Zachary Wolf: “California’s recall process ranks right up there with the Electoral College when it comes to quirks in US democracy that gives — or takes way — Americans’ leaders.”

“But while the the Electoral College is a buffer between the people and their leader — it routinely allows the person with fewer overall votes to gain control of the White House — the recall process is a cattle prod to the system, allowing a fraction of voters, through signature petitions, to force a special election in an off year, when voters might be less likely to show up.”

Free for members to download: Recall Elections: From Alexander Hamilton to Gavin Newsom by Joshua Spivak.

“Igor Fruman, a Rudy Giuliani associate charged in a campaign finance case, is scheduled to plead guilty during an appearance in Manhattan federal court on Wednesday,” CNN reports.

Minneapolis Star Tribune: “Minnesota Republican leaders forced Jennifer Carnahan out as head of the state party on Thursday, turning a page on a scandal that threatened to consume GOP politics ahead of a pivotal election year.”

“Carnahan leaves as chair of the party amid allegations that she created a toxic workplace environment, one that blurred personal and professional lines, ignored concerns about sexual harassment and retaliated against employees who didn’t fall in line.”

“The party’s 15-member executive board voted 8-7 to give Carnahan a severance of three months salary, roughly $38,000, to leave her role. Carnahan, who attended the meeting virtually, was the deciding vote to give herself severance on the way out.”

“Although most large events shut down last summer because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Sturgis Motorcycle Rally forged ahead, panicking health experts as nearly a half-million motorcycle enthusiasts descended on the Black Hills of South Dakota,” the New York Times reports.

“This year’s rally, which began on Friday, is expected to draw an even larger crowd, just as the infectious Delta variant is producing more new virus cases nationwide than this time last year.”

Tanner Green: “American conservatives never waged a culture war. Conservatives certainly fought, there is no denying that. They fought with every bit of obstruction and scandal their operatives could muster.”

“But this was not a culture war. Rather, America’s conservatives fought a political war over culture.

“Republicans used cultural issues to gain—or to try to gain—political power. Their brightest minds and greatest efforts went into securing control of judiciary, developing a judicial philosophy for their appointees, securing control of the Capitol, and developing laws that could be implemented in multiple state houses across the nation. No actual attempt to change the culture was attempted.”

David Atkins: “The Trumpian ethos, and those who adhere to it, are not about winning the culture war. They have only the intention of ruling, and inflicting as much pain to their enemies as possible from a minority position.”

Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said that “he’s supportive of going forward with a larger, Democratic-only infrastructure bill, but that it shouldn’t be linked to a separate bipartisan framework,” The Hill reports.

Said Manchin: “We’re going to have to work it through reconciliation, which I’ve agreed that that can be done. I just haven’t agreed on the amount, because I haven’t seen everything that everyone is wanting to put in the bill.”

Cook Political Report: “Virginia’s post-presidential election gubernatorial contest is poised, once again, to be the most competitive of this off-year’s races and once again test its unique status as a traditional bellwether for a new president. With the matchup set between former Democratic Gov. Terry McAuliffe and Republican nominee Glenn Youngkin, both parties will face critical messaging tests in the wake of the 2020 election.”

“But with early polling showing a close race that’s sure to be the most expensive statewide contest ever in the Old Dominion, it’s clear this race no longer simply has the potential to become engaged but is now already there. As such, we are moving our rating from Likely to Lean Democrat.”

Kansas City Star: “As Greitens spurns a Republican establishment that has largely turned against him, the other candidates are competing to become the dominant choice of party activists, some of whom fear the former governor, beset by scandal, could put GOP control of the seat in danger.”

“It’s a competition so far centered largely on Trump and the ability to advance what Republicans call his America First agenda… The question of who is the strongest competitor against Greitens is likely to remain unsettled for some time. More candidates are expected to join ahead of the March 2022 filing deadline.”

Sara Goddard notes just twenty companies are responsible for producing over 50% of the world’s single-use plastic waste.

“U.S. officials suspect that a notorious Russian spy agency may be behind alleged attacks that are causing mysterious health issues among U.S. government personnel across the world,” Politico reports.

“Officials do not have a smoking gun linking Russia’s military intelligence unit, the GRU, to the suspected directed-energy incidents… The intelligence community has not reached a consensus or made a formal determination. However, officials have told lawmakers that they have intensified their investigation in recent weeks to include all 18 federal intelligence agencies, and that it is focused on the GRU’s potential involvement.”

The New York Times, Washington Post, and NBC News issued corrections to clarify that Rudy Giuliani did not receive advance warning from the FBI that he was the target of a Russian influence campaign.

Bloomberg: “Behind the scenes, consumer groups such as Public Citizen and Better Markets are reminding administration officials that the never-finished pay constraints are mandatory under the Dodd-Frank Act. Democrats — upset that the rules languished when Donald Trump occupied the White House — are also exerting pressure, arguing that years after the 2008 financial crisis, banks’ compensation practices continue to incentivize dangerous behavior.”

“The pay strictures are among Dodd-Frank’s most controversial provisions, with watchdogs putting them off even during the Obama administration — a time when the government was eager to tighten Wall Street’s leash.”

Washington Examiner: “House Republicans, eager to elevate border security to a top 2022 campaign issue, said Monday they would revive the now-stalled construction of the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border that was championed by former President Donald Trump and nixed by President Joe Biden.”

New York Times: “While few Democrats are willing to publicly say so, the details of the more than 800-page bill — which would radically reshape the way elections are run and make far-reaching changes to campaign finance laws and redistricting — have become a point of simmering contention. Some proponents argue that Democrats should break off a narrower bill dealing strictly with protecting voting rights to prevent the legislation, known as the For the People Act, from collapsing amid divisions over other issues.”

“A broad coalition of Democrats and liberal advocacy groups insist that the measure should not be broken apart, arguing that now is the time for an ambitious overhaul. But with Senator Joe Manchin, a conservative West Virginia Democrat, opposed to the measure in its current form, Democratic leaders and Mr. Biden face tough decisions in the coming weeks about whether they can wrangle all their members behind it more or less as is, or must consider striking a narrower compromise.”

First Read: “President Biden and the Democrats have bet big on the coronavirus and the economy, ramping up vaccine distribution, passing the Covid relief law, and getting $1,400 checks in the hands of most Americans.”

“Republicans, meanwhile, are no longer even trying to message on the coronavirus and the Covid relief law – and they’re instead focused on immigration and the influx of migrants at the border.”

“These different messages have exposed political vulnerabilities for the other side.”

“Republicans have taken their eye off a pandemic that’s killed more than 500,000 Americans, and when it comes to the economy, they’re arguing that a boom was coming even before Biden’s stimulus.”

The Louisville Courier Journal reports that former Kentucky Rep. Charles Booker (D)–who ran for Senate in 2020 and lost to Democratic nominee Amy McGrath–says he’s “strongly considering” challenging Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) in 2022.

A new Emerson College poll in New York finds that Gov. Andrew Cuomo (D) currently has a 38% approval rating from registered voters.

In April, Emerson found Cuomo at a sky-high 71% approval.