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Police Officer’s Girlfriend Disgusted by Republicans

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Sandra Garza, longtime girlfriend of the late Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, told CBS News she is “disgusted” with Senate Republicans for blocking a bipartisan commission to investigate the January 6 insurrection.

Said Garza: “I’m disgusted that the Republican senators decided to vote no. It’s a spit in the face to Brian, it’s a spit in the face to all the officers that were there that day.”

She added: “And I was a person who supported Donald Trump. Brian was a supporter of his… He knew that Brian was devoted to him, and he did not once reach out to me… he didn’t even send a letter of condolences. He did absolutely nothing.”

West Virginia Offers Guns for Vaccinations

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During his Tuesday coronavirus briefing, West Virginia Governor Jim Justice (R) gave full details of West Virginia’s new vaccine incentive program, WTRF reports.

Among the prizes included in the first lottery held in June: a million dollars, education scholarships, trucks, hunting rifles, and shotguns.

Bonus Quote of the Day

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“And then there are those who take this sacrifice for granted, waxing patriotic while salivating for civil war. Claiming they need to destroy the Republic in order to save it in the ultimate betrayal of oaths sworn. Those treacherous snakes can go straight to hell.”

— Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI), in a tweet on Memorial Day.


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Democrats Worry Iowa Is Lost

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Associated Press: “Democrats lost last year’s election for Iowa’s 2nd Congressional District by the narrowest margin in a House race in almost 40 years. After the six-vote heartbreaker, some expected Democrat Rita Hart to immediately declare a rematch in the southeast district long held by her party.”

“So far, no Democrat has stepped up to run.”

“The hesitancy to jump into a district now as competitive as they come is one measure of Democrats’ fatigue in a state viewed for decades as a true battleground. Even as the coronavirus pandemic gradually wanes and President Joe Biden’s job approval remains strong, Iowa Democrats say they can feel their party receding, particularly from the industrial river towns they once claimed as bastions.”

Why Winning Over Rural Voters Is So Hard for Democrats

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Barack Obama on the Ezra Klein Show:

“I could go to the fish fry, or the V.F.W. hall, or all these other venues, and just talk to people. And they didn’t have any preconceptions about what I believed. They could just take me at face value. If I went into those same places now — or if any Democratic who’s campaigning goes in those places now — almost all news is from either Fox News, Sinclair news stations, talk radio, or some Facebook page. And trying to penetrate that is really difficult.”

“It’s not that the people in these communities have changed. It’s that if that’s what you are being fed, day in and day out, then you’re going to come to every conversation with a certain set of predispositions that are really hard to break through. And that is one of the biggest challenges I think we face.”

The Nations Most-Targeted by Disinformation

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“Of the 150 disinformation campaigns that Facebook has caught and removed in the past four years, the U.S. has been the most frequent target by far, according to a new threat intelligence report from Facebook,” Axios reports.

The other top two targets: Ukraine and the United Kingdom.

The top two originators of disinformation campaigns: Russia and Iran.

Recusals Help Justices Uphold $2 Billion Judgment

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“The Supreme Court is leaving in place a $2 billion verdict in favor of women who claim they developed ovarian cancer from using Johnson & Johnson talc products,” the Associated Press reports.

“Justices Samuel Alito and Brett Kavanaugh took no part in the court’s action. Alito owns $15,000 to $50,000 in Johnson & Johnson stock. Kavanaugh’s father headed the trade association that lobbied against labeling talc a carcinogen and including a warning label on talc products.”

Harris Aides Distance Her From Border Politics

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“In the weeks since the President asked her to take charge of immigration from Central America, Vice President Kamala Harris and her staff have sought to make one thing clear: She does not manage the southern border,” CNN reports.

“Two White House officials familiar with the dynamic said Harris and her aides have emphasized internally that they want to focus on conditions in Central America that push migrants to the US southern border, as President Joe Biden tasked her to do. A record number of unaccompanied children crossed into the US this spring, and the throngs of desperate minors present a heart-rending problem as well as a political one.”

New Mexico Special Election Focuses on Crime

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First Read: “Today brings us the third round of special congressional elections in the Biden Era — this time the race to fill the seat of former Rep. Deb Haaland (D-NM) who’s now serving as Biden’s Interior secretary. (Following the first two rounds of special elections in Louisiana and Texas.)”

“At stake in this contest between state Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D) and state Sen. Mark Moores (R) is the Democrats’ narrow House majority (219-211), as well as a test of how potent the issue of crime might still be for the GOP.”

New York Times: “Mr. Moores has spotlighted the rising murder rate in Albuquerque and assailed Ms. Stansbury as soft on crime for supporting a little-known proposal in Congress that would cut funding for local police departments… In an interview, Ms. Stansbury offered no regrets for her support of the measure, the so-called BREATHE Act, an expansive criminal justice proposal pushed by racial justice activists.”

Joe Biden won the district by 23 points in 2020, so that’s the benchmark for measuring the potency of the crime issue in this race.

Harry Reid’s Lesson for Chuck Schumer

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Vox: “As Reid’s experience — both with nominees and with bills like the Affordable Care Act — demonstrated, waiting on Republicans only ever got Democrats so far.”

Said former Harry Reid staffer Murshed Zaheed: “I think the biggest lesson is never trust Republicans and always expect the worst from Mitch McConnell. I don’t think Democrats should be giving Republicans any chance at this point.”

Quote of the Day

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“Thank you for your kind note. All is well despite some crazy people in this world.”

— Dr. Anthony Fauci, in private emails obtained by the Washington Post, as he responded to the emerging global pandemic in April 2020.

World Waits to See Where Biden Will Send Vaccines

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“The U.S. is about to pivot from hoarding vaccines to sharing them globally, and countries around the world are trying to secure their places in line,” Axios reports.

“President Biden has promised to donate 80 million doses by the end of June. With domestic demand waning, he’ll soon be able to offer far more. But the White House hasn’t said how it will distribute the initial 80 million, or when it will feel comfortable truly opening its supply to the world.”

Richard Haass: “For all the talk about the ‘international community,’ the pandemic has exposed the absence of one. The failure to produce and equitably distribute a sufficient number of vaccines worldwide is a scandal. The demand is there; what remains is the will to match it with the necessary supply.”

This is a massive opportunity for Biden to rebuild America’s image in the world.

About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan 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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