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Democrats Grow More Critical of Israel

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Politico: “Ilhan Omar started out in Congress as a somewhat lonely critic of decades of U.S. policy in the Middle East. Now, six months into her second term, the Minnesota Democrat has new and diverse allies. … Democrats are showing they’re increasingly comfortable backing her up, particularly as she hammers the Israeli government in ways that buck long-held bipartisan traditions in Washington.”

“That friendlier posture toward Omar indicates that her party’s shift on America’s role in the Middle East was more than just a short-term fixture of the recent 11-day conflict between Israel and Palestinian militants in Gaza… A generational divide within the Democratic Party has elevated younger lawmakers’ calls for a recalibration in U.S. policy toward Israel.”

Democratic Group Will Pour $20M Into Voting Rights

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New York Times: “The digital effort will include a series of extensive voter information campaigns, going beyond a more traditional approach that would consist solely of persuasion ads. Their overall goal is to help people navigate a new balloting landscape created by the many new restrictions passed by Republicans in at least 16 states.”

“The campaigns will also provide voting tools like text message reminders to register to vote or request an absentee ballot.”

It Could Take Weeks to Know Winner of NYC Primary

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Playbook: “There are 13 candidates on the ballot, and polls show no one coming remotely close to a majority. That means it’s virtually certain that we won’t have an outright winner tonight, and it will be necessary to move to the ranked-choice, ‘instant runoff’ tabulation to determine the Democratic nominee.”

“But ‘instant’ it is not — far from it. The problem is you need to know which candidates finished the race in which places before their supporters can be reallocated in the correct order. And that’s only possible after all the votes are tabulated.”

“The city board of elections is reportedly not going to run those calculations for the first time until next Tuesday. And that will only include votes cast in person — whether today or during the early-voting period, which ended Sunday. Then there are absentee ballots, which won’t start to be added to the tallies until after the Fourth of July. That means it could be until the middle of next month before a winner can be identified.”

Susan Collins Will Oppose Biden’s ATF Nominee

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“Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said she would vote against President Joe Biden’s pick to lead the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on Monday, making David Chipman’s path to confirmation more difficult,” the Bangor Daily News reports.

Said Collins in a statement: “In recent years, Mr. Chipman has been an outspoken critic of the firearms industry and has made statements that demean law-abiding gun owners. Although he has the right to express his views, I believe this history makes him an unusually divisive pick for this important position.”

Manchin Won’t Say How He’ll Vote on Voting Rights

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With just a few hours left before the Senate vote on whether to advance voting rights legislation, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) told CNN he’s not made up his mind yet.

Said Manchin: “We are still waiting to see the final… I gotta make sure we are going to move to a better compromise… Everybody is working on it real good.”

Even though Republicans are poised to filibuster the bill, Democrats are seeking unity in their caucus and Manchin is the sole holdout.

How Republicans Use Uncertainty as a Weapon

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Philip Bump: “A pattern has emerged in Republican politics over the past several years, a three-part system by which to generate a cloud of uncertainty about certain things.”

“One component is to suggest a failure to treat something unserious as serious is a reflection of an unwillingness to debate, that the party considering the unserious thing as unserious is somehow afraid to confront it. Another is cherry-picking from huge pools of information, using isolated and usually misconstrued claims to construct alternative narratives. The third is the existence of a sympathetic media and social universe that collectively agrees the unserious and unproven thing is, in fact, both proven and serious.”

Connecticut Lawmaker Resigns Citing Divorce Battle

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Connecticut state Sen. Alex Kasser (D) “announced she is resigning, saying her ability to do her job has been harmed by a bitter divorce battle being waged by her husband,” CNBC reports.

“The stunning move comes two years after Kasser went public with her romantic relationship with a woman who had previously run her first Senate campaign and then briefly worked in her legislative office. Kasser told her husband more than a decade ago told she is a lesbian.”

Taliban Seizes Key District

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“Taliban fighters took control of a key district in Afghanistan’s northern Kunduz province Monday and encircled the provincial capital, police said, as the insurgent group added to its recent battlefield victories while peace talks have stalemated,” the Associated Press reports.

Trump Wanted to Stop Late Night Comedians

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Daily Beast: “Trump had asked advisers and lawyers in early 2019 about what the Federal Communications Commission, the courts systems, and—most confusingly to some Trump lieutenants—the Department of Justice could do to probe or mitigate SNL, Jimmy Kimmel, and other late-night comedy mischief-makers.”

“To those who heard it, Trump’s inquiries into what federal regulations could be used to bust the likes of Kimmel and SNL was more of a nuisance than a constitutional crisis… However, the conversations further showed, in the pettiest of ways, how the 45th U.S. president was keen on turning the country’s top law enforcers into something more akin to his own personally retained law firm.”

Police Unions Hold a Veto Over Reform

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Adam Serwer: “Like any other type of union, police unions view their duty as protecting the interests of their dues-paying members. Yet these unions are fundamentally different, because their members are armed agents of the state.”

“Americans are presently engaged in a debate about how to reform police departments to prevent the unlawful killing of civilians by officers, as well as other, nonlethal abuses of power. Reining in police unions may not seem like the most urgent response to this crisis.”

“But no reform effort can hope to succeed given their power today.”



Political Classifieds

☑️ SECRETS by Fred Ellis Brock, the third novel in The Seven trilogy, now available on Amazon, etc. A thriller out of today’s headlines: murder, treason, and UFO conspiracies. Published by Wyatt-MacKenzie.

June 16

☑️ On the American Exchange podcast, ex-pat Erich McElroy reaches across from London to try and find out what is happening to his home country. Past guests include Mary Trump, SE Cupp, Anthony Scaramucci and more.

June 16

☑️ A House Divided: Slavery and American Politics from the Constitution to the Civil War by Ben McNitt - on Amazon - Barnes & Nobel Bookstore

June 9

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

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