Republicans are mostly enthusiastic about a Scotus fight bc it changes the topic from Trump & covid + they think angry Dems will make ACB a sympathetic figure
w @maggieNYT on a plan that’s based as much in hope as in strategy >
“Either the election can be about Trump or about Covid or about the Supreme Court. And I think, of those three, if it’s about the Supreme Court, that traditionally has helped Republicans more.”
What is striking for a president who’s shown no hesitation in using the levers of power for political purposes, he has shown scant interest in even considering Lagoa to help in FL
h/t @RonBrownstein for pulling the @PRRIpoll state by state numbers on abortion rights -- ME, CO, AZ (plus MI, where Rs still hoping to sag a Senate seat) have over 55% support for legal abortion
Part of Lagoa's challenge: Social conservatives sought to derail her by reminding Trump that she was first put on the bench by......yup, JEB.
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Vance didn’t offer a word of reassurance, skipped over Ukraine almost entirely and instead used his remarks to tell Europe that, actually, their biggest challenge was from within and they should heal thyselves by being more accepting of far-right parties.
Never mind the worst land war here since World War II, Vance seemed to say, and never mind the fascists who began last century’s war. Loosen up and drop the political firewall meant to stymie the rise of latter-day Nazis, he said.
It would have been akin to German Chancellor Olaf Scholz flying to North Carolina last year, as the floodwaters raged, and telling Americans that their real problem was portion size.
If there was any heartening news for Europe, it was that they were impressed by how engaged Secretary of State Marco Rubio was and that he was willing to sign a G7 communique. The statement from the foreign ministers gathered here pledged their “unwavering support for Ukraine in defending its freedom, sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.”
Meeting away from the security forum in the ornate Holnstein Palace, the residence of Munich’s Catholic archbishop and once the home of Cardinal Ratzinger — later Pope Benedict XVI — Rubio assured the nervous diplomats that Trump’s phone call with Putin was so long mostly because of the time needed to translate the conversation, an official present at the palace told me. Rubio urged them not to dwell on Ukraine joining NATO, reminding his European colleagues that there were countries here that were also uneasy about accession.
The question, from American officials and those abroad, is how long Rubio can last and what clout he’ll carry in an administration in which Trump is the decider, and an impulsive one at that.
First, it was the height of irresponsibility for Biden to insist on running for reelection in his 82nd year. It was also an abdication of leadership by his advisers and elected Democrats to never even question his determination to seek a second term until he forced their hand with a catastrophic debate performance.
You know what ad would have replaced the trans surgery spot, had Biden not quit? An endless loop of his unintelligible answers at that debate.
Biden revived Harris’s career after her flop of a primary bid, kept her on the ticket this year despite her low approval ratings and then crowned her within minutes of dropping out of the race in July. With the Democrats’ next-generation talent on deck, Harris would never have been a competitive candidate for her party’s nomination had Biden not made her vice president in the first place.
Democrats are a healthier, better organized, more hierarchical and even ruthless party. Unified against Trump more than they are dedicated to any ideological project, they’ve adopted what’s effectively an Al Davis platform: Just win, baby.
President Biden is finally going to give in? Get in line behind Harris — now.
The vice president is discarding her now-inconvenient left-wing proposals from her 2020 primary bid and airing tough-on-the-border ads? Nod.
She’s inviting a cast of Obama-era Democratic consultants onto the campaign she inherited from Biden? Salute.
After so many years in which our British cousins have adopted American political tactics, Democrats finally took a page from Westminster. When prime ministers struggle or become impediments to the party’s success, their colleagues abandon them or pressure them until they step down. It’s not personal, it’s business.
NEW: On the vindication of VP’s comfort food pick, the first signs that she’s running in a general election + the shades-of-2008 moment last night that triggered Repubs
Oh, and one victory lap: I told Walz in Dec either he or Beshear would be Kamala’s running mate (he didn’t push back!)
The “only in America” line that triggered the “U-S-A” chant has some Dems wanting more
Including Wes Moore
He thinks Harris should drape her nominating convention later this month, literally and metaphorically, with the stars and stripes.
“This needs to be framed as a celebration of America,” Moore said of the Chicago conclave, urging Harris and Walz “to be unapologetic in speaking about their love of country.
Here’s that memorable Obama to- camera opening spot of the 2008 general I mentioned
This has, literally folks, been the Biden plan for a year.
They “believe that Trump or any other Republican nominee will be reluctant to work with the Commission on Presidential Debates, lessening the chances, and risk, of a head-to-head debate.”
If ya don’t think somebody who’s skipping the super bowl pre game interview two years in a row - a massive free media opportunity - is looking to avoid any unforced errors you should pay closer attention