Steve Schmidt

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An Old John McCain Scandal Takes a Turn
An Old John McCain
Scandal Takes a Turn
the rundown
May 10, 2022 10:10 AM CDT

An Old John McCain Scandal Takes a Turn

Once-loyal ally Steve Schmidt is now at odds with the McCain family

(Newser) - The name John McCain has been in the headlines a lot in the last few days, as has that of his once-loyal adviser, Steve Schmidt, along with McCain's daughter, Meghan. There's a lot to unpack in explaining why, but if you want a shorthand version, the headline at...

Lincoln Project Co-Founder Tells 'My Truth,' Steps Down

Steve Schmidt resigns from the group's board amid John Weaver scandal, message postings

(Newser) - The Lincoln Project, beset by a slew of scandals in recent weeks, has just taken a new hit. Axios reports that co-founder Steve Schmidt is resigning from the anti-Trump PAC's board as another co-founder, GOP operative John Weaver, faces accusations that he groomed and sexually solicited nearly two dozen...

Fox's Ingraham Calls Out Conservatives

She slams those 'on the sidelines' in volatile times

(Newser) - Fox News host Laura Ingraham called out fellow conservatives in what the Daily Beast describes as "apocalyptic" terms Monday night. More precisely, she called out conservatives she accuses of remaining on the "sidelines" during turbulent times, per Mediaite . She suggested that the very future of the country is...

75 GOP Bigwigs Sign Brief Backing Gay Marriage

Top Republicans show support before key Supreme Court case

(Newser) - Scores of prominent Republicans have made an unprecedented show of support for gay marriage. The GOPers, including Jon Huntsman, former George W. Bush administration officials, and four former governors, have signed a legal brief arguing that gay people have the constitutional right to marry, the New York Times reports. The...

Romney's Wealth Worried McCain Camp in '08

But Steve Schmidt says he wasn't passed over for VP because of taxes

(Newser) - Part of the reason John McCain passed over Mitt Romney was because of his vast wealth, top McCain strategist Steve Schmidt tells the Huffington Post . "Sen. McCain got caught flat-footed answering questions about how many houses he owned," Schmidt recalls. "We knew it would be a big...

Steve Schmidt: Palin as President 'Frightens Me'

 Steve Schmidt: 
 Palin as 
 President 
 'Frightens Me' 
'game change' reax
Mar 12, 2012 10:45 AM CDT

Steve Schmidt: Palin as President 'Frightens Me'

Former McCain strategist calls 'Game Change' 'very accurate'

(Newser) - Steve Schmidt, the former John McCain campaign strategist portrayed by Woody Harrelson in HBO's Game Change, pulled no punches when describing his reaction to the book on MSNBC this morning. "I think it was very accurate. For all of us in the campaign, it really rang true. It...

Full Game Change Trailer Debuts
 Full Game Change 
 Trailer Debuts 
reaction roundup
Feb 1, 2012 9:31 AM CST

Full Game Change Trailer Debuts

And Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin is still pretty scary: reactions

(Newser) - If you thought Julianne Moore's Sarah Palin was terrifying in the first Game Change teaser , wait until you see her in the full trailer, where she utters lines such as, "We have to win this thing. I so don’t want to go back to Alaska." Watch...

Game Change Trailer Stars Terrifying Sarah Palin

HBO debuts first teaser

(Newser) - For all of you who have spent the past nine months wondering how Julianne Moore’s Sarah Palin impersonation will stack up against Tina Fey’s , you finally have your answer. HBO debuted its first teaser trailer for Game Change, the film due in March that's based on the...

Why Steve Schmidt's Gunning for Sarah Palin

Enemies say he wants to be a pundit; friends say it's personal

(Newser) - Steve Schmidt has taken post-campaign sour grapes to new heights with his public assault on Sarah Palin on 60 Minutes, reports Politico . What drove him to it? That depends on who you ask, Politico reports. One Palin ally theorizes that Schmidt, damaged in political circles after the inept McCain campaign,...

McCain Defends Staffers From Palin

Says he's 'proud' of her, but 'it's just time to move on'

(Newser) - John McCain is careful to praise Sarah Palin at the same time he stands by the staffers she's going after in her book. “There's been a lot of dust flying around in the last few days,” he tells Reuters , referring to the publication of Palin’s Going Rogue....

