Even power needs a day off.
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POLITICO illustration/Photos by AP, iStock | They want to abolish the CDC and FDA, virtually eliminate the federal government’s ability to borrow money and empower state legislatures to override federal law — and they see an ally in new House Speaker Mike Johnson. “Speaker Mike Johnson has long been a supporter of Convention of States,” says Mark Meckler, co-founder of Convention of States Action (COSA) — a movement that has been trying for a decade to rewrite the Constitution in the image of the tea party. Though Johnson has not directly endorsed COSA, which pushes for states to call for a new Constitutional Convention, he had a lot to say about it as a Louisiana state representative in 2016, when the state deliberated whether to petition Congress for a convention invoked under Article V of the Constitution. “I came to this conclusion myself reluctantly, but I’m there,” he said at the time. “I think we have to do it.” The measure passed, 62 to 36, making Louisiana the eighth state to back such a radical move. Now, multiple COSA-affiliated leaders tell Laura Jedeed that they see an invaluable ally in the second spot from the presidency. “Beyond the power of the gavel,” she writes in this week’s Friday Read, “COSA advocates are saying Johnson’s perceived support could help their movement move farther into the mainstream.” Read the story. | | | |  | “You’re just scum.” Can you guess who said this about Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.**
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Secretary of State Antony Blinken testifies while, in the background, a group of protesters hold up their hands calling for a ceasefire in Gaza during a Senate Appropriations Committee hearing on national security spending on Capitol Hill Oct. 31, 2023. | Francis Chung/POLITICO | The Real Israel Debate … News of intense dissent within the Biden administration over the president’s position on Israel has flooded Washington with all the umbrage of a leaked internal divide — but without any of the benefits of a public debate. The “responsible Washington view on what’s supposed to happen when the worker bees disagree with the bosses on a matter of policy,” writes Michael Schaffer in this week’s Capital City column, is that “they deserve to get their say, but don’t have to get their way.” But as tensions rise, it’s unclear that “sticking to the process” will be enough.
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| | The final GOP debate this week continued two trends: Donald Trump’s absenteeism and a steady decline in viewership. But even if you were among the millions who tuned out after the first throwdown in August, you can’t walk into a weekend of hot debate takes with nothing to say. If you had better things to do Wednesday night, fake your way through cocktail hour with these quick tips. (From associate editor Dylon Jones): - Subtly imply that you watched all the way to the end with a bit of gossip: “Let’s talk about what really matters: Did everybody catch the soft launch of Tim Scott’s real-life girlfriend?” - Be ready to talk about the “those two” of the season. If you’re among paleocons, just pull up Ramaswamy’s latest TikTok on your phone and say, “Hey, I bet Nikki Haley would love this.” That oughta keep them busy while you swap back to this tab and read the next couple bullet points. If the crowd is more National Review than Breitbart, all you need to do is practice your killer Haley eyeroll for when Ramaswamy’s name comes up. �� - DeSantis didn’t get into the boot thing, but Haley did. When Ramaswamy called Haley and DeSantis “Dick Cheney in three-inch heels,” she quipped that her heels were actually five inches — and not for fashion, but “ammunition.” Just nod and smile like you know what that means — your friends won’t want to be the one who has to ask. Then wonder privately to yourself: Should George W. Bush get ready to duck? - Sometimes debates are like jazz — they’re about the candidates who don’t play. Prove you’re not out of touch with a Republican electorate that still overwhelmingly supports the former president by referencing a line from the rally he held while the also-rans were at one another’s throats: “A rally really is much harder to do than a debate!”
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POLITICO illustration/Photos by Getty Images; iStock | Trump’s Gonna Love This Survey … Back in March, when we ran Seth Masket’s first installment of the County Line — a survey of GOP county chairs on the state of the primary race — he found significant room for GOP candidates to swoop in past Trump and cinch the nomination. But his latest survey indicates that window is closing. “The most recent survey shows a 10-point jump in support for Trump — up to 37 percent,” he writes, “while DeSantis dropped four points to 9 percent.”
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Republican presidential candidates (L-R) Chris Christie, Nikki Haley, Ron DeSantis, Vivek Ramaswamy and Tim Scott had a lot to say at tonight’s GOP primary debate — but their body language said even more. | Joe Raedle/Getty Images | Why Does He Smile Like That? … The candidates had a lot to say at the debate Wednesday night, but their body language said even more — or at least it did to body language decoder and former FBI agent Joe Navarro, who analyzed the true meaning behind Ron DeSantis’ awkward smile, Nikki Haley’s finger gun and Vivek Ramaswamy’s angry eyebrows.
| | | **Who Dissed answer: That would be former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley, who muttered this phrase under her breath after Ramaswamy went after her daughter’s use of TikTok on the debate stage Wednesday night. politicoweekend@email.politico.com | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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