Biden Swings for the Fence!

As the baseball season heads toward the fall series, we already know that the Washington Nationals, who traded away their best players recently, are not going anywhere near the playoffs this season. Many pundits have claimed that the Democrats will not show any gains in the upcoming midterm elections in November as the party in power traditionally loses seats. But some recent events seem to tip the balance toward Democrats a bit. President Biden’s poll numbers are creeping back up. Some close elections in the Midwest, in areas usually strongly Republican, the vote in Kansas supporting abortion rights and most recently, a special election in New York State for an empty Congressional seat, went to the Democratic candidate. Pundits try to read the tea leaves, but some other legislative wins and actions by President Biden contributed to these changed numbers. Do you think the Democrats will have an October surprise? I’m thinking I need my four-leaf clover charm, my lucky penny, and my virtual rabbit's foot to pull this off, but I am game!

Some polls show Independents are moving toward the Democrats. But moves such as the Inflation Reduction Act, the passing of the semiconductor chip manufacturing bill, and the PACT Act supporting veterans all ring true for promises the president made. This week the President, by Executive Action, reduced student debt by $10,000 for some students (income-tested) and $20,000 for those who hold Pell grants. This move is popular and was requested by many younger voters who hold a lot of college loans. Democrats need a high turnout from younger voters and Black voters to win in the Fall.

After the Dobbs' decision on abortion, women have turned out to register in high numbers, so this may be good news for Democrats. White women with college degrees supported Biden in 2020; working-class women did not, but Black women gave him overwhelming support as did suburban women.

Republicans cried foul at the tuition loan move, claiming that Democrats were trying to buy votes. Others said the move was classist as it does not benefit workers who never went to college. But, as has been proven, high student debt keeps recent graduates from entering fully into society and often keeps them from being able to buy a house or start a business. Democrats noted the Republicans gave the top 1% an enormous tax cut amounting to more than a trillion dollars at the start of the last administration; they did not pay for this in the budget and, as a result, this drove up the national debt.

And the most delicious irony is the high number of Republicans who received Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loans during COVID that were forgiven. After criticism of the student loans, the White House Twitter account posted these notices: (thanks to Heather Cox Richardson)

{Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) said: “For our government just to say ok your debt is completely forgiven. it’s completely unfair.” Greene had $183,504 in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Vern Buchanan (R-FL) said: “Biden’s reckless, unilateral student loan giveaway is unfair to the 87 percent of Americans without student loan debt and those who played by the rules.” Buchanan had more than $2.3 million in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) said: “We do not need farmers and ranchers, small business owners, and teachers in Oklahoma paying the debts of Ivy League lawyers and doctors across the U.S.” Mullin had more than $1.4 million in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Kevin Hern (R-OK) said: “To recap, in the last two weeks, the ‘Party of the People’ has supercharged the IRS to go after working-class Americans, raised their taxes, and forced them to pay for other people’s college degrees.” Hern had more than $1 million in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Mike Kelly (R-PA) said: “Asking plumbers and carpenters to pay off the loans of Wall Street advisors and lawyers isn’t just unfair. It’s also bad policy.” Kelly had $987,237 in PPP loans forgiven.

Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) said: Everyone knows that in a $60 Billion+ European land war, it’s always the last $3 Billion that kicks in the door….” Gaetz had $482,321 in PPP loans forgiven.}

Biden appeared in Rockville MD at a National Democratic Committee rally this week for the candidates running in Maryland state and Congressional races. Wes Moore, the candidate for governor, gave an excellent speech before introducing President Biden. Appearing before a partisan crowd estimated to be around 5000, Biden was charged up. He came out swinging right from the start, took off his coat, rolled up his sleeves, picked up a hand-held mike, and went into full campaign mode, pulling no punches. C-SPAN carried it live; you can view it here: C-SPAN . I also found a wonderful description in Richardson’s “Letters from an American” as noted above where she said:

“Then Biden gave a barn-burning speech to the Democratic National Committee in Rockville, Maryland, clearly dividing the Republican Party between the MAGAs and mainstream Republicans. The MAGA philosophy is “semi-fascism,” he said, and we are seeing either its beginning or death knell. 

“I want to be crystal clear about what’s on the ballot this year. Your right to choose is on the ballot this year. The Social Security you paid for from the time you had a job is on the ballot. The safety of our kids from gun violence is on the ballot…. The very survival of our planet is on the ballot. Your right to vote is on the ballot. Even…democracy.” “The MAGA Republicans don’t just threaten our personal rights and economic security,” he said. “They’re a threat to our very democracy. They refuse to accept the will of the people. They embrace…political violence. They don’t believe in democracy.” “This is why in this moment, those of you who love this country—Democrats, Independents, mainstream Republicans—we must be stronger,” he said.”

To my knowledge, this is the first time he has spoken so strongly about the extreme claims being made by many of the MAGA followers and candidates. These remarks seemed to foreshadow the end of his attempt at reaching out to Republicans in a regular way; instead, he called for moderate Republicans, such as Maryland’s Governor Larry Hogan, to join with him. He asked Independents to come along also and move to take back our country, stepping away from the extreme agendas so many on the right espouse. A recent NBC News poll showed that the number one concern on voters’ minds was the threat to our democracy. I believe that the January 6^th hearings showed just how close we came to having that democracy irreparably damaged.

