Month: July 2021

As the Congressional Black Caucus celebrates its 50th year, we need to have their backs

Posted on by Denise Oliver Velez

During a time of open white supremacist hate-riotism, spurred on and enflamed by white elected Republican officials and their voters, it is easy to get discouraged and forget how far we’ve come when it comes to the racial dynamics of electoral politics of this nation. Historically speaking, even though Black people have been here in the “New” World since the late 1400s, and on the soil that would later become the United States as early as the 1500s, we haven’t been officeholders very long. 

The Congressional Black Caucus celebrated its 50th year in existence on June 30; we must renew our commitment to more African American representation, and not just in Congress; let’s also support increased representation in state houses and in local elections. I find myself feeling that sometimes we take Black officeholders for granted, even when I’ve seen such major changes in just my lifetime. I worry that the progress we’ve made could be easily stripped away if we don’t remain vigilant.

The Los Angeles Sentinel, a weekly Black-owned newspaper, reported on the pivotal anniversary last week.

Joyce Marie Beatty serves as the U.S. Representative for Ohio’s 3rd congressional district. Since 2013, she has been in that position and more recently, she became the Chair of the Congressional Black Caucus in 2021.

The congresswoman opened the floor with reflection of what the Black community has overcome due to the focus and dedication led by movements and diplomacy fighting for human equality and justice. The Chairwoman of the Congressional Black Caucus also emphasized the continual work that needs to be done.

Beatty mentioned that June 30 marks the 50th anniversary of the CBC, stating, “For 50 years, the Congressional Black Caucus has fought for and on behalf of Black people and the communities we serve. Just as freedom fighters took to the dark roads in the dead of the night to call for an end to racism, for the right to vote—we continue to stand committed to the work ahead of us.”

Rep. Beatty herself shared the story.

50 years & going strong. ✊🏿 #OurPowerOurMessage https://t.co/PG2hC5OhoL

— Joyce Beatty (@RepBeatty) July 13, 2021

Think about it: The first Congress of the United States met on March 4, 1789, and it took over 80 years for Hiram Rhodes Revels to become the first Black senator in 1870, and for Joseph Hayne Rainey to become the first Black congressman, during the brief period of Reconstruction. They were followed by 19 other Black men—all from the South.  

There were no Black men in Congress after 1901, until the election of Oscar Stanton De Priest from Illinois, as the first non-Southern Black House representative. He took office on March 4, 1929. Across the Capitol, there was an 80-year gap with zero Black senators, until Massachusetts’ Edward Brooke took office in 1967. It wasn’t until  January 3, 1969, that the first Black woman, Shirley Chisholm, was sworn into a House seat. Not long thereafter, in 1971, the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) was formed, with the motto, coined by Rep. William (Bill) Clay of Missouri, “Black people have no permanent friends, no permanent enemies ... just permanent interests.”

I have had an interest in some of the founders of the Congressional Black Caucus for some time, notably Ron Dellums, who was a founder of the Progressive Caucus, and whose election as a Democratic socialist was engineered with the help of the Black Panther Party; Congressman John Conyers did a jazz radio show on my radio station in Washington, D.C.;  and Shirley Chisholm, who is one of my shero inspirations. But it wasn’t until I started doing twice-weekly roundups of CBC member’ activities for Black Kos that I realized that far too often, not much mainstream media attention is paid to these Black folks we have managed to get elected.

Two years ago, I covered some CBC history, noting that the Caucus was expanding in both “size and clout.”

The history, courtesy of the CBC’s own House.gov page:

During the late 1960s, Rep. Charles Diggs (D-Mich.) created the Democracy Select Committee (DSC) in an effort to bring black members of Congress together. Diggs noticed that he and other African-American members of Congress often felt isolated because there were very few of them in Congress and wanted to create a forum where they could discuss common political challenges and interests.“The sooner we get organized for group action, the more effective we can become,” Diggs said. The DSC was an informal group that held irregular meetings and had no independent staff or budget but that changed a few years later. As a result of court-ordered redistricting, one of several victories of the Civil Rights Movement, the number of African-American members of Congress rose from nine to 13, the largest ever at the time, and members of the DSC decided at the beginning of the 92nd Congress (1971-1973) that a more formal group was needed. “The thrust of our elections was that many black people around America who had formerly been unrepresented, now felt that the nine black members of the House owed them the obligation of also affording them representation in the House,” Rep. Louis Stokes (D-Ohio) said. “In addition to representing our individual districts, we had to assume the onerous burden of acting as congressman-at-large for unrepresented people around America.”

The Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) was established in 1971 by 13 founding members.

In 1977, 15 of the Congressional Black Caucus members posed on the steps of the U.S. Capitol, from left to right: (front row) Barbara Jordan of Texas, Robert Nix, Sr., of Pennsylvania, Ralph Metcalfe of Illinois, Cardiss Collins of Illinois, Parren Mitchell of Maryland, Gus Hawkins of California, Shirley Chisholm of New York; (middle row) John Conyers, Jr., of Michigan, Charles Rangel of New York, Harold Ford, Sr., of Tennessee, Yvonne Brathwaite Burke of California, Walter Fauntroy of the District of Columbia; (back row) Ronald Dellums of California, Louis Stokes of Ohio, and Charles C. Diggs, Jr., of Michigan.

The House.gov page also explores the CBC’s early struggles.

