A policy and a political move by Hillary Clinton, fresh reporting on Bernie-mentum, an overseas election that could impact the one here at home, and a Trump-inspired twist on an old proverb — those stories filled our “Inside Politics” forecast.
1. Hillary Clinton tries to turn the page from email controversy
What do the Ellen DeGeneres show and a big speech on the Iran nuclear deal have in common?
CNN’s Jeff Zeleny connected those dots as he shared reporting on how the Clinton campaign hopes to change the subject as it emerges from the Labor Day weekend.
“We’re going to see Hillary Clinton a lot more than we’ve seen her over the last few months or so,” said Zeleny. “She’s on the ‘Ellen’ show on Tuesday, she’s giving an Iran speech Wednesday. Later in the week she’s rolling out a new campaign finance plan.
“So she’s trying to combat all of these questions about email by actually getting out there, answering more questions and trying to talk about policy more than we’ve seen so far. They know the emails are not going away, but they want to try to add to the soundtrack of her campaign.”
2. Bernie Sanders bulks up in Iowa — thinks Camp Clinton ‘nervous’
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont says he senses Clinton’s campaign is getting a little nervous at his success in the presidential polls, and he seems determined to keep it that way.
Juana Summers of Mashable joined us just after returning from a reporting trip to Iowa where she found not only a happy candidate — but also a growing Sanders campaign team in the Hawkeye State.
“He’s built up a campaign with more than 50 paid staffers on the ground, just added a new press secretary,” said Summers.
“So it will be interesting to see whether or not he can turn these big crowds and attention that he’s got across the country into a real force in Iowa that can reckon with Hillary Clinton. And he said Saturday he thinks the Clinton campaign is getting a little bit nervous about him.”
3. As Guatemala goes, so goes the GOP 2016 immigration debate?
Guatemala holds its presidential election Sunday, just days after its president resigned, and the results could well reverberate in the U.S. presidential election.
Ed O’Keefe of The Washington Post smartly walked us through the reasons.
“Despite what Donald Trump thinks, most illegal immigration is coming from Central America — from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador — and economic and political instability is what causes it,” said O’Keefe.
“If this new government that gets elected at some point this fall takes over, and things stabilize, we’ll probably see a decline in illegal immigration. But if the problem persists next year, of course, illegal immigration might tick up, just in time for our own elections, keeping the issue alive.”
4. Club for Growth suddenly has friends in the GOP establishment
Donald Trump’s success is teaching us all some new and important lessons about today’s political environment. But there also are some familiar lessons, like how politics makes strange bedfellows.
Case in point: the conservative Club for Growth is about to launch a big TV ad campaign against Trump — pointing out things like his past praise of a single-payer health care system and his current call for higher taxes on hedge fund managers.
For years, the Republican establishment has looked with scorn on the Club for Growth, criticizing it for attacking Republican incumbents as big spenders. This cycle, for example, the club has said it might support a primary challenge against Sen. John McCain of Arizona.
But its plans to go after Trump in the days ahead are more than welcomed by GOP establishment groups and leaders, who in the past have used derisive labels like “Club for Dopes” to describe the conservative organization.
Don’t expect lasting peace here, but in Trump’s case, this is a reminder of the old proverb: The enemy of my enemy is my friend.
5. Clinton hopes to help first responders dealing with heroin epidemic
Candidates who spend time in New Hampshire this cycle are hearing firsthand about a burgeoning heroin epidemic that not only tests families but is taxing local resources.
It is an issue hardly unique to New Hampshire, sadly, but its high profile in the first primary state is getting some high-powered attention, including a new proposal from the Democratic presidential front-runner.
Jackie Kucinich of The Daily Beast takes a look at the potential impact of Clinton’s plan to help first responders get more — and less expensive — access to a key drug.
“Last week Hillary Clinton released her plan to deal with drug and alcohol addiction, and one part of that plan was allow first responders to have access to a drug called naloxone, which essentially stops a heroin overdose,” said Kucinich. “It’s a potentially life-saving drug that’s very, very expensive, so the plan also includes a plan to pay for this.”
“You’ve had Bernie Sanders looking into it, you’ve had other politicians. Hillary Clinton is the latest person to put a focus on this drug, and you have to wonder if Congress or if this manufacturer will start lowering the price because of the attention.”