Senate Republicans Rally around Trump as Impeachment Trial Approaches
‘It is a farce, it is unconstitutional. But more than anything it’s unwise, and going to divide the country,’ Senator Rand Paul said.
Month: February 2021
Law professor who made Barron Trump joke during Ukraine impeachment hearing gets Biden DOJ gig
A former Stanford law professor who poked fun at Barron Trump's name during a 2019 House impeachment hearing now has a job with President Biden's Department of Justice.
Morning Digest: Georgia Republicans gird themselves for brutal 2022 primary battles
The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Carolyn Fiddler, and Matt Booker, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.
Leading Off
● GA-Sen, GA-Gov: The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Greg Bluestein takes a look at the developing Republican primary contests for U.S. Senate and for governor, which already are shaping up to be ugly affairs. Before we get to the potential candidate fields, though, we'll set the scene with this quip from conservative commentator Martha Zoller: "The Republican Party in Georgia right now is like a Jenga game where someone has pulled out the wrong block," said the 2012 House candidate, explaining, "It's unstable and a mess."
Team Red is hoping to defeat Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, who will be up for a full six-year term next year, but there's no obvious frontrunner to take him on right now. Bluestein writes that former Sen. David Perdue, who lost to now-Sen. Jon Ossoff last month as Warnock was also unseating appointed incumbent Kelly Loeffler, has "essentially frozen" the nomination contest as he deliberates whether to launch a comeback bid.
Bluestein relays that Perdue is "viewed as unlikely to run," but that his advisers haven't dismissed the idea. Indeed, just after the story went live, one of those Perdue advisers confidently tweeted, "He'd clear the field or crush anyone who was dumb enough to run against him in a primary."
Campaign ActionThe AJC adds that Loeffler, who lost to Warnock 51-49, is also considering another try. That doesn't sit right with former Rep. Doug Collins, who lost the 2020 all-party primary to Loeffler and is considering another Senate bid, too. "Kelly can either be the person whose boredom costs Republicans the Senate twice or become a 'Jeopardy' answer that no one will remember the question to," said Collins' former spokesperson. Collins has also expressed interest in challenging Gov. Brian Kemp for renomination, but unnamed sources recently said he was leaning towards the Senate race.
Loeffler herself hasn't said if she's interested in trying to reclaim her former seat, but her allies are very interested in relitigating last year's intra-party fight. "Doug getting in the race muddied all that up," argued party operative and Loeffler ally Eric Tanenblatt. "It created a primary in a general election and caused a split in the party."
Bluestein also reports that a few other Republicans are considering entering the Senate race: state Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan, and former Ambassador to Luxembourg Randy Evans. None of this trio appears to have publicly expressed interest in this contest yet.
We'll turn now to the gubernatorial race. Both parties have long anticipated a rematch between 2018 Democratic nominee Stacey Abrams, who has not announced her plans but is universally expected to run again, and Kemp, but the governor has more immediate worries.
Donald Trump torched his old ally last year for not seeking to overturn Joe Biden's victory in Georgia's presidential contest, and Bluestein writes that Kemp's camp is preparing for a tough renomination fight. The AJC adds that one of the possible opponents that Kemp's side is keeping an eye on is Burt Jones, a wealthy state senator and co-captain of the University of Georgia's football team when they won the 2003 Sugar Bowl.
Jones does not appear to have talked publicly about taking on Kemp, and he seems far angrier at the state's number-two. Last month, the aforementioned Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan stripped Jones and two other state senators of their committee chairmanships as punishment for trying to undermine the presidential results. Jones said shortly afterwards that Duncan's actions were "a cowardly way and kind of petty politics," and added, "What comes around goes around in this building."
Finally, Bluestein writes that state GOP leaders are "increasingly concerned" that the notorious Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene could run for statewide office, which echoes a fear that national GOP operatives expressed to the New York Times last month. Greene herself has not said anything yet about a run for Senate, governor, or a different office, though that silence doesn't seem to be calming Republicans who fear she'd bring the Jenga tower crashing down on the party's ticket.