Shortly after the CBC was established, its battle with President Nixon began. After President Nixon refused to meet with the group, the CBC decided to boycott the 1971 State of the Union Address, which made national headlines. “We now refuse to be part of your audience,” Rep. William Lacy Clay, Sr. (D-Mo.) wrote to President Nixon on behalf of the caucus, explaining that President Nixon’s refusal to meet with the caucus was evidence that the Administration wasn’t interested in helping the African American community.   The CBC’s decision to fight its battle with President Nixon publicly worked in the caucus’ favor and became a strategy the CBC would return to again and again. President Nixon eventually agreed to a March 1971 meeting with the caucus. During the meeting, the CBC presented President Nixon with 61 recommendations to eradicate racism, provide quality housing for African-American families, and promote the full engagement of African-Americans in government. “Our people are no longer asking for equality as a rhetorical promise,” Diggs said. “They are demanding from the national Administration, and from elected officials without regard to party affiliation, the only kind of equality that ultimately has any real meaning—equality of results.” Press coverage of the meeting and the events leading up to it introduced the CBC to the nation. A few years later, in 1973, the CBC would be among the first members of Congress to call for President Nixon’s impeachment.  

CBS This Morning posted this historical overview of the CBC for Black History Month 2021. 

YouTube Video

What I’d like to stress today is that with voting rights under siege in multiple states, and the teaching of Black American history being excoriated from the right, we need to have the backs of Black folks, and their staff members we’ve put out front on the firing lines, who have to live and work with death threats.

We also need to be aware of what bills they are proposing, sponsoring, and cosponsoring—as well as the challenges they face in their home districts. Mainstream media attention gravitates toward clickbait and controversy. We need to counter that by stepping up our support.

How many CBC members do you follow on social media? How many have you donated to, who are not in your district or state? Here’s a link to the current members: How many do you know something about?

It’s beyond time to step up and have these members’ backs!

McCarthy Picks Jim Jordan, Other Trump Allies For Pelosi’s January 6 Select Committee

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Jim Jordan, a staunch ally of former President Trump, is among the five Republicans chosen to serve on Nancy Pelosi’s select committee created to investigate the January 6th Capitol protest.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy made the announcement Monday evening.

Joining Jordan (R-OH) on the select committee are GOP Reps. Jim Banks (IN), Rodney Davis (IL), Kelly Armstrong (AL), and Troy Nehls (TX).

Banks will serve as the ranking member as “a rising star who is serving this cycle as chairman of the conservative Republican Study Committee,” according to The Hill.

RELATED: Pollsters Claim They Don’t Know Why 2020 Polls Were Significantly Off And ‘Too Favorable’ To Biden

Jordan, Banks Named To Select Committee

Banks responded to being named ranking member on the select committee by promising to find “the facts about the lead up to January 6 … and the responses from Capitol leadership and the Biden administration.”

“Make no mistake, Nancy Pelosi created this committee solely to malign conservatives and to justify the Left’s authoritarian agenda,” he added.

Jim Jordan responded to his addition to the select committee by posting a video of Democrats objecting to Trump’s election victory in 2016, as well as those fomenting the Russia collusion conspiracy.

All five voted against impeaching Trump for his alleged role in the Capitol protest.

RELATED: Anti-Trump Author Brutally Exposes CNN’s Brian Stelter And The Liberal Media In Incredible Video

‘Impeachment – Round Three’

Jordan appeared on Newsmax to discuss his role on the select committee and also noted that Pelosi’s decision to create a select committee is political in nature.

“We know what this is – this is impeachment, round three,” he claimed. “This is to go after President Trump.”

Jordan went on to point out that Democrats don’t want the focus to be on the Biden administration and their party’s absolute failures of governance – including inflation, the economy, and the border crisis.

“So what are they going to do?” he asked facetiously. “Go after President Trump. The most successful President in our lifetime.”

Forbes reports that even with McCarthy’s choices for the select committee, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “has the final say over appointments to the panel.”

“The text of the resolution creating the committee … allows Pelosi to appoint all 13 members of the committee, including five ‘after consultation’ with McCarthy,” they explain.

Earlier this month, Pelosi named her own eight choices to serve on the select committee.

Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) was the only Republican selected by Pelosi due to her anti-Trump history.

The Republican celebrated her addition to the panel.

“Congress is obligated to conduct a full investigation of the most serious attack on our Capitol since 1814,” she said.

“That day saw the most sacred space in our Republic overrun by an angry and violent mob attempting to stop the counting of electoral votes and threatening the peaceful transfer of power.”

Democrats tried objecting to the certification of electoral votes for Donald Trump in 2017 on 11 separate occasions according to CNN.

 

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The post McCarthy Picks Jim Jordan, Other Trump Allies For Pelosi’s January 6 Select Committee appeared first on The Political Insider.

McCarthy selects Republican team clearly intended to derail the House select committee on Jan. 6

Posted on by Mark Sumner

On Monday, the first felony conviction was handed down for those involved in the assault on the Capitol, with Paul Hodgkins getting 8 months in prison after breaching the Senate chamber while waving a Trump flag and carrying a length of rope. At the moment, 235 other defendants are facing the same charge on which Hodgkins was convicted.

On the same day, House minority leader Kevin McCarthy made it clear just how committed the Republican Party is to supported those insurgents, how little concern it has for either democracy or justice, and how committed it is to protecting the Big Lie. Because of the five Republicans McCarthy named to the House select committee on the January 6 insurgency, not one voted to impeach Trump, and three voted to overturn the results of the election. That includes both Trump favorite Rep. Jim Jordan, and one of the most reliably extreme voices in the House, Indiana Rep. Jim Banks. In fact Banks — who voted against impeachment, against the HEROES Act, and for some of the most disgusting anti-choice legislation imaginable — will be heading up the Republican team.

