•<Contributing Pundit Hugh Hansen kicks off this week’s short-take commentaries with his reaction in the left column to the status of Todd Blanche’s nomination as permanent AG.
•>Pundit-at-Large Stephen Macaulay parses the presidential blame-game with his commentary in the right column.
Democrats’ Dilemma – Polls show former Wayne County Health, Human, and Veterans Service Director Abdul El-Sayed handily beating four-time US Rep. Haley Stevens in Tuesday’s Michigan primary for Democratic candidate for Senate to replace retired Sen. Gary Peters (D) but then losing to pro-Trump Republican candidate Mike Rogers November 3.
If those poll numbers hold for the next 90 or so days, it would cancel out a likely hard-gained Democratic win in the minority party’s bid to even out Republicans’ current 52-48 Senate majority (Peters ran for the Republican nomination in Michigan unopposed).
This is the Democratic Party’s midterm dilemma nationwide. With President Trump’s four- to six-week war on Iran in its 20th week and his approval rating at a near-historic low of -20.6% (per the Silver Bulletin), the opposition party’s road to a House and even a Senate majority should be a cakewalk.
Right now, it doesn’t look like a cakewalk if El-Sayed beats Stevens, who is endorsed by Michigan’s popular outgoing, term-limited Gov. Gretchen Whitmer and other prominent mainstream Democrats. At-issue for progressive Democrats voting in Tuesday’s primaries is Stevens’ AIPAC (American Israel Public Affairs Committee) backing.
Like MAGA Republicans who choose a primary candidate with far less popularity among independent and swing-voters in the general elections, the prog Dems are potentially throwing away the big advantage from the current political climate.
The University of Virginia Center for Politics’ founder Larry Sabato tells NPR’s Steve Inskeep Tuesday that it’s not that clear-cut.
“If this turns into any kind of Blue Wave, then you’ll have lots of people from the anti-establishment wing of the party, from the progressive wing, winning in November,” publisher of UV’s Sabato’s Crystal Ball says on Morning Edition. “Even though they may have been written off in the summer. We’ve seen that many times in both parties. So anger sometimes can propel larger turnout which in a midterm election can produce results.”
•••
Right Direction for Gas Prices, But Not Diesel – National average of unleaded regular is $4.089 Tuesday, off 0.6 cents from Monday and up $1.287 over February 27, the AAA reports. With Ukrainian drone strikes continuing to light up Russian reserves, a gallon of diesel is up 0.8 cents over Friday’s average to $5.372, or +$1.648 over late February. –TL
_______________________________________________
MONDAY 8/3/26
Blanche Deal? – Liberated-as-lame-duck Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX) says he has reached a deal with the Justice Department to quash President Trump’s $1.776 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for allies that potentially would have included January 6thrioters, The Hill reports, after acting Attorney Gen. Todd Blanche posted a signed memo to his social media account late Sunday formally rescinding the fund.
That means Cornyn and fellow lame-duck Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) will provide the votes necessary to move President Trump’s nominee for permanent AG through the Senate Judiciary Committee, where Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has scheduled an executive business meeting for 9 a.m. EDT Tuesday to move Blanche’s nomination forward to the full Senate.
Late last week, Trump had threatened to pull Blanche’s nomination and retain him as acting AG past the midterm elections when Cornyn, who lost his primary to a Trump endorsee, and Tillis, who chose not to run for re-election under threat of the same presidential treatment, will be gone.
Blanche still faces potential Republican opposition in the full Senate, which is scheduled to go on its summer recess Friday evening. Blanche’s confirmation needs 51 Senate votes.
•••
Dealing On, Bombing Off Again – For the second time in two weeks, President Trump has cancelled a massive US military attack on Iran, pivoting “back to diplomacy as Iranian victory eludes him,” says The Wall Street Journal’s headline.
Trump told reporters Sunday he had been prepared to launch the biggest US military attack since World War II but was talked down by allies. Talks with Iran were to begin (again) Monday afternoon, he said.
“We were all set to go, but when the allies asked to call it off, you got to sort of say, ‘well, let’s see,’” Trump said.
•••
Some Gas Relief – President Trump’s latest reversal from bombing Iran to dealing with its leaders brought oil prices down over the weekend, and prices at the pump have come down a bit as a result. National average of unleaded regular is $4.095 Monday, off 1.1 cents from Friday and up $1.293 over February 27, the AAA reports. A gallon of diesel is up 1.1 cents over Friday’s average to $5.364, or +$1.64 over late February.
•••
Another Major Pivot – Last week, President Trump said he would grant Ukraine a license to produce its own much-needed Patriot missiles, but then "walked that back during a Cabinet meeting hours before Russia's latest ballistic missile strike" on Kyiv, The Kyiv Independent reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says Russia is trying to ramp up production of ballistic missiles as many companies manufacturing components for those weapons have not yet been sanctioned by Western countries. He said Russia attacked Ukraine in the past week with 1,900 drones, almost 1,600 guided arial bombs and 144 various missiles. All this was in the same week Ukraine said it struck an Iranian ship in the Caspian Sea that was transporting munitions components to Russia.
•••
Off the Deep End – Former Fox News and current US Attorney for the District of Columbia Jeanine Pirro on Friday dismissed the case against former Olympic canoeist David Hearn who was charged with vandalizing the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool. Pirro said the Interior Department was to blame for shoddy repair and renovation work by Atlantic Industrial Coatings, Politico reports.
The Interior Department had awarded Atlantic Industrial Coatings a no-bid contract that so far has cost taxpayers $14.64 million, according to ABC News.
After Pirro’s dismissal, President Trump Truth Socialed this about one of his most loyal supporters: “I disagree with Jeanine Pirro. I don't know what she was thinking."
The president insisted the cause was pure vandalism and pointed to large "86 47" lettering emblazoned on the grounds near the pool.
•••
Inside Truth Social -- Trump Media & Technology Group has begun shopping to traders and investors a premium version of its social media allowing early access to the feeds of high-profile members, including President Trump, NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday reports. Fee for the early access, which critics worry may be a case of insider trading investigable by the Securities & Exchange Commission, is "up to $100,000 per month." –Compiled and edited by Todd Lassa