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Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger (R) “called on state lawmakers to eliminate its general-election runoff, a reversal on his position after the 2020 and 2022 elections resulted in high-stakes, second rounds of voting,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Playbook: “The runoffs used to be considered a boon for Republicans, but Democrats have now won three in a row.”
John White: “In many ways, the Republican Party’s history with Donald Trump harkens back to its experience with another demagogue, Joseph McCarthy.”
“For years, Republicans refrained from criticizing McCarthy for fear of alienating their most loyal supporters.”
For more, see McCarthyism in the political dictionary.
“Elon Musk, who implored his army of Twitter followers to vote Republican in the 2022 midterms, did not vote in the election,” the Daily Beast reports.
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Twitter suspended an account that actively tracked Elon Musk’s private jet, Axios reports.
“The suspension raises questions about Musk’s commitment to free speech on Twitter, a value he has directly linked to his takeover of the platform.”
Robert O’Brien, former national security adviser to Donald Trump, said the Russians appeared committed to releasing Paul Whelan and another imprisoned American to improve relations between Washington and Moscow following a meeting in October 2020, The Hill reports.
But the Russians “reneged on the deal that would have freed Whelan and Trevor Reed after Joe Biden was declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election.”
Said O’Brien: “Once we lost the election, the Russians lost all interest.”
“Weird thing about the speaker vote on Jan. 3 — it will essentially function in a House without rules,” Politico reports.
“The speakership election happens before the House sets the rules for the 118th Congress, meaning the vote operates outside of the chamber’s standard operating procedures. When a speaker candidate is elected on the first ballot without too much drama, that’s not a big deal.”
“But Jan. 3, 2023 could have a lot of drama, and many members doubt it will all be settled on the first ballot.”
Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) “announced Tuesday that he is forming a new state committee to counter policy recommendations from federal health agencies — a decision that medical professionals said will further politicize medicine in the Sunshine State,” the Washington Post reports.
“After disappointing midterm elections, Republicans in Congress had hoped to quickly focus their attention on attacking President Biden and preparing to investigate his administration. But ongoing dissent within the GOP ranks is a reoccurring theme sucking up most of the oxygen on Capitol Hill, forcing party leaders to address the discontent,” the Washington Post reports.
“The dynamic is a preview of how the emboldened right flank of the Republican Party might exercise leverage next year in the closely divided chambers — even as moderate Republicans say the electorate wants Congress to get things done.”
Washington Post: “Antiabortion advocates had hoped the June decision would significantly decrease the number of abortions in the United States. But abortion rights activists have ramped up efforts to funnel abortion pills — a two-step regimen of mifepristone and misoprostol — into states with strict new bans, working with rapidly expanding international suppliers as well as U.S.-based distributors to meet demand.”
“Now many conservatives are complaining that the abortion bans are not being sufficiently enforced, even though much of the illegal activity is happening in plain sight, as abortion rights advocates seek to reach women in need. Leaders interviewed on both sides of the debate had not heard of any examples of people charged for violating abortion bans since Roe fell, a crime punishable by at least several years in prison across much of the South and Midwest.”
Washington Post: “To varying degrees, residents of Kyiv are contemplating the once unthinkable possibility that their city could be targeted by a nuclear bomb.”
“Ominous references by Russian President Vladimir Putin that he is prepared to use ‘all necessary means’ to win in Ukraine and frequent chatter on Russian TV talk shows advocating the use of nuclear weapons have given grounds for the concerns.”
“The possibility of 14,000 migrant crossings a day is pushing the Biden administration toward a new rule that would severely limit migrants’ ability to qualify for asylum at the southern border,” Axios reports.
Eurointelligence: “It is unsurprising that the most optimistic news of our times is not from politics or economics, but science. The western world is scraping the barrel with policies designed to improve the lives of people. In most western countries, politics is reduced to an exercise of redistribution of income. The biggest social changes we have experienced in the last century are from scientific and technical innovation. The biggest was, arguably, that of the transistor in 1947, followed by the integrated circuit in 1960.”
“Nuclear fusion is possibly of even a bigger scale. It constitutes a cheap supply of unlimited energy. Its development would constitute the single biggest step forward in our efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emission. There is no space for the likes of Vladimir Putin in a world powered by nuclear fusion. It may take a long time until this technology is ready for deployment, but the scientific breakthrough will have many immediate effects.”
Politico: “Though their target list is still under discussion, Democrats in the upper chamber have made clear that they intend to use their investigative authority — newly acquired thanks to their functional 51st Senate seat — as a counterpoint to House GOP probes of Hunter Biden’s business dealings and the Biden administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan.”
“They’re also mulling picking up the baton from House Democrats on two fights: scrutinizing the oil industry’s culpability for climate change and obtaining former President Donald Trump’s tax returns, according to senators.”
New York Times: “Heading into this November, a key question was whether suburbanites would remain in the Democratic camp again, or snap back to favor Republicans, delivering the kind of sharp rebuke that presidents have come to expect in their first midterm election.”
“The answer: Despite a small swing of the pendulum back toward the G.O.P. in 2022, Democrats largely held onto their gains among suburban voters, particularly in battleground states.”
“Congressional negotiators announced late Tuesday they had reached agreement on a ‘framework’ for fiscal year 2023 spending, clearing the way for passage of an omnibus appropriations package before Christmas,” Politico reports.
“Appropriators are not expected to reveal detailed top-line spending levels until a bill is written and filed, but negotiators had largely settled on a $858 billion defense budget while haggling over the nondefense number. The parties had been roughly $26 billion apart, with Republicans refusing to exceed the $1.65 trillion in total discretionary spending in President Joe Biden’s budget request.”
“Notably absent from the statements touting the deal: Any mention of the House GOP, whose leaders have pressed (at least publicly) for a short-term extension, giving their incoming majority more influence.”
“Republican primary voters have high interest in Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis as a potential 2024 presidential nominee and view him more favorably than they do former President Donald Trump,” a new Wall Street Journal poll shows.
“In a hypothetical contest between the two, Mr. DeSantis beats Mr. Trump, 52% to 38%, among likely GOP primary voters contemplating a race in which the first nomination votes will be cast in just over a year.”
Punchbowl News: “The story of today – the story of this political moment – is the right squeezing House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.”
“This is evident everywhere you look, including in this NYT story, which illustrates former President Donald Trump failing to break the logjam between McCarthy and his conservative detractors.”
CNN: “McCarthy’s comment blindsided McConnell, according to multiple senators. While the House GOP leader had signaled privately – including at a White House meeting – that he’d be open to a large spending deal to finish this year’s business, Republicans were not expecting him to take aim at McConnell even if he publicly came out against the package. But as McConnell continually worked behind the scenes to cut a massive funding deal – effectively clearing McCarthy’s decks for the next Congress – the House GOP leader increasingly voiced his strong opposition against it.”
“It was just the latest split between two GOP leaders who have been at odds over a range of issues this past Congress. Bills to bolster the nation’s infrastructure, new gun safety programs and a ramp up of semi-conductor chip production all became law with McConnell’s support and over McCarthy’s opposition.”
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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