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 19^th 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.

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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.

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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 6^th 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.

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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 80^th 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 80^th 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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The Importance of Age

By Stephen Macaulay

While we’ve spilled considerable digital ink in discussing the forthcoming presidential election and will certainly use barrels more before this whole thing is over, one of the issues that isn’t getting the amount of attention here, or elsewhere, that is related to who will be re-elected to the Oval Office is: Age.

No, not that come November Donald Trump will be 77 and Joe Biden is 81 on election day and 82 a few weeks later.

Rather, age in the context of Social Security and Medicare.

Given their ages, these are the sorts of things that ought to be concerning to both men.

Given their wealth and positions, it is probably something that, on a personal level, really doesn’t matter.

Here’s a fun fact from the Social Security Administration: In 2024 an average of some 68 million Americans will get a Social Security benefit each month. That’s a significant number of voters right there.

And some 66 million Americans are enrolled in Medicare. All of them are above voting age.

According to the Census Bureau, in the 2020 presidential election “Voter turnout was highest among those ages 65 to 74 at 76.0%.” These are people who are keenly concerned with Medicare and Social Security.

But it turns out that those who have yet to participate in these programs are becoming increasingly concerned.

According to a recent study by West Health and Gallup, 73% of U.S. adults under age 65 are “worried” (41%) or “extremely worried” (32%) that Medicare won’t be available to them when they qualify.

As for Social Security, the number is even higher: 33% are “worried” and 47% are “extremely worried,” so that’s 80%.

What’s more, 87% of adults under 65 believe Medicare will be important to them when they qualify and 83% think the same about Social Security.

When asked about how likely they’d be to vote for someone who “prioritizes issues affecting older Americans,” 40% of those ages 18 to 29 said they’d be “somewhat more” or “much more” likely to, while only 38% of those people ages 30 to 39 would be.

However, if you wrap in the results from those 40 to 49 (54%), 50 to 64 (67%) and 65+ (77%), the average of those who would vote for said candidate is 57%. Yes, the older one gets the more important those issues are, and that bloc of older voters is awfully powerful.

Biden and Trump can go at one another all day long about whether one is crooked and the other corrupt and vice versa.

The path to the White House passes right through the AARP membership and while it might to seem to be sufficiently “forward-looking” to embrace that cadre, you can count on those people voting — in person and by mail.

_____

Help Us Fill Out This Column

...or the one on the right. The Hustings is here for your civil, fact-based comments, whether your are liberal or conservative.

In the right column Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay takes House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) to task for his support of ex-President Trump after his 34-count conviction for falsifying business records over hush-money payments to adult film star Stormy Daniels.

Here’s your chance to publicly agree or disagree with Macaulay on this issue. Simply fill out the COMMENTS section in this or the right column (appropriate for your political leanings, whether pro-MAGA, anti-Trump-right or from the left.

Or, email editors@thehustings.news and indicate your political leanings in the subject line.

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In Normandy

D-DAY+80, 2024

Bannon to Prison -- A federal judge has ordered former Trump administration advisor and MAGA acolyte Steve Bannon to prison by July 1, The Hill reports. Bannon is appealing his 2022 conviction on contempt of Congress charges for failing to appear for a deposition ordered by the since-disbanded House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6 Attack on the United States Capitol.

•••

From WWII to Today – The allied effort of the U.S. and the rest of NATO to stand up to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is a “direct extension” of the battle for freedom throughout Europe during World War II, President Biden observed at the 80^th anniversary of the Allied invasion of Omaha Beach (per The New York Times). Biden’s speech was held next to the burial site where 9,388 American military are buried, most of whom were part of the invasion.

"Democracy is not guaranteed," Biden told the crowd, which included among world leaders attending, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but not Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, "and every generation must fight for it."

•••

Fighter Jets Hit UN School – As Israel’s fight with Hezbollah threatens to spill into southern Lebanon, there are reports of Israeli fighter jets attacking a United Nations school overnight in Central Gaza, killing at least 35 people, according to The Washington Post, which quotes Phillipe Lazzarini, commissioner of the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, known as UNRWA.

Israeli Defense Forces spokesman Lt. Col. Peter Lerner countered Thursday, saying 20 to 30 Hamas and Islamic Jihad fighters had been using a compound from inside the school.

•••

Biden Slipping? – Some Democrats and others who have worked with President Biden recently say the 81-year-old “appears slower now, someone who has both good moments and bad moments,” according to a Wall Street Journal report Wednesday. The report, which says Biden “spoke so softly at times that some participants struggled to hear him” in a January meeting in the West Wing with congressional leaders to negotiate a deal to fund Ukraine, no doubt jolted his party’s leaders.

Sources who were quoted anonymously included “(s)ome who have worked with him … including Democrats and some who have known him back to his time as vice president…” It quotes former House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) saying; “I used to meet with him when he was vice president. I’d go to his house … He’s not the same person.” The WSJ notes that “White House officials dismissed many of the accounts … as motivated by partisan politics.”

But the story got little attention elsewhere Wednesday, except for News Corp. sibling Fox News, until The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, on which the host coupled The Wall Street Journal’s story with news about its recently retired CEO, 93-year-old Rupert Murdoch, marrying for his fifth time.

•••

Final Four? – Senators J.D. Vance (OH), Marco Rubio (FL) and Tim Scott (SC), and North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum are the four finalists vying to become presumed Republican presidential nominee Donald J. Trump’s running mate, per Forbes magazine. The running mate-race remains fluid, however, and could change before the Republican National Convention begins in Milwaukee, July 15.

There could be extra weight added to Trump’s choice, as the RNC begins four days after the ex-president is to be sentenced for his falsified business records/hush money conviction July 11.

--TL

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WEDNESDAY 6/5/24

Border Politics – “Why now?” is the question NPR’s Michel Martin repeated several times to Homeland Security Sec. Alejandro Mayorkas on Morning Edition, asking about President Biden’s executive order meant to restrict crossings at the southern border. Mayorkas, fresh off a Senate impeachment acquittal stressed the need to “properly fund” Homeland Security and the enforcement of border laws.

Biden’s executive action Tuesday restricts the number of migrants seeking asylum and allows border officials to stop processing claims when illegal crossings surge, as they have, as we approach the November 5 elections. Capitol Hill Republicans, who in the House killed off a bipartisan border bill earlier this year, attacked the White House’s “weak” response to the crisis.

“To protect America as a land that welcomes migrants, we must first secure the border and secure it now,” Biden said Tuesday.

Until then-President Trump referred to “shithole countries” during his administration, no one would have admitted to the glaring reason behind much of immigration restriction in the U.S. over the centuries, that of discrimination against minorities from Italians and Irish to Latinos, Hispanics and Muslims. Beside angst over criminal activities that data on undocumented aliens constantly prove to be unfounded, there are two underlying concerns: First, that undocumented immigrants will take entry level jobs from Americans – they do, but largely at minimum wage or less, and Second, the one primarily for Republicans, that the undocumented will become Democrats after they become citizens.

•••

Has Modi’s BJP Peaked? – We would be remiss if we ignored national elections in the world’s largest democracy and fastest-growing economy, India, where nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi will remain prime minister, but his BJP party lost significant ground to the Congress party.

The results are considered a shock and/or jolt to Modi and the BJP. The Election Commission of India announced Tuesday that Modi’s BJP won 240 parliamentary seats to Congress’ 99, The Times of India reports. While this might seem a pretty good result for the incumbent, that’s down from 303 seats the BJP won in 2019 elections, which was on an upward trend from 284 seats secured in the 2014 elections. We’ll keep you posted on what this means for democracy in India and around the globe, going forward.

•••

MAGA Republican Defeated in New Jersey – Trump-endorsed Mendham Borough Mayor Christine Serrano Glassner lost the New Jersey GOP primary for Bob Menendez’s U.S. Senate seat Tuesday to real estate developer Curtis Bashaw, The Hill reports. Bashaw had the influential support of most the county Republican Party organizations in the state and faces Democrat nominee Rep. Andy Kim (D-NJ).

Menendez, the Democratic senior senator from New Jersey who is under indictment with his wife on bribery charges, has said he is running for re-election as an independent.

Primaries were also held Tuesday in Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota and Washington, D.C.

--TL

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TUESDAY 6/4/24

Border Policy by Exec Order – President Biden gathers border-city mayors at the White House Tuesday -- three months after the House scuttled a bipartisan immigration bill to keep the issue alive for GOP presidential candidate Donald J. Trump -- with plans to sign an executive order that would greatly reduce the number of asylum-seekers allowed into the U.S., NPR’s Morning Editionreports. Although no details were leaked ahead of the announcement, the executive order is expected to significantly cut the number of immigrants allowed, according to NPR immigration correspondent Sergio Martinez Beltrán, who notes that Mexico has been cracking down on border crossings from its side at the request of the U.S.

•••

Fauci Faces Conspiracy Theoryfest – Erstwhile top infectious disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci called “simply preposterous” Republican allegations that he had tried to cover up the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic at a House subcommittee hearing Monday. Leading the questions based on a litany of conspiracy theories was Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) who refused to address Fauci as a doctor and later called for him to be locked up as a “mass murderer.”

All this prompted Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) to apologize to Fauci, according to the HuffPost.

“They’re treating you, Dr. Fauci, like a convicted felon,” Raskin said of such MAGA Republicans as MTG. “Actually, you probably wish they were treating you like a convicted felon. They treat convicted felons with love and admiration.”

•••

Hunter Biden Trial, Day Two – Jury selection was completed Monday in Wilmington, Delaware, with opening statements to begin Tuesday in the criminal trial of the president’s son, Hunter Biden. He has been charged with lying on a 2018 gun license application on which he stated he was not addicted to illegal drugs.

--TL

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MONDAY 6/3/24

Trump Conviction Bump? – Down-ballot Democrats have been running better in the polls than President Biden for this November’s elections, but the expected bump in Donald J. Trump’s popularity after his 34-count conviction last week may help some of his most fervent supporters running for congressional seats, according to David Wasserman of The Cook Political Report.

“This conviction might have some slight upside for down-ballot Republicans, not in a major way,” with a bump in turnout among pro-MAGA voters, elections analyst Wasserman told NPR’s Steve Inskeep on Morning Edition Monday. That could be good news for Arizona Republican Senate candidate Kari Lake, but not for heretofore never-Trumper and Maryland Republican Senate candidate Larry Hogan.

Be sure to read Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay’s take on Trump’s remorse (or lack thereof) and House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-LA) response, now in the right column.

Hunter Biden’s turn… Trial of the president’s son on charges he lied on a 2018 gun-purchase application begins in Wilmington, Delaware, Monday. The younger Biden allegedly claimed he was not addicted to illegal drugs when he filled out the paperwork.

•••

Cease-Fire, Or Not – Israeli National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Givr and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich threatened to resign if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu agrees to a Gaza cease-fire agreement as outlined by President Biden Friday afternoon, The Hill reports. Their resignations would force new Israeli elections, as suggested by Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) weeks ago. That’s something Netanyahu, whose leadership hangs from a string, does not want.

“This is a reckless deal, Ben-Givr said, “which constitutes a victory for terrorism and a security threat to the State of Israel.”

By Saturday Netanyahu already reiterated that Israel would not agree to a permanent cease-fire in Gaza as long as Hamas retained governing and military power, The New York Times reported Sunday. By Monday, NPR reports that Netanyahu has said privately he backs the proposal.

Biden said Friday the proposal would begin with a six-week cease-fire during which Hamas would release women, the elderly and wounded Israeli hostages it has held since its October 7 attack. Israel would withdraw from major population centers in Gaza, release hundreds of Palestinian hostages and allow at least 600 trucksful of humanitarian aid per day.

•••

Mexico’s New President – Just as a U.S. president in his late 70s or early 80s is inevitable after November’s elections, Mexicans went into voting booths Sunday to inevitably elect its first female president. Climate scientist and ex-Mexico City Mayor Claudia Sheinbaum took between 58.3% to 60.7% of Sunday’s vote, The Guardian reports, easily beating Xóchitl Gálvez. Though counted as a liberal, Sheinbaum’s mentor is authoritarian-leaning outgoing Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

Mexican presidents are limited to a single six-year term.

•••

Putin ‘Controls’ China – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy over the weekend criticized China for attempting to put thekabosh on a peace summit to be held June 15-16 in Switzerland by pressuring other countries not to attend, the Financial Timesreports.

Zelenskyy said China is “in the hands” of Russian President/Dictator Vladimir Putin and he criticized China, once Ukraine’s biggest trade partner, for supplying Russia with dual-use equipment that the U.S. says is being used to rebuild Moscow’s defense industry.

•••

Fauci on the House Grill – A 15-month House Select Subcommittee investigating the coronavirus pandemic has failed to connect Dr. Anthony Fauci, the retired immunologist and government scientist, to the beginning of COVID-19. He faces testimony to the subcommittee beginning Monday, (The New York Times), anyway, where pro-MAGA Congress members will try to shift blame for the slow response and inevitable need for shutdowns across the country away from the Trump administration.

The subcommittee also has uncovered emails from Fauci aides that appear to state concerns over Fauci’s public image as the agency he led for 38 years, the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases, faced scrutiny over funding questions.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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Shame?

By Stephen Macaulay

The word shame goes back to the Old English. Even back in the fifth century the Anglo-Saxons described a “feeling of guilt or disgrace” and “loss of esteem and reputation.”

Over time the word has gained additional meanings, such as being related to “propriety and decency.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson (pictured above), who is a man of propriety and faith, said that Donald Trump’s 34-count felony conviction was a “shameful day.”

What he meant was that it was shameful in the context of Donald Trump being found guilty, as though there was some impropriety in the legal system.

But let’s think about this.

The case was about illegal activities. This not only has to do with lying (a.k.a., “bearing false witness”), but there was a direct association with adultery.

Or in other words, the Trump trial ticked at least two of the boxes on the list of Ten Commandments.

Was there any proof presented that showed there was no falsifying documents?

Was there any testimony — hand-on-the-Bible-I-swear-to-tell-the-whole-truth-and-nothing-but-the-truth testimony — that there wasn’t an act of adultery, which led to the falsification?

Did Donald Trump exhibit propriety and decency when talking about the people — from the judge to the jurors to the witnesses — associated with the trial?

So where is the shame, Speaker Johnson?

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Conviction a Win?

Donald J. Trump has become, it has been much-noted, the first-ever former American president to be convicted of a felony. Will that help him or hurt him in the November 5 presidential election? Should it?

What should Trump’s sentence be? What will it be?

This is your chance to comment on anything and everything regarding Thursday’s historic verdict in The State of New York v. Donald J. Trump, whether you lean left or right, and if right, pro-MAGA or Never-Trumper.

Email your COMMENTS to editors@thehustings.news and indicate your political leanings in the subject line. That’s so we know whether to run your comments in this column or the one on the right. Please keep your comments civil. It will be kinda like X-Twitter, except without the echo chamber – because you’ll read civil discussion from left and right on the same page – and without the conspiracy theories and made-up facts.

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The Day After

Trump Bump in Fundraising – Donald J. Trump, convicted Thursday on 34 counts of falsifying business records in paying hush money to adult film star Stormy Daniels just ahead of his 2016 election win, was to hold a press conference at Trump Tower Friday morning, NPR reports.

Biden react… “No one is above the law.”

But if Biden didn’t go there, his campaign communications director, Michael Tyler, did: “There is still only one way to keep Donald Trump out of the Oval Office: At the ballot box. Convicted felon or not, Trump will be the Republican nominee for president.”

Note: Trump has lost one vote so far; his own, as a convicted felon.

•••

Et Tu, Mitch? – Last week, Nikki Haley said she will vote for Donald J. Trump in this November’s election. Thursday night, Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY), who might have handled retirement much in the manner of Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), wrote on X-Twitter (per The Hill); “These charges never should have been brought in the first place. I expect the conviction to be overturned on appeal.”

•••

Calendar – The first debate between Donald J. Trump and President Biden is June 27 on CNN. Sentencing for Trump in Judge Juan Merchan’s Manhattan courtroom is July 11. The Republican National Convention is July 15-18 at the Fiserv Forum (Fear the Deer!) in Milwaukee.

•••

There’s Got to Be a Morning After – And it starts with a huge overnight fundraising win for convicted felon and former President Donald J. Trump, conservative pundit Hugh Hewitt told Steve Inskeep on NPR’s Morning Edition. Hewitt names three Republican Senate candidates as likely winners from Trump’s fundraising haul; Bernie Moreno, challenger to Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH), David McCormick, challenger to Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Larry Hogan, running against Prince Georges County Executive Angela Alsobrooks (D), for retiring Sen. Ben Cardin’s (D-MD) seat.

Inskeep notes that Hogan is a very moderate Republican (actually, a never-Trumper who briefly considered running for the 2024 GOP nomination), but Hewitt says the three will all fall in line for Trump and give his second term the Republican Senate majority he’ll need to carry out his MAGA agenda.

Here we’ll note that in the case of swing-state Pennsylvania, incumbent Democrat Casey had been leading McCormick by between two and five points through early May, according to 538, and he jumped ahead to a 49%-41% lead in the May 13 average of BSG/GS Strategy Group and The Cook Political Report polls.

Aside from Trump’s fundraising success, the National Republican Congressional Committee scored its best fundraising day of the cycle by Thursday night, Punchbowl News reports, having raised $300,000, which far surpasses the $175,000 the NRCC raised the day Rep. Mike Johnson (R-LA) was elected House speaker.

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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COMMENTS: editors@thehustings.news

Trump: So Many Questions, So Few Answers

By Stephen Macaulay

Should you go to Trump’s 2024 website, you’ll immediately be greeted by a photo of the former president walking away from the Marine One helicopter (presumably a more serious setting than the patio at Mar-a-Lago) and the quote:

“They’re not after me, they’re after you . . . I’m just standing in the way.”

That sounds a bit on the paranoid side.

Who are “They”?

Why are “They” “after you”?

Who is “you”?

What will “They” do to “you” should they catch “you”?

If “They” are “after you,” is Trump “standing in the way” sufficient to stop their pursuit?

So many questions. So few answers.

Then the page segues to a definition of “The MAGA Movement.”

It opens “The American Way of Life is under attack while career politicians destroy our economy and sabotage our nation’s incredible potential. We will take our country back from the corrupt Washington establishment and return power to the American people, where it belongs.”

Is “The American Way of Life” “under attack” by “They”?

What will “They” do to “The American Way of Life”?

Is there any possibility that Trump can be “standing in the way”?

If someone has been involved full time in politics since at least 2015, doesn’t that make that person a “career politician”?

Arguably the most “establishment” position in all of Washington is president. If someone (1) was president and (2) has been found liable in a civil case for sexual abuse and defamation of the abused, isn’t that a definition of “corrupt Washington establishment”?

Of course, as this is the website that is meant to present what his plan is for another stint as president you would imagine that he’d get to laying out elements of his program.

But first there is the opportunity to buy a MAGA hat, a MAGA flag or a T-shirt with his mug shot on it. (Bonus question: When did presidential mug shots become a good look?)

Almost to those policies.

But first, in all caps, there is this:

I AM YOUR VOICE.

AMERICA FIRST!

Who, exactly, is “YOUR VOICE” talking to? Could “They” be involved?

Then the policies:

Economic Prosperity for All
Secure America’s Borders
Restore Public Safety
Peace Through Strength
Reclaim Free Speech
Dismantle the Deep State

As for the first it goes on to explain, “President Donald J. Trump ended the war on American Workers.” Who was fighting the “war”? Did “They” play any part? Did anyone tell the AFL-CIO, UAW, NABTU or other trade unions that have endorsed Biden? Did anyone tell the Trump team that according to FactCheck.org the number of coal mining jobs was reduced by 8,500 and manufacturing by 154,000 during his ending the war? And that jobs were down a total 2,876,000? Is that how the “war” ended?

As for the borders, if “We created the most secure border in U.S. history,” then shouldn’t it have been built sufficiently strong so that it would last?

“We will quickly restore law and order to our country.” Does that square with this from the report released in October in which it says:

“The FBI’s crime statistics estimates for 2022 show that national violent crime decreased an estimated 1.7% in 2022 compared to 2021 estimates:

Murder and non-negligent manslaughter recorded a 2022 estimated nationwide decrease of 6.1% compared to the previous year.
In 2022, the estimated number of offenses in the revised rape category saw an estimated 5.4% decrease.
Aggravated assault in 2022 decreased an estimated 1.1% in 2022.
Robbery showed an estimated increase of 1.3% nationally.”?

