Top Items:
Erick-Woods Erickson / Erick Erickson's Confessions …:
About the Texas Lawsuit — Ken Paxton, the Attorney General of Texas, is under a federal investigation and would love a presidential pardon. His lawsuit is just more performative leg humping by someone desperate to curry favor with President Trump. — The various attorneys general …
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Aaron Blake / Washington Post:
The Trump team throws in the towel on proving voter fraud — The GOP's latest effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election results, like many such efforts before it, is a bit of a mess. — The lawsuit, which was filed by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) and is now joined …
Jordan Williams / The Hill:
Pennsylvania AG calls Ted Cruz a ‘sad sack’ after Trump asks for his help in Texas lawsuit
Pennsylvania AG calls Ted Cruz a ‘sad sack’ after Trump asks for his help in Texas lawsuit
Discussion:
Townhall and Talking Points Memo
Nicholas Rowan / Washington Examiner:
‘PR stunt’: Sasse predicts failure for Texas Supreme Court election challenge
‘PR stunt’: Sasse predicts failure for Texas Supreme Court election challenge
Discussion:
Reuters, CNN, RedState, Forbes and The American Independent
Nicholas Rowan / Washington Examiner:
Supreme Court rules in favor of Muslims suing FBI officials for targeting faith
Supreme Court rules in favor of Muslims suing FBI officials for targeting faith
Discussion:
Washington Post, CNBC, RedState, Law & Crime and NPR
Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:
Republicans Are Going Down a Dangerous Road — Republicans' tolerance, if not active support, for President Donald Trump's ongoing bid to overturn the 2020 election has crystallized a stark question: Does the GOP still qualify as a small-d democratic party—or is it morphing into something very different?
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QU Poll:
60% View Joe Biden's 2020 Presidential Victory As Legitimate, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; 77% Of Republicans Believe There Was Widespread Voter Fraud — Roughly one month after the presidential election, 60 percent of registered voters say they think President-elect Joe Biden's victory …
Adam Serwer / The Atlantic:
If You Didn't Vote for Trump, Your Vote Is Fraudulent
If You Didn't Vote for Trump, Your Vote Is Fraudulent
Discussion:
BillMoyers.com, IJR and Black Enterprise
Jonathan V. Last / The Triad:
The Republican Party As Totalitarian State
The Republican Party As Totalitarian State
Discussion:
New York Times, Daily Kos and The Week
Tyler Pager / Politico:
Biden taps Susan Rice for top White House domestic policy job — President-elect Joe Biden has tapped Barack Obama's former national security adviser Susan Rice to run the White House Domestic Policy Council, according to people familiar with the decision. — Rice, who also served …
Discussion:
Associated Press, Axios, NPR, HotAir, GovExec.com, National Review, Black Enterprise, USA Today, The Daily Caller, The Guardian, The Root, Washington Examiner, Bloomberg, Mediaite, Talking Points Memo, Washington Post, Just The News, Daily Kos, Outside the Beltway, Hackwhackers, CNN, New York Post, Townhall and The 19th
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Politico:
Biden to tap Denis McDonough for Veterans Affairs — President-elect Joe Biden will nominate longtime Obama aide Denis McDonough for secretary of Veterans Affairs, according to two people with knowledge of the decision. — McDonough served as former President Barack Obama's chief of staff from 2013 until 2017.
Discussion:
New York Magazine, NPR, CNN, New York Times, Military Times, USA Today, Washington Examiner, Foreign Policy, Axios, The Week, Fox News, Mediaite, Task & Purpose, New York Post and Washington Post
Jane Mayer / New Yorker:
Dianne Feinstein's Missteps Raise a Painful Age Question Among Senate Democrats — In a hearing on November 17th, Dianne Feinstein, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, who, at eighty-seven, is the oldest member of the Senate, grilled a witness.
