Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-WV) latest torpedoing of a deal carefully negotiated within the Democratic caucus provoked Sen. Bernie Sanders’ (I-VT) very candid anger over the weekend.
Continue reading “Sanders Goes After Manchin For ‘Intentionally Sabotaging The President’s Agenda’”Cruz Attacks ‘Clearly Wrong’ SCOTUS Ruling On Marriage Equality
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) on Saturday tore into the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case that legalized gay marriage in 2015, calling it the high court “overreaching.”
Continue reading “Cruz Attacks ‘Clearly Wrong’ SCOTUS Ruling On Marriage Equality”Biden Finally Ditches Plan To Nominate Anti-Abortion Judge–But Not For The Right Reason
A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This is TPM’s Morning Memo.
Slow Clap
Biden won’t be going through with his shocking plan to nominate Chad Meredith, an anti-abortion Federalist Society Republican, to a federal judgeship in Kentucky, the White House announced on Friday – but not because the president finally realized the nomination was a terrible idea.
- No, it was because Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) refused to give the White House the “blue slip” consenting to Meredith’s nomination. That’s right, it was a Republican who scuttled the whole thing.
- And Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) told the New York Times that he hadn’t promised Biden anything in exchange for Meredith’s appointment. It would’ve just been Biden extending a “personal friendship gesture” to McConnell, according to the GOP leader:
Heartwarming stuff!
Key Analyses
“Just 3 Weeks Post-Roe, The Stories Emerging Are Worse Than Anyone Imagined” – Jezebel
“The False Piety of the Anti-Abortion Movement” – New York Magazine
3 Left Dead After Gunman Opens Fire In Indiana Mall
A gunman killed three people and injured two others after shooting up a food court at a mall in Greenwood, Indiana on Sunday, local authorities reported.
- The suspect was fatally shot by an armed bystander, according to the police.
- The gunman’s identity and motive have not been determined, the mayor of Greenwood reported.
A local reporter spoke to a store employee who said she left the entrance gate open to let in people fleeing from the shooting:
Texas House Report Details Utter Failings Of Cop Response To Uvalde
The Texas House committee tasked with investigating law enforcement’s feeble response to the Uvalde elementary school shooting released a 77-page report on Sunday detailing the “systemic failings” by not just the local school police chief, but also by state and federal officers during the massacre, which went on for 77 minutes before any of them went into the classroom to stop the shooter.
Previewing Jan. 6 Panel’s Potentially Last Hearing
The House Jan. 6 Committee will be holding what could be its final public hearing on Thursday at 8 p.m. ET, the panel’s first hearing to be held during primetime since its inaugural session last month. This is some of what we know based on what the committee members said during yesterday’s morning shows:
- The focus of the hearing: How Trump stood by and did nothing while the Capitol was under attack by his own riled-up supporters.
- The committee will comb through “pretty much minute by minute” of the period between Trump leaving his rally to the Capitol attack, according to Rep. Elaine Luria (D-VA), who’ll be leading the hearing with Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).
- The panel members made it clear that their investigation isn’t over, even if this ends up being the last public hearing. New witnesses and information are still coming in, according to Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA).
Bannon To Face The Music
After repeatedly failing to put it off, ex-Trump White House crony Steve Bannon will be having his criminal contempt trial today for refusing to cooperate with the House Jan. 6 Committee, which had subpoenaed him ten months ago.
- Bannon potentially at least 30 days in jail for each of the two charges if he’s found guilty.
- Prosecutors hope to keep this short, saying they’ll be presenting their case against Bannon over just a few days.
Europe Endures Massive Heat Wave
The U.K. has declared a national emergency as the country faces record-breaking heat of 41°C/106°F on Monday, its hottest temperature yet.
- The British government directly attributed the crisis to climate change, with a researcher at the U.K.’s Met Office saying that the chances of seeing 40°C days in the country “could be as much as 10 times more likely in the current climate than under a natural climate unaffected by human influence.”
- Thousands of people in Spain, France and Portugal are expected to evacuate to escape wildfires caused by the heat.
Cruz Says SCOTUS Should’ve Never Legalized Gay Marriage
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) made it clear during his podcast on Saturday that if he, like Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, had his way, gay marriage would still be illegal in states that had banned it before the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling in the Obergefell v. Hodges case.
- Cruz compared Obergefell to Roe v. Wade as rulings that “ignored two centuries of our nation’s history” and decided on issues that should’ve been left to the states. Obergefell was “clearly wrong when it was decided,” the Republican argued.
The Internet
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Her Ex-Husband Is Suing A Clinic Over The Abortion She Had Four Years Ago
This article was originally published by ProPublica, a Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative newsroom.
Nearly four years after a woman ended an unwanted pregnancy with abortion pills obtained at a Phoenix clinic, she finds herself mired in an ongoing lawsuit over that decision.
A judge allowed the woman’s ex-husband to establish an estate for the embryo, which had been aborted in its seventh week of development. The ex-husband filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the clinic and its doctors in 2020, alleging that physicians failed to obtain proper informed consent from the woman as required by Arizona law.
Continue reading “Her Ex-Husband Is Suing A Clinic Over The Abortion She Had Four Years Ago”After Manchin Torpedoes Newest Climate Package, Biden Commits To Using Executive Action
Shortly after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) reportedly reneged on a deal that centered on climate and health care, President Joe Biden put out a statement committing to using executive action to help the planet.
Continue reading “After Manchin Torpedoes Newest Climate Package, Biden Commits To Using Executive Action”GOP Guv Nom Zeldin Stricken From Third Party Ballot Line Due To Invalid Signatures
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”