NEWS AND OPINION:
So how did they do? Hillary Clinton and Sen. Elizabeth Warren made their official debut as a campaign team on Monday, clad in blue pantsuits and in full Valkyrie mode. The choreography was intense. The likely Democratic presidential nominee and Massachusetts lawmaker gesticulated, declared their emphatic allegiances to one another and insulted likely GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump as the enthusiastic crowd screamed and the cameras rolled. Did it work as device meant for political gain? Well, yes and no. Much was in the eye of the beholder, at least according to the press headlines that followed:
“Hillary Clinton and Elizabeth Warren engaged in the age-old female ritual of over complimenting each other (New York Magazine); “Women worry that America can’t handle a Clinton-Warren ticket” (Daily Beast); “VP talk over Elizabeth Warren gives Wall Street the jitters” (The Boston Globe); “Elizabeth Warren’s history of snubbing Hillary Clinton (Roll Call); “Warren calls Clinton a fighter” (Associated Press); “Clinton, Warren team up to trash Trump” (Politico); “Why Hillary Clinton remains unlikely to pick Elizabeth Warren for Veep” (Time); Hillary Clinton unlikely to let Elizabeth Warren steal her thunder (Newsday); “Elizabeth Warren is here to keep Hillary Clinton honest” (Esquire); “Elizabeth Warren could fill the Bernie Sanders void for Hillary Clinton” (Wall Street Journal).
THE GOP’S SUMMATION
“Warren: A Liberal dream, a Clinton nightmare. If there were ever a pick to overshadow Clinton and highlight her weaknesses, the Massachusetts senator fits the bill.”
— An instant Republican National Committee analysis, also addressing the event.
BENGHAZI RETURNS TO RADAR
SEE ALSO: Elizabeth Warren slams Trump as VP speculation swirls
It is the week for Benghazi reports. Democratic lawmakers on Monday released their own 338-page interpretation of what happened almost four years ago during the terrorist attacks on the diplomatic compound. The role of then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was predictably downplayed in the analysis — deemed “dishonest” and “partisan talking points” by the Republican-led House Select Committee on Benghazi, which has just issued its own long-awaited report to a ready news media.
But there’s one more voice here. The 16-member Citizens’ Commission on Benghazi assembled at the National Press Club on Wednesday to reveal its own findings on “failure of leadership” during the attacks, specifically citing Mrs. Clinton and the Obama administration. An independent project by press watchdog Accuracy in Media, the report features new details about local al-Qaeda-linked militias, plus evidence that advance warnings about an impending attack “were ignored” and available U.S. military held back from a rescue operation.
On hand with details: Roger Aronoff, editor of Accuracy In Media; Clare Lopez, vice president of the Center for Security Policy; retired Air Force Gen. Thomas McInerney and retired Navy Adm. James Lyons.
“Now is the time for all good men to come to the aid of their country, to help explain ’what difference does it make’ how and why these people died in Libya. Did our elected and appointed leaders do enough to protect our ambassador and other Americans involved, and if not, why not?” the commission asks in its mission statement, citing a now familiar quotation from Mrs. Clinton when she testified before Congress on the events. Find the organization here: Aim.org
’REDOUBLE OUR EFFORTS’
Many are troubled by the Supreme Court ruling in Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt which decimated a Texas law meant to protect women’s health and safety at abortion clinics.
SEE ALSO: Dems: Clinton never personally denied Benghazi security
“Today’s majority has made clear that some constitutional rights are more equal than others. By throwing out the regular legal rules in order to carry water for the abortion industry, the Court has further threatened its own legitimacy. It’s no wonder the Supreme Court is suffering record levels of disapproval with the American people. The justices in today’s majority are happier to burden women’s health and Texas’s own democratic process rather than abortionists who want to operate free of safety regulations,” says Carrie Severino, chief counsel of the Judicial Crisis Network.
“When a majority of the Supreme Court will not even allow basic health standards that exist at hospitals to be applied to abortion clinics, it underscores how important it is, with as many as three seats on the high court open in the next four years, to have a president who will nominate pro-life judges who will protect innocent human life and defend our Constitution,” says House Majority Whip Steve Scalise. “The abortion industry puts women in danger, and all of us in the pro-life community must redouble our efforts to protect both mothers and babies from the horror of abortion.”
LONE STAR STATE TIPS TO TRUMP
“A University of Texas/Texas Politics Project poll shows Donald Trump leading Hillary Clinton by a margin of 41 percent to 33 percent in a head-to-head trial ballot match-up in Texas, with 19 percent preferring someone else, and 8 percent saying that they don’t yet know who they would vote for,” note Jim Henson and Joshua Blank, who conducted the survey of 1,310 respondents released Monday.
“These early results could well portend an even larger Republican margin on Election Day should the current attitudinal patterns toward the candidates and their parties remain broadly in place. This election season has been fraught with surprises, and Donald Trump’s presence in the race is likely to be a source of unexpected political shifts,” the pollsters stated.
POLL DU JOUR
• 78 percent registered U.S. voters say they are not seriously considering a third party candidate in the presidential election; 82 percent of Republicans, 80 percent of Democrats and 73 percent of independents agree.
• 18 percent of voters overall say they would seriously consider a third part candidate; 11 percent of Republicans, 16 percent of Democrats and 24 percent of independents agree.
• 15 percent of that group did not name a specific candidate or had no opinion; 8 percent of Republicans, 14 percent of Democrats and 20 percent of independents agree.
• 2 percent of voters overall named Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson as their choice; 3 percent of Republicans, 1 percent of Democrats and 5 percent of independents agree.
Source: A Washington Post/ABC News poll of 1,001 U.S. adults conducted June 20-23.
• Squawks and caterwaul to jharper@washingtontimes.com.
• Jennifer Harper can be reached at jharper@washingtontimes.com.
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