
Huelskamp is part of the die- hard Conservative Members in the GOP House Caucus.
After bucking House Speaker John Boehner last year, Huelskamp was one of three conservatives who were kicked off choice committee assignments. Huelskamp was removed from the House Agriculture Committee, even though he is from on one of the nation’s biggest farm districts.
Despite the inside-the-beltway setback, Huelskamp remains almost politically untouchable in the Big First, a nickname that reflects the expansive, heavily Republican district he represents, it covers the western half of Kansas.
“If a Republican is going to challenge him he’s going to have to run to the left of him and I don’t think you’re going to see much success of somebody running to the left of him,” said Kelly Arnold, Chairman of the Kansas Republican Party.
More:http://www.politico.com/story/2013/11/tea-partier-shifts-tactics-on-obamacare-99567.html

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MU Study: TV Debates Help Moderate Voters Make Choices November 8, 2013

Politico:
A new study from the University of Missouri shows that all those televised debates may have a good purpose after all — helping get those “apathetic” or “ambivalent” voters to gravitate toward a candidate.

“Viewing debates significantly increased polarization among those who go into the debate with very little candidate preference or attitude and have no strong opinions either way,” said Ben Warner, assistant professor of communication and co-author of the study said in a news release. “The good thing is we feel that moderates make up the group of voters that needs to shift toward one candidate or another.”

The study, published in the October issue of Communications Studies, was conducted by having participants view 12 presidential debates from elections since 2000, as well as all the vice-presidential debates in 2008 and 2012. Those surveyed were asked their political attitudes pre- and post-debate. Most of those surveyed who had already chosen a candidate tended to stay the same, but apathetic or ambivalent voters tended to have the highest shift in opinion toward one candidate after viewing the debates. Researchers found these trends held regardless outside influence, “including the changing media landscape, personal social networks and even individual personality traits.”

Hillary to Claire, ‘Got a Big Decision to Make’ June 20, 2013

McCaskill

Politico:
Sen. Claire McCaskill on Thursday said she spoke with Hillary Clinton after endorsing her for president earlier this week but wouldn’t reveal details of the conversation.

“She did call me after this all happened the other day; we had a great conversation,” McCaskill (D-Mo.) said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.” “I’m not going to talk about what we said but I think she’s got a big decision to make and I think she’s in the process of making it, and I think the more people that are out there urging her to run, I think it will help grow the grass-roots effort.”

McCaskill, who in 2008 was an early supporter of then-Sen. Barack Obama over Clinton, officially announced her support for a Clinton presidency earlier this week at ReadyforHillary.com, a super PAC that McCaskill also endorsed.

“It was interesting how this kind of blew up the other day,” McCaskill said of her endorsement. “It doesn’t seem complicated to me. She is by far the strongest, most capable, most qualified candidate for President of the United States and I am part of a …big huge group of people that really wants her to run and it seemed that coming out publicly and stating the obvious, that we all want her to run, was an important thing to do right now.”

Asked about what her role would be in fundraising, McCaskill said the effort’s emphasis is more about social media and engaging volunteers.

“This is really about building an effort from the ground up,” she said. “There will be time to raise serious campaign money, and both sides will do it.”

Read more: http://www.politico.com/story/2013/06/hillary-clinton-claire-mccaskill-endorsement-93099.html#ixzz2Wld3MJZS