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☆ Trump Indictment Accelerates America’s Race to the Bottom
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Mark Penn | Andrew Stein | ) www.wsj.com time to read: +1 min

The demonization of political opponents is entering its next depressing but predictable phase—the use of the most partisan parts of the criminal-justice system to arrest and prosecute political opponents on flimsy charges. Too much of the public, increasingly divorced from bedrock national values, is cheering it on. It’s the logical extension of Donald Trump’s claiming he won the election he lost; of Joe Biden’s branding “MAGA Republicans” a “clear and present danger” to “our democracy”; of right-wing groups planning and executing an assault on the Capitol; of the Russia-collusion hoax; of partisan impeachments; of tech companies censoring political and scientific information to promote ideological and partisan agendas; of retired intelligence officials interfering with the 2020 election by making false claims about the Hunter Biden laptop; of law students shouting down federal judges with the encouragement of university administrators.

☆ Why Biden can't gloat about Trump becoming the first former president to face potential criminal charges
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-21 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +6 min

"Let Trump steep in his own juices." "Let Trump steep in his own juices." If Trump is indicted, Biden undoubtedly will be asked for a response in every interaction he has with reporters. Biden has been more rhetorically disciplined as president than he was as vice president and a senator, when his verbal gaffes were routinely used as punchlines. The smart move would be to say he'll let the criminal justice system take its course and let Republicans fight it out, said Bannon.

☆ House Democrats are skeptical about Biden's call for working with GOP: 'Marjorie Taylor Greene seems to be the lead spokesperson these days'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-04 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Biden says Republicans can help build a "significant majority" for Dem priorities in a GOP House. "It looks like it's Marjorie Taylor Greene and extreme MAGA Republicans," Rep. Pramila Jayapal said. They question whether they can work with House Republicans on anything beyond "must-pass" legislation when they say "extreme" GOP members seem to be leading the caucus. And you know, Marjorie Taylor Greene seems to be the lead spokesperson these days." "You're gonna have a lot of Republicans running our way," he told House Democrats on Wednesday night.

☆ Joe Biden says Marjorie Taylor Greene is helping Democrats recruit GOP support: 'You're gonna have a lot of Republicans running our way'
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-02 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Joe Biden thinks Marjorie Taylor Greene can be an asset for Democrats in a GOP-controlled House. "You're gonna have a lot of Republicans running our way," with more hard-right lawmakers in office, Biden said. "You know, a little bit more Marjorie Taylor Greene and a few more, you're gonna have a lot of Republicans running our way," he said to laughter during remarks at House Democrats' 2023 Issues Conference on Wednesday evening. "But that leaves a lot of Republicans that are still left," he said. "I've been to a lot of State of the Unions, but I never quite saw one like that," he said.

☆ Utah's Republican governor hits back at MTG's call to break up the United States: 'This rhetoric is destructive and wrong and—honestly—evil'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-21 | by ( Joshua Zitser | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

A Republican governor hit back at Marjorie Taylor Greene's call for a "national divorce" in the US. Spencer Cox called Greene's rhetoric "destructive" and "evil." This isn't the first time Greene has called for the break up of the US. Utah's Republican governor called the rhetoric "destructive and wrong and — honestly — evil." On Monday, Marjorie Taylor Greene had suggested that there should be a "national divorce" – the separation of the US into red and blue states.

☆ Mike Pence for the Constitution—Again
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-18 | by ( The Editorial Board | ) www.wsj.com time to read: 1 min

On Jan. 6, 2021, Mike Pence stood up for the Constitution against Donald Trump, and he has paid for it politically with MAGA Republicans. Now the former Vice President is defending the Constitution again in resisting special counsel Jack Smith ’s subpoena, and this time the left is attacking him. His stand on principle is right again and deserves support. Mr. Smith’s grand jury recently demanded that Mr. Pence appear to testify as a witness to the events surrounding Jan. 6. The subpoena looks like overkill, since it comes more than two years after the Capitol riot and related events that by now are well known.

