Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), a Trump ally who pushed lies about fraud in the 2020 election and who is now running as New York’s Republican gubernatorial nominee, has been booted from the Independence Party line on the state’s ballot over thousands of invalid petition signatures.
Continue reading “GOP Guv Nom Zeldin Stricken From Third Party Ballot Line Due To Invalid Signatures”Once Again, Manchin Gets The Legislative Deal He Wants And Promptly Blows It Up
In classic fashion, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has torpedoed a deal he spent weeks negotiating with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), likely ending any hope of passing climate legislation before the midterms and heightening the threat of an impending health care crisis.
Continue reading “Once Again, Manchin Gets The Legislative Deal He Wants And Promptly Blows It Up”Senate Chances Improving
Part of me is reluctant to flag the coverage of publications I routinely criticize, particularly when their electoral politics coverage can be so egregious. But I do so here with Axios because it’s an example that even the insider sheets in DC are starting to take notice of the fact that Democrats holding the Senate or even possibly expanding their Senate majority is not some partisan pipe dream. It’s a very real possibility.
Continue reading “Senate Chances Improving”Politics and Horror Stories
TPM Reader LM asked me why so many Republicans appear to be leaning into not only the abortion bans Dobbs made inevitable but also the horror story cases that are now coming to light. I thought other TPM readers might have the same question so I’m publishing LM’s question and my reply.
From TPM Reader LM …
Continue reading “Politics and Horror Stories”Idaho GOP Moves To Falsely Declare Biden’s Presidency Illegitimate
The Idaho Republican Party is about to follow in its Texas counterpart’s footsteps – and then take it several steps further.
Continue reading “Idaho GOP Moves To Falsely Declare Biden’s Presidency Illegitimate”Conservatives’ Attack Against Abortion Provider In Child Rape Case Implodes
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
That Lasted All Of 24 Hours
Yeah so Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita’s (R) and other conservatives’ spin on the story of an obstetrician-gynecologist providing an abortion for a 10-year-old rape victim just fell apart. Dramatically.
Rokita and others had claimed that the doctor didn’t report the incident and is therefore the real villain in the story. That line of attack completely imploded yesterday when FOX59 used a simple public records request to find out that the doctor had filed a report to Department of Child Services and the Indiana Department of Health.
- Dr. Caitlin Bernard filed the report within the required three-day time frame, the documents showed.
- Now Bernard is considering legal action against Rokita and other people who smeared her, the doctor’s lawyer said in a statement.
- But Rokita plans to move forward with his “investigation” into Bernard anyway. The GOP attorney general said in an official response to FOX59’s report that his office is still “gathering evidence” and that “our legal review of it remains open.”
Jan. 6 Panel Will Try To Reconstruct Deleted Secret Service Texts
House Jan. 6 Committee chair Bennie Thompson (D-MS) told Axios on Thursday that his panel will try to find a way to restore the Secret Service’s text messages from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021 that the agency deleted after the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general requested records of the Secret Service’s electronic communications.
Manchin Punctures Dem Agenda Yet Again
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) on Thursday that he won’t support climate action or tax hikes on the wealthy in Democrats’ sweeping economic package.
There’s Now A Warrant Out For Indicted MAGA Clerk’s Arrest
A judge in Colorado issued an arrest warrant on Thursday for indicted Mesa County clerk Tina Peters for violating the terms of her release by traveling to a far-right conference in Las Vegas.
Kari Lake The Wokester
CNN discovered that far-right Arizona gubernatorial candidate Kari Lake, who pitches herself as a staunchly transphobic and anti-choice hardliner in her primary race, made several interesting posts on Facebook in 2015 and 2016.
- Lake’s posts about trans issues in 2015 called for support for transgender youth, who face high risks of suicide, and expressed admiration for trans women having the courage to transition.
- Lake posted a question about abortion in 2016 that seemed to hint at a belief that the procedure should be easily accessible for women whose fetuses have been infected with the Zika virus.
- This isn’t the first time Lake’s credentials as a GOP culture warrior have come into question: A well-known local drag queen in Phoenix, who used to be longtime friends with Lake, called out the nominee last month.
