McConnell group to host Super Bowl weekend fundraiser

A joint fundraising committee allied with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is hosting a fundraiser in the Miami area over Super Bowl weekend.

McConnell for Majority Leader, a joint fundraising committee, has scheduled a fundraiser at 4 p.m. Saturday at a "South Beach Miami Location Provided Upon RSVP," according to an invite obtained by The Hill.

A source said the fundraiser was scheduled "months ago," and the invite does not say if McConnell, who is in Washington for President Trump's impeachment trial, will attend. The trial is set for closing arguments on Friday with Republicans aiming to wrap up the trial this week.

Team Mitch and McConnell's leadership office did not respond to a request for comment from The Hill.

The hourlong event requires a personal contribution of up to $20,600 per individual to the fundraising committee. The $20,600 would be broken up to comply with contribution limits. The first $2,800 from any single individual’s contribution would go to the McConnell Senate Committee primary election account, the next $2,800 to the general election account, the next $10,000 to the Republican Party of Kentucky, and the remaining $5,000 to the Bluegrass Committee, according to the invite.

The event is scheduled the day before Super Bowl LIV, which kicks off at 6:30 pm. Eastern on Sunday, with the Kansas City Chiefs playing the San Francisco 49ers.

Super Bowl weekends are known as a major draw for business executives and have long provided an opportunity for political fundraisers. But this year's impeachment trial of Trump in the Senate and the impending Iowa caucuses have scrambled the calendar for many lawmakers.




https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/480756-mcconnell-group-to-host-super-bowl-weekend-fundraiser

EMILY's List 'hyper-focused' on Senate elections in 2020

While the presidential race will dominate the 2020 cycle, EMILY’s List president Stephanie Schriock is imploring Democratic voters to recognize the importance of flipping the Senate, especially because of its role in confirming Supreme Court justices.

If President Trump wins reelection in 2020 and Republicans maintain control of the Senate, Schriock predicted a “massive fight” over the next Supreme Court vacancy. A vacancy could further shift the ideological balance of the court, which has influence over issues including abortion, a core issue for EMILY’s List.

“We think the best way to prevent that scenario is to make sure that that Senate is in Democratic hands no matter what happens in the White House,” Schriock said Thursday in an interview for the C-SPAN program “Newsmakers” scheduled to run this weekend. “So we are so hyper-focused on winning that United States Senate.”

She said voters who care about the courts should not wait.

“The fight’s now. The fight isn’t when there’s an opening,” Schriock said. “The fight is right now in 2020 and we’ve got to win as Democrats if we want to see a strong, fair justice sitting on that court. I don’t know what else to tell folks.”

Democrats need a net gain of three or four seats to flip the Senate, depending on whether a Democrat wins the White House, since the vice president casts tie-breaking votes in the Senate.

EMILY’s List, which backs Democratic women candidates who support abortion rights, has endorsed three Democrats looking to flip Republican Senate seats in 2020: Sara Gideon in Maine, Theresa Greenfield in Iowa and Barbara Bollier in Kansas. Schriock also said if the crowded Texas Senate primary continues to a runoff featuring one man and one woman, EMILY’s List would back the female candidate.



https://www.rollcall.com/news/campaigns/emilys-list-hyper-focused-senate-elections-2020

Trump's Border Wall Needs Storm Gates Left Open

“President Trump’s border wall likely will require the installation of hundreds of storm gates to prevent flash floods from undermining or knocking it over, gates that must be left open for months every summer during ‘monsoon season’ in the desert,” the Washington Post reports.

“The open, unmanned gates in remote areas already have allowed for the easy entry of smugglers and migrants into the United States.”



https://politicalwire.com/2020/01/30/trumps-border-wall-needs-storm-gates-left-open/

OMG, there IS a dress!!!!

Accuser Seeks DNA Sample from Trump

“Lawyers for a woman who accuses President Donald Trump of raping her in the 1990s are asking for a DNA sample, seeking to determine whether his genetic material is on a dress she says she wore during the encounter.”

“Advice columnist E. Jean Carroll’s lawyers served notice to a Trump attorney Thursday for Trump to submit a sample March 2 in Washington for ‘analysis and comparison against unidentified male DNA present on the dress.'”



https://politicalwire.com/2020/01/30/accuser-seeks-dna-sample-from-trump/

Character Matters

Gabbard says she's received no reason from CNN for lack of invitation to town halls

Democratic presidential candidate Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) says she's received no explanation or response from CNN regarding not being invited to a series of town halls the network is hosting in New Hampshire days before a crucial primary there in February.

Gabbard is currently polling at 4.8 percent in the RealClearPolitics index of polls in New Hampshire, ahead of tech entrepreneur Andrew Yang, businessman Tom Steyer and former Massachusetts Gov. Deval Patrick.

Yang, Steyer and Patrick, along with former Vice President Joe Biden, former South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg and Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) all received invites to participate in the two-night event.

“We have reached out, I think, more than once, and we received no explanation," Gabbard told Fox News on Tuesday.

"I don't even think we've gotten a response to date about why they're excluding the first female combat veteran ever to run for president, the only woman of color in the race," she added.






https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/480441-gabbard-says-shes-received-no-reason-from-cnn-for-non-invitation-to-town

Giffords gun reform group backs eight 'strong women' in House reelection bids

A gun reform advocacy group founded by former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) is backing reelection bids for eight freshman congresswomen as part of the organization’s first round of 2020 endorsements.

Giffords: Courage to Fight Gun Violence championed the women, several of whom flipped Republican-held seats in 2018, as key players to fight for gun reform proposals, according to the endorsement exclusively shared with The Hill on Tuesday.

Giffords endorsed Reps. Katie Porter (Calif.), Lucy McBath (Ga.), Lauren Underwood (Ill.), Angie Craig (Minn.), Susie Lee (Nev.), Susan Wild (Pa.), Jennifer Wexton (Va.) and Kim Schrier (Wash.)

“Strong women get things done and these leaders were essential to the successful effort to get gun safety legislation through Congress," Giffords, the founder of the organization and a survivor of gun violence, said in a statement. "Each has made clear that where others might waver, they will push ahead."

"These champions did not back down in the face of a gun lobby that tried to use its power and influence to block progress," she continued. "Their arrival in Washington signaled the NRA’s ironclad grip on the House of Representatives was over.”

Democratic wins in 2018, which gave the party control of the House, were largely credited to women in suburban districts — both female candidates and voters.

Giffords said gun control is a key issue for suburban women voters, and can help Democrats win in battleground states in November.



https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/480354-giffords-gun-reform-group-backs-eight-strong-women-in-house-reelection-bids

It's over, the fix is in.

Expect and acquittal late Friday night without witness testimony. Well have to make them pay this November.

Gardner, Tillis and McSally oppose calling witnesses.