Political Wire

Become a member to get many great benefits -- exclusive analysis, trending news, a private podcast, no ads and more!

Georgia GOP Purges Democrats from Election Boards

December 9, 2021 at 11:38 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Reuters: “The panel in Spalding, a rural patch south of Atlanta, is one of six county boards that Republicans have quietly reorganized in recent months through similar county-specific state legislation. The changes expanded the party’s power over choosing members of local election boards ahead of the crucial midterm Congressional elections in November 2022.”

“The unusual rash of restructurings follows the state’s passage of Senate Bill 202, which restricted ballot access statewide and allowed the Republican-controlled State Election Board to assume control of county boards it deems underperforming.”

Did Anyone Even Look at the Defense Budget?

December 9, 2021 at 11:25 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“By an overwhelming margin, the House passed a bill to spend $778 billion on defense next year, $25 billion more than what President Joe Biden had requested. The Senate is expected to second the motion within days,” Slate reports.

“The sum—a five percent increase over last year’s defense bill—amounts to the nation’s largest military-spending bill since World War II, even adjusting for inflation.”

“Yet no officials or lawmakers have spelled out why the budget—which includes $740 billion for the Pentagon and $28 billion for the Energy Department’s nuclear-weapons programs—needs to be quite this huge.”

Father’s Nazi Past Haunts Chilean Presidential Frontrunner

December 9, 2021 at 11:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The German-born father of Chilean presidential frontrunner José Antonio Kast was a member of Adolf Hitler’s Nazi party, revelations that appear at odds with the far-right candidate’s own statements about his father’s military service during World War II,” the AP reports.

“The ID card’s emergence adds a new twist to a highly charged presidential runoff billed on both side as a battle of extremes — between communism and right-wing authoritarianism — and marked by a steady flow of disinformation that has distorted the record and campaign pledges of Kast’s opponent.”

Senate Takes Up Debt Ceiling Workaround

December 9, 2021 at 10:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Senate will vote Thursday to take up a one-time loophole to allow Democrats to raise the debt limit on their own, a major step toward warding off mid-December economic fallout,” Politico reports.

“The chamber will consider the initial 60-vote hurdle midday. At least 10 Republican senators are expected to vote in support, setting in motion the deal Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell struck with Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to prevent the United States from defaulting on its more than $29 trillion in debt as soon as next week.”

At least 10 Republican senators are apparently willing to pass a filibuster carve out to allow Democrats to lift the debt ceiling, but there are not 10 Republicans who will simply agree to lift the debt ceiling.

States Planning Big Tax Cuts

December 9, 2021 at 10:21 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“State lawmakers preparing to convene legislative sessions in the new year are confronted with a scenario unlike any they, or most of their predecessors, have ever experienced: budgets that are flush with cash after a year of record-setting surpluses,” The Hill reports.

“The influx of new money, fueled by a quick economic recovery from the coronavirus pandemic and billions in emergency federal funding for state and local governments, has spurred new talk of significant tax cuts. Across both blue states and red states, and just in time for midterm elections, legislators and governors are making plans to lower rates and cut bills.”

New Jobless Claims Fall to 52-Year Low

December 9, 2021 at 10:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Wall Street Journal: “Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs, fell to 184,000 in the week ended Dec. 4, the lowest level since September 1969… That was close to a recent record total of 194,000 recorded in late November.”

How Political Advertisers Skirted Facebook’s Rules

December 9, 2021 at 9:52 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Political advertisers on Facebook are supposed to identify themselves as such. That way, Facebook can log their ads in an archive and, as was the company’s policy in 2020, even prevent those ads from running close to an election,” Protocol reports.

“Of course, both accidentally and intentionally, not every political advertiser plays by Facebook’s rules, meaning Facebook often has to decide what is and isn’t a political ad even after the ad runs.”

A new study of 189,000 political ads from 2020 found that Facebook misidentified a whopping 83% of those ads.

New York Attorney General Seeks to Depose Trump

December 9, 2021 at 9:41 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking a deposition from former president Donald Trump early next year as part of her investigation into potential fraud inside the Trump Organization,” the Washington Post reports.

“James has requested to take his testimony on Jan. 7 at her New York office as part of a civil investigation into whether Trump’s company committed financial fraud in the valuations of properties to different entities.”

“One of the people familiar with the investigation said James is examining whether widespread fraud ‘permeated the Trump Organization.'”

New York Times: “Civil inquiries cannot lead to criminal charges. If Ms. James finds evidence of wrongdoing, she could file a lawsuit against Mr. Trump.”