Now, you may not know that I collect stamps. It is basically a solitary hobby, shared with a few of my friends. However, among those who have an interest, I sometimes discuss a new stamp or groups of stamps added to my collection. With the recent FBI search of Mar-a-Lago, some of DJT’s associates claim that he just kept these highly secret papers to occasionally peruse and perhaps share with his friends, just as I do with my stamps! Now, if you believe that, I am certain there is a bridge to nowhere in your future!

Seriously though, with the latest tales of a Russian-speaking Ukrainian woman and known scammer, claiming to be a Rothschild heir, roaming around the resort and golfing with the then President and Senator Graham, two failed attempts by Chinese nationals to enter with faked credentials we know about, and unscreened club members overhearing substantive discussions with foreign leaders, what other leaks were at that place? Where was the Secret Service? The FBI has listed that among the documents recovered were those with security ratings of the highest order. Initially, when the National Archives, after a year of asking for documents to be returned, received a cache of several boxes earlier this year, authorities soon realized that there were classified materials in those boxes. The tally then was 184 documents with varying levels of classified status, so they sent a criminal referral to the Department of Justice. Noting that more known documents were still missing, the DOJ reached out again, this time with a subpoena that DJT ignored. Agents found additional classified documents on a personal visit in June; lawyers asserted then that there were no more documents. Finally, after letters from the Archives noting still missing documents and entreaties from Justice with no adequate responses, a search warrant was requested and ordered. The result was that they found documents secreted at varied places around the residence, including the recently locked basement. Among the unsecured boxes found in this search were 11 more documents, including those identifying secret agents or assets, signals intelligence intercepts, and others not further identified. No one has been able to adequately explain why the former president felt a need to hold on to such secret documents, other than his claim that the papers were his. His claims to have declassified all such materials have been debunked by many who worked with him in the White House. Did he keep them so that he could impress resort visitors or unknown others with our nations’ secrets, such as he did in the oval office with his Russian visitors? Since there are notations by DJT on some of these papers, it would be difficult to claim that he was unaware of the nature of the clearly labeled classified papers.

We do not know where the DOJ will go with this investigation. We know there is a Grand Jury investigation. Former FBI officials discussed criminal charges that could be in play, such as obstruction of justice, destruction of official documents, and improper possession of classified materials. Any other person would probably already be in jail for such offenses. Any charges, no matter how carefully drafted, will be politically charged, so Attorney General Garland will have to move carefully.

Media outlets, and supposedly DJT, want a full release of the original warrant. The DOJ presented a heavily redacted version that was accepted by the judge. The DOJ wanted less knowledge of the content of the documents and protections for the witnesses they interviewed. Now the former president’s lawyers are asking for a special master to go over the documents to remove any private, privileged, or protected materials; he is still trying to claim executive privilege for these papers even though the courts have decided that he is no longer entitled to that status. As they say, stay tuned. I just keep on shaking my head as each week’s news tops the next!

“Til next week-Peace!

 

 

Boys in Waiting

As the former president continues to fret and fume, trying to stir up his decreasing but still rabid followers, there are many “wanna bes” waiting in the wings. Each of these characters is vying for the crown prince title, but sadly are stumbling around so much that no one really wears the mantle of the next in line to the MAGA throne. In reality, one seems worse than the next if you really look closely at their words and actions. At the top of the heap, one would find Governors Abbott of Texas and DeSantis of Florida. DeSantis has the edge because he is not up for re-election this year and Abbott is. Then one finds Senator Cruz, a poor example of a Senator (remember his trip to Cancun during the ice storm?) and one who tried to make his mark in the hearings for Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Jackson as did Senator Josh (see Josh run) Hawley, who went on and on about sex offenders. (In an egregious attempt at scoring press coverage, Senator Cruz recently mused at an event about whether Senator Elizabeth Warren had male genitalia! Poor taste indeed! Picking on women again, Ted?)

Senator Tom Cotton tried to stand out by speaking out against the 1619 project and the concept of enslaving people. Republican Senatorial Committee Chair Senator Rick Scott of Florida is floating the idea of making Medicare and Social Security subject to a renewal vote every five years. He defended this move by falsely claiming that Medicare will go bankrupt in four years, a claim debunked by Factcheck.org. He has also proposed increasing taxes on low-income Americans under the premise that all Americans need to pay taxes. Tell that to the corporations, Senator Scott. (This is from a multi-millionaire who made many of his millions by cheating on Hospital Corporation Medicare claims.)

Abbott has come increasingly under fire from the parents of the students killed in the Uvalde school massacre. First, his authorities made untrue statements about the incident, then tried to hide the truth from the families involved. Later, when it became known that scores of armed officials waited in the corridors of that school even as children were dying, the families accused his administration and others of cover-ups. Their pleas for him to enact a ban on semi-automatic rifle purchases for those under 21 fell on deaf ears even as Texas hosted the NRA convention and his administration promoted no license open-carry for weapons.

And, not the least of his transgressions was the enactment of the 6-week pregnancy restriction on abortion for Texas residents using a bizarre law that promoted vigilantism, frightened medical providers, and terrified women. Enacted before the Dobbs’ decision by the Supreme Court, the same court upheld this provision. Abbott is being challenged by Democrat Beto O’Rourke, a former Congressman, who almost took down Ted Cruz in this red state a few years ago, then ran for president in a principled, but not successful, campaign in 2020. Now is the time for Abbott to be beaten, I think. Will it happen in this super-red state? One can dream.

