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Republicans Suddenly Worried for Economy

December 2, 2020 at 11:43 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Optimism about the economy has taken a nosedive among Republicans. But the economy did not drive the change. The presidential election did,” the New York Times reports.

“After President Trump’s loss to former Vice President Joe Biden, more than 40 percent of Republicans who were polled for The New York Times said they expected their family to be worse off financially in a year’s time, up from 4 percent in October. Democrats expressed a rise in optimism — though not as sharp as the change in Republican sentiment.”

“The new polling, by the online research firm SurveyMonkey, reaffirms the degree to which Americans’ confidence in the economy’s path has become entwined with partisanship and ideology.”

Biden Says He Did Something Good for the Country

December 2, 2020 at 11:18 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President-elect Joe Biden told Tom Friedman that he felt like he’d “done something good for the country” by defeating President Trump.

Said Biden: “I feel like I’ve done something good for the country by making sure that Donald Trump is not going to be president for four more years. But there’s been no moment of elation…There’s a lot of work to do. I’m just focused on getting some things done as quickly as I can.”

Trump Moves Forward With Changes to Federal Hiring

December 2, 2020 at 11:16 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Trump administration is rapidly moving forward with a last-minute push to ease hiring and firing standards for many senior federal workers, setting off a clash with Democrats in Congress over whether civil servants should maintain longstanding job protections,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“President Trump issued an executive order in October creating a new category of federal worker for career employees with influence over government policy. Employees in the new category, called Schedule F, would lose protections granted to many federal employees, allowing agencies to more easily fire the workers and hire new staffers outside the existing competitive civil-service process.”

Loeffler Once Shared Pulpit to Praise Raphael Warnock

December 2, 2020 at 11:14 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Sen. Kelly Loeffler (R) condemns her Senate runoff challenger Rev. Raphael Warnock (D) as the “most radical and dangerous candidate in America” who “has espoused radical views from the pulpit.”

But Judd Legum reports that less than a year ago, she shared that same pulpit with Warnock in order to praise his work and that of his church. Loeffler called Warnock’s church a “sacred place” in her January address and, while standing right next to her future rival, said she was “surrounded by men and women who advance the cause of freedom.”

Quote of the Day

December 2, 2020 at 11:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I’m nothing special. I’m just — I’m kind of relentless.”

— Staecy Abrams, in an interview with Rolling Stone, on what she did to turn out the vote and turn Georgia blue for the first time in 30 years.

Linda Tripp Has Written a Book

December 2, 2020 at 11:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

More than two decades later, Linda Tripp is out with a book: A Basket of Deplorables: What I Saw Inside the Clinton White House.

Tripp “shares her side of the Clinton White House sex scandals for the first time—detailing the behavior of two very flawed people who fooled a nation: Bill Clinton, a sexual predator, and his wife, Hillary, who was his primary enabler.”

Sale

A Basket of Deplorables: What I Saw Inside the Clinton White House

Hardcover Book
Tripp, Linda (Author)
English (Publication Language)
224 Pages - 12/22/2020 (Publication Date) - Post Hill Press (Publisher)

McDaniel Seeks Third Term as RNC Chair

December 2, 2020 at 10:54 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Ronna McDaniel, the Republican National Committee chairwoman, is launching her bid for a third two-year term heading the GOP’s governing organization after the party’s stronger-than-anticipated showing in November’s election, even though President Trump lost,” the AP reports.

A Look Inside Clintonworld

December 2, 2020 at 10:37 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Gabriel Sherman has an interesting interview with Doug Band — Bill Clinton’s advisor of nearly two decades — who spoke for the first time about what led to his bitter falling out with the former president.

QAnon’s Rise in Japan Shows Global Spread

December 2, 2020 at 10:30 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“QAnon’s days as a solely U.S. phenomenon are over,” Bloomberg reports.

“The conspiracy theory’s foothold in Japan — home to one of its most active networks outside the U.S. — demonstrates how the movement can be made palatable in a range of countries as it gains popularity from Europe to Brazil.”

Parscale Blames Trump’s Lack of Empathy for His Loss

December 2, 2020 at 10:07 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Brad Parscale, the former Trump campaign manager who was demoted in July, claimed in a Fox News interview on Tuesday night that President Trump would have handily won the election if he had expressed more empathy about the coronavirus pandemic,” the New York Times reports.

