Marjorie Taylor Greene Laments Butt Plug Availability
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) speech to New York Republicans took a strange turn when she noted how “you can pick up a butt plug or a dildo at Target nowadays” while bashing transgender-friendly policies in classrooms, the New York Post reports.
Elon Musk Suggests Dr. Fauci Should Be Prosecuted
Elon Musk poke at Dr. Anthony Fauci, suggesting in in a tweet that nation’s top infectious disease expert should be prosecuted.
Said Musk: “My pronouns are Prosecute/Fauci.”
Sinema’s Mutually Assured Destruction
“Sen. Kyrsten Sinema’s stunning decision to become an independent has triggered the possibility of a blue-on-purple civil war that could cost Democrats a must-win Senate seat in 2024,” Axios reports.
“Sinema would have had difficulty winning a primary. But she can win a general election — and might even be the favorite — if no Democrat of consequence runs.”
“But if moderate and progressive Democrats split, her move risks handing the Senate seat to a Republican nominee — potentially a right-wing candidate like Kari Lake.”
Democrats Did Much Better in Rural Areas
“A new analysis of the midterms by centrist Democratic think tank Third Way finds that most Democratic candidates improved on President Biden’s 2020 performance in rural America — with some notable exceptions,” Axios reports.
Jon Tester Seems Likely to Run Again
Sen. Jon Tester (D-MT) sounded on Meet the press like a candidate for re-election in 2024.
Said Tester: “If I decide to run in this thing — and it’ll be a discussion that I have with my family over the holidays, because it is a big undertaking — I feel good about my chances.”
Quote of the Day
“I want to tell you something, if Steve Bannon and I had organized that, we would have won. Not to mention, we would’ve been armed.”
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), quoted by the New York Post, on the January 6 Capitol riots.
New Election Laws Didn’t Stop Democrats
Washington Monthly: “If the point of Republican restrictive voting laws in Georgia and elsewhere was to suppress the vote to such an extent that Democrats couldn’t win, the plan failed.”
Latino Voters Stuck with Democrats
NBC News: “In Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado, Latinos have stuck with Democrats, and that has helped power the party’s gains across a region where Latino population growth has exploded. It belies a conventional narrative that Democrats were universally ceding Latino voters to the Republican Party, a storyline repeated throughout the run-up to the Nov. 8 midterms. Instead, indicators show the GOP in danger of losing Latino voters in this region, a prospect that could mean being boxed out of the Southwest for the long term.”
Most Democrats Don’t Want Biden to Run Again
A new CNBC All-America Economic Survey shows that only 37% of Republicans say they don’t want Donald Trump to run in 2024, while 57% of Democrats say they don’t want Joe Biden to run.
Largest Exodus Yet Threatens Cuba
“Living conditions in Cuba under Communist rule have long been precarious, but today, deepening poverty and hopelessness have set off the largest exodus from the Caribbean island nation since Fidel Castro rose to power over half a century ago,” the New York Times reports.
Bolsonaro Breaks His Silence
“Outgoing Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has broken an almost six-week silence after his election defeat in October, telling supporters they will decide his next steps,” the Financial Times reports.
Said Bolsonaro: “Who decides where I go are you. Who decides which way the armed forces go are you.”
Lockerbie Plane Bomber in U.S. Custody
A Libyan man suspected of making a bomb that destroyed Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 and killed 270 people, including 190 Americans, was taken into U.S. custody on Sunday, AP reports.
Behind the Quick Fall of Liz Truss
The Financial Times has “the inside story” of British prime minister Liz Truss’s disastrous 44 days in office.
Republicans Divided on Attacking Trump Probes
“Republicans in Congress are splintering over how aggressively to run interference for former president Donald Trump as he faces potential criminal prosecution, with only his closest allies planning to directly attack the Department of Justice investigations now under the purview of special counsel Jack Smith,” the Washington Post reports.
“The chasm between lawmakers who have continued to vehemently defend the newly announced presidential nominee and those who have started to quietly inch away from the former president widened last week as top GOP leaders laid out the party’s investigative priorities. The emerging split raises another sign of Trump’s uncertain position in the party after a month of taking blame for a disappointing midterm and drawing criticism for controversial statements.”
McCarthy Critics Still Lack an Alternative
“There’s trouble brewing in the House GOP’s anti-Kevin McCarthy ranks,” Politico reports.
“The group of conservatives wreaking havoc in the House GOP conference with their challenge to McCarthy’s bid for speaker is facing internal indecision that may hurt its ability to stay united, according to two Republicans familiar with dynamics in the Freedom Caucus. Most of the Californian’s right-flank critics are members of that dozens-strong Donald Trump-aligned bloc.”
“At the heart of the struggles among McCarthy foes is their lack of a clear plan to take down the GOP leader when the House meets on Jan. 3 to choose its next speaker.”
McCarthy Pledges Subpoenas for 51 Intel Agents
House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy reacted to the “Twitter Files,” revealing how the tech giant purportedly suppressed the Hunter Biden laptop story in the final weeks of the 2020 presidential election, Fox News reports.
Said McCarthy: “Those 51 intel agents that signed a letter that said the Hunter Biden information was all wrong — was Russia collusion — many of them have a security clearance.”
He added: “Why did they sign it? Why did they lie to the American public? A Clapper, a Brennan? Why did you use the reputation that America was able to give to you more information, but use it for a political purpose and lie to the American public?”
Trump’s Campaign Blowing Up
“Instead of taking off like a rocket over the past three weeks, Donald Trump’s bid to win back the White House appears, so far at least, to be blowing up on the launchpad,” The Guardian reports.
“The swagger of 2016 has given way to somnolence in 2022. Opinion polls are grim. Legal setbacks are piling up. A run of dismal results in the midterm elections, culminating in another Republican loss in Georgia this week, have punctured his aura of invincibility within the party.”
“And Trump has performed astonishing acts of self-sabotage, from dining with antisemites to calling for the constitution to be shredded. He has eschewed a widely-anticipated spree of public rallies, instead remaining largely out of the public gaze.”
