Has anything in the world ever been more predictable than this? Former Attorney General Bill Barr is coming to the defense of No Labels and their longshot third party effort. In a Wednesday op-ed for the Wall Street Journal, Barr accused Democrat operatives of potentially breaking the law in response to a complaint filed by No Labels with the Department of Justice describing retaliatory tactics against members and efforts to keep them from making state ballots, an already complicated and costly effort for third parties. The No Labels complaint describes an alleged “conspiracy to use retaliation, fear, intimidation, and even threats of violence” to keep the group off of ballots. No Labels provided accounts of threats and phone calls from Democrat operatives as evidence of their claims. “Although I am a committed Republican and not part of No Labels’ effort, I believe the campaign to disenfranchise the group is profoundly wrong. Poll after poll shows American voters want a choice beyond Joe Biden and Donald Trump,” Barr wrote about the situation.
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It’s always worthwhile to circulate this map. Just so people can be reminded that our government is supposed to represent people not dirt. Dean “Who?” It’s been reported that Phillips is almost certainly flirting with No Labels. Unfortunately for him, they are very unlikely to choose some cipher. But he’s a rich guy and his consultants are making big bank exploiting him which is fine. But really — what an ass.
Why did anyone ever think otherwise? Krugman on the dynamite economic news today: The U.S. economy is still growing fast, surpassing almost everyone’s expectations. Inflation is right at the Fed’s target. Let me explain why this is bad for President Biden. OK, actually, no. Biden couldn’t have asked for better numbers. Politics aside, these numbers help us make sense of the inflation that dogged America for a couple of years but plunged in 2023. Here’s a wonkish chart, comparing the Fed’s preferred measure of inflation, the core personal consumption expenditures deflator (hey, don’t blame me), with a measure of labor market slack — the difference between the unemployment rate and the Congressional Budget Office estimate of normal, or “noncyclical,” unemployment. As you can see, before Covid there was a weak and noisy but still real relationship between the two: more slack, lower inflation. Then inflation really took off. Many Biden critics, including some Democrats, blamed the big spending of Biden’s first year.
Daily dispatch from the Death Cult We are a very primitive people using technology for primitive ends: The Supreme Court on Wednesday refused to stay the execution of an Alabama inmate by nitrogen hypoxia, an untested method that experts have warned could cause him extreme pain and suffering. Should a separate appeal still pending in federal court not pan out the way advocates and his legal team hope, Kenneth Eugene Smith will be the first person in the United States to be lethally suffocated by nitrogen gas on Thursday evening. A terse court order noted that both Smith’s application for a stay and his petition for a writ of certiorari—a request for the high court to take up his case—had been denied. No justices publicly dissented from the order. Smith has been on death row for more than a quarter-century for the 1988 murder-for-hire killing of preacher’s wife Elizabeth Dorlene Sennett. In 2022, he survived an attempt by the state to execute him by lethal injection.
Republican voters come to the light To no one’s surprise, Donald “91 Counts” Trump handily defeated Gov. Nikki Haley in the New Hampshire Republican primary on Tuesday. The surprise was results were closer than a late poll showing Trump polling ahead of Haley by 18 points among likely voters. The final spread was 11 points. But the Washington Post-Monmouth University poll was taken before Florida Gov, Ron DeSantis dropped out of the race. Haley may have picked up votes there. “Undeclared” voters are allowed to vote in the Republican primary. Exit polls suggest tepid support for Haley. Aaron Blake notes, “Nearly 3 in 10 expressed some reservations about her, and 4 in 10 said their vote was mostly about dislike for the other candidates — or, more aptly, candidate.” Trump. It is significant “that so many voters who felt so meh about Haley turned out to register what amounted to protest votes.” Watch that space this November. Trump has been a net plus in elections for Democrats ever since he took office. Even in 2022 when he had left office after fomenting a violent insurrection.
Think outside the box A friend in high state office told a large crowd at a party event over the weekend that this is the most important election of our lifetime. Yes, the last election was too. But really, we mean it this time. (I’m riffing here.) What’s infuriating about that hoary admonition is that it provokes Democrats into adopting a defensive posture when offense is required. Time and again, Democrats play defense. Their idea of finding a new gear is doing the same thing they’ve always done, the way they’ve always done it, just more of it. When it’s the most important election of your lifetime you don’t take chances, don’t experiment. Also, you don’t change, don’t grow. Worried about taking risks? That’s a huge one. “Most important election of our lifetime” makes me grind my teeth almost as much as “voting against their best interests” and the jokey “vote early, vote often.” For Democrats of a certain age, they are unfortunate verbal tics. Democrats may be the party of the left, but thinking outside the box is often in short supply.
After his win in the Iowa caucuses last week Donald Trump came to the microphone and gave an uncharacteristically gracious victory speech. It was actually standard stuff, exactly what you’d expect from any candidate except him. In these situations, the job is to try to soothe the hurt and disappointment of voters who opposed you in order to bring their followers to your side as you go through the process. Trump actually tried to do that, prompting the usual round of “he’s pivoting!” from the talking heads. But, as usual, that little burst of decency was short-lived as he proved last night in New Hampshire, giving one of the most boorish victory speeches anyone has ever given. He is obviously extremely angry at Nikki Haley for not losing bigger, dropping out of the race instantly and begging for the privilege of endorsing him for president. And he made no bones about it.
We are living in an antediluvian hellscape. I can hardly believe this is America. Well, actually, I do believe it and it’s profoundly distressing: More than 64,500 pregnancies have resulted from rape in the 14 states that banned abortion since Roe v. Wade was overturned, with the vast majority occurring in states that don’t make exceptions for rape, researchers estimated today in a leading medical journal. The big picture: The projection in JAMA Internal Medicine aims to shed light on the frequency of these pregnancies at a time when exceptions for rape loom large in abortion debates. Researchers, led by the medical director at Planned Parenthood of Montana, say even states with bans that have exceptions for rape impose other requirements that make it difficult to access the procedure. Rape victims have few options other than self-managed abortions, including by illegal methods or via pills obtained through the mail, or traveling out of state to where abortion is legal. As a result, many have to carry a pregnancy to term, the researchers wrote.
They were all high I had heard that the White House doctor Ronny Jackson was a Dr. Feelgood and this seems to confirm it: White House pharmacists reportedly distributed uppers and downers like candy to Trump administration officials during his time in office, according to a new report from the Department of Defense Inspector General. The 80-page document, which was released on Jan. 8, found that “all phases of the White House Medical Unit’s pharmacy operations had severe and systemic problems due to the unit’s reliance on ineffective internal controls to ensure compliance with pharmacy safety standards.” The investigation, which began in 2018 after the Office of Inspector General (DoD OIG) received complaints about improper medical practices within the White House Medical Unit, found a slew of compliance issues and improper safety standards. The medical unit’s operations fall under the jurisdiction of the White House Military Office.
They make people bend to their reality But the cult is increasingly isolated: Something’s happening to the Trump cult. The hard core true believers are on board with him more than ever and they will follow him to the ends of the earth. But there is a growing faction that’s breaking away. They may not be ready to back Joe Biden. But they are starting to see the light and recognize that they can’t vote for Trump. Baby steps….