Banks has repeatedly dodged questions about why he’s defending people who smashed their way into the Capitol chanting that they wanted to hang fellow Hoosier Mike Pence. But as The Washington Post reports, he’s excited by the opportunity to sabotage the investigation into the events of January 6 which he says was created just to “justify the Left’s authoritarian agenda.”

Yes. For modern Republicans, those staging a coup are fine, but listening to the outcome of an election is an “authoritarian agenda.”

In addition to Banks and Jordan, McCarthy named Rep. Rodney Davis, Rep. Kelly Armstrong, and Rep. Troy Nehls. Davis and Armstrong are regarded as “moderates” in today’s Republican Party, meaning that they both hold what would once have been radically conservative viewpoints, but didn’t sign onto the attempt to overthrow the government. Nehls is an enthusiastic supporter of Trump who has downplayed events of that day, even though images from the House chamber showed him working with members of the Capitol Police in an effort to barricade the entrance.

McCarthy named his team after traveling to Bedminster, N.J. last week to meet with Trump. MCCarthy  claims the five Republicans named were “not a point of discussion.” Which presumably means that Trump just told him who to pick, and he did. Jordan has already proven himself effective at disrupting past hearings, including Trumps two impeachments.

All of these choices are coming at the last minute, with the committee set to hold its first hearing on Tuesday, That hearing is expected to include witnesses from both the Capitol Police and Metro D.C. Police.  

It’s clear that the addition of Banks, Jordan, and Nehls is intended to disrupt any actual progress by the committee. Jordan, well known as a reliable surrogate for Trump, and Banks, who is seen as a “rising star” after for his belligerent defense of the most extreme GOP positions, can be counted on to constantly confound the process and use every opportunity to bring proceedings to a halt. 

The selections by McCarthy need to be approved by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, but considering the time constraints, it’s unclear if Speaker Pelosi will take any action to push back against these selections. 

As Republicans complain that the select committee is an attempt to smear conservatives, it’s worth recalling the committee only exists because Republicans made it impossible for an independent investigation to take place. In June, Republicans in the Senate filibustered to prevent the formation of the kind of independent commission that had followed past national tragedies.  As Laura Clawson wrote at the time, “Republicans are going to scream that it’s a partisan witch hunt no matter what Democrats do, so why allow them to also obstruct while they do so?”

Morning Digest: Trio of Trump-endorsed Senate candidates gets swamped in primary fundraising

Posted on by Daily Kos Elections

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

● AK-Sen, AL-Sen, NC-Sen: While a trio of Republican Senate candidates have Donald Trump's coveted endorsement, Politico's James Arkin notes that each of them was still decisively outraised by an intra-party opponent during the second quarter of 2021.

We'll start in Alaska, where incumbent Lisa Murkowski outpaced former state cabinet official Kelly Tshibaka $1.1 million to $545,000. The senator, who has not yet confirmed if she'll run again, also ended June with a wide $2.3 million to $275,000 cash-on-hand edge. Murkowski famously lost the 2010 nomination only to win in the fall as a write-in candidate, but the Last Frontier voted last year to do away with partisan primaries and instead institute the new top-four system.

The GOP primary in Alabama, meanwhile, pits Trump-endorsed Rep. Mo Brooks against ex-Business Council of Alabama head Katie Boyd Britt, a former chief of staff to retiring Sen. Richard Shelby who has her old boss' backing; a few other candidates are running as well. Britt entered the race in June and quickly hauled in $2.2 million compared to $820,000 for Brooks. And while Brooks, who helped foment the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol, enjoyed a big fundraising head start thanks to his April launch and his ability to transfer funds from his House account to his Senate campaign, it's Britt who enjoys a $2.2 million to $1.7 million cash-on-hand lead.

Campaign Action

Britt's strong opening quarter wasn't a huge surprise given her extensive connections in the state's business circles. CNN also reported in late May, just before she launched her campaign, that some unnamed Republicans feared that Brooks would be "an unreliable ally to the business community" and saw Britt as a good alternative.  

Both contenders, though, have far less money than former Ambassador to Slovenia Lynda Blanchard, who has been self-funding most of her campaign. While Blanchard hauled in just $190,000 from donors from April to June, she's sitting on $5.2 million. Another Republican, businesswoman Jessica Taylor, entered the race in July after the new fundraising quarter began. A runoff would take place if no one takes a majority of the vote in the first round of the primary, and the GOP nominee will be the heavy favorite to prevail in the general election.

Trump, for his part, is doing what he can to make sure that Brooks’ underwhelming fundraising doesn't stop him from being that nominee. Earlier this month, he put out a not-Tweet slamming Britt and Shelby, who has been an ardent Trump ally, with the venom he usually only reserves for the likes of Murkowski and other politicians who have crossed him. "I see that the RINO Senator from Alabama, close friend of Old Crow Mitch McConnell, Richard Shelby, is pushing hard to have his 'assistant' fight the great Mo Brooks for his Senate seat," Trump declared, adding, "She is not in any way qualified and is certainly not what our Country needs or not what Alabama wants."

Britt responded, "I don't need anyone else to fight my battles, and as Alabama's next U.S. Senator, I won't be a rubber stamp for anyone." Trump has yet to publicly attack either Blanchard or Taylor.

