U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan told a group of donors late Wednesday that Donald Trump's poll plunge is posing a threat to GOP control of his chamber. From Politico.com:
The rift between Ryan and Trump has ramifications beyond November. From the same article:
While some GOP lawmakers have called Trump directly to ask him to lay off Ryan, the speaker has also faced a backlash from some of his own members who back Trump. Oklahoma GOP Rep. Jim Bridenstine tweeted on Wednesday that he wouldn't back Ryan for speaker. "Given the stakes of this election, if Paul Ryan isn't for Trump, then I'm not for Paul Ryan," Bridenstine said.
An awkward body count isn't making a rapprochement any easier. From the Washington Post:
One of the women alleges that Trump grabbed her breasts and tried to put his hand up her skirt during a flight more than three decades ago, the New York Times reported. Another says he kissed her on the mouth outside an elevator in 2005, according to the same report. A third woman says Trump groped her rear end at his Mar-a-Lago resort 13 years ago, the Palm Beach Post reported. The fourth, then a People magazine reporter, says Trump kissed her without her consent when the two were alone in 2005 right before an interview she was about to conduct with Trump and his wife.
Trump has denied all accounts:
Most importantly, Trump's mid-October feud with D.C.'s GOP establishment is preventing a sharp focus on this – also from the Washington Post:
The correspondence reveals a campaign that has struggled all year to improve a flawed candidate. As far back as March, aides were keenly aware that she was resistant to the media, perhaps out of touch with regular Americans and unable to convey a clear message to voters.
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We told you earlier that Democrat Jim Barksdale is trying to up his game against Republican incumbent Johnny Isakson in the race for U.S. Senate. Barksdale's latest staff addition: Symone D. Sanders, who will be Barksdale's senior communications strategist.
Symone Sanders, 25, was the national press secretary for U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders presidential campaign -- the youngest presidential press secretary on record.
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In today's print column, we also told you that Donald Trump's tumble in the polls had Democrat Hillary Clinton revisiting the notion of making a late autumn bid for Georgia. Larry Sabato, the University of Virginia political scientist and "Crystal Ball" blogger, is among those acknowledging the shift:
It now appears that Georgia, like Arizona, is also moving back into play. There have been several reports of close polls there and the Clinton campaign might try to make a move for this reliably Republican state. We're moving it back to Leans Republican, from Likely Republican, matching Arizona's race rating. Needless to say, a Clinton win in Arizona or Georgia would be evidence of a Clinton rout that matches or exceeds Obama's seven-point 2008 romp.
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You could call it a Sandy Koufax moment. The Board of Regents vote on Wednesday to name Attorney General Sam Olens the new president of Kennesaw State University was one of the biggest days in his public career, topping weeks of speculation, protests and maneuvering.
It was also Yom Kippur, the holiest day on the Jewish calendar. And Olens, the first Jewish person to win a statewide partisan contest, said he didn't hesitate about his decision. He spent the day at a suburban Atlanta synagogue with his family.
Yasher Koach.
The announcement that followed Olens' appointment contained an upfront acknowledgement that the move was somewhat unusual:
The Board of Regents of the University System of Georgia today named Mr. Sam Olens president of Kennesaw State University (KSU). Olens will assume his new position on November 1, 2016.
University campuses, it goes without saying, are extremely degree-conscious. There is no “Dr.” in front of Olens’ name – a fact that has raised eyebrows among KSU faculty.
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The Charlotte Observer today has a lengthy piece on the personal price that gays and lesbians may be paying in North Carolina as a result of protests over HB 2, the "bathroom law" that also abolishes local LGBT protections.
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Mercer University is out with another economic survey of middle Georgia. "Treading water" appears to be the region's motto:
"In all of the editions of the survey, the majority of businesses do not identify the next six-month period as a good time to expand their operations. This has, of course, a negative impact on their investment and hiring decisions. One can speculate that this outlook indicates that businesses in the region do not see yet an economic recovery robust enough to induce risk-taking. In addition, respondents continue to identify government regulations and/or red tape, taxes and the quality of labor as the top obstacles to their business activities."
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