Said Parscale: “We lost suburban families. I think that goes to one thing: the decision on Covid to go for opening the economy versus public empathy.”

He added: “I think if he had been publicly empathetic, he would have won.”

Madigan’s Support Further Erodes In Illinois

December 2, 2020 at 9:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Illinois House Speaker Michael Madigan’s (D) “chances of remaining in power were dealt another serious blow Tuesday when a member of his Democratic leadership team said she will not support him for another term leading the chamber,” the Chicago Tribune reports.

Army Hits Back Against False Claim on Election Servers

December 2, 2020 at 9:51 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A retired Air Force three-star general reignited baseless conspiratorial claims about U.S. troops’ involvement in clandestine missions in the wake of the presidential election — claims an Army official said are 100% false,” Military News reports.

“No Special Forces soldiers were killed while seizing computer servers in Germany as part of a CIA operation after the presidential election. There was, in fact, no mission of the sort.”

GOP Lawmaker Will Challenge Electoral Vote

December 2, 2020 at 9:46 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL) has been telling colleagues and allies that he plans to challenge the Electoral College votes when Congress officially certifies Joe Biden’s victory on Jan. 6, as long as a Senate Republican joins him in the long-shot effort,” Politico reports.

“Brooks confirmed his plans in a phone interview, adding that he is still considering objecting to the vote-counting process even if no one joins him — though he acknowledged that would be more of a symbolic protest. Brooks, echoing President Trump’s baseless claims of voter fraud without providing evidence, argued that the election was ‘badly flawed’ and that most mail-in voting is ‘unconstitutional.'”

Said Brooks: “In my judgment, if only lawful votes by eligible American citizens were cast, Donald Trump won the Electoral College by a significant margin, and Congress’s certification should reflect that. This election was stolen by the socialists engaging in extraordinary voter fraud and election theft measures.”

Kwanza Hall Will Serve Last Month of John Lewis’ Term

December 2, 2020 at 7:55 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The remainder of the late Rep. John Lewis’ term will be served by Kwanza Hall (D), who won control of the reliably blue seat in a House runoff special election in Georgia Tuesday,” CNN projects.

“Hall will be sworn in after the election’s results are certified and serve for about a month. He will represent Georgia’s 5th Congressional District until early January, when Rep.-elect Nikema Williams (D) takes over control of the seat, which she won in the November general election.”

Only 15% of Trump Voters See Biden as Legitimate

December 2, 2020 at 7:27 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new YouGov poll finds just 15% of Donald Trump voters view Joe Biden as being legitimately elected. The rest, 85%, claim he did not legitimately win.

Gantz Will Force New Israeli Elections

December 2, 2020 at 7:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Israeli Blue and White party leader and Defense Minister Benny Gantz said that he can no longer support the government headed by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and his party will vote Wednesday in support of a preliminary reading of a bill to dissolve the Knesset and call early elections, the Times of Israel reports.

Gantry described Netanyahu as “a serial breaker of promises” in a prime-time televised address.

Biden’s Economic Team Will Write a New Playbook

December 2, 2020 at 7:13 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Joe Biden’s economic team faces a daunting task helping the millions of Americans who have lost their jobs or otherwise been financially ravaged by the coronavirus. But most of them have first-hand crisis experience, dating back to when Barack Obama inherited a crumbling economy when he took office in 2009,” Axios reports.

“Most of President-elect Biden’s economic nominees served in the Obama administration, and wish that they could have gone bigger to help America recover from the 2008 financial crisis. But it’s not going to be easy for them to push through massive fiscal spending in 2021.”

Washington Post: Biden’s economic team set to prepare ambitious recovery plan, challenging Republicans’ renewed debt worries.

GOP Rivals Think Trump Will Face Hurdles In 2024

December 2, 2020 at 7:08 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

President Trump’s 2024 rivals privately tell Axios they assume Trump’s power will fade post-White House, giving them hope they can still run.

Said one Republican close to Trump: “I think he will have more trouble than he can begin to imagine. No one is going to let him have a free pass in the primary.”

He added: “The only question left open is whether the media will give up their addiction to him or not — that will determine a great deal.”