Presidential Candidates 2016: 10 Democrats Who Might Be the Next Nominee

[Coach is Back!]

yet they keep winning elections.  I think it's because 51% of the USA is now liberal, sadly.

And get themselves into jobs they can't do.

[Coach is Back!]

Here is my dark horse pick as a candidate (note - I'm not saying nominee at this but that  I'm just saying I think he might run)

He'd make a great president. Only this time he could spend $10bil on a light rail system from the middle of no where in California to the middle of no where in the middle of the country....

[Dos Equis]

Paul calls Clinton 'war hawk,' predicts her stance will scare off 2016 voters
Published August 24, 2014
FoxNews.com

Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul, in another sign he will run for president, called front-running, potential Democratic candidate Hillary Clinton a “war hawk” likely to scare 2016 voters who are tired of U.S. military intervention in the Middle East.

Paul, a leading anti-interventionist, predicted in an interview aired Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press” that the 2016 White House race will be a "transformational election" if Democrats nominate "a war hawk like Hillary Clinton,” a former Obama administration secretary of State.

The Libertarian-mind Paul, a first-term senator, last year opposed President Obama's call for military action in Syria.

But his remarks Sunday come at a time when the administration and an apparently increasing number of Capitol Hill Republicans are calling for air strikes in Syria, as part of an overall Middle East foreign policy, to stop the rise of Islamic State and other terror groups in the region.

Clinton, earlier this month, criticized the so-called Obama doctrine, saying it mistakenly failed to support those who first opposed the regime of Syrian president Bashar Assad.

“The failure to do that left a big vacuum, which the jihadists have now filled,” she told The Atlantic magazine earlier this month, after saying in a recent memoir that she advocated as secretary of State for helping the Syrian rebels.

Paul said Sunday that Democrats’ biggest 2016 fear is him running in the general election with a lot of Independent and some Democratic voters saying “You know what? We are tired of war. … We're worried that Hillary Clinton will get us involved in another Middle Eastern war, because she's so gung-ho."

To be sure, this is not the first time Paul, a Tea Party favorite, has criticized Clinton.

In a recent, 10-stop tour through Iowa, site of the country’s first presidential caucuses, he called the conflict in Libya “Hillary’s war.” And he said Clinton’s handling of the 2012 terror attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in which four Americas were killed, should disqualify her from becoming president.

Paul already has a solid grassroots outreach efforts in early-voting states. And he is in third place behind New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, according to an averaging of polls for potential 2016 GOP presidential candidates by the non-partisan website RealClearPoltics.com.

Michael Czin, spokesman for the Democratic National Committee, said Sunday that Democrats are eager to debate Paul about "his fringe, isolationist vision," which Czin says includes plans to end all aid to foreign allies, including Israel.

"That's the vision he's laid out and defended time and time again and that even conservatives have said would bring 'terrible misery' to millions of people across the globe," he said in a statement.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/08/24/paul-calls-clinton-war-hawk-predicts-her-stance-will-scare-off-2016-voters/?intcmp=latestnews

[240 is Back]

Paul is becoming quite the little anti-war candidate.   he's now to the left of hilary/obama.

FINALLY a stark contrast for repub voters to sink their teeth into.  Perry saying obama needs to light their asses up.  Rand telling everyone to chill. 

[polychronopolous]

Paul is becoming quite the little anti-war candidate.   he's now to the left of hilary/obama.

FINALLY a stark contrast for repub voters to sink their teeth into.  Perry saying obama needs to light their asses up.  Rand telling everyone to chill. 

Becoming?

His father and him have always been that way.

[Dos Equis]

O’Malley moving political staff into South Carolina
Posted by
CNN National Political Reporter Peter Hamby

Columbia, South Carolina (CNN) - As he builds support for a possible Democratic presidential bid, Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley is dispatching political staffers to work on two key races in South Carolina this fall, sources familiar with the moves told CNN.

The Washington Post reported Monday that O’Malley was sending “more than two dozen” staffers from his political action committee, O’Say Can You See PAC, into Iowa and New Hampshire to assist midterm candidates this year. Those states kick off the presidential nomination process, followed by South Carolina, the first southern primary.

The four O’Malley aides heading to South Carolina will work on the gubernatorial campaign of Vincent Sheheen and the lieutenant governor campaign of Bakari Sellers. Sheheen is mounting a repeat bid against South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley, and Sellers, a state legislator, is considered a rising African-American star in the party.

O’Malley has already raised money for both Democrats, making him the only potential presidential contender to assist their campaigns, collecting valuable on-the-ground political intelligence in the process.

The “Ready for Hillary” super PAC also boasts of field staff doing spadework in Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, along with other states, but Hillary Clinton herself has yet to campaign for midterm candidates this cycle. She and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, will make their first foray into Iowa next month for Sen. Tom Harkin’s annual steak fry next month.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/08/26/omalley-moving-political-staff-into-south-carolina/

[Dos Equis]

Hillary Clinton’s Approval Numbers Return to Earth — WSJ/NBC Poll
By  PATRICK O'CONNOR
 
The more Hillary Clinton looks like a candidate, the less invincible she appears.

The former first lady and New York senator enjoyed sky-high approval ratings during her tenure as President Barack Obama’s secretary of state, but her numbers have returned to earth since she traded her perch as the nation’s top diplomat for her current role as the Democrats’ top presidential prospect in 2016.

The latest Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll found 43% of registered voters view Ms. Clinton positively, compared with the 41% who harbor negative views. That’s a steep drop from February 2009 when 59% viewed the newly confirmed secretary of state positively and just 22% held negative views. The numbers suggest Americans are far less charitable about Ms. Clinton when she is seeking office or, in this case, merely considering it than they are about other politicians who retire from public office.

A case in point: Ms. Clinton’s husband, former President Bill Clinton, and his successor, former President George W. Bush. The public views both much more favorably than when they left office. The latest Journal poll found 56% of registered voters view Mr. Clinton positively, compared with the 21% who view him negatively. That’s a sharp improvement from March 2001, right after he left office, when 52% of adults viewed him negatively.

Mr. Bush has witnessed a somewhat more surprising revival since he left office to the cheers of even some Republicans. In the new poll, registered voters split almost evenly on the former president, with 37% viewing him positively and 38% viewing him negatively. That’s a big improvement from April 2009, a few months after he retired from the Oval Office when the economy was still in free fall and roughly two out of three Americans viewed Mr. Bush negatively.