Finally in North Carolina, another Trump-backed congressman, Ted Budd, got swamped in the money race by former Gov. Pat McCrory. McCrory outpaced Budd $1.2 million to $700,000, though Budd self-funded an additional $250,000. Unlike Brooks, though, Budd's pre-existing war chest left him with a $1.7 million to $955,000 cash-on-hand lead over the former governor. Another Republican candidate, former Rep. Mark Walker, wasn't in such good shape, however: Walker raised a mere $190,000 for the quarter, and he had $925,000 in the bank.

The top fundraiser in this quarter wasn't any of the Republicans, though. Former state Supreme Court Chief Justice Cheri Beasley finished just ahead of McCrory by bringing in $1.3 million during her first months in the contest, and she ended it with $835,000 on-hand.

State Sen. Jeff Jackson, who launched his campaign in January, brought in a smaller $720,000 this time, though his $865,000 war chest was slightly larger than Beasley's. Former state Sen. Erica Smith, who lost the 2020 primary, was a distant third for Team Blue with $115,000 raised and $55,000 on-hand, while Beaufort Mayor Rett Newton was even further behind. Primary runoffs only take place in the Tar Heel State if no one takes at least 30% of the vote.

Senate

● OK-Sen: Republican Sen. James Lankford learned over the last few days both that he has a massive cash-on-hand edge over his intra-party rival, pastor Jackson Lahmeyer, and that he wouldn't be getting censured by the state party.

Lahmeyer's longshot campaign earned some attention a few weeks ago when party chair John Bennett announced that he was backing the challenger because of Lankford's refusal to object to certifying Joe Biden's electoral college majority in the hours after the Jan. 6 attack. That declaration came just before the conclusion of the second quarter, which saw the incumbent outraise Lahmeyer $780,000 to $210,000; Lankford also ended June with a $1.6 million to $135,000 cash-on-hand lead.

It remains to be seen if Oklahoma's conservative base will be open to firing Lankford, but so far, a majority of Bennett's colleagues at the state's Republican State Committee aren't. On Saturday, the body voted 122-93 against censuring both Lankford and fellow Sen. Jim Inhofe for recognizing Biden's win.

Governors

● CA-Gov: Candidate filing closed Friday for the Sept. 14 recall election against Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, and the secretary of state's office has a list of contenders available here. As we'll discuss, though, one notable Republican, conservative radio host Larry Elder, is disputing his omission from the document and has indicated he would sue to make the ballot.

Voters will be presented with two separate questions on the September ballot. The first will ask whether Newsom should be recalled, while the second will ask them to pick among the candidates vying to succeed him. The results of the second question will only matter if a majority vote "yes" on the first question; should this happen, the replacement candidate who wins a plurality of the vote will become California's new governor.

Newsom's party affiliation will not be listed on the ballot because his legal team didn't turn in required paperwork on time last year, though the replacement candidates will be identified by party. Polls have generally shown the recall question failing, though no numbers have been released since the election was scheduled early this month.

A total of 41 candidates have qualified for the ballot (there is no primary or general election here) which means that this field, while large, is nonetheless far smaller than the 135-person contest from 2003. And while Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger dominated the race 18 years ago when voters opted to recall Democratic Gov. Gray Davis, there is no clear front runner on the GOP side this time. The notable contenders are:

  • 2018 nominee John Cox
  • Former San Diego Mayor Kevin Faulconer
  • Board of Equalization Member Ted Gaines
  • Reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner
  • Assemblyman Kevin Kiley
  • Former Rep. Doug Ose

Jenner’s campaign announced Friday that she had flown to Australia to take part in the filming of the TV show Big Brother VIP, though the candidate insisted she was still running.

One Republican who was not listed, though, was the aforementioned Elder, who is a regular Fox News guest. Election officials told him over the weekend that he hadn't submitted legally-required information about his tax history, though it's not clear yet what he didn't include. Elder shared the secretary of state's letter on Twitter on Sunday and added, "See you in court."

Another key difference from the state's last recall campaign is that, while eight Democrats filed to replace Newsom, none of them appear to be capable of running serious campaigns. That's welcome news for the governor and his allies, who strongly discouraged big-name contenders from getting in so they could avoid a repeat of the 2003 debacle.

In that race, Democrats rallied around Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante as their backup choice in case the recall succeeded with the awkward slogan of "no on recall, yes on Bustamante." That position became even more precarious when Bustamante started to criticize Davis in the evident hope that the recall would succeed and he'd reap the rewards. (He didn't.)

● IL-Gov: Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker announced Monday that he would seek a second term in 2022, and so far, none of his would-be Republican foes have raised the type of money they'll need to have a real chance to take him down in this very blue and very expensive state.

The GOP contender with the largest war chest is state Sen. Darren Bailey, a right-wing extremist who, among other things, was ejected from a House session last year for refusing to wear a face mask. Bailey raised only $165,000 but he still ended June with $490,000 in his campaign fund. Businessman Gary Rabine, who is self-funding much of his bid, hauled in a total of $345,000 and had $285,000 left over. A third candidate, former state Sen. Paul Schimpf, raised just $85,000 and had $115,000 on-hand.

Pritzker, meanwhile, raised only $200,000 but, thanks to a massive personal investment in March, had $32.9 million in the bank. The governor has an estimated net worth of well over $3 billion, and he's more than capable of throwing down far more money if he wants to.

● OR-Gov: New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof told Willamette Week's Rachel Monahan that he was considering seeking the Democratic nomination in next year's open seat race.

Kristof, who has spent much of his career writing about global human rights issues, is originally from the Beaver State, and the Times says he returned two years ago when he became more involved with his family farm. A spokesperson for the paper also said, "Although Nick has not made up his mind about whether to pursue a political candidacy, we agreed he'd go on leave from The Times, in accordance with Times standards, after he brought this possibility to our attention last month."

