Please see my short note below on the first federal Juneteenth celebrated today. Before that, thank you for getting us off to a great start in our annual TPM Journalism Fund drive. If you’ve planned on contributing but haven’t found the opportune moment, please just click here and make today the day. It’s super important for TPM and your money will be well spent.
Morning Memo: Sorry, Suckas, Obamacare Isn’t Going Anywhere
A lot of things have happened. Here are some of them.
The Death Blow To The GOP’s Anti-Obamacare Crusade
House Republican leadership is indicating that they’ve given up their war against Obamacare after the Supreme Court killed Texas’ challenge to it yesterday.
- House GOP leadership released a statement predictably complaining about Obamacare but notably didn’t say anything about another attempt to kill the law.
Obama cheered SCOTUS’ decision. “This ruling reaffirms what we have long known to be true: the Affordable Care Act is here to stay,” he tweeted.
“Obamacare Is Here to Stay. Brace for New Health Care Battles.” – The New York Times
Happy Juneteenth!
Biden signed legislation officially making Juneteenth, the anniversary of Major General Gordon Granger’s announcement in Galveston, Texas of the end of slavery on June 19, 1865, a U.S. national holiday.
- Now federal agencies are scrambling to shut down today after being told at essentially the last minute that they’re taking the day off (though who’s complaining?)
- TPM is closing shop early today. Have a good unexpected long weekend!
Bet you didn’t know that Trump “made Juneteenth very famous.”
- Trump reportedly complained privately to a confidant last year “I’ve done all this stuff for the Blacks—it’s always Jared telling me to do this, and they all fucking hate me, and none of them are going to vote for me,” according to a new book by the Wall Street Journal’s Michael C. Bender.
By the way, those Very Concerned Parents whom Fox keeps trotting out to clutch their pearls over critical race theory? It turns out nearly a dozen of them are actually GOP operatives, MediaMatters found.
Jan. 6 Lives On
In case you missed it, Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) gave this extremely normal take on the 2nd Amendment:
Rep Madison Cawthorn: "If anybody ever wants to say 'oh, well you know what, citizens with a few small arms fire would never be able to stop the federal government' – I absolutely disagree. Ask the Viet Cong how they handled the Marines and the Army in Vietnam" pic.twitter.com/BPqn3d9Rsx
— Jason Campbell (@JasonSCampbell) June 16, 2021
- And remember that he’s, uh, not actually the first Republican to vaguely endorse a potential armed uprising!
Matt Gaetz says the 2nd amendment is about “maintaining within the citizenry the ability to maintain an armed rebellion against the government” pic.twitter.com/MNATrjBrhr
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 27, 2021
F*ck Around And Find Out
The lawyers in Michigan who tried to help Trump steal the election are in danger of being sanctioned by a federal judge.
‘Hugging And Kissing The Police’
NEW: Justice Dept. just released horrifying new footage from 1/6. Feds say this is ex-NYPD officer Thomas Webster (red jacket) wielding a flagpole, rushing at police & tackling a cop to the ground. DOJ released this after legal action by CNN and other outlets. (warning: explicit) pic.twitter.com/yf7DQQFMWr
— Marshall Cohen (@MarshallCohen) June 17, 2021
Key Analysis
“Joe Manchin reaches out to Republicans, and they slap him in the face” – The Washington Post
Is This Really Happening?
Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) is demanding that Biden take a cognitive test, telling POTUS in a letter that “your mental decline and forgetfulness have become more apparent over the past eighteen months.”
- His letter is signed by 13 other Republican lawmakers.
- Jackson, who served as Trump’s White House physician in 2018, went on Fox News last night after sending the letter to gush over the ex-president’s big, beautiful brain that contains no brainworms whatsoever.
Ronny Jackson: President Trump as you mentioned, he did uh he uh he hit a perfect score on his cognitive test, an outstanding performance and I I I’m just saying now. I’m saying that’s the new standard. The precedent has been set pic.twitter.com/h1PX5t6fq5
— Acyn (@Acyn) June 18, 2021
What’s Cookin’
“Climate Change Batters the West Before Summer Even Begins” – The New York Times
Bienvenidos, Willkommen, Tervetuloa!
The E.U. has opened its borders to vaccinated American tourists.
This Happened Somehow
A tech company had a fake spokesperson for years.
What did you think of Morning Memo? Let us know.
Thoughts on the First (Federal) Juneteenth
Yesterday President Biden signed the bill making Juneteenth a national holiday. Today it is being celebrated officially for the first time. Yes, today, June 18th. There are many, many things that can and should be said about this. But here’s one that I’ll focus on today.
Juneteenth will be the second federal holiday focused on the historical role and experience of African-Americans in the American Republic – the other being the celebration of the birthday of Dr. Martin Luther King. It is also the second federal holiday tied in some way to the American Civil War. But in this case it is only barely so. Memorial Day began as a commemoration of the dead of the Civil War, in both the North and the South. (The precise origins are disputed.) But Memorial Day is connected to the Civil War only as a point of origin for a tradition. The holiday explicitly honors the sacrifices of all who died in the service of the armed forces of the United States in every war and conflict. To the extent Memorial Day is tied to the Civil War it is focused on military sacrifice, which is in key respects apolitical. It honors military sacrifice in the service of the American Republic irrespective of the nature of the specific conflicts which made the sacrifice necessary.
Continue reading “Thoughts on the First (Federal) Juneteenth”
Couple Who Waved Guns At BLM Protesters Must Give Up Their Guns
Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the wealthy couple from St. Louis who were slapped with criminal charges for brandishing their guns at mostly Black nonviolent protesters in their neighborhood, pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges and will turn in the guns they waved at protesters. Continue reading “Couple Who Waved Guns At BLM Protesters Must Give Up Their Guns”
With The Filibuster Still A Problem, Dems Hope To At Least Get 50 Votes For Ballot Access Bill
For years, a question has loomed over Democrats’ sprawling democratic overhaul bill: whether they could find 50 votes in the Senate to gut the filibuster and circumvent certain GOP opposition. The answer to that question remains unknown. And yet, Democrats had a reason to feel energized Thursday, as they headed into a vote next week that will be the first time the Senate is put on record on the bill since it was introduced in 2019.
Biden Signs Bill Making Juneteenth A Federal Holiday Into Law
President Biden on Thursday signed into law the bill that will officially make Juneteenth a federal holiday that commemorates the end of slavery in the U.S. Continue reading “Biden Signs Bill Making Juneteenth A Federal Holiday Into Law”
Arizona ‘Audit’ Contractor Took Election Data To A Montana ‘Lab’… Or Maybe A Log Cabin
Election data from the politicized “audit” of Maricopa County, Arizona’s 2020 election results has made its way across multiple state lines to a secure “lab” — or maybe a cabin — in Montana.
Watch The New Episode Of The Josh Marshall Podcast: Grading Garland’s DOJ
A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is now live! This week, Josh and Kate analyze the Department of Justice under Attorney General Merrick Garland and its pursuit of accountability (or lack thereof) for the Trump era.
Watch below and email us your theme song submissions and questions for next week’s episode.
You can listen to the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast here.
Where Things Stand: House Probe Of Trump DOJ’s Eyebrow-Raising Data Seizures Begins
House Judiciary Committee Chair Jerry Nadler (D-NY) just officially requested documents from Attorney General Merrick Garland on the previous administration’s DOJ and its seizure of records of members of Congress and journalists.
McConnell Immediately Dismisses Manchin Voting Compromise As ‘Equally Unacceptable’
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) made short work of any notion that Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) voting compromise would attract Republican support, calling it “equally unacceptable” to the original For the People Act and “totally inappropriate.”