Jeffrey Toobin: “The norms of political conduct, already fading at the turn of the century, now seem to have disappeared altogether. As a result, the aftermath of the 2020 election has the potential to make 2000 look like a mere skirmish.”
Democrats Propose to Fund Government Past Election
“House Democrats on Monday released their proposal for short-term legislation to fund the government through December 11,” Axios reports.
“This is Congress’ chief legislative focus before the election. They must pass a continuing resolution before midnight on Oct. 1 to avoid a government shutdown — something both Hill leaders and the White House have claimed is off the table.”
New Biden Ads Target Black Men
Atlanta Journal Constitution: “The 60-second ‘Shop Talk’ ad features several Black men discussing in a barber shop the Democrat’s plans to abolish private prisons and get rid of cash bail. In a separate 30-second spot, the same group praises Biden’s selection of U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris as his running-mate.”
“The ads, which are set to debut Tuesday, are part of a TV expansion to offer multiple paths for Biden to win the presidency if he falters against President Trump in top-tier battleground states such as Arizona and Florida. Along with Georgia, a new round of ads is also airing in Iowa.”
A Clue Into Who Trump Might Pick?
President Trump is scheduled to spend the night in Miami on Friday night — the hometown of one Barbara Lagoa, a candidate for the Supreme Court, Politico reports.
Trump previously said he would make his pick Friday or Saturday.
Romney Won’t Comment on Vacancy Until Tomorrow
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) will not release a statement on filling Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s Supreme Court seat until tomorrow, after Senate Republicans meet for their weekly policy lunch, CNN reports.
Notorious Virus Troll Works for Dr. Fauci’s Agency
Daily Beast: “The managing editor of the prominent conservative website RedState has spent months trashing U.S. officials tasked with combating COVID-19, dubbing White House coronavirus task force member Dr. Anthony Fauci a ‘mask nazi,’ and intimating that government officials responsible for the pandemic response should be executed.”
“But that writer, who goes by the pseudonym ‘streiff,’ isn’t just another political blogger. The Daily Beast has discovered that he actually works in the public affairs shop of the very agency that Fauci leads.”
Inside the Impeachment of Donald Trump
Coming next month: High Crimes: The Corruption, Impunity, and Impeachment of Donald Trump by Michael D’Antonio and Peter Eisner.
“Having spent a year essentially embedded inside several House committees, Michael D’Antonio and Peter Eisner draw on many sources, including key House leaders, to expose the politicking, playcalling, and strategies debated backstage and to explain the Democrats’ successes and apparent public failures during the show itself.”
High Crimes: The Corruption, Impunity, and Impeachment of Donald Trump
- Amazon Kindle Edition
- D'Antonio, Michael (Author)
- English (Publication Language)
- 437 Pages - 10/20/2020 (Publication Date) - Thomas Dunne Books (Publisher)
CDC Removes Statement on Airborne Virus Transmission
The CDC removed a statement on airborne virus transmission, claiming website error, the Washington Post reports.
The agency had posted information new guidelines suggesting the virus can transmit over a distance larger than 6 feet and that indoor ventilation is key to protection against its spread.
RBG to Lie In State
Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced that Ruth Bader Ginsburg will lie in state inside the Capitol’s Statuary Hall on Friday, the AP reports.
There will also be a public viewing at the Supreme Court on Wednesday and Thursday.
McConnell’s Primary Goal Is to Keep Senate Majority
Jane Mayer: “He’s made the conservative makeover of the federal court system his pet project, but if he faces a choice between another right-wing Justice or keeping his control of the Senate, no one who knows him well thinks he’d hesitate for a moment to do whatever is necessary to stay in power…”
“The problem for McConnell now is that it may be impossible for him to both confirm a new Justice and hold on to his personal power as Majority Leader. A power grab for the Court that is too brutish may provoke so much outrage among Democrats and independents that it could undermine Republican Senate candidates in November. As he knows better than anyone, polls show that Republican hopes of holding the Senate are very much in doubt. If Joe Biden is elected, enabling a Democratic Vice-President to cast the deciding vote in the Senate, Democrats need only to pick up three seats to win a majority. And, at the moment, according to recent polls, Democratic challengers stand good chances against Republican incumbents in Maine, Arizona, and Colorado. Democrats also have shots at capturing seats in South Carolina and Iowa.”