But probably the worst examples of the unprincipled posturing common to this group are the promotion of Christian Nationalism and pandering to the fundamentalist right wing of the Republican Party. He has referred to Democrats as devils and condemned the “wokeness of the left”. (The Cambridge online dictionary defines wokeness: as “a state of being aware, especially of social problems such as racism and inequality:”) Despite not having the authority to do so, he fired a duly elected states’ attorney who had criticized his moves. That attorney is now suing him. His state had high numbers of COVID cases since he refused to promote vaccines or mask mandates and even punished counties where schools kept the mandates. He threatened cruise lines and even Disney World because it criticized his proclamations against gays and promotion of the so-called “don’t say gay” law; teachers could not address LGBTQIA issues lest they be accused of “grooming”. DeSantis supported aberrant school boards that spoke out against critical race theory and ones that banned books and came up with his own list. He has created a culture of fear among educators in his state and promoted a curriculum that denies separation of church and state and promotes constitutional “originalism”.

Additionally, he even supported banning the Diary of Anne Frank, but backed down when he received significant pushback. While Florida has a significant Jewish population of about 4.6 percent, making it the fourth most populous U.S. state concentration of Jewish residents, it is not significant considering the total population of 21, 538,187 according to the 2020 census. 21% of the population is over 63 years old, while overall the racial breakdown is 52.7% white, 17% black, and 26% Hispanic or Latino, with mixed race or others making up the rest. He has done most of this in the three years he has been governor because he has a compliant legislature. Recently, he has been restricting press coverage of his events. Does this sound like America to you?

The punditry seems to think that while DeSantis is a MAGA follower; he is trying to differentiate himself as DJT goes further off the rails after the FBI search of Mar-a-Lago. This weekend he was stumping for the floundering MAGA-endorsed candidates in Ohio, (J.D. Vance), and in Pennsylvania (Mastriano) and trying to gain some national exposure for himself. In PA he supported Mastriano’s support of Christian Nationalism and railed against schools that were indoctrinating children, supporting “woke ideology” and addressing questions of gender identity.

These candidates, such as DeSantis, are finding audiences who listen and may or may not agree with what they are hearing. But I believe that this is so foreign to the mainstream that most do not understand how to respond to it. However, if America does not wake up, we will not have a democracy but will be subjected to the overreach of despots who will accept no rebuttals or questions in their quest for authoritarianism.

The Washington Post reporter, Issac Arnsdorf, compiled a list of proposals compiled recently from speeches by our former president that outline steps he will take “when re-elected”. They seem more appropriate to the world of Viktor Orban than to our country. I have summarized them below with his justifications and my comments:

1.    Execute drug dealers (his administration executed 6 people after he lost the election-here - no distinction between neighbor-to-neighbor sales or drug cartels?).

2.    Move homeless people to outlying tent cities (to reclaim our cities-breaks all kinds of laws).

3.    Deploy federal force against crime, unrest, and protests (he tried to use military forces when he was president, and wanted to nationalize the use of the National Guard, but was rebuffed by the Pentagon).

4.    Strip Federal workers of Civil Service protections (he actually put his Schedule F in place before the election and would have started this separate track, but he was defeated and President Biden overturned his actions). Claims this is part of ‘draining the swamp’.

5.    Eliminate the Education Department (issues such as CRT {which is untrue,} gender identity, etc., and prohibit teaching of ‘inappropriate’ racial, sexual and political material). Conservatives such as Betsy DeVos (a former DOE cabinet secretary) and Rick Perry have both supported this-although Perry forgot for a while!

6.    Restrict voting to a single day and require paper ballots (an impossible task to realize with over 160 million or more voters but borne out of his grievances at losing in 2020 and distrusting mail-in votes and voting machines).

Once again, I ask-is this the America you want?

Polls recently show that Democrats are favored more than earlier now that some significant legislation has passed, gas prices are coming down, inflation is no longer rising and President Biden’s numbers are moving up. We shall see. Even Mitch McConnell is no longer sure of claiming the Senate for Republicans. He sorta mumbled something about the quality of the candidates. Currently, Republicans Vance in Ohio, Oz in Pennsylvania, and Walker in Georgia are running behind their Democratic opponents. But there are 78 days until the election. Who knows what October surprises are ahead? Republicans currently hold two of those seats and a change could be huge, as it would no longer mean a 50-50 Senate. Democrats would have more committee controls and McConnell would be a full minority leader.

As the drama about the FBI seizure of incorrectly held documents at Mar-a Lago continues, the court hearings on what portions of the warrant can be released, threats on Federal offices continue, whipped up by the out of-control-former president who is now claiming that an “out-of-control, politically, motivated FBI can come after you next.” There are reports that these rants are bringing in a million dollars a day to his unrestricted fund. Others on the right are screaming out against the 87,000 IRS agents authorized in the Inflation Reduction Act.

