memeorandum: The Real Midterm Election Stakes (Wall Street Journal)

1:20 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: The Triad, Insider, The Nation, Daily Kos, BizPac Review, New York Post, Gregg Jarrett, 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, The Atlantic and New York Times

Mark Hemingway / The Federalist:

If Martha's Vineyard Tried To Prove It Cares About Immigrants, It Failed Miserably — When Republican governors send 50 migrants to Martha's Vineyard, it's a humanitarian crisis. When 51 migrants who were encouraged to cross the border by Democrats die in the back of a truck, well, that's a statistic.

Discussion: New Republic, RedState and Twitchy

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 …

Rolling Stone:

Trump Fumes: DeSantis Stole My Plan for Shipping Migrants — Conservative pundits are fawning over DeSantis' cruel political stunt to fly immigrants to Massachusetts. Trump thinks the “credit” should be his — IN RECENT DAYS, Donald Trump has privately voiced his anger over Florida Republican …

Discussion: The Paul Street Report, Daily Kos, CNN, Politico, Townhall, Insider, Raw Story and The Daily Wire

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

Discussion: claytoonz, The Hill and NBC Boston

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 …

Politico:
Biden on ‘60 Minutes’: ‘The pandemic is over’

Charles C. W. Cooke / National Review:
On 60 Minutes, President Biden Admits His Student-Loan Order Is Illegal

Discussion: HotAir, RedState, The Spectator World, Erick Erickson's Confessions …, The Daily Caller, CBS News, Twitchy, Insider and The Daily Wire

CBS News:
Biden tells 60 Minutes U.S. troops would defend Taiwan, but White House says this is not official U.S. policy

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

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

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

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

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

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: PennLive, Sacramento Bee and Wall Street Journal

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

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

Kara Scannell / CNN:
Trump ally goes on trial for ‘espionage lite’ and obstruction

Discussion: New York Times, Financial Times, Bloomberg and Raw Story

ABC News: Tom Barrack case: Jury selection to begin in trial of former Trump fundraiser

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

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.

Associated Press:

Family of American says he was freed by Taliban in swap — An American contractor held hostage in Afghanistan for more than two years by the Taliban has been released, his family said Monday, as a Taliban drug lord jailed by the United States was also freed and returned to Kabul.

Discussion: USA Today, ABC News, Voice of America, Stars & Stripes, Washington Examiner, Politico, The Guardian, HotAir, Washington Times, Task & Purpose, Associated Press, Chicago Sun-Times, Bloomberg, Axios and CBS News

CNN:
American held captive in Afghanistan for more than 2 years is released in prisoner swap

Discussion: United States Department …, Washington Examiner, Reuters, New York Post, BBC, Washington Post, UPI, The Hill, The Daily Caller, Raw Story and Al Jazeera

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: The Guardian, Raw Story and Rolling Stone

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.

Politico:

POLITICO Playbook: What two new polls tell us about the midterms — With help from Eli Okun and Garrett Ross — DRIVING THE DAY — HAPPENING NOW — The funeral of QUEEN ELIZABETH II is underway. Watch live via BBC ... WaPo: World watches Britain lay its longest-reigning monarch to rest …

Discussion: Out of the Ordinary, The Hill and New York Times

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

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 …

María Luisa Paúl / Washington Post:

GOP senator says he won't back Graham's proposed national abortion ban — Another Republican senator says he won't support the bill Sen. Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.) introduced that would ban most abortions nationwide after 15 weeks of pregnancy. — Sen. Mike Rounds (R-S.D.) …

Discussion: HuffPost, RedState, Washington Times and Breitbart