Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Analyzing Biden's presidency, book bans, and more

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Tuesday February 14, 2023 · 4:30 AM PST

2023/02/14 · 04:30

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 07: U.S. President Joe Biden delivers his State of the Union address during a joint meeting of Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on February 07, 2023 in Washington, DC. The speech marks Biden's first address to the new Republican-controlled House. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with an interview with Ron Klain in The New Yorker, and an analysis of President Joe Biden’s first two years:

When you look across the major economic bills that Biden has championed, what is most important to you personally—the heaviest lift, or the one you were least expecting to succeed, or the thing that you think left the most durable impact on people’s lives?

There are a bunch of answers to that question. First of all, I think the American Rescue Plan was absolutely vital. It was vital because we went big, we went bold. There was a lot of skepticism of it. And we won.

[...]

Individually, a lot of other things were very significant. The legislative thing’s obviously huge, quite an agenda. Student-debt relief, also a really important thing. Marijuana reform, also important. It’s a package of things. For me, personally, I would say judicial nominations and confirmations, which have been something I’ve worked on my whole career, to put the first Black woman on the Supreme Court, to have unprecedented diversity and quality in our nominees at an incredible pace. Really, it’s been something I’ve been very proud of.

Georgia Logothetis

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Tuesday January 24, 2023 · 4:30 AM PST

2023/01/24 · 04:30

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 17: The U.S. Capitol is seen during sunrise on January 17, 2021 in Washington, DC. After last week's riots at the U.S. Capitol Building, the FBI has warned of additional threats in the nation's capital and in all 50 states. According to reports, as many as 25,000 National Guard soldiers will be guarding the city as preparations are made for the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th U.S. President. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with analysis on America’s gun violence by John Cassidy at The New Yorker:

Another day, another deadly shooting in the United States—this one in Des Moines, Iowa. On Monday afternoon, as the cable-news networks were busy reporting from Monterey Park, a majority-Asian city east of Los Angeles, where eleven people were shot and killed on Saturday night, they had to cut away for news of an attack at a charter school in downtown Des Moines, which left two students dead and another person seriously injured. Later in the day came news of a shooting in Half Moon Bay, a city in Northern California, which left seven dead. “Tragedy upon tragedy,” California Governor Gavin Newsom commented on Twitter.

[...]

An important lesson of American mass shootings, including the most recent, is that each one is an individual incident, involving different circumstances, different motivations, different victims. We should always be careful to recognize this specificity, as well as the unimaginable losses suffered by the victims and their families. But we must never lose sight of the fact that all these tragedies take place in a culture that has facilitated the sale for profit of deadly weapons, making it relatively easy for people with deadly intentions to acquire one. Unless and until this environment changes, the carnage will continue.

Georgia Logothetis

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Tuesday January 17, 2023 · 4:40 AM PST

2023/01/17 · 04:40

Newly elected Speaker of the US House of Representatives Kevin McCarthy gavels in the first session of the 118th Congress after he was elected on the 15th ballot at the US Capitol in Washington, DC, on January 7, 2023. - Kevin McCarthy's election to his dream job of speaker of the US House of Representatives was secured through a mix of bombproof ambition, a talent for cutting deals and a proven track record of getting Republicans what they need..He only won election as speaker after they forced him to endure 15 rounds of voting -- a torrid spectacle unseen in the US Capitol since 1859. (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY / AFP) (Photo by OLIVIER DOULIERY/AFP via Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with Kira Lerner’s piece in The Guardian outlining the continuing attack on voting rights in America:

Republican lawmakers across the country have already filed dozens of bills that would restrict voting, including proposals in Texas that would increase criminal penalties on people who violate voting laws and enact a new law enforcement unit to prosecute election crimes.

[...]

This year, Republican-controlled legislatures plan to continue pressing for laws that they say would help prevent widespread voter fraud, a problem that voting advocates say does not exist but nonetheless continues to be alleged by Donald Trump and his allies. Several pre-filed bills would further criminalize voters and election officials, a trend that has been occurring across the US in the past few years.

