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applegrove

The GOP's favorite spin about Biden's plans just took a big hit

(Greg Sargeant/Washington Post) With President Biden and Democrats working to pass $4 trillion in new investments in our future, Republicans are making a big bet: All that spending will lead to sustained inflation, which they can use to claim Democrats have lost control of the economy. But this spin is about to take a big hit. Economist Mark Zandi is set to release a new report arguing that the country needs passage of the full package of Democratic proposals, to ensure that the recovery reaches its full potential.

Importantly, Zandi’s report concludes that concerns about inflation are “likely misplaced” and “overdone.” In addition to giving the proposals a political lift, this will help us make sense of the deeper ideological argument of the moment — and demonstrate just how much is really at stake in getting this right.

brooklynite

Biden quickly moves to avoid the down ballot carnage that plagued Obama

(Politico) Biden’s return to the campaign trail for a rally Friday in Northern Virginia comes as Democrats in the state furiously try to yoke McAuliffe’s Republican opponent, the hedge-fund multimillionaire Glenn Youngkin, to former President Donald Trump. But there are far bigger stakes for the White House. Biden, a self-described party guy, is keen on avoiding the down-ballot carnage that took place under presidents Trump and Barack Obama before him. And so, as Biden’s aides and allies put it, he’s tending to the store early.

“He has always been someone who’s been out there campaigning for Democrats up and down the ticket his entire career. It’s just part of his ethos,” said Jen O'Malley Dillon, the White House deputy chief of staff and manager on Biden’s 2020 campaign. “So, he’s tasked us with making sure that we’re partners in all of that effort and making sure people have what they need.”

Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin

Democrats rally around Pelosi as GOP threatens payback for snub in Jan. 6 probe

(Washington Post) Pelosi’s decision this week to sideline Reps. Jim Banks (Ind.) and Jim Jordan (Ohio) — both ardent defenders of former president Donald Trump — prompted House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (Calif.) to lash out at Pelosi and withdraw all five of his designees from the investigative committee.

But Pelosi’s move won strong backing from House Democrats, many of whom remain disturbed and angry about the violent incursion of Trump supporters into the Capitol. The upheaval of congressional norms, several said Thursday, was outweighed by the risk of giving Republicans an official platform to distort, minimize and deflect a focused inquiry into the causes of the riot.

“This was an assault on the fabric of, the hallmark of our democracy, which is the transfer of power, and the fact that they aren’t treating it seriously really, really is upsetting to me and a lot of members,” said Rep. Pete Aguilar (Calif.), one of the Democrats serving on the panel. “We want people who are going to have allegiance to the oath of office that they took, not an allegiance to one person. And they’ve clearly pledged their allegiance to the former president.”

Nevilledog

Steny Hoyer went off on House Republicans today regarding Jan 6th

(Ron Filipkowski) Steny Hoyer went off on House Republicans today. After pointing out that he saw some of them “looking pretty scared” while hiding on Jan 6, he says, “What was this insurrection about?... It was treason, based on a lie!”

JHB

Friday TOONs

SouthernCal_Dem

GOP congressman gets schooled by CNN reporter who points out that Dems have a 100% vaccination rate

(Mediaite) Rep. Ronny Jackson (R-TX) chided the media for pestering congressional Republicans about whether they had been vaccinated for Covid-19 but not the Democrats, and was immediately informed by CNN’s Annie Grayer that 100% of his Democratic colleagues had already gotten the shot.

Thursday morning, at a press conference held by the GOP Doctor’s Caucus, Grayer asked the lawmakers if they believed that Republicans needed to be more vocal about getting vaccinated in order to encourage their constituents to get vaccinated too.

“You as a press have a responsibility to ask questions of the Democrats as well,” replied Jackson. “How many Democrats are willing to say whether or not they’ve been vaccinated?”

“One hundred percent of Democrats have said they’re vaccinated,” said Grayer.

babylonsister

'It's time to start blaming the unvaccinated': AL Gov. Ivey on rise in COVID-19 cases

(WIAT) On Thursday, Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey addressed concerns about the recent rise in COVID-19 cases in the state and its low vaccination rate.

“Let’s be crystal clear about this issue. And media, I want you to start reporting the facts. The new cases of COVID are because of unvaccinated folks. Almost 100% of the new hospitalizations are with unvaccinated folks. And the deaths are certainly occurring with the unvaccinated folks. These folks are choosing a horrible lifestyle of self-inflicted pain,” Gov. Ivey said during an event for Landing in Birmingham Thursday. "Folks are supposed to have common sense. But it’s time to start blaming the unvaccinated folks, not the vaccinated folks. It’s the unvaccinated folks that are letting us down,” she said.

UpInArms

Republican voter warns of the dangers of embracing Trumpism: 'Greatest danger to this country'

(Yahoo) On Don Lemon Tonight Thursday, Lemon aired a segment, in which, CNN assembled a group of people of varying political ideologies to discuss President Biden’s Wednesday town hall, and one participant stood out from the rest. Phil Heimlich, a Republican who voted for Biden, aired plenty of grievances about former President Donald Trump, and the disturbing behavior he’s seen from those representing his party.

“When people in my party, the Republican Party, accommodate or refuse to criticize those who attacked the Capitol on January 6,” Heimlich said, “you can't turn around and then talk about being tough on crime. I think it's shameful that so many people in my party are excusing what happened on January 6.”

Heimlich also railed against Republicans who still won’t admit that Trump lost the election, and the multitude of voter suppression bills that have been introduced by Republican state legislatures around the country. “There are too many Republicans today that don’t have the guts to speak out against the big lie,” Heimlich said. “It’s cowardice.”

Arkansas Granny

The FBI Admits That Its Investigation Into Brett Kavanaugh Was A Scam

(PoliticusUSA) According to a statement from the office of Sen. Whitehouse, “Nearly two years later and after repeated follow-up requests, the FBI finally responded to Whitehouse and Coons’s questions. The June 30, 2021 letter from the FBI Office of Congressional Affairs revealed new information on the Kavanaugh investigation: that Justice Kavanaugh’s nomination “was the first time that the FBI set-up a tip line for a nominee undergoing Senate confirmation,” and that tip line received “over 4,500 tips, including phone calls and electronic submissions.” The FBI apparently pursued none of these tips. Instead, by the FBI’s own account, it merely “provided all relevant tips” to Trump’s Office of White House Counsel, the very office that had constrained and directed the limited investigation.”

The FBI didn’t investigate any of the tips about Trump’s Supreme Court nominee and sexual assault. Instead, they turned them over to the White House, where the tips were buried and never investigated.

Soph0571

Catholic priest who wants to prevent Biden from receiving communion resigns in sex scandal

(BoingBoing) Last month, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved a measure that could prohibit President Biden, a devout Catholic, from receiving communion. Conservative bishops do not wish Biden to receive communion because of his support for abortion rights.

Monsignor Jeffrey Burrill, general secretary of the USCCB, was a strong supporter of the measure, but he has resigned due to allegations of "serial sexual misconduct," as reported in The Pillar, a Catholic publication. Burrill was allegedly using Grindr for sex hookups, which goes against Catholic priests' vow of celibacy.