Walter Russell Mead: “The Ukraine war is not yet 10 weeks old, and it has already revolutionized world politics. The next 10 weeks could be even more dramatic. President Biden could soon face as stern a test as any American president has since World War II. We must hope, and pray, that he is up to the job.”
Just dropped · Trial Balloon · Ep. 187
Bad Instincts
Trial Balloon · Ep. 187: Bad Instincts
Hogan Sees Opening for Never Trumper
Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan (R) told Axios that he envisions a 2024 presidential primary field with 15 or more Republicans — not necessarily including former President Trump — scrambling for Trump’s base, while “I want to go in a completely different direction, and I think that lane is wide open.”
Wall Street Journal: Hogan says backing Trump again would be the “definition of insanity.”
The Presidential Speeches Never Given
“President John F. Kennedy in 1962 readied a speech that would have announced a punishing bombing run on Cuba, which could have led to nuclear war. Gen. Dwight D. Eisenhower drafted an apology speech in case the D-Day operation of 1944 failed,” Axios reports.
“Jeff Nussbaum, a veteran Democratic speechwriter who left the White House last month, unearths these historical gems in a new book, Undelivered, out next week.”
U.S. Is Exception in Expanding Abortion Rights
“The story of abortion rights in the 21st century can be seen in two world-shaking developments this past week,” the New York Times reports.
“In the first, the U.S. Supreme Court effectively upheld drastic new abortion restrictions in Texas. A few days later, Mexico’s high court paved the way for nationwide legalization.”
“It may be tempting to see Mexico’s ruling as the more surprising, catapulting the world’s second most populous Catholic country on a deeply contentious social matter.”
“But experts say it is the United States that stands out. Since 2000, 31 countries, many just as pious as Mexico, have expanded access to abortion. Only three have rolled it back: Nicaragua, Poland and the United States.”
Where Abortion Would Be Banned
Twenty-one states already have laws or constitutional amendments in place that would allow them to ban abortion as soon as the Supreme Court makes it possible, the HuffPost reports.
They are: Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West, Wisconsin, and Wyoming.
There are four more states as likely to ban abortion in the event that Roe falls, given their current political climates: Florida, Indiana, Montana, and Nebraska.
Supreme Court Has Voted to Overturn Abortion Rights
“The Supreme Court has voted to strike down the landmark Roe v. Wade decision,” according to an initial draft majority opinion circulated inside the court and obtained by Politico.
“The draft opinion is a full-throated, unflinching repudiation of the 1973 decision which guaranteed federal constitutional protections of abortion rights and a subsequent 1992 decision – Planned Parenthood v. Casey – that largely maintained the right.”
Writes Justice Samuel Alito, for the majority: “Roe was egregiously wrong from the start.”
He adds: “We hold that Roe and Casey must be overruled. It is time to heed the Constitution and return the issue of abortion to the people’s elected representatives.”
A draft Supreme Court opinion leaking is extremely rare. In fact, I cannot remember it ever happening.
Top Pence Aide Joins Staff of Trump Enemy
Marc Short, former Vice President Mike Pence’s chief of staff, has joined Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp’s campaign team as a senior adviser, Axios reports.
Ivanka Trump’s Testimony Was Helpful
“The Trump family’s cooperation with the House select committee investigating the January 6, 2021, attack on the US Capitol — and Ivanka Trump’s appearance in particular — has proven useful in confirming other key testimony about the state of play inside the White House as well as then-President Donald Trump’s state of mind that day,” CNN reports.
Said Chairman Bennie Thompson: “There were questions asked about what was she doing at the time that the insurrection was occurring at the Capitol, and she told us. She was asked certain questions about her awareness of what her father was doing. She told us.”
Democrats Make Last-Gasp Push to Keep N.Y. Maps
“With the balance of the House of Representatives at stake, national Democrats made an 11th-hour appeal to a federal court on Monday to intervene in New York’s heated redistricting dispute, hoping to reinstate House maps thrown out by the state’s highest court last week,” the New York Times reports.
“In a 17-page complaint, they argued that there simply was not enough time to implement the order from the State Court of Appeals for new district lines and still comply with a longstanding federal court order meant to protect the rights of Americans casting ballots from overseas.
Bush to Appear at Fundraiser for Trump Nemesis
“Former President George W. Bush will appear at a fundraiser for Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp in Texas this month, wading into one of the year’s highest profile primaries to help a Republican targeted for extinction by Donald Trump,” Politico reports.
Senate Republicans Are Dug In
Punchbowl News: “Key GOP lawmakers told us tonight that they’re willing to pass $33 billion in military and humanitarian aid to Ukraine – or more – but they don’t want that money tied to billions of dollars in new Covid preparedness funds.”
“Republicans are demanding a vote on Title 42, which limits migration during a public health crisis, as part of the Covid bill. Vulnerable Democrats and moderates would vote for such an amendment, which could derail the underlying package.”
Ocasio-Cortez Backs Nina Turner In Ohio Primary
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY), one of the nation’s most prominent left-wing officials, is planning to endorse Nina Turner’s (D) congressional bid in the final hours of an Ohio primary contest that has increasingly morphed into a divisive national Democratic battle, the New York Times reports.
Why Kamala Harris Is the Frontrunner in Biden-less Field
“President Biden has said he intends to run for reelection in 2024,” Politico reports.
“If he doesn’t, however, Vice President Kamala Harris is best positioned to take the party’s mantle.”
“That’s not just because she’s currently first in line for the presidency. It’s because — despite a first year with bad headlines and some unforced errors — she has amassed a significant early lead among Black voters who have been the decisive constituency in the 2008, 2016, and 2020 Democratic nomination fights.”
Democrats Struggle with Dianne Feinstein’s Open Secret
New York Times: “At 88, Ms. Feinstein sometimes struggles to recall the names of colleagues, frequently has little recollection of meetings or telephone conversations, and at times walks around in a state of befuddlement — including about why she is increasingly dogged by questions about whether she is fit to serve in the Senate representing the 40 million residents of California, according to half a dozen lawmakers and aides who spoke about the situation on the condition of anonymity.”
“On Capitol Hill, it is widely — though always privately — acknowledged that Ms. Feinstein suffers from acute short-term memory issues that on some days are ignorable, but on others raise concern among those who interact with her.”
“Ms. Feinstein is often engaged during meetings and phone conversations, usually coming prepared and taking notes. But hours later, she will often have forgotten those interactions.”
U.S. Warns Russia May Annex More of Ukraine
“With Russian forces stalled and frustrated in the Donbas region, U.S. officials warned Monday that Moscow could soon annex more Ukrainian territory, beginning with its occupied land in the east and possibly stretching south to the city of Kherson,” the Washington Post reports.
Special Grand Jury Selected for Trump Probe
“A judge on Monday selected nearly two-dozen Fulton County residents — neighbors, co-workers, fellow MARTA riders — who will help prosecutors determine whether former President Donald Trump and his allies unlawfully tried to meddle in Georgia’s 2020 elections,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
Ex-Marine Sentenced to Two Years for Capitol Riot
“A military veteran from Georgia who attacked police officers at the Capitol as part of a pro-Trump mob attempting to overturn the 2020 election results was sentenced to more than two years in federal prison Monday,” NBC News reports.
DeSantis Aims to Turn Florida Into Solid Red State
Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) told Lisa Boothe he thinks Florida will turn solidly red if he’s reelected.
Said DeSantis: “My goal would be, if we win the election really big, people like you who analyze these things are going to say: ‘The days of Florida being a swing state are over. Florida is a red state.'”