Meanwhile, some interesting notes in a New York Times special editorial today. The editors write about political courage being in short supply in America today and lament those legislators who voted for impeachment, that are now being defeated. They single out two courageous women who faced primaries this week. Republicans Lisa Murkowski and Liz Cheney. Murkowski advance, Chaney did not. She has been an obvious leader in the January 6^th investigations and does not apologize for her stated mission of keeping the former president forever out of office. Murkowski voted for the second presidential impeachment and for the confirmation of Judge Jackson. Her primary win was helped by the priority voting system Alaska uses. As the Times notes:

“While Ms. Cheney voted in line with Mr. Trump nearly 93 percent of the time, her commitment is to the rule of law, and her resolve to put country above party is clearly more important to her than blind loyalty. History will remember Ms. Cheney for her principles just as it will Mr. Trump for his lack of them.” And–“Ms. Cheney is not sounding any regrets. “If the cost of standing up for the Constitution is losing the House seat,” she recently told The Times, “then that’s a price I’m willing to pay.” Democracy needs more profiles in courage like that.”

While I would never vote for Liz Cheney, I certainly applaud her principled stance. I hope she can build a robust second party so that we can escape the MAGA cultism and return us to an America that appreciates differences of many types and shuns authoritarianism and religious nationalism.

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On a fresh note, the Washington Commanders football team, aka WFT, has now played and lost two pre-season games. Guess the team needs more than a name change; or am I a “Dooley doubter” too soon?

“Til next week-Peace!

Former Pres. & Minions Threaten FBI, AG, Judge, others

What will it take to make this monstrous man “go away” from our consciousness? When will he stop dominating the media for his never-ending misdeeds? Those in the media tossed the word ‘unprecedented’ around a lot these past few days. I guess they are correct. Never before have we seen a former president refuse to answer questions in a civil case and take the Fifth Amendment over 400 times. We have never seen a former president refuse to respond appropriately to a valid subpoena. Nor have we ever seen a search warrant served on a former president for misuse or improper possession of top-secret and classified documents.

The National Archives notified the FBI earlier this year that classified documents were among those records seized previously (after DJT had ignored a year-long request), from the residence at Mar-a-Largo and informed the agency, after a review, that others were still missing. According to news reports, the FBI and a special terrorism agent met with the former president and his attorneys and received some more documents; they were told that there were no others. The Archive insisted that there were others, so a Grand Jury issued a subpoena for additional documents; they ignored this request. As the last step, the FBI requested a judge approve a search warrant. They executed this warrant without notice this past Monday.

Once the search finished, in an attempt to create anger against a legitimate government search warrant, DJT falsely claimed that he had no classified documents and that the search warrant was a fishing expedition. He stirred up his followers with rants against the “out-of-control government” that set the FBI after him illegally on a “raid of his residence” when he had already given them documents. Fellow Republicans shouted outrage at these actions and called for the defunding of the FBI for an overreach of its powers. (Gee, this is from the Law-and-Order Republicans who berated the Democrats when some spoke about out-of-control police after the murder of George Floyd.) Congressman Kevin McCarthy warned Attorney General (AG) Merritt Garland that as soon as the Republicans took charge of the House that he would demand hearings on this matter and that Garland needed to get ready and clear his calendar. Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (who has little to do these days) indicated that she would institute articles of impeachment against AG Garland. Senator Rand Paul suggested that the Espionage Act should be repealed.

And, of course, appeals for funds to help him fight this “out-of-control witch hunt” soon hit the airwaves and internet. Right-wing media soon took up the show of support and railed against “Biden’s overreach”. Fox has continued, even today, to beat the “president as victim” drum. President Biden and the Democrats in Congress have said little or nothing about this matter and are allowing it to play out. The President’s office stated that he had no warning about this action.

MAGA followers and others bombarded Internet sites with threats to government offices and calls to arm and prepare for war. A former military man who had been at the Capitol during the January 6^th Insurrection attacked an FBI office in Cincinnati, Ohio, was repelled and eventually killed in a police action. This weekend a man drove his car into barriers at the Capitol, jumped out, fired into the air, and then killed himself. Related activity, who can say? DJT lies-people die; it has happened before. Senators called for a release of the Search Warrant and a list of what was taken. However, as was later pointed out, the FBI gave copies of both to the former president and one of his attorneys, who was present at the home in Florida on the day of the search. But releasing them was not in his best interests, was it?

In an unusual step, AG Garland subsequently held a press conference and stated that he had approved the request for the search warrant and had asked the Florida judge who issued it to release the Search Warrant and the list of documents taken if the former president did not object. He called a bluff against the former president, noting that he had the documents himself and could have released them; the FBI could not do this unless permitted by the judge who issued it. The AG also spoke up in defense of the members of the FBI across the country who serve nobly and well and were not deserving of the condemnations they have been receiving. They released the search warrant and list on Friday and the results shocked many Americans.

The list noted several layers of classified information among the 11 records found in the dozen boxes removed according to the Washington Post: Confidential, Secret and Top-Secret, and Top-Secret Sensitive-Compartmented, the highest level of documents, that are only supposed to be viewed in a secure facility from which electronic devices are banned. Such documents may contain information about secret operations or moles in other countries that would harm U.S. foreign interests if released. There have been some reports that information gleaned from electronic intercepts or about foreign leaders, including French President Macron, was in the documents. Others have reported that there was information about our nuclear defenses, but this has not been confirmed. Although these documents were said to have been found in various areas of the residence, aside from the storage facility and perhaps the safe that was opened, this remains unclear, as the agents are not talking about the incident. Amazingly, the former president followed the actions of the agents at his home by a closed-circuit TV which he followed from his northern residence. There have also been reports that someone on the inside, such as a family member, a secret service agent, or a person who worked at the resort, or for the former president, might have provided information to the FBI about the presence of protected documents they found in his bedroom.

