Some seemingly off the beaten path efforts have a powerful impact. Check out this story on Unicorn Riot, a media collective that began as a project to highly social justice-related stories but has become a powerful repository of leaked transcripts from the various platforms where white supremacists and neo-nazis chat, plan and plot.
This was Beto O’Rourke’s big day. But I think it went pretty badly for him, though perhaps not in ways that will be immediately obvious.
This may sound odd since he got some good press, got the ritual insult from the President and landed a number of endorsements right out of the gate. But it’s the endorsements themselves that suggest a problem. Right out of the gate O’Rourke won the endorsement Kathleen Rice, the Long Island Rep most recently notable for leading the Moultonite faction which tried to deny Nancy Pelosi the Speakership by threatening the vote against the caucus’s choice on the House floor. Read More
The Southern Poverty Law Center has fired its founder, Morris Dees. Dees cofounded the SPLC in 1971.
12 Republicans broke with the President in this border emergency vote. But what jumps out to me is that Cory Gardner, almost certainly the most vulnerable Republican in 2020, voted for Trump. Thom Tillis of North Carolina did too, though he’s in a much better position for reelection than Gardner. He even penned an oped opposing the President on this before flipping. Read More
Striking to me that Beto appears to be quickly coalescing as the ‘moderate’/’centrist’ Dem presidential candidate for 2020.
From a Vermonter TPM Reader …
I’ve never had much good to say about Bernie as presidential candidate, despite ——- resolute support of him against Hillary. Part of that, though not all of it, arose from the observation (I think of it as a fact) that Bernie was a lazy, selfish candidate. His soi-disant “policy proposals” were little more than bumper-sticker slogans (“Break Up the Banks!”), and the ones he did flesh out a bit (e.g., “College for Everyone”) were, shall we say, lacking in actual understanding of how things actually work.
Lawyer for Mar-a-Lago massage parlor mogul says client is a victim of anti-Trump politics. What also seems revealing is that Yang’s lawyer has already held a fundraiser for Roger Stone’s legal defense fund. So she seems to part of the team.
Beto O’Rourke got an endorsement right out of the gate this morning from New York Rep. Kathleen Rice (D).
I’m proud to endorse my friend @BetoORourke for President!
He’s honest, authentic and has the courage of his convictions and a bold vision for our future. Most importantly, he'll build a movement that will rise above the toxic division in our politics and unite this country.
— Kathleen Rice (@KathleenRice) March 14, 2019
This certainly seems like a strong sign that the Special Counsel’s Office is wrapping up its business.