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - President Joe Biden pledged to work with the opposition party on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech that served as an olive branch to skeptical Republicans and a blueprint for his 2024 re-election bid. The White House has said Biden will not negotiate over that necessity; Republicans want spending cuts in exchange for their support. McCarthy said earlier on Tuesday that he would not rip up Biden's speech, referencing the actions of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi after Trump's 2020 State of the Union address. He said he urged Biden not to use the phrase "extreme MAGA Republicans" in his speech, a reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. Some House Republican lawmakers have questioned Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential race against Trump, vowing to investigate his Cabinet and family.

"To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress," Biden, a Democrat, will say, according to excerpts of the speech released by the White House before the speech scheduled for 9 p.m. One test of that challenge will be the White House push to raise the $31.4 trillion debt ceiling, which must be lifted in the coming months to avoid a default. The White House has said Biden will not negotiate over that necessity; Republicans want spending cuts in exchange for their support. He said he urged Biden not to use the phrase "extreme MAGA Republicans" in his speech, a reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan. Some House Republican lawmakers have questioned Biden's victory in the 2020 presidential race against Trump, vowing to investigate his Cabinet and family.

WASHINGTON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will declare U.S democracy is bruised but "unbowed and unbroken" on Tuesday in a State of the Union speech that will serve as an olive branch to skeptical Republicans and a blueprint for his 2024 re-election bid. "To my Republican friends, if we could work together in the last Congress, there is no reason we can’t work together in this new Congress," Biden, a Democrat, will say, according to excerpts of the speech released by the White House ahead of the speech scheduled for 9 p.m. Biden's public approval rating edged one percentage point higher to 41% in a Reuters/Ipsos opinion poll that closed on Sunday. McCarthy said on Tuesday that he would not rip up Biden's speech, referencing to the actions of former Speaker Nancy Pelosi after former President Donald Trump's 2020 State of the Union address. He said he urged Biden not to use the phrase "extreme MAGA Republicans" in his speech, a reference to Trump's "Make America Great Again" slogan.

☆ A former GOP congressman says many MAGA Republicans are secretly hoping for Trump's 'mortal demise'
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-01 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Many MAGA Republicans are wishing for Trump's "mortal demise," a former GOP Rep. says. Peter Meijer told The Atlantic he has heard MAGA Republicans say: "I can't wait until this guy dies." Other Republicans told The Atlantic they think Trump's diet and age might hasten his death. Meijer did not say which Republicans told him they wished Trump was dead. "I thought it was kind of a morbid, dark joke at first," Coppins told CNN.

☆ Biden says the House GOP campaigned on inflation but their bills to weaken or even abolish the IRS wouldn't fix it
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-26 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | Juliana Kaplan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Biden called out House Republicans for introducing plans that he said would worsen inflation. One GOP plan to strip funding from the IRS would add $114 billion to the deficit over ten years, the CBO found. "They campaigned on inflation," Biden said. Republicans are targeting income taxes because "that's the only way that millionaires and billionaires have to pay any taxes," Biden said. Upon winning the House majority, GOP lawmakers put forward legislation to rescind $80 billion earmarked for the IRS in an attempt to cut spending.

“Around the country, MAGA extremists are lining up to take on those bedrock freedoms,” Mr. Biden said, using Mr. Trump’s Make America Great Again slogan to describe the former president’s allies. While he had repeatedly and consistently said he intended to run, Mr. Biden stoked renewed speculation by delaying his kickoff for months. Mr. Biden tapped Julie Chávez Rodríguez, a senior White House adviser and granddaughter of the iconic labor leader Cesar Chávez, as his campaign manager. But the operation is expected to be overseen from the White House by top presidential aides. While polls show that most Democrats have favorable opinions about Mr. Biden, a majority of them would still rather he not run again.