Senate
● MO-Sen: In a Thursday appearance on the far-right Newsmax TV, former Gov. Eric Greitens did not rule out a GOP primary bid against Sen. Roy Blunt.
When the disgraced ex-governor was directly asked if he had "any interest in running for Senate someday" (the relevant portion begins at the 3:08 mark), Greitens did not answer the question, but he did take the time to trash his would-be opponent. Greitens castigated Blunt for "criticizing President Trump, criticizing his administration, embracing Joe Biden," and argued that the incumbent didn't reflect Missouri Republicans.
That same day, former Democratic state Sen. Scott Sifton filed paperwork with the FEC for a potential campaign for this seat, though he did not say anything publicly about his plans. Two years ago, Sifton told the media that he was preparing for a bid for governor, but he ultimately deferred to the eventual nominee, state Auditor Nicole Galloway.
● OH-Sen: Team Red may be getting its first declared Senate candidate before long, as Jane Timken announced Friday that she was stepping down as chair of the state Republican Party and would reveal her future plans "in the coming weeks." Timken was elected to another term leading the party weeks before Sen. Rob Portman surprised everyone by announcing his retirement, and she soon expressed interest in running to succeed him.
● PA-Sen, PA-Gov: What does Donald Trump's legal team for his second impeachment trial have to do with next year's races for Senate or governor of Pennsylvania? Everything―if you ask Montgomery County Commissioner Joe Gale, a Republican who seems to think one hiring decision is just about hurting him.
Gale told the Philadelphia Inquirer that Bruce Castor, a former Montgomery County commissioner who'd previously served as district attorney, had been brought on to defend Trump at the behest of "the Pennsylvania GOP swamp." Gale argued, "Political insiders are in panic-mode that I will run for Governor or U.S. Senate in 2022," and accused party leaders of "resurrecting" Castor to "offset my growing popularity." Castor himself was mentioned as a potential candidate for either statewide office after he signed on to help Trump, but he doesn't appear to have said anything about the idea yet.
Governors
● FL-Gov: Democratic state Sen. Annette Taddeo recently told Politico that she was considering a bid against Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Taddeo, who is originally from Colombia, argued the party needed candidates who could appeal to Hispanic voters who swung hard towards Trump last year.
Taddeo herself was on the statewide ballot in 2014 as Democratic nominee Charlie Crist's running mate, but their ticket lost to Republican Gov. Rick Scott 48-47 during that year's GOP wave. Taddeo went on to lose a close primary for the 26th Congressional District, but she flipped a GOP-held state Senate seat in a closely-watched 2017 special election in the Miami area and was re-elected the following year.
A number of other Democrats are eyeing this race including now-Rep. Crist, who'd been elected to a single term as governor in 2006 when he was still a Republican. Crist also told Politico, "I am seriously considering at this point running for governor in 2022," a statement that came days after the congressman said he was merely "opening my brain to the idea a little bit more."
● NY-Gov: Republican Rep. Tom Reed trashed Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday, but the congressman refused to answer if he was considering a bid against the incumbent. New York hasn't elected a Republican to statewide office since George Pataki won his final term as governor in 2002, and Reed, who served as an honorary state chair of Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, would have a very difficult time breaking that streak.
House
● GA-07: 2020 Republican nominee Rich McCormick recently sent out a fundraising email saying that he was considering a rematch against freshman Democratic Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux next year. McCormick told his would-be donors that he expected GOP mapmakers to create "a Republican-favored district," adding, "We are following the process closely and should be in a good position to take back the seat and help take back the Congressional House Majority in 2022."
● NY-22: On Friday, Judge Scott DelConte ordered county and state election authorities to certify Republican Claudia Tenney, who leads Democrat Anthony Brindisi by 109 votes, as the winner in the November contest. The legal battle is not over, though, as Brindisi's team said earlier in the day that they would be appealing DelConte's decision to reject several hundred ballots that they're seeking to have tabulated.
