Top Items:
New York Times:
Inside What Even an Ally Calls Trump's ‘Reality Distortion Field’ — From nonexistent riots to conspiracy theories about migrants to false claims about his popularity and job-creating record, the president has offered a litany of falsehoods in the midterm campaign.
Discussion:
Florida Politics
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Scott Lemieux / Lawyers, Guns & Money:
Republicans Getting Borked on Healthcare
Republicans Getting Borked on Healthcare
Discussion:
Eschaton and New York Magazine
Sahil Kapur / Bloomberg:
Embattled Iowa Lawmaker King Says Ted Cruz Expressed His Support — GOP campaign leader renounced King after attack in Pittsburgh — Cruz is in a close race; his campaign says call was ‘personal’ — Representative Steve King of Iowa, who has been abandoned by Republican leaders …
Discussion:
Dallas Morning News, The Week and Daily Kos
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New York Times:
How Vilification of George Soros Moved From the Fringes to the Mainstream — WASHINGTON — Hours after he was informed last week that an explosive device had been delivered to his suburban New York home, George Soros, the billionaire investor and Democratic donor, got on a call with colleagues …
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Dana Blanton / Fox News:
Fox News Poll: Trump approval remains high in Senate battleground states — A new round of Fox News battleground state polls proves we don't call them battlegrounds for nothing. With six days until the election, three of the five U.S. Senate races could go either way …
Discussion:
CNN, POLITICUSUSA, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and LifeZette
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Mark Murray / NBC News:
Poll: Indiana Senate race is a dead heat
Erik Wemple / Washington Post:
Shepard Smith can't redeem Fox News — A header on Brian Stelter's nightly media newsletter reads, “Fox under pressure,” a reference to the growing concerns that Fox News's rhetoric is driving conspiracy theories. “Modern Family” co-creator Steve Levitan has signaled that he won't …
Discussion:
New York Times, Forbes, LifeZette and Breitbart, more at Mediagazer »
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Joe Concha / The Hill:
Fox News tops CNN and MSNBC combined in October cable news ratings
Fox News tops CNN and MSNBC combined in October cable news ratings
Discussion:
twitchy.com and TVNewser
Kansas City Star:
Out-of-state political consultants helped direct Josh Hawley's Missouri AG office — Josh Hawley pledged to Missouri voters in 2016 that he was not the kind of career politician who would use “one office to get to another.” — But within weeks of Hawley's swearing in as the state's top …
Discussion:
Political Wire
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Erik Wasson / Bloomberg:
Democrats More Hopeful About Unseating Montana's Body-Slamming Lawmaker
Democrats More Hopeful About Unseating Montana's Body-Slamming Lawmaker
Discussion:
Great Falls Tribune, Power Line and Talking Points Memo
David Crook / DCReport.org:
Human Rights Group Calls for Investigation of Giuliani, Trump Money-Laundering Scheme — Prosecutors Asked to Probe Dutch Middlemen Washing Billions in Dirty Kazakh Cash for Real Estate Deals in US and Europe — By David Cay Johnston, DCReport Editor-in-Chief
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Mark Hosenball / Reuters:
U.S. Senate panel investigates former Trump aide Bannon: sources — WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate Intelligence Committee is pursuing a wide-ranging investigation into former White House adviser Steve Bannon's activities during the 2016 presidential campaign, three sources familiar with the inquiry told Reuters.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo, The Week, Boing Boing, Splinter, Talking Points Memo and Political Wire
PVA:
Gillum Makes Promises He Can't Keep, “that's not for [voters] to know” Says Campaign Staff in Undercover Video … Empty Promises Exposed: “Fairy tales in the modern day begin with ‘once I am elected.’” — Deceiving Voters: “None of the programs that people are hoping for would happen” but “That's not for [voters] to know.”