One of the biggest reasons Ms. Clinton has lost some of that glow from 2009 when she played the good soldier by joining her rival’s cabinet is that Republicans now hold a much dimmer view of the former secretary of state. Roughly one-in-four Republicans viewed Ms. Clinton positively in 2009. That number fell to 14% in the latest poll, while those who harbor negative views jumped 18 percentage points, from 52% in 2009 to 70% this month.

But Ms. Clinton has also fallen out of favor with some Democrats and independents, as well. In 2009, 87% of Democrats viewed her positively, compared with a meager 3% who viewed negatively. In the latest poll, 72% of Democrats view Ms. Clinton positively, while 13% harbor negative views. Independents were twice as likely to view her positively as negatively in 2009. Now, they are more evenly split, with 40% holding positive views and 35% viewing her negatively.

Despite that erosion, Ms. Clinton remains more popular than many of the Republicans she could face in a presidential showdown in 2016. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush – three Republicans mentioned as potential White House hopefuls in 2016 – are all viewed more negatively than positively. Only Florida Sen. Marco Rubio garnered as many positive views as he did negative ones, with registered voters split evenly at 21%-21%.

Click to see more poll charts and data.

The poll revealed a potentially difficult trend for Mr. Paul, who has called for a less interventionist foreign policy, as Republicans grow decidedly more hawkish in the face of a growing threat posed by Islamic militants destabilizing the Middle East. Some 61% of the poll respondents said it would be in the country’s national interest to take military action against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, a view shared by Mr. Paul. Nearly half of Republicans went a step further to say they would favor sending combat troops to the region to battle the group directly.

But perhaps more striking is that self-identified Republicans in the September survey wanted the U.S. to be more involved in world affairs, by a margin of 41%-34%. That’s a big jump from a Journal poll conducted in April that found 45% of Republicans wanted the U.S. to be less active in the world, and just 29% wanting the country to be more involved. If the shift continues, Mr. Paul may face more pressure to articulate foreign-policy views that run counter to many of his supporters – or to the Republicans currently outside his fold.

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/09/09/hillary-clintons-approval-numbers-return-to-earth-wsjnbc-poll/?mg=blogs-wsj&url=http%253A%252F%252Fblogs.wsj.com%252Fwashwire%252F2014%252F09%252F09%252Fhillary-clintons-approval-numbers-return-to-earth-wsjnbc-poll

[Dos Equis]

What if Biden is the Democrat nominee in 2016? 

Joe Biden to chase Hillary Clinton to Iowa next week
Jennifer Jacobs, jejacobs@dmreg.com
September 11, 2014

Vice President Joe Biden will make a splash in Iowa with an official White House visit next week, just three days after Hillary Clinton basks in a major media spotlight here.

Both Democrats are considered potential 2016 presidential candidates.

A White House aide told The Des Moines Register exclusively this afternoon that Biden will travel to Des Moines on Wednesday for an official event.

Biden will deliver remarks at a kickoff event for the Nuns on the Bus "We the People, We the Voters" bus tour. He will speak at 10:30 a.m. at the Iowa Capitol's West Terrace.

On Sunday, Clinton returns to Iowa for the first time since her defeat in her 2008 presidential campaign.Thousands of Iowa Democrats -- and more than 150 national and international reporters -- will gather amid the smoke from grilling steak in a field in Indianola for U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin's 37th and final political steak fry as an elected leader.

Clinton's visit is hot news in the political world. National news sites are already out with stories predicting what her message will be and how it'll be received.

Biden's visit will remind people that he was the star of the Harkin Steak Fry just one year ago. At that event, he gave a red-meat speech salted with a little 2016 intrigue. His half-day Iowa visit was part pep rally for a country facing serious troubles, part hint for a future campaign, part pure fundraiser and part influence-building maneuver. Biden's remarks in September 2013 touched on Syria as he argued that the president's vision for how to handle trouble in that country was "absolutely clear."

The Nuns on the Bus tour is meant to "counter the influence of moneyed special interests that are drowning out the voices of ordinary Americans," organizers told the Register in an email. A group called Faith in Public Life, and a group called NETWORK: A National Catholic Social Justice Lobby, are organizing the tour. It kicks off in Des Moines on Wednesday as left-leaning activists meet with voters and "discuss the importance of turning out on Election Day."

Catholic sisters from each state along the 5,252-mile bus tour route will be on hand for voter registration drives, to visit Catholic social service sites and to host town hall meetings, organizers said. Here are the details:

WHAT: Nuns on the Bus "We the People, We the Voters" tour kickoff rally.

WHO: Vice President Joe Biden, Sister Simone Campbell, Iowa faith voices and community leaders.

WHEN: Wednesday at 10:30 a.m.

WHERE: Iowa Capitol's West Terrace, 1007 E. Grand Ave., Des Moines, IA.

http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/elections/2014/09/11/joe-biden-iowa-visit-sept-17/15451923/

[whork]

Becoming?

His father and him have always been that way.

Yup if not for this RP would have been the republican nominee years ago.

But there is no business in not dropping bombs.

[Dos Equis]

Clinton in Iowa: Fresh start or deja vu?
Posted by
CNN National Political Reporter Peter Hamby

"It's been seven years, and a lot has changed," Hillary Clinton said Sunday in her first visit to Iowa since the state dealt her presidential campaign a devastating body blow.

But there was a moment in the afternoon when it seemed like not much had.

Roughly 200 credentialed media were gathered in a far corner of the Indianola Balloon Field, the grassy expanse where Sen. Tom Harkin was convening his 37th and final Steak Fry, an annual fundraiser that doubles as a point of entry for ambitious Democrats curious about the Iowa caucuses.

After a 90-minute wait, the press scrum - scribblers and photographers alike - were herded like cattle through a series of gates and escorted up to a hot smoking grill, waiting to capture the same image: a staged shot of Bill and Hillary Clinton, fresh out of their motorcade, ritualistically flipping steaks with Harkin.

The Clintons ignored the half-hearted shouted questions from reporters - "Mr. President, do you eat meat?" - with practiced ease. They were two football fields away from the nearest voter. Mechanical, distant, heavy-handed: The afternoon spectacle felt a lot like Hillary's 2008 caucus campaign, a succession of errors that crumbled under the weight of a feuding top-heavy staff and the candidate's inability to connect with her party's grassroots.

And then the head fake - and something different.

