Political Wire

How Mark Meadows Betrayed His Country

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Matt Labash: “For as long as he’s been a public self-servant, the towel boy who served as Donald Trump’s fourth and last chief of staff has been a professional sleazebag.”

“He’s no cartoon villain, mind you. If Meadows were a color, he’d be beige. Blessed with the pleasantly dishonest face of a swampland timeshare hustler, the former congressman, who once described himself  as being a ‘fat nerd’ as a kid, rarely says anything funny or compelling, unlike his Lord & Savior Donald H. Christ. Yet he forever manages to be controversial without actually being interesting, the sinisterness equivalent of a white noise machine.”

Did Cassidy Hutchinson Break Through?

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Washington Post: “Hutchinson’s account of cleaning Trump-strewn ketchup off White House walls and pleading with her onetime boss, former chief of staff Mark Meadows, to get off his phone and help quell the Capitol riot was watched by more viewers than all but one of the NBA Finals games this year.”

Mood Among Ukrainians Grows Somber

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New York Times: “More than four months into the war, Ukrainians remain angry and defiant. But among civilians — millions of them displaced, out of work and living in fear, some lacking adequate food, water and electricity — the mood is increasingly somber. As the Russians gain ground and losses mount, with no end in sight, some Ukrainians accuse their government of minimizing the challenges ahead in a bid to raise morale.”

Philadelphia Mayor Says He’ll Be ‘Happy’ When Term Ends

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Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney (D) told CBS Philadelphia that he’s so fed up with having to worry about guns and “bad” things happening that he’ll be “happy” to not be mayor anymore.

Said Kenney: “This is a gun country, it’s crazy, we’re the most armed country in world history and we’re one of the least safest. Until Americans decide that they want to give up the guns, and give up the opportunity to get guns, we’re gonna have this problem.”

He added: “I’ll be happy when I’m not… mayor.”

Biden’s Approval Rate Keeps Falling

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A new Monmouth poll finds President Biden’s overall job rating continues to trend downward. Currently, just 36% approve of the job he is doing while 58% disapprove.

Just 10% of Americans say the country is headed in the right direction while 88% say it is on the wrong track. This marks an all-time low for this question.

Record-Low 38% Extremely Proud to Be American

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A new Gallup poll finds that only 38% of Americans are “extremely proud” of being an American, while another 27% say they are “very” proud.

“This record-low level of extreme national pride comes at a challenging time in the U.S. as a pandemic-weary public is struggling with the highest U.S. inflation rate in more than four decades.”

David Ignatius: Nearly every American has a foreboding the country they love is losing its way.

Nazi Tapes Provide a Chilling Sequel to Eichmann Trial

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“Six decades after the historic trial in Jerusalem of Adolf Eichmann, one of the chief engineers of the Holocaust, a new Israeli documentary series has delivered a dramatic coda: the boastful confessions of the Nazi war criminal, in his own voice,” the New York Times reports.

“The hours of old tape recordings, which had been denied to Israeli prosecutors at the time of Eichmann’s trial.”

“Eichmann went to the gallows insisting that he was a mere functionary following orders, denying responsibility for the crimes of which he had been found guilty.”

Quote of the Day

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“I’m confident that the bill we passed a week and a half ago is going to save lives. It will make a difference. But it is only the beginning. Today is a reminder of how much more work that we have to do. We have now broken the back of the gun lobby. We now have made possible changes in our gun laws that can keep our communities safer. Today is a reminder that we still have a long road to travel.”

— Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), quoted by Politico, in response to the July 4th mass shooting in Highland Park, Illinois that left six dead and dozens injured.

Christian Nationalists Are Excited About What Comes Next

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Katherine Stewart: “The shape of the Christian nationalist movement in the post-Roe future is coming into view, and it should terrify anyone concerned for the future of constitutional democracy.”

“The Supreme Court’s decision to rescind the reproductive rights that American women have enjoyed over the past half-century will not lead America’s homegrown religious authoritarians to retire from the culture wars and enjoy a sweet moment of triumph. On the contrary, movement leaders are already preparing for a new and more brutal phase of their assault on individual rights and democratic self-governance. Breaking American democracy isn’t an unintended side effect of Christian nationalism. It is the point of the project.”

Red States Trying to Use Covid Aid to Cut Taxes

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Washington Post: “More than a year after Congress approved a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package, Republicans in nearly two dozen states have ratcheted up efforts to tap some of those funds for an unrelated purpose: paying for tax cuts. The moves have threatened to siphon off aid that might otherwise help states fight the pandemic, shore up their local economies or prepare for a potential recession.”

“The intensifying Republican campaign targets one of the signature programs Democrats approved as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan last year. At the urging of the nation’s mayors and governors, Congress delivered what largely amounted to a blank check for every city and state to bolster their budgets.”

Kris Kobach Looks for Comeback in Kansas

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“Kansas voters have said no to Kris Kobach twice over the past four years. But he is nonetheless betting that this can be the year he makes a political comeback,” the AP reports.

“His losses, including a 2018 defeat that handed the governor’s office in this Republican-leaning state to a Democrat, might end other political careers. But Kobach, who built a national reputation as an immigration hard-liner while Kansas secretary of state, is now aiming for the state attorney general’s office.”

White House Counting on GOP Overreach

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NBC News: “Unpopular presidents tend to fare poorly in midterm elections. But Biden-world sees an opening to defy the historical trends, springing from some of the same setbacks that have so angered the Democratic base.”

“Republicans are overreaching in ways that will alienate voters, White House allies contend.”

Said Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D): “I can tell you that on the street, what you hear is a bubbling, seething cauldron of anger at the Republican Party for putting in these antediluvian judges who think they can take us back to the 18th century. My spidey sense and the polling indicate it’s going to help people decide not to vote for the red team.”

About Political Wire

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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