Chad’s Morning Brief: Obama Threatens Executive Action, Abortion Fuels the Wendy Davis Out of State Campaign Haul, and Other Top Stories
Here is your Morning Brief for the morning of January 16, 2014. Give me your feedback below and tune in to The Chad Hasty Show for these and many more topics from 8:30 to 11am. Remember, you can listen online at KFYO.com or on your iPhone/Android with the radioPup App.
Obama's Threats
Do what I want, or I'll make it happen myself. That is the attitude of President Obama now after telling Democrats that he will act with or without Congress. According to the AP, Obama has told Senators that he will use executive authority when Congress stands in the way.
President Barack Obama has told Senate Democrats he plans to use his executive authority to act in 2014 when Congress stands in his way.
Obama met with senators from his own party Wednesday at the White House. The White House says Obama and Democrats discussed proposals to raise the minimum wage and efforts to pass a comprehensive immigration overhaul. Education initiatives and jobs measures were also on the agenda.
The White House says Obama wants to work with Congress to make progress, but will also act on his own to get things done.
The meeting was the first such session of 2014 and comes two weeks before Obama is set to deliver his State of the Union address.
The senators left the White House without speaking to reporters.
Remember folks, Obama has a pen and a phone and he believes he can do whatever he wants. Why does he think this way? Because he has been getting away with it when it comes to changing immigration and Obamacare. Speaker John Boehner responded on Facebook that they "have the Constitution", but does that mean they will actually do anything?
Abortion Bucks
Wendy Davis doesn't really like talking about abortion in Texas. Why? Because late-term abortion in Texas doesn't sell and doesn't bring in the money. However, outside of Texas the message doesn't play as bad. The Washington Examiner took a look at how abortion played a part in the money Davis raised out of state.
Wendy Davis, running for Texas governor on the strength of her stand in favor of late-term abortion, raised nearly $3.80 million in the second half of 2013. Nearly $1.07 million - 28 percent - of that money came from outside of Texas, according to my analysis of her campaign finance filing.
Davis's national fame, of course, comes from her filibuster of a bill to ban abortions after five months of pregnancy, and to regulate abortion clinics as other outpatient surgical facilities are regulated. So it's a safe guess that a huge portion of that $1.07 million in out-of-state money is pro-choice money - which is no surprise, given the central role the abortion cause plays in Democrats' fundraising network.
In fact, the biggest out-of-state contributions Davis lists are all cash or in-kind contributions from pro-choice groups. EMILY’s List contributed $135,000 in cash, plus $25,000 in speechwriting and $4,761 in postage. Planned Parenthood and its affiliates have contributed more than $60,000 between cash, list rental, staff time, and other in-kind gifts.
NARAL has been fundraising for Davis, which accounts for more than $18,000 in in-kind contributions. Naomi Aberly, who sits on the board of Planned Parenthood’s lobbying arm, spent more than $10,000 as an “event expense” for Davis. Aberly has deep connections in Texas, but Davis's campaign reports her as living in Boston.
Fully a quarter of Davis’s out-of-state money, then, is directly attributable to the cause of legal abortion. Considering Aberly’s and NARAL’s fundraising for Davis, and Planned Parenthood’s providing mailing lists to Davis, probably most of that million in out-of-state money was motivated by her standing up against abortion restrictions.
It’s not shocking that a stalwart on an issue would raise so much money from people who agree with her. But as a money-in-politics reporter, it’s interesting to note how lucrative Davis’ filibuster of the late-term abortion ban was.
Also, Davis's other campaign-finance filings due this month will likely show more dependence on large checks from out of state.
Other Top Stories:
Today’s Guests:
9:15am- Attorney General Greg Abbott, Republican candidate for Texas Governor
10:05am- Ken Cope, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate
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 online in our podcast section after the show at kfyo.com.
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