“This is a war. We are at war. And that’s why the gloves are off and I say, bring it on.”
— New York Gov. Kathy Hochul (D), speaking about the Republican efforts to redistrict mid-cycle.
Netanyahu Moves to Consolidate Power
“Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s far-right government voted unanimously Monday to dismiss his attorney general, Gali Baharav-Miara, the chief prosecutor in his ongoing corruption case, as he faces growing criticism inside Israel and U.S. impatience over his government’s management of the war in Gaza,” the Washington Post reports.
“The vote to remove Baharav-Miara, a frequent challenger of the government’s policies, marks one of the most significant steps in Netanyahu’s years-long effort to remake the country’s judiciary. It is also expected to lead to a confrontation between the elected government and Israel’s Supreme Court, which will review and rule on the legality of Baharav-Miara’s removal.”
Will Big Money Lose Again?
New York Times: “It has been six weeks since New York City’s Democratic primary remade the political landscape, and that’s one of the many questions hanging over the mayor’s race with just over 90 days left. The answer could make permanent the power shifts in the city’s Democratic politics that worry the established order — and could rewrite the playbooks for candidates.”
“For now, real estate executives and financiers are forming super PACs to try to defeat Zohran Mamdani, who won the primary with a far less costly campaign than their preferred candidate, former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running on a third-party line in the general election.”
Said Grace Rauh, the executive director of Citizens Union: “The long-held idea in politics that the candidates with the most money win is no longer an assured position. That is part of the reason why many wealthy donors and interests who are looking at this race, in New York and perhaps beyond, are responding in a bit of a state of panic.”
It’s Not Just Eggs
A new AP-NORC poll finds “the vast majority of U.S. adults are at least somewhat stressed about the cost of groceries.”
“Only 14% say it’s not a source of stress, underscoring the pervasive anxiety most Americans continue to feel about the cost of everyday essentials.”
Funding Chaos Awaits Congress
“When the House and Senate return from their month-long August recess, lawmakers will have just four weeks to avert a government shutdown — and some kind of kick-the-can funding patch is all but guaranteed,” Politico reports.
“Before the Senate adjourned Saturday evening, the chamber passed the first bipartisan spending package of the year. But on the other side of the Capitol, House Republicans have yet to welcome government funding negotiations with Democrats, after spending the summer stiff-arming them by advancing bills with steep cuts and conservative mandates.”
“The mood on Capitol Hill already wasn’t ripe for a major bipartisan breakthrough this fall on government funding, given the Republican capitulation to President Donald Trump’s moves to undercut billions of dollars Congress has already approved. Now fiscal conservatives say House GOP leaders promised them no funding will be increased, while dozens of Republicans are demanding earmarks and Democrats are weighing ultimatums like re-upping Obamacare funding as a condition of passing legislation in September to keep federal operations afloat.”
Meanwhile, Punchbowl News reports Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries have written to their Republican counterparts requesting a “Big Four meeting,” as the September government funding deadline looms.
Rick Perry Backs John Cornyn
Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) endorsed Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate.
The War Against Reality
Derek Thompson: “Job growth isn’t the only inconvenient statistic that the Trump administration has tried to suppress in its first seven months.”
“In April, the Trump administration dismissed hundreds of experts who had been putting together the National Climate Assessment, an official report on climate change that is required by Congress. This report isn’t just bathroom reading material for folks who care about sea levels. State and local governments use it to allocate funds toward possible extreme weather events. The insurance industry relies on the assessment to assess risk from extreme weather events for reinsurance coverage. But since the administration is busy waging ideological warfare against any idea that seems too progressive, climate change reports got swept up in the mass cancellation of inconvenient data.”
“Then in June, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the advisory committee on immunization to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention…
“Across government, Trump administration is commandeering independent agencies to turn them into mouthpieces for pro-Trump narratives, across climate, health, and the economy. The White House is trying to program reality as if it were reality TV.”
“But reality exists, whether or not you choose to measure it.”
Exchange of the Day
Texas state Rep. Gene Wu (D) spoke to John Berman on CNN about Gov. Greg Abbott’s threats of removing Democrats from office.