A Guide to Going Rogue
 A Guide to Going Rogue 
Her friends, foes, frenemies
Nov 17, 2009 10:09 AM CST

A Guide to Going Rogue

Find out who gets bloodied in Palin's book

(Newser) - It's the read all of Washington has been waiting for, but, alas, it has no index. Lest Sarah Palin's friends, foes, and frenemies be forced to read it all the way through to see how they made out, Politico's Jonathan Martin and Andy Barr offer a guide: Friends
  • John McCain:
...

Palin 2012 'Catastrophic' for GOP: McCain Insider

Ex-gov has no centrist appeal: strategist

(Newser) - If Sarah Palin is the 2012 presidential nominee, the Republican Party "would have a catastrophic election result,” the top strategist for the McCain campaign said today. Steve Schmidt foresees the 2012 election being won by the party that can sway the independents who backed Barack Obama in 2008....

Palin Story Sparks Catfight in McCain Crew

Senior campaign hands publicly bicker, with assist from Kristol

(Newser) - Senior McCain hands are wringing their dirty laundry in the public square thanks to Vanity Fair’s vicious piece on Sarah Palin, Politico reports. When William Kristol publicly accused chief strategist Steve Schmidt of being the story’s source, Schmidt fired back that it was “categorically untrue.” He...

Hey, Meghan: What Cheney Thinks Is More Important

And it's not because he's an old white man

(Newser) - After Meghan McCain took exception to the idea that her stance on gay marriage is “meaningless” compared to Dick Cheney’s, Washington Monthly blogger Steve Benen outlines in no uncertain terms why—and it’s not “that I only respect old white guys, I don’t respect young...

McCain's Campaign Chief: He Never Had a Chance

(Newser) - The man who ran John McCain's campaign said his defeat was nearly preordained, reports Politico. It was "the strategic equivalent of throwing a football through a tire at 50 yards,” said Steve Schmidt. Given the ascendancy of Barack Obama—"the unfinished Bobby Kennedy campaign"—the unpopularity...

Top McCain Aide Comes Out for Gay Marriage

Support consistent with conservative values, Schmidt argues

(Newser) - Backing what he calls "a sound conservative argument," a top McCain campaign operative is explaining his newly public personal support for gay marriage, CNN reports. Steve Schmidt will address the Log Cabin Republicans today and urge them to reverse their position. “No other exercise of one's liberty...

Unaired McCain Spot Blasts Rev. Wright

Attack ad surfaces, but GOP candidate refused to run it

(Newser) - John McCain's campaign created a commercial slamming Barack Obama for his relationship with inflammatory pastor Jeremiah Wright. The 30-second spot, obtained by ABC News, contrasts McCain's years in a Vietnam POW camp with footage of Wright shouting "God damn America." The commercial was ready for release and...

How Revolving Narratives Swamped Would-Be Narrator

McCain's move from tactic to tactic resulted in confused overall strategy

(Newser) - John McCain’s campaign has gone through a dizzying number of narratives, as Robert Draper outlines in the New York Times. Draper looks inside a dysfunctional operation driven by two quarreling old McCain friends (Rick Davis and speechwriter Mark Salter), and the Rovian outsider who reconciled them (Steve Schmidt). The...

Pundits' 7 Worst Campaign Blunders

Missed calls, poor predictions

(Newser) - Pundits make mistakes. And Salon has tallied the biggest whoppers of the presidential campaign:
  1. The “Palin bounce”—It fizzled and the Alaska governor has the highest negative approval ratings of a VP candidate in history.
  2. “Sergeant” Schmidt will right the USS McCain—Steve Schmidt’s strategy of
...

'Bullet' Mixes Rove-Style Bile, Gambling for Stretch Run

Steve Schmidt, brought aboard in July, has made daring part of McCain campaign

(Newser) - While pundits might disagree about results, there’s no doubt John McCain’s choice of Sarah Palin and his move to suspend his campaign over the bailout are huge gambles that can be traced to strategist Steve Schmidt, the Los Angeles Times reports. Nicknamed “Bullet” by strategist Karl Rove,...

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