● VA-Gov: The conservative American Principles Project has released a survey from the Republican firm Spry Strategies that gives Democrat Terry McAuliffe a 46-41 lead over Republican Glenn Youngkin.

House

● IL-17: Rockford Mayor Tom McNamara said Monday that he would not run to succeed his fellow Democrat, retiring Rep. Cheri Bustos.

● SC-07: Republican Rep. Tom Rice faces a cavalcade of primary opponents thanks to his January vote to impeach Donald Trump, but surprisingly, the only one who brought in a large amount of money during the second quarter was a contender we hadn't previously mentioned. Graham Allen, an Army veteran and conservative media figure, hauled in $410,000 and self-funded another $92,000, and he ended June with $465,000 in the bank. Rice himself had a smaller $325,000 haul, though he had $1.6 million on-hand to defend himself.

The incumbent also had a considerably better quarter than two of his other noteworthy foes. Horry County School Board chair Ken Richardson raised a mere $25,000 but, thanks to some self-funding he did earlier in the year, had nearly $100,000 in the bank. Former Myrtle Beach Mayor Mark McBride, though, took in just over $3,000 during his first few weeks as a candidate.

● TX-06: Former Rep. Joe Barton, who left Congress in 2019 after 34 years in office following a sex scandal, threw his support behind state Rep. Jake Ellzey on Monday ahead of July 27's all GOP-runoff. Barton said that both Ellzey and party activist Susan Wright, who is the widow of the late Rep. Ron Wright, would make good members of Congress, but that Ellzey was the best option "on the merits."

Barton's decision is a bit surprising because of his long relationship with Ron Wright, who served as his chief of staff and district director during his long tenure. Local politicos speculated for years that Wright would be Barton's heir apparent whenever he decided to call it a career: That retirement announcement came during the 2018 cycle after Barton apologized when a "graphic nude photo" of him circulated online and the public learned even more unsavory aspects of his personal life.

Wright ended up competing in the GOP primary runoff against none other than Ellzey, a campaign he ultimately won. Barton, for his part, said that while he planned to support his former employee, he was "not sure if anybody would want my endorsement, so I might come out against somebody if that helps them." The incumbent, though, ended up backing his protege the old-fashioned way by holding events for Wright in both Washington and in the district.

Mayors

● St. Petersburg, FL Mayor: Outgoing Mayor Rick Kriseman announced Monday that he was backing former Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch, a fellow Democrat, in the Aug. 24 nonpartisan primary to succeed him.

● Seattle, WA Mayor: The Northwest Progressive Institute, which says it does not take sides in elections, has released a survey of the Aug. 3 top-two primary from the Democratic firm Change Research that shows former City Council President Bruce Harrell ahead with 20%, while City Council President Lorena Gonzalez holds a 12-10 lead over nonprofit head Colleen Echohawk for the second place spot; two other contenders, former state Rep. Jessyn Farrell and architect Andrew Grant Houston, were behind with 6% each.

● Toledo, OH Mayor: Democratic incumbent Wade Kapszukiewicz picked up a well-known opponent just before candidate filing closed on Friday when former Mayor Carty Finkbeiner, a former Democrat and Republican who now identifies as an "independent-Democrat," entered this year's race to face him. Kapszukiewicz, Finkbeiner, and Republican Jan Scotland will face off in the Sept. 14 nonpartisan primary, and the top-two vote-getters will advance to the November general.

Finkbeiner led Toledo from 1994 to 2002 and from 2006 to 2010, and he attracted national attention early in his tenure by suggesting that the city could deal with airport noise by moving deaf people into the affected areas. Finkbeiner would continue to generate plenty of press throughout his two stints as mayor, including in 2009 when he personally broke up a fight in a park between two teenagers and labeled one "fatso" and "tubby."

Finkbeiner launched another campaign to return to office in a 2015 special election, but he finished in third place: Interim Mayor Paula Hicks-Hudson beat another former mayor, Mike Bell, 36-17, while Finkbeiner was just behind with 16%. (That election required candidates to win just a plurality of the vote, so Finkbeiner didn't come close to winning.) Two years later, Kapszukiewicz defeated Hicks-Hudson 55-45 in the race for a regular four-year term.

Finkbeiner, who is 82, announced Friday that he would try again by going up against Kapszukiewicz. The challenger argued that he had the experience to deal with crime and blight, while Kapszukiewicz's campaign said in response that Finkbeiner had "laid off nearly 100 police officers and eliminated the gang task force" during his last term.

Other Races

● Queens, NY Borough President: On Friday, former New York City Councilwoman Liz Crowley conceded defeat in the June 22 Democratic primary. Incumbent Donovan Richards fended off Crowley 50.3-49.7 after a nasty race, and he should have no trouble in the November general election in this very blue borough.  

● Nassau County, NY Executive: Democratic incumbent Laura Curran begins the general election with a wide financial lead over her Republican foe, Hempstead Councilman Bruce Blakeman, in this populous Long Island community. Curran, who was elected in a close 2017 race, outraised Blakeman $950,000 to $575,000 from mid-January to mid-July, and she has a $2.1 million to $550,000 cash-on-hand edge going into the November general election.

McCarthy makes his 5 GOP picks for Jan. 6 select committee

Posted on (Updated by By Olivia Beavers and Heather Caygle

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy has chosen his five GOP appointees for the Democrat-led select committee investigating the Jan. 6 Capitol attack.