☆ Analysis: Debt ceiling: White House bets Republicans will blink under pressure
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-20 | by ( Trevor Hunnicutt | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +5 min

House Republicans want cuts to government programsbefore they will approve a higher ceiling; a similar demand sparked a 2011 credit rating downgrade and chaos in financial markets. But we similarly should not blindly increase the debt ceiling," Representative Chip Roy, a leading conservative, told Reuters. 2024 CAMPAIGN FOCUS ON EXTREMISMThe game of chicken comes as the White House prepares Biden's expected re-election campaign. Democrats are planning to deploy that theme in the 2024 election even if an agreement is reached quickly on the debt ceiling. A failure to raise the debt ceiling could have the opposite effect.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is hitting its statutory debt limit on Thursday, requiring the Treasury Department to begin resorting to "extraordinary measures" to pay the bills. It is therefore critical that Congress act in a timely manner to increase or suspend the debt limit," Yellen wrote. But the White House has made clear what President Joe Biden's offer to lift the debt ceiling is: nothing. There should be no political brinkmanship with the debt limit. "We cannot raise the debt ceiling," Rep. Andy Biggs, R-Ariz., said Tuesday on Twitter.

Republicans are on a collision course with the White House, which is demanding that Congress raise the debt limit without conditions. Republicans have waged heated battles over the debt ceiling, most notably in 2011, but they have always been resolved in time. Why does a GOP House complicate debt ceiling negotiations? Republicans have floated everything from budget cuts to socially conservative legislation as part of a debt ceiling increase. The White House had laid down a marker: no negotiations, no policy strings attached to raise the debt ceiling.

WASHINGTON — Rep. Ralph Norman, R-S.C., doesn't care that former President Donald Trump backs Kevin McCarthy for speaker of the House. "Endorsements don't matter to me," said Norman, one of 20 Republican holdouts who have blocked McCarthy, R-Calif., from winning the majority he needs on a series of deadlocked votes for House speaker. Rep. Lauren Boebert, R-Colo., another anti-McCarthy voter, took umbrage at Trump calling recalcitrants on behalf of the beleaguered House GOP leader. "I think it actually needs to be reversed; the president needs to tell Kevin McCarthy that, sir, you do not have the votes, and it’s time to withdraw." "But I don't think when you have eyes on an institution for years and you've made up your mind, I don't think President Trump or anyone else is going" to change it.

☆ Rep. Adam Kinzinger said in final House floor speech that 'limited government' for GOP now means 'inciting violence against government officials'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-15 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

GOP Rep. Adam Kinzinger spoke on the House floor for the last time after declining re-election. He also criticized Democrats for boosting election-denying candidates in GOP primaries this year. In his farewell speech, Kinzinger declared that "our democracy is not functioning" and said Republicans have "embraced lies and deceit." "Our leaders today belittle, and in some cases justify attacks on the US Capitol as 'legitimate political discourse,'" Kinzinger added. Kinzinger also criticized Democrats for helping to boost election-denying candidates in Republican primaries this year in order to produce weaker general-election nominees, a controversial tactic that some top Democrats publicly defended.

☆ Republicans struggle in the Southwest as Latino voters stick with Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-11 | by ( Natasha Korecki | Natasha Korecki Is A Senior National Political Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +10 min

It belies a conventional narrative that Democrats were universally ceding Latino voters to the Republican Party, a story line repeated throughout the run-up to the Nov. 8 midterms. Instead, indicators show the GOP in danger of losing Latino voters in this region, a prospect that could mean being boxed out of the Southwest for the long term. In New Mexico, the state with the most residents identifying as Hispanic or Latino in the country, Latino Democrats won nearly every statewide race. Even with some Latino voters staying home, NBC News exit polling showed that Cortez Masto won more than 60% of that vote. Still, there’s plenty of danger signs for Democrats when it comes to Latino voters, particularly among men.

Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took an emotional victory lap on Wednesday after Democrats won the Georgia runoff and secured an outright majority with a 51st Senate seat. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer speaks at a press conference at the Capitol in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday. Last month, after a poor general election showing and before the Georgia runoff, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said Republicans failed with moderate voters. The majority leader, who is slated to keep his post for at least two more years, admitted he initially wanted someone else to run in Georgia. “Four years ago, I began recruiting candidates in Georgia,” Schumer said.