Discussion:
Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit and Daily Wire
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Chris Mills Rodrigo / The Hill:
Ex-GOP lawmaker: I voted for Gillum over DeSantis in Florida
Ex-GOP lawmaker: I voted for Gillum over DeSantis in Florida
Discussion:
Tampa Bay Times, Raw Story and Shareblue Media
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
Sarah Sanders has a knack for lying — One can only marvel at the ease with which White House press secretary Sarah Sanders abuses the people in front of her, deflects blame and outright lies. At Monday's press briefing, her entire bag of tricks was on display.
The Daily Beast:
‘Homeland Security’ Ignores White Terror, DHS Veterans Say — As far-right terror attacks mount, DHS is concentrating on a migrant caravan 1000+ miles away—and some FBI veterans say the bureau isn't taking white supremacy seriously enough. — On Tuesday, just days after a white supremacist gunned …
Discussion:
The Crime Report, New Republic and Raw Story
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Laura Strickler / NBC News:
Trump admin will apparently not renew program to fight domestic terror
Trump admin will apparently not renew program to fight domestic terror
Discussion:
Daily Kos
Gabriel Sherman / Vanity Fair:
“There's Going to Be a Lot of Departures”: Fearing a House Wipeout, Trump Throws Hail Marys as Aides Brace for Staff Changes — White House insiders suggest that Kellyanne Conway and Steve Mnuchin are not long for this West Wing. — BY - GABRIEL SHERMANOctober 31, 2018,
Discussion:
Hot Air, Raw Story, No More Mister Nice Blog, IJR and Politico
Lawfare:
The Watergate Road Map Unsealed — The National Archive has released the famed—and long mysterious—Watergate “Road Map,” which Special Prosecutor sent to Congress in 1974. For background on the Road Map, and our litigation to get it released, see here and here.
Discussion:
Hullabaloo and Political Wire
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Jonathan Karl / ABC News:
‘We have to have a wall of people’: Trump defends military presence on border — President Donald Trump said that the increased military presence on the border is going to help stop the “invasion” that is coming in the migrant caravan. — “We have to have a wall of people,” Trump said …
Discussion:
Mediaite
Newsweek:
Migrant Caravan Troop Deployment Could Cost U.S. $50 Million Despite No Evidence of Terrorists, Major Criminal Gang Presence — The Trump administration is preparing for the most dangerous, and unlikely, scenario as it sends thousands of troops to the border to intercept a carvavan …
Discussion:
The Intercept
Los Angeles Times:
Veteran featured in GOP congressman's midterm election ad posted racist rants and violent threats on Facebook — On the home page of his campaign website, Rep. Steve Knight of Palmdale has posted a television ad showing a veteran praising the Republican congressman for helping him get a lung transplant.
Discussion:
Raw Story
Ali Dukakis / ABC News:
Conspiracy theorist becomes key figure as Mueller builds case — Self-proclaimed conspiracy theorist Jerome Corsi returned to Washington, D.C., again this week for more closed-door meetings with special counsel Robert Mueller's investigators, and on Friday is scheduled to make a second appearance …
Discussion:
Townhall, Politico, Washington Post, Hot Air and Law & Crime
Economist:
Identity politics are stronger on the right than the left — The Republican Party is increasingly unified around whiteness — IN THE popular imagination, identity politics is the stuff of queer-studies seminars and Hillary Clinton rallies. The excesses of intolerant university students raging …
Kalhan Rosenblatt / NBC News:
Florida mayor solicited sex for speed bumps, ethics panel finds — David Stewart has been the mayor of Lantana, Florida, since 2000. — A Florida mayor is accused of soliciting sex from a constituent in exchange for speed bumps, according to the Florida Commission on Ethics and local reports.
Discussion:
Breitbart
Max Boot / Washington Post:
Sick and tired of Trump? Here's what to do. — “I am sick and tired of this administration. I'm sick and tired of what's going on. I'm sick and tired of being sick and tired, and I hope you are, too.” — I'm sick and tired, too. — I'm sick and tired of a president who pretends …
Discussion:
HuffPost, twitchy.com, TheBlaze, IJR and Sean Hannity
politics.myajc:
Debate canceled: Candidates unable to agree on alternative after Kemp pulls out of Sunday showdown — The second and final televised Georgia gubernatorial debate was canceled Wednesday after Republican Brian Kemp pulled out of the initial Sunday event and he and Democrat Stacey Abrams couldn't agree on an alternative.
