After days of Republican senators whining about Democrats’ promise to pass both the bipartisan infrastructure proposal and the President’s more progressive infrastructure priorities together — the latter through budget reconciliation — Biden put out a statement attempting to clarify a situation that GOPers had sought to muddle. Continue reading “Biden Puts Out Statement Committing To Stay The Course On Infrastructure After GOP Wails”
Let’s Keep An Eye on This
Courtesy of TPM Reader KS we learn that the FBI conducted a raid last week on the California home of an associate of Rudy Giuliani. George E. Dickson III was, according to a May 2020 report in Mother Jones, part of Rudy’s effort to raise $10 million for a ‘documentary’ about Hunter Biden.
The Virtuous Cycle of TPM Memberships
We are ten days into our second annual TPM Journalism Fund drive and I’m happy to report we’re now more than half way to our goal. I’ve heard from a lot of you who say you’ve been meaning to contribute but haven’t found a convenient moment. This is totally a convenient moment! A Saturday in June. Click right here to contribute. If you’re already a member there’s not even a lot to fill out. It’s really, really important for TPM.
I also wanted to tell you about a different kind of drive we’re going to be doing later this fall: one where we’re going to be giving things away. And part of it is we’re going to be asking your help to find people to give things to. Right? Imagine that.
Politico of All Places
I noted below how AP and WaPo completely ran with Senate Republicans’ absurd claim that Biden somehow double-crossed them. Politico Playbook did pretty much the same thing, though in Playbook argot. But Politico itself, or the regular edit team published the first account of what happened here that more or less captured what happened. Republicans woke up Friday angry about what they’d agreed to Thursday. And their best argument, to the extent they had one, is that Biden said too clearly what they knew and what they had just agreed to.
Here’s the flavor.
WaPo Hooked Too!
The Washington Post also has a story out this afternoon that closely follows the AP’s credulity, adding lengthy quotes about Republican outrage, shock, feelings of betrayal at Biden’s surprise announcement. But unlike the AP, it actually provides an example of something slightly different: the way the bigs can get the real information in there, sorta, but in a way that buries it so much as almost not to matter.
The article’s first ten paragraphs go on as I described: Republican shock and outrage over Biden’s switcheroo. And then down at the end you have three paragraphs, literally the last three paragraphs which basically tell the story: that this has all been completely known for weeks or even months. They even quote Mitch McConnnell saying as much. They feel the need to hang it on Sen. Brian Schatz. But still it does cover at least a significant statement of the reality of the situation.
DOJ Quotes GA Republicans’ Own Words Against Them To Challenge Voting Law
In April last year, Georgia House Speaker David Ralston (R), criticized a move from Georgia’s secretary of state to send absentee ballot applications to every eligible voter in Georgia in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The president said it best, this will be extremely devastating to Republicans and conservatives in Georgia,” Ralston said.
“This will certainly drive up turnout,” he complained later of the secretary of state’s decision.
Continue reading “DOJ Quotes GA Republicans’ Own Words Against Them To Challenge Voting Law”
BREAKING: AP Dragged Hook, Line and Sinker in GOP Fishing Tourney!
Here’s one of those things that drive me to distraction but I at least enjoy flagging to everyone’s attention when it’s so egregious. Mitch McConnell is now claiming Republicans have somehow been hoodwinked, double-crossed, done dirty by Democrats springing ‘linkage’ on them: Basically, that the White House and the Democratic caucus will support the bipartisan mini-infrastructure bill as long as they can put the rest of their plan in a reconciliation bill.
Then I noticed an AP reporter, apparently new to the White House beat, flagged a new AP story with this: “This is the catch for the WH on the infrastructure deal right now: Senators who were part of the bipartisan group were never told of such an explicit linking of the two packages, the two people familiar with the discussions said.”
The article itself, by Lisa Mascaro, manages to be even more credulous.
Continue reading “BREAKING: AP Dragged Hook, Line and Sinker in GOP Fishing Tourney!”
White House Brushes Off GOP’s Fake Tears Over Infrastructure Hardball: Take It Or Leave It!
White House press secretary Jen Psaki has a message for GOP senators who’ve been wailing about President Joe Biden dodging their trap by refusing to sign a bipartisan infrastructure bill without a reconciliation bill: Suck it up, buttercup.
DOJ Sues Georgia Over New Voting Law
The federal government sued the state of Georgia Friday over its new voting law, which adds new restrictions to absentee voting, among other changes that federal officials say were intended to disproportionately affect Black voters.
NYT: Vance Could Charge Trump Org Next Week
Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance is weighing charges against the Trump Organization and its chief financial officer, the New York Times reports.
Continue reading “NYT: Vance Could Charge Trump Org Next Week”