☆ Chuck Schumer says the January 6 committee's hearings had an 'important effect' on Senate Democrats' history-defying midterm victory
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-07 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

With victory in Georgia, Democrats defied historical odds and will increase their Senate majority. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic leader, says the January 6 hearings played a role in that. "There were the January 6 hearings — I think they had an important effect," Schumer told reporters at a press conference at the Capitol. Schumer spoke alongside Democratic Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the chairman of Senate Democrats' campaign arm, following Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock's victory against Republican Herschel Walker in a runoff election in Georgia on Tuesday. In July, one Republican senator said that the hearings had significantly weakened Trump's chances of winning his party's nomination for the presidency in 2024.

☆ Rising star Hakeem Jeffries announces bid to lead U.S. House Democrats
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Richard Cowan | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

He would build on Pelosi's historic accomplishments as the first female House speaker and the first woman to lead a party in either chamber of Congress. Jeffries satisfies the demand of many House Democrats that younger blood replace the 82-year-old Pelosi, who has had a grip on leadership for the past two decades. 2 position of Democratic whip and moderate Representative Pete Aguilar was expected to seek the job heading the Democratic caucus, which Jeffries now holds. If Jeffries wins the Nov. 30 leadership election, Democrats will be placing party power squarely with New Yorkers. While he is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Jeffries at times has had strained relations with some progressives, who have questioned his ties to corporate America.

☆ How did Democrats make it so close in the House midterm elections?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-17 | by ( ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +18 min

While the GOP did still take the House, the close margin of victory was a performance well below what was possible. Here are eight perspectives from across the ideological spectrum on why the Democrats were able to make it so close. And this reality was essential given the defection of Black and Latino voters to the Republican Party and its candidates. America can credit Democratic West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin’s obstruction of a democracy bill and an economic bill for the narrow Republican House majority. But now, America needs to deal with a Republican House, thanks in good part to Manchin’s obstruction.

☆ Liz Cheney, whose 3 Democratic endorsees won their races, takes a dig at election denier Kari Lake after Arizona defeat
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-15 | by ( Lloyd Lee | Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Kari Lake, a Trump-endorsed candidate for Arizona's governorship, lost to Katie Hobbs on Monday. Lake previously thanked Liz Cheney in a sarcastic letter for boosting campaign donations. Rep. Cheney lost her primary election against Trump-backed candidate Harriet Hageman in August. Lake, who had previously questioned the outcome of the 2020 election, on Sunday called Arizona "the laughingstock of elections" after results indicated she was losing the race. Representatives for Cheney and Lake did not immediately respond to Insider's requests for comment.

☆ Student-loan borrowers should not resume payments in January after federal courts have blocked the relief, advocates say
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-14 | by ( Ayelet Sheffey | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +4 min

Two federal courts have blocked Biden's student-loan forgiveness plan so far. Advocates say student-loan payments should not resume in January without relief. These legal challenges could delay the implementation of Biden's debt relief for months — potentially extending into next year, when student-loan payments are scheduled to resume. Alongside the August announcement of broad student-loan forgiveness, the department announced the "final" extension of the student-loan payment pause through December 31. Still, given that the department told borrowers the goal was to have their relief processed before payments resume, advocates are hoping borrowers won't be thrown into repayment too soon.

☆ Biden, Democrats celebrate retaining control of the Senate
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-13 | by ( Summer Concepcion | Summer Concepcion Is A Politics Reporter For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +4 min

President Joe Biden on Sunday touted the results of the midterm elections, with Democrats projected to maintain control of the U.S. Senate following Democratic Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s narrow defeat of Republican Adam Laxalt to win re-election in Nevada. Democrats defeated several candidates backed by former President Donald Trump to hold onto at least 50 seats come 2023. Democrats, meanwhile, joined Biden in celebrating their election wins, with some also pointing to Trump as the reason why they outperformed Republicans. Their candidates were talking about lack of democracy," Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer told reporters at a news conference in New York on Sunday. And they have produced a great result.”On “Meet the Press," Anita Dunn, senior adviser to the president, said: “It’s very clear what President Biden and the Democratic Party are for.

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