“On Friday evening, right-leaning cable network Newsmax beat out CNN in terms of total viewers across prime time, due to former President Donald Trump’s Pennsylvania rally,” Mediaite reports.
Biden Concerned That Putin Has No Way Out
President Joe Biden said that Russian President Vladimir Putin has no exit strategy for the Ukraine war – and that is a problem for the West, USA Today reports.
He said Putin is a very calculating man who “doesn’t have a way out right now, and I’m trying to figure out what we do about that.”
DeSantis Signs Bill Mandating Communism Lessons
“Public school teachers in Florida will soon be required to dedicate at least 45 minutes of instruction on ‘Victims of Communism Day’ to teach students about communist leaders around the world and how people suffered under those regimes,” the Miami Herald reports.
“The bill, which Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) signed along with two street designations in honor of Cuban exiles, would require the instruction to begin in the 2023-2024 school year. It would require teaching of Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong and Fidel Castro, as well as ‘poverty, starvation, migration, systemic lethal violence, and suppression of speech’ endured under those regimes.”
Queen’s Absence Casts Shadow on Johnson’s Reboot
“Queen Elizabeth II will miss the state opening of Parliament for only the third time on Tuesday, casting a shadow over Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s attempt to reboot his flagging U.K. premiership,” Bloomberg reports.
“The 96-year-old monarch is suffering ‘episodic mobility problems’ and the Queen’s Speech laying out the government’s agenda for the next parliamentary session will now be delivered for the first time by her son and heir, Prince Charles.”
“The Queen has pulled out of several public events in recent months, and has also been seen walking with the aid of a stick. She’s previously skipped the near-annual parliamentary set-piece just twice in her 70 years on the throne — both because of pregnancy. The announcement that she’ll miss it again provides Britons with a reminder that the reign of the country’s longest-ruling monarch won’t last forever.”
GOP Goes All In On the Culture Wars
Washington Post: “On the campaign trail, they’re railing against critical race theory and gender identity discussions in schools. In state legislatures and via executive fiat, they are trying to limit medical procedures for transgender children and punishing large companies they view as overly politically correct. They’ve found success by weaponizing the left’s ‘defund the police’ movement, which advocates for reallocating resources to limit police power.”
“And they’re already accusing President Biden of catering to college-educated elites as he considers forgiving student loan debt.”
“In primary races ahead of November’s midterm elections, Republican candidates are embracing contentious battles over gender, sexual orientation and race rather than sticking to tried-and-true attacks on inflation or Biden’s low approval ratings.”
QAnon Joins Vigilantes at the Southern Border
New York Times: “Mr. Frank, a QAnon influencer whose Facebook page in recent months has shown him pictured with such conservative celebrities as Donald J. Trump Jr., Michael Flynn and Sidney Powell, has fashioned his team into a new style of border enforcers, motivated not so much by halting immigration as by guarding the country from other perceived threats — in this case, an unfounded conspiracy theory that migrant children are being funneled into pedophilia rings.”
Battling the Big Lie
Out next month: Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the MAGA Media Are Destroying America by Dan Pfeiffer.
“How the right-wing built a massive, billionaire-funded disinformation machine powerful enough to bend reality and nearly steal the 2020 election.”
Sale
Battling the Big Lie: How Fox, Facebook, and the MAGA Media Are Destroying America
- Amazon Kindle Edition
Inside the Relentless Campaign to Ruin Madison Cawthorn
Daily Beast: “Few in politics have seen anything like the ever-worsening public relations trainwreck that has consumed the political career of Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC). The unrelenting pile-up of damaging stories, insiders say, is the clear handiwork of political players determined to take out the 26-year old MAGA hero in the May 17 primary election.”
‘Ultra-MAGA’ Longshot Roars Into Contention
“Kathy Barnette has been outspent 358-to-1 on TV in Pennsylvania’s GOP primary for the Senate. She hasn’t run for statewide office before. She doesn’t have former President Donald Trump’s endorsement,” Politico reports.
“But the ultra-MAGA commentator is surging in the polls anyway in the final weeks of one of the most expensive and closely watched races in the country.”
Earlier for members: A Wildcard in Pennsylvania’s GOP Senate Race
The Good Times Are Now for Tens of Millions
New York Times: “For the 158 million who are employed, prospects haven’t been this bright since men landed on the moon. As many as half of those workers have retirement accounts that were fattened by a prolonged bull market in stocks. There are 83 million owner-occupied homes in the United States. At the rate they have been increasing in value, a lot of them are in effect a giant piggy bank that families live inside.”
