Since 2011

Gabe Fleisher, Editor-in-Chief

wakeuptopolitics@gmail.com wakeuptopolitics.com @WakeUp2Politics
THIS IS YOUR WAKE UP CALL
Sen. Pat Roberts (R-KS) wasnt even seen as vulnerable a week ago
Now, he is at risk of losing his Senate seat.



Headline
McDonnells Convicted

Former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife Maureen were convicted
on a combined 20 counts of corruption Thursday, ending the political career
of someone once seen as a top Republican rising star.
McDonnell was ruled guilty on 11 counts, with charges of bribery,
conspiracy, and extortion, while his wife was convicted in nine counts, in a
scandal involving the couple accepting a number of luxurious gifts.

White House Watch

August Jobs Report to be Released The U.S. Department of Labors
Bureau of Labor Statistics will release the August jobs report today at 8:30
AM Eastern Time.
Election Central

Kansas Democrat Must
Stay on Senate Ballot,
Official Says Democratic
Kansas Senate nominee






Chad Taylor must stay on the November ballot in the race against Sen. Pat
Roberts (R-KS), the Kansas Secretary of State said Thursday, citing a
technicality.
Secretary Kris Kobach, a Republican and supporter of Roberts during the
primary, said Taylors request to withdraw from the race did not specifically
say that he would be unable to perform the job if elected, as Kansas law
requires. Democrats will challenge the ruling in court.
Why would Democrats want their own nominee to drop out? To make way
for the better-known and better-funded independent candidate, Greg Orman,
as Wake Up To Politics reported Thursday.
Roberts had been considered a fairly safe incumbent, in a state that has not
elected a Democrat to the U.S. Senate since 1932, after beating back a tea
party challenge in the primary. Perhaps, though, a Democrat will not be the
one to break the GOP streak in the state.
Ormans elevation as Roberts main challenger in the race could throw a
wrench into it, and possibly end with a loss by the latter, which would
change the race to control of the Senate. This is not out of the realm of
possibility at all: Polls have showed a one-on-one between the two ending in
Ormans favor.
The Roberts campaign is clearly worried about the development, as shown
by campaign manager Leroy Towns exit, and the national Republicans
sending in GOP troubleshooter and NRSC operative Chris LaCivita to
counsel and lead the campaign.
Orman has appeal on both sides of the aisle, having been a member of both
parties, and could also be assisted by the races Libertarian candidate, who
could draw votes from Roberts right as well. A win by Orman would be
stunning; and place an unprecedented three independents into the Senate.
The news Taylor brought Wednesdayand then what the Secretary of State
served up to him Thursday...is a reminder pundits often need: in politics,
anything can happen, and the dynamics of a campaign can always change in
a matter of days.

Weekend Preview

Political junkie and MSNBC daytime host Chuck Todd takes the reins
of NBCs Meet the Press this Sunday.
Sunday: Meet the Host
Americas longest-running
television show has a new
host, and hes a political
junkie being branded as the
programs savior. Meet
Chuck Todd.
After weeks of speculation
in and out of the Beltway,
NBC president Deborah
Turness confirmed about
three weeks ago that David
Gregory was being
bumped out as moderator
of NBCs Sunday politics show,
Meet the Press, in favor of Chuck Todd.
Todd has strengths in many places where Gregory had weaknesses. While it
was often said that Gregory just never seemed to be passionate about
politics, Chuck Todd lives and breathes campaigns and elections, often
called the definition of a political junkie. But can he bring up Meet from
Gregorys ratings slump?
There is no one with a bigger passion for politics than Chuck. His unique
ability to deliver that passion with razor sharp analysis and infectious
enthusiasm makes him the perfect next generation moderator of this beloved
broadcast. Chuck will ensure that Meet the Press is the beating heart of
politics, the place where newsmakers come to make news, where the agenda
is set, NBC president Turness said in announcing the move.
In choosing Todd, NBC hopes to return Meet the Press to its former
stature as the top public affairs show on Sunday, and to prove that shows
like it can set the agenda in Washington. Meet the Press first debuted in
1945 as a radio program, and came to television two years later.
For nearly seventy years, Americans have turned to Meet the Press on
Sunday mornings for unrivaled insights on the news stories, political battles
and public affairs debates dominating the national discussion. The next-
generation Meet the Press, led by Chuck Todd, is certain to be the must-
watch political destination on Sundays and beyond, said Turness.
The new moderator first become known in the early 2000s, as editor-in-chief
of National Journals The Hotline, when he was noticed by then-Meet the
Press moderator, the late Tim Russert. Russert succeeding in bringing Todd
to NBC in March 2007, and before taking over Meet, Todd was NBC
political director, NBC chief White House correspondent, and host of
MSNBCs The Daily Rundown. As he hosts his first Meet the Press this
Sunday, Todd will drop his White House reporting and MSNBC hosting
duties, but will remain the networks political director. Todd should be
comfortable in taking the reins at the show, which he has appeared on more
than any other person since January 2013.
Meet the Press with Chuck Todd makes its debut this Sunday,
September 7. Todds first guest as the moderator will be President Barack
Obama.