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A new USA Today/Ipsos poll finds that by a 56% to 39% margin, Americans say the term “woke” means awareness of social injustices, not excessive political correctness.
“The findings raise questions about whether Republican campaign promises to ban policies at schools and workplaces they denounce as ‘woke’ could boost a contender in the party’s primaries but put them at odds with broader public opinion in the general election.”
“President Joe Biden’s upcoming budget proposal aims to cut deficits by nearly $3 trillion over the next decade,” the AP reports.
“That deficit reduction goal is significantly higher than the $2 trillion that Biden had promised in his State of the Union address last month. It also is a sharp contrast with House Republicans, who have called for a path to a balanced budget but have yet to offer a blueprint.”
Meanwhile, CNN reports Republicans aren’t likely to have their own proposal until mid-May.
Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) “insists he’ll win if he runs for reelection,” Bloomberg reports.
“That ‘if’ is one of the biggest uncertainties in U.S. politics, one that could determine Senate control and the role of centrists in an increasingly polarized country.”
“While other Democratic incumbents in Trump-friendly states — Sherrod Brown of Ohio and Jon Tester of Montana — have announced reelection campaigns, Manchin is in no hurry. He had $9.5 million in his campaign account at the end of 2022, but says he won’t make any announcements until the end of the year, and laments a perennial focus on politics.”
A new U.S. intelligence community report found Russia conducted malign influence operations in the 2022 U.S. midterm elections and is using increasingly clandestine means to “penetrate the Western information environment,” CNBC reports.
Former Trump National Security Advisor and retired US. Army Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn is suing the U.S. government on grounds of wrongful prosecution, Rolling Stone reports.
He is seeking $50 million in damages.
“Republicans on the House Oversight Committee said Wednesday they are planning a visit with some defendants who are being held in connection with the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol,” ABC News reports.
“In his latest clash with the White House, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) sharply criticized the Biden administration Wednesday for delays on a new federal offshore drilling plan that the Interior Department says it needs until December to put into effect,” the Washington Post reports.
“Manchin, who remains a key swing vote in the Senate, has recently pushed back against the administration for its appointments and its implementation of the Inflation Reduction Act, including on how it affects oil and natural gas leasing in Alaska.”
Dan Pfeiffer: “In some ways, my career in political communications has been defined by the rise of Fox News and the rest of the Right Wing media. For the entirety of the twenty-first century, Fox News has been the most powerful weapon in the Right’s arsenal. From Capitol Hill, the campaign trail, the White House, and now from my perch in progressive media, I watched Fox start wars, beat Democrats into submission, drive reams of mainstream press coverage, and make Donald Trump President.”
“But they have never been more vulnerable. Here’s how Democrats should adjust their approach to Fox News.”
“The man who has accused Matt Schlapp, the influential leader of the Conservative Political Action Conference, of sexual misconduct came forward publicly Wednesday after a judge said he must use his real name to proceed with a lawsuit,” the Washington Post reports.
“Carlton Huffman, 39, a longtime aide to Republican campaigns who lives in Raleigh, N.C., said he plans to amend the previously anonymous lawsuit, which seeks $9.4 million in damages for alleged sexual battery and defamation.”
“Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders (R) signed into law this week legislation that rolls back significant portions of the state’s child labor protections,” the Washington Post reports.
“The law eliminates requirements for the state to verify the age of children younger than 16 before they can take a job.”
President Biden’s public approval rating edged up to 42%, its highest level since June, as inflation has eased in the United States and job growth has stayed strong, a new Reuters/Ipsos poll showed.
“Glenn Youngkin, who rose to prominence after defeating Democratic former Gov. Terry McAuliffe in 2021, has done just enough to keep the embers of a potential 2024 bid glowing. Yet the Republicans closest to the Virginia governor aren’t sure he intends to run—or wants to,” The Dispatch reports.
“Republican donors who attended a meet-and-greet with Youngkin in New York last week exited the event believing the governor is inclined to stand down. Youngkin did not rule out running. But the governor left the impression that any possible campaign was months away—that he is hyper-focused on running Virginia and wants time to assess the 2024 primary field.”
Said one: “He did not sound like an all-in candidate. He’s sort of testing the waters.”
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New York Times: “While other recent presidents routinely drew financial support from key campaign aides and West Wing advisers, contributions to Mr. Trump from his team have been the exception rather than the norm.”
“The lack of contributions from the Trump team is surprising, given the former president’s penchant for testing his top staff members’ allegiances and his tendency to view loyalty through a starkly transactional lens. Mr. Trump is also known to harbor deep resentment over the manner in which aides — in real or perceived ways — have leveraged their connections to him for their own financial gain.”
Vice News: “The sudden disappearance of the Boogaloos fueled speculation that the slew of DOJ investigations and arrests had literally taken them off the board—perhaps destroying the movement forever…”
“While it’s true that the threat of prosecution caused the Boogaloo Bois to lower their profile, the fierce anti-government ideology underpinning the movement never went anywhere. And now, the Boogaloo Bois appear to be regrouping, plotting their public comeback to coincide with what many fear could be a tense, even violent, presidential election season.”
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) took the Speaker’s chair for the first time during a House session on Wednesday.
“Speaker Kevin McCarthy often spent the last two years avoiding much discussion about the January 6, 2021, attack,” CNN reports.
“Now, he’s effectively put the issue back in the spotlight and on the investigative agenda – a gambit that has divided House and Senate Republicans and reopened ugly wounds inside the GOP.”
“Republicans in the House are beginning to plot multiple probes into the 2021 Capitol attack, including looking into the Democratic-led select committee’s actions from the last Congress, the security failures from that day and potentially even the treatment of January 6 defendants… The move comes as McCarthy green-lit the release of January 6 security footage to Fox News host Tucker Carlson, who sought to whitewash the severity of the attack and caused a major uproar among Senate Republicans on Tuesday.”
A federal investigation found the Louisville Metro Police Department “engaged in systemic civil rights abuses and excessive-force misconduct in the years leading up to the 2020 police killing of Breonna Taylor,” the Washington Post reports.
Taegan 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.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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