memeorandum: As COVID variants spread, Florida refuses to release data (Kate Santich/MSN)

1:05 PM ET, February 14, 2021

Top Items:

David Frum / The Atlantic:

It'll Do — In 1955, a junior United States senator named John F. Kennedy published Profiles in Courage, a collection of short essays about eight of his predecessors who had risked their careers for their ideals over the previous 150 years. — In one single day in 2021 …

Discussion: Fox News, CBS News, The Moderate Voice, National Review, No More Mister Nice Blog, HotAir, Outside the Beltway, KRON4, CBS Philly and Raw Story

The White House:

Statement by President Joe Biden on the Senate Vote in the Trial of Donald Trump … It was nearly two weeks ago that Jill and I paid our respects to Capitol Police officer Brian Sicknick, who laid in honor in the Rotunda after losing his life protecting the Capitol from a riotous, violent mob on January 6, 2021.

Discussion: HuffPost, The Guardian, HotAir, The Week, Politico, Breitbart, NPR and Raw Story

Thomas Kaplan / New York Times:

Post-Impeachment Live Updates: Fallout Begins for Republicans Who Voted to Convict Trump — By acquitting the former president, the G.O.P. ensured that his influence will continue to dominate the party. The federal criminal investigations related to the Capitol riot will keep the issue of Trump's culpability alive for months.

Discussion: ABC News, Politico, Fox News, Vox, POLITICUSUSA, The Guardian and BizPac Review

Ben Kamisar / NBC News:

Raskin: Trump found guilty in ‘the court of public opinion and the court of history’ … WASHINGTON — The lead House impeachment manager, Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., criticized Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for “trying to have it both ways” by voting …

Discussion: The Hill, NPR, The Western Journal, Fox News, One America News Network, Washington Times, JONATHAN TURLEY, Breitbart, Al Jazeera and Political Wire

Glen Johnson / Axios:

McConnell's two-step portends challenge for Biden and Schumer — With his words and deeds, Mitch McConnell has shown how to retain power when you no longer hold it. — Why it matters: Perhaps the most powerful Senate leader since LBJ, McConnell sets the chamber's agenda whether in the majority or, as he is now, the minority.

Discussion: The Guardian, USA Today, The Week, Washington Post, BizPac Review, Bloomberg, The Gateway Pundit, New York Magazine, Los Angeles Times, Fox News, Raw Story, The Hill, Mediaite and Insider, more at Mediagazer »

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
There are only seven honorable Republican senators

Discussion: Insider, MarketWatch, CBS News and TheBlaze

Jim Swift / The Bulwark:
Trump's Acquittal Is an Ignominious Failure

Discussion: CNN, Los Angeles Times, RedState, New York Magazine, New York Times, NBC News and FiveThirtyEight

Frank Bruni / New York Times:
Trump's Republicans, Brought to Their Knees

Discussion: Bloomberg, Vox and NBC News

Peter Baker / New York Times:
For Trump, an Escape, Not an Exoneration

Discussion: Associated Press, CNN, Washington Post, The Daily Poster, The Guardian, KRON4, Big League Politics, Grand Forks Herald, Boston Herald, Raw Story and RedState

Tim Wigginton / North Carolina Republican Party:
NCGOP Chairman Michael Whatley's Statement On Senator Burr's Contradictory Impeachment Vote

Discussion: New York Times, The Guardian, Insider, Forbes, The Hill, Talking Points Memo, U.S. Senator Richard Burr …, TheBlaze, The Week, BizPac Review, The Gateway Pundit and Axios

Chris Kahn / Reuters:
Poll: Most Americans think Trump at least partially responsible for Capitol attack

Discussion: The Guardian, Slate and The Hill

New York Times:

First They Guarded Roger Stone. Then They Joined the Capitol Attack. — Oath Keepers guarding Roger Stone on Jan. 5 ... Roger — Stone — ... and participating in the — Oath Keeper — Oath Keeper — Oath — Keeper — Oath — Keeper

Politico:

McConnell's next chapter: Guiding the post-Trump GOP — Mitch McConnell voted to acquit Donald Trump, then publicly torched him — encapsulating the dilemma of the man who now must guide a GOP riven by infighting over whether it's the party of Trump or the center-right party he wants them to be.

Discussion: National Review, Washington Post and Raw Story

Rachael Bade / Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: The fallout from Donald Trump's acquittal — DRIVING THE DAY — DONALD TRUMP teased his political comeback. Democrats did a victory lap in defeat, pointing to the seven Senate Republicans who voted to convict. And Republicans face a future haunted by a damaged ex-president who won't go away.

Discussion: Insider, Bloomberg and Townhall

Margaret Sullivan / Washington Post:

‘A moment of truth’? After years of Trump's lies, amplified by MAGA media, that proved impossible for most Republicans — The words spoken on the Senate floor over the past few days were almost innumerable. But the ones that stayed with me through the second impeachment trial of Donald Trump were among the very first ones uttered.

