Month: October 2023
Democray Is In Trouble
“If you want to know what it looks like when democracy is in trouble, this is what it looks like. It should set off alarm bells that something is not right.”
— Daniel Ziblatt, professor of government at Harvard University, quoted by the Washington Post.
Georgia GOP on the Hook for Trump’s Legal Bills
+$1 million
Atlanta Journal Constitution: “In all, the Georgia GOP has spent more than $1 million on legal fees since the beginning of last year, most of it for the Trump election interference case.”
McCarthy’s Legacy: A Scar on the Speakership
“In a grievance-filled news conference after he announced his decision not to try to get his job back, McCarthy said, with dark humor: ‘I made history, didn’t I?’ Indeed, he has left a mark — a scar on the institution and the office — that will be hard to erase.”
— Karen Tumulty
Bidens’ Dog Has Bitten More Than Reported
<11
“President Joe Biden and first lady Dr. Jill Biden’s 2-year-old German shepherd, Commander, has been involved in more biting incidents than previously reported at the White House,“ CNN reports. “While the US Secret Service has acknowledged 11 reported biting incidents involving its personnel, sources who spoke to CNN said the real number is higher and includes executive residence staff and other White House workers.”
Trump’s Mug Shot Raises Huge Cash Infusion
$45.5 million
“Donald Trump’s campaign announced on Wednesday that it had raised $45.5 million from July through September, an enormous sum that tripled what his closest rival, Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida, had revealed raising earlier in the day,” the New York Times reports.
Haley Moves to Second Place in New Hampshire, S.C.
19%
A new USA Today/Suffolk poll in New Hampshire shows Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 49%, followed by Nikki Haley at 19%, Ron DeSantis at 10%, Chris Christie at 6%, Vivek Ramaswamy at 4% and Tim Scott at 4%. A new Winthrop poll in South Carolina finds Donald Trump leading the GOP presidential race with 51%, followed by Nikki Haley at 17%, Ron DeSantis at 12%, Tim Scott at 6%, Vivek Ramaswamy at 5%, Chris Christie at 2% and Mike Pence at 2%.
Two-Thirds Support Third Political Party
63%
Gallup: “Sixty-three percent of U.S. adults currently agree with the statement that the Republican and Democratic parties do ‘such a poor job’ of representing the American people that ‘a third major party is needed.’ … This represents a seven-percentage-point increase from a year ago and is the highest since Gallup first asked the question in 2003.”
From Nothing Speaker to Speaker Nothing
“I didn’t think Kevin McCarthy was going to be ousted from his position of speaker of the House. I believed you couldn’t beat something with nothing. … Well, right now, America has Speaker Nothing. Matt Gaetz cobbled together enough Republican votes with Democratic votes to get rid of McCarthy, but at least for now, no one knows who, if anyone, could garner enough votes to become the new speaker.”
— Jim Geraghty
Vacuous Vote to Vacate Specious Speaker
Republican lawmakers are so performative, they’re artsy,
But as for governing, they’re not much of a party.
Though they’re ignoble and sophomoric,
They occasionally do the historic —
Like the firing of a House Speaker — lying Kevin McCarthy.
