Subject: POLITICO’S Huddle: LEFT TO GIVE OBAMA IRAN WIN — But Cardin still on the fence — DONORS DOG LAWMAKERS ON IRAN, TOO — Democrats increasingly worrying about Clinton’s emails issue — SENATE GOP CONSIDERS RECONCILIATION SHORTCUT.
From: "POLITICO Huddle" <[email-masked]>
To: <[email-masked]>
Date: Thu, 13 Aug 2015 07:09:58 -0600

By Rachael Bade (
mailto:[email-masked] 
[email-masked]  or @RachaelMBade)

LIBERALS TO DELIVER OBAMA IRAN VICTORY. Minority Leader-in-waiting-Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) stole the show when he announce he'd oppose Obama's Iran deal - but the House Democratic Caucus is going its own way, backing the administration. Lauren French reports that they'll deliver for the President: "Close to 40 House Democrats have come out in favor of the deal since it was first announced in mid-July, while 16 senators have voiced their support. And there are dozens of additional Democrats who've signaled in interviews and statements that they are inclined to back Obama's deal, which aims to stop Tehran's development of a nuclear weapon in exchange for lifting economic sanctions."

"Most notably, not one of the 151 House Democrats who signed a May letter in support of the broad outlines of the agreement have announced opposition to the final product. Obama needs at least 144 House Democrats to stick by him to sustain a veto of any GOP legislation that would undermine or dismantle the deal with Iran." 
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BUT...

ONE KEY SENATOR STILL NEEDS SOME W.H. CAJOLING. And that's Senate Foreign Relations ranker Ben Cardin. Here's Karoun Demirjian for The Washington Post: "Now that Chuck Schumer is openly opposed to the Iran deal, the undecided lawmaker everyone should be watching is the junior senator from Maryland. Mere months ago, Democrat Ben Cardin would likely never have been considered the pendulum to swing such an historic vote."

"But the new Senate Foreign Relations Committee ranking member has been thrust to center stage as Congress debates the Iran agreement. Like other Democrats, he must decide whether to support President Obama's venture that, if successful, is sure to be touted as a highlight of his White House tenure. Despite his position, and by virtue of that, his access - Cardin has more direct lines to the administration's principal negotiators, diplomats and experts than almost any other lawmaker - he hasn't yet picked sides, or chosen to lobby his colleagues either way. Instead, Cardin is playing the role of moderator in the congressional debate. He intends to remain Mr. Neutral until after Labor Day -
 which is precisely when Congress will vote on the Iran deal." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46ef67d9464347ad81fb47fca95438ab92fe3bd89d189d7ea9ffd869590a80fe 
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DONORS PRESSURE LAWMAKERS ON IRAN, TOO. Jonathan Weisman and Nicholas Confessore for The New York Times: "In the weeks before Senator Chuck Schumer's decision to oppose the Iran nuclear accord, John Shapiro, a New York financier and a leader of the American Jewish Committee, had his ear, plying him with reasons to oppose it. Mr. Shapiro, a longtime benefactor of the New York senator and other Democrats, was hardly alone. Some of the wealthiest and most powerful donors in American politics, those for and against the accord, tried to get a word in with Mr. Schumer."

"Now, approaching a vote on President Obama's most important international priority, the fight is expanding, with tens of millions of dollars flowing into ad campaigns, and contributors leveraging access to undecided Democrats. S. Daniel Abraham, a Jewish philanthropist who made billions on SlimFast drinks, dispatched emails to Senate Democrats while vacationing in St.-Tropez, urging their support. The gay rights patron Tim Gill and his husband, Scott Miller, also have quietly urged lawmakers to back the president, telling them the deal is in Israel's best interest. Norman Lear, the TV producer who has raised millions for Democrats, said he wrote to Mr. Schumer to criticize his decision...

"The furious lobbying lays bare the volatile politics of the Iran accord, which has already pitted Mr. Schumer, the likely future leader of Senate Democrats, against the Democratic president. It also reveals donors' divisions over the deal - and the extraordinary access those donors have wielded to speak directly to lawmakers and their top aides." 
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HEADING TO IOWA? ME TOO! -IT'S AUGUST 13, 2015. Thanks for reading Huddle, where we're packing our bags for the Iowa State Fair. We'll be covering Hillary Clinton at the Friday night wing ding and bumming around the festivities throughout the weekend. Have you been? Are you going? Send recommendations on what to eat/see/do, here: 
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[email-masked] , or Tweet: @RachaelMBade.

TODAY IN CONGRESS: More recess.

AROUND THE HILL: Plotting weekend getaways?