Discussion:
Washington Free Beacon, Forbes, Bloomberg, Raw Story, The Gateway Pundit, New York Post, Breitbart, The Rush Limbaugh Show, Fox News, Outside the Beltway, Slate, Big League Politics, Mediaite, Washington Post, HotAir, Los Angeles Times, Twitchy, Business Insider, National Review and Lawyers, Guns & Money
WCVB:
Newly sworn-in NH House Speaker Dick Hinch dies of COVID-19 — Autopsy determines cause of death to be COVID-19 — Receive daily coronavirus & public health news straight to your inbox. — Submit — Privacy Notice — CONCORD, N.H. — New Hampshire's House Speaker Dick Hinch died Wednesday …
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo
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Holly Ramer / Boston.com:
N.H. House Speaker Dick Hinch died from COVID-19, medical examiner finds — New Hampshire House Speaker Dick Hinch died from COVID-19, a medical examiner ruled Thursday following his unexpected death. — Hinch, who was only sworn in as leader of the state's newly Republican-led Legislature a week ago, died Wednesday.
Discussion:
Forbes, Raw Story and Washington Times
Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times:
Trump and Friends Got Coronavirus Care Many Others Couldn't — Rudolph W. Giuliani became the latest in President Trump's inner circle to boast about the treatment he received for Covid-19, as hospitals across the country ration care. — WASHINGTON — Ben Carson, Chris Christie …
Discussion:
Washington Post, Axios, Vanity Fair, POLITICUSUSA, COURIER, HotAir, The Guardian, Daily Kos, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, The Intellectualist, Crooks and Liars and The US Sun
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Politico:
Rand Paul holds up defense bill — Rand Paul is at it again. — The Kentucky Republican is objecting to swift passage of the annual defense policy bill, effectively forcing senators to remain in Washington for an extra day as he filibusters the $740 billion legislation.
Discussion:
The Week, Political Wire, Daily Kos and New York Magazine
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Susan McCord / Augusta Chronicle:
In Martinez stop, U.S. Sen. David Perdue said he'll support defense bill, oppose veto
In Martinez stop, U.S. Sen. David Perdue said he'll support defense bill, oppose veto
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Examiner and Daily Kos
Donie O'Sullivan / CNN:
Georgia becomes ground zero for election misinformation ahead of Senate runoff
Georgia becomes ground zero for election misinformation ahead of Senate runoff
Discussion:
USA Today, Associated Press, Washington Examiner, Raw Story, New York Times and Washington Times
Ryan Grim / Bad News:
Inside Biden's meeting with civil rights leaders — Here's the audio — Democrats in the House, Senate, and around the country have been urging President-elect Joe Biden to use the maximum amount of executive authority available to him in order to grow the economy, expand civil rights …
Discussion:
The Daily Caller
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Dan Diamond / Politico:
CDC's Redfield told staff to delete email, official tells House watchdog — Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Robert Redfield instructed staff to delete an email from a Trump political appointee seeking control over the agency's scientific reports on the pandemic …
Discussion:
CBS News, NBC News, CNN, Axios, Talking Points Memo, Press Watch, Mediaite, Raw Story and Political Wire
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John F. Harris / Politico:
Relax, A Trump Comeback In 2024 Is Not Going To Happen — Donald Trump lost the presidency, but his opponents so far have not achieved the victory they want most: A fatal puncturing of the Trump movement, a repudiation so complete that it severs his astonishing grip on supporters and leaves …
Discussion:
No More Mister Nice Blog
Ben Schreckinger / Politico:
Justice Department's interest in Hunter Biden covered more than taxes — The federal investigation into President-elect Joe Biden's son Hunter has been more extensive than a statement from Hunter Biden indicates, according to a person with firsthand knowledge of the investigation.
Discussion:
Vox, New York Post, Fox News, RedState, Washington Examiner, National Review, Washington Post, The Federalist, The Western Journal, The Daily Caller, Associated Press, JONATHAN TURLEY, The Stream, Big League Politics, Liberty Unyielding, Breitbart, The Gateway Pundit, Slate, The Mike Gallagher Show, HotAir, CNN and Business Insider
RELATED:
Barak Ravid / Axios:
Morocco to normalize ties with Israel in deal with Trump over Western Sahara — Morocco has agreed to establish full diplomatic relations with Israel, President Trump announced on Thursday. The Moroccan decision comes as part of a deal that includes U.S. recognition of the disputed territory of Western Sahara as part of Morocco.