What is so distressing about these actions is that the resort, although protected by the Secret Service, was not a closed or firmly secure facility. Staff and vendors were in and out, as well as known members and guests of the club. Previously, a Chinese spy was arrested inside the resort while claiming rights to access the pool. She had thumb drives with malware on them and other devices. Were other countries or agents attempting to gain access or eavesdrop electronically on the residence? I do not know, but I have read that the former president would not use a secured telephone and preferred his device.

Once this information was released, the former president stated that he automatically declassified any document he removed. Although the president may declassify documents, this is not automatic. However, there are processes for agency approval of declassifying any documents that were not followed. There is no paper trail showing that any of these procedures were followed. His staff has now given multiple accounts about the use of classified documents; they cannot all be true. The reality is that these documents should not have been removed from the White House.

The FBI released the search warrant without the names of the agents; the authorities redacted these. However, the copy DJT received did not redact that information. He has released this information to right-wing groups. Consequently, these agents, who were just doing their jobs, have now been threatened, their addresses have been released and they and their family members are receiving additional security. Federal offices across the country are now increasing security after a nationwide alert has been issued jointly by the FBI and Department of Homeland Security because of threats received. The Judge, who approved the warrant, is Jewish and has also been threatened with anti-Semitic rhetoric and his synagogue targeted. The congregation canceled services this weekend.

So, it seems that the MAGA forces were not content with seditious conspiracy against an act of Congress to certify the electoral count and the 2020 election, nor threats to the life of the Vice President, they are now encouraging their minions nationwide with another lie, that the government illegally conspired against the former president. I certainly hope that there are no lone wolves out there that would blow up a Federal Building somewhere. However, there are also still Proud Boys and three percenters roaming around, and who knows how many other militias are out there who could, in an ungoverned fashion, take destructive actions in some manner? How many deranged loners with stores of guns and ammunition will be encouraged to defend the president?

The former president has said that he believes that these actions have helped his presidential bid for 2024. David Brooks wrote in the New York Times, that it might help. Others are not so sure. Some Republicans have gone silent since the release of the lists of classified documents found at Mar-a-Largo even as others repeat the lies. The warrant lists three Federal laws that may have been broken: (section 793, section 1519, and section 2071) - The Espionage Act (gathering, transmitting, or losing defense information), Destruction or Hiding of Federal Documents to obstruct an Investigation, and Concealment, Removal, or theft or destruction of Federal Documents. If a Grand Jury issued the records subpoena, is there an active investigation of the former President? Could they actually indict him? What would that do to rile up his supporters? Tough questions, no good answers.

In other news this week, and there was some, the Democrats in the House passed the Inflation Reduction Act previously approved only by Democrats in the Senate. It will go to the President for his signature this week. This is a really big deal as it provides major support for the climate with reductions in fossil fuels and increased wind and solar efforts, it decreases drug costs under Medicare and allows for some negotiated prices, provides some benefits for off-shore drilling and pipelines (thanks to Manchin), and creates a minimum corporate tax of 15%, but drops the carried interest removal provision (thanks to Kyrsten Sinema). It did not carry forward the earned income credits for children, or provide more funding for child care, elder care, or college debt relief. But looking at the bottom line, it also provides for federal debt reduction, more electric cars and trucks, and more jobs, so those are all important provisions. The Democrats are feeling better about the midterms, which have long been thought to be a debacle for them; that may not be so with these several wins under their belts and the issues of abortion choice sitting front and center. The Kansas vote buoyed many Democrats, while Republicans are avoiding the issue where ever possible. Tuesday there are primaries in Wyoming and Alaska. Two Republican women who have opposed the former president are on the ballot. Senator Lisa Murkowski is expected to win against a MAGA-endorsed opponent. She is an independent voice for Alaska and one of the few Republican women who speak out for abortion and contraception rights. In Wyoming, January 6^th committee co-chair, Representative Lynne Cheney is expected to lose her primary against a former supporter now endorsed by the former president. Cheney has made clear that she hopes that DJT never gets elected again. He won her state overwhelmingly in 2020, so the only way she has a chance is if Democrats cross over to vote in the Republican primary. Guess we shall find out soon.

In other election news, Montgomery County Executive Marc Elrich, who declared victory last week, had another surprise when 102 additional provisional ballots, that had not been opened, were found. After these were reviewed, and they counted those approved, his lead dropped to 35 votes, but it was still a lead, so he again declared victory. His opponent David Blair indicated he would seek a recount. In Frederick County, it appears that some mailed ballots were counted twice. A county council race that was separated by three votes was noted to now be down to a one-vote difference. However, the loser in that race has challenged her opponent, claiming that she does not meet the residency requirement of one year in the district. Currently, the results have been decertified and a final resolution is pending. In Montgomery County, they certified the results on Saturday. Both counties showed how the checks and balances in the system have worked. When the internal audits were performed, the system allowed the errors to show up and be corrected.

Both counties hope that the delays from mail-in ballots can be alleviated before the fall elections as the restrictions put in place by Governor Hogan were obstructions in the process. Incidentally, the Governor stated in an interview that he was not running for president as an Independent and had made no decisions about 2024, even as his Lt. Governor noted, that Hogan might run as an Independent. However, he visited Iowa recently. Gotta’ get your stories straight, guys!

