TheDC Morning

TheDC Morning: The return of the Dean scream?

Jamie Weinstein Senior Writer
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1.) The return of the Dean scream? — Howard Dean wants a do-over. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:

“The former governor of Vermont, Democratic National Committee chairman and 2004 presidential candidate is headed back to Iowa and New Hampshire, according to local news reports. James Pindell, the political director of New Hampshire’s WMUR, reported Tuesday in a story titled, ‘Howard Dean to visit NH during presidential campaign ‘testing the waters’ phase’ that the Democrat is visiting the Granite State next month. The popular liberal was once seen as the Democratic front runner to take on President George W. Bush in 2004. But he’s often remembered today for his infamous ‘Dean Scream’ the night of the Iowa caucuses after he placed third and vowed to continue his campaign.”

Not a dumb move by Dean. If Hillary for some reason doesn’t run and Joe Biden doesn’t run or quickly fizzes, there are not too many top-tier candidates for the Dems who can step into the void. Next on the depth chart is probably New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but the field would be wide open. And if the party is looking for an anti-Hillary, Dean might be able to be that guy. So why not, right?

2.) McConnell’s trap — Mitch McConnell says his primary challenger did some embellishing of his resume. TheDC’s Alex Pappas reports:

“The Republican primary fight between Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell and his conservative challenger in Kentucky has been reduced to a simple argument: You are a liar! On Tuesday, McConnell’s re-election campaign released a television ad titled, ‘M.I.T,’ accusing challenger Matt Bevin of being dishonest about his education background. ‘Newspapers say Bevin was dishonest about his resume, claiming he graduated from prestigious MIT,’ the ad states. ‘Not true again. Bevin never attended MIT, and MIT has no record of Bevin.’ … Bevin’s campaign responded to the ad on Tuesday by saying the candidate attended the EO/MIT Entrepreneurial Masters Program. … But The Hill, a free newspaper distributed on Capitol Hill, reported that the EO/MIT Entrepreneurial Masters Program takes place at the MIT Endicott campus, but is not a program run by the school.”

Smart move, McConnell. Force Bevin to prove he went to MIT, or some variation of MIT that wasn’t really MIT, and then nail him for going to an elite East Coast liberal institution. TheDC Morning likes your style.

3.) Broken Carr — Pro tip: It’s not a good start to your campaign when the day you announce, a top aide quits because he likes your opponent better. TheDC’s Alexis Levinson reports:

“Tennessee Sen. Lamar Alexander drew a Republican primary challenger Tuesday, when State Rep. Joe Carr announced that he would scuttle his plans to challenge Republican Rep. Scott DesJarlais for his congressional seat and jump into the Senate race instead. Carr announced his primary challenge Tuesday morning, calling Alexander ‘the most liberal member of the delegation from Tennessee,’ the Associated Press reports. In response to the announcement, Carr’s top aide, Chip Saltsman, resigned from the campaign, writing in a letter, ‘I signed up to help you run for Congress, not the Senate,’ before endorsing Alexander for re-election. ‘It is because of Lamar Alexander that people like you have the honor of serving in the majority of the state legislature,’ Saltsman wrote, crediting Alexander with then-Vice President Al Gore losing his home state of Tennessee when he ran for president in 2000.”

4.) Ed to the rescue — On Monday it was announced that Ed Schultz was moving from his weekend show to host a weekday show again on MSNBC. In yet another astonishing fake scoop, TheDC’s Jamie Weinstein and Will Rahn got their hands on the email exchange between Schultz and MSNBC President Phil Griffin that led to the move. After Schultz reached out, Griffin was somewhat dismissive of moving him back, at least to his old 8 p.m. slot: 

“It is so awesome to here from you, one of America’s most thought-provoking populists. Have I told you recently how important you are to the MSNBC family, and how unfortunate it would be if we had to send you back to North Dakota? Have I expressed how it would pain me if, a year from now, my assistant tells me that you drunkenly fell outside of a Williston bar and, unable to right your massive frame, you froze to death during a snowstorm? … Think of all the hill people whose laziness long ago outstripped their racism and see you as a version of their better, less-trammeled selves? Think of all the obese, moon-faced children who want nothing more than to grow up and join a dying union and make eight dollars an hour until they die of heart disease at 35? These are your people, Ed, and although they are totally worthless from the perspective of our advertisers, they believe in you, and it would be a damn shame if you let them down because you couldn’t deal with a slow decline into obscurity like a fucking man. Hayes stays where he is. So do you. Deal with it.”

Read the rest of the faux exchange. You’ll laugh. You’ll cry. But hopefully you’ll do more laughing than crying.

5.) Tweet of Yesterday — Conan O’Brien: Christian Bale has been offered $50 million to play Batman. Save your money, Hollywood, I’ll do it for $40 million!

6.) Today in North Korean News — BREAKING: “Peaceful Environment Is Prerequisite for Nation’s Prosperity: News Analyst”

VIDEO: Georgia Tech student goes nuts in freshman convocation speech

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Jamie Weinstein