Virginia Lt. Gov. Justin Fairfax (D) filed a $400 million defamation suit against CBS News on Thursday, claiming broadcast interviews with two women accusing him of sexual assault caused him “emotional distress,” WTKR reports.
Bonus Quote of the Day
“I think it is the last gasp of a dying majority here. And every single one of those House members and state senators are going to be up for election next year along with me running for re-election for governor. And there will be a judgment day in North Carolina.”
— North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D), quoted by the Raleigh News & Observer, on Republicans calling a surprise budget veto override vote with few Democrats present.
What Does the Democratic Party Want?
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Voter Enthusiasm Is Sky High
Washington Post: “If we combine the two most enthusiastic categories in CNN’s polling (those who say they’re extremely enthusiastic and those who identify as very enthusiastic), we see that combined enthusiasm has been at or above 70 percent in every poll CNN has conducted this cycle.”
“Only once before has that measure of enthusiasm been at 70 percent: Two weeks before the 2004 election, 70 percent of voters were at least very enthusiastic about voting in it.”
“And that’s the low so far this year.”
Cruz Sounds the Alarms on Texas
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) warned that Texas will be “hotly contested” in 2020, Politico reports.
He said that while he had confidence his colleague Sen. John Cornyn and President Trump would win the state, both will face a “serious race.”
Said Cruz: “I think the Texas election in 2018 is powerful foreshadowing for what to expect across the country in 2020. The Democrats in Texas increased their turnout more than 100 percent.”
Quote of the Day
“People mistake a willingness to eat cheeseburgers and drink Coke with being a buffoon, and he’s not a buffoon.”
— Former Speaker Newt Gingrich, quoted by the Washington Post, on President Trump.
Falwell Blasted Liberty Student as ‘Retarded’
In emails to his colleagues over the years, Liberty University President Jerry Falwell Jr has denigrated students and staff at the Christian university he runs, referring to one student as “emotionally imbalanced and physically retarded” and calling the school’s police chief a “half-wit,” Reuters reports.
He also called some Liberty students “social misfits.”
Why Are Democrats In Disarray Over Impeachment?
Jonathan Bernstein: “The basic problem is that House Democrats can’t seem to agree on where their impeachment effort stands. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler says that ‘formal impeachment proceedings’ are underway. Others, including in the House leadership, have expressed much more ambiguous views of what’s happening.”
“A few things are contributing to this muddle. One is a push from many party actors who basically judge everything short of impeaching President Trump as a total flop – a position that I still think doesn’t make much sense. Another is that some House Democrats in tough districts are overly cautious about taking on the president. But perhaps the biggest factor is that the Democrats have had a majority in the House for more than nine months now and have at best managed to produce a handful of memorable moments in oversight hearings on Trump’s many scandals and general lawlessness. At best. Maybe.”
Biden’s Biggest Threat May Be the Primary Calendar
Kyle Kondik: “While Biden’s lead is built on support from African Americans, hardly any black voters will participate in the first two contests: the Iowa caucus on Feb. 3 (the day after the Super Bowl) and the New Hampshire primary on Feb. 11. According to the 2016 exit polls, the Democratic electorates in both states were over 90% white.”
“The opportunity that these two overwhelmingly white electorates present to the other candidates is obvious, based on the current demographic bases of support for Biden and his two current leading rivals, Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren.”
Democrats Try to Block Trump From Paying Farm Bailout
“House Appropriations Committee Chair Nita Lowey (D-NY) is proposing to block the White House request over its farm bailout program, potentially imperiling President Trump’s ability to direct payments to thousands of farmers,” the Washington Post reports.
“The bailout program was created last year amid complaints from agriculture groups that China had stopped purchasing their crops in retaliation for new tariffs that the White House imposed on Chinese imports. Trump has ordered that billions of dollars in taxpayer funds be paid directly to farmers as a way to offset their losses.”
“The bailout hadn’t needed congressional approval up to this point, but that has changed.”