Fetterman Gifts Oz With A Special New Jersey Shoutout
Democratic Pennsylvania Senate nominee John Fetterman, who often jabs at his Republican rival/New jersey resident Dr. Mehmet Oz’s dubious claims about actually living in Pennsylvania, served Oz some grade-A trolling on Thursday in the form of a Cameo video by Snooki, one of the stars of the Jersey Shore reality TV series.
- In the video, Snooki wishes Oz good luck, having heard that he had “moved from New Jersey to Pennsylvania to look for a new job.” “And don’t worry! Because you’ll be back home in Jersey soon,” she chirps. “This is only temporary.”
Fetterman’s campaign paid $393.75 for the Cameo, according to Politico reporter Sam Stein.
Judge Slaps Down Bannon’s Bid To Stall Trial Again
Ex-White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s repeated request to delay his upcoming criminal contempt trial wasn’t any more successful than the first attempt; the judge ruled on Thursday that the MAGA diehard was still going to have his trial on Monday as scheduled.
Must Read
“Behind Turning Point USA’s funding boom – with half of it coming from 10 anonymous donors” – NBC News
Boebert’s Gun Fetish Restaurant Shuts Down
Shooters Grill, Rep. Lauren Boebert’s (R-CO) gun-themed restaurant that once gave 80 people food poisoning (including bloody diarrhea), closed on Sunday after the landlord told her the lease for her restaurant wouldn’t be renewed. However, it doesn’t seem like this is the end of Boebert’s weird gun-food ambitions: The GOP congresswoman told the Post Independent that she was considering opening a “Shooters coffee shop,” and the Daily Beast noted that the now-closed establishment had a sign on the door that read “Stay Tuned. #Covfefe.”
Ivana Trump Dies At 73
Ivana Trump, Donald Trump’s first wife and the mother of Ivanka, Eric and Don Jr., died at age 73 at her townhouse in Manhattan on Thursday. The cause of her death is unknown at the moment, but police are investigating whether she fell down the stairs at her home, according to the New York Times.
(Also ABC News apparently ran into a snafu with its initial report on Trump’s death:)
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Many People Are Saying This: Where Is The DOJ?
For all the powers given to federal prosecutors — including grand jury access and FBI cooperation, to name a few — a House committee increasingly appears to have them beat.
Continue reading “Many People Are Saying This: Where Is The DOJ?”More GOP Lies About Child Rape Story Collapse With Hours
This is getting worse and worse. My colleagues and I noted yesterday that Indiana Attorney General Todd Rokita had threatened the doctor who treated the 10 year old rape victim from Ohio with investigation, loss of licensure and even imprisonment. This was another effort to shift the story after Republicans at first tried to claim the girl didn’t exist. Rokita suggested that the doctor, Dr. Caitlin Bernard, had failed to file mandated reports with the state about the abuse and the abortion. At least, Rokita claimed, he could find no evidence for any reports. Bernard is an “abortion activist acting as a doctor with a history of failing to report,” Rokita told Fox News on Wednesday. “We’re gathering the information, we’re gathering the evidence as we speak and we’re going to fight this to the end, including looking at [Bernard’s] licensure, if she failed to report. In Indiana it’s a crime for … to intentionally not report.”
Continue reading “More GOP Lies About Child Rape Story Collapse With Hours”Where Things Stand: Ken Paxton Sues To Stop Biden Abortion Mandate
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton made a predictable move today. He filed a lawsuit challenging the Biden administration’s recent executive order asking the Department of Health and Human Services to take action to protect abortion access in the wake of Roe v. Wade’s overturning.
Continue reading “Where Things Stand: Ken Paxton Sues To Stop Biden Abortion Mandate”Secret Service Deleted Jan. 5 And 6 Text Messages After Oversight Officials Requested Records
The Secret Service reportedly deleted text messages from Jan. 5 and 6, 2021 after oversight officials requested the agency’s electronic communications, a letter sent to the Jan. 6 Select committee indicates. The Intercept first reported the news.
Continue reading “Secret Service Deleted Jan. 5 And 6 Text Messages After Oversight Officials Requested Records”