Read Peter Hamby's report from Indianola in full.

http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/2014/09/15/clinton-in-iowa-fresh-start-or-deja-vu/

[Dos Equis]

Joaquin Castro endorses Hillary Clinton
By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 9/29/14



Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) is endorsing Hillary Clinton through an email sent out by the low-dollar super PAC looking to galvanize support for a candidacy in 2016.

Castro made the endorsement in an email that Ready for Hillary sent out Monday, which was obtained by POLITICO.

“There’s no doubt about it: Hillary is the best person to be our 45th president,” Castro writes in the email.

“Hillary has always been a tireless advocate for working families — she’s never ceased to make sure everybody has a fair shot at achieving the American Dream,” he writes.

“Hillary’s the leader I want to see moving into the White House in two years,” he says.

“She hasn’t announced yet that she’s running in 2016, but Hillary needs to know that if she does, millions of grassroots supporters like you will be standing proudly by her side.

You and I both know Hillary would do amazing things as U.S. President — but it’s up to us to make these early moments count.”

Castro and his brother Julian Castro are both rising stars in the Democratic Party. Julian Castro is a former San Antonio mayor and incoming Obama administration Cabinet appointee who is widely seen as a potential Clinton running mate.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/09/hillary-clinton-2016-election-endorsement-joaquin-castro-111432.html#ixzz3EkW3THZo

[Dos Equis]

Rogue donors not ready for Hillary?
The worst nightmare for Democrats would be replicating the 2012 GOP primary.
By KENNETH P. VOGEL | 10/6/14

Hillary Clinton is facing the beginnings of a backlash from rich liberals unhappy with her positions on litmus test issues and her team’s efforts to lock up the Democratic presidential nomination before the contest starts.

Elizabeth Warren says she’s not running, but donors are pledging big money to get her to reconsider. Joe Biden, Martin O’Malley and Jim Webb have found polite and occasionally receptive audiences among potential sugar daddies. Even Bernie Sanders has support from some wealthy donors.

Clinton is seen by some liberals as too hawkish, too close to Wall Street and insufficiently aggressive on fighting climate change, income inequality and the role of money in politics. Those are animating causes for many rich Democrats, and some are eager for a candidate or candidates to challenge Clinton on those issues, if only to force her to the left.

“I have talked to large donors who are not happy with what Hillary represents,” said Guy Saperstein, a San Francisco lawyer and part owner of the Oakland A’s. “But they’re not going to stick their heads up above the ramparts right now and get shot at.”

Saperstein provided seed funding to a super PAC launched this summer to try to draft Warren into the presidential race and pledged $1 million if the Massachusetts senator decides to run. The super PAC is hiring staffers in key primary states and recently enlisted a fundraising firm to solicit donors.

It’s just one example of the big-money Democratic presidential jockeying taking place almost entirely behind the scenes. The results will go a long way toward determining whether the party will maintain unity in 2016 or tumble headlong into the sort of costly super PAC-funded internecine skirmishes that have confounded Republicans.

The worst nightmare for Democrats would be replicating the 2012 GOP presidential primary. It was thrown into chaos by a pair of super-rich activists — Sheldon Adelson and Foster Friess — who each poured millions of dollars into super PACs that propped up the long-shot campaigns of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum, respectively. The cash helped both candidates remain in the race for months longer than they likely would have been able to do otherwise, inflicting serious damage on the front-runner and eventual nominee, Mitt Romney.

With over two decades’ worth of carefully cultivated connections to the Democratic Party’s deepest pockets, Hillary Clinton is in some ways the ideal candidate for the mega-check brand of politics that has come to dominate American elections.

Yet the former first lady, New York senator and secretary of state is also uniquely exposed in the new landscape, where rogue billionaires can use their checkbooks to buck or shape the party line if they’re unhappy with its candidates or positions.

Like Romney in 2012, Clinton is the early consensus choice for her party’s presidential nomination among elites who believe she gives them their best chance to win a general election. And, as she has inched closer to entering the race, her backers have worked to avoid Romney’s fate by trying to neutralize potential Adelsons and Friesses on their side and convince them there are no viable alternatives.

Using a network of big-money groups laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign, including the super PAC Ready for Hillary — which has raised more than $10 million since January 2013 (including at least $1.7 million over the past three months) — Clinton’s allies have collected contributions and pledges of support from an impressive roster of the party’s most generous donors, including Houston trial lawyers Steve and Amber Mostyn, billionaire financier George Soros and medical device heir Jon Stryker.

“I think it’s un-American,” declared Ben Cohen, the co-founder of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream and a significant donor to progressive candidates and groups — particularly those working to diminish the role of unlimited cash in politics. “The big problem with politics is big money in politics. … I’m talking about the undue influence of corporations and the wealthy. We’ve got them controlling the general elections, we’ve got them controlling the primaries, and now we’re talking about them controlling the pre-primaries.”

Clinton’s backers are assiduously courting top cause-oriented liberal donors like San Francisco hedge fund billionaire Tom Steyer. He has pledged to spend more than $50 million in the 2014 midterms supporting Democrats with aggressive stances on environmental issues, including fighting climate change.

Yet Steyer — who supported Clinton in 2008 and in July had her over to his San Francisco home for an informal get-to-together — thus far has resisted Ready for Hillary’s entreaties to formally commit to her in 2016. Sources say Steyer raised eyebrows in Hillaryland last month when, on the sidelines of a climate change awareness march in New York City, he told MSNBC that she could benefit from a primary challenge.

“Being forced to refine what you say and think is a good thing,” said Steyer.

Former Virginia Sen. Jim Webb, who’s flirting with a run for the nomination, met recently with major donors in New York, and some came away thinking that he could convincingly run as an economic populist to Clinton’s left.

“Donors on the left — progressives — don’t think she’s divorced herself from Wall Street, and they’re bothered that she never cut the cord with people like Larry Summers and Laura Tyson,” said one New York donor who met with Webb. There are a number of major liberal donors who would support a Webb campaign, but are fearful of vocally opposing Clinton before the campaign even starts, asserted the donor.

“A lot of people give money to be recognized and when the Clintons turn against you, you’re dead to them and that hurts these people,” said the donor. “Do I want her to be the president over any Republican? Sure. But a lot of donors are actually thrilled that Bernie could go, and that Webb and O’Malley are probably going to go, because they are going to force her to answer questions.”

O’Malley, the outgoing governor of Maryland, has been methodically laying the groundwork for a presidential campaign for more than a year. But in meetings with major donors, he’s been reluctant to contrast himself with Clinton, and has even been offering himself as a fallback choice, according to multiple sources familiar with his pitch.