Georgia Logothetis for Daily Kos

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Tuesday January 10, 2023 · 4:40 AM PST

2023/01/10 · 04:40

WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 04: Rep.-elect Matt Gaetz (R-FL) talks to fellow members-elect during the second day of elections for Speaker of the House at the U.S. Capitol Building on January 04, 2023 in Washington, DC. The House of Representatives is meeting to vote for the next Speaker after House Republican Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) failed to earn more than 218 votes on three separate Tuesday ballots, the first time in 100 years that the Speaker was not elected on the first ballot. (Photo by Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with Tony Romm at The Washington Post, who runs down the Republican vote in the House to reverse the IRS reform package adopted by Democrats aimed at cracking down on tax cheats:

Fulfilling their 2022 election pledge to take aim at President Biden’s economic agenda, House Republicans late Monday voted to strip roughly $71 billion from the Internal Revenue Service, targeting money Congress approved last year to help the agency find and pursue tax cheats.

[...]

Democrats, meanwhile, repeatedly pilloried Republicans for engaging in political hyperbole — and faulted the GOP for pursuing legislation that would add to the federal deficit despite the new majority’s fervent commitments to improve the country’s fiscal health. The criticisms came in the wake of a report Monday from the Congressional Budget Office, which found that clawing back IRS funds would curtail its ability to collect unpaid taxes, adding about $114 billion to the deficit over the next decade.

Georgia Logothetis for Daily Kos

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Tuesday January 03, 2023 · 4:28 AM PST

2023/01/03 · 04:28

WASHINGTON, DC - NOVEMBER 29: U.S. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) speaks to the media following a meeting with U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House on November 29, 2022 in Washington, DC. Biden met with Senate and House leaders to discuss the legislative agenda for the remainder of the year. (Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with analysis of the new session in Congress. Olivia Beavers and Jordain Carney at Politico summarize the Republican turmoil:

As Kevin McCarthy begins the final descent of his turbulent bid for the speaker’s gavel, Republicans are bracing to see whether he lands the plane or crashes and burns. [...]

How long that fight will last is still unclear. McCarthy supporters say they expect him to keep Republicans on the House floor, instead of trying to adjourn for off-the-floor strategy sessions between ballots, as he hopes to grind down his opponents. And while a speakership vote has gone past the first ballot only once since the Civil War, Republicans are mentally preparing not just for multiple ballots, but also multiple days of voting. [...]

It’s an inauspicious start not just for McCarthy, but also for a conference that already suffered a disappointing midterm election — attaining only a slim majority despite optimistic projections. Even if McCarthy manages to lock down the votes, he’s had to make key promises that guarantee his leadership would be severely weakened.

Georgia Logothetis

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Tuesday December 20, 2022 · 4:41 AM PST

2022/12/20 · 04:41

WASHINGTON, DC - JULY 21: A tweet by former US President Donald is displayed on a screen during a hearing of the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the US Capitol on July 21, 2022 in Washington, DC. The bipartisan committee, which has been gathering evidence on the January 6 attack at the U.S. Capitol, is presenting its findings in a series of televised hearings. On January 6, 2021, supporters of former President Donald Trump attacked the U.S. Capitol Building during an attempt to disrupt a congressional vote to confirm the electoral college win for President Joe Biden. (Photo by Al Drago-Pool/Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with Norman Eisen, E. Danya Perry and Fred Wertheimer’s analysis at The New York Times:

In voting on Monday to issue a sweeping final report, the Jan. 6 committee has honored its duty and the Constitution. When the full report is released this week, there will be much to review and process for our country, our government and American history. But given the facts that have been revealed, these hearings had to end with criminal referrals against Donald Trump and his minions.

