Texas gubernatorial candidate Allen West (R) “was released from the hospital after three days of treatment for Covid,” the Daily Beast reports.
Even though he was not vaccinated, he promptly told his followers not to be afraid of the virus that has killed more than 700,000 Americans.
“Nine months have elapsed since metal detectors were installed outside every entrance to the House Chamber, spurred by the trauma of the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol and fears of Republicans bringing guns onto the floor,” Insider reports.
“But now, even some Democrats have grown tired of their presence.”
North Carolina Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson (R) “has doubled down after his comments calling transgenderism and homosexuality ‘filth’ drew widespread rebukes and calls for him to resign,” the Fayetteville Observer reports.
Speaker Nancy Pelosi suggested that the Treasury Department should be able to lift the debt ceiling on its own and that Congress would then have the power to overrule it, Punchbowl News reports.
Said Pelosi: “That seems to have some appeal to both sides of the aisle because of the consequences to people for not lifting it.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) confirmed to MSNBC that witnesses defying subpoenas from the House panel investigating the January 6 insurrection at the Capitol will be criminally prosecuted and charged with contempt of Congress.
Said Schiff: “If witnesses do not show up, we will hold them in criminal contempt.”
“Former President Donald Trump’s family company is in advanced discussions to sell the rights to its opulent Washington, D.C., hotel in a deal worth more than $370 million,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
CNN: “Last week, the House Oversight Committee released documents showing the Trump property, which attracted conservative lobbyists throughout the presidency, lost $70 million while Trump was in office. The company has been trying to sell the property since 2019 but paused last year when the pandemic all but shuttered the hospitality industry.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) referred to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) as an “insurrectionist in a suit and tie,” as he slammed the House Republican leader for having “absolutely no reverence for the truth,” CNN reports.
Said Schiff: “Unlike those people climbing outside the building, they knew it was a lie. The true believers were out there attacking the building. But inside the chamber, my Republican colleagues know it is a big lie.”
Related: Member Briefing with Adam Schiff
A new campaign ad from New Jersey Democrats attacks GOP gubernatorial nominee Jack Ciattarelli (R) over his past support for a local ban on swearing — and uses some colorful language of its own.
A new study finds that the number of lynching victims in a Southern county is a positive and significant predictor of Confederate memorializations in that county.
“This finding provides concrete, quantitative, and historically and geographically situated evidence consistent with the position that Confederate memorializations reflect a racist history, one marred by intentions to terrorize and intimidate Black Americans in response to Black progress.”
“Republicans in recent days have ramped up their criticism of a proposal under discussion by Democrats to increase the amount of information financial institutions report to the IRS about bank accounts,” The Hill reports.
“Democrats are considering such a proposal as a way to help pay for their massive social spending package, though they have not finalized details. The plan under discussion would strengthen tax enforcement against the wealthy, Democrats argue.”
Said Sen. Mike Braun (R-IN): “Every year I visit every county in the state of Indiana, 92 of them. And you know, I can’t ever recall anyone saying that they want the IRS to poke into their business more on a day-to-day basis.”
“Senate Republicans, with a few exceptions, are hoping that former President Trump does not announce his intention to run again for president,” The Hill reports.
“These GOP senators definitely don’t want to see Trump announce a bid before the 2022 midterm elections, fearing that could sink their hopes of winning back the Senate.”
A proposed legislative district map in West Virginia would have drawn a Black delegate into the same district as a national white supremacy organization’s headquarters, the Charleston Gazette-Mail reports.
“Republican Party leaders across the battleground state of Michigan have quietly worked in recent weeks to replace incumbent county election officials with newcomers, some of whom have sought to undermine the public’s faith in the 2020 vote,” the Detroit News reports.
“The trend focuses on four-member county canvassing boards, the bipartisan panels in charge of verifying records and importantly, certifying results. It comes in the midst of an internal party struggle over whether to accept Democratic President Joe Biden’s win last year.”
Cook Political Report: “The Sunshine State has recently looked more like a dark wasteland for Democrats. In 2018, while Democrats were romping elsewhere, Republicans defied polls to eke out the governor’s race and pick up a Senate seat. In 2020, Donald Trump carried the state by three points thanks to vast gains among Cuban and other Hispanic voters, and Republicans expanded their dominance in the state legislature.”
“But the worst for Democrats may be yet to come: Florida, set to gain a 28th seat next year, could be Republicans’ biggest redistricting weapon of the 2022 cycle. In fact, the GOP could erase most of Democrats’ thin House majority in Florida alone.”
“Rep. Liz Cheney’s House reelection campaign enjoyed its second-biggest fundraising quarter ever this summer… The donations came on the heels of Cheney’s all-time fundraising record, which occurred one quarter earlier,” the Casper Star Tribune reports.
“Cheney’s campaign raised just over $1.7 million during the third quarter, which runs from July to September.”
“The House is scheduled to pass a short-term increase in the debt ceiling Tuesday to enable the Treasury to continue borrowing money to pay the bills for two months,” NBC News reports.
“The measure, the product of a last-minute deal struck in the Senate, offers only a temporary reprieve, and it is likely to set up another round of fighting in December.”
Former President Barack Obama will campaign for Terry McAuliffe and Virginia Democrats ahead of the November elections, CNN reports.
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.