Discussion:
HuffPost, New York Times, Axios, Associated Press, Political Wire and The Daily Caller
Brendan Morrow / The Week:
The Obamas might make a TV show about disorder in the Trump administration for Netflix — Is former President Barack Obama about to unleash one long subtweet against his successor in the form of a Netflix show? — Obama and former first lady Michelle Obama have acquired the rights …
Discussion:
EW.com, Deadline, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit
Peter Hasson / The Daily Caller:
'She's A Piece Of S***' — Claire McCaskill Ignites Feud With Missouri Democrat Just Days Before Election — Democratic Missouri Sen. Claire McCaskill sparked a fierce backlash from a Democratic legislator in her home state after listing her as an example of a “crazy Democrat.”
Discussion:
RedState, Power Line, NTK Network, Washington Free Beacon, Breitbart and The Gateway Pundit
Stephen Collinson / CNN:
Trump shocks with racist new ad days before midterms — (CNN)In the most racially charged national political ad in 30 years, President Donald Trump and the Republican Party accuse Democrats of plotting to help Central American invaders overrun the nation with cop killers.
Discussion:
KTVQ-TV, New Republic and Mediaite
Washington Post:
Startling new research finds large buildup of heat in the oceans, suggesting a faster rate of global warming — The findings mean the world might have less time to curb carbon emissions. — The world's oceans have been soaking up far more excess heat in recent decades than scientists realized …
Laura Vozzella / Washington Post:
Democrat says Project Veritas infiltrated her campaign in Va.'s tight 7th District — RICHMOND — A conservative group that creates undercover “sting” videos infiltrated the campaign of Abigail Spanberger, a Democrat in a tight race with Rep. Dave Brat in Virginia's 7th District.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Natalie Allison / The Tennessean:
Corker on migrant caravan: Republicans ‘using fear to stimulate’ midterm voter turnout — President Donald Trump says the number of military troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border could go as high as 15,000. Trump said that the move would be aimed at preventing the entry of a caravan of migrants traveling from Central America.
The Times of Israel:
TV report: Israel silent as Iran hit by computer virus more violent than Stuxnet — Tehran strategic networks attacked, Hadashot TV says, hours after Israel revealed it tipped off Denmark about Iran murder plot, and days after Rouhani's phone was found bugged
Discussion:
israpundit.org
Amy Gardner / Washington Post:
Early vote totals in at least 17 states already surpass 2014 turnout at this point — Americans have already voted in record numbers in many states in this year's midterm elections, confirming the heightened interest in the fight for control of Congress and state houses playing out in dozens of bitterly contested races.
Discussion:
Political Wire
Bryan Caplan / Econlib:
Socialists Without a Plan — If I met a four-star general and he told me he was a socialist, I'd understand where he's coming from. After all, this is a man who lives and breathes logistics. He leads for a living. His job is to make master plans, then carefully monitor his underlings so they actually implement said master plans.
Ruth Wisse / Wall Street Journal:
The Many Faces of Jew-Hatred — Anti-Semitism is a politics of misdirected blame. Today its most frequent target is the state of Israel. — In the wake of the shooting in Pittsburgh, a volley of voices called for more of this or that—armed guards or gun control, barring the doors of synagogues …
Josie Duffy Rice / New York Times:
How to Punish Voters — The prosecution of individual voters for fraud is a trend that seems intended to intimidate. — Ms. Duffy Rice is a lawyer and a criminal justice reporter. — Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp, the chief elections official in the state, is a pioneer of present-day voter suppression.
Avery Anapol / The Hill:
California synagogue targeted with anti-Semitic graffiti — A synagogue in Irvine, Calif., was defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti overnight on Tuesday. — In a message shared on Facebook by Orange County Jewish Life Magazine, Beth Jacob Congregation of Irvine synagogue leaders said the …