“He’s saying ‘I don’t know if she’s going to run, but, if she doesn’t, I would like to be your second choice,’” said one fundraiser.

Another fundraiser said O’Malley is in a tough spot. “The fact that he’s telling people that he wants to be their second choice really undercuts him, but he has to, because 80 to 90 percent of his donors are the Clintons’ donors.”

O’Malley recently has focused at least partly on major donors who bucked Clinton in 2008 by siding with Barack Obama in the Democratic primary, and, as such, are seen by some in Democratic finance circles as potential 2016 wildcards.

Among those with whom O’Malley has recently met: San Francisco real estate developer Wayne Jordan and his wife Quinn Delaney, venture capitalist Ryan Smith of Salt Lake City, and Wall Street titan Robert Wolf.

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/10/hillary-clinton-donors-2016-elections-111622.html#ixzz3FONTiJH8

[Dos Equis]

Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign quietly begins to take shape
By Brianna Keilar, CNN Senior Political Correspondent
Tue November 4, 2014

Washington (CNN) -- Hillary Clinton has spent the final moments of the midterm campaign season publicly deflecting the flurry of questions about her likely run for president.

But behind the scenes, her campaign machine is quietly whirring to life.

Clinton insiders have begun to approach Washington-based Democratic operatives who may play a role in a potential campaign and are soliciting their recommendations on other possible staffers, according to Democrats familiar with the conversations.

A number Clinton associates are compiling staffing lists, according to multiple Democratic sources. Michael Whouley and Minyon Moore of the Democratic communications and consulting firm Dewey Square Group are one conduit to Clinton's inner circle and among the primary compilers of the campaign universe that will surround Clinton, should she run.

The firm is led by veteran players in Clinton world. Whouley was an adviser to Vice President Al Gore and a Clinton campaign aide while Moore is a longtime Clinton confidante.

Ginny Terzano, head of communications for Dewey Square, said the characterization is "incorrect."

"DSG officials have no role" in a potential Clinton campaign, she said.

Operatives at the firm are reviewing possible Clinton staffers "under the guise of spitballing ideas," as one Democratic source put it.

With a trio of pro-Hillary superPACs -- Ready for Hillary, Priorities USA Action and Correct the Record -- months into shoring up support, a Clinton campaign is already well underway outside of her inner circle.

Clinton's midterm campaign schedule

"The reality is that if you have a message and you're larger than life, the organization can come together pretty quickly," said Tom McMahon, who served as deputy campaign director for Howard Dean's 2004 campaign. "It can be a turnkey operation."

As the Clinton campaign apparatus is constructed, those close to her are trying to shroud it from view, wary of the glaring political spotlight that amplifies every move the former secretary of state makes.

"There are no formal talks, no one is being offered jobs," one source told CNN, dismissing the signs of campaign life as "a lot of jockeying" from Democrats who want to work on a Clinton campaign.

In September, Clinton and her inner circle were dismayed by a leak to Politico that revealed the presence of John Podesta -- former Chief of Staff to President Bill Clinton, current top aide to President Barack Obama and the person favored to serve as chairman of a Hillary Clinton campaign -- at meetings with pro-Clinton super PACs this summer.

Huma Abedin, one of Clinton's closest aides, has told multiple Democrats to rein in chatter about 2016, saying Clinton wants to keep attention on the midterm elections and minimize attention on a presidential run, according to a Democratic source who spoke to Abedin.

Clinton and the small team she employs are trying to keep her out of the tarnishing political spotlight until she is ready to make a run official, something Clinton will likely do by the end of winter, though she would like to put it off as late as possible.

"If there's not a competitive primary, the general election starts as soon as she declares," said Katie Packer Gage, former deputy campaign manager for Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential run, who says the challenge of a Clinton campaign will be more of what her current team is already struggling with -- ''how do they keep her fresh for the American people?"

Recent campaigns for viable Democratic or Republican presidential candidates were well into the preliminary phase of staffing up at this point in time, with top aides already getting in line ahead of an official announcement.

In 2012, Matt Rhoades, at the time the executive director of Mitt Romney's Political Action Committee and later Romney's campaign manager, was already in early discussions with all of those who would become senior staff.

Well before the 2006 midterms, then-Sen. Barack Obama had conducted preliminary discussions with and identified a number of top aides. His campaign effectively went into high gear after the elections, though he launched his exploratory committee in January 2007 and declared his candidacy in February.
But some political operatives warn not to read too much into the beginning phase of a Clinton campaign currently underway.

"Of course the preliminary conversations should be going on," said Steve Elmendorf, Deputy Campaign Manager for John Kerry's 2004 campaign. "But there are a lot of people who have had those conversations - who thought about running for office, made plans to run for office, and didn't."

Among those believed to be part of a potential Clinton campaign, Guy Cecil, the current executive director of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, appears to be one of Clinton's most likely choices for campaign manager, according to interviews with more than two dozen Democrats.

"Even if Democrats don't hang onto the Senate, people respect the job that he's done," said one.

Cecil's role is expected to fall under the oversight of Podesta, seen as a calming force who could squash much of the internal drama that plagued Clinton's 2008 campaign. Podesta is expected to stay at the White House through the State of the Union, according to two sources familiar with his current plans, despite his initial commitment of one year service when Obama named him to his post in the West Wing last December.

By last Spring, Robby Mook, who managed the campaign that propelled Clinton fundraising guru, Terry McAuliffe, into the Virginia governor's mansion, has "been on ice" - as one Democrat put it - since as early as the spring, according to two Democrats familiar with the discussion. He was told not to make long term plans by those close to Clinton, the sources say, and is widely expected to play a major role in running the campaign.

Dennis Cheng, who manages fundraising for the Clinton Foundation and served as Hillary Clinton's deputy chief of protocol at the State Department, is the frontrunner for finance director, according to multiple Democrats. Huma Abedin, as well as longtime Clinton aide Philippe Reines and Nick Merrill, Clinton's current spokesperson, are expected to serve in influential roles in and around the campaign.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/03/politics/hillary-clinton-campaign/index.html

[Dos Equis]

After drubbing, all eyes on Hillary Clinton
By MAGGIE HABERMAN | 11/5/14

For the Democratic Party, Tuesday night was brutal. For Hillary Clinton’s future, however, there were some silver linings.

