What Would It Take For Guns To One Day Go The Way Of Cigarettes?

Posted on by Kate Riga

An object, cloaked in an aura of glamor and cool, is, or at least feels, ubiquitous in American society. The object is a clear threat to public health — though that fact often gets eclipsed by arguments emphasizing the rights of those who like to use the object. Powerful, monied and well-connected special interest groups stand behind the object, and work fervently to thwart regulation and restrictions on it. 

Today, that object is a gun. In our recent past, it was a cigarette. 

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Results #1

Posted on by Josh Marshall

This seems to be a result that many in Iowa expected but far fewer outside of Iowa. Michael Franken appears to be trouncing Abby Finkenauer in the primary battle to challenge Chuck Grassley. Currently 60% to 37% with an estimated 44% of the vote counted. Grassley is an institution in Iowa. It’s a GOP trending state in a GOP year. But an 88-year-old senator is always vulnerable to the charge that it’s time to retire. So always a chance.

Coming Down the Pike

Posted on by Josh Marshall

Don’t miss Matt’s article about the “independent state legislature” theory. We’ve discussed it in passing before. It’s a borderline absurd reading of the federal constitution which corrupt judges like the ones who now dominate the Supreme Court want to use to basically rig the electoral process in the United States.

Bannon Subpoenas Pelosi And Jan. 6 Panel In Attempt To Hit Back At Contempt Charges

Posted on by Summer Concepcion

Former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon has reportedly subpoenaed House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) and members of the committee in an attempt to push back at the contempt charges he faces, according to CNN. Bannon is scheduled to go on trial next month in the contempt charges the Justice Department brought against him last year for failing to cooperate with the Jan. 6 Select Committee’s investigation.

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Where Things Stand: Dems Compare Fox To Russian TV For Not Airing Jan 6 Hearings Live

Posted on by Nicole LaFond

Fox News couldn’t possibly cut off its star attraction.

Tucker Carlson’s show airs from 8:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. ET. The Jan. 6 committee hearing’s debut on Thursday begins at 8 as well. It’s hardly a surprise that the network announced yesterday that it won’t air at least the first hearing live — Tucker has amassed a cult following, coming out on top consistently with the highest ratings of any show on cable news networks.

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One Potential Supreme Court Case Could Transform US Election Law

Posted on by Matt Shuham

The voting rights legal community is holding its breath these days for the moment when the U.S. Supreme Court formally announces whether it will take a case that could fundamentally transform the way election laws work. 

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What Triggers The State ‘Trigger Laws’ That Could Ban Abortions?

Posted on by Nicole LaFond

This article is part of TPM Cafe, TPM’s home for opinion and news analysis. It was originally published at The Conversation.

The Supreme Court’s leaked draft opinion on abortion rights dramatically declares that “the authority to regulate abortion must be returned to the people and their elected representatives.”

A number of states have already made their choice in case that happens, either protecting the right to abortion or significantly restricting abortion under most circumstances. Some states never removed bans they had in place before 1973. That’s the year of the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Roe v. Wade declaring that the Constitution protects the right to obtain an abortion.

In addition, there are 13 states with so-called “trigger” laws, abortion-restricting laws designed to take effect once abortion is no longer protected by the U.S. Constitution. I’m a legal scholar who studies gender and reproductive rights and wanted to see just what those triggers are that will put the laws into force. It turns out that the 13 states are almost evenly split between two distinct approaches with one thing in common: They both end up significantly limiting people’s right to get an abortion.

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Trump Pushed Secret Service To Let Him Join March To The Capitol Weeks Before Jan. 6

Posted on by Summer Concepcion

In the weeks leading up to Jan. 6, former President Trump reportedly attempted to pressure the Secret Service to devise a plan for him to join his supporters on a march to the Capitol, two people briefed on witnesses’ accounts to congressional investigators told the Washington Post.

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So Where Are We Here?

Posted on by Josh Marshall

Updated at 8:47 PM eastern

As always, it’s fascinating to hear from you about what you hear from your senators on a Roe protecting bill and the filibuster. I wanted to give you a quick summary of what we’ve heard so far.

So far we have these Senators who have either publicly stated support for a Roe bill and changed filibuster rules or their offices told constituents that they did.

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What We Know About The Focus Of The Jan. 6 Committee Public Hearings

Posted on by Summer Concepcion

With just two days to go before the debut of the Jan. 6 Select Committee’s public hearings, new details have emerged on potential witnesses and the focus of the first hearing.

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