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Behind the scenes of one of the most powerful clubs in America.

Masters in Politics: Former RNC Chairman Mike Duncan

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The hosts of Bloomberg Masters in Politics podcast Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin are in Cleveland covering the Republican National Convention this week.

As the GOP is trying to quell divisions within their ranks, they spoke with the former head of the Republican Party, Mike Duncan.

Duncan discussed a couple of theories about the conspicuous number of empty seats at this year’s nominating convention. “I suspect that future conventions may learn something from this one. I’m not sure that we’re going to need four days in the future. I think maybe programs will be a little bit tighter in the future.”

Duncan also expressed optimism that Donald Trump would be able to unify the Republican Party.  “Party unity is important for anyone running for president,” Duncan said. “You’ve got to get somewhere around 90% of the support for your party to have a chance to get elected if you look at historic trends. I assume that that will continue in the future and I see Donald Trump moving toward that.”

He also made some predictions for Trump’s cabinet picks if he were to become president. “He’s talked about some of them.  I think you see Governor Christie obviously.  Newt Gingrich is someone being discussed in a very high role.”  Duncan said that he believed Trump would make announcements beforehand.  “That would be my recommendation.”

You can check out the full interview here

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Facebook + Glamour @ RNC Freedom Plaza

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Rachel Greenberg, Volta Insider + Dayna Geldwert, Instagram Politics and Government Outreach

Rachel Greenberg, Volta Insider +
Dayna Geldwert, Instagram
Politics and Government Outreach

Facebook and Glamour gathered a happy, if a bit warm, group of politicos led by Politico Playbook’s Anna Palmer. Glamour’s editor Cindi Levie’s flight got canceled because of weather but the party continued and the launch of their campaign for women. #51MillionVoices

The pitch: “This November, 51 million women under the age of 45 will be eligible to vote. These young women have a lot to say. That’s why Glamour and Facebook teamed up this year — to investigate and elevate the political issues these voters care about most.”

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Erin Egan, Jay Roach, Tara Grace and Len Amato at Facebook Glamour RNC lunch

Erin Egan, Jay Roach, Tara Grace and Len Amato at Facebook Glamour RNC lunch

HBO GOES “ALL THE WAY” TO THE EMMYS

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The HBO Films presentation of “All the Way” has earned eight Emmy nominations for the 68th Annual Primetime Awards, including Outstanding Television movie.

Bryan Cranston, reprising his Tony Award-winning role as President Lyndon B. Johnson, is up for Lead Actor in a Limited Series. “All the Way” follows President Johnson’s first year in office after the assassination of John F. Kennedy.

The film, directed by Jay Roach, also stars Anthony Mackie (Martin Luther King, Jr.), Melissa Leo (Lady Bird Johnson), Bradley Whitford (Hubert Humphrey) and Frank Langella (Sen. Richard Russell).

Roach is nominated once again for Outstanding Directing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special. He previously won Emmys in the same category for the HBO films “Recount” and “Game Change.”

The eight nominations:

Outstanding Television Movie:

“All the Way”

VOLTA INSIDER INTERVIEW WITH
BRYAN CRANSTON

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Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Series Or Movie:

Bryan Cranston, “All the Way”

Outstanding Supporting Actress In A Limited Series Or Movie

Melissa Leo, “All The Way”

Outstanding Directing For A Limited Series, Movie Or Dramatic Special

Jay Roach, “All The Way”

Outstanding Hairstyling For A Limited Series Or Movie
“All The Way”

Outstanding Makeup For A Limited Series Or Movie (Non-Prosthetic)
”All The Way”

Outstanding Prosthetic Makeup For A Series, Limited Series, Movie Or Special
”All The Way”

Outstanding Music Composition For A Limited Series, Movie Or Special (Original Dramatic Score)
“All The Way”

HBO Home Entertainment recently released “All the Way” on Digital HD and will release the film on DVD with Digital HD and Blu-ray with Digital HD on September 6th.

The 68th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards will air live on ABC 7e|4p on September 18 with host Jimmy Kimmel.

VEEP LEADS IN COMEDY EMMY NOMS

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Cast of VEEP Garden Brunch 2014

Time to start making more room on the shelf!