As Democrats wake up this morning reeling from an electoral spanking, the 2016 presidential race will unofficially begin — with the main focus on the woman who is all but certain to seek her party’s nomination a second time.

With that in mind, here are POLITICO’s takeaways on what the midterm drubbing means for Clinton and the Democrats heading into the next White House race.

Clinton will face enormous pressure to declare – and fast

Even before networks officially declared a Republican majority in the Senate, Democrats were openly saying they hope Clinton will declare for 2016 soon after Election Day.

That sentiment is about to become overwhelming, as the party tries to recover from an election night hangover that’s worse than most operatives on either side had anticipated. The evening, almost entirely devoid of bright spots for Democrats, was a shellacking for President Barack Obama. It will only accelerate the party’s look ahead to its next leader, especially among donors, who want someone to rally around.

Clinton has spent two years as the prohibitive Democratic front-runner in the polls despite keeping politics largely at arm’s length until the end of the midterms. Some of her advisers have suggested opening an exploratory committee this year to allow her to raise money sooner, while others are adamant that she should wait until next year.

Some Democrats said Tuesday night that Clinton will want to wait a bit to let the 2014 midterms pass, and to get some distance between herself and a bloodbath for her party. She also genuinely doesn’t seem ready to flip a switch on a campaign: A number of decisions still remain about staffing and, more importantly, messaging.

But others believe Clinton can’t afford to be coy about her intentions beyond the next few weeks, and forming an exploratory committee without an official announcement will not satisfy some donors and activists.

She can run against Washington more easily now

Clinton’s major problem was always going to be running as the candidate of the two-term party in power. Separating from Obama poses major risks for a Democrat who had trouble with portions of the base in 2008 and who served in the administration for four years.

The fact that Tuesday’s election that was seen largely as a statement against Obama may give Clinton some wiggle room with her own base to create distance from him. But a newly minted Republican Senate helps her to solve the problem of how to run against Washington.

Regardless of whether Senate moderates try to keep tea party officials and potential presidential hopefuls like Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in line, Democrats are cheering on a fight on that side of the aisle. A GOP-held Senate gives her a clear point of contrast to run against. Democrats are banking on Republicans getting mired in intraparty gridlock amid a still-unresolved civil war between conservatives and the establishment.

Even if that doesn’t happen, Clinton is certain to campaign as if it will. Leading into Tuesday, some Clinton allies were predicting a miserable night for Democrats — and saying it would ultimately benefit her.

The bigger problem for Clinton? The election results signal a restless country that dislikes both parties but badly wants leadership. That gives her an opportunity to run as an experienced, Margaret Thatcher-type fighter who can govern in an ungovernable moment — but that also means suppressing the caution that Democrats say has hobbled her in the past.

Exit polls showed voters are anxious about the economy, meaning Clinton will need to formulate a broad economic message that appeals to the Democratic base without turning off independents who’ve backed her before.

A Clinton rival has a tougher hill to climb

Anthony Brown’s loss in the Maryland governor’s race has serious implications for the outgoing governor, Martin O’Malley, who has been laying the groundwork for a presidential race of his own for months.

Brown, O’Malley’s lieutenant governor, was favored to win for months. His victory was expected to be an affirmation of the O’Malley record, a decidedly progressive checklist of passing the DREAM Act and legislation allowing same-sex marriage.

But O’Malley’s numbers in his own state have faltered, and Brown’s loss was widely seen as a serious setback for a governor who had planned to sell his brand of leadership.

A source close to O’Malley said the outgoing governor had sounded “alarm” bells about the Brown campaign strategy many weeks ago, amid a sense that the candidate was trying to glide to a win despite running a “poorly executed campaign that deviated from O’Malley’s winning strategies in the past two elections.” O’Malley never ran on social issues, the source said, winning twice in a row and doubling his margin the second time, while Brown focused heavily on them.

O’Malley urged Brown’s team to change strategy, the source said, but he never did. Nonetheless, Brown has now gone from being a sought-after ally to an albatross for O’Malley’s national ambitions.

. . .

http://www.politico.com/story/2014/11/hillary-clinton-112568.html#ixzz3IE4UdM45

[Dos Equis]

Begala: Dem 2016 bench is Clinton or zip
By Jeremy Diamond, CNN
November 6, 2014

Washington (CNN) -- If presumptive Democratic 2016 front-runner Hillary Clinton decides not to run, at least one party strategist and CNN contributor thinks the Democrats' presidential bench isn't that deep.

"No one," said Paul Begala, a longtime Clinton ally, when asked by CNN's Jake Tapper if there were other party leaders who could lead the party in 2016. "No one."

While Republicans have a full bench of presidential hopefuls, Begala, who worked for President Bill Clinton and was an early Hillary Clinton supporter in 2008, said Clinton is the Democrats' best and perhaps only hope to capture the White House in 2016.

"It's not fair," Begala said. "There are impressive people who I think could be good presidents, but they don't have I think the electoral prospects that Hillary does."

Vice President Joe Biden has said he'll consider a run for the presidency after sitting in the No. 2 spot for six years, and parts of the party's progressive wing is clamoring for Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren to run.

CNN political commentator Van Jones, who served in the Obama administration, said Clinton hasn't yet proven that she can excite the Democratic base.

"We have to have a nominee that can excite our base and I don't know if Hillary Clinton can do that," Jones said. "I know one person can, it's Elizabeth Warren."
While Clinton was a favorite surrogate for Democrats running in the midterms, Warren also took her high-energy persona and populist message on the campaign trail.

Warren has said earlier this year that she "hopes" Clinton will seek the presidency and she was reportedly one of all sitting Democratic female Senators who signed a letter last year urging Clinton to run.

Amid the speculation, Clinton has sought to make nice, praising Warren on the stump in Massachusetts as "a passionate champion for working people and middle class families."

Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley and Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick have also been floated as potential contenders. But their prospects might have dimmed after the Democratic candidates to succeed them in both states lost their bids in blue state upsets.

http://www.cnn.com/2014/11/06/politics/begala-clinton-2016-bench/index.html

[Dos Equis]

Elizabeth Warren Tells Hollywood: "The Game Is Rigged in Congress"
11/09/2014 by Tina Daunt
Associated Press


Warren was honored Sunday by the ACLU in Beverly Hills along with Participant's Jim Berk, Cyndi Lauper and Cameron Strang

Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, regarded by many progressive Democrats as their party's alternative to Hillary Clinton, told attendees at an ACLU gala in Beverly Hills on Sunday that "economic opportunity is slipping further and further out of reach" for average Americans.