The House committee articulated a powerful legal case encompassing the many schemes of Mr. Trump, John Eastman and others, including the audacious promotion of false electoral slates. The committee also recommended prosecution of Mr. Trump on charges of inciting insurrection and giving aid or comfort to insurrectionists — a charge unseen since the Civil War. The referrals make clear to prosecutors and to Americans just how dangerous the attempted coup was, and how vulnerable our system was (and is) to such assaults.

Georgia Logothetis for Daily Kos

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Tuesday December 13, 2022 · 4:24 AM PST

2022/12/13 · 04:24

We begin todays roundup with analysis from Adam Rawnsley and Asawin Suesaeng at Rolling Stone on the January 6th Committee’s preparations for a “Republican revenge campaign”:

MEMBERS AND STAFF of the Jan. 6 committee are actively preparing for a multi-pronged Republican revenge campaign when the GOP takes the House next month, anticipating an all-out effort to discredit the panel’s work and punish its workers, according to current and former staff, as well as other sources briefed on the situation.

As the committee readies its final report, staff are also preparing for their investigation to be investigated, including with subpoenas seeking access to a year-and-a-half of their private communications, emails, and other documents, the sources said.

Georgia Logothetis

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Tuesday December 06, 2022 · 4:39 AM PST

2022/12/06 · 04:39

ATHENS, GEORGIA - DECEMBER 04: Georgia Democratic Senate candidate U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) speaks during a Dawgs for Warnock rally at the University of Georgia December 4, 2022 in Athens, Georgia. Sen. Warnock continues to campaign throughout Georgia for the runoff election on December 6 against his Republican challenger Herschel Walker. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with analysis of the runoff election in Georgia, with analysis by Sam Brodey at The Daily Beast:

If holding the Senate in 2022 was a hard task for Democrats, doing it in 2024 would be herculean. The map confronting Democrats in the upcoming cycle is one of the most outright brutal in recent memory: they’ll be forced to defend seats in a trio of states that Donald Trump easily won in 2020 and defend five more in the country’s marquee battleground states.

A Warnock victory on Tuesday would provide critical insurance for Democrats, boosting whatever slim chances they have of holding the chamber in two years or, at the very least, making a preemptive dent in a GOP majority.

Georgia Logothetis

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Tuesday November 22, 2022 · 4:34 AM PST

2022/11/22 · 04:34

PALM BEACH, FLORIDA - NOVEMBER 15: Former U.S. President Donald Trump arrives on stage to speak during an event at his Mar-a-Lago home on November 15, 2022 in Palm Beach, Florida. Trump announced that he was seeking another term in office and officially launched his 2024 presidential campaign. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with John Cassidy’s analysis at The New Yorker on the possible 2024 GOP presidential field:

[S]ince Trump still has many, many supporters in the grass roots of the G.O.P., the only way for non-maga Republicans to consign him to history is for them to unite against him, perhaps subordinating their individual interests and ambitions. As the event in Las Vegas demonstrated, that’s a tricky proposition—especially with Trump already running.

In theory, the 2024 primaries could serve as a moment when the Party would line up behind someone other than Trump. But the 2016 primary had the opposite effect: a scrambled field of more than a dozen candidates helped Trump to steamroller everyone else. Will that happen again? Quite possibly. One of the keys to Trump’s victory in 2016 was that many states used a winner-takes-all system, or something roughly equivalent, which enabled Trump to rack up delegates in the early states with a plurality of the vote. In South Carolina, he received all fifty delegates despite getting just 32.5 per cent of the vote. Marco Rubio, who attracted 22.5 per cent, got no delegates.

Georgia Logothetis

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Tuesday November 15, 2022 · 4:28 AM PST

2022/11/15 · 04:28

Supporters of former US President Donald Trump gather for a "Save America" rally in Warren, Michigan, October 1, 2022. (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY / AFP) (Photo by JEFF KOWALSKY/AFP via Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with Michael Bender at The New York Times who provides an overview of Donald Trump’s hold on the Republican Party:

Although his dominance of Republican politics has led to three disappointing elections in a row for his party, a solid and devoted core of conservative voters appears ready to follow him wherever he leads again — even if into defeat.

