memeorandum: This little-known election predictor should worry Democrats (David Byler/Washington Post)

3:35 PM ET, September 19, 2022

Top Items:

The smoking gun in Martha's Vineyard — Popular Information has obtained documentary evidence that migrants from Venezuela were provided with false information to convince them to board flights chartered by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis (R). The documents suggest that the flights …

Discussion: Insider, Digby's Hullabaloo, Washington Post, Raw Story, Latest - Truthout, The Nation, PoliticusUSA, Daily Kos, Gregg Jarrett, BizPac Review, New York Post, Politico, Breitbart, Super-Probably Relevant …, al.com and ImmigrationProf Blog

Damon Linker / Eyes on the Right:

Ron DeSantis, King of the Jerks — America will be in trouble as long as Republicans believe they benefit from driving our politics into the gutter — My “brand” as a writer is empathy and equanimity, even toward those with whom I have strong political disagreements. Not that I always live up to those standards.

Discussion: CBS News, Townhall and New York Times

Miriam Jordan / New York Times:

After Texas Sent Him to Washington, One Migrant Launches a New Life — Lever Alejos, who was delivered to the nation's capital courtesy of Gov. Greg Abbott, has found plenty of work. ‘I feel fortunate the governor put me on a bus to Washington.’ — When Lever Alejos of Venezuela arrived …

Mark Hemingway / The Federalist:
If Martha's Vineyard Tried To Prove It Cares About Immigrants, It Failed Miserably

Discussion: New Republic, Twitchy and RedState

Jonathan V. Last / The Triad:
The Progressive Delusion of Co-Ed Sports

Discussion: Digby's Hullabaloo and Breitbart

Rolling Stone:
Trump Fumes: DeSantis Stole My Plan for Shipping Migrants

Discussion: WFLA-TV, The Daily Caller, CNN, The Paul Street Report, Townhall, Raw Story, Insider and The Daily Wire

USA Today:
Massachusetts seeks human trafficking probe targeting Florida Gov. DeSantis over migrants

Discussion: claytoonz, The Hill and NBC Boston

David Byler / Washington Post:

This little-known election predictor should worry Democrats — As early voting begins around the country, every political data point would appear to marginally favor the Democrats. Polls suggest they lead ever so slightly in key Senate races and in national House polls.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Wall Street Journal, PennLive and Sacramento Bee

Alex Samuels / FiveThirtyEight:

Could A Republican Win Colorado's Senate Seat? — The conventional political narrative around Colorado is that this onetime purple state now leans blue. And there's plenty of evidence for that: Democratic presidential candidates have won the state in every election since 2008 …

Discussion: ABC News

Isaac Stanley-Becker / Washington Post:
Prominent pro-Trump couple to fundraise for Senate candidates

Discussion: Raw Story and Political Wire

Wall Street Journal:

We Have a Bill to Help Prevent Another Jan. 6 Attack — It's past time to reform the Electoral Count Act to make clear Congress can't overturn an election result. — WSJ Opinion: Inflation Reduction Act Not Working So Far — Skip Ad — in 15 — YOU MAY ALSO LIKE — Created with sketchtool.

Discussion: CNN, Washington Examiner, The Guardian, Talking Points Memo and The Hill

NBC News:
House eyes vote on a new bipartisan bill to prevent another Jan. 6

Discussion: Politico and PoliticusUSA

Washington Post:
Why Elise Stefanik may be moving up by moving down

Discussion: Daily Kos, Punchbowl News, The Hill and Steve Bannon's War Room

Scott Pelley / CBS News:

President Joe Biden: The 2022 60 Minutes Interview — Summer was going so well for the president; the White House threw a party last week with a concert by James Taylor. Mr. Biden's streak began in June when he signed a bipartisan gun safety law. Then, in August, over Republican objections …

Karen Townsend / HotAir:
Biden tells Pelley he hasn't decided if he is running for re-election but “it's my intention”

Discussion: Fox News, New York Post, Townhall, AMERICA FIRST RE-IGNITED, Little Green Footballs, IJR and The Daily Wire

Jimmy Quinn / National Review:
Biden Says, for Fourth Time, U.S. Would Send Troops to Defend Taiwan from Chinese Invasion

Rachel Wolfe / Wall Street Journal:

High Food Prices Are Getting to People. The Scene at One Grocery Store Shows Why. — Shoppers explain the stress they feel while buying groceries amid the highest food inflation in over 40 years — HOUMA, La.—To understand how people are navigating inflation these days, go to a grocery-store parking lot.

Discussion: NRCC

Ellen Nakashima / Washington Post:

Pentagon opens sweeping review of clandestine psychological operations — Complaints about the U.S. military's influence operations using Facebook and Twitter have raised concern in the White House and federal agencies. — The Pentagon has ordered a sweeping audit of how it conducts …

Discussion: Balloon Juice, The Daily Caller, Raw Story, Just The News and The Verge, more at Techmeme »

Yoav Gonen / All:

Most-Complained-About NYPD Cop Retires, Avoiding Penalties — Lt. Eric Dym faced discipline on 52 allegations, but he won't be terminated for misconduct. Only one CCRB probe in the past decade has led to that outcome — for the officer who killed Eric Garner.

