Author: launchkits

When You Lose Clooney. . .

By Stephen Macaulay

Some of us (present company in particular) probably spend way too much time way too early looking at what’s going on in the political arena. 

But the Biden Imbroglio is something that even those who are not generally aware of things political know at least something about.

As in Joe Biden coming off as an old, confused individual.

That he is old cannot be questioned.

That he appeared confused during the debate against Donald Trump cannot be denied.

In the days since, that there are members of his own party calling for him to remove himself from contention is probably something that not a whole lot of people are aware of.

That George Clooney has called for Biden to step away is something that is more widely known by people who are far more interested in entertainers than politicians, and I’m guessing that there are more of the former than the latter.

And Stephen Colbert and Jon Stewart haven’t helped by coming out against the man.

Somehow I think that even those living in the districts of House members Eric Sorensen (D-IL) and Hillary Scholten (D-MI) are more aware of what Clooney, Colbert and Stewart have said regarding Biden’s bid.

Last night Biden held a press conference and managed to pull it off reasonably well.

Were there sighs of relief among Team Biden? Is it thought that answering some questions from reporters showed that their man is solid?

And had the press conference been held after 8 pm, how would he have done?

Here’s the problem that Team Biden has, a problem that is intractable: his age.

He won’t be getting any younger.

In February — FEBRUARY! — an ABC News/Ipsos poll had it that 86% of Americans think Biden is too old to run for another term.

And there have been other polls since, that while not quite as striking, indicate the same.

Even if the margin of error is immense, there is still a non-trivial number of people, including Democrats, who think he is too old.

So let’s say that his heels are inextricably dug in, that he won’t absent himself from the ticket. What then?

Does it become a case of metaphorically holding one’s nose and voting for Biden because the other guy is simply not good? And won’t there be a non-trivial number of Democrat voters who figure that it is simply not a good thing to vote in someone they have little confidence in when it comes to his mental or physical stamina (I find it surprising that more hasn’t been made about Biden’s reported comments to Democratic governors about telling his staff not to book things after 8 p.m. and to give him plenty of time to rest. Some people used to make fun of Trump’s lightly scheduled days: how is this any different?) 

So while the Democrat voters are tentative at most, Trump supporters are pumped up.

Who is going to get more people to the polls?

If Joe Biden truly believes that Donald Trump is a threat to democracy, then he ought to do his utmost — limited though that apparently may be — to make sure that Trump doesn’t win the election.

And that means he should end his run sooner rather than later.

Read Stephen Macaulay's column on George Stephanopoulos' interview with President Biden, "Lord, Help Us," in The Gray Area.

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Who Will Be Trump's Running Mate?

Who will Donald J. Trump nominate at the Republican National Convention next week to be his running mate? Remaining candidates are said to be Ohio Sen. J.D. Vance, Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum. 

Send your predictions (no prizes to be awarded to best guesses, except the satisfaction of showing off skills as an astute citizen pundit) and/or comments on President Biden’s press conference to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your political leanings in the subject line. 

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Readers’ Comments on Biden

Editors:

I can understand that Biden’s performance in the debate is a real concern, but I don’t blame him. He is an old man, too, and has made significant contributions to America. So I still choose to support Biden no matter what happens in the end. If we let Biden out of the race now and put someone else in his place, there would be some time crunch, and even if the best candidate is selected, who’s to say that the candidate is capable of standing up to Trump?

--Maria Thomas

via Substack

•••

Also in this column …

•More readers’ comments on the Trump v. Biden June 30 debate.

•Contributing pundit Ken Zino’s column on the presidential debate; “Substance Abuse – Two Unliked Candidates Confirm Our Problem.”

_____

…meanwhile…

Good news too late for Biden? – June’s Consumer Price Index fell to 3.0%, from a 3.4% rate the month before. Month-over-month prices actually fell by 0.1% on the heels of Chairman Jerome Powell’s hints the Federal Reserve may soon ease interest rates. Overall CPI less food and energy was up 3.3%, lowest since April 2021. [CHART: Bureau of Labor Statistics]

Biden His Time – President Biden holds a news conference in Washington Thursday afternoon to wrap up the NATO summit, NPR’s Morning Edition reports. Meanwhile, the future of his re-election bid appear to be at the tipping point, as Peter Welch of Vermont became the first Democratic senator to call for him to withdraw. 

Biden has held the fewest press conferences of any president since Ronald Reagan, according to NPR.

Did I say that out loud?... Actor George Clooney’s warning in his New York Times op-ed that Biden’s cognitive issues also will hand the House and Senate over to Republican control reportedly is shaking up Democratic congressmembers themselves, and Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) “hasn’t tried to hide her disdain for the situation the party now finds itself in,” one anonymous lawmaker told Politico Playbook. 

Meanwhile… Adding to pressure from the Democratic side, the Trump campaign is now looking at a landslide and hope Biden will not drop out, according to Tim Alberta in The Atlantic magazine’s The Decision newsletter. “Donald Trump was well on his way to a 320-electoral vote win before the debate,” campaign co-manager Chris LaCivita told Alberta.

Politico Playbook quotes “about a half-dozen” Democratic lawmakers who say Pelosi told them Biden will not win in November, and aside from her much-parsed statement on MSNBC’s Morning Joe that Biden should make the decision himself, has advised some Democrats in swing districts that they should “secure their own re-elections” even if it means they ask Biden to step aside. 

About time… However, Pelosi’s advice above comes with the warning that they hold off from asking Biden to withdraw from the race until after this week’s NATO summit is finished. 

It’s going to be a long weekend.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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AOC: Impeach Thomas, Alito/WEDNESDAY 7/10/24

Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY, above) has filed articles of impeachment against Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito alleging a "pattern of refusal to recuse from consequential matters before the court in which they hold widely documented financial and personal entanglements" (The Hill).