Long entry tonight–just so much going on, so bear with me, please.

“Til next week-Peace!

The Voters in Kansas Speak Out!

 

This past week, the voters in Kansas had an opportunity to change their constitution, which allowed for abortions up to 22 weeks gestation and permit the legislature to enact stricter laws regarding abortion access. Groups spent millions of dollars on both sides of this battle to encourage the voters to answer yes, (to permit a constitutional change) or no, to leave things as they are. Originally, the legislature scheduled the vote for August at the time of a Republican Primary vote for the mid-term elections; some say hoping Democrats and Independents, who were likely to stay home during the Republican contests, would not pay attention. At the time they set this vote, in 2021, the Supreme Court had not ruled on Roe in the Dobbs’ case and the expectations that it would slip in under the radar were quite good. Post Dobbs, the equations all changed.

By the time they counted all the votes, deep red-state Kansas voted to keep the constitution without changes. The turnout was about 53% of the voters, which is the percentage usually seen in general elections. The voters defeated the ballot measure with about 60% of the voters voting to keep the rights as described in the Constitution. While the women in the suburbs of the larger cities in Kansas weighed in heavily on the “no” side, support was noted across the state and included independents who would usually not vote at all because they can only make their wishes known on issues and cannot vote for partisan candidates in a closed primary and a significant number of Republicans. The “no” side was successful, despite a misleading text message sent out by a Republican entity the day before the primary that claimed a “yes” vote would keep abortions available. The wording of the measure confused many voters; some felt that it was deliberately unclear.

During the 2020 election, 56.1% of the voters supported DJT for president, with only 41.5% voting for Biden, so there had to be a significant number of Republicans who did not vote “yes” in this election. What does this mean for the mid-term elections in November? Pundits seem to think that the abortion issue is motivating Democrats, but they do not yet know how to quantify this motivation. It certainly would be easier to predict if there were many states with similar measures, but there are not. Michigan also has a question on abortion on the ballot in November, but they did this because of a state-wide petition, so it remains to be determined whether voters will address this in November.

This week, also, Indiana passed a strict anti-abortion measure, with only a few exceptions such as the health of the mother, allowed. Other exceptions included rape, incest, and lethal fetal abnormality. The legislature also determined that life begins at conception. Immediately after the decision, several large businesses stated that this measure would negatively impact their workforce and suggested that the corporations would consider moves to help their employees get medical care. Eli Lilly, a major pharmaceutical firm, stated that instead of expanding its business in-state that it would look to expand other facilities elsewhere.

State abortion laws in about half the country have already changed because of the Dobbs’ decision; some states had trigger laws ready to go if Roe was overturned. Other states returned to distant regulations that were on the books a century or more ago and were made dormant when Roe went into effect. Eight states banned abortions the day the Court announced the decision, while others are phasing in bans. Wide areas of the Midwest and South now have no contiguous states that allow abortion access. States in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, the Upper Midwest, and the West Coast, plus Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico still provide these necessary services. (I show a map in the link above.)

Will Democrats still be as motivated in November as they have been in Kansas in August? The polls are not yet definitive, but Nate Silver, speaking on ABC in July, noted that after the court decision, the generic ballot favors Democrats more than Republicans and has shown a shift, despite the tendency for mid-terms to go against the party of the President. Other polls have noted that Democrats are more motivated after the decisions of the court, not only on abortion, but also on the environment, religion, and guns that have gone against the mainstream. While gas prices were high in June, now in August they have come down significantly and are still decreasing. Mortgage rates are also trending down, although food prices remain high. The recent positive job numbers and low unemployment figures favor Democrats, even as inflation is high.

The President has had some significant wins in Congress as well. The CHIPS measure is now law and will help semiconductor supplies once made on-shore. The PACT bill to assist veterans with burn pit complications is now law despite Republican opposition. Senator Sinema joined Senator Manchin and other Democrats to get the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) passed under reconciliation, so it did not need to be subjected to a filibuster. Vice-President Harris cast the 51^st vote to break the 50-50 tie in the Senate. No Republicans voted for this Bill which extends ACA subsidies, allows negotiations for some drug prices, creates climate control supports such as subsidies for electric cars, and much more. It would have capped the price of insulin at 35 dollars for those with insurance, but that did not get through; it was only allowed for those on Medicare. The Parliamentarian negated a few other provisions as not meeting the rules of reconciliation. But even as the Republicans grumble, they know that passing the IRA is one vast deal and a big plus for the President’s agenda that they cannot deny. The measure will go to the House for a final vote and then on to the President for his signature. YEAH!

According to Heather Cox Richardson: heathercoxrichardson@substack.com

“The measure devotes more than $300 billion to addressing climate change and energy reform, the largest federal investment in climate change in U.S. history. It will make it easier and cheaper to get electric cars and to heat and cool homes without fossil fuels—Environmental Protection Agency administrator Michael Regan says families will save an average of $500 a year on energy costs—while also creating new jobs in these fields. It extends for three years the subsidies for healthcare under the Affordable Care Act that Congress originally passed during the pandemic. It will invest about $300 billion toward reducing the deficit.”

