Welcome to The Lid, your afternoon dose of the 2016 ethos…Hillary Clinton has joined Instagram, posting her first image on Wednesday. Bill Clinton has not yet joined the photo-sharing service, despite being the member of the family best known for occasionally having #nofilter.
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’16 AT 30 THOUSAND
The drumbeat against the 10-candidate cutoff for the first GOP primary debate is getting louder today. First, a group of over 50 New Hampshire Republicans laid out their concerns in a letter to FOX and the RNC, saying that the rules would “undermine… the valuable service that states like New Hampshire provide to voters across the country.” And candidate Lindsey Graham’s campaign chimed in, arguing that “a reliance on national polling to determine who participates in debates steals the traditional role of the early primary states.” (Graham, of course, is in the awkward position of possibly missing the debate stage despite being a very prominent pol in another key primary state, South Carolina.)
Think about it: Perhaps even as much as the candidates, these early primary states have to worry about how the debate criteria could challenge their relevance. If you’re a candidate in jeopardy of not getting on stage, is your best use of time going to Concord or Sioux City to reach a few hundred (at best) people during a town hall? Or are you best served by focusing on the Fox News hits or national ads that will reach millions?
POPPING ON NBC POLITICS
- “A group of New Hampshire Republicans have sent an open letter to FOX News and the RNC protesting the planned participation rules for the first GOP primary,” one of us writes.
- Georgia Sen. Johnny Isakson revealed Wednesday that he has Parkinson’s,, but he says that the disease won’t stop him from his plans for a 2016 reelection bid.
- Chris Christie touted his success in appealing to Latinos on Wednesday and said the GOP “has been guilty in some respects for speaking in a way that doesn't sound very welcoming to new members,” one of us(!) writes.
- Hillary Clinton sent her first Instagram today. Hillary Clinton sent her first Instagram today. Regrettably, it was not a selfie or a picture of her lunch.
CAMPAIGN QUICK READS
Worth the read: The Des Moines Register’s Jason Noble argues that the hand-wringing over Iowa’s relevance in the presidential process lacks a sense of history, noting that the importance of the caucuses has waxed and waned over the years.
CLINTON: Bill Clinton said he does not think he will continue to give paid speeches if Hillary Clinton is elected president.
GRAHAM: He’s now gotten into a battle with Fox News host Sean Hannity.
TRUMP: He’s heading to Iowa after his June 16 announcement.
FOR THE RECORD…
“I’ve found people have said embarrassing things on email and I didn’t want to be one of them.”
Bill Clinton, on not using email.
TOMORROW’S SKED
Jeb Bush continues his European travels with events in Warsaw, Poland.
Chris Christie delivers a speech on education in Iowa.
Carly Fiorina delivers an address on the “state of women in America” at an event sponsored by the Competitive Enterprise Institute.
