Former RNC Chairman Michael Steele warned his party against legitimizing some Trump-aligned figures as political leaders, calling them “fleas,” “lice” and “blood-sucking ticks” whom potential House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), would have to “lay down with,” Fox News reports.
Oklahoma Governor Mocks Challenger Over Facts
“In a debate Wednesday night between Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt (R) and challenger Joy Hofmeister (D), the governor took issue with Hofmeister pointing out — accurately — the state’s violent crime problem,” the Washington Post reports.
Said Hofmeister: “So let’s talk about facts: The fact is, the rates of violent crime are higher in Oklahoma under your watch than in New York or California. That’s a fact.”
“Stitt interrupted twice to protest that it wasn’t true. The moderator said that would need to be fact-checked. What was not shown at the debate was that Hofmeister was correct.”
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Republicans Hold Edge in Generic Ballot
A new Monmouth poll shows Republicans maintain a slight edge in preference over Democrats for control of Congress, 49% to 45%.
Key finding: “Perception of President Biden’s performance on bread-and-butter concerns is not helping the Democratic cause. Just 31% say he has been giving enough attention to issues that are most important to American families.”
Berlusconi Caught on Tape Gushing Over Putin
“Silvio Berlusconi, the former Italian prime minister, campaigned to be the protector of democratic, pro-European values in a new right-wing coalition that is expected to take power in days after winning elections last month,” the New York Times reports.
“But even before a government can be sworn in, the 86-year-old billionaire media mogul has proved himself to be less of a stable, moderating force, than the source of renewed anxiety after the leak of surreptitiously recorded remarks revealed that he blamed Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky for forcing President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia to invade Ukraine.”
Kevin McCarthy Embraces the Fringe
Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s (R-CA) recent comments “tell us quite a bit about what he would be like as speaker if Republicans take back the House,” Jonathan Bernstein writes.
“For one, it sounds like he is ready to put the most radical Republicans in charge, even when that means disregarding what the majority of the Republican conference wants. House Republicans supported aid to Ukraine this spring by a better than a 3-to-1 margin, yet McCarthy appears comfortable aligning with the small segment of the party opposing the Ukraine package. It suggests that McCarthy is determined to keep both former President Donald Trump and House radicals on his side, fearing a revolt that could dump him as the Republican leader.”
“McCarthy appears to be going down the same path as former Speaker Paul Ryan, who was unwilling to play the crucial role of serving as a pin cushion for critics. This is something that former Speaker John Boehner was very good at — as are current Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell.”
A Category 2 or 3 Hurricane Headed Democrats’ Way
David Wasserman: “I think Nate Silver, my friend and fellow prognosticator, asked the right question over the summer when he wondered whether this would be an asterisk election. Today, we’re somewhere between an asterisk year, in which there’s a minimal wave, and a classic midterm election, where Republicans do quite well. I think this is probably a Category 2 or 3 hurricane headed Democrats’ way, just not a Category 4 or 5.”
“Biden’s approval ratings have sucked all year. That hasn’t changed much. Democrats have come home a bit to him since Dobbs, gas prices have come down a little bit, and he’s been able to pass an agenda during an election year, which is impressive — but that’s only gotten him to between 42 and 43 percent. Historically, that’s still a very rough place to be.”
Bolsonaro and Lula Court the Evangelical Vote
“Less than two weeks ahead of Brazil’s presidential election, incumbent Jair Bolsonaro and his leftist rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva are battling to portray themselves as closest to one particularly influential figure: God,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Brazil’s rapidly growing evangelical Christian movement, which accounts for a third of its population, has emerged as a driving force in the race, helping to elect scores of conservative candidates in the first round of voting in concurrent legislative and state elections earlier this month.”
Ukraine Shocked as Republicans Threaten End to Aid
“Ukrainian officials have expressed ‘shock’ over Republican suggestions that future assistance for Kyiv could be limited if the party wins the House of Representatives in November’s US midterm elections, calling on Washington to continue providing bipartisan support,” the Financial Times reports.