HBO’s Veep, just off its 5th season, leads in comedy Emmy nominations for the 68th Primetime awards.

With a total of 17 Emmy nominations, including a 5th consecutive nod for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for Julia Louis-Dreyfus. The political satire focuses on the trials and tribulations of her character, Selina Meyer.

17 nominations:

  • Outstanding Comedy Series
  • Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (Julia Louis-Dreyfus)
  • Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series (Tony Hale, Matt Walsh)
  • Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series (Anna Chlumsky),
  • Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series (Martin Mull, Peter MacNichol)
  • Outstanding Directing for a Comedy Series
    (Chris Addison, Dave Mandel, Dale Stern)
  • Outstanding Writing for a Comedy Series
    (David Mandel; Alex Gregory and Peter Huyck).

Once again, HBO led the Emmy nominations with a total of 94, including “Becoming Mike Nichols,” “Game of Thrones Main Title 360 Experience,” “Jim: The James Foley Story,” “Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar & Grill,” “Real Time with Bill Maher,” “Tig Notaro: Boyish Girl Interrupted” and “True Detective.”

Tammy Haddad, Co-Founder of WHCInsider, is a consultant to Veep.

Jimmy Kimmel will host the televised awards live on ABC on September 18 at 7e|4p.

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Miss America Contestants in DC: First Stop – L’Hommage Bistro Francais

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The state title holders of this year’s Miss America pageant took DC by storm this week as each of the girls went to visit their respective members of Congress to push for college affordability on the Hill. The contestants are entering a weeklong orientation that included a speech by Senator John McCain and a tour of the White House. They were also hosted by owner Hankin Ilhan (in the white shirt) at the new L’Hommage Bistro Francais in Mt. Vernon Triangle.

This year’s Miss America pageant will be held on September 11 in Atlantic City and will be hosted by Chris Harrison, star of ABC’s “The Bachelor”, who is returning for his eighth year as host.

You can find out more about the contestants’ visit and their advocacy for college affordability here.

VOLTA INSIDER: Rachel Greenberg Goes Inside First-Ever United State of Women Summit

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rachel

Rachel Greenberg, host of the Volta Insider podcast, attended the first-ever United State of Women Summit, which took place June 14th, 2016. The event took place in Washington, DC’s Walter E. Washington Convention Center just days after Hillary Clinton became the nation’s first woman to become a major party’s presumptive nominee. The summit featured some of the most high-profile speakers from Washington to Hollywood including President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, Attorney General Loretta Lynch, Actress Kerry Washington, and Oprah Winfrey. Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President and Chair, White House Council on Women and Girls and Tina Tchen, Chief of Staff to the First Lady and Executive Director, White House Council on Women and Girls organized and hosted the day-long event.

Greenberg interviewed a number of A-list women including:

Patricia Arquette, actress and women’s advocate, winner of the Academy Award, Best Supporting Actress for Boyhood

Sophia Bush, actress, star of Chicago PD

Erin Cutraro, Co-founder and CEO of “She Should Run”

Romy Newman, CEO of FairyGodBoss

Kristen Avery, “It’s On Us” Campaign

Jessica Davidson, “It’s On Us” Campaign

Christina Hammock Koch, NASA Astronaut

You can listen to the latest Volta Insider episode here and here.

 

Bloomberg Masters in Politics: Mitch McConnell Says Own Party’s Nominee ‘Doesn’t Know A Lot About The Issues’; Clinton Comms Director Jennifer Palmieri Lays Out Game Plan for Defeating Trump

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MIPNow that the primary battles on each side of the presidential race are over, the calls are growing for party leaders to rally around each party’s nominee. Both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are combating high unfavorability numbers and will each face an uphill battle when it comes to unifying their party after a scorching primary season.

Bloomberg’s Masters in Politics hosts Tammy Haddad and Betsy Fischer Martin heard from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is on a media blitz to promote his new book, “The Long Game.” McConnell doesn’t think GOP presidential nominee Donald Trump has all of what it takes to work effectively with Congress, suggesting rather candidly that he make up for it with a Vice Presidential candidate who has the requisite political experience. “He needs someone highly experienced and very knowledgeable because it’s pretty obvious he doesn’t know a lot about the issues.”