“This boom does not get celebrated much. It was a slow-build phenomenon in a country where news is stale within hours. It has happened during a time of fascination with the schemes of the truly wealthy (see: Musk, Elon) and against a backdrop of increased inequality. If you were unable to buy a house because of spiraling prices, the soaring amount of homeowners’ equity is not a comfort.”
States Turn to Tax Cuts as Inflation Stays Hot
New York Times: “A combination of flush state budget coffers and rapid inflation has lawmakers across the country looking for ways to ease the pain of rising prices, with nearly three dozen states enacting or considering some form of tax relief, according to the Tax Foundation, a right-leaning think tank.”
“The efforts are blurring typical party lines when it comes to tax policy. In many cases, Democrats are joining Republicans in supporting permanently lower taxes or temporary cuts, including for high earners.”
“But while the policies are aimed at helping Americans weather the fastest pace of inflation in 40 years, economists warn that, paradoxically, cutting taxes could exacerbate the very problem lawmakers are trying to address. By putting more money in people’s pockets, policymakers risk further stimulating already rampant consumer demand, pushing prices higher nationally.”
Another Primary Day Test for Trump
Playbook: “West Virginia and Nebraska hold primaries today. Like last week’s contests in Ohio, the action is mostly on the Republican side, and the main drama is about former President Donald Trump.”
Punchbowl News: “In West Virginia, voters will decide between GOP Reps. Alex Mooney – who has Trump’s support – and Dave McKinley, who backed the huge $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law. The two incumbents were forced into the same district after West Virginia lost a House seat through reapportionment. While McKinley represented more voters in the new district, Trump’s endorsement could make a big difference.”
“In Nebraska, Trump has backed Charles Herbster, a wealthy farmer. Herbster has been accused of groping a number of women, including a state senator.”
CNN: 5 things to watch in the Nebraska and West Virginia primaries.
Elizabeth Warren Grabs Center Stage
“Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is eclipsing President Biden with endorsements and, at times, as the Democrats’ leading voice on major issues, including abortion and canceling student debt,” Axios reports.
“The progressive’s prominence is pressuring the incumbent president and White House to move left. It’s also raising questions about her ambitions, especially as the Democratic Party faces electoral apocalypse this fall and questions about whose voice — and issues — are best to rebound.”
GOP Bets Voters Will Care More About Inflation
“One week after the leak of a draft Supreme Court opinion that would eliminate the constitutional right to abortion, Republican candidates and strategists are increasingly confident that such a decision would not seriously harm the GOP’s chances of regaining House and Senate majorities come November, as Democrats have suggested it might,” the Washington Post reports.
“That belief is rooted in reams of polling, nearly all of it conducted before the leak, showing that economic challenges, particularly runaway inflation, are by far the most powerful force motivating voters this year, followed by crime and immigration — issues where Republicans believe they will have an enduring advantage.”
Republicans Splinter on How to Handle Post-Roe World
“As Roe vs. Wade teeters, Republicans are fractured about what to do next. The split may turn into a chasm if they take back full control of Washington in 2025,” Politico reports.
“Some in the GOP now acknowledge they may eventually pursue national abortion restrictions should a majority of the Supreme Court follow through on its draft opinion overturning Roe, after spending several days trying to deflect by focusing on the document’s unauthorized disclosure. And there’s a range of opinions among Hill Republicans about what comes next: leave abortion policy to the states, pursue more modest restrictions or go all-out to install a ban nationwide.”
CNN: GOP dismisses talk of legislation to ban abortion after McConnell suggests “it’s possible.”
John McCain’s Lie
Steve Schmidt: “This is a story about lying. Public lying. It is a story about Senator John McCain’s lying, and the damage it has done to many people, including me. It is also a story about my lying because, ultimately, John McCain’s lie became mine.”
“Over time, that lie has become heavier as I have been abused by the family of the man I worked for as a volunteer. The burden of carrying this lie – while being attacked for 14 consecutive years by the bully Megan McCain – has finally reached its end for me.”
Biden Agrees to Separate Ukraine Aid and Pandemic Relief
“President Joe Biden urged Congress on Monday to quickly approve a multibillion-dollar aid package for Ukraine before trying to pass a new round of Covid-19 funding, warning that U.S. aid for Ukraine’s fighters has nearly been exhausted,” CNBC reports.
“Biden’s new position marked a reversal from his prior insistence last month that the military aid and the pandemic funding be bundled together.”
Markets In Free Fall
“Traders are hitting the sell button on virtually every key asset class — including stocks, bonds and bitcoin — ratcheting up the fear factor on Wall Street and sending the S&P reeling to its weakest levels in a year,” Axios reports.
