Nicole Lafond

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Nicole Lafond is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

ICYMI: Your TPM Weekend News Roundup
TIMES SQUARE NYC, NEW YORK CITY, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES - 2017/07/26: On July 26, 2017, after a series of tweets by President Donald Trump, which proposed to ban transgender people from military service, thousands of New Yorkers took the streets of in opposition.  Thousands of transgender soldiers are currently serving in all branches of the United States Armed forces. (Photo by Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) Where Things Stand: Anti-Trans Bills Are The GOP’s New Culture War. But Most Americans Aren’t On Board Prime Badge
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Without any real policy agenda, Republicans in Congress have largely seized on various fronts in the culture war to distract from Biden’s successes. And GOPers at the state level are doing the same, with a new heightened focus on an element of their socially conservative base’s traditional values: Going after the LGBT community.

Lately, that’s meant a fresh wave of anti-trans rights bills.

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ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 21: Democratic U.S. senatorial candidate Raphael Warnock walks to State Farm Arena to cast his ballot on October 21, 2020 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) Where Things Stand: Fortunately, It’s Not Just The Insurrectionists Prime Badge
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While the Republican ringleaders of the Big Lie have seemingly fundraised in a big way following their efforts to overturn the results of the election, at least one Democrat is raking in substantial cash for doing, sort of, the opposite.

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Where Things Stand: GOP Acknowledges Asian Hate Crime Bill Might Not Be Right Time To Force First Filibuster Prime Badge
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Many Senate Republicans nonetheless argued the bill wasn’t necessary in the first place.

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on October 16, 2017 in Washington, DC. Where Things Stand: An Old Man With A Grudge Still Runs The Show Prime Badge
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And Senate Republicans know it. 

All hope of retaking the majority in the Senate lies with the former president’s ability to put aside his personal grievances for the sake of the Party. 

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Where Things Stand: That Raised Fist Pays Off Prime Badge
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Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) is learning that, in 2021, sowing distrust in basic functions of democracy can be good electoral politics.

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Where Things Stand: Suppressing Democracy To Appease The Faithful Prime Badge
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Brian Kemp is up for reelection in 2022. And the true leader of the Republican Party, former President Donald Trump, has made it pretty clear that Kemp has fallen far outside of his good graces.

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Where Things Stand: Traditional Conservative Values Butt Heads With The New Culture Wars Prime Badge
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Asa Hutchinson’s veto of an anti-trans bill in his state, which we covered yesterday, proved to be for naught — it was promptly overridden by his GOP colleagues in the state legislature.

But his defense of his veto saw him position himself at a crossroads for conservatism, between libertarian values and the increasing desire on the right to punish one’s perceived enemies.

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CLEVELAND, OH - JULY 19:  on the second day of the Republican National Convention on July 19, 2016 at the Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump received the number of votes needed to secure the party's nomination. An estimated 50,000 people are expected in Cleveland, including hundreds of protesters and members of the media. The four-day Republican National Convention kicked off on July 18.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Where Things Stand: GOP Governor Steps In To Stop Anti-Trans Bill Prime Badge

As Republicans fling one culture war after another at the wall to see what sticks in recent weeks, at least one GOP governor isn’t playing along.

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WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 11:  U.S. Senate Majority Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) listens during a news briefing after the weekly Senate Republican Policy Luncheon July 11, 2017 at the Capitol in Washington, DC. Sen. McConnell announced that Senate will delay its recess to the third week of August.  (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images) Where Things Stand: The Happy Marriage Between The GOP And Corporations Hits A Rough Patch Prime Badge
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While Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-KY) statement decrying the “bullying” of Americans by corporations might mark a new low in the once-fruitful backscratching relationship between corporate American and the GOP, the tension between the two institutions has been building and moving us in this direction for some time.

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