"Justices Thomas and Alito's repeated failure over decades to disclose that they received millions of dollars in gifts from individuals with business before the court is explicitly against the law. And their refusal to recuse from the specific matters and cases before the court in which their benefactors and spouses are implicated represents nothing less than a constitutional crisis. These failures alone would amount to a deep transgression worthy of standard removal in any lower court, and would disqualify any nominee to the highest court from confirmation in the first place," she said in a press release.

BIDEN AND NATO'S 75TH

Zelenskyy Addresses NATO – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told the meeting of NATO members gathered in Washington for the alliance’s 75th anniversary that American missiles and permission to fire them across the border into Russia helped his military hold off an attack on the city of Kharkiv, and for thus stopping a Russian offensive this spring, The New York Times reports. But he requested the lifting of other restrictions to allow Ukraine to fire at military bases hundreds of miles inside Russia to destroy aircraft and weapons being dropped on his country’s civilians and children. 

‘Trump-proof’… At Washington’s convention center, policymakers moved control of major elements of aid to Ukraine to NATO’s “umbrella” from the US in order to “Trump-proof” the military alliance (The Washington Post). Whether Joe Biden or Donald J. Trump wins the November election, “Putin will hate him,” Zelenskyy said at the conference (NYT).

Meanwhile, on MSNBC… Appearing on Morning Joe with Belarusian political activist Svetlana Tikhanovskaya, with whom she penned a Washington Post op-ed, House Speaker emeritus Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) was asked to comment on whether Biden should remain in the presidential race. Pelosi gave the non-answer answer; “It’s up to the president to decide if he’s going to run.” Of course, Biden has decided, and the primary delegates he won are his to give up. 

Pelosi’s WaPo op-ed with Tikhanovskaya is titled, “NATO is a bulwark against tyranny,” subtitle, “Facing down dictators such as Vladimir Putin and (Belarus’) Alexander Lukashenko is what the alliance was built for.”

•••

Hollywood Dissent -- Actor George Clooney, who hosted a star-studded Los Angeles fundraiser for President Biden in June is now asking him to step down from the campaign in a New York Times op-ed.

"I love Joe Biden. As a senator. As a vice president and as a president," Clooney writes. "I consider him a friend, and I believe in him. Believe in his character. Believe in his morals. In the last four years, he's won many of the battles he's faced.

"But the one battle he cannot win is the fight against time. ... It's devastating to say it, but the Joe Biden I was with three weeks ago at the fund-raiser was not the Joe "big F-ing deal" Biden of 2010. He wasn't even the Joe Biden of 2020. He was the same man we all witnessed at the debate."

--TL

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TUESDAY 7/9/24

Biden Bites Back – President Biden has support of his continued re-election campaign by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY), House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) and Sens. John Fetterman (D-PA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA), The Washington Post reports Tuesday morning. Democratic senators were to discuss Biden’s debate debacle and what to do about his defiance in remaining in the presidential race at their weekly luncheon Tuesday.

Meanwhile, NATO… Tuesday evening in Washington, Biden is to give a commemorative speech at the 75th anniversary of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, with leaders from its member countries (WaPo).

Meanwhile, Ukraine… “Poorly trained” Russian forces are unlikely to make “significant” territorial gains in a Ukraine that finally has been reinforced with fresh Western munitions, The New York Times reports ahead of NATO’s 75th celebration, citing US officials. 

•••

Neurologist’s Visits – White House visitor logs show Dr. Kevin Cannard, expert on Parkinson’s disease from the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, visited the White House eight times in eight months up to this spring, The New York Timesreports. At least one of the meetings was with President Biden’s physician. 

After Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre “dodged” and refused to reply to questions about the president’s health, White House physician Dr. Kevin O’Connor released a statement at 9:40 p.m. Monday that Biden had not seen a neurologist “outside his annual physical” and suggested most of those eight visits were to others working in the White House.

•••

MAGA in Milwaukee – The Republican National Committee released the 2024 Republican Party Platform Monday from Milwaukee, where the national convention that will formally nominate Donald J. Trump as its presidential candidate begins next week. The document reflecting “20 GOP Principles, Roadmap to Make America Great Again” calls for, number one, to “seal the border, and stop the migrant invasion,” and two, to “carry out the largest deportation operation in American history.”

Number three; “End inflation, and make America affordable again.”

Number four is to “make America the dominant energy producer in the world, by far!”, answering the Democratic argument that the US already is the world’s largest oil exporter … but with OPEC still hanging on, not yet “by far.”

Five, “Stop outsourcing, and turn the United States into a manufacturing superpower.”

Six, “Large tax cuts for workers, no tax on tips!”

Seven, “Defend our Constitution, our bill of rights, and our fundamental freedoms, including freedom of speech, freedom of religion, and the right to keep and bear arms.”

Eight, “Prevent World War Three, restore peace in Europe and in the Middle East, and build a great iron dome missile defense shield over our entire country – all made in America.”

Number nine, almost the halfway point, is to “end the weaponization of government against the American people.”  

Read all 20 planks of the platform here.

The platform’s press release concludes with “When America is united, confident, and committed to our principles, it will never fail,” and “Today and together, with Love for our Country, Faith in People, and Trust in God’s Good Grace, we will Make America Great Again!”

•••

Defund Justice? – The fiscal year 2025 Commerce-Justice-Science spending bill is up for markup Tuesday in the powerful House Appropriations Committee, where Republicans hope to “handcuff” the Department of Justice with riders preventing it from suing states over laws that limit abortion, curtail court challenges to state redistricting plans and block it from bringing lawsuits against local or state governments that limit “transgender medical procedures,” CQ Roll Call reports.

None of this will get far in the Democratic-controlled Senate or the Biden White House, of course, though it would give voters a clear roadmap of what a 2025 Trump White House and GOP-controlled Senate would look like.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

What’s Right

What is right is that whether you are liberal or conservative, you are invited to submit your civil comments on the center column's latest political news/aggregate, as well as on comments by our contributing pundits writing writing for this or the left column. 

Go to the COMMENTS line in this or the left column as appropriate for your political leanings, or email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate whether you consider yourself conservative or liberal in the subject line.

