Subject: Stitch — Newsmaker of the Week: Paul Kane; Eli Lake & Tommy Vietor to Debate the Obama-Rhodes Legacy; and More on the GOP Civil War
From: Jonathan Allen <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Sun, 8 May 2016 15:23:07 +0000
List-Id: dff5dea186e38c29c57ca6f8fmc list <dff5dea186e38c29c57ca6f8f.326717.list-id.mcsv.net>

** WHAT'S THE STITCH?
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Stitch is a morning news speed-read highlighting the work and insights of Newsmakers that is followed by a daily chat on hot political topics.

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**
NEWSMAKER OF THE WEEK: PAUL KANE
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The Washington Post's PAUL KANE — "P.K." to the Capitol Hill crowd — is this Sunday's Newsmaker of the Week.

A recipient of the prestigious Dirksen Award for his coverage of Congress, Paul's earned a reputation for knowing the rhythms and personalities of Capitol Hill as well as anyone in journalism or politics. His past stops include Roll Call, States News Service and the China Daily.

HERE ARE SOME HIGHLIGHTS OF THIS MORNING'S CHAT

On what to expect from Donald Trump meeting with Paul Ryan this week
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"Without question, Trump-Ryan is huge. One thing I'm looking for is, what do other House R leaders say? Kevin McCarthy has been quiet. I suspect Ryan won't endorse Trump so soon - I view this as a get-to-know-you meeting, rather than I-support-you."

—Paul Kane/Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/dashboard/articles/1e9bf26d96d2923f5a299205b5644517/commentary/155df083-6e04-4a0d-9058-4d24f573b47a)

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On lessons for covering Congress
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"My colleague Lori Montgomery once said it best: Know where to stand. By that, figure the rhythm of the place, where the key meetings are, be there. If you cover Finance, learn Hatch's habits. Don't stalk them, but know their life. ... Also, a really key lesson that can't be said enough: always be kind to that 22-year-old front-desk kid. He/she is gonna be leg director, comms director or even chief of staff to someone important in 5-10 years."

—Kane/Sidewire part 1 (https://sidewire.com/politics/dashboard/articles/1e9bf26d96d2923f5a299205b5644517/commentary/e557b6af-105c-4273-90b8-018772e380ff) , part 2 (https://sidewire.com/politics/dashboard/articles/1e9bf26d96d2923f5a299205b5644517/commentary/e687479e-d3d8-480b-80d3-ce5b08b66c66)

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On the most insightful interview subjects
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"Pure color, no one tops Lindsey Graham. But for real workhorses, senators who didn't get limelight, Jack Reed and Judd Gregg. Really smart, respected voices. Gregg probably swayed 2 dozen votes on TARP 8 years ago. He spoke, his caucus listened."

—Kane/Sidewire (https://sidewire.com/politics/dashboard/articles/1e9bf26d96d2923f5a299205b5644517/commentary/a9532fa6-2c5e-4e26-b9aa-da8a87bbd77e)

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Click here (https://sidewire.com/politics/dashboard/articles/1e9bf26d96d2923f5a299205b5644517)  for the full interview, which includes Paul's list of must-reads among reporters who cover Congress.

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SIDEWIRE CHAT: ELI LAKE & TOMMY VIETOR DEBATE THE MEANING OF BEN RHODES
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Bloomberg's ELI LAKE and former NSC spokesman TOMMY VIETOR will debate the role of White House Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes in shaping American foreign policy and selling it to the press and the public.
* 3 p.m. Eastern on Sidewire.

Why are they debating?

It all started with the New York Times Sunday Magazine profile of Rhodes (https://sidewire.com/politics/dashboard/articles/c15781693dcd6b903ed25dd050e1c21a) that popped online earlier this week. In it, Rhodes mocks the establishment foreign policy "blob," and he and his team talked about how they had manipulated the media and the public in building the case for the controversial Iran nuclear deal.
* Side note: There's a special reportorial art in letting your subject hang himself with his own rope.

