“Hoping to retake both houses of Congress in elections a year from now, Republicans plan to follow a strategy Glenn Youngkin used to win Virginia’s governor’s race, making schools the front line in U.S. culture wars,” Reuters reports.
Carper Supports Nixing Filibuster for Voting Rights
Sen. Tom Carper (D-DE) announced on Thursday that he supports nixing the filibuster on voting rights legislation, marking the latest Senate Democrat to back changing the Senate’s rules, The Hill reports.
Said Carper: “I do not come to this decision lightly, but it has become clear to me that if the filibuster is standing in the way of protecting our democracy then the filibuster isn’t working for our democracy.”
Trump to Hold Fundraiser for Murkowski Challenger
“Kelly Tshibaka, who is running for the Alaska U.S. Senate seat held by fellow Republican Lisa Murkowski, announced plans Wednesday for a fundraiser hosted by former President Donald Trump,” the Anchorage Daily News reports.
Carville Blames ‘Stupid Wokeness’ for Losses
James Carville told PBS Newshour that he blamed his party’s recent losses and weak performance in state elections on “stupid wokeness.”
Said Carville: “What went wrong is just stupid wokeness. Don’t just look at Virginia and New Jersey. Look at Long Island, look at Buffalo, look at Minneapolis, even look at Seattle, Wash. I mean, this ‘defund the police’ lunacy, this take Abraham Lincoln’s name off of schools. I mean that — people see that.”
He added: “It’s just really — has a suppressive effect all across the country on Democrats. Some of these people need to go to a ‘woke’ detox center or something. They’re expressing a language that people just don’t use, and there’s backlash and a frustration at that.”
Did Youngkin Provide a Template for Republicans?
“Since he burst onto the national political scene in 2015, Donald Trump has strong-armed one Republican after another into submission. But in Virginia, Glenn Youngkin did something new: He managed to keep the former president at a politically safe remove without alienating him or his allies,” the New York Times reports.
“Mr. Youngkin’s success in the Virginia governor’s race speaks not only to his own deft handling of his party’s volatile and unpredictable standard-bearer but also to Mr. Trump’s apparent willingness to place himself on the sidelines during a campaign that received wall-to-wall coverage on cable news.”
“What is not known is whether Mr. Youngkin’s formula is repeatable elsewhere, particularly in the 2022 midterm elections.”
Washington Post: Youngkin became Virginia governor by wooing both moderates and Trump supporters. So how Trumpy is he?
Pandemic Has Killed 750,000 In U.S.
Washington Post: “The nation Wednesday reached another haunting milestone: 750,000 Americans killed by Covid.”
Biden Dismisses Payments to Migrant Families
“President Biden said the U.S. wasn’t going to pay immigrant families who were separated at the Mexico border during the Trump administration, throwing into doubt settlements the Justice Department has been negotiating to resolve legal claims by the families,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
Said Biden: “That’s not going to happen.”
Pelosi Steps on the Gas
“Speaker Nancy Pelosi is slamming her foot on the gas pedal, looking to pass both the Build Back Better Act and the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill this week,” Punchbowl News reports.
“In doing so, Pelosi is asking her House Democratic Caucus to vote for a bill with an uncertain future in order to jumpstart the long-delayed reconciliation process.”
“She’s also attempting to brush aside a whole host of concerns from within the caucus.”
Biden Says Virginia Race Wasn’t Blowback Against Him
“President Joe Biden said Wednesday the Democrats’ setbacks in Tuesday’s elections underscore that the party needs to ‘produce for the American people,’ but he pushed back against the notion that the off-year election results were a repudiation of his presidency,” the AP reports.
“Biden suggested that his inability to get Congress to pass a $1 trillion infrastructure deal and a $1.75 trillion package of social and climate programs ahead of the voting didn’t make a difference.”
Ohio Lawmakers Introduce Total Abortion Ban
“Ohio Republican lawmakers introduced legislation Tuesday that would ban all abortions in Ohio — going further than the Texas anti-abortion law argued before the U.S. Supreme Court Monday,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
“While Texas’ law bans abortions performed at least six weeks into a pregnancy, HB480 would prohibit any abortions from being performed in the state. HB480 also includes no exceptions for rape or incest.”
Maine Passes First ‘Right to Food’ Amendment
“Maine voters passed the nation’s first ‘right to food’ constitutional amendment on Tuesday,” the Portland Press Herald reports.
Embattled Elections Chief In Fulton County Quits
“Richard Barron, who oversees elections in Georgia’s biggest Democratic county, is announcing his resignation Wednesday — following a tumultuous year that has included death threats against him and his staff and the potential takeover of election operations in the county by state officials,” CNN reports.
Retirement Watch
David Wasserman: “The question in the months ahead is how many additional Democratic incumbents decide to retire from potentially vulnerable House districts, now that New Jersey and Virginia have made clear to the political world an anti-Biden freight train is approaching.”
Americans More Optimistic About Pandemic
A new Gallup Poll finds 51% of Americans say the coronavirus situation is getting better, up from 20% in September.
However, 51% think pandemic disruption will continue throughout 2022.
Schumer Hints at Filibuster Reform
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) said that Democrats will explore “alternative paths” to pass voting rights legislation, The Hill reports.
“Schumer, speaking from the Senate floor, didn’t directly mention the legislative filibuster, but floated that Democrats should be willing to go it alone to pass voting rights legislation and that the gears of the Senate have ‘ossified.'”
Democrats Should Have Seen It Coming
Trip Gabriel: “Yesterday’s results were foreshadowed a year ago, when suburbanites’ rebuke of Trump did not translate downballot, and Democrats lost House seats and suffered crushing losses in legislative races. None of the Democrats targeted chambers flipped even though Biden won many of the swing districts.”
Wisconsin Incumbents In Trouble
A new Marquette Law School poll in Wisconsin finds just 38% of voters would vote to re-elect Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI), while 52% would vote for someone else and 10% say they don’t know or decline to answer.
Similarly, just 40% say they would vote to reelect Gov. Tony Evers (D), while 53% would vote for someone else and 6% say they don’t know or decline to say.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I mean only in Washington could people think that it is a smart strategy to take a once-in-a-generation investment in infrastructure and prevent your president from signing that bill into law. And that’s somehow a good strategy?”
— Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA), quoted by the New York Times.