•••

Also in this column …

•Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s post-debate column, “There’s No ‘Take Two’”.

•Reader comment on the Trump v. Biden June 30 debate.

•Macaulay’s July 4 chronological list of US presidents’ retirement ages.

•Macaulay’s column on the debate, “Take Away the Keys.”

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The Debate Debate

[Labour Party leader Keir Starmer is the UK’s new prime minister.]

We have been holding a little conversation – let’s call it a debate – this week about last week’s debate between Donald J. Trump and Joe Biden.

Is Biden tempting fate by handing an easy victory to a decidedly more authoritarian Trump in refusing to drop out of the presidential race ahead of the Democratic Party’s national convention in August? Will the DNC’s convention in Chicago be a repeat of its disastrous 1968 convention there? 

Scroll down with the scrollbar on the right-edge of this page to read Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s “From Behind to Way Behind” plus a rundown of all 45 US presidents’ ages at retirement the author provided for Independence Day. 

In the left column of that page, you’ll see readers’ responses to Biden’s poor debate performance. 

Scroll down further to read analysis of the June 27th debate, with contributing pundit Ken Zino’s commentary, “Substance Abuse – Two Unliked Candidates Confirm Our Problem” in the left column and Macaulay’s commentary, “Take Away the Keys” in the right column.

As always, you are encouraged to join in on the conversation/debate with your civil comments. Please use the COMMENTS section in the column appropriate to your political leanings, or email editors@thehustings.news and please indicate your leanings in the subject line.

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…meanwhile…

The U.S. added 206,000 new jobs in June, with leading gains in government, health care, social assistance and construction, the Labor Department reports. Unemployment crept above the 4% mark -- to 4.1% -- for the first time in 29 months. [CHART: Bureau of Labor Statistics]

FRIDAY 7/5/24

Landslide for Labour – King Charles formally appointed Keir Starmer (left column, above) as the UK’s prime minister after his Labour party overwhelmed the ruling Conservatives in Sunday’s general elections by more than three to one. 

Appearing on the street in front of his new residence at 10 Downing Street in London Monday, Starmer – who once called for the end of Britain’s monarchy – said; “If I asked you now whether you believe that Britain will be better for your children, I know too many of you would say no. And so my government will fight every day until you believe again.” (Per The Guardian.)

Starmer became only the fourth Labour party leader to win a general election since World War II. While Tories could end up with the lowest number of seats in Conservative Party history, Labour is forecast to fall short of the 419 seats Tony Blair won in 1997, according to the BBC. The Conservative party has led the UK since 2010.

Labour won 410 parliamentary seats, with 326 needed for a majority, 1440 reports, while the Tories snagged just 131 seats and the Liberal Democrats, 61.

Yesterday’s PM, Rishi Sunak, was re-elected for his Parliament seat for Richmond and Northallerton but said he would resign as the Tories’ leader.

“I have heard your anger, disappointment and I take responsibility for this loss,” Sunak said.

Yes, that’s what a peaceful change in power sounds like.

Meanwhile, in France … Second round in France’s elections happen Sunday. Marine Le Pen’s far-right National Rally party holds a huge lead after last Sunday’s elections.

•••

Biden, Take Two – In what could only be described as a desperate effort to reverse the effects of last week’s CNN presidential debate with Donald J. Trump, President Biden sits for an interview Friday with ABC News’ George Stephanopolous in Madison, Wisconsin, after a campaign rally in the state (per Good Morning America). First excerpts of the debate will be broadcast on World News Tonight with the full interview at 8 p.m.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Comments from the Right on the Debate

Editors:

It almost feels wrong to be critical of President Biden in his current rapidly deteriorating condition. I’m not sure he will make a second debate no matter how accommodating it is for him in going toe-to-toe with former President Donald Trump. Someone in the president’s close circle needs to counsel him that four more years is not realistic and dangerous for the country internally, and most definitely on the international stage.

The last time our country faced this was when President Reagan (my guy) was finishing his second term. No American wants to see the leader of the free world in a weak, lost and mentally struggling state. I’m sure I’m not alone in observing that President Biden is not capable of competently finishing his first term, let alone serving as POTUS for a full second four-year term. Those in the increasingly far-left party of progressives who now seem to run the Democratic Party should do some soul searching and perhaps beg President Biden to bow out gracefully.

--Rich Corbett

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Get Ready for Presidential Debates

CNN has released details of the first presidential debates of the season, between former President Donald J. Trump and current President Joe Biden. It starts 9 pm on Thursday, June 27. Moderators are CNN's Jake Tapper and Dana Bash.

A vice-presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Trump's yet-to-be-picked running mate will be in July, presumably after the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee that month.

A second Trump v. Biden presidential debate is scheduled for September 10 on ABC News. More details to come.

The live June 27 debate will be 90 minutes, with two commercial breaks, and the microphone of one candidate will be turned off when the other is speaking in response to his question. Both candidates have agreed to appear at a uniform podium design and their podium positions will be determined by a coin flip.

Follow the latest on these debates and other political news here at The Hustings.

We want to hear from you. After the June 27 debate, email editors@thehustings.news and tell us which candidate won, which candidate lost, and whether you might change your mind about which candidate to support in the November 5 election.

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…meanwhile…

FRIDAY 6/21/24

To Be Fired by a Cannon? -- Mar-a-Lagogate, the case by special prosecutor Jack Smith against Donald J. Trump for keeping classified documents from his expired administration in his Florida compound, was once considered the strongest criminal case against the former president. After all, evidence has appeared media-wide in which Trump is showing off the documents to people who definitely do not have clearance or executive privilege.

Now, as Judge Aileen Cannon (above) continues to slow-walk the trial, Trump's attorneys have Smith & Co. in her Ft. Pierce, Florida federal court to argue whether Smith was unconstitutionally appointed or is otherwise prosecuting the case without legal authority. Politico calls it a "far-fetched bid by Trump to scuttle the case altogether." Legal and political pundits are watching closely to see how far-fetched the argument under the Trump-appointee is.