McConnell, who is serving in his third decade in the Senate, didn’t end his criticism of Trump there. When pressed about the numerous accusations of racism that are currently being lobbed at the presidential hopeful, he said, “I object to a whole series of things that he’s said — vehemently object to them. I think all of that needs to stop. Both the shots at people he defeated in the primary and these attacks on various ethnic groups in the country.”

Haddad and Fischer Martin also got a glimpse into the Clinton campaign’s strategy for the general election with Communications Director Jennifer Palmieri.

“What we’ve settled on, how we think about it is Donald Trump is not a serious man, but he’s a serious candidate,” said Palmieri. “And even though he’s not a serious person, what he’s proposing is a real threat, and it’s a real danger.”

Palmieri also touched on Elizabeth Warren’s role in bringing Democrats together against Trump. Warren, whose endorsement is the most coveted in the world of Democratic politics outside of President Obama’s, endorsed Clinton last night and just today held a meeting at Clinton’s home in Washington, DC, fueling speculation that Clinton may tap Warren as her VP. Palmieri suggested that Warren has been one of the most effective voices in the fight against Trump, saying “she’s just been extraordinary in taking on Donald Trump, she’s also obviously very effective in getting under his skin,” while adding “she’s somebody that Hillary has said that she would consider as a running mate, too.”

Following are more headlines from coverage of the McConnell interview:
Washington Post: Mitch McConnell just made a devastating admission about Trump — and the GOP
Politico: McConnell doesn’t rule out revoking Trump endorsement
The Hill: McConnell won’t rule out rescinding Trump support
Washington Examiner: McConnell: ‘Pretty obvious’ Trump ‘doesn’t know a lot about the issues’
The New York Times: Mitch McConnell Won’t Rule Out Rescinding His Endorsement of Donald Trump

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Actor Bryan Cranston: ‘If you don’t vote, I can’t talk to you’

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Bryan Cranston, star of “Breaking Bad” and most recently “All the Way” as President Lyndon B. Johnson, spoke with Volta Insider’s Rachel Greenberg at the 2016 White House Correspondents Garden Brunch.

One of his first memories of having an interest in politics was after President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. As a 7 year old, Cranston “noticed the ripple effect it had on everybody…It popped me out of my self-centeredness and said there’s something important going on that I need to pay attention to.” President Johnson was the first president he ever listened to and realized how important it is to pay attention.

On the importance of getting involved this election season: “Voting is a voice…if you don’t vote, you don’t have that voice.” Cranston explained that if someone tells him they don’t vote, he tells them he can’t talk to them “because they don’t have a voice…if you don’t care enough to take the responsibility to vote, you don’t have a voice, and therefore I have nothing to say to you.”

Cranston said that the national debt will influence his decision about who to vote for this year. “I don’t want to have the country continue raising the debt to leave it to our children.” He is currently supporting Hillary Clinton’s candidacy.

Download the podcast of Volta Insider’s interview with Bryan Cranston on AudioBoom or iTunes, where you can also access the full Garden Brunch podcast episode featuring media notables, Hollywood stars, and leaders from the business and non-profit sectors.

Natalie Heinitz Receives Manhattan College’s 2016 Joseph J. Gunn Alumni Award + Clinton Campaign Research Job

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Natalie Heinitz is the most recent recipient of Manhattan College’s Joseph J. Gunn Alumni Medal, which recognizes one student who has made a significant contribution to the school each year.

A native of Springfield, Virginia, Heinitz is a Communications and Government double major and has served on the editorial staff of student newspaper Quadrangle during her four years at the university. Heinitz is a representative on the Advisory Committee on Campus Safety, which creates and recommends new campus safety measures and serves as an on-campus Catholic Relief Services student ambassador.

Heinitz has been involved with the Lasallian Outreach Volunteer Experience program, or LOVE, where she sits on the Executive Board. In that role, Heinitz has represented Manhattan College on service trips to Haiti, Jamaica as well as the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Browning, Montana.

In addition to having such an outstanding record of service, Heinitz made the Dean’s List in each semester and graduated summa cum laude.

Heinitz has been interning with Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign since October 2015 and begins a full time job as a research associate on the rapid response team at Clinton HQ in Brooklyn, NY.

You can find out more about Natalie Heinitz and the Joseph J Gunn Alumni Award here.