House Judiciary Adopts Rules for Impeachment
Washington Post: “The Judiciary Committee vote Thursday allows the committee counsel to question witnesses in public hearings and makes several other changes to panel rules. The procedural tools are similar to those used in the impeachment proceedings against Presidents Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton.”
U.S. Core Inflation Exceeds Forecasts
“A measure of underlying U.S. inflation accelerated by more than forecast to a one-year high in August, signaling inflation was already firming ahead of fresh tariffs on Chinese goods this month that may push prices higher for Americans,” Bloomberg reports.
“The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy, rose 0.3% from the prior month and was up 2.4% from a year earlier, a Labor Department report showed Thursday. That exceeded the median estimates in a Bloomberg survey, while the broader CPI climbed 0.1% on the month and a below-forecast 1.7% annually.”
Also important: Health-insurance prices posted their biggest increase on record.
Trump and His Generals
Coming soon: Trump and his Generals: The Cost of Chaos by Peter Bergen.
“An explosive, news-breaking account of the Trump Administration’s reckless handling of American national security, foregrounding the generals — Jim Mattis, HR McMaster and John Kelly — who tried and failed to maintain adult supervision.”
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Kansas GOP Candidate Skirted Campaign Laws
“Kansas Republican congressional candidate Amanda Atkins may have skirted federal election law by representing herself as a candidate before filing the appropriate paperwork,” McClatchy reports.
Hastert May Face Trial Over Hush Money Payments
“Unless an eleventh-hour settlement is reached, retired U.S. House Speaker Dennis Hastert could stand trial as early as November in a lawsuit brought by a former student-athlete he coached who accused the disgraced politician of reneging on a hush-money pact concerning sexual abuse decades ago,” the Chicago Tribune reports.
“In a seven-page order handed down Tuesday, Kendall County Judge Robert Pilmer rejected both sides’ requests for summary judgment. The decision clears the way for the lawsuit to proceed to trial if no settlement is reached.”
Winning Re-Election Is an Existential Necessity for Trump
Edward Luce: “Donald Trump, as the saying goes, should be taken literally as well as seriously. Mr Trump often raises the prospect of securing an illegal third term in 2024. He recently told global football officials that he should still be America’s president when it hosts the World Cup in 2026. Mr Trump often follows up by saying: ‘Only kidding’. Then he raises the theme again — twice in the past week; once at a rally in North Carolina, the second time on Twitter.”
“Should Americans accept that Mr Trump is joking? Only at great risk. No other U.S. president has faced the prospect of being re-elected or going to jail. Whether a defeated Mr Trump would actually be prosecuted — by the Southern District of New York, for example, and for any number of alleged crimes — is immaterial. All that matters is whether Mr Trump believes he could face jail. To judge by Mr Trump’s words and actions, he considers victory in next year’s election to be an existential necessity.”
“This includes creating the climate for a repeat of the 2016 election.”
Democrats Privately Map Out Impeachment Articles
“A group of Judiciary Committee Democrats has begun privately mapping a list of possible charges against President Trump, sketching out the contours of potential articles of impeachment even as House leaders publicly resist taking such action,” the Washington Post reports.
“The closely held, informal discussions between some committee lawmakers and aides close to the investigations say the charges include a range of allegations — some that echo charges against former president Richard M. Nixon: obstruction of justice, abuse of power and defiance of subpoenas, as well as violation of campaign finance law and allegations of self-enrichment, said the individuals, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitive nature of their work.”
Warren Leads In Ranked-Choice Poll
A new YouGov/FairVote poll using a ranked-choice methodology finds Elizabeth Warren leading Joe Biden in the Democratic presidential race, 53% to 47%.
Vox: “The way ranked choice voting works is that candidates with fewer votes are eliminated, and then their votes are redistributed to whomever each voter designated as their next-ranked preference. For instance, a voter could rank Bernie Sanders as their first choice and Warren as their second choice — meaning that, if Sanders was eliminated, this vote would be transferred to Warren.”