While the California Republican took his time deciding between naming more experienced members to the probe, filling his seats with firebrands, and refusing to tap any members at all, McCarthy ultimately chose to go with the former route with his selections. His picks have the committee leadership and oversight chops to counter Democrats who are expected to use the select panel to hammer Donald Trump and the GOP for fueling the deadly assault on the Capitol.

McCarthy’s choices for the panel, all talked about as likely, are led by Rep. Jim Banks (R-Ind.), chair of the Republican Study Committee, as the ranking member. Banks, who oversees the largest House GOP caucus, is viewed within the party as a skilled messenger.

The other members include Illinois Rep. Rodney Davis, a moderate who serves as the top Republican on the House Administration Committee; Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan, the top Republican on the House Judiciary Committee; Rep. Kelly Armstrong (R-N.D.), a lawyer by trade who served on the House Judiciary Committee during the first Trump impeachment; and freshman Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas), a former sheriff who supported Capitol Police in turning back rioters who tried to break into the House floor during the siege.

McCarthy said he wanted to "make sure you get the best people on the committee,” touting Davis' work on the administration panel and Nehls' years in law enforcement.

McCarthy’s appointments come days before the select panel is set to hold its first hearing, featuring witnesses from the U.S. Capitol Police Department and Metropolitan Police Department. Among the Democratic-named members of the committee is Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), a McCarthy critic ousted from House GOP leadership for her condemnation of Trump.

The investigation is expected to be highly contentious, as both parties wrestle to pin blame for the security failures on Jan. 6 that led to scores of law enforcement injuries as Trump supporters rioted to try to disrupt Congress from certifying his loss to President Joe Biden. Three out of McCarthy's five expected selections for the Republican side of the select panel voted in favor of challenges to certification of Biden's victory.

Jordan declined Monday to say whether he has been asked by McCarthy to serve on the panel. When asked whether he is willing, the Ohio Republican said the decision is “totally up to Kevin” but that he would join the roster if asked.

Posted in Uncategorized

Joint Chiefs of Staff made plans to resign rather than obey Trump’s ‘gospel of the Führer’

Posted on (Updated by Mark Sumner

Previously released excerpts from a new book by Washington Post reporters indicated tension between members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Trump White House. However, additional material released on Wednesday night by CNN takes this to a new and terrifying level. According to Post reporters Carol Leonnig and Philip Rucker, senior military officers were so concerned that Donald Trump might drag the military into a coup, that they developed a plan to resign, one by one, rather than accept an order to take part in such a plot.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs General Mark Milley appears to have been particularly concerned about the idea he might simply refuse to leave office, and that in his final days in power, Trump would use the military to carry out his schemes. Milley, who took part in Trump’s Bible-waving stroll across Lafayette Square, was disturbed at how Trump inserted sycophants into key roles at the Pentagon following the election and saw this as a sign of an upcoming attempt to maintain power at the point of a gun.

According to the authors, Milley grew so concerned that he discussed the possibility not just with his friends, but with other generals and with members of Congress. "They may try, but they're not going to f**king succeed," Milley told his staff. "You can't do this without the military. You can't do this without the CIA and the FBI. We're the guys with the guns."

The book also indicates that Milley had specific concerns about Jan. 6. Trump’s calls for supporters to come to D.C. for a “wild” event, and intelligence showing that militia members were planning to attend in numbers, left Milley fretting Trump was deliberately “stoking unrest” and that he was trying to create an incident that would justify the use of the Insurrection Act along with military force.

“This is a Reichstag moment.”

Seeing Trump as a “classic authoritarian leader with nothing to lose,” Milley became convinced he’d seen this story before. With Trump calling for a “Million MAGA March” following his loss in November, Milley feared it “could be the modern American equivalent of 'brownshirts in the streets.” In addition to referencing incidents in which Nazis had used violence to bring Adolf Hitler to power, Milley supposedly referenced the incident that Hitler had staged, then leveraged as a means of using violence against his enemies. "This is a Reichstag moment. The gospel of the Führer."

One of MIlley’s colleagues, quoted anonymously, confirmed to him that “this is all real” and warned the general "What they are trying to do here is overturn the government. ... You are one of the few guys who are standing between us and some really bad stuff."

The revelations out of the book show a last minute scramble at the White House, with Trump clutching at every conspiracy theory and working to put in place those who might go along with a scheme to defy the outcome of the election. According to the authors, Milley was instrumental in preventing Trump from replacing FBI Director Christopher Wray and CIA Director Gina Haspel, with Milley regarding both of those positions as pivotal to the success or failure of any coup.

 According to the book, Trump’s spiral into darkness was so severe that even Mike Pompeo came to Milley for a “heart to heart” talk in which he complained “you know the crazies are taking over.”

The incidents described in the book go beyond disturbing. They describe a nation well beyond the brink, with a White House actively working to position assets for an end of democracy and military leadership developing a pushback that was not at all certain of success. The revelations are terrifying enough that “shocking” seems an all-too-insubstantial term.

But there is one thing that isn’t completely clear. Though the article states that the book developed from over a hundred interviews conducted by Leonnig and Rucker, it doesn’t make clear when this information was known to them. If Washington Post reporters were aware in the final days of Trump’s occupation of the White House, that he was plotting to keep control of the nation, shouldn’t the nation have been made aware? And if there were reports that top military officials were convinced that Trump’s actions following the election were intended to generate violence, shouldn’t that information have been provided to case managers in Trump’s second impeachment?

There are a number of upcoming books on the final awful days of Trump, and the revelations will continue. But the first question these books need to answer is why are we just hearing about this now?

