Abridged expert summary is a long-running series published each morning that brings together essential political discussions and analysis from across the Internet.
EJ Dionne/Washington Post:
Democratic interference in GOP primaries is not hypocritical. It is necessary.
Oh dear! Are Democrats trying to maintain control of the Senate by revealing how right-wing the Republican Party has become? I can’t have that.
In our very strange politics, that of Donald Trump threats “Riots,” “violence in the streets,” “death and destruction,” and “ruckus” have been so normalized that they barely have any effect. But when Democrats engage in Machiavellian politics involving completely truthful and rather tame TV ads, the guardians of civility are caught in the trap.
The horrific crime in question involves “Attacking Ads” aimed to highlight the most extreme and pro-Trump Republican primary candidates, hoping to encourage the party faithful to nominate these weak opponents in the general election.
Tammy Murphy to withdraw from US Senate race
Kim will run on the lines that went to Murphy
Tammy Murphy will announce today that she is withdrawing from the U.S. Senate race, abruptly ending her campaign after four months, the New Jersey Globe has confirmed. That paves the way for insurgent Rep. Andy Kim (D-Moorestown) to likely win the Democratic nomination and become the heavy favorite to replace indicted Sen. Bob Menendez.
Murphy made the decision Saturday evening after a discussion with her family — including her husband, Gov. Phil Murphy — and political advisers. The bottom line was that she had a bloody path to winning the June 4 primary, even though she had written a large personal check to partly self-fund her race.
It remains one of the most fascinating political stories of 2024. Read on Fiorello LaGuardia vs. Tammany Hall, because Andy Kim is doing an encore. Kim overcomes the county boundary approval system (aka “The Line”) This is what dominates New Jersey politics.
José Pagliery/Daily beast:
DOJ Sat on Michael Cohen Records for Years, Then Dumped Them to Trump
The surprise move by federal prosecutors in the Southern District of New York, who worked on a previous iteration of this investigation before the Manhattan District Attorney. Alvin Bragg picked up the stick, threw the case into chaos just weeks before the trial.
The fog causes everyone to blame each other. Prosecutor’s office says Trump played role delay games waiting until the last minute to request these recordings. Trump’s lawyers say new records show prosecutor withheld exculpatory evidence. Meanwhile, legal experts are wondering why the federal government unexpectedly presented a trove of new documents to the former president.
But a little-known piece of this puzzle is that Michael Cohenthe former Trump confidant and fixer Bragg is counting on to prove Trump broke the law, has been demanding many of these same records for more than two years — only to face stiff resistance from the Justice Department.
Cohen, who believes the federal government unfairly prosecuted him for the hush money affair without ever going after his former boss, joined forces with journalist Brian Karem to demand records from the FBI and DOJ.
TPM:
Spies, war, Trump: we still don’t really understand what Paul Manafort is doing
The ultimate practitioner of the art of the deal returns
Imagine this scenario for a moment: there is a country located on a geopolitical fault line between the United States and one of its main adversaries, Russia.
Its population is becoming more and more pro-Western; its ruling and business elite remains largely indebted to Russia.
After years of fraudulent elections, a politician with a mafia past, widely seen as a Russian stooge, comes to power in the contested country. The rise of the Stooge is seen as a watershed moment for Russia, an obstacle on the country’s path toward closer ties with the West.
And yet, an American political consultant and member of the traditionally hawkish Republican Party, who has worked with anti-communist guerrillas around the world, has quietly found his way into the inner circle of the Stooge and his supporters. Once The Stooge is in power, The Consultant gets to work. Once in place, he works to whitewash the Stooge’s worst abuses and corruptions, but all for a greater goal: to persuade both the Stooge and a neighboring multi-state Western political system, which is actually the perfect time for the country in question to sign treaties cementing its evolution away from Russia, but towards the west.
Dan Pfeiffer/”The message box” on the substack:
Are Biden’s poll numbers improving?
The State of the Union and the start of the campaign determine the choice of voters
Time will tell if this is an incident or the start of Biden’s comeback. Things seem better. The question is, why? Here are three likely reasons:
The State of the Union brought some Democrats home: Some reasons are simple. Biden fares worse in 2024 than in 2020 because about 15% of people who voted for him last time are not committed to doing so again. The State of the Union appears to have reassured some Democrats worried about his age. As I wrote earlier this week:
A recent Morning Consult survey shows that Biden’s State of the Union has made progress in this direction. According to the poll, the number of voters who believe Biden is “too old” fell by 3 points, but there was significant movement among Democrats (9 points) and 2020 Biden voters (8 points).
Multiple polls show Biden’s approval rating increased among people who watched or interacted with the State of the Union.The Biden campaign is in full swing: The State of the Union was the launching point of the Biden campaign’s election campaign. Since then, the president has assaulted battleground states, made major policy announcements on climate change and student loans, and contrasted aggressively with Trump on a wide variety of issues. The campaign is spending real money to run good ads, including this one: (YouTube ad “For you”)
The general elections are getting closer: As recently as last month, polls showed that a significant portion of the electorate was skeptical of Biden and Trump’s candidacy. A Monmouth Survey found that 48% of voters thought it was likely Biden would be replaced on the ticket and 32% thought Trump would be replaced. With the primaries now over, the choice is starting to become clear to voters. Trump has also spent the last few weeks behaving like an unhinged madman, proposing cuts to Social Security and a nationwide ban on abortion and promising bloodshed if he loses the election. So far, this race has been a referendum on Biden. That’s changed in recent weeks, and that’s good news for Biden.
Jamie Duprée/“Regular order” on the substack:
Chaos once again engulfs the House GOP
Greene files motion to oust President Johnson
PARLIAMENTARY NERD NOTE. (Marjorie Taylor) Greene’s decision to forgo an immediate vote to get rid of Johnson has already been made. In 2015, Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC) filed a motion to overturn against Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). Meadows never followed through, but the resulting threat led in part to Boehner’s resignation.
SUPPORT. I expect some Democrats will vote to keep Johnson as president, thereby protecting the House for institutional reasons. But they also wouldn’t do it without getting something in return. It would most likely involve a House vote on an aid package for Ukraine.
DEMS. “I don’t support President Johnson, but I will never stand idly by and let MTG take control of the People’s House,” said Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL). “3 of the last 4 GOP House Speakers have now had a nullification motion filed against them,” tweeted Rep. Brendan Boyle (D-PA), who called it “ GOP clown show.”
REGULAR ORDER. Once again, I’m going to say it for the umpteenth time about the 118th Congress and the GOP. What is currently happening in the Republican-led House IS NOT NORMAL. It’s absolutely crazy.
Cliff Schecter with Stéphanie Miller: