memeorandum: Biden warns against ‘backward slide’ in democracy around the globe at outset of two-day summit (John Wagner/Washington Post)

11:15 AM ET, December 9, 2021

Top Items:

Inside Trump's hunt for “disloyal” Republicans — Donald Trump and his associates are systematically reshaping the Republican Party, working to install hand-picked loyalists across federal and state governments and destroy those he feels have been disloyal, sources close to the former president tell Axios.

Discussion: Washington Post, Insider, Associated Press, Popular Information, The Guardian, Los Angeles Times, The Revolution, Georgia Recorder and Raw Story

Reuters:

Georgia Republicans purge Black Democrats from county election boards — Protesters filled the meeting room of the Spalding County Board of Elections in October, upset that the board had disallowed early voting on Sundays for the Nov. 2 municipal election. A year ago, Sunday voting …

Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
David Perdue confesses he would have aided a coup. He's not the only one.

Discussion: NBC News, Washington Examiner, Election Law Blog, Daily Kos, Los Angeles Times and Conservative Guardian

Kate Aronoff / New Republic:

Biden's Democracy Summit Is Dumb — “This is a moment to try to refocus our fellow citizens on what makes us exceptional,” Secretary of State Antony Blinken told Politico's James Traub of the White House's two-day Summit for Democracy, kicking off Thursday.

Discussion: The American Spectator, Common Dreams and Forbes

John Wagner / Washington Post:
Biden warns against ‘backward slide’ in democracy around the globe at outset of two-day summit

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Al Jazeera and Florida Politics

Antony J. Blinken / USA Today:
‘The crisis we face is real’: Blinken on why Biden is convening a Summit for Democracy

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Common Dreams, Responsible Statecraft and Pennsylvania Capital-Star

David Rothkopf / The Daily Beast:
The First Rule of the Democracy Club? Be a Damn Democracy.

Discussion: The Hill

Washington Post:

New York attorney general seeks Trump's deposition as part of civil fraud investigation — New York Attorney General Letitia James is seeking a deposition from former president Donald Trump early next year as part of her investigation into potential fraud inside the Trump Organization, according to people familiar with the matter.

Discussion: Raw Story, Insider and Political Wire

New York Post:

Fox Christmas tree arson suspect released without bail — The arsonist who allegedly torched the Fox News Christmas tree was freed after his arraignment Wednesday night because his charges were not eligible for bail under new liberal reform laws. — “I didn't do it!” suspect Craig Tamanaha …

Discussion: HotAir, The Daily Caller, The Wrap, The Western Journal, Breitbart, RedState, Raw Story, CITIZEN STRINGER, National Review, Townhall, BizPac Review, Twitchy, Fox News, YouTube and Deadline

Jackson Richman / Mediaite:
Fox News to Light New Christmas Tree After Previous One Torched

Discussion: Gothamist, Raw Story, Snopes.com and The American Independent

Ruy Teixeira / The Liberal Patriot:

The Democrats' Hispanic Voter Problem — It's Not As Bad As You Think—It's Worse — The Democrats are steadily losing ground with Hispanic voters. The seriousness of this problem tends to be underestimated in Democratic circles for a couple of reasons: (1) they don't realize how big the shift is …

Discussion: The New Neo, Page Array, Campaign Update and Breitbart

Ronald Brownstein / The Atlantic:

Democrats Are Losing the Culture Wars — Maybe Bill Clinton got a few things right after all. — For years, Democrats have rarely cited Clinton and the centrist New Democrat movement he led through the '90s except to renounce his “third way” approach to welfare, crime, and other issues as a violation of the party's principles.

Discussion: Breitbart

United States Capitol Police:

USCP Arrest Capitol Hill Staffer for Carrying a Gun — This morning at approximately 7:40 am, our officers in the Longworth Building spotted the image of a handgun in a bag on the x-ray screen. — The man was tracked down four minutes later and arrested.

Discussion: Washington Post, NBC News, CBS News, Insider, The Daily Caller, Twitchy, NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth, CITIZEN STRINGER and WTOP News

New York Times:

Event Planner Working on Bob Dole's Funeral Is Let Go for Jan. 6 Ties — Tim Unes was helping to plan memorial events for Mr. Dole when it came to light that he had been subpoenaed by the committee investigating the Capitol riot. — WASHINGTON — The Elizabeth Dole Foundation has cut ties with Tim Unes …

Discussion: The Hill, Insider and Political Wire

Luke Broadwater / New York Times:
Meadows Sues Pelosi in Bid to Block Jan. 6 Committee Subpoena

Politico:
Jan. 6 investigators' new challenge: Trump allies pleading the Fifth

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Raw Story, Fox News, New York Post and Washington Examiner

Rowan Scarborough / Washington Times:

Biden cancels oil while Americans suffer and the world laughs — OPINION: — It has been quite a transition for America, from being the world's self-sufficient No. 1 oil producer to begging horrible foreigners to pump more fossil fuels. But by God, President Biden did it. With ease.

Discussion: Washington Post

Associated Press:
Talks on Ukraine would pose challenge of their own for Biden

Jonathan Lemire / Politico:
Old foes thwart Biden's foreign policy pivot

Discussion: Bloomberg, HuffPost, NPR and The Guardian

Ryan J. Reilly / HuffPost:

Tucker Carlson's Jan. 6 ‘Agent Provocateur’ Is A Big Tucker Fan And An Amateur Cardinals Mascot — “If I'm wrong, so be it, bro,” Carlson's guest said after he'd told Fox News viewers that the St. Louis baseball booster was “clearly a law enforcement officer.”

Politico:

Progressives get rolled on Pentagon policy — Democrats had big plans this year when they took full control of Washington, D.C. — before political reality got in the way. For proof, look no further than this year's Pentagon policy bill. — The compromise National Defense Authorization Act …

Discussion: HotAir, CNBC, Washington Examiner, The Daily Wire, CNN, Gizmodo, American Prospect, Raw Story and WTOP News

Jordain Carney / The Hill:
Senate votes to nix Biden's vaccine mandate for businesses

Washington Free Beacon:

NEVER FORGET: All the Libs Who Fell for the Jussie Smollett Hate Crime Hoax — Democrats, celebs, and journalists jumped to condemn fabricated attack — Jussie Smollett, the C-list actor best known for his role as Terry Hall in The Mighty Ducks, is finally on trial in Chicago for allegedly staging …

Jonathan Turley / The Hill:
Jussie Smollett's final act: How a hate crime hoax became a pitch for jury nullification

Discussion: Breitbart

Tim McMillan / Washington Examiner:

The government's real problem with UFOs — UFOs, or, as the Defense Department now terms them, “unidentified aerial phenomena,” or UAP, have become big news inside the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill. — In June, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released an unclassified …

David Harrison / Wall Street Journal:

U.S. Jobless Claims Fall to 184,000 — With tight labor supply, claims reach a 52-year record low — Worker filings for unemployment benefits hit the lowest level in more than half a century last week as a tight labor market keeps layoffs low. — Initial jobless claims, a proxy for layoffs …

Discussion: CNBC, The Daily Caller and Political Wire

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Graham warns GOP about Trump's wrath on debt vote — Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) offered a forceful warning to Republican colleagues during a private lunch on Wednesday, saying former President Trump will come down hard on any GOP senators who vote for Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's …

Discussion: Insider, Politico, CNN, HotAir, Raw Story and Todd Starnes

Zachary Petrizzo / The Daily Beast:

Mike Lindell Supports Fans' Push to ‘Bombard’ Supreme Court — OVERNIGHT SHIPPING — Increasingly restless supporters of MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell have a new plan of action: Send the Supreme Court physical copies of the pillow maven's dubious and unsigned 80-plus page court filing that seeks to overturn the 2020 election.

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Andrew Jeong / Washington Post:

A GOP senator suggested gargling mouthwash to kill the coronavirus. Doctors and Listerine are skeptical. — Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) recommended mouthwash as a treatment for the coronavirus during a town hall meeting Wednesday, immediately drawing criticism for suggesting gargling would offer protection.

Discussion: The Daily Beast, Raw Story, HuffPost and Daily Kos

Harriet Alexander / Daily Mail:

CNN's Don Lemon is blasted for literally SINGING Biden's praises over five cents drop in gas prices after White House had secret meetings with journalists begging for better press — CNN host Don Lemon has been mocked for his crowing about Joe Biden reducing the price of gas …

Discussion: HotAir

Issie Lapowsky / Protocol:

How political advertisers skirted Facebook's rules in 2020 — and got away with it … Political advertisers on Facebook are supposed to identify themselves as such. That way, Facebook can log their ads in an archive and, as was the company's policy in 2020, even prevent those ads from running close to an election.

Discussion: Knight First Amendment … and NPR

Matthew Karnitschnig / Politico:

Olaf's frozen foreign policy — BERLIN — Germany's Olaf Scholz isn't one to just let it go. — At least not when it comes to foreign policy. — The power shift in Berlin this week sparked hopes around Europe and across the Atlantic that the new chancellor's government …

Discussion: Jacobin and The Daily Wire

Laura He / CNN:

Evergrande has defaulted on its debt, Fitch Ratings says — Hong Kong (CNN Business)Evergrande, the embattled Chinese property developer, has defaulted on its debt, according to Fitch Ratings. — The credit ratings agency on Thursday downgraded the company and its subsidiaries to …

Tom Jackman / Washington Post:

FBI may shut down police use-of-force database due to lack of police participation — Police data must cover 60 percent of all local and federal officers, but has not reached that level in the first two years of the program — In an attempt to create a definitive database …

Max Burns / The Hill:

Biden is delivering the fastest economic recovery in history. Why hasn't anyone noticed? — Democrats are faced with a sticky problem: The economy is nearing full employment after businesses added 210,000 jobs in November, labor force participation climbed to its highest level since …

Discussion: CNBC

BBC:

New Zealand to ban cigarettes for future generations — New Zealand will ban the sale of tobacco to its next generation, in a bid to eventually phase out smoking. — Anyone born after 2008 will not be able to buy cigarettes or tobacco products in their lifetime, under a law expected to be enacted next year.

Domenico Montanaro / NPR:

A new poll finds major warning signs for Biden and fellow Democrats — Americans don't feel the direct payments or expanded child tax credits doled out earlier this year helped them much, according to the latest NPR/Marist poll, and they don't see Democrats' signature legislation as addressing their top economic concern — inflation.

Discussion: Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, Nevada Current, New Republic and Marist Poll

William Neuman / New York Times:

De Blasio Fought for 2 Years to Keep Ethics Warning Secret. Here's Why. — Mayor Bill de Blasio was warned that he created an “appearance of coercion and improper access” by directly contacting donors who had business before the city. — When Bill de Blasio was first elected mayor of New York …

Discussion: New York Magazine

Amanda Hess / New York Times:

The Sublime Spectacle of Yoko Ono Disrupting the Beatles — In Peter Jackson's “The Beatles: Get Back,” Ono is a performance artist at the height of her powers. — To hear more audio stories from publications like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android.