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THURSDAY 6/20/24

Block Comstock? – Sen. Tina Smith (D-MN) plans to introduce legislation to repeal the Comstock Act Thursday, the 1873 law that Democrats worry Republicans will use in a second Trump administration to bar abortion-related materials from being sent through the mail, The Washington Post reports. As The New York Times reported in a front-page story Sunday, Democrats at various government levels have begun a concerted pre-emptive effort to try and block the most controversial of Trump’s agenda should he win the presidential election this November.

“There is a very clear, well-organized plan afoot by the MAGA Republicans to use Comstock as a tool to ban medicated abortion, and potentially all abortions,” Smith said.

Donald J. Trump, whose appointment of three conservative Supreme Court justices in his administration overturned Roe v. Wade has provided confusing messages on his anti-abortion agenda and has suggested it is a states’ issue.

•••

Target the Money – Efforts to cut the supply of street fentanyl shipped from China to Mexico are failing despite a crackdown Presidents Biden and Xi Jinping agreed to last November, so the Treasury Department will take up the cause by following the money. Treasury Sec. Janet Yellen Thursday is to announce in Atlanta Thursday measures to go after the cash international drug networks generate in selling street fentanyl in the US, NPR’s Morning Edition reports.

--TL

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JUNETEENTH 2024

Russia, North Korea v. NATO – Russia’s Vladimir Putin and North Korea’s Kim Jong Un signed a partnership deal Wednesday to counter what they see as a threat from NATO. The deal includes a vow of mutual aid if either nation faces “aggression,” the AP reports, and is perhaps the strongest connection between Moscow and Pyongyang since the Cold War.

Trumpy v. Trumpier – Virginia State Sen. John McGuire’s Republican primary challenge to Rep. Bob Good, chairman of the House Freedom Caucus is “too close to call” the AP reports Wednesday. McGuire, who has Donald J. Trump’s endorsement because Good supported Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ failed presidential run, led Good by just 327 votes out of 62,495. McGuire also had support from former Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), who seeks revenge against Good for joining Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-GA) motion last year to vacate McCarthy as House speaker. The counting of ballots is off for Juneteenth and will resume on Thursday.

--TL

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TUESDAY 6/18/24

Just Friends – Russian dictator Vladimir Putin is on his first visit to North Korea in 24 years, where he meets Tuesday with the son of the dictator he visited in July 2000, for a two-day grip-and-grin. That’s on the surface, of course; Putin gets conventional weapons it is running short of, after more than two years invading Ukraine, including artillery shells and short-range ballistic missiles, according to USA Today. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un (pictured) gets much-needed flour, cooking oil and energy from Russia in exchange, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

Then, on Wednesday, Putin departs for a visit to Vietnam. While it’s Putin’s first visit since Kim Jong Il led the Hermit Kingdom, son Kim Jong Un took an “enormous” and luxurious armored train to visit Putin in Russia just last September. 

•••

Biden and the Border – As Republican attacks on President Biden’s lack of border action continues, the White House Tuesday is expected to announce a “people in place” policy to allow nearly 500,000 undocumented spouses of legal US citizens work permits and protection from deportation, per Newsweek and the Associated Press. 

Meanwhile in Iowa … A federal judge Monday blocked Iowa’s attempt to take border control into its own hands by enforcing its own law making it illegal to enter the state after being deported or denied entry into the US (per The New York Times). Imitating an effort by Texas, Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds (R) had signed a bill to allow state law enforcement to arrest and deport undocumented aliens.

--TL

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MONDAY 6/17/24

Netanyahu Dissolves War Cabinet – With moderate Benny Gantz and two-stater Gani Eisenkot having resigned the war cabinet set up after Hamas’ October 7 attack against Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu (above), the Israeli prime minister, announced Monday he is dissolving said war cabinet. Seen as largely a symbolic gesture and meant to take power from defense ministers, according to Haaretz, war strategy is now transferred to the security cabinet. “Sensitive” decisions will be addressed in smaller consultation form with Defense Minister Yoav Gallant, Strategic Affairs Minister Ron Dermer, National Security Council head Tzachi Hanegbi and Shas Party Chair Aryeh Deri.

Meanwhile, Netanyahu has granted 11-hour pauses per day in South Gaza to protect deliveries of humanitarian aid, according to The Washington Post. The pauses do not amount to a ceasefire, as fighting continues unabated elsewhere in Gaza.

At the Lebanese border … Rocket exchanges between Israeli Defense Forces and Iran-backed Hezbollah heated up in the last week, according to NPR’s Morning Edition, with Hezbollah firing rockets into Israel for Hamas. Israel has been hitting Hezbollah targets across the Lebanese border. 

•••

Support to Ukraine – At the Burgenstock resort in Switzerland over the weekend, 78 countries and four European institutions signed a peace summit’s joint communique to end Russia’s war on Ukraine, The Kyiv Independent reports. Russia was not invited, and China, which was, did not show up. 

The US announced $1.5 billion in aid for Ukraine, including support for the country’s energy infrastructure.

Ukraine said it used “at least 70” drones in an attack on Russia’s Morozovsk airbase, while Russia has launched 3,500 missiles per month on civilian targets and infrastructure. 

Ukraine also says Russia suffered 4,000 casualties per month in its Kharkiv offensive. 

•••

Conviction Hits Trump Support – A new Ipsos/Politico Magazine poll finds that 21% of independents surveyed are less likely to vote for Donald J. Trump after his business records/hush money conviction last month. While significant in what is expected to be a tight race up to November 5, the poll also notes that many Trump supporters and independents remain skeptical of motivations behind the trial.

•••

Up on the Hill -- The House is on break this week and the Senate is in session Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, with Wednesday off for observance of Juneteenth.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

It’s (Still) the Economy, Stupid

By Stephen Macaulay

The Biden campaign is elevating its attacks on Donald Trump. There is the Robert DeNiro-voiced ad describing the wackiness cum threat that Trump did and does represent. There is a rollout of spots pointing out that the man is a convicted felon. 