Ron Johnson Recommends Mouthwash to Treat Covid

December 9, 2021 at 9:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) recommended mouthwash as a treatment for the coronavirus during a town hall meeting Wednesday, the Washington Post reports.

Said Johnson: “Standard gargle, mouthwash, has been proven to kill the coronavirus. If you get it, you may reduce viral replication. Why not try all these things?”

Johnson later shared on Twitter a study on a public website that says backs up his point.

New Zealand to Ban Cigarettes for Future Generations

December 9, 2021 at 9:29 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“New Zealand will ban the sale of tobacco to its next generation, in a bid to eventually phase out smoking,” the BBC reports.

“Anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime, under a law expected to be enacted next year.”

Mike Lindell Fans Push to ‘Bombard’ Supreme Court

December 9, 2021 at 9:27 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Increasingly restless supporters of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell have a new plan of action: Send the Supreme Court physical copies of the pillow maven’s dubious and unsigned 80-plus page court filing that seeks to overturn the 2020 election,” the Daily Beast reports.

“Late last week and again on Wednesday night, supporters called into Lindell’s evening live streaming program to share that they had “mailed” the pillow executive’s drafted case to the high court.”

Democrats Are Losing the Culture Wars

December 9, 2021 at 9:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Ron Brownstein: “For years, Democrats have rarely cited Clinton and the centrist New Democrat movement he led through the ’90s except to renounce his “third way” approach to welfare, crime, and other issues as a violation of the party’s principles. Hillary Clinton, Joe Biden, and even Bill Clinton himself have distanced themselves from key components of his record as president.”

“But now a loose constellation of internal party critics is reprising the Clintonites’ core arguments to make the case that progressives are steering Democrats toward unsustainable and unelectable positions, particularly on cultural and social questions.”

“Just like the centrists who clustered around Bill Clinton and the Democratic Leadership Council that he led decades ago, today’s dissenters argue that Democrats risk a sustained exodus from power unless they can recapture more of the culturally conservative voters without a college education who are drifting away from the party.”

Event Planner for Bob Dole’s Funeral Is Let Go

December 9, 2021 at 9:20 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Elizabeth Dole Foundation has cut ties with Tim Unes, an event planner working on former Senator Bob Dole’s funeral, after the Senate’s top Republican complained that Mr. Unes had been subpoenaed by the Jan. 6 select committee for his work organizing the rally before that day’s attacks,” the New York Times reports.

Omicron Four Times More Transmissable Than Delta

December 9, 2021 at 7:45 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The omicron variant of Covid-19 is 4.2 times more transmissible in its early stage than delta, according to a study by a Japanese scientist who advises the country’s health ministry, a finding likely to confirm fears about the new strain’s contagiousness,” Bloomberg reports.

Quote of the Day

December 9, 2021 at 7:35 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“It’s a tree that unites us. It brings us together. It’s about the Christmas spirit. It is about the holiday season. It’s about Jesus. It’s about Hanukkah. It is about everything that we stand for as a country.”

— Fox & Friends host Ainsley Earhardt, speaking about the Christmas tree set on fire outside of the Fox News studio.

Trump Allies Plead the Fifth

December 9, 2021 at 7:32 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Witnesses seeking to evade testimony to the Jan. 6 committee may have landed on their most potent strategy: Pleading the Fifth,” Politico reports.

“Legal experts say the committee has few options once a witness pleads the Fifth — and the choices they do have are risky or impractical.”

200 Million Americans Now Fully Vaccinated

December 9, 2021 at 7:29 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“More than 200 million Americans — over 60 percent of the population — have been fully vaccinated against the coronavirus,” the New York Times reports.

“The United States remains far behind not only developed countries like Singapore and Portugal, which will soon have vaccinated 90 percent of their populations, but developing nations like Cambodia (over 80 percent).”

Renee Elmers Will Seek Her Old House Seat

December 9, 2021 at 7:16 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Former Rep. Renee Elmers (R-NC) announced on Twitter that she’s running for Congress again in North Carolina’s 4th district — and sent the House GOP gossip mill into overdrive.

Playbook: “Ellmers, you’ll recall, lost her primary in 2016 following allegations that she was having an extramarital affair with Kevin McCarthy, who also lost his bid for speaker around that time in part due to the controversy. (Both denied the allegations.) Oddly enough, her foray back into politics comes as McCarthy is in his best position yet to attain the job he’s wanted for years.”

“Yet the plot thickens: McCarthy met Wednesday with Bo Hines, a former football player and Trump loyalist who is currently running in another North Carolina district — but who is considering switching to run against Ellmers instead. It’s unclear whether McCarthy would endorse in the race, but it’s a safe bet House Republicans will be watching this primary closely.”