Roberts won’t preside over impeachment trial, but Leahy set to follow his 2020 script
Sen. Patrick Leahy is expected to adhere largely to the script of Chief Justice John Roberts when he presides over the second impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump this week.
Trump impeachment conviction? ‘Zero chance,’ Republicans say, as Dems move forward with case
The hearings for the second impeachment trial of former President Trump start on Tuesday and Republicans are making it clear, even before they're gaveled in, that they believe the result is predetermined. 
Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: More reckoning, more accountability
Lawsuits Take the Lead in Fight Against Disinformation
In just a few weeks, lawsuits and legal threats from a pair of obscure election technology companies have achieved what years of advertising boycotts, public pressure campaigns and liberal outrage could not: curbing the flow of misinformation in right-wing media.
Fox Business canceled its highest rated show, “Lou Dobbs Tonight,” on Friday after its host was sued as part of a $2.7 billion defamation lawsuit. On Tuesday, the pro-Trump cable channel Newsmax cut off a guest’s rant about rigged voting machines. Fox News, which seldom bows to critics, has run fact-checking segments to debunk its own anchors’ false claims about electoral fraud.
This is not the typical playbook for right-wing media, which prides itself on pugilism and delights in ignoring the liberals who have long complained about its content. But conservative outlets have rarely faced this level of direct assault on their economic lifeblood
This is especially sweet during impeachment week. But we are not done with accountability.
Here’s the reference in the picture caption.
Parler 'offered Donald Trump a 40 per cent stake in the company while he was president if he agreed to post content on the app four hours before uploading the same messages to Twitter and Facebook'
Biden says Trump should not receive intelligence briefings
Biden stopped short of announcing that he had officially decided to prevent his predecessor from receiving the briefings, which are traditionally given before former presidents travel abroad, particularly in an official capacity. But Biden has the unilateral authority to deny intelligence access to anyone he chooses, and his remarks amounted to a statement that Trump — who for four years controlled the entire U.S. security apparatus — was himself a security risk.
Denying the briefings to a former president would be an unprecedented action, and Biden’s remarks, made during an appearance on “CBS Evening News” with Norah O’Donnell, emphasized the president’s concern, and that of other officials, that Trump poses a risk to national security because of what he might disclose.
Zach Carter/HuffPost:
Biden Beats Back The Austerians At The Gates
The Age of Larry Summers is over.Back in 2009, many if not most mainstream economists believed that excessive government budget deficits were a bigger threat to society than weak growth or prolonged unemployment. Going too big wouldn’t just risk “overheating” ― it raised the prospect of a second financial crisis that could bring down the dollar and even American political hegemony.
Today, by contrast, economists increasingly accept the idea that deficits are not inherently destabilizing, but a normal part of economic management. The price of going too big isn’t a crash, but a little unwanted inflation ― something that can be reined in through Federal Reserve policymaking or some tax increases from Congress. These may be unpleasant when they come, but it will be much worse for people to lose jobs, incomes and homes in the meantime. When the costs of going too small are shattered families and broken faith in a shared national project, the choice is not difficult.
As conservative New York Times columnist David Brooks put it on Friday, “When your great nation is facing decline because of rising inequality, insecurity, distrust and alienation, you don’t just sit there. You try something big.”
A reporter shares her minute-by-minute recollection of being trapped in the Senate on Jan. 6
CBS News’ Grace Segers was in the Senate press gallery when rioters overran the building and was shuffled around with senators as the chaos unfolded.
After about half an hour, the senators were suddenly evacuated. They streamed to the open doors on one side of the room like fish caught in a current. Sen. Cory Booker, who was on the tail end of this exodus, looked up at the reporters in the Senate gallery and asked how we were doing. He said it casually, with a smile on his face.
“We’re doing OK,” I said, my voice likely tinged with hysteria.
It seemed at first like the senators would be evacuated but the reporters would remain trapped in the chamber.