She said bluntly: "We have to face it: The game is rigged in Congress."

Using the inability to raise the minimum wage nationally, Warren said: "We face a basic question in this country: Who does this government work for? Is government to advance the interests of the rich and the powerful? Does government exercise its power only for those who can hire armies of lobbyists and lawyers? Is it there only to strengthen the strong and enrich the wealthy? Or does government work for all of us?"

In too many instances — whether it's raising the minimum wage or appointing noncorporate lawyers to federal judgeships — the playing field in Washington is tilted against working Americans, Warren said.

Warren was in town to attend the ACLU of Southern California's 91st anniversary Bill of Rights Dinner and to receive the organization's Ramona Ripston Liberty, Justice & Equality Award for her work on behalf of consumers and working families. The accolade is named for the local ACLU chapter's longtime director, who was on hand along with Norman Lear to present the award to Warren.

Also honored with the organization's Bill of Rights Award for their efforts to further civil liberties were Participant Media CEO Jim Berk; Grammy Award-winner Cyndi Lauper, co-founder of True Colors Fund; Cameron Strang, chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records and Warner/Chappell Music Publishing; and longtime ACLU board member Marvin Schachter.

"The Bill of Rights Dinner is an important event for the ACLU SoCal because we take time to recognize those individuals who through their work help shape our culture for the better by shining a spotlight on the precious principles of liberty, justice and equality," said Hector Villagra, the group's executive director.

Warren's address was a clear statement of the anti-Wall Street sentiment and economic populism that has made her a darling of the Democrats' progressive wing. That includes many in Hollywood, where she did extensive fundraising for her successful run to unseat the Republican incumbent Scott Brown and recapture the seat long held by Ted Kennedy.

Warren has said several times that she does not plan to run for president in 2016, but segments of the party's progressive left, suspicious of both Hillary's and Bill Clinton's long-standing and friendly relations with many of Wall Street's leading financiers, have been urging her to reconsider. Party regulars — and many of Hollywood's biggest Democratic contributors — already have thrown their support to Hillary, and there is wariness over what a pro-Warren insurgency might do in the run-up to the general election.

At the very least, a Warren campaign might split the party when it least can afford it, perhaps pushing Clinton to the left at a time when strategists are counting on her centrist record to be an important asset, particularly if the Republicans nominate someone like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz or Kentucky's Rand Paul. Some on the Democratic left still believe that Clinton may founder in the primaries and, if that occurs, would like to see Warren positioned to step in.

In any event, while Hollywood's ties to both of the Clintons are long-standing and strong, there's also a deep reservoir of demonstrated support for Warren.

Warren told The Hollywood Reporter that when she looks out over a Hollywood crowd, she's always struck by the fact they're applauding policies that will end up costing them money.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/elizabeth-warren-tells-hollywood-game-747738

[240 is Back]

Elizabeth Warren Tells Hollywood: "The Game Is Rigged in Congress"

lol no shit, sherlock.

chief whine-a-lot sucks donkey balls, but she's very right about the congress rigged thing.   Repubs have never declined an Obama spending increase. 

[Dos Equis]

David Axelrod: Democrats Need a Coherent Economic Message
By  REID J. EPSTEIN

Democrats must develop a coherent economic message ahead of the 2016 elections if they hope to retain the White House and win back the Senate, Democratic strategist David Axelrod warned at Thursday’s Capital Journal breakfast.

Mr. Axelrod, the man who tended President Barack Obama’s political message through two successful presidential campaigns, said Democrats in 2014 leaned too heavily on their belief that they have a superior turnout and data operations and didn’t spend enough energy cultivating an economic message.

“Tactics are not a substitute for a compelling message,” Mr. Axelrod said. “That’s a lesson that the Democratic Party should learn.”

Of course the overwhelming favorite to be the Democrats’ 2016 presidential nominee is Hillary Clinton, whom Mr. Axelrod built Mr. Obama’s 2008 campaign to defeat. Mr. Axelrod warned that Mrs. Clinton has to “get out of the cocoon of inevitability” and must do a far better job articulating a strong economic message than she has to date.

“I think the danger for Secretary Clinton is that, as was the case in 2007, her candidacy is out in front of the rationale for it,” Mr. Axelrod said. “She should not rely too much on that we do have an electoral vote advantage and demographic advantages.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/washwire/2014/11/13/david-axelrod-democrats-need-a-coherent-economic-message/

[Dos Equis]

Not exactly a stellar lineup. 

Is Iowa already sick of Hillary Clinton?
By Lee RoodNovember 15, 2014


DES MOINES, Iowa — If you’re a die-hard Democrat in New York hoping to overcome the disappointment that was Nov. 4, you’re worried.

But here in Iowa, where the first-in-the-nation caucuses are a mere 14 months away, some are breaking into a cold sweat.

Most party leaders here will assure you all conversations about the 2016 presidential nomination still begin and end with Hillary Clinton.

The former first lady and secretary of state is a sentimental favorite. Though she has not formally announced her candidacy, her well-oiled super PAC may be the most deeply rooted ever at this stage in the Hawkeye state.

“I don’t know of any party regulars or activists who are really pushing anyone else,” says Jerry Crawford, who co-chaired Clinton’s 2008 campaign in Iowa and helps lead Ready for Hillary in the state.


Who will challenge Clinton? Vice President Joe Biden, 71, is playing coy about whether he’s running, though insiders insist he’s laying the groundwork. But would Biden run on Obama’s record or try to stress their differences? And can he go an entire week without saying something ridiculous?

But that may be the problem. Familiarity breeds if not contempt, then frustration.

Crawford, who has led presidential campaigns in Iowa for almost three decades, acknowledges Clinton could easily stumble out of the gate if sometimes contrarian Iowans believe they are being force-fed an unlikeable candidate.

And Crawford, principal in Donegal Racing, a thoroughbred partnership, knows a lot about front-runners and dark horses.

Iowa’s caucus season is a personality contest, and the constant challenge of both Democrats and Republicans here every four years is to find new blood. The heavy bruising Democrats took in the midterms cinched the need for a deep bench.

“Democrats are worried,” said Jack Hatch, the veteran Democratic state senator from Des Moines who sputtered in his bid to take on four-term Republican Gov. Terry Branstad. “I’m very worried.”

Hatch says most Democrats in Iowa want an experienced leader who “unlike Obama is not afraid to make a decision.”

