NEWS AND OPINION:
Critics often claim that Republican disunity is evidence that the party is either out of touch, or unfit to govern town, state or nation. Democratic strategists have made the case for years. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson, however, has a simple strategy of his own to counter this situation.
“Republicans — well, we’re all part of the same family. We need to have some good disagreements with each other, we need to debate, but in the end, it’s all about uniting, not dividing,” the governor tells Inside the Beltway. Money matters are the great common denominator, he suggests.
“If we’re talking about big tent thinking in the Republican Party, I think we’re all going to unite under a consistent economic theory. That’s where our unity is, and that’s what unites us,” Mr. Hutchinson says. “We get divided generationally and in other ways — libertarians versus more traditional social conservatives, for example — and we’ve got to provide some flexibility there. But we don’t need to have quite so many litmus tests. We need to have our big picture focused on economic issues.”
THE WHCD DREGS
One final wheeze for the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner — a behemoth meal for 2,700 revelers with a main course that encompassed the following: “Smoked paprika rubbed filet, foraged wild mushroom ragout, pancetta and gala apple demi; seared Alaskan halibut, mascarpone cheese stone grits, jumbo-peeled asparagus and roasted baby bell pepper.” Among other things, there were 24 extra private parties and predictable complaints about hype and excess. But there was a telling moment or two.
During the designated entertainment for the Saturday evening feed, Saturday Night Live’s Cecily Strong closed her routine by saying, “Thank you to the White House Correspondents’ Association. Whatever that is.”
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Yes, well. And President Obama? He was home at the White House by 11:20 p.m. On Sunday, the sole item that emerged from Matt Laslo, the independent political blogger charged with providing the official pool report for the day: “Pool report one and done. Obama appreciates a hung over press corps. So much so that he’s got nothing public on the schedule today.”
LESSONS FROM FUNNY PRESIDENTS
Yes, yes, we know that President Obama is deft at delivering one-liners. But Americans have mixed feeling about funny politicians. It is a very tricky business, just as it is for CEOs, top brass and other leaders who engage people with mirth. Degree counts. Laugh with the audience for a spell, and comfortable personal links form. Laugh too much and fickle folks may wonder if they can trust their fate to a comic. Some presidents were better at it than others, though.
“In the end, whether it’s Reagan or Clinton or Bush 43 or Obama, being the guy or gal you can sit down and have a beer with while sharing a few jokes is almost equally important to those millions of Americans who don’t live in the political and media bubble. Kennedy was that guy versus Nixon. Reagan was against Carter. Clinton versus Bush 41. Bush 43 versus Gore,” writes Joe Concha, a columnist for Mediaite.
“If you asked me what I thought were the highlights of Mitt Romney’s failed run against Mr. Obama in 2012, it was obviously his surprisingly dominant performance in the first debate (Gallup showed the Republican winning by a 72-20 margin), and his stand-up routine a few weeks later at the white-tie Al Smith Dinner at the Waldorf in Manhattan — a performance few knew he was capable of,” Mr. Concha recalls.
“Usually when I get invited to gatherings like this, it’s just to be the designated driver,” Mr. Romney told his audience at the time.
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“Romney’s deadpan that evening was almost pitch-perfect. Who knew? In retrospect, having that kind of material on that stump — self-deprecating and otherwise — might have humanized him more, made him more relatable. The next batch of candidates for this election season would be wise to see the value a good writer with range that extends to comedy can bring to a campaign,” Mr. Concha counsels.
THE SHOW MUST GO ON
Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential campaign continues to sally forth even as questions persist about Benghazi, her private email system and fundraising within the Clinton Foundation. But her reported $2.5 billion campaign is calling. Two terms to remember: Hillstarters and Hillraisers, actually developed when Mrs. Clinton ran for president in 2008.
Both constitute a more personable way to ask for money from a broad base of donors. Hillstarters earn their title by lining up 10 fans prepared to donate $2,700 each. Hillraisers are in a different league. Gather up $100,000 for the cause, and the energetic organizer receives the coveted Hillraiser monicker.
Things get focused this week in New York City, with a trio of private Manhattan fundraisers on Tuesday with suggested donations ranging from $2,700 to $50,000 according to the Sunlight Foundation, which tracks such events. The process will be repeated at two private gatherings in the nation’s capital Thursday.
THE GRASS GROWS GREENER
Arriving in the nation’s capital on Monday afternoon: that would be the Cannabis Business Summit, organized by the National Cannabis Industry Association which bills the event as “where commerce meets a revolution.”
The old hippies of yore would surely be amazed: The group stages an early networking session at a historic restaurant one block from the White House on their first evening, then switches to the heavy stuff on Tuesday. A “fireside chat” features a conversation between Rep. Earl Blumenauer, Oregon Democrat, and Americans for Tax Reform founder Grover Norquist. On Wednesday and Thursday, the groups stages a press conference with several lawmakers, followed by much lobbying on Capitol Hill.
SETTLING IN THE MIDDLE
“Some highs and lows for President Obama this week. On the high side an agreement between Democrats and Republicans on a human trafficking bill means not only another compromise but cleared the way for confirmation of new Attorney General Loretta Lynch,” reports pollster John Zogby, who offers a weekly report card on the White House.
“On the potentially high side, an emerging strategy to fight the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria and other destabilizing elements in the Middle East with an upcoming summit among Gulf countries, while finalizing a deal with Iran on nuclear weapons, gives the president some good news on the international front,” the pollster continues.
“But on the low side, Mr. Obama finds himself in a quarrel with the Democrats — and the progressive side’s favorite daughter Sen. Elizabeth Warren — over the Trans Pacific Partnership trade deal. Losing this would be a major blow to both the president and the presidency,” Mr. Zogby concludes, offering Mr. Obama a “grade of C, up from last week’s D-plus.”
POLL DU JOUR
• 82 percent of U.S. adults say they are comfortable with government openly sharing data online about health and safety records of restaurants.
• 62 percent are okay with government sharing information about the criminal records of individual citizens online.
• 60 percent can accept government sharing data about the performance of individual teachers at schools online.
• 54 percent are comfortable with government sharing data about real estate transactions online.
• 22 percent are comfortable with government sharing information about mortgages of individual homeowners online.
Source: A Pew Research Center poll of 3,212 U.S. adults conducted Nov. 17 — Dec. 15, 2014 and released Friday.
• Wishful thinking, hurrahs to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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