Both of these approaches can be useful. To a certain degree.

But a question that needs to be asked is whether either of them is going to move anyone who isn’t already against Trump to the Biden camp.

I am dubious. At most.

Consider: according to the U.S. Senate’s Traditions of the United States Senate, a publication ostensibly for those who are becoming a senator, the organization is sometimes referred to as the “World’s Greatest Deliberative Body.” To be fair, it goes on to say, “No one knows for certain who coined that phrase. It came into widespread use in the latter half of the 19th century, and many have questioned its accuracy at various times in the nation’s history, but those words are routinely applied to no other legislature than the ‘upper house’ of the United States Congress.”

So one who is not a senator might assume that there are very smart people there. And said person, seeing a claque of senators applauding Trump last week, might assume that if those members of the august deliberative body think the man is worth hailing, then maybe a mere actor doesn’t know what he is talking about.

While it was once the case — and we don’t need to go back to the latter half of the 19th century, just to the midpoint of the last decade — that a felon couldn’t be elected dog catcher, apparently that is not as disqualifying as it once was.

As James Carville, who was serving as a strategist for Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign put it, “It’s the economy, stupid.”

And it is still that.

According to a Financial Times/Michigan Ross School of Business survey, those in the Biden camp ought to seriously rethink their messaging strategy.

To cherry-pick the questions about the economy and Joe Biden, there are results like this:

  • 40% strongly disapprove of his handling of the economy. An additional 14% somewhat disapprove. That’s not good.
  • 40% say that the “overall economic conditions in the United States right now” are “Not so good.” An additional 28% say “Poor.” 
  • While 31% say that there is no change in their financial situation since Biden became president, 26% say they are “somewhat” worse off and 22% say they are “much” worse off. Although that sums to 48% and is a potential positive (i.e., he’s not underwater), only 6% say they are “much” better off and14% say “somewhat,” so that’s less than half that 48%.
  • 13% say Biden’s economic policies have “Hurt the economy somewhat” and 34% say those policies have “Hurt the economy a lot.” Again, that’s less than 50% combined, but hose who say he helped a lot is only 15% and 16% say “somewhat.”

The job market is strong. Biden not only passed a massive infrastructure act (something that Trump talked about — a lot — but didn’t execute). The stock market is at record levels. Employment is strong. And that recession that is always about to occur has yet to manifest itself.

And yet there is a non-trivial number of people who think that Biden is flubbing the economy.

To be sure, much of this is probably predicated on the prices that individuals find when they go to buy groceries or miscellaneous products—but Target, Walmart, Aldi, and others have announced they are cutting their prices, presumably recognizing that the rises made during the pandemic are unsustainable. 

Team Biden isn’t doing the job when it comes to messaging on the economy.

If they want to go after Donald Trump’s record, perhaps they should emphasize that his company filed for Chapter 11 four times — and one of those filings was for a casino.

If someone can’t make money running a casino, clearly that person is not some sort of financial wizard.

Regular people can understand that.

__________________________________________

This Column is Open to Pro-MAGA and Never-Trump

With details released on the first presidential debate scheduled for Thursday, June 27 on CNN (see left column) this seems a good time to review The Hustings' origins nearly four years ago. Read our first debates on the debates, on Page 77, including commentary from Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay and contributing editors who were pro-Trump prior to the 1/6/21 attack on the US Capitol.

After the vice presidential debate between Kamala Harris and Mike Pence on October 7, 2020, our contributing editors were debating whether there should even be a second debate between Biden and Trump.

Spoiler Alert: There was a second presidential debate, on October 22, 2020. Shortly afterward, it was revealed that then-President Trump attended the debate while suffering COVID-19.

This year's first Trump v. Biden debate begins 9 pm Eastern time Thursday, June 27, on CNN.

Tell us your reactions to the debate -- who you think won, why, who you will vote for or against -- by Friday June 28. Email editors@thehustings.news and indicate in the subject line whether you consider yourself right/conservative or left/liberal.

_____

Left for You…

..or the right column for you, if you're a conservative and you want to have a civil conversation with others along the political spectrum.

It works something like this: "Consumer Confidence Slips" is a headline in the center column about halfway down Page 2 of this site. Go to the bottom of this page, click on Page 2, and use the scrollbar on the far right to scroll down the page. You will find that center column story flanked by Contributing Pundit Ken Zino's commentary, "Trump Tanked the Economy, and Biden is Fixing It" in the left column and Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay's commentary, "Would You Have Him Run Your Business?" in the right column. All in one place, no echo chambers.

You can become a Citizen Pundit yourself and send us your thoughts on the latest political news/aggregate, and commentary by Stephen Macaulay and Ken Zino.

Send your comments to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate whether you are a liberal or conservative with a note in the subject line.

_____

…meanwhile…

The Consumer Price Index settled in at 3.3% for May, a notch down from April's 3.4% and a notch up from March's 3.2%, the Labor Department reported Wednesday, while the Federal Reserve maintained a 5.25%-5.5% benchmark interest rate. Scroll down this column for details. [CHART: Bureau of Labor Statistics]

FRIDAY 6/14/24

Find the Pope at the G7 – After meeting with Whoopi Goldberg, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert at the Vatican Friday, Pope Francis travels to the G7 summit in Puglia, Italy, where he will meet with President Biden and address potential dangers of artificial intelligence, NPR reports. On Thursday, the G7 countries (the UK, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US) committed $50 billion to Ukraine.

•••

As Crow Flies Thomas – Harlan Crow, son of real estate mogul Trammel Crow, provided Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas with at least three more formerly undisclosed private jet trips, including one to Glacier National Park in Montana, the billionaire’s attorney told the Senate Judiciary Committee. Another of the flights took Thomas to his Georgia hometown, reports ProPublica, the non-profit newsroom whose earlier reporting on Crow’s largess toward the justice launched the investigation by Judiciary Committee Democrats.

