We’re debuting a new format to The Lobby Shop this week, now featuring your three regular co-hosts Josh Zive, Liam Donovan, and Paul Nathanson. We’ll cover the latest DC news from three angles: diving into legislation and policy, understanding their context and politics, and the success/failure of the involved parties’ communications tactics. Our featured guest interview this week is with PRG’s latest and greatest intern, Taryn Taylor Brown.
Talking GOP Immigration Bills on Fox News
I joined Shannon Bream (filling in for Dana Perino) on Fox News Channel’s The Daily Briefing to discuss House legislative efforts and the broader immigration debate.
Liam Donovan on House immigration bills: "I don't know that there's a solution that gets 218 votes among Republicans alone. So a bipartisan solution is gonna have to be where this goes ultimately if they want to solve the problem." #DailyBriefing pic.twitter.com/MVkDJxfrfb
— Fox News (@FoxNews) June 15, 2018
Full clip here:
The Lobby Shop Episode #53: Political Grab Bag
Josh and Liam reunite in The Lobby Shop for a look at what Liam has been up to for the last few weeks. We cover the cancellation of Congress’s August recess by Senate Majority Leader McConnell, the outlook of the Midterm elections, DC’s Capitals in the Stanley Cup Final, and more.
Daily Beast: High Stakes for GOP Primaries
I spoke with Gideon Resnick of The Daily Beast about the upcoming primaries and their implications for the GOP in the November midterm elections.
While political pros have mocked the ads, Blankenship’s incendiary approach has earned him more press attention, if much of it negative, than his opponents Rep. Evan Jenkins and state Attorney General Patrick Morrisey.
“Hard to expect the media to avert its eyes from the Blankenship circus, particularly in a click-driven environment, but I think there is a real tail risk,” Republican strategist Liam Donovan observed. “Dominating the conversation for negative reasons is still dominating the conversation, and with just days to go that really matters. It would be naive to think that wasn’t his goal in releasing this ridiculous ad.”
Click here to read the entire piece.
Toronto Star: Paul Ryan’s exit is latest hint of a Democratic wave in 2018 election
I spoke to Daniel Dale of the Toronto Star about Paul Ryan’s departure and what it says about GOP fortunes in the upcoming midterm election:
“Typically you’d look to presidential approval and partisan advantage in the generic ballot question, and polls currently show Republicans still competitive, albeit in the danger zone. But beyond these traditional metrics, the sheer imbalance in enthusiasm remains the X-factor,” said Liam Donovan, a Republican strategist and lobbyist at Bracewell LLP. “Forty-plus per cent approval and a single-digit generic ballot margin wouldn’t normally yield double-digit swings in districts across the country, and yet that’s what we’ve seen repeatedly over the past year. Ultimately, the outcome will be a function of whether the current asymmetry persists.”
Read the full piece here.