Moderate House Dems Try Big Flex On Pelosi

A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things.

Nine moderate House Democrats are threatening to withhold votes from the $3.5 trillion reconciliation resolution for infrastructure if the bipartisan infrastructure bill doesn’t get passed first.

• They sent a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) yesterday telling her: “We will not consider voting for a budget resolution until the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act passes the House and is signed into law.”
• They argued that “with the livelihoods of hardworking American families at stake, we simply can’t afford months of unnecessary delays and risk squandering this once-in-a-century, bipartisan infrastructure package.”

New – In letter, nine House Dem moderates threaten to withhold support for their party's budget resolution until Speaker Pelosi changes course and instead allows their chamber to first vote on the $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure plan the Senate approved this week. pic.twitter.com/H5N6oyiV6i

— Manu Raju (@mkraju) August 13, 2021

Say Hello To A More Diverse America Than Ever Before

The Census Bureau released its highly anticipated data yesterday, giving some major insights into how the country’s demographics have shifted over the past 10 years–and what the new congressional map could look like.

• One data point standout: The white population in the U.S. shrank for the first time ever.
• There was a drop in the rural population too.

Vast swaths of rural America–and an outright majority of all counties–lose population, per Census pic.twitter.com/7sU8ZS8wIS

— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) August 12, 2021

• Of course, a diversifying America doesn’t automatically portend future victories for Democrats. 

David Wasserman, editor of the Cook Political Report, and New York Times reporter Nate Cohn lay out some other key points in the new data:

Early read: based on the strong urban and weaker rural numbers I'm seeing, this is a *much* more favorable Census count than minority advocacy groups/Dems had feared.

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) August 12, 2021

Some notable state data-points: Georgia just 50.1% non-Hispanic white, and probably majority minority by now

— Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) August 12, 2021

Fascinating demographic breakdown by state from Census Bureau. Lots of states w/ higher-than-expected non-white counts, including FL/GA/NJ/NY now nearly 50%+ non-white. pic.twitter.com/DavJeI2qbM

— Dave Wasserman (@Redistrict) August 12, 2021

A Racist Takes Another Hard Fall

Rip McIntosh, an octogenarian adviser of right-wing youth organization Turning Points, resigned from another prestigious organization this week after TPM and the Informant discovered he had been publishing astonishingly racist newsletters.

• McIntosh left his post on the Society of the Four Arts board of trustees in Palm Beach, Florida on Tuesday. His resignation happened after a Four Arts donor publicly raked the organization over the coals for standing by him when revelations of the newsletter emerged (the Four Arts leadership argued at the time that McIntosh was entitled to his “First Amendment rights.”)
• McIntosh had also resigned from the board of trustees at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in July.

Afghanistan Teeters On The Brink

The Pentagon is sending thousands of Marines into Afghanistan to evacuate U.S. citizens and American embassy personnel as Taliban forces sweep through the country. 

• The intel community warns the Afghan government could fall within 30 days.
• Must-read: “Afghans Tell of Executions, Forced Marriages in Taliban-Held Areas” – The Wall Street Journal

COVID-19 Booster Shots Get The Green Light

The Food and Drug Administration has approved a third dose of Pfizer and Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccines for immunocompromised people.

Hochul In It To Win It

Incoming New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) confirmed that she’s running for a full term in 2022, telling the TODAY Show, “I’m prepared for this.”

Justice Amy Coney Barrett Made Conservatives Sad

In a potential sign that COVID-19 restrictions might actually survive the right-leaning Supreme Court, the Trump-appointed Justice Amy Coney Barrett rejected a request to block Indiana University’s vaccine mandate yesterday.

• The decision isn’t playing well with the people who gloated that Barrett’s appointment was an automatic slam-dunk for their entire agenda:

they mad pic.twitter.com/DQHoRbCPlr

— Erin And A Half Ryan (@morninggloria) August 13, 2021

But on the other hand, Barrett and the rest of SCOTUS’s conservative majority blocked part of New York’s eviction moratorium on Thursday.

Another Step Toward Trump 2024

Trump’s Save America PAC has hired two of the ex-president’s former senior campaign aides in Iowa who worked for his campaign in 2016 and 2020.

Let’s Just Go On TV And Say Things

Someone should’ve asked Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) if he smelled toast during this interview:

Rep. Louie Gohmert warned OAN viewers about the "hundreds and thousands" of "Flamers," aka birds who survive windmills but wind up spontaneously combusting after flying over solar farms in the Southwest US. This is how the green new deal will bring the nation down. pic.twitter.com/FYaw8ivElT

— Bee (@mount_bees) August 12, 2021

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