Liz Truss Still Eligible for Lifetime Pension
“Even though her short, six-week stint as the UK’s prime minister came crashing down on Thursday, Liz Truss will still get to claim a yearly £115,000 allowance reserved for former prime ministers,” Insider reports.
Prison Escapee Threatens January 6 Committee Chair
“Federal prosecutors have accused a Pennsylvania prison escapee of sending a letter with threats to kill President Biden and the chairman of the Jan. 6 committee, among others, and containing a white powder with an allusion to anthrax,” NBC News reports.
No Longer Conservatives
John Daniel Davidson argues that “the conservative project has failed, and conservatives need to forge a new political identity that reflects our revolutionary moment.”
Herschel Walker Prank-Called to Solve a Crime
The Stephen Colbert-produced animated news show “Tooning Out the News” got Georgia U.S. Senate candidate Herschel Walker (R) — who brandished a fake police badge at a debate last week — on the phone to ask for his help solving a crime, the Daily Beast reports.
Liz Truss Resigns as British Prime Minister
Liz Truss has resigned as British prime minister after just 45 days in office, The Guardian reports.
“The announcement, made by Truss outside Downing Street, follows the near-complete evaporation of her political authority which has seen her crash the markets, lose two key ministers and shed the confidence of almost all her own MPs.”
“Truss will be the shortest-serving prime minister in UK history.”
New York Times: “Her departure, after only six weeks in office, was a shockingly rapid fall from power, and throws her Conservative Party into further disarray, following the messy departure of Boris Johnson from Downing Street over the summer.”
The BBC reports there will be a Conservative leadership election within the next week to replace Truss.
In the Daily Star competition between an aging head of lettuce and Liz Truss, the lettuce won.
Chanting Crowds Greet Iranian Climber as Hijab ‘Heroine’
“Cheering crowds mobbed Tehran’s international airport today to greet the return of Elnaz Rekabi, a professional climber who was filmed competing without a headscarf,” the Times of London reports.
“Rekabi, 33, had disappeared after the competition in South Korea at the weekend before making a public apology. She reiterated to state media that leaving off her hijab for the competition, in violation of the country’s strict Islamic dress code, had been an ‘accident.’”
Giorgia Meloni Affirms Commitment to NATO
“Giorgia Meloni has vowed Italy will never be ‘the weak link’ in the western alliance against the Russian invasion of Ukraine, after her prospective government coalition partner Silvio Berlusconi was recorded blaming Kyiv for the war,” the Financial Times reports.
Said Meloni: “Italy is fully, and with its head held high, part of Europe and NATO. Anyone who does not agree with this cornerstone cannot be part of the government — even if it means not forming the government.”
Inflation Forces Over Half to Consider Second Jobs
“Over half of working Americans have considered holding multiple jobs to pay their living expenses as inflation remained stubbornly high in September and real wages fell,” Bloomberg reports.
“About 38% of workers have looked for a second job, while an additional 14% have plans to do so, according to a survey of more than 1,000 full-time US employees by Qualtrics International Inc., which makes software used by over 16,000 organizations. At the same time, 18% of working adults said they had moved to an area with a lower cost of living to cut expenses, and another 13% plan to do so.”
Tory Party Finds New Ways to Murder Itself
Ian Dunt: “All she needed to do was not mess up. That was all that was required of her. Liz Truss had secured a brief moment of calm. Jeremy Hunt had settled the markets. Tory MPs couldn’t agree on a replacement. There was a window of opportunity. If she could just get through one day without catastrophically ruining everything she put her hand to, she might be able to stabilise her leadership.”
“But that’s a level of accomplishment which we simply cannot expect from her. It requires the most basic possible level of competence and is therefore miles beyond her capacity. So instead, last night provided scenes of needless self-inflicted chaos the likes of which we’ve never seen in Westminster.”