Discussion: Raw Story

Ed Pilkington / The Guardian:

Proud Boys memo reveals meticulous planning for ‘street-level violence’ — Document of 23 pages shows the lengths to which the far-right group goes to prepare for potentially violent encounters and exposes the militaristic structure and language it has adopted

Discussion: Washington Examiner and Raw Story

Amanda Carpenter / The Bulwark:

Trump's ‘Save America’ Scam — His PAC never launched a “legal defense fund,” despite deceitful ads that raked in millions. — (COMPOSITE / MIDJOURNEY) — In 2019, Donald Trump's charitable foundation was fined $2 million for misusing funds and ordered to shut down. The foundation's misdeeds included:

Discussion: Raw Story

David Gilbert / VICE:

What Is This Eerie Salute People Are Doing at Trump Rallies Now? — The signal was immediately compared to the “Sieg Heil” salute. — David Gilbert — On Saturday night, as former President Donald Trump was wrapping up a political rally in Youngstown, Ohio, one section of the crowd …

Discussion: Jewish Telegraphic Agency, The Guardian and Raw Story

Brock Wilson / CBC News:

'It's a slippery slope': How young men fall into online radicalization — Reid Brown says YouTube started showing him problematic content when he was 13 — Reid Brown remembers the first time he got sucked in by the algorithm — he was just 13, watching videos after school when YouTube started pushing him to controversial content.

Kelly Hooper / Politico:

Judge refuses Lindell motion to dismiss suit brought by voting machine company — A Minnesota District Court judge on Monday denied MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell's motion to throw out a lawsuit brought by a voting technology company that claims he defamed it by pushing the false narrative that the 2020 election was stolen.

Discussion: Bloomberg, UPI and Raw Story

Gustaf Kilander / The Independent:

Trump under fire for QAnon display at Ohio rally: ‘He has gone completely insane’ — ‘Trump has always been mentally ill, but this is a whole new level’ — Related video: Cheney says new revelations reveal true ‘danger’ of Trump … Donald Trump has come under fire for his descent …

Discussion: Daily Kos and Morning Shots

Dan Mangan / CNBC:

Senate Republicans seek special counsel authority for prosecutor in Hunter Biden criminal probe — More than 30 Senate Republicans asked Attorney General Merrick Garland to give the federal prosecutor who has been investigating Hunter Biden “special counsel protections and authorities.”

Discussion: Raw Story, New York Post, Washington Times and Washington Examiner

Wall Street Journal:

The Real Midterm Election Stakes — Will voters put a check on the unrequited ambitions of the Democratic left? — WSJ Opinion: Inflation Reduction Act Not Working So Far — Skip Ad — in 15 — YOU MAY ALSO LIKE — Created with sketchtool.

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec·tion, The Hill, Raw Story, Washington Examiner, This Week in Statehouse Action and Bloomberg

Emily Birnbaum / Bloomberg:

Apple Flexes Muscle as Quiet Power Behind App Developer Group — The App Association brands itself as the leading voice for thousands of app developers around the world. In reality, the vast majority of its funding comes from Apple Inc. — The tech giant isn't a member of the association.

more at Techmeme »

Andrew C. McCarthy / New York Post:

John Durham's final act: exposing the FBI — Russiagate special counsel John Durham is in the homestretch. His grand jury wrapped up work last week, apparently with no new indictments on the horizon. Attorney General Merrick Garland is said to anticipate receiving his final report by the end of the year.

Discussion: Washington Examiner, The Liberty Loft and The Post Millennial

Alex Isenstadt / Politico:

Youngkin to hold Arizona events supporting Lake — Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin is expected to stump for Arizona governor candidate Kari Lake next month, escalating his midterm campaign efforts ahead of a prospective 2024 presidential bid. — Youngkin is embarking on the Arizona trip …

Discussion: The Hill, Mock Paper Scissors and Blue Virginia

Members / The Dispatch:

Kevin D. Williamson Joins The Dispatch — And we have a special membership offer for the occasion. — We've written to you in recent weeks about some big things coming down the pike here at The Dispatch: — Our post-election What's Next conference will feature Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey …

Jose Pagliery / The Daily Beast:

Trump Lawyer Settles Secretary's ‘B*tch’ Discrimination Case — Alina Habba, Donald Trump's go-to lawyer on civil cases, got sued for being a racist and insensitive boss. She just settled the matter out of court this month. … Donald Trump's go-to lawyer in New Jersey, Alina Habba …

Discussion: Washington Examiner, Law & Crime and Raw Story

Luc Cohen / Reuters:

Trump ally's trial on foreign agent charges kicks off with jury selection — A federal judge on Monday began questioning potential jurors in Brooklyn for the trial of Tom Barrack, the private equity executive and onetime fundraiser for former President Donald Trump charged with acting …

Discussion: Washington Examiner and CNN