As for the military, it says “As Commander in Chief, President Trump rebuilt the military and kept America out of unnecessary foreign wars.” Was he preoccupied with ending “the war on American workers”?

Apparently the censorship that the MAGA folks have been performing in libraries and classrooms is not the issue. “President Trump is absolutely committed to ending the systematic censorship of the American people.” Who is performing the “systematic censorship”? “They”?

And, of course, the “Deep State.” Clearly a place that “They” inhabit. “President Trump will Drain the Swamp once and for all, and restore government by the People.” Does this square with, say, his telling oil industry execs that a $1-billion contribution to his campaign will put them in good stead?

Finally, there’s something titled “Agenda47.” Did someone forget to hit the space bar?

Did anyone notice there are only 15 items?

It includes a series of short videos on the topics:

“President Donald J. Trump Declares War on Cartels” It says “when he is president again, it will be the official policy of the United States to take down the drug cartels.” Did anyone tell him that according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, “DEA’s top priority is reducing the supply of deadly drugs in our country and defeating the two cartels responsible for the vast majority of drug trafficking in the United States” right now?
“Ending the Nightmare of the Homeless, Drug Addicts, and Dangerously Deranged,” which has the descriptor: “For a small fraction of what we spend upon Ukraine, we could take care of every homeless veteran in America. Our veterans are being treated horribly.” While the observation is accurate, doesn’t making it sound like vets are “Homeless, Drug Addicts, and Dangerously Deranged” an absolute insult to the brave women and men who have served?
“Liberating America from Biden’s Regulatory Onslaught” “Onslaught”? Really?
“Firing the Radical Marxist Prosecutors Destroying America” Seriously: are there still “Radical Marxists” and how would you know if there was one?
“President Trump Announces Plan to Stop the America Last Warmongers and Globalists” Apparently these people are “in the Deep State, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the national security industrial complex.” Do they know any “Radical Marxist Prosecutors”?
“President Trump Announces Plan to End Crime and Restore Law and Order” The aforementioned FBI report notwithstanding, isn’t a “Plan to End Crime” a bit grandiose?
“President Trump on Making America Energy Independent Again” The statement is “Biden’s War on Energy is The Key Driver of the Worst Inflation in 58 Years! When I’m back in Office, We Will Eliminate Every Democrat Regulation That Hampers Domestic Energy Production.” Does he know that the U.S. is the top oil-producing country in the world — greater than Saudi Arabia, even? Does he know that oil is sold on the global market so that even if there’s an oil well in Key Biscayne the petroleum could be sold in. . .China?
“President Trump Will Build a New Missile Defense Shield” Doesn’t this sound like it might involve “the Deep State, the Pentagon, the State Department, and the national security industrial complex,” or does he know some guys who can do it?
“President Trump Calls for Immediate De-escalation and Peace” How does one perform “Immediate De-escalation”?
“President Trump’s Plan to Protect Children from Left-Wing Gender Insanity” Merely “Left-Wing”? Not “Marxist”?
“President Trump’s Plan to Save American Education and Give Power Back to Parents” Apparently “Our public schools have been taken over by the Radical Left Maniacs!” Is this a subset of the other people he’s identified?
“We Must Protect Medicare and Social Security” Is it deliberate that it doesn’t say “President Trump’s Plan to Protect Medicare and Social Security”? Does this mean he doesn’t have a plan?
“President Trump Will Stop China From Owning America” Does China want to?
“President Donald J. Trump Calls for Probe into Intelligence Community’s Role in Online Censorship” Did you know that there is an “illegal censorship regime—a regime like nobody’s ever seen in the history of our country or most other countries for that matter,” says Trump?
“President Donald J. Trump—Free Speech Policy Initiative” Will it “dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech”? Does the “censorship cartel” know that he’s declared “War on Cartels”?

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Not the Right Column

If you have found The Hustings on a smartphone, you probably came to this column first. You might think we are a left-leaning publication.

This isn’t what we had intended. All first-time readers should land on a three-column page with political news and analysis in the center column, conservative commentary in the right column and liberal commentary on the left. We are for open, civil discourse, not echo chambers.