Alexander Burns / New York Times:
Republican Acquittal of Trump Is a Pivotal Moment for the Party

Discussion: RedState, Daily Mail, Wall Street Journal, Townhall, The Daily Beast, HotAir, WTOP, Associated Press, Slate, Politico, The Daily Signal and Vox

Kaitlan Collins / CNN:
Trump has privately voiced concern about being charged related to January 6 riot

Discussion: emptywheel, Insider, The Times of Israel, Maryland Matters, The Week, NPR and New York Times

Burgess Everett / Politico:
Up in '22, Murkowski readies to face impeachment vote fallout

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Forbes, New York Magazine, ABC News, NBC News, HuffPost, Insider, Roll Call, IJR and Lawyers, Guns & Money

Dana Milbank / Washington Post:

Trump left them to die. 43 Senate Republicans still licked his boots. — In the end, the darkest truth of Donald Trump's crime came to light. — As his marauders sacked the Capitol on Jan. 6 in their bloody attempt to overturn the election, House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy called …

Discussion: USA Today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Common Dreams, Wall Street Journal, Associated Press, National Review, Townhall, Axios, CNN, The Hill and The Intercept

Devan Cole / CNN:
Plaskett on Trump's acquittal: 'We didn't need more witnesses, we needed more senators with spines'

Discussion: The Hill, Politico, Axios, Fox News, Washington Times and Balloon Juice

Walter Shapiro / New Republic:
The Botched Democratic Effort to Convict Donald Trump

Discussion: The Hill, Associated Press, BizPac Review and WCCO | CBS Minnesota

John Nichols / The Nation:
The Senate Has Failed America

Scott Alexander / Astral Codex Ten:

Statement on New York Times Article — There was recently a negative article about me and my blog in the New York Times. Most of you already know the history behind this, but for anyone referred here by NYT, this is where I give my side and defend myself.

Discussion: The Other McCain, Instapundit and New York Times, more at Techmeme »

Matthew Yglesias / Slow Boring:
In defense of interesting writing on controversial topics

Discussion: The Verge and Balloon Juice, more at Techmeme »

Kate Santich / MSN:

As COVID variants spread, Florida refuses to release data — For weeks as a more contagious mutation of COVID-19 has spread across Florida, top state health officials have kept secret the location of those cases. — Since Jan. 7 — one week after a COVID variant first found in the United Kingdom …

Discussion: Raw Story

Meryl Kornfield / Washington Post:
First known patient reinfected with South Africa coronavirus variant is in critical condition

Discussion: CBS News

Reid J. Epstein / New York Times:

Tom Perez on Democrats' Mistakes and Why Iowa Shouldn't Go First — In an interview, the former D.N.C. chairman discussed a possible bid for Maryland governor and said Iowa and New Hampshire starting the presidential nominating process was “unacceptable.” — For the past four years …

Discussion: Washington Examiner

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:

Ben Sasse's Conviction: Trump's Lies Caused This — In a series of interviews leading up to Saturday's impeachment vote, the GOP senator described the stakes as he sees them: nothing less than the integrity of the Constitution. — What happened on January 6 of this year …

Discussion: Senator Ben Sasse and Washington Examiner

David Edwards / Raw Story:

Lindsey Graham: 'I don't see how Kamala Harris doesn't get impeached' — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on Sunday said that he expects Republicans to impeach Vice President Kamala Harris if the party takes control of the U.S. House of Representatives. — During an appearance on Fox News Sunday …

Discussion: Insider, POLITICUSUSA, Washington Times, Breitbart and Mediaite

CNN:

This is Trump's heaping list of legal problems post-impeachment — (CNN)After averting a conviction in his second impeachment trial, former President Donald Trump faces significant new legal threats as prosecutors in Georgia have joined those in New York to conduct criminal investigations into his actions.

Discussion: Lawyers, Guns & Money and WSB-TV

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:
Republican Senators Are Asking the Courts to Take Care of Trump For Them

Discussion: Joe.My.God., HuffPost, VICE, New York Times, Lawyers, Guns & Money, New York Post and Insider

The Daily Beast:

FBI Informant Panic Is Ruining Friendships All Over the Far Right — TRUST NO ONE — From Proud Boys panicked about the revelation that their leader was a snitch to the racist America First crowd, old pals are now enemies. — As federal authorities crack down on the far right …

Discussion: Raw Story and USA Today

Dante Chinni / NBC News:

How the Senate map shift helped Trump win acquittal — WASHINGTON — Donald Trump's second impeachment trial followed a very predictable partisan path in the U.S. Senate last week, with Democrats voting to convict and most Republicans voting to acquit. There is a long list of reasons behind …

Discussion: The Guardian