The President had hoped to get on the road but has been waylaid with Covid over the last two weeks. He received Paxlovid, but had a rebound case of Covid and has finally tested negative this weekend. But even, while isolating, he approved the CIA drone strike on the long-time leader of Al-Qaeda, Ayman al-Zawahiri, who was living openly in Kabul, Afghanistan, presumably under the permission of the Taliban. An Egyptian, he had been with Osama bin Laden since the early days and served him as a strategist and physician. The government considered him to have been part of the planning of U.S. embassy bombings in Africa, the bombing of the USS Cole, and the devastation of 911. After the death of bin Laden, he assumed the leadership of the terrorist organization. And, although he slowed down in recent years, he released diatribes against the U.S. as recently as a few weeks ago, encouraging followers to take action.

Well, in other news, the crazies won the Republican primaries in Arizona. I do not know what has happened to that state. Ever since the state was called for Joe Biden in the 2020 election, it seems as if the Republicans there have lost their collective minds!

Brief notes:

In other election news, reports that Hispanic voters were deserting Democrats are shown by the numbers of Hispanics who left the Catholic Church and had become fundamentalist or evangelical Christians. A leading cleric indicates Hispanics are generally conservative on many issues, including abortion, but support immigration reforms and family values. He notes the majority are most likely still Democrats, although there has been some attrition.

Two Republicans in Washington state who voted to impeach DJT won their primaries; one did not. Another Congressman in California won his primary; several others, such as Adam Kinzinger, who is on the January 6^th committee, decided to retire.

The Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC) met in Texas for their periodic convention and invited the autocratic leader of Hungary, Viktor Orban, to speak. He gave an anti-gay, anti-immigrant, anti-same-sex marriage type of speech in which he also declared that America is a Christian nation. The crowd cheered wildly and gave him a standing ovation. Other would-be autocrats also spoke. Senator Scott of Florida, who used to be considered mainstream but probably wants to be president someday, also spoke. He has proposed doing away with Medicare. The Senator, the richest person in the Senate, made his millions initially with the HCA healthcare corporation. According to the Congressional Integrity Organization, Scott was involved in the largest healthcare fraud ever recorded (about $17 Billion) and was forced off the board. His family is still involved in the healthcare industry, and he wants to do away with Medicare?

In Montgomery County, the count goes on, and on and on! In the County Executive race incumbent, Marc Elrich, has declared victory. His opponent in the Democratic primary, David Blair, stated that he will ask for a recount. As of Saturday evening, Elrich led by 42 votes with 34 votes remaining. (Nine of these votes will be counted and they will discard 25 as arriving too late, according to election officials.) In 2018, Elrich beat Blair by 77 votes. Blair and allies spent millions against Elrich in each contest, while Elrich accepted public financing. The election was on July 19^th but over 80,000 ballots were mailed in and could not be counted when first received, thanks to Governor Hogan’s refusal to allow early counting. Really bad move, Gov!

“Til next week-Peace!

WV Joe Does a Deal, I Think

 

We’ve gotten used to Senator Joe Manchin and his penchant for deals and bi-partisanship, which he has persisted in pursuing, although he could not find ten Republicans to go along with most of his proposals. So, as he walked away last year, from Build Back Better (BBB), in a fit of pique, Democrats were unhappy, to say the least. (Manchin, to his credit, had given Leader Schumer a list of what he would accept, but Schumer did not share that with members of his party, apparently hoping that he could change Manchins’ mind over the months ahead.) The Biden administration and many Democrats felt betrayed when he could not agree to the multi-tiered and hugely expensive BBB proposals. Earlier this summer, he spoke about the funding plans headed for Reconciliation and claimed that they would increase inflation. Democrats shook their heads yet again and wondered what to do with their problem Senator, not to mention his quixotic sidekick, Senator Sinema. Neither would concede to Democratic pleas to put aside the filibuster for voting rights changes, despite the statement that they agreed with most of the legislation, which Manchin helped write and now once again he was intransigent.

So, Democrats cannot be blamed, if this week they felt a bit like Charlie Brown waiting yet again to kick the football for victory, only to have Lucy pull it away from his uplifted foot.

However, with encouragement from his peers, and months of secret negotiations again with Schumer, the two have reached a deal on funding the ambitious climate bill so dear to the Biden Administration and most Democrats. In it are concessions that Manchin wanted for his pet oil and gas projects, some off-shore drilling, and pipelines. However, it also funds expanded wind farms, domestic solar industries, and rebates for electric vehicles (even used ones!), some of which might be built in West Virginia to enhance areas where coal mines are no longer viable. These are projects close to Manchins’ hopes for his home state. Some have said that there are more former coal miners in WV than current miners and note that these alternative industries will ultimately hasten the demise of the coal industry. Senator Manchin and his family derive much of their income from the coal industry. We also know Manchin as one of the biggest recipients of campaign funds from the fossil fuel industries.

The environmental measures in this historic climate bill should help the United States move closer to climate control goals such as lower emissions. The stated goals have been to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% below 2005 levels by 2030. While environmentalists are not happy with extending drilling, they applaud the additional incentives to move away from fossil fuels. Manish Bapta, President of the Natural Resources Defense Council, quoted in the New York Times about these proposals, said:

“his group’s internal modeling showed that the emissions cuts from the legislation would be as much as 10 times greater than the effects from the support it extends to fossil fuels. He called the fossil fuel provisions “pain points” but said overall the deal was “significantly positive.”