Modal TriggerWho will challenge Clinton? Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, 51, stumped for a number of Democratic candidates in Iowa this year and says he’s deciding whether to run. If he does, expect the media to make many “Wire” references. O’Malley was one of the inspirations for the fictional Baltimore mayor, Tommy Carcetti.


Maryland Governor Martin O’Malley, 51, stumped for a number of Democratic candidates in Iowa this year and says he’s deciding whether to run. If he does, expect the media to make many “Wire” references. O’Malley was one of the inspirations for the fictional Baltimore mayor, Tommy Carcetti.

But in Mrs. Clinton’s case, he said, she’s still a Clinton. “She triangulates and Iowans don’t like that.”

There’s a slice of the state that considers her too calculating, says J. Ann Selzer, whose firm conducts polls for The Des Moines Register in partnership with Bloomberg News.

“Her negatives aren’t all that high, but the people who don’t like her really don’t like her,” Selzer says.

Clinton knows from her drawn-out race in 2008 against John Edwards and Obama that Iowa a second time would be no cakewalk, Selzer said.

Still, the last Bloomberg/Iowa Poll taken in October by Selzer & Co. showed Clinton enjoys high favorability ratings with 76% of likely caucus-going Democrats. She was followed by Vice President Joe Biden and current Secretary of State John Kerry, both at 60%.

But it’s early. And at this stage of the picking process, no one knew who Jimmy Carter or Rick Santorum were, Selzer points out.

Modal TriggerWho will challenge Clinton? The 73-year-old Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, has visited Iowa numerous times to rally party faithful for the midterms. The self-described “democratic socialist” would be a challenger to Clinton from the left, with his main issue being income inequality.


The 73-year-old Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders, has visited Iowa numerous times to rally party faithful for the midterms. The self-described “democratic socialist” would be a challenger to Clinton from the left, with his main issue being income inequality.

She and a mix of other party leaders say outliers could easily inject much-needed excitement to a race and upend a front-runner.

Most mentioned: Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley, Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders or Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Biden has said he won’t decide until next year whether to run. Warren has said she is not running now, but some Iowans like her energy and wish she’d change her mind.

O’Malley, a down-to-earth leader who finishes his second term in January, gained a lot of respect this year in Iowa among the party faithful because he had boots on the ground.

Not only did he visit a half-dozen times during 2014, he sent staffers (paid for by his PAC) and raised money for Iowa candidates.

Sanders, meanwhile, has spent more time in Iowa this year than almost anyone else with White House aspirations, excluding Clinton and Biden.


Who some Democrats want, Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren: Progressives and the “Occupy” faithful really, really hope the 65-year-old will run, making Wall Street and the 1% the topic of the election. But Warren so far says she’s not a candidate and hasn’t built an Iowa machine.

A democratic socialist, he zeroes in on a minimum-wage hike, boosting taxes on the wealthy and targeting big money in politics — all big “yes” topics for Democrats. He also has the charisma to reignite young activists disappointed in Obama, politicos here say.

But Hatch, a state senator for 22 years who is expected to retire after his term ends in January, says the Democratic Party in Iowa also has considerable work to do to help any candidate beat the field of Republicans expected to flood the state in the next year.

“In this election cycle, we were more coordinated than at any other time in terms of people, money and technology,” he said. “In the end, there was a void of leadership.”

Mike Gronstal, leader of Democrats in the state Senate, says right now, candidates with the least name recognition are trying to figure out which big names will really enter the race.

“The question is, ‘How much oxygen will there be left in a lake full of fish?’ ” Gronstal said. “If both Joe and Hillary run, maybe not much.”

http://nypost.com/2014/11/15/is-iowa-already-sick-of-hillary-clinton/

[Dos Equis]

NY GOP Chief: Bill de Blasio Will Be 2016 Democrat Nominee
Monday, 17 Nov 2014
By Drew MacKenzie

New York state Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox has made the staggering prediction that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio will be the Democrat nominee for president in 2016 – and not Hillary Clinton.

Citing information from a powerful Democrat lobbyist, Cox recently told friends and GOP operatives that the mayor’s attempt to portray himself as the leader of the “urban progressive centers of the nation’’ is part of his strategy towards making a White House run in 2016, the New York Post reported.

“It’s like Barack Obama – he was a brand-new freshman senator, and he ran for president and won. I think de Blasio is going to do it,’’ Cox, whose father-in-law was President Richard Nixon, told a recent gathering.

The state’s leading Republican also noted that de Blasio has a close relationship with “the racially divisive” Rev. Al Sharpton, who has a widespread political network, as proof that the mayor has national ambitions, a source said.

“Cox has been pointing out that Sharpton is back and forth to the White House and serves as an emissary for de Blasio,’’ said the source.

Cox insinuated that de Blasio was also laying the groundwork for a possible presidential run with a controversial column he wrote for The Huffington Post last week, in which he blamed the Democrat thrashing in the midterms on the failure of candidates not being progressive enough.

“This year, too many Democratic candidates lost sight of those core principles – opting instead to clip their progressive wings in deference to a conventional wisdom that says bold ideas aren’t politically practical,’’ de Blasio wrote.

http://www.Newsmax.com/Politics/New-York-de-Blasio-2016/2014/11/17/id/607751/#ixzz3JM0HqCOm

[Dos Equis]

JERRY BROWN FOR PRESIDENT? MEETS WITH DONORS THIS WEEK
by WILLIAM BIGELOW  17 Nov 2014
Suddenly, a Jerry Brown Presidential Run Looks Promising
by JOEL B. POLLAK

California Governor Jerry Brown, who was re-elected in a landslide earlier this month to what he says is his last term in office, will ask political donors on Monday to keep contributing, the Los Angeles Times reports. Brown defeated his opponent, Neel Kashkari, while retaining $20 million or more in his reelection account as of mid-October. However, Brown--who says he will not run for President--is still asking for cash.

The Sacramento reception asks for donations of $5,000 for a “private reception and sit down conversation” with Brown at Mulvaney’s B&L. Capitol Advocacy, a top lobbying firm, plans to attend; the firm will reportedly bring some of its major clients, including PepsiCo, Corrections Corporation of America, T-Mobile USA Inc., WellCare Health Plans, Pacific Compensation Insurance Co., and Diageo.

The Times, which secured a copy of the invitation, reports that Brown has spent little of his reelection funds since mid-October; he had told the Times that he was thinking of using any funds left over from his campaign to support ballot measures in his new term.