Ousted Anti-Trump GOP Chair Liz Cheney Outraises Successor Stefanik

Posted on by Becky Noble

The split in the Republican Party is not going away anytime soon, if fundraising numbers are to be believed.

Anti-Trump Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who was recently ousted as the GOP Conference Chair for her aggressive, repeated attacks on the leader of the party, raised significantly more money than her successor, Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

In fact, in the second quarter of the year alone, Cheney broke fundraising records for a second time.

This is significant because it is also the period during which Cheney was removed as GOP Conference Chair, the highest ranking Republican member of Congress.

She has consistently been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump.

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Tale Of The Numbers

During the second quarter of 2021, which runs from April to June, Cheney raised roughly $1.88 million. During the first quarter, also a record breaker, she raised $1.5 million.

For the same second quarter time period, Stefanik raised $1.467 million. The difference is around $400,000.

The Hill reports that the Cheney campaign has $2.85 million on hand, almost double her first quarter total. Her total so far for the year is roughly $3.5 million, up from the $3 million received for her successful 2020 re-election bid.

Cheney will likely need it, as she’s drawn a number of Republican primary challengers over her vote to impeach President Trump.

The Stefanik campaign reported having $2.1 million cash on hand. 

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Cheney And Stefanik

Liz Cheney’s trouble began soon after the Jan. 6 riot, when she placed the blame squarely at the feet of former President Donald Trump.

At the time, she called it “the most egregious violation of an oath of office of any president in our history.” She then became one of just 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump for what they saw was his role in the violence at the Capitol.

Cheney came under fire not just from Trump and his supporters, but she also garnered some trouble at home.

Almost immediately following her impeachment vote, she had a 2022 primary challenger. Since then, others have jumped into the race in Wyoming to unseat her.

Cheney is not the lone House member to get a primary challenger. Of the 10 that voted to impeach, nine of those have 2022 primary challengers. 

Republicans first tried to remove Cheney from her Conference Chair position in February, but she managed to hang on to her position. On the second attempt in May, she was removed from the Conference Chair position.

Elise Stefanik is a fourth term Congresswoman from upstate New York. She is young, and has described herself as the opposite of far-left Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Stefanik’s district has seen a bigger shift to the right since the election of Donald Trump, and she has become an ally of Trump. Trump hosted a fundraiser for Stefanik back in June that brought in $250,000.

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GOP Feeling Good About 2022

The National Republican Congressional Committee is set to report $79.2 million raised in the first half of 2021.

The NRCC reports having $55 million cash on hand, compared to $44 million for the DCCC.

NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer said of the cash haul, “We will take back the majority next fall and voters are doing everything they can to help us accomplish that goal,” NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer said in a statement. “Every vulnerable House Democrat should be eyeing the exits because if they choose to run, they will lose.”

 

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More money, more problems: Cheney and Kinzinger feel Trump effect

Posted on by By Olivia Beavers and Ally Mutnick

Exile in the House GOP is proving extremely lucrative for Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger.

Cheney and Kinzinger are the most prominent anti-Trump voices among congressional Republicans, casting two of the 10 House GOP votes to impeach the former president and — unlike the other eight — sparing no opportunity in the months since to rebuke a party that has tethered itself to his image. That’s left them in a precarious position as they seek reelection back home and alienated them from the rest of their party in D.C.

It's also given them a new route onto the national stage. The Wyoming and Illinois Republican allies may end up losing their seats next fall to primary challengers who are hugging the Trump machine. But the campaign war chests they’ve amassed could help launch the duo’s political careers outside of the House, or even Congress.

“They’re very encouraged by what they see in fundraising and by what they’re starting to hear on the ground,” said former Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-Va.), a fellow GOP Trump critic and a friend of the two. “Nobody thinks of cascading effects … The fact is, there’s a significant portion of Republicans who do not support Donald Trump anyway, who’re looking at Adam and Liz to sort of carry that conservative banner nationally.”

Cheney, who lost her slot as House GOP conference chair in May, hauled in close to $1.9 million in the last quarter, bringing her to nearly $3.5 million total this year. Only halfway through 2021, those fundraising numbers trounce the $3 million she raised during the 2020 cycle. Cheney's donations also surpassed her leadership successor's, with Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) bringing in $1.5 million in the second quarter.

Kinzinger, who represents a deep-red district in exurban Chicago, never raised more than $350,000 in a single quarter during the 2020 cycle. But during the first three months of 2021 — after his support for the second Trump impeachment — he skyrocketed to $1.1 million.

While their rising profiles give them a new megaphone as well as deep pockets, it's not clear whether either incumbent has a path to victory running as an anti-Trump candidate in a GOP primary. Still, their shaky futures in the House haven't stopped some Republicans on Capitol Hill from privately musing whether Cheney and Kinzinger are eyeing future bids for the Oval Office. Both have also recently created PACs and aligned publicly with law enforcement officers as some in their party decline to honor responders to the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, both signals of possible interest in a higher office.

Allies of Cheney, whose April reluctance to rule out a future White House run helped accelerate her ouster from leadership, say that at a minimum her fundraising numbers will help her fight back against Trump as he tries to boot her from the political arena.

Cheney’s team touted its haul, first reported by Fox News, as proof that she has “robust support in this fight” to win reelection in her state’s at-large district.

“Liz is demonstrating the type of effective, principled leadership that Wyoming deserves from its Representative,” spokesperson Kevin Seifert said in a statement. “She will continue to fight the Biden administration’s overreach and articulate how Republicans can offer a better way forward for the nation. It’s encouraging to have so many join her effort.”