The latest disclosures make it “crystal clear that the highest court needs an enforceable code of conduct,” committee chair Sen. Dick Durban (D-IL) said. Full findings of the committee’s investigation will be revealed later this summer, he said. 

Crow’s office said in a statement that Crow gave senators information covering the past seven years with the committee’s agreement to end its investigation “with respect to Mr. Crow.”

“Despite his serious and continued concerns about the legality and necessity of the inquiry, Mr. Crow engaged in good faith with the committee,” reads the statement. 

•••

IVF Down – A Senate vote to forward a bill protecting access to, and expanding coverage of, commonly used fertility treatments failed 48-47 Thursday, CQ Roll Call reports. Sixty votes were required, but just two of 50 Republicans Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, joined Democrats in the vote, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) changed from “yes” to “no” so he could raise legislation later under Senate rules.

The bill combined language from smaller bills to protect in vitro fertilization by Sens. Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), Patty Murray (D-WA) and Cory Booker (D-NJ) in response to the Alabama Supreme Court’s February ruling recognizing frozen embryos as unborn children.

•••

Charges Against Gershkovich – Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who has been in a Moscow jail since last year, faces up to 20 years in prison after Russia accused him (thus convicting him) of spying for the CIA (per The Washington Post). He has been moved from a Moscow jail to Yekaterinburg for his trial.

--TL

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THURSDAY 6/13/24

Mifepristone Saved -- The Supreme Court unanimously threw out the lawsuit Food and Drug Administration v. Alliance for Hippocratic Medicine, which sought to restrict access to mifepristone, one of two drugs used for medicated abortions, according to SCOTUSblog. The court ruled Thursday that doctors and medical groups associated with the anti-abortion movement that had challenged the FDA's 2016 and 2021 expansion of access to the drug lacked standing in the case. They did not rule on whether the FDA acted properly in expanding access to mifepristone.

Writing for the court, Justice Brett Kavenaugh acknowledged the challengers "sincere legal, moral, ideological, and policy objections" to elevate abortions "by others."

•••

US, Ukraine at G7 in Italy – President Biden is in Puglia, Italy Thursday for the G7 Summit (Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan and the US) where world leaders are working out a deal to squeeze some money out of $300 billion in seized Russian assets, held mostly in European banks, to fund Ukraine. There is a good deal of urgency, especially among the European nations, to getting this deal done as future funding for Ukraine faces the uncertainty of the U.S. presidential election (and political movement to the populist right in Europe as well), according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

PRI’s Marketplace explains that the interest from those Russian assets would serve as collateral for a $50-billion loan to Ukraine. 

Speaking of urgency, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also is in Puglia to join the G7 group and sign a 10-year deal with Biden for US support to Ukraine, which a second Trump administration could unravel, according to The Washington Post.

•••

Trump Returns to Capitol Hill – With President Biden out of town for the G7 summit, ex-President Donald J. Trump returns to Washington, D.C. Thursday to meet with Congressional Republicans. A headline in Politico reads something like a National Enquirer headline, or perhaps one from the New York Daily News: “Trump’s private demand to Johnson: Help overturn my conviction.”

According to Politico, Trump’s first return to Washington since he left for Mar-a-Lago on January 20, 2021, is “billed as a resolutely forward-looking session focused on a potential 2025 legislative agenda…” but more importantly he has been “obsessed” with harnessing Congress’ powers in reversing what he considers Democratic “weaponization” of the justice system against him. 

That effort begins with House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), who was one of the first members of Congress to appear with Trump at his Manhattan trial for falsifying business records.

The Biden tapes… Meanwhile, the House voted 216-207 along party lines Wednesday to hold Attorney Gen. Merrick Garland in contempt of Congress over a subpoena dispute regarding recorded interviews with Biden over his confidential documents investigation by special counsel Robert K. Hur. That tight floor vote “is unlikely to lead to any official consequences for Garland,” according to CQ Roll Call.

Congress long has had access to a transcript of Hur’s interview of the president. Biden is claiming executive privilege in refusing to turn over the recordings, which Trump would like to have for campaign commercials.  

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 6/12/24

One Cut -- Calling the May Consumer Price Index a "mild inflation report," The Wall Street Journal says the Federal Reserve plans one interest-rate cut for this year. The Fed held its benchmark rate in the 5.25% to 5.5% rate Wednesday, a two-decade high, at its policy meeting.

On a month-over-month basis, prices were unchanged in May, though that's a balancing of a 3.6% drop in gasoline prices against an 0.4% increase for shelter. Food prices rose 0.1% for the month, with food away from home up 0.4% and food at home unchanged. Energy overall was down 2%. There has been some talk of the Federal Reserve easing interest rates in the next few months even as inflation remains stubbornly above the central bank's 2% inflation target.

•••

Ball of Confusion – Ceasefire or no ceasefire? After some optimism that Hamas and the Israeli government would agree to the ceasefire plan proposed by President Biden last month after Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s visit to Tel Aviv earlier this week, there appear to be at least a couple of wrenches caught in the mechanism.

Blinken earlier said the proposed ceasefire would take the “pressure” out of the growing conflict at Lebanon’s southern border between Israel and Hezbollah. He now says Hamas has proposed “unworkable” changes to the ceasefire plan, The Guardian reported early Wednesday. At the same time, the United Nations Human Rights Council has released a report charging both Israel and Hamas with war crimes committed since the Hamas attack October 7. The report was chaired by former UN Human Rights chief Navi Pillay.

Is Netanyahu Aboard? … Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is for the ceasefire proposal and against it, depending apparently whether he’s speaking with the U.S. or with Israel’s war cabinet. Newsweek quotes an Israeli official saying that the U.S. proposal “aligns with” Netanyahu’s goal of “inflicting a lasting, decisive defeat” against the Palestinian movement. The BBC’s Newshour says that Netanyahu has not publicly endorsed the ceasefire.

