“Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Wednesday struggled to answer questions about his communications with then-President Donald Trump during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol, telling a House panel that he doesn’t recall the number of times he spoke with Trump that day,” the Washington Post reports.
Manchin Denies He Threatened to Leave Democratic Party
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) denied to Politico that he’s threatening to leave the Democratic Party if his demands are not met on the budget reconciliation bill.
Said Manchin: “I can’t control rumors and it’s bullshit, bullshit spelled with a B, U, L, L, capital ‘B’”
Hawaii Is the Most Vaccinated State
Hawaii became the first state to administer coronavirus vaccines to 90% of its residents aged 12 and older, Forbes reports.
Seven other states have 12-and-over vaccination rates above 85%: Massachusetts (89.2%), Vermont (88.6%), Connecticut (88.4%), Rhode Island (86.9%), New Mexico (85.8%), New Jersey (85.3%) and Pennsylvania (85.3%).
On the other end of the spectrum, West Virginia (55.7%), Wyoming (58%) and Mississippi (59.8%) have inoculated fewer eligible residents than any other states.
Arizona GOP Goes Full Fringe
Politico: “As the party hardens around its fealty to former President Donald Trump, the GOP is filling up its midterm ballot with a roster of conspiracy theorists and extremists that could threaten the party’s prospects in a state that’s drifted leftward in recent elections.”
“The latest of those candidates is Ron Watkins, a celebrity in the QAnon conspiracy world suspected of being Q, who announced his plans to run for Congress last week.”
“It isn’t just that Watkins embraces the baseless claim that the November election was stolen. It’s that an entire ticket is running on that falsehood now.”
28 Elected Officials Have Ties to the Oath Keepers
“Over the past dozen years, at least 28 people who currently hold elected office joined or financially supported the Oath Keepers, the extremist group that figured prominently in the violent Jan. 6 storming of the US Capitol,” BuzzFeed News reports.
Majority Don’t Expect Life to Return to Normal Soon
A new Quinnipiac poll finds that more than a year and a half since the pandemic hit the United States, 81% of Americans do not expect life to return to normal in the U.S. anytime soon, while 26% say life will never return to normal.
When given a number of words and asked whether or not those words described how they are feeling, most Americans say they are disappointed (62%), followed by hopeful (50%), emotionally exhausted (46%), worried (43%), angry (41%), and indifferent (24%).
Most Americans Say Politics Drives Supreme Court
A new Grinnel College/Selzer national poll finds 62% of Americans believe that politics, not law, drives Supreme Court decisions.
Those feelings were shared across the political spectrum – including 60% of Republicans, 66% of Democrats, and 63% of independents.
Said pollster Peter Hanson: “This is a nightmare scenario for Chief Justice John Roberts, who has sought to protect the court’s reputation as an apolitical institution.”
Manchin Mulls Leaving the Democratic Party
“In recent days, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) has told associates that he is considering leaving the Democratic Party if President Joe Biden and Democrats on Capitol Hill do not agree to his demand to cut the size of the social infrastructure bill from $3.5 trillion to $1.75 trillion,” Mother Jones reports.
“Manchin has said that if this were to happen, he would declare himself an ‘American Independent.’ And he has devised a detailed exit strategy for his departure.”
“He told associates that he has a two-step plan for exiting the party. First, he would send a letter to Sen. Chuck Schumer, the top Senate Democrat, removing himself from the Democratic leadership of the Senate… Manchin hopes that would send a signal. He would then wait and see if that move had any impact on the negotiations. After about a week, he said, he would change his voter registration from Democrat to independent.”
Dead Heat for Virginia Governor
A new Monmouth poll in Virginia finds Terry McAuliffe (D) and Glenn Youngkin (R) in a dead heat among registered voters, 46% to 46%.
A range of probabilistic likely electorate models shows a potential outcome – if the election was held today – of anywhere from a 3-point lead for McAuliffe (48% to 45%) to a 3-point lead for Youngkin (48% to 45%).
This is the first time the Republican has held a lead in Monmouth polls this cycle.
Said pollster Patrick Murray: “Suburban women, especially in Northern Virginia, have been crucial to the sizable victories Democrats have enjoyed in the commonwealth since 2017. However, their support is not registering at the same level this time around.”
How Conservative Donors Fund Local News Sites
The Columbia Journalism Review looks at how right wing donors have propped up over a thousand local news sites that push conservative narratives.
Cuomo Wants New Probe Into Sexual Misconduct
“Former New York governor Andrew Cuomo (D) wants a new investigation into allegations that he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women, including state employees,” Bloomberg reports.
Russian Group Behind Sinclair Hacking
A weekend cyberattack against Sinclair Broadcast Group Inc. was linked to one of the most infamous Russian cybergangs, called Evil Corp., Bloomberg reports.
Koch Network Spends Big Opposing Biden Agenda
“The political network backed by billionaire Charles Koch spent a record amount of money directly lobbying Congress, with a focus on opposing crucial elements of President Joe Biden’s agenda while supporting some bills backed by Democratic lawmakers,” CNBC reports.
“One of the network’s lobbying targets this year has been moderate Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV).
Most See Biden’s Policies Causing Inflation
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds 62% of American voters say the Biden administration’s policies are either somewhat or very responsible for increasing inflation, including 41% of Democrats, 61% of independent voters and 85% of Republicans.
The Case for Leaving the Republican Party
In February, Robert Gonzalez wrote an op-ed in the Arizona Republic urging Republicans to not to leave the party.
He had hoped that after the January 6 insurrection the GOP “could still be saved by decent people working from the inside… While many Republicans failed to show leadership during Trump’s presidency, it seemed that in the wake of Jan. 6, those leaders would finally stand up for truth and democracy.”
But eight months later he writes that he was wrong.
“One of the few remaining tools to influence the Republican Party is to sever ties. So I urge remaining Republicans who stand for truth and democracy to vote with their feet, and leave.”
Exchange of the Day
Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke to reporters about President Biden’s agenda:
REPORTER: I don’t know if you saw the CBS poll from last week but it said something like only 10 percent know specifics of the Build Back Better bill…
DURBIN: I don’t doubt that one bit, and I think it’s our fault. We oversold it and underperformed for too long. Now we get a chance to close it the right way, hopefully.
Josh Shapiro Enters Race with $10 Million
“The lone Democratic candidate for governor of Pennsylvania, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro, has just over $10 million on hand in his campaign account ahead of next year’s election,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Biden’s Support Among Independents Collapses
A new Grinnell College/Selzer national poll finds President Joe Biden’s approval rating has fallen to 37% to 50%.
The poll also shows Biden’s support among independent voters has collapsed, and he would be tied with former President Trump if the 2024 election were held today.
Said pollster Ann Selzer: “In 2020 exit polling, President Biden won independent voters by a 54% to 41% margin. If the election were held today, our poll shows former President Trump winning that group 45% to 28%. It is a massive shift in a demographic that helped carry Biden to victory less than two years ago.”