Among Cheney and Kinzinger's conference colleagues, some were quick to dismiss the prospect that anti-Trumpers could have any room atop the party’s ticket.

“Anyone who thinks there’s a different path for higher office in a Republican primary other than the Trump platform is delusional," said Rep. Guy Reschenthaler (R-Pa.), who identified as a Cheney ally before her spring leadership eviction. “I have not spoken with Liz or Adam about their long-term goals. However, maybe looking at the battle they face in a primary, they think higher office is an easier path."

Other Republicans waved off the idea that Cheney and Kinzinger are focused on anything beyond their House reelection bids. Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) said he presumes Cheney and Kinzinger’s numbers mean they are “coming in with as much as ammo as possible to win reelection.”

If Trump seeks the presidency again in 2024, he is expected to clear the field of multiple allies also weighing a potential bid. But he has no power to elbow away Cheney or Kinzinger, both establishment conservatives who've embraced the role of his foils. Kinzinger is also believed to be weighing a run for Senate or the governor’s mansion in his state, though his chances would be limited by Republicans' struggle to win statewide in Illinois.

Back in Wyoming’s at-large district, Cheney’s largesse — she has over $2.8 million cash on hand — will dwarf that of her challengers. Since her election in 2016, Cheney has remained a strong fundraiser, armed with her father’s rolodex of conservative donors and a last name that still commands prestige in the state where former Vice President Dick Cheney got his political start.

Even so, her opponents have cast her crusade against Trump as a self-serving exercise that won’t endear her to Wyomingites. And rather than shying from this potentially political kryptonite, Cheney is expected to lean even more heavily into her anti-Trump campaign while serving on the select committee examining the deadly Jan. 6 insurrection, at the appointment of Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

"Either she needed to get rid of him because she wanted to be president ... or it was to settle a political score,” said Darin Smith, an attorney challenging Cheney in the GOP primary. “Because I think Trump is on record saying that the Cheney family is responsible for trillions of dollars blown by the United States and millions of lives lost around the world.”

Smith said he had raised $175,000 in the roughly two months since he launched his bid. Her other primary foes have not reported their fundraising.

Cheney’s best chance of survival is the crowded field of challengers that have assembled to try to take her down. If they splinter the anti-Cheney vote, the incumbent could win with a plurality and find herself with an even more compelling profile: the anti-Trump Republican who defied the odds to survive and win reelection.

When asked whether she has a Plan B should she lose her bid, Cheney told POLITICO in May only that “I'm not gonna lose my seat.”

Kinzinger is perhaps in a more precarious situation: Illinois is losing a House seat in forthcoming redistricting, and he could find himself without any district with which to run.

Even if his exurban Chicago district remains somewhat intact, the Air Force veteran has six challengers who have lined up to take him on, including former Trump adviser Catalina Lauf.

But there are plenty of future opportunities for Kinzinger to run statewide; Sen. Tammy Duckworth and Gov. J.B. Pritzker, both Democrats, are up for reelection in 2022. And he has not ruled out a run for either office.

“You can’t help but be impressed by fundraising numbers like that, especially coming from a rural district,” former Rep. Bob Dold (R-Ill.) said of Kinzinger’s intake. Dold admitted it would be difficult for Republicans to win statewide in Illinois but said it was not impossible, particularly given that the state’s flailing finances have put its Democrats on the back foot.

Stellar fundraising aside, some of Cheney and Kinzinger’s decisions have puzzled other Republicans. Cheney's decision to serve on the Jan. 6 panel means she could be distracted from her reelection well into next year.

"I voted against [a bipartisan Jan. 6 probe] with the view that it's a third impeachment trial, if you will, but everybody that knows Liz knows that Liz speaks for herself," said Sen. John Barrasso of Wyoming, the No. 3 Senate Republican.

Asked if he supports Cheney's re-election, Barrasso replied: "That's a long way away. The primaries are not for over a year."

Burgess Everett contributed to this report.

Posted in Uncategorized

McCarthy not yet sold on naming Republicans to Jan. 6 investigation

Posted on by By Jonathan Custodio

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy said on Tuesday he has not decided on whom to name to the select committee that will investigate the Jan. 6 insurrection, or even whether he would appoint any fellow Republicans.

“I haven’t made a decision yet, even to appoint,” McCarthy said in an interview on Fox News. “I’m discussing it with my members. I have a real concern, the scope of what we’re looking at.”

Noting that a bipartisan Senate report on the events of Jan. 6 raised more questions for him, and accusing the House speaker of politicizing the process, McCarthy said: “Now we have Nancy Pelosi pretty much playing politics with this. Putting Adam Schiff and Raskin on it looks more like an impeachment committee than one that wants to get to the bottom of the questions that are still out there.”

Schiff (D-Calif.) led the prosecution during President Donald Trump’s first impeachment, and Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) was the lead House manager in Trump’s second impeachment trial.

Legislation to create a select committee to investigate the Jan. 6 siege of the Capitol was approved by the House, 220-190, in June.

Before its creation, an independent bipartisan commission was moving forward in May but was thwarted by Senate Republicans, who led the year’s first filibuster. Six GOP senators did vote to advance the proposed commission, which would have had five Democrats and five Republicans.

For the select committee, Pelosi maintains veto power over any McCarthy appointments. Early this month, she named her appointments to the committee, including Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.). Cheney, a strong critic of Trump who has refused to downplay the events of Jan. 6, was one of two Republicans who voted to establish the committee.

Posted in Uncategorized