If there was a defined Republican talking point during the debate preceding the House passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, it was this: that the bill would mean the hiring of 87,000 new, armed IRS agents kicking down the doors of middle class America and killing the people they find inside.
Continue reading “The 87,000 Armed IRS Agents Conspiracy Theory Is Just The Latest Republican Assault On An Agency In Crisis”Where Things Stand: McConnell Admits Dems May Hold Senate Because He’s Bad At His Job
It’s political canon that the president’s party does poorly in the Midterms — especially if it’s said president’s first term. But the Senate minority leader is tossing bits of that conventional wisdom out the window as we get closer to the general election. And it’s not even the first time Mitch McConnell has preemptively winked in the direction of things not going super well for Republicans this fall — at least when it comes to control of the Senate.
During an event in Kentucky on Thursday McConnell suggested that it was far more likely that Republicans are able to flip the House than take back the Senate. That’s because the Senate is “different.”
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: McConnell Admits Dems May Hold Senate Because He’s Bad At His Job”Listen To This: Trump’s Enemies Face Voters
A new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast is live! This week, Josh and Kate discuss the primaries in Wyoming and Alaska, along with news that the Republican Senate campaign arm is redistributing money away from some key states.
You can listen to the new episode of The Josh Marshall Podcast here.
Judge Allows Heavily Redacted Release Of Mar-a-Lago Affidavit
A federal magistrate ordered the Justice Department to unseal portions of the affidavit that led to the FBI searches of Mar-a-Lago last week.
Continue reading “Judge Allows Heavily Redacted Release Of Mar-a-Lago Affidavit”Republicans Assumed the Midterms were a Mere Formality
TPM Reader BB has his own take on JD Vance’s struggles in Ohio …
Continue reading “Republicans Assumed the Midterms were a Mere Formality”I am not the long-time resident of Ohio that RJ is, but I live outside of Cincinnati, and one thing that has been striking to me (and might explain the Senate Leadership Fund ad buy) is the degree to which Vance just disappeared from the airwaves after the primary. I have seen constant ads from Tim Ryan, both talking about himself (working class Ohioan, agreed with Trump on trade, not about parties… basically what you would expect from a smart Democrat trying to win in Ohio) and bashing on Vance (elite snobbish fake from San Francisco, does not care about Ohioans just his political career, etc.). Only within the last couple of weeks have I seen a single TV ad from Vance, basically his wife talking about what a nice guy he is and how she hopes Ohio will give him a chance, which is invariably followed by several Ryan ads with cops and military vets talking about how much Vance sucks. It has just been a remarkably one-sided affair. I assume that at least part of the problem is a lack of money on Vance’s part, though it is odd that I have not seen ads from outside groups, either. Maybe overconfidence on their part?
Saving Private Vance
TPM Reader RJ gives us some background to understand how the Ohio Senate race is unfolding. I don’t know if RJ was prompted by this news. But Republicans now seem to believe – rightly, I think – that they run a very real chance of losing that seat and have ordered in what amounts to TV carpet bombing of the race.
Continue reading “Saving Private Vance”CPAC Wants The Power To Fire All Government Employees—Including The FBI
What a difference a few weeks can make. Inspired by the FBI’s violation of Donald Trump’s safe space, the loudest MAGA warriors have gone very public with something that looks for all the world like a sudden, keen interest in criminal justice reform. “DEFUND THE FBI” Marjorie Taylor Greene squawked shortly after agents raided Mar-a-Lago in search of classified documents. It was a sentiment echoed by other newly-minted SJWs such as Candace Owens, Paul Gosar, and Dinesh D’Souza. Trump himself complained about the agency profusely, harkening back to the days of J. Edgar Hoover before making an abrupt right turn into his own list of personal grievances. Aren’t these the same people who demanded we Back the Blue?
Continue reading “CPAC Wants The Power To Fire All Government Employees—Including The FBI”Judge Rails Against Wisconsin Election ‘Investigation’ In 90-Page Takedown
A state judge in Wisconsin tore into the disastrous, Trump-supported “investigation” of Wisconsin’s 2020 election results Wednesday, finding that lead investigator Michael Gableman had not only largely turned up nothing of substance, but also that attorneys working on the case had shown an unwillingness to abide by professional conduct rules.
Continue reading “Judge Rails Against Wisconsin Election ‘Investigation’ In 90-Page Takedown”Weisselberg Pleads Guilty And Must Testify Against Trump Org At Criminal Trial
Allen Weisselberg, the Trump Organization’s former chief financial officer, pleaded guilty on Thursday for his role in a years-long tax fraud scheme with ex-President Donald Trump’s company.
Continue reading “Weisselberg Pleads Guilty And Must Testify Against Trump Org At Criminal Trial”Navarro Accuses DOJ Of ‘Selective Animus’ In Contempt Case
Former Trump White House trade adviser Peter Navarro on Wednesday accused the Justice Department of demonstrating a “selective animus” towards him as he asked a federal judge to dismiss the criminal contempt of Congress case against him.
Nazvarro was held in contempt of Congress for refusing to comply with the Jan. 6 Select Committee’s subpoena.
Continue reading “Navarro Accuses DOJ Of ‘Selective Animus’ In Contempt Case”