|
|
Top Stories
At Rowdy Congressional Town Halls, Trump’s Military Moves Fly Way Under The Radar
The Gist: Over Congress’ spring recess, the news of the U.S. military launching missiles at Syria, dropping a powerful bomb in Afghanistan and escalating hostilities with North Korea has dominated headlines and blanketed the airwaves. Yet inside the rowdy town halls held by members of Congress across the country over the last two weeks, discussion about foreign policy and military action has flown under the radar as constituents largely focused on health care, the federal budget, the Supreme Court, the President’s missing tax returns, and other domestic concerns.
Ossoff Wins Plurality In Georgia Special Election, Teeing Up Runoff With GOPer
The Gist: Jon Ossoff led the 18-candidate pack in Tuesday’s special election to fill an open U.S. House seat in Georgia, but he came just short of clearing the 50 percent hurdle to win the seat outright and will now compete in a June runoff election against Republican Karen Handel.
GOP Sen. Lankford Says Trump Should Release His Tax Returns
The Gist: During a town hall in Claremore, Oklahoma, on Tuesday, Sen. James Lankford said that President Donald Trump should release his tax returns, according to the Tulsa World.
From The Reporter’s Notebook
Attorney General Jeff Sessions yet again decried the consent decrees favored by the Obama-era Justice Department on Monday, vowing to free local police forces from what he characterized as federal handcuffs, TPM’s Matt Shuham reported. “[T]oo much focus has been placed on a small number of police who are bad actors rather than on criminals,” he wrote. “And too many people believe the solution is to impose consent decrees that discourage the proactive policing that keeps our cities safe.”
Agree or Disagree?
Josh Marshall: “The way you win Congress is that you contest every race. You learn from each contest, win or lose. You refine the strategy and message and go back again. (I spoke to a very experienced Dem consultant about a month ago who didn’t think Ossoff had any chance in this race. He was wrong.) We don’t know where the country will be in 18 months. But to the extent you can draw a line between tonight and election day 2018, the results of this race and the Kansas race taken together point to a anti-GOP wave election in 2018. “
Say What?!
“Bill O’Reilly has been subjected to a brutal campaign of character assassination that is unprecedented in post-McCarthyist America. This law firm has uncovered evidence that the smear campaign is being orchestrated by far-left organizations bent on destroying O’Reilly for political and financial reasons.”
– Amid reports Tuesday night that executives at Fox are discussing cutting ties with Bill O’Reilly, the Fox News host’s lawyer issued a statement claiming that O’Reilly is the the victim of a “smear campaign” from the “far-left.”
BUZZING: Today in the Hive
From a TPM Prime member: “Republicans control the federal government. Republicans occupy 33 governor’s mansions. Republicans control both legislative chambers in 32 states, while Democrats now have total control of just California, Delaware, Hawaii, Oregon and Rhode Island. Democrats have to look to the future. Ossoff is 29 years old. Whip smart. Telegenic. Idealistic. Yes, he’ll probably lose to Karen Handel (the infamous Karen Handel, author of Planned Bullyhood and all-around numbskull) or another Republican. But we’re not going to get where we need to go as progressives if we don’t commit to putting the best, most promising candidates on the ballot. No more rubber stamps for either agenda, progressive or reactionary — if our elected officials don’t have the chops to deal with this complex and dangerous world, then it’s game over for us.”
Related: De Blasio Releases Tax Returns, Challenges Trump To Do The Same
Have something to add? Become a Prime member and join the discussion here.
|
|