It’s a painful reality for the cohort of Republicans hoping to move on from Mr. Trump. First they have to find answers to two inevitable questions: How many Trump die-hards are there, and can they be persuaded?

Georgia Logothetis

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Tuesday November 08, 2022 · 4:33 AM PST

2022/11/08 · 04:33

MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - NOVEMBER 06: Voters arrive to cast their absentee ballots at the Madison Central Public Library on the last day of early voting on November 06, 2022 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. A record number of votes for a midterm election are expected to be cast across the United States. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with analysis from Paul Krugman at The New York Times on what a MAGA win would mean for policy in America:

We can talk about the conventional stakes of these elections — their implications for economic policy, major social programs, environmental policy, civil liberties and reproductive rights. And it’s not wrong to have these discussions: Life will go on whatever happens on the political scene, and government policies will continue to have a big impact on people’s lives.

But I, at least, always feel at least a bit guilty when writing about inflation or the fate of Medicare. Yes, these are my specialties. Focusing on them, however, feels a bit like denial, or at least evasion, when the fundamental stakes right now are so existential. [...]

Indeed, these days it’s almost conventional wisdom that the G.O.P. will, if it can, turn America into something like Viktor Orban’s Hungary: a democracy on paper, but an ethnonationalist, authoritarian one-party state in practice. After all, U.S. conservatives have made no secret about viewing Hungary as a role model; they have feted Orban and featured him at their conferences.

Georgia Logothetis

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Tuesday November 01, 2022 · 3:53 AM PDT

2022/11/01 · 03:53

US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi attends a press conference introducing the Vanessa Guillen Military Justice Improvement and Increasing Prevention Act, which would move the decision to prosecute serious crimes in the military from the chain of command and named after Vanessa Guillen, a 20-year-old soldier who disappeared after being sexually harassed and was later found murdered, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, June 23, 2021. (Photo by SAUL LOEB / AFP) (Photo by SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)

We begin today’s roundup with historian and professor Dr. Matthew Dallek who documents the history of right-wing violence in America and its shift from fringe to mainstream Republican acceptance:

The Reagan-era “government is the problem” language and ideology has been transformed into a philosophy that casts the government as not just a problem but as evil, a threat to the values MAGA supporters hold dear. Under Mr. Trump’s leadership, groups on the right have felt increasingly comfortable incubating, encouraging and carrying out violence.

The consistency of the rhetoric (“enemy of the people”; “Our house is on fire”; “You’re not going to have a country anymore”; “the greatest theft in the history of America”; “Where’s Nancy?”) has ingrained dehumanization of Republican opponents in parts of the political culture; conservatives have often painted their critics as enemies who must be annihilated before they destroy you. As the Department of Homeland Security has reported, domestic violent extremism — such as the white supremacist Charlottesville riots and the Jan. 6 insurrection — is one of the most pressing internal threats facing the United States.

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Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Analyzing Biden's presidency, book bans, and more

Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: America's gun violence and the urgent need for reform

Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: Attacking voting rights, tax cuts for the rich, and other GOP priorities

Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: House Republicans reveal their anti-government agenda

Abbreviated pundit roundup: New session of Congress begins with Republican chaos

Abbreviated pundit roundup: Jan. 6th committee lays out the case against Donald Trump

Abbreviated pundit roundup: Jan. 6th Committee prepares for GOP House 'revenge'

Abbreviated pundit roundup: Georgia Senate runoff

Abbreviated pundit roundup: The potential GOP presidential field, election reform, and more

Abbreviated pundit roundup: GOP in disarray

Abbreviated pundit roundup: Election Day Edition

Abbreviated pundit roundup: Right-wing political violence, campaign lies, and more