--TL

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TUESDAY 6/11/24

Hunter Biden Guilty -- President Biden's surviving son, Hunter, was found guilty on two counts of making false statements in a gun license application and one count of illegal possession of a firearm by a drug user or addict Tuesday (per NPR's All Things Considered. His attorney, Abbe Lowell, said Biden will "vigorously continue to pursue" all legal options. The sentencing date has not been set.

Biden's statement on the verdict: "I am more grateful today for the love and support I experienced this last week from Melissa, my family, my friends, and my community than I am disappointed by the outcome."

Hunter Biden faces a second trial in California this September on tax evasion charges.

•••

Hamas Accepts – Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who concludes his visit to Israel Tuesday after the United Nations Security Council voted for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, says a Hamas statement that it accepts the ceasefire resolution is a “hopeful sign,” The Guardian reports. Blinken is ready to work out the details, senior Hamas official Abu Zuhri told Reuters. Meanwhile, the fighting between the Israeli Defense Forces and Hezbollah is intensifying along Israel’s northern border with Lebanon, according to NPR’s Morning Edition.

The proposal drafted after President Biden on May 31 announced that Israel had put forth a ceasefire deal consists of three phases (per The New York Times):

•Immediate ceasefire.

•Release of all hostages in exchange for Palestinians being held in Israeli prisons, return of displaced Gazans to their homes and full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza.

•A multi-year reconstruction plan for Gaza and return of remains of dead hostages.

•••

Primaries Tuesday – Maine, South Carolina, Nevada and North Dakota hold primaries Tuesday. Ohio holds a special election to replace Rep. Bill Johnson, a Republican who retired in January. The race for Ohio’s 6th congressional district is between state Sen. Michael Rulli (R) and Michael L. Kripchak (D). In South Carolina, Rep. Nancy Mace, who is on the longer end of the short list to become Donald J. Trump’s running mate is being challenged for the Republican primary by Catherine Templeton, who is backed by former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. Mace voted with the House’s MAGA wing to remove McCarthy from the speakership in 2023.

•••

Biden Verdict? – The jury in first son Hunter Biden’s trial for charges he lied on a gun registration form that he was not a drug addict began Monday in Wilmington, Delaware.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Pornography and the Polls

By Stephen Macaulay

Justice Potter Stewart’s remark related to the case brought before the Supreme Court, Jacobellis v. Ohio (1964), should be kept in mind by those who are promoting the reelection of Joe Biden. 

Nico Jacobellis showed a film directed by French filmmaker Louis Malle, Les Amants, or The Lovers. Officials in Cleveland Heights changed Jacobellis with obscenity. He was convicted and his case made it to the Supreme Court.

The question before the court was whether Les Amants was hard-core pornography.

And Stewart wrote of porn vis-à-vis the movie, “I shall not today attempt further to define the kinds of material I understand to be embraced within that shorthand description; and perhaps I could never succeed in intelligibly doing so. But I know it when I see it, and the motion picture involved in this case is not that.”

“I know it when I see it.”

It is difficult to meaningfully articulate concepts.

It is easier to see something physical and be able to form a notion of what it is, what it means, what its effects are.

Biden and his team are frequently talking about “democracy.” Talking about countering “autocracy.”

While not minimizing the value of democracy, isn’t it, for most people, something rather nebulous?

Yes, they think, democracy is good, but how do I know if I don’t have it?

Those people — again, by and large — have only lived in a democratic country, so it is hard for them to conceptualize what it would be like without it.

And as for “autocracy,” I’m sorry, but that is a bit too precious for most people. Not that it doesn’t have a precise definition (e.g., “a form of government in which one person has absolute control”), but again, this is, outside of poly sci seminars, a bit of a weasel word.

People would have a better sense of what a “dictatorship” is.

So if Team Biden believes that Trump wants to be the dictator, then they ought to say it.

According to a recent CBS News/YouGov poll, registered voters describe Trump as

  • Tough — 66%
  • Energetic — 61%
  • Effective — 52%

When it comes to things that are not necessary associated with making sure the proverbial trains run on time he doesn’t do as well:

  • Competent — 49%
  • Compassionate — 37%

Said another way, competence and compassion aren’t necessarily perceived to be importance if things are getting done.

Biden’s numbers, on the other hand, are abysmal, and for the one that he’s above water on, it isn’t exactly resounding:

  • Tough — 28%
  • Energetic — 26%
  • Effective — 38%
  • Competent — 40%
  • Compassionate — 52%

All of which is to say that he doesn’t sound like someone who would get things done.

People can see and hear Trump rant. People can see and hear Biden express things in as tentative a manner as he walks.

But let’s get back to the things that are part of people’s own lives. Like pocketbook issues.

Asked about the effect of the policies of the two men on their personal financial situation, Trump again leads:

  • Better off — 42%
  • Worse off — 31%

Biden:

  • Better off — 16%
  • Worse off — 48%

While no one thinks they’ll suddenly be rolling in dough regardless of who gets elected, that 48% to 31% delta in the “Worse off” category ought to make the Biden operatives catastrophically concerned. 

According to the latest Consumer Price Index, “Over the last 12 months, the all-items index increased 3.3% before seasonal adjustment.”

“More than offsetting a decline in gasoline,” the US Bureau of Labor Statistics noted, “the index for shelter rose in May, up 0.4% for the fourth consecutive month. The index for food increased 0.1% in May.” The annual rate for shelter is now +5.4%.

For the April report issued a month earlier, housing and gasoline alone caused 70% of the CPI increase, which was 3.4%. “The index for all items less food and energy rose 0.2% in May,” the BLS said. But this followed an 0.3% increase for the index in April, following 0.4% increases in each of the three preceding months. 

The index for medical care rose 0.5% in May after an 0.4% increase in April, while the index for prescription drugs rose 2.1% in May and the index for hospital services increased 0.5%.

People know what going to the doctor is. People know when it costs more to buy a shirt at Target.

And people can’t help but be shocked by the increase in that car insurance bill: the BLS has it that car insurance rates have risen 20.3% over the last year.

