| | | | Bernie Sanders is the most important 2020 candidate | | On Tuesday morning, Jeff Weaver, who managed Bernie Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, said this to C-SPAN's John McArdle about the possibility of a rerun by the Vermont socialist in 2020:
"He is considering another run for the presidency and when the time comes I think we'll have an answer for that. But right now he's still considering it."
That's both a) not terribly surprising and b) extremely important.
Not surprising in that Sanders has never really stopped running a national campaign since his primary loss to Hillary Clinton in 2016. Extremely important in that Sanders is -- and is likely to remain -- the prime mover in the Democratic presidential field.
That's not to say Sanders is the current frontrunner for the nomination. He's not. Former Vice President Joe Biden is -- as CNN's Harry Enten argues convincingly here.
What Sanders' status as the prime mover in the race means is that he will set the terms on which the race is likely to be fought. He will set the margins -- in terms of policy -- for what Democrats are willing to say and do. He will be the person who the race revolves around -- either in agreement with or reaction to.
It's already been happening. Earlier this month in a speech at the Brookings Institute, Biden used Sanders as a foil -- promising an alternate vision for both the problem and the solution to what ails the country. Here's the key bit from Biden: "I love Bernie, but I'm not Bernie Sanders. I don't think 500 billionaires are the reason we're in trouble. The folks at the top aren't bad guys. But this gap is yawning, and it's having the effect of pulling us apart. You see the politics of it."
And, following the 2016 election, a parade of would-be 2020 aspirants -- Cory Booker, Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand -- signed onto Sanders' "Medicare For All" single-payer health care proposal. It's a role he played in 2016, albeit a somewhat unlikely one. Clinton, once she realized that Sanders posed a real threat to her chances, moved hard left on virtually every issue -- ensuring there was no space between her and the Vermont senator.
The Point: Watch where Sanders chooses to make moves -- on both policy and politics -- in the coming months. And, as importantly, who follows and who chooses not to.
-- Chris | | "I imagine George Soros' nephews are lovely people. I'm just not married to one."
-Chelsea Clinton to Roseanne Barr, whose show, "Roseanne," was canceled after her Twitter rant Tuesday morning. Read Chris' take here. | | | CNN's Clare Foran reports: "Embattled Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens announced on Tuesday he will resign over the scandals that have dominated his tenure.The Republican governor has been embroiled in scandal for weeks. Last month, a Missouri state House committee released a report alleging Greitens subjected a woman to nonconsensual sexual activity and violence. Greitens described the report as 'tabloid trash gossip' rooted in 'lies and falsehoods.'
"In late April, Greitens was indicted on a felony charge of computer tampering tied to his campaign's alleged use of a charity donor list. Greitens made the announcement that he will step down during a press conference outside his office."
Read more here. | | | Weezer covered Toto's "Africa" and it's worth a listen! | | | Today's topic? President Trump's tweets about Russia. More below: | | TRUMP'S RUSSIA TWEETS CONTINUE | | Chris writes: "While you were out celebrating the unofficial start of summer, President Donald Trump was tweeting. From Friday morning until Tuesday morning, Trump sent out 14 -- yes, 14! -- tweets focused on the ongoing Russia probe.
"The tweets -- ranging from quotes of supportive voices from Fox News Channel to references to the '13 Angry Democrats' on special counsel Robert Mueller's team to allegations of election meddling -- illustrate Trump's near-complete obsession with the investigation into Russia's interference in the 2016 election and its impact on his presidency.
"What Trump's tweets read like is someone who has fixated on the idea that he is being unfairly persecuted by people who have never liked him and will do anything to keep him from being successful."
Read more in Chris' full take here. | | CNN's Marshall Cohen broke down some of the main Russia investigation storylines you should know about. - Unproven 'spy' saga continues: Trump continued hammering away at the Justice Department and the FBI over his unproven claim that a "spy" had been embedded in his campaign "for political purposes." No evidence has come to light to support Trump's claims.
- Controversial DOJ briefings: Senior officials from the Justice Department and FBI gave two classified briefings to lawmakers about the confidential FBI source who aided the early Russia probe.
- Roger Stone in the spotlight: CNN reported Mueller's team is probing the personal finances of Roger Stone, a longtime Trump ally who claimed ties to WikiLeaks during the 2016 campaign. Investigators have hauled some of Stone's associates to the grand jury and are asking about his finances and tax returns.
- A ditched date with Mueller. We learned last week that Trump's lawyers and Mueller's team had set a date and discussed logistics for Trump's high-stakes interview with investigators. It was set for January 27, but talks between the two sides eventually stalled and the President's team ultimately rejected the plan.
- Another Trump Tower meeting. The New York Times reported Donald Trump Jr. met a group of well-connected businessmen at Trump Tower, months before the 2016 election, and was offered campaign help from a liaison for two Middle East governments that are top US allies: Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Lawyers for the players involved said the meeting didn't lead to anything and denied there had been any effort by foreign governments to influence the US election.
Read Marshall's full story on the latest twists in the Russia investigation here. | | ANOTHER REP ANNOUNCES DEPARTURE | | CNN's Sophie Tatum, Ashley Killough and Ryan Nobles reported Monday that Rep. Tom Garrett of Virginia said he won't run for re-election this year and he will instead seek treatment for alcoholism, becoming the 44th Republican in the House to retire ahead of the 2018 elections. Read more here.
CNN's Wade Payson-Denney writes: "Garrett's retirement potentially opens up another pickup opportunity for Democrats in November. Garrett was elected to the House with 58% of the vote in 2016, and is a member of the House Freedom Caucus. He served in the US Army and was a Virginia state senator before being elected to Congress.
"Garrett's district is largely rural and Republican, but includes the more liberal bastions of Charlottesville and Danville. It is also home to the historic site of Appomattox Court House, where Robert E. Lee surrendered to Ulysses S. Grant. CNN currently rates this seat as Likely Republican."
Which brings the congressional retirements tracker total to 44 Republicans and 19 Democrats. | | CNN's Ariane de Vogue reported two big stories Tuesday. She writes: - "The Supreme Court cleared the way for a controversial Arkansas law that blocks medication-induced abortions to go into effect. The law, passed in 2015, says that any physician who 'gives, sells, dispenses, administers, or otherwise provides or prescribes the abortion-inducing drug' shall have to have a contract with a physician who has admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The order, issued without comment, would allow the law to take effect in mid-July if no other legal action is taken and did not say if the law is legal or not. Planned Parenthood said it will 'swiftly' make another challenge to block the law in US district court." Read more here.
- Also at SCOTUS on Tuesday: The court "curbed law enforcement's power to search automobiles without a warrant on Tuesday, holding that if a vehicle is located on private property adjacent to a house police will generally need to meet a higher burden before searching it. Justice Sonia Sotomayor wrote the 8-1 opinion, sending the case back down to a lower court to determine whether there may have been other justifications for the warrant-less search." Read more here.
| | | From Brenna: "President Trump is in Tennessee tonight. He looks stoked. I'm stoked that I survived this week's fake Monday. Show your friends how stoked you are about The Point by sharing it." Tell people you know to subscribe. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
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