DEMOCRATS INCREASINGLY PANICKED ABOUT CLINTON EMAILS SAGA. And they should be, as this is going to drag out all the way up until Election Day. Niall Stanage and Kevin Cirilli report for The Hill: "Democrats are worried that the furor over Hillary Clinton's private email server will be prolonged and intensified after her sudden move to hand it to the FBI. The Clinton campaign's decision to give up the server and a thumb-drive containing back-up copies of emails left Democrats scratching their heads as to why the former secretary of State had resisted turning over the server for months. Coupled with new polls that suggest Clinton is vulnerable, Democrats are nearing full-on panic mode. "

"'I'm not sure they completely understand the credibility they are losing, by the second,' said one Democratic strategist, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. 'At some point this goes from being something you can rationalize away to something that becomes political cancer. And we are getting pretty close to the cancer stage, because this is starting to get ridiculous.' 'Look, this is a classic example of the cover-up being ten times worse than the so-called crime - though in this case there wasn&#39;t a crime,' said another progressive strategist. 'The culture of secrecy that has surrounded the Clintons - understandably in some cases - has now yielded a situation where she did
 something that wasn&#39;t necessary and looks nefarious.'" 
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GOP LEADERS MULL RECONCILIATION SHORTCUT. Maybe the House should write the reconciliation bill? That's what Senate leaders are currently considering, per Paul Krawzak's piece that just came out from the CQ paywall: "GOP leaders are considering an abbreviated form of the powerful budget reconciliation process this year, giving them the leeway to focus on other pressing matters while still issuing a prod to the president on the health care law. Under the approach being discussed, the Senate would act on a House-written reconciliation bill to overturn the health care law, rather than going through the laborious steps it would take to write and debate its own measure."

"An accelerated reconciliation schedule would take less time away from what lawmakers say are essential laws they must pass during an increasingly jammed legislative schedule. That includes finding a way out of an impasse over the fiscal 2016 spending bills, reviewing President Barack Obama's Iran deal, passing highway legislation and extending tax breaks. The GOP expects to use reconciliation to attempt a repeal portions of the 2010 health care law (PL 111-148, PL 111-152). Even though Obama is almost sure to veto any repeal, many Republicans remain committed to sending a repeal to his desk and putting him on the record. Repeal remains particularly important to many in the conservative GOP
 base." 
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IN POLITICAL NEWS ...

"THE SENATE SEATS MOST LIKELY TO FLIP IN 2016." Hotline today released its Senate rankings on the most vulnerable candidates, per Alex Roarty, Andrea Drusch, Scott Bland and Josh Kraushaar. They include: 1.) Sen. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) 2.) Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) 3.) Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) 4.) Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Penn.) Read why, and see where your boss falls in the rest of their line-up: 
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BACK IN THE DISTRICT -

THUNE GIVES GOP NOTECARD TO TAKE HOME, WITH INSTRUCTIONS. Niels Lesniewski for Roll Call: "Republican senators were sent home for August recess with a pocket card printed with a simple message. 'When Republicans took control of the Senate, we promised to get the Senate working again,' the card reads. 'We are keeping our promise.' The card lists an assortment of legislation passed in the Senate, from long-term highway and education reauthorizations to the anti-human trafficking bill. Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, the chairman of the Senate Republican Conference, leads the operation that produces the materials for the August recess." 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46ef67d9464347adc2a2cb4ef44799169e386d2dc8fbbdaaa4f3cd9c7dc90ece 
http://go.politicoemail.com/?qs=46ef67d9464347adc2a2cb4ef44799169e386d2dc8fbbdaaa4f3cd9c7dc90ece 

AND OUT ON THE ROAD--

BIPARTISAN HANG OUT IN THE JEWISH STATE .For the first time, AIPAC's biennial trip to Israel for House Democrats and Republicans overlapped for a day - and lawmakers celebrated the occasion Monday "with a bipartisan tour of the Iron Dome air defense system," according to Roll Call's Emma Dumain. More here: 
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WEDNESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER. U.S. News & World Report contributing editor Peter Roffwas the first to answer the that the three instances of women statues on the National Mall include: the Vietnam Women's Memorial, which its nurses, Eleanor Roosevelt at FDR, and Freedom on top of Capitol - though the latter may not technically be considered the Mall.

TODAY&#39;S TRIVIA: Comes from Logan Ferree in Rep. Jared Huffman's (D-Calif.) office: The death of the governor elect before being sworn into office led to a constitutional crisis with three different individuals claiming to occupy the governorship. What was the state, who was the governor elect who died, and what were the three proclaimed governors and their claims to office? Who became governor? Email 
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