WU: I would say, you know what, today is a great day to end the corruption of Greg Abbott. This has gone on far too long. The public has been enraged about this. How politicians continue to tell the public pretty words, but never actually do what they say they would do. This is Governor Abbott being upset about that because he’s been caught doing exactly that. And Governor Abbott, frankly, he doesn’t know how to read attorney generals opinions because he used to be attorney general. And, frankly, Democrats say, come and take it.
BERMAN: Come and take it. You think — do you think he could be successful taking your seats away?
WU: No. It’s all bluster. Sound and fury signifying nothing.
Justice Department Seeks Voting Information
Associated Press: “Over the past three months, the department’s voting section has requested copies of voter registration lists from state election administrators in at least 15 states… Of those, nine are Democrats, five are Republicans and one is a bipartisan commission.”
Trump Paves Over the White House Rose Garden
“President Donald Trump claims he’s hearing ‘great reviews’ about his controversial overhaul of the White House Rose Garden, which has turned the garden’s famous lawn into a stone patio,” USA Today reports.
Said Trump: “We’re getting great reviews of the Rose Garden, and we had to do it.”
Trump Praises Sydney Sweeney’s Controversial Ad
“Sydney Sweeney’s controversial American Eagle ad may have divided some of her fanbase, but she has a new supporter in President Donald Trump,” The Wrap reports.
“The commander-in-chief praised the ‘Americana’ actress’ Great Jeans campaign on Sunday after a reporter told him she supposedly registered as a Republican voter in Florida ahead of the 2024 election.”
Said Trump: “She’s a registered Republican? Now I love her ad. You’d be surprised at how many people are Republicans. That’s one I wouldn’t have known, but I’m glad you told me that. If Sydney Sweeney is a registered Republican, I think her ad is fantastic.”
Andy Beshear Should Run for Senate
Mike Murphy: “Kentucky’s two-term Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear is seriously exploring a possible 2028 race for president after his term ends in 2027.”
“That would be a mistake. In the modern Democratic primary electorate, a white male candidate with a moderate record would face an uphill battle.”
“So, what is an ambitious, talented Democratic governor with a long record of winning races in ruby-red Kentucky to do? Simple: Run for retiring Sen. Mitch McConnell’s open seat. Beshear could win and become a national hero to Democrats hoping to seize control of the Senate next year.”
Harvard Holds Firm Against Trump
Harvard University president Alan Garber told faculty a deal between the Ivy League institution and the Trump administration is not imminent – and denied reports that the university is considering a $500 million settlement with the White House, The Crimson reports.
A Deep Dive Into the Democratic Spam Machine
Adam Bonica: “The digital deluge is a familiar annoyance for anyone on a Democratic fundraising list. It’s a relentless cacophony of bizarre texts and emails, each one more urgent than the last, promising that your immediate $15 donation is the only thing standing between democracy and the abyss.”
“The main rationale offered for this fundraising frenzy is that it’s a necessary evil—that the tactics, while unpleasant, are brutally effective at raising the money needed to win. But an analysis of the official FEC filings tells a very different story. The fundraising model is not a brutally effective tool for the party; it is a financial vortex that consumes the vast majority of every dollar it raises.”
Key takeaway: “A single consulting firm extracted $282 million from a network of spam PACs while delivering just $11 million to actual campaigns.”
Democrats Are Calling Up Military Recruits
New York Times: “Aware of its deeply unpopular national brand, the Democratic Party is turning to an unusually large crop of veterans to help it retake the House next year.”
Quote of the Day
“I’m kind of hoping that mutually assured destruction can get us all to walk back from the brink.”
— Texas state Rep. James Talarico (D), quoted by Politico, on the redistricting wars.
Like Nixon, Only Worse
Jonathan Bernstein: “Trump is not the first president to mess with BLS. Richard Nixon decided that Jews were out to get him… and had his underlings draw up a list of Jews at BLS and then demote them.”
“As I said a while ago, pick a past presidential scandal and odds are Trump has topped it; in this case, Nixon didn’t publicly undermine the entire agency. Also, unlike Trump, Nixon used antisemitic slurs only in private (as far as I know), so no one found out until the White House tapes revealed them.”
The Assault on Democracy Is Happening in Plain Sight
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