The profile is the only thing that folks in Washington's foreign policy and national security circles has been able to talk about for the last few days. It confirmed the worst suspicions of Rhodes' detractors and sparked a passionate defense of his policy and communications skills from those closest to him.

IN A SUBSEQUENT COLUMN, ELI WROTE THAT RHODES, who thinks of himself as an outsider, is no such thing.
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"The idea that Rhodes is somehow independent of, or in opposition to, the foreign policy establishment is delusion. He embodies that establishment, particularly when it comes to the Iran deal."

—Eli Lake/Bloomberg View (https://sidewire.com/politics/dashboard/articles/2807b1f365e908e2f2e6a5bcdba6ab99)

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Eli argues that President Obama, guided by Rhodes, has actually implemented the establishment's view of how to deal with the Middle East and that it was President George W. Bush who tried to break with establishment thinking.

Tommy's geared up to defend Rhodes and the White House's foreign policy thinking.

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**
TRIVIAL PURSUITS
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ABOUT TODAY
Happy Mother's Day!

YESTERDAY'S TRIVIA
On which presidential campaign did Ronald Reagan travel from Little Rock to Charlottesville? Answer: 1968

TODAY'S TRIVIA
Courtesy of BOB SHRUM: Who were the three Republicans who supported Theodore Roosevelt on the Bull Moose ticket in 1912 but subsequently won the Republican nomination for president or vice president?

Send answers to [email-masked]. The first person to respond correctly wins the thrill of victory and the right to pose tomorrow's trivia question.

PLEASE SEND TIPS, suggestions, comments, complaints, corrections andthe names of the horse or horses that will win the Preakness and the Belmont Stakes to [email-masked]

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**
CAN TRUMP WIN WITHOUT THE ESTABLISHMENT?
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JOSH KRAUSHAAR of National Journal writes in the New York Times this morning about the challenge Donald Trump faces in trying to win the presidency if he doesn't have the institutional support of the Republican Party.
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"If Mr. Trump fails to unite the party — if he runs in the general election as he did in the primaries, as a man without a party — will it matter? Judging by history, the answer is a resounding yes. Not since 1964 — when Barry M. Goldwater lost the electoral vote 486-52 — has a Republican nominee run without the support of the heart of his political party."

—Josh Kraushaar/New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/campaign-stops/is-trump-more-dangerous-as-friend-or-foe.html?_r=1)

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Republican strategist JOSH HOLMES explains the mechanics in Kraushaar's op-ed analysis.
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"He’s going to need infrastructure. ... You can get away with a lot in primaries by getting more attention than the next guy. But when your opponent is better funded, and is deploying over a billion dollars in party infrastructure, you can’t cede that ground entirely.”

—Josh Holmes/NYT (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/08/opinion/campaign-stops/is-trump-more-dangerous-as-friend-or-foe.html?_r=1)

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For a few years now, both sides of the Republican civil war have been strong enough to prevent their own defeat. That has meant escalation of hostilities, and now, with House Speaker Paul Ryan withholding his support for the Republican presidential nominee, they are close to the point of actual fracture.
The balance of power has shifted, former Sen. Judd Gregg observes in a Washington Post story (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-spurs-some-conservative-leaders-to-step-back-from-the-gop/2016/05/07/9aedf0bc-13d3-11e6-81b4-581a5c4c42df_story.html)  by BOB COSTA & PHIL RUCKER.
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"If there’s an ideological leader of our party right now, it’s Paul Ryan. ... He’s not part of the shouting crowd; he’s part of the doing crowd. But the party’s voters have gone with the shouting crowd. It’s reflective of the failure of the doer crowd to get things done.”

—former Sen. Judd Gregg/WaPo (https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-spurs-some-conservative-leaders-to-step-back-from-the-gop/2016/05/07/9aedf0bc-13d3-11e6-81b4-581a5c4c42df_story.html)

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THE BIG QUESTION

Will Republican leaders really abandon the party's nominee for president?

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