The Washington Post reported in October that Brown’s campaign said it had spent over $3.3 million on ads for Propositions 1 and 2. At that point he had not run a single television ad for his campaign.

Some journalists, notably Chuck Todd of NBC News, have speculated that Brown would likely run for president. Recently, HBO's Bill Maher said that Brown ought to do so, and condemned what he said was age discrimination. (Brown would be 78 years old in 2016.)

Neither spokesmen for Brown nor his chief fundraiser, Angie Tate, had any comment when contacted by the Times.

http://www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-California/2014/11/17/Jerry-Brown-Still-Collecting-Money

[Dos Equis]

Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb forms exploratory committee for 2016 White House run
Published November 20, 2014
FoxNews.com

Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb says he has formed an exploratory committee to consider a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

Webb unveiled the website for his exploratory committee in a message posted on his Twitter account late Wednesday. The move is the first official step in a possible challenge to former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has long been thought of as the presumptive Democratic nominee, but has not yet announced her candidacy.

A message from Webb on his website says many Americans believe the U.S. is "at a serious crossroads" and the solutions "are not simply political, but those of leadership."

A former Marine who served in Vietnam, Webb was Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan from May 1987 to February 1988. In 2006, he defeated Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen and served one term.

Webb, 68, has hinted that he might run for President for several months. He admitted in a September speech at the National Press Club in Washington that he was "seriously looking at the possibility" of throwing his hat into the 2016 ring. That same month, he visited the early voting state of Iowa, where he made about a dozen stops.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/20/former-virginia-senator-jim-webb-forms-exploratory-committee-for-2016-white/

[240 is Back]

Webb is 68.  He brings military experience.  I could see him being a very popular veep choice in 2016. 

[Dos Equis]

Democrats Plot Strategy for Hillary Clinton Presidential Bid
Friday, 21 Nov 2014

NEW YORK — Hillary Rodham Clinton's staunchest supporters held a daylong strategy session Friday to prepare for a 2016 presidential bid — even though she has yet to announce whether she will launch one.

Ready for Hillary, a Democratic super PAC unaffiliated with the former secretary of state, convened a meeting of Clinton insiders for strategy sessions aimed at helping elect Clinton if she runs. The closed-door planning session about two weeks after Democrats' dismal midterm election performance comes as Clinton, the party's leading presidential contender, considers whether she will seek the presidency again in 2016.

"It was a leap of faith," said Harold Ickes, a longtime Clinton White House adviser who has worked with Ready for Hillary. "We didn't know if people would come to us but we now have 3 million names which will be important to her if she runs."

The event drew about 200 financial backers who listened to panel discussions on lessons learned from the 2014 election, the media landscape and what the 2016 campaign might look like. Attendees professed no inside knowledge on when Clinton would make her decision but said the early organizing on her behalf would make the transition from private citizen to a candidate much easier.

"It's given her the luxury of time," said Jerry Crawford, an Iowa attorney who has been a longtime backer of the Clintons.

Attendees also cautioned against the notion that Clinton would have a big advantage because of her existing network from former President Bill Clinton's two terms and her own political operation. "She's not inevitable," said Adam Parkhomenko, Ready for Hillary's executive director. "It's not going to be easy."

Craig Smith, a senior adviser to Ready for Hillary and former Clinton White House aide, said Hillary Clinton should not run for a "third Bill Clinton term" or as President Barack Obama's third term. "She should run for a first Hillary Clinton term."

Ready for Hillary was joining with leaders of Democratic groups Priorities USA Action, American Bridge 21st Century and Correct the Record to review the 2014 elections and prepare for next year. In some cases, the groups will be wrapping up their efforts while others are beginning to ramp up.

Ready for Hillary, which was founded in 2013, has identified 3 million supporters, signed up more than 1.5 million people promising to help Clinton if she runs and has raised more than $10 million. The group expects to fold if Clinton launches her presidential campaign and then transfer its data and list of supporters to the former first lady's campaign.

Priorities USA Action, a Democratic super PAC that raised $70 million in 2012 to air tough ads targeting Republican Mitt Romney, has maintained a low profile this year but is reconnecting with donors to prepare for next year. Correct the Record, a rapid-response media organization that has defended Clinton in her post-State Department period, expects to continue as a part of research arm American Bridge.

The gathering is not authorized by Clinton, who will be speaking at an event in New York on Friday promoting the use of cook stoves in developing nations. But it will feature plenty of Democrats who have worked with her and her husband: Clinton campaign strategists James Carville and Paul Begala; Jonathan Mantz, who served as Hillary Clinton's national finance director; and Karen Finney, a former Hillary Clinton campaign aide.

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack, a former Iowa governor who backed Clinton's presidential campaign, will speak at the meeting as a private citizen, aides said.

Donors were also hearing from Democratic strategists who could play senior roles in a future Clinton campaign, including Guy Cecil, the executive director of the Senate Democrats' campaign arm and a former Hillary Clinton campaign aide; Stephanie Schriock, the president of EMILY's List; Ace Smith, a California-based Democratic strategist who directed Hillary Clinton's 2008 primary campaigns in three states; and Mitch Stewart, a former Obama campaign aide who has advised Ready for Hillary.

http://www.Newsmax.com/Politics/Democrats-Hillary-Clinton-presidential-campaign/2014/11/21/id/608887/#ixzz3JjpwZRZ6

[James]

Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb forms exploratory committee for 2016 White House run
Published November 20, 2014
FoxNews.com

Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb says he has formed an exploratory committee to consider a campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016.

Webb unveiled the website for his exploratory committee in a message posted on his Twitter account late Wednesday. The move is the first official step in a possible challenge to former first lady and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has long been thought of as the presumptive Democratic nominee, but has not yet announced her candidacy.

A message from Webb on his website says many Americans believe the U.S. is "at a serious crossroads" and the solutions "are not simply political, but those of leadership."

A former Marine who served in Vietnam, Webb was Secretary of the Navy under Ronald Reagan from May 1987 to February 1988. In 2006, he defeated Republican incumbent Sen. George Allen and served one term.

Webb, 68, has hinted that he might run for President for several months. He admitted in a September speech at the National Press Club in Washington that he was "seriously looking at the possibility" of throwing his hat into the 2016 ring. That same month, he visited the early voting state of Iowa, where he made about a dozen stops.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/11/20/former-virginia-senator-jim-webb-forms-exploratory-committee-for-2016-white/

He voted for Obamacare, enough said.