“No one knows for sure how the politics of the Ginsburg seat will play out in close Senate races. But the issue likely puts some of the most endangered Republican candidates in very tough spots.”
Bill Barr and Ivanka Trump to Discuss ‘Human Trafficking’
Attorney General William Barr and Ivanka Trump will visit Atlanta today “to highlight the administration’s efforts to protect human trafficking survivors,” CBS 46 reports.
Peter Kafka: “This is a good way to court QAnon voters without ever saying ‘QAnon’ out loud.”
Susan Collins Trails In Another Poll
A new Boston Globe/Suffolk University poll in Maine finds Sara Gideon (D) leading Sen. Susan Collins (R) in the U.S. Senate race, 46% to 41%.
Also important: “Gideon’s narrow polling lead could be even stronger when Maine’s ranked-choice voting system is taken into account… Among the very small sample of respondents not planning to pick one of the major-party contenders as their top choice, Gideon is much more popular than Collins as a second-choice vote.”
In the presidential race, Joe Biden leads Donald Trump, 51% to 39%
Earlier: Trump slams Susan Collins.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I don’t know how the Facebook Board of Directors or their top employees can look at themselves in the mirror… Their business plan is to make money off of poison.”
— Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an interview with Kara Swisher on her new podcast.
Young Voters Appear Energized This Year
A new Harvard Institute of Politics poll of voters aged 18 to 29 years old finds that 63% indicated they will “definitely be voting” in the 2020 presidential election compared to 47% during this same time in 2016.
The young voters prefer Joe Biden over Donald Trump by a large margin, 60% to 27%.
Toobin Calls Democrats ‘Wimps’ on Supreme Court Threats
Jeffery Toobin called Democrats “wimps” in a CNN interview and questioned if they “have the guts to do anything” about the vacant seat on the Supreme Court.
Said Toobin: “Democrats are great about talking big, but we’ll see if he has the — if he and the other Democrats have the guts to do anything. If they retake control of the Senate, will they really add the two seats on the Supreme Court?”
He continued: “Because they’re weak and they’re wimps and they’re afraid. We think about Bush v. Gore and, which David Boies argued. In 2016, Al Gore said no street protests. This is just a legal process, while David saw in Tallahassee and Washington the Republican forces massing against them, literally on the streets. There is a difference to how Democrats and Republicans go about these fights, and we’ll see if Democrats learn anything from Republicans here. Yes, it’s interesting that Chuck Schumer said nothing is off the table, but that’s not a commitment to do anything.”
McSally Bets on the GOP Base in Arizona
“In a key battleground state that is changing rapidly, Martha McSally is banking on the Republican faithful in the November election,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Ms. McSally, an appointed senator who is now running to keep her seat, was the first woman to fly a fighter jet in combat. She sued the secretary of defense over a policy that service women wear Muslim clothing in the Middle East. She is a survivor of sexual assault and discrimination. But on a recent campaign day, she didn’t go into detail on her biography or make any clear overtures to the moderate voters who may help decide the race.”
“Instead, her focus was on rallying Republican voters to keep America from going in what she says is a dangerous direction, if Democrats take power. During a 14-hour day this month—which included a trip to see the wall along the southern border, two Republican Party events, door-knocking and a meeting with small businesses owners—she said her seat is key to Republican control of the Senate and the president’s agenda.”
McMaster Surprised Trump Denied Russian Interference
Former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster told 60 Minutes that he reacted with “surprise, disappointment, disbelief” when in 2017 President Trump told reporters he believed Vladimir Putin when he denied interfering in the 2016 US election.
McMaster said he and other advisers “had a conversation with the president afterwards, we said, ‘Your answer to that question will be misconstrued as a complete denial of Russian meddling when we know it’s incontrovertible. It’s just, it’s just a fact.’”
McMaster is promoting his new book, Battlegrounds: The Fight to Defend the Free World.
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U.S. Labels Three Cities as ‘Anarchist Jurisdictions’
New York, Portland and Seattle were labeled “anarchist jurisdictions” by the Justice Department on Sunday and targeted to lose federal money for failing to control protesters and defunding police, the New York Post reports.
