Throwing Socialism At the Wall Because There’s Nothing Else to Throw
House Republicans voted on an amusingly slapdash resolution last week that both condemned the concept of “socialism” and made the case for how great the SAVE America Act is. The resolution was put forward by Rep. Jeff Crank (R-CO), seemingly in an attempt to make Democrats look bad for supporting socialism, when it appears most Dems opposed the measure, regardless of how they might have voted on a “socialism” bill, because they don’t want to touch the SAVE Act voter suppression bill with a 10 foot pole.
The resolution cleared the House 220-192, with eight of the more moderate members of the House Democratic conference voting with Republicans on a measure that called for the “condemnation and denouncement of socialism in all its forms” while also describing Democratic Socialists of America’s ideology as “incompatible with American values and the United States Constitution.”
While there is plenty to unpack about how Democrats of various stripes are engaging (or not) with the rise of the DSA and voters’ increasingly favorable view of socialism, the key point here is that Republicans are talking about socialism and fearmongering about “radical leftists” again this cycle because they have nothing else with which to energize voters as they attempt to hold Congress. That’s by President Trump’s own design. He’s torpedoed or trampled on any legislative victories they could’ve had this year for the sake of the SAVE Act.
And, so, Republicans spew Islamophobia and manufacture a new Red Scare and bolster Trump’s conspiracy theories about noncitizens supposedly voting en masse for Democrats in federal elections to help them steal seats in Congress. In some ways, Crank’s resolution could be read as a pamphlet on the Republican Party’s 2026 policy platform: creating outrage about something that is not happening — a socialist takeover of America just because a few left-leaning progressive populists won Dem primary elections — while tossing a little bit of the SAVE Act and some grievances about noncitizen voting into the mix because Trump cannot think or speak about much else this cycle.
There have been lots of insider accounts the last few weeks about GOP hand-wringing over the upcoming convention in Dallas, Texas that the Republican Party is hosting to get people jazzed about the midterms and to give Trump a platform to make the election about himself. Many members and candidates are planning not to attend; Trump isn’t exactly popular among voters right now, given his downplaying of the nation’s affordability crisis and everything he has done to make it demonstrably worse since taking back the White House.
In fact, Republicans have been able to accomplish so little with their Republican trifecta in Washington that they’re reportedly planning to elevate the Big Beautiful Bill at the upcoming convention — legislation that passed more than a year ago that cut taxes for the wealthy and made sweeping cuts to Medicaid. After all, what else have they done since then?
One consensus message Republicans want the convention oriented around is the choice between their legislative record and a Democratic Party they argue has moved way too far left.
“You’ve got Republicans that are campaigning on commonsense ideas. You’ve got Democrats that are being drawn to the absolute most extreme left of their party,” said Rep. Brian Jack, a deputy chair of the House GOP campaign arm. “So I expect each night to see that on full display.”
Ex-Paxton Aide Endorses Talarico
Another Republican staffer is endorsing Democrat James Talarico in his Texas Senate bid over Texas Attorney General and Republican candidate Ken Paxton, explaining how blatantly toxic and corrupt he is known to be among Republicans in the state. A few weeks back, a longtime Republican aide for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) endorsed Talarico over Paxton, after Paxton ended his boss’ Senate career.
Now a former top aide to Paxton, David Maxwell, is endorsing Talarico. Maxwell was Paxton’s director of law enforcement for years before he joined other top Paxton staffers in accusing the attorney general of corruption and reporting him to the FBI. More details from the New York Times:
The aide, David Maxwell, served as Mr. Paxton’s director of law enforcement for several years until 2020, when he and other high-level staffers accused Mr. Paxton of abusing the power of his office to help a campaign donor under federal investigation. The allegations were central to Mr. Paxton’s impeachment trial in 2023, in which he denied any wrongdoing and was acquitted by the Republican-led Texas Senate.
“Ken Paxton ended my five-decade career in public service because I blew the whistle on his corruption,” Mr. Maxwell says in the ad. “I am supporting James Talarico for U.S. Senate.”
Kentucky GOP Senator Built Wealth From Suing Patients Over Medical Debt
The New York Times has a sickening new report out today about Sen. Roger Marshall’s (R-KY) habit of suing patients who could not pay off outstanding medical debt to his practice. In some cases those patients were arrested over unpaid medical bills:
Mr. Marshall, a Republican who is seeking re-election this fall, filed lawsuits against more than 700 patients with outstanding bills during his decades-long career as an obstetrician-gynecologist, according to a New York Times analysis of Kansas court records.
Patients were arrested in 81 of those cases for missing court dates, the record show. In an additional 13 lawsuits, Mr. Marshall’s lawyers sought warrants but it is unclear whether an arrest occurred.
You can read the whole piece here.
Read This From TPM Today
“As I sat down this morning to try to catch you up on the state of play of the various Trump administration threats to the sanctity of the midterms elections, I realized anew how hard it is to keep track of it all — and how much that is the point,” David Kurtz writes in today’s edition of Morning Memo as he helps us unravels the web of threats the Trump administration is lobbing at election administrators ahead of the midterms.
Yesterday’s Top Story
DC Starts to Get Worried for the GOP
What I’m Reading
Smithsonian’s Secretary to Resign as Trump Tries to Rule the Institution
Here is Trump’s blueprint to rig the 2026 midterms
Former GOP lawmakers join Democrats to challenge Trump’s mail-in voting crackdown
Roger Marshall is the Senator from Kansas, not Kentucky.
Thank you! That was driving me nuts!
Me too!
Ha ha—yep, me FOURTH!!
Marshall is running for reelection this year. You would think it is a safe seat and it probably is but the Democrat who has my attention is Adam Hamilton, Democrat
Adam Hamilton
Political experience: Hamilton has never held political office, but he has given two separate $500 donations to two centrist Democratic candidates campaigns, Sharice Davids and Barbara Bollier.
What else? He is the leader of the largest church congregation in the state. There were questions on whether Hamilton would run as an independent, but he ultimately decided to run as a Democrat.
Platform: His campaign is predicated on listening to constituents and affordability. Hamilton criticized Republican incumbent Sen. Roger Marshall for not listening to constituents’ concerns. The pastor has also been focused on affordability due in part to conversations he’s had with Kansas farmers and ranchers who aired their frustrations with the price of inputs and tariffs implemented by the Trump administration.
Don’t forget he is the pastor of the largest congregation in his state. Let that soak in. He is running because he thinks Marshall isn’t paying attention to his constituents.