Chad’s Morning Brief: Trouble for Hillary Clinton in Swing States and Senate Republicans Have a Plan for Iran
The Quinnipiac University poll put Clinton head-to-head against Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush and Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker in three states: Colorado, Iowa and Virginia.
In every hypothetical contest, the former secretary of state was either clearly trailing or, as Quinnipiac phrased it, "on the wrong side of a too-close-to-call" race. A majority of voters in all three states also said they found Clinton not honest and trustworthy.
The gap between Clinton and GOP candidates was most pronounced in Colorado and Iowa. She trailed Rubio by 8 points in Colorado, 38-46 percent; and Walker by 9 points, 38-47 percent. She trailed Bush by 6 points in Iowa, 36-42 percent; and Rubio by 8 points, 36-44 percent.
The survey raises troubling questions for the campaign, which has struggled to shed the image of a candidate who is closed off to the media and the public, despite her decisive lead over the Democratic field. The latest results reflect a drop from a similar poll in April.
That is good news for Republicans and terrible news for Clinton. Most believe that Hillary Clinton should be leading nationally and in swing-states but this poll shows that she is continuing to lose ground to Republican candidates who aren't even close to clinching the nomination.
The poll also shows that in those swing-states, more and more voters are starting to place less trust in Clinton.
Senate Republicans and Iran
According to The Hill, Senate Republicans have launched a preemptive strike against President Obama's Iran deal pitch.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said that the Obama administration has the "burden of proof" to convince lawmakers and the American people that they should support the deal.
"The onus is on the administration to explain why a deal like this is a good one for our country," he added.
McConnell and a handful of other Senate Republicans lined up the floor Wednesday to voice their concerns about the agreement.
The comments come as Secretary of State John Kerry, Treasury Secretary Jacob Lew and Energy Secretary Ernest Moniz are expected to meet with lawmakers on Wednesday, as well as testify before the Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.
Sen. John Cornyn, the majority whip, suggested that the administration "had moved its own goalposts" during the Iran talks.
The Texas Republican compared a quote from Moniz who said earlier this year that "we expect to have anywhere, anytime inspections" to a quote from Kerry, who suggested that was never on the table during the talks.
"I don't know whether Secretary Kerry or Secretary Moniz actually talked to each other or not," he added, saying that if the inspections "were not on the table, why is this deal actually a good deal?"
Some Republican lawmakers have been vocal critics of the Iran deal, announced earlier this month. The administration's decision to allow the United Nations to endorse the deal before Congress has a chance to review and vote on it has only bolstered that opposition.
Sen. John Barrasso, who leads the Republican Policy Committee, said the move is a sign that "the president is hoping to force Congress, to bully Congress, to go along with his plan, without giving it serious debate."
The Wyoming Republican added that while "it remains to be seen" if the deal is a good deal, he said that "at this point I have serious doubts."
Sen. Dan Coats (R-Ind.) echoed Barrasso, saying that "the more I read, the more my concern grows."
The administration handed over the deal to lawmakers over the weekend, with Congress's 60-day review period starting Monday. The Senate isn't expected to take a vote on the deal until September.
Coats, acknowledging the coming pitch to support the deal, said that "we must ignore the coming public relations campaign that will trumpet this deal as a victory for diplomacy and the false premise that the deal is a choice between peace and war.”
Cornyn also rejected that choice, saying that it's "simply unacceptable for the president to be misrepresenting what the options are to Congress and the American people."
Remember, President Obama has already said that he will veto any type of legislation that is sent to him that would hurt the agreement with Iran. Republicans should be pressing Democrats in the Senate to join with them.
Other Must Read Links:
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.
More From News/Talk 95.1 & 790 KFYO
