David A Graham/Atlantic:
George Floyd’s Murder Changed Americans’ Views on Policing
But will those shifts lead to lasting reforms?
The most significant changes have come among white Americans, with reactions diverging based on partisanship. Black Americans didn’t require any epiphanies on race in the United States: They live it, and polls have long shown that Black people, while hopeful about the future of the country, hold a more negative—or more realistic—view of race relations.
Daniel Payne/Politico:
White America: Awakened?
George Floyd's death powered a sustained and historically significant wave of activism among white Americans that will have wide-ranging political and policy implications, experts say
On highly politicized and polarizing issues, even a 1- or 2-percentage-point change can be notable, said Drew Linzer, director at Civiqs, the polling firm co-founded by the liberal blog DailyKos.
Zach Montellaro/Politico:
They tried to overturn the 2020 election. Now they want to run the next one.
Trump supporters who back his claim that the 2020 vote was rigged are running to become the top election officials in key states.
Republicans who sought to undercut or overturn President Joe Biden’s election win are launching campaigns to become their states’ top election officials next year, alarming local officeholders and opponents who are warning about pro-Trump, “ends justify the means” candidates taking big roles in running the vote.
The candidates include Rep. Jody Hice of Georgia, a leader of the congressional Republicans who voted against certifying the 2020 Electoral College results; Arizona state Rep. Mark Finchem, one of the top proponents of the conspiracy-tinged vote audit in Arizona’s largest county; Nevada’s Jim Marchant, who sued to have his 5-point congressional loss last year overturned; and Michigan’s Kristina Karamo, who made dozens of appearances in conservative media to claim fraud in the election.
Janet Hook/LA Times:
Trump-Biden rematch by proxy? A governor’s race is shaping up as a key post-Trump test
The Republican candidate is a wealthy businessman and political novice who questions the integrity of the electoral system.
The Democratic frontrunner is an old-school career politician with deep roots in the party establishment.
Sound familiar?
Just months after Joe Biden won the presidency on a wave of anti-Trump sentiment, a rematch by proxy is shaping up in Virginia, which is picking a new governor in 2021
Frameworks Institute:
What the American Public Thinks About Vaccines and How Framing Can Help. A Literature Review.
As the US is preparing to distribute vaccines across all 50 states to curtail a deadly pandemic, the issue of vaccination is, more than ever, top of mind for many, in the US and globally.
Existing literature suggests that members of the American public do not have a clear understanding of what vaccines are and how they work; neither do they accurately grasp what immunity is and how the immune system works.
The actual AAP paper referenced above is here.
So the Republicans filibuster the Jan 6 commission, and then then… ???
WaPo:
Justice Dept. releases part of internal memo on not charging Trump in Russia probe
The Justice Department has released part of a key internal document used in 2019 to justify not charging President Donald Trump with obstruction, prompting a federal judge who wants to disclose the entire document to offer more blistering criticism of former attorney general William P. Barr.
Two new court filings — one late Monday night and another made public Tuesday — offered details about how Barr ended a possible obstruction case against Trump, and how the department's handling of that politically explosive question has drawn the ire of U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson.
The ongoing fallout from the handling of special counsel Robert S. Mueller III’s findings is likely to fuel and frustrate Trump’s biggest critics, particularly Democrats who have long argued that Barr stage-managed an exoneration of Trump after Mueller submitted a 448-page report describing his investigation into whether the 2016 Trump campaign conspired with Russia to interfere in the election, and whether Trump tried to obstruct that investigation.
Jason Sattler/USA Today:
Senators swore to support America, not the filibuster. Kill it to save the January 6 commission.
If Republicans filibuster the January 6 commission, they’re joining Trump’s insurrection. Will Democrats choose democracy or a rule that undermines it?
Americans still have no real sense of the scope or the Trump White House role in an attack that should “burned into the American mind as firmly as 9/11, because it was that scale of a shock to the system,” as once-staunch Republican George F. Will said. We need a 9/11-type commission so, at the very least, the multi-year efforts of Trump and his allies to undermine our elections are written in the history of Jan. 6.
Politico:
Poll: Most voters oppose Newsom recall as Covid optimism rises
California's rebound from the Covid-19 crisis is complicating the drive to recall Gov. Gavin Newsom, with a strong majority of state voters now approving of his pandemic management and just 40 percent saying they would remove him, a new Public Policy Institute of California poll shows.
Californians have growing optimism about the state’s recovery as infection rates decline and a larger share of the state becomes fully vaccinated while a wider array of businesses open. A whopping 90 percent of likely voters said they overwhelmingly believe the worst of the crisis is behind the state, greater than the 74 percent who said that in March.
The Democratic governor now enjoys majority approval of his job performance — 54 percent of all likely voters — with a more robust 64 percent supporting his handling of the pandemic, the poll showed.
Politico:
POLITICO Playbook: ‘Cloud of nerves’ hovers over Trump land after grand jury report
Meanwhile, POLITICO legal affairs ace Josh Gerstein writes in about the significance of the Trump grand jury: “A source close to one witness in the probe says prosecutors have been methodically combing through evidence in informal interviews and were expected to move to take formal testimony soon.
“That Vance is using a grand jury to gather information about Trump and Trump Organization finances is nothing new. A legal fight over a grand jury subpoena for Trump’s tax returns broke out back in 2019 and went all the way to the Supreme Court. Vance prevailed, finally winning copies of Trump’s taxes this past February.
“But the new grand jury is expected to go beyond assembling records by hearing live testimony from various witnesses — which will give prosecutors an opportunity to present a narrative that could persuade jurors to return an indictment in the coming months.