Unfortunately, we are not there yet. We are getting by with a political news site that is best read on a computer screen, even if most people do not read their news in this manner. So, we’re asking for your help.Please send us a note telling us about how you found The Hustings. This will help us decide which fixes, changes and updates get priority. Send your comments and suggestions to editors@thehustings.news

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…meanwhile…

The Senate Tuesday voted 80-19 Tuesday (per The Hill) to limit debate on the foreign aid supplemental that Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) ushered through the House last weekend. "It's not too late," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY, above) said. "We don't have to give up on Ukraine. And we are not going to."

PASSOVER 2024

UPDATE: Judge Juan Merchan did not immediately rule on prosecution's request to hold the ex-president in contempt for violating the gag order in the criminal case alleging falsification of business records to cover up a hush money payment, but the judge did have a "heated" discussion with lead defense attorney Todd Blanche over the issue, according to The New York Times. District Attorney Alvin Bragg filed a complaint that Trump made 10 public statements on Truth Social and his presidential campaign website that attacked two likely witnesses, former fixer Michael Cohen, and adult film star Stormy Daniels.

"You've presented nothing," Merchan told Blanche. "You're losing all credibility with the court."

More Pecker ... Former National Enquirer publisher David Pecker testified about the publication's relationship with Trump a decade ago, according to The Guardian: "They asked me what can I do -- and what could my magazines could do -- to help the [2016 election] campaign. ... I said what I would do is I would run or publish positive stories about Mr. Trump and I would publish negative stories about his opponents, and I said that I would also be the eyes and ears because I know that the Trump Organization had a very small staff."

But wait, there's more ... Pecker also testified that the National Enquirer made up the story connecting Sen. Ted Cruz's (R-TX) father to JFK assassin Lee Harvey Oswald, NBC News reports. Cruz, who long ago joined the gaggle of Capitol Hill MAGA acolytes, told NBC he's "not interested in revisiting ancient history."

Contemptability -- Prosecutors in Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg's criminal case against Donald J. Trump have asked Judge Juan Merchan to hold the ex-president in contempt for violating a gag order barring attacks on witnesses, prosecutors, jurors, court staff and their families (per The New York Times). The judge is expected to rule on the request by Tuesday. Trump, who is on trial in a 34-count indictment for falsifying business records to cover up sex scandals, has attacked upcoming prosecution witnesses Michael Cohen, his former attorney-fixer, and the adult film star known as Stormy Daniels among others, on his Truth Social "media" outlet.

The ex-prez has not attacked, so far, the prosecution's first witness, David Pecker, who a decade ago as publisher of the National Enquirer allegedly applied the tabloid's "catch and kill" method to kill negative press for Trump prior to the 2016 election.

--TL

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MONDAY 4/22/24

Speaker Needs Democrats – Finally, the House has passed $60.8 billion in new aid to Ukraine for its defense against Russia’s invasion. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanked Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), President Biden and the American people, and told NBC News’ Meet the Press in an exclusive, via interpreter, that the aid will “strengthen Ukraine and send a powerful message it will not be the second Afghanistan.”

The House vote on the Ukraine aid package was 311-112, all of the opposition consisting of Republicans. Johnson will need at least 112 Democrats to vote to keep him as speaker if Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) goes forth with a motion to vacate.

“America last,” MTG said after the vote. “That’s all this is every single day, America last,” CQ Roll Call reports.

As House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-TX) warned recently in an interview with Puck News, Russian propaganda has “infected a good chunk of my party’s base.”

Also passed in the supplemental is a $26.4 billion package for Israel, at 366-58, with 37 Democrats and 21 Republicans voting “no.” Some of that money goes to Gaza as humanitarian aid.

An $8.1 billion package for Taiwan and other Indo-Pacific countries passed 384-34, and a “sidecar” of related issues including unfreezing of $5 billion Russian assets for Ukraine and tougher sanctions on Russia, Iran and China.

These will be bundled into one supplemental for the Senate, which is to begin procedurals on it at 1 p.m. Tuesday according to Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY). For Zelenskyy, it cannot come soon enough.

Addendum: We'd be remiss to ignore this cover headline from the Sunday, April 21 edition of the New York Post, the erstwhile pro-Trump tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp: "Nyet, Moscow Marjorie." The subhead, next to a head-shot of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) photoshopped wearing one of those furry Russian winter caps, says "GOP rebels defeated as House passes $61B in Ukraine aide."

--Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa

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