People know these things when they see these things.

Only 33% of those polled like the way Trump handles himself personally, meaning 67% don’t like it.

Yet the Biden-Trump matchup is essentially dead-even (nationally, Biden 49%/Trump 50%; battleground states Biden 50%/Trump 49%).

While Trump hasn’t articulated a clear message about how he is going to deal with more expensive housing (you’d think a real estate mogul would be all over that) or the cost of car insurance, neither has Biden.

People don’t necessarily think that Trump is a good man. But they do think that he could be better for the things that they deal with every day, like the price of a gallon of gas.

This may be too simplistic, but there is democracy and there is a doctor’s bill.

Biden can protect democracy by making people understand how he is going to make their daily lives better so that he gets reelected.

The prices at the grocery store are something that people can see and know.

•••

Why not become a Citizen Pundit and send us your thoughts on the latest political news/aggregate, and commentary from Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay and Contributing Pundit Ken Zino?

Send your comments to editors@thehustings.news and please indicate whether you are a conservative or liberal with a note in the subject line.

_____

This Column (and the One on the Right) Are for You

Go to Page 2 to read a debate between contributing pundit Ken Zino and Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay on poor polling results for President Biden’s economy. 

The center column reports on low consumer confidence as measured by the University of Michigan’s Index of Consumer Expectations. 

In the left column, Zino writes, “Trump Tanked the Economy, and Biden is Fixing It.”

In the right column, Macaulay writes, “Would You Have Him Run Your Business?”

Here’s your chance to become a Citizen Pundit and let us know your thoughts on their columns, the Michigan Index, or any recent news items and columns on this site, including Stephen Macaulay’s latest, “The Importance of Age,” in the right column.

Email editors@thehustings.news and indicate in the subject line whether you lean liberal or conservative, so we may post your comments in the correct column.

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…meanwhile…

Unemployment ticked up to 4% in May, when the US economy added 272,000 jobs. Scroll down for details. [CHART: Bureau of Labor Statistics]

MONDAY 6/10/24

Hostages Freed – Saturday’s triumph by Israeli soldiers and special operations police in rescuing four hostages of Hamas from Gaza serves as a microcosm of the whole eight months of war. Though reports of the number of Palestinians killed in the operation “varied wildly in confusion over the attack,” according to The New York Times, two Gaza health officials said the number was more than 200, while Israeli military spokesman and Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari said the number killed was “less than 100,” based on information he had seen. 

The four rescued hostages were kidnapped from the October 7 Nova music festival by Palestinian militants, according to reports.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scored a victory in the hostage rescue coming after much criticism from Israeli moderates and liberals that he was stretching out the war to save his political career and has no plan for who will govern Gaza or how after the war finally does end. 

By Sunday, Benny Ganz, a moderate and “key member” of the Israeli war cabinet quit the government over Netanyahu’s handling of the war. Palestinian officials said their civilian casualties from the rescue was up to at least 274 by late Sunday.

Meanwhile, the NYT says Hamas still holds “roughly” 120 Israeli hostages Netanyahu has urged Hanz on X-Twitter to withdraw his resignation, according to CNN.

“Benny, this is not the time to abandon the campaign,” Netanyahu wrote. “This is the time to join forces.”

•••

Trumpist Populism Hits EU Elections – Coming just after a visit with President Biden following the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, President Emmanuel Macron says he will dissolve French parliament and call snap legislative elections after his allies lost European Union parliamentary elections to Marine Le Pen’s populist National Rally party, The Guardian reports. RN won about 32% of the French vote, while Macron’s allies took 15% and the Socialist party garnered about 14%. 

Populists also scored big wins in the EU elections for Germany, Austria and The Netherlands.

Up on the Hill – The Senate and the House of Representatives are in-session Tuesday through Friday.

--TL

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FRIDAY 6/7/24

May Jobs Stats --The US economy added 272,000 jobs in May for another strong month and another potential reason for the Federal Reserve to hold interest rates. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4% after 27 straight months under the 4.0 mark. The Labor Department noted job gains in health care, government, leisure and hospitality, and professional, scientific and technical services.

***

Biden Apologizes to Zelenskyy – In a meeting that’s sure to raise hackles among the likes of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), President Biden apologized to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for delays in a $61-billion aid package in his country’s defense of Russian dictator Vladimir Putin’s invasion of his country. 

“I apologize for the weeks of not knowing what was going to pass, in terms of funding, because we had trouble getting the bill that we had to pass, that had the money in it,” Biden told Zelenskyy.

“During World War II, the United States helped to save human lives, to save Europe,” Zelenskyy replied. “And we count on your continued support and standing with us, shoulder to shoulder. Thank you so much.”

(Per The New York Times.)

•••

No Pardon for Hunter – President Biden told ABC News’ David Muir he would not pardon his son, Hunter, if convicted in a Wilmington, Delaware federal court for failing to report drug addiction on a gun permit application. Interviewed from Normandy, France during the ceremony for the 80th anniversary of D-Day for ABC’s World News Tonight with David Muir, Biden replied “yes,” when asked whether he would accept a guilty verdict for his son, and “yes” again when asked whether he would rule out a pardon.

Defense is expected to wrap up its list of witnesses in Hunter Biden’s trial on Monday.

•••

Infowere – Families of Sandy Hook school shooting victims who had been awarded a $1.5 billion judgment against Infowars host Alex Jones for his scurrilous claims they were “actors” in a “faked” tragedy voted unanimously in favor of liquidating the far-right talk show host’s assets in order to wrap up bankruptcy proceedings, according to Bloomberg Law. Families favored the liquidation over an alternative offered by Jones to allow him to reorganize by preserving part of his media empire and pay them “at least $5.5 million” per year over 10 years. He also had proposed additional creditor recoveries from the remains of Infowars’ parent company, portions of his income and of proceeds from his sale of various assets. 

Of course, his rejected proposal also would have allowed him to keep his radio show.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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