“What about us?” a Senate gallery staffer shouted down to the police officers, notifying them that the reporters and staffers needed to evacuate, too. Without that staffer’s quick thinking, we probably would have been trapped in the chamber when the rioters entered it just moments later.
Trigger warning on this one...
Teen survivor of Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting in Newtown, speaking publicly for the first time, directs her outrage at deniers
The fact that eight years have passed without meaningful gun violence legislation, Ashley added, “is so unacceptable.”
“[President Biden] understands what losing a child is like, and he understands the amount of trauma and pain that comes behind losing a child,” Ashley said. “I think for him to be able to connect to that is so powerful because he can make a difference. And I think a big thing I would tell him is not give up on us, you know, not give up on the idea of, like, you can’t change because like, if he pushes hard enough and if we continue to fight long enough and hard enough, things will change.”
The QAnon Rep Isn’t Owning the Libs. She’s Leading the GOP’s Space-Laser Suicide March.
Marjorie Taylor Greene is Sarah Palin, but not occasionally charismatic. Steve Bannon, but not occasionally smart. Donald Trump, but not occasionally funny.
The vote was mostly along party lines, with just 11 of 208 Republicans joining every Democrat to relieve freshman Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of her committee assignments. One hundred and ninety seven Republicans went on the record supporting one of the most repulsive people to serve in congress in my lifetime (and that includes prolific child molester Dennis Hastert and prolific sexual abuse ignorer Jim Jordan).
It’s a shame, too, because while Greene’s theatrics may be raising her own profile by putting her sassy masks on the news a lot, they’re doing so at the expense of her own constituents. What do they get when their representative has no power? Nothing. Not even liberal tears. The libs have not been owned. The libs are in charge. Greene isn’t living rent-free in Democrats’ heads. Greene’s theatrics are paying their rent. And yet, Republicans stood behind Greene. This is the hill they’re going to be space-lasered to death on. This is their platform: We stand with the crazy assholes.
AOC is an asset for Democrats, Greene is an albatross for the GOP
On the other side of the aisle, Ocasio-Cortez’s positive contributions stand in stark contrast to Greene’s negative comments. The progressive Democrat has been working within the system to make major policy changes.
Ocasio-Cortez’s advocacy for stronger environmental protection and comprehensive health care has made enemies among Democratic congressional leaders, but AOC has made the Congress better and the Democratic Party stronger.
Every caucus needs a conscience and AOC along with other progressive Democrats fill that role admirably for the House Democratic majority.
President Biden has acted quickly and decisively with executive orders to protect the environment. It is hard to imagine that the candidate who ran as a moderate would have been so aggressive as president without the fervid and unrelenting advocacy of AOC and other progressives.
Was it impeachment? Jonathan Chait/New York:
Would Trump Have Won if Not for Impeachment? A Pro-Trump Journalist Thinks So.
Was it the pandemic? The Trump campaign knows so. WaPo:
Poor handling of virus cost Trump his reelection, campaign autopsy finds
This Capitol riot footage could be problematic for Trump
• Journalist recounts riot: 'Is this how I die?'
• Analysis: This GOP senator has a totally wild theory about the impeachment trial
GOP Senator attempts to blame Nancy Pelosi, not Trump, for the Capitol riot as impeachment trial looms
If Senate won’t convict, how can it punish Trump?
As we prepare for the impeachment trial of former President Donald Trump, it is worth considering the efficacy of the process. It is rarely used and Trump's second impeachment now represents half of all presidential impeachments. The bar to impeach is relatively low as it only requires a majority vote in the House of Representatives. However, the bar for removal is extraordinary -- requiring a two-thirds vote in the Senate. Given the extreme nature of the process, it is understandable that the Framers made it so difficult. Of the 20 federal officials to be impeached, eight have been removed from office.
Five ways Trump's impeachment differs from a court trial
When former President Trump’s second impeachment trial gets underway on Tuesday, the Senate proceedings will differ from what typically unfolds in a courtroom.Court trials largely stick to a standard, uniform script. By contrast, the framers of the...