 

It is interesting to note that this deal was done in the Senate and did not involve the White House, which is probably a good thing since relations between Biden and Manchin have not been the best, since he tanked the original BBB, which was so pivotal to the White House's climate plan. Also, it should be noted, that some of the pet provisions that were in the original plan are no longer in this new bill, now dubbed the Inflation Reduction Act. Gone is the expanded Child Tax Credit (CTC) as Manchin believed the families would spend the funds on drugs, not necessities for children. That claim was not borne out by the credits received during 2021. In fact, in a study reported by The Brookings Institute, families used the funds for the following purposes:

The most common reported uses for the CTC were: routine expenses such as housing and utilities (70 percent) clothing or other essential items for children (58 percent) purchasing more food for the family (56 percent) saving for emergencies (49 percent) or paying off debt (42 percent).

The report further noted that the result was unprecedented in its scope, as in a few short months, it lifted 3.7 million children out of poverty simply by supplying modest monthly payments for each child in a household.

As described further by the Center for American Progress, the bill allows Medicare (CMS) to negotiate with drug companies on the prices for some drugs; these provisions will be phased in over several years, with ten drugs initially, then 20 the next year and so forth. It also caps out-of-pocket costs for Medicare beneficiaries at $2000.00 per year. It extended subsidies under the Affordable Care Act (ACA) for three more years. Without that extension, Insurance Companies could have raised the fees several times above current levels, making the ACA essentially no longer affordable for many participants. It did not expand Medicaid, which the President had wanted to do to cover those in states that refused to allow this. Some of the social issues, so important to Progressive Democrats and the young, such as funding for child care, elder care, and funds for preschool, are not included. The revised bill does not reduce college loans or pay them off, nor does it allow for free community college; the proposal that brought many young people to support Biden. Biden is still considering what he can do in this area by executive orders and is perhaps considering a means test of some form.

Rebate incentives for electric vehicles, even used ones, are included. There are also energy rebates for making homes more energy efficient. With additional subsidies for moving industries back to the U.S., they expected to help reduce the supply chain issues. (The CHIPS Bill which just passed in a bi-partisan manner is not a part of this bill, but will prop up more domestic manufacturing of the tiny semi-conductors now integral to multiple industries.)

On the revenue side, some taxes and fees are added. There is a minimum corporate income tax of 15% since so many corporations find loopholes to avoid paying any taxes. No tax increases will affect earners making under $400,000 a year. They expect more revenue through better IRS enforcement and closing the carried interest loophole. While many coastal states with high home costs wanted the DJT era cap on homeowner’s real estate Tax (SALT) deductions removed, this was not included.

So, now the Bill goes to the Senate for a vote, then returns to the House for its considerations. I expect it will pass with only the 50 Democrats voting in favor since it is under “reconciliation”; Senator Sinema has not spoken publicly about her support or lack of support on this, but I, along with many others, hope that she makes her way to get to yes from the climate measures in the bill. Some Progressives in the House have been reserved in their responses, but I certainly hope that they can vote yes and make this important legislation happen. Interestingly, Senate Republicans, who were blind-sided by this supposed legislative turnaround, are refusing to support it and have also voted down a bill they previously voted for that would support Veterans harmed by the burn pits from the Middle East Wars. Media Star Jon Stewart was on Capitol Hill last week calling them out for such small-minded actions.

This week I have been reading a book by NY Times reporters Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns: “This will not Pass- Trump, Biden and the Battle for America’s Future.”

There are many very interesting discussions and much new reporting in this book. But to address the topic for tonight, I will mention one new episode (on page 273) that I was unaware of. Amid all the BBB turmoil, Republican Senators Susan Collins, John Thune, and Rob Portman took Senator Manchin to dinner and tried to convince him to defect from the Democratic Party. They said he could just become an Independent and caucus with the Republicans; they would help him raise money, allow him to chair a committee, whatever he wanted. He declined as he said he was unwilling to allow Mitch McConnell to again become Leader. But, as the authors explained, Manchin considers himself very much a Democrat and party member in good standing; he is just a conservative Democrat.

Many have complained that both parties have hollowed out their middles, leaving only those with extreme views among those left standing. To have a well-grounded party, many views need to be represented. As a Progressive, I have found fault with Senator Manchin many times, but I also do not always agree with my more progressive friends on every issue. But that is where compromise comes into play. This appears to have happened with the Inflation Reduction Act. This is what so seldom seems to happen in Congress, in our State Houses, and at the Supreme Court.

Lord Action, writing in 1887, noted that the same moral standards should apply to all ‘men’ and repeated his belief that “power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts (all men) absolutely.”

Did the Supreme Court go past the requested ruling on Dobbs to revoke Roe, just because they had the numbers to do so, rather than stand with precedent?

Did the Texas legislature pass permit-less open carry because they could do so, despite having more school shootings than any other state?

Did the Georgia legislature pass restrictive voting laws because they had a supermajority, not because the laws needed changing?

Did Governor DeSantis promote anti-mask-wearing, anti-covid measures because he believed in them or because he thought it would pump up his base, despite having high in-state levels of illness and a population that skewed older?

We need to return to governments across all states that are really representative and work morally for all of our people.

“Til next week-Peace!