Chad’s Morning Brief: Jeb Bush to Skip the Iowa Straw Poll, Senate Democrats Hand Obama a Defeat, and Other Top Stories

Here is your Morning Brief for May 13, 2015.

Bush to Skip Iowa

Jeb Bush isn't polling well in Iowa and according to TIME, he has decided to skip the upcoming Iowa Straw Poll.

Jeb Bush plans to skip the Iowa Straw Poll this summer and instead attend a competing event in Atlanta.

The all-but-announced presidential candidate is the first in the Republican 2016 field to opt out of the straw poll, a contest that has been criticized for being unrepresentative and costly.

The former Florida governor would likely have a poor showing in the poll: Bush polled seventh out of 14 GOP contenders in a poll earlier this month, and 25% percent of likely Iowa GOP caucusgoers said they would definitely not support him.

Bush, who confirmed with the Des MoinesRegister on Tuesday that he is skipping the poll, will instead by at the RedState Gathering in Atlanta, where he will address Republican activists.

Not surprising at all that Bush would skip the poll given his poor standing in the state. However, it doesn't help heal the divide between Bush and the conservative base which continues to grow. While Bush may miss the bad headlines that day, Iowa voters will remember.

Dems Defeat Obama

Well here is something you don't see everyday. President Obama was defeated by members of his own party on trade. According to FOX News, a key plank of Obama's trade agenda was the expansion of his authority to negotiate trade deals. While Republicans aligned with the President, many on the left followed Elizabeth Warren's lead.

After fierce lobbying on both sides of the issue, the bid to start debate -- on expanding the president's authority to negotiate trade deals -- failed on a 52-45 vote. It needed 60 votes to advance.

The president's supporters will likely try again, but the vote nevertheless marks a stinging rebuke of a major Obama priority by members of his own party. Republicans mostly had aligned with Obama on the issue and, after the failed test vote, urged Obama's fellow Democrats to drop their resistance.

"What we just saw here is pretty shocking," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said, accusing congressional Democrats of standing with "special interests."

At issue is Obama's push for so-called "fast track" authority -- which would let him negotiate trade deals that Congress can reject or ratify, but not amend. In the short-term, he wants to use this to pursue a broad trade pact with Japan and other Pacific nations.

But many Democrats aligned with labor unions in warning about the impact on U.S. jobs, and openly opposed the White House. Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., recently told reporters he's a "hell no" on the proposal. And Obama and Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., for days have traded jabs on the matter, with the president calling Warren's claims "absolutely wrong."

It's not strange that the Democrats aligned themselves with unions, but it is telling that so many Democrats went along with Elizabeth Warren. Warren continues to say she isn't runner for President, but if she did I think she would give Hillary Clinton a good race.

Other Must Read Links:

Former Lubbock Political Consultant, Who is Now a Stripper Accuses Charles Perry

Cruz and Perry Shine in South Carolina

Perry Enjoys a Warm Welcome

DMN Editorial: It’s Time to Place Confederate Statues in Context

Bill Maher: Stop the Excuses for Muslims Who Want to Live in the 7th Century

Porn and Video Game Addiction Leading to Masculinity Crisis?

These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard on our KFYO YouTube page after the show and online at kfyo.com.