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Robert Faturechi / ProPublica:
Sen. David Perdue Sold His Home to a Finance Industry Official Whose Organization Was Lobbying the Senate — The same year FINRA was lobbying the Senate on a bill, one of its board governors paid Perdue $1.8 million for his D.C. townhouse. Perdue sits on the Senate Banking Committee, which oversaw the bill.
Discussion:
Forbes, DSCC and Media Matters for America
Associated Press:
Trump virus coordinator Birx seeks role in Biden government — WASHINGTON (AP) — When Dr. Deborah Birx was brought into President Donald Trump's orbit to help fight the coronavirus pandemic, she had a sterling reputation as a former U.S. Army physician, a globally recognized AIDS researcher and a rare Obama administration holdover.
Burgess Everett / Politico:
Republicans throw cold water on bipartisan Covid proposal — Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's staff told other congressional leaders on Wednesday that the bipartisan coronavirus negotiators will be unlikely to satisfy Senate Republicans, according to a senior Democrat familiar with the conversations.
Discussion:
Wall Street Journal, CNBC, Daily Kos, The US Sun, Bloomberg, Florida Politics and SiouxlandProud
Tim Wu / New York Times:
What Really Saved the Republic From Trump? — It wasn't our constitutional system of checks and balances. — Mr. Wu is a law professor at Columbia University. — Americans are taught that the main function of the U.S. Constitution is the control of executive power: curtailing presidents who might seek to become tyrants.
Charlie Warzel / New York Times:
‘How Many Fact Checkers Do They Have?’ — Inside the battle between Biden and Facebook. — Opinion Writer at Large — In the days after the election, several senior Biden campaign workers talked with me about their public confrontation with Facebook, the world's biggest social media platform.
Discussion:
Raw Story, Newsbusters and USA Today, more at Techmeme »
Bloomberg:
Cohn Shrugs Off Goldman's Demand for Pay With Check to Charity — Bank pressed former president to return more than $10 million — It was part of broader show of accountability for 1MDB scandal — Gary Cohn left Goldman Sachs Group Inc. squirming with his unwillingness to send back millions in pay.
Joe Pappalardo / National Geographic:
Fiery crash of SpaceX's Starship rocket ignites dreams of future spaceflight — Elon Musk is reshaping a remote South Texas shoreline to build and test the largest space launch system the world has ever seen. Spaceflight—and the once quiet beach—will never be the same.
Discussion:
NBC News, GeekWire, Washington Examiner and Space.com
Linda Chavez / The Bulwark:
The “Intellectual” Right's Assault on Democracy — Politicians have constituents to please, but what about the “thinkers” of the Trumpist right? — The politics of intimidation has worked well for Donald Trump since he announced his candidacy for president in 2015.
Discussion:
Yahoo News
Jonathan Turley / The Hill:
Flynn's case finally ends — but not before Judge Sullivan flogs a corpse — Gen. Michael Flynn's three-year odyssey in the criminal justice system finally came to an end this week with the long-delayed dismissal of his case in federal court. Ultimately, it took a presidential pardon …
Bridge Magazine:
‘I am certainly not dead!’ Living voters contradict Michigan GOP fraud claims — LANSING — When conservative activist Meshawn Maddock obtained a list of allegedly dead Michigan voters, she didn't report it to law enforcement. — She posted the list on Facebook this week …
Discussion:
Raw Story
Sean Illing / Vox:
How a New Hampshire libertarian utopia was foiled by bears — Seriously, this happened. You should absolutely read about it. — Every ideology produces its own brand of fanatics, but there's something special about libertarianism. — I don't mean that as an insult, either. I love libertarians!