Although supporters stood in the rain for hours to enter, Trump’s rally in Dubuque is not as well attended as past rallies have been. The venue can hold 3,000 people. From my vantage point in the back, accounting for the large press area, I would guess the room is about half full pic.twitter.com/bFWvG6ws8n — Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 20, 2023 Trump has been speaking for over an hour. His supporters are beginning to leave. — Olivia Nuzzi (@Olivianuzzi) September 20, 2023 CNN reports on what he’s selling in Iowa this year: Trump largely focused his Dubuque speech on immigration and the border. While he did at times call out Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump largely focused on attacking President Joe Biden over what he referred to as the “nation-wrecking catastrophe” on the southern border, describing it as “an invasion.” The former president also lauded his immigration policies while in office, saying he replaced “catch-and-release” with “detain and deport.” He also argued that Mexico paid for the wall because they supplied the US with soldiers at the border for free.
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MSNBC framing of today’s hearing: Attorney General Merrick Garland appeared before the House judiciary Committee for the first time since Donald Trump and Hunter Biden’s separate indictments and it went about how you would expect it to go. House Republicans accused AG Garland of politicizing the Department of Justice to protect President Biden. Democrats accused Republicans of politicizing Judicial Oversight to benefit Donald Trump and AG Garland, well, he just tried to defend himself. Oh those crazy Republicans and Democrats. They’re all full of shit, amirite? Just playing politics. Waddaya gonna do? This is the problem, folks. It’s not “both sides.” It’s Republicans. It’s not hard to make a judgment about this. It’s called reality.
PA institutes automatic voter registration Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro (D) announced this morning that “eligible voters getting a new driver’s license or ID card in Pennsylvania will now be automatically registered to vote,” reports NBC News. Shapiro’s office issued a statement: “Pennsylvania is the birthplace of our democracy, and as Governor, I’m committed to ensuring free and fair elections that allow every eligible voter to make their voice heard,” said Governor Josh Shapiro. “Automatic voter registration is a commonsense step to ensure election security and save Pennsylvanians time and tax dollars. Residents of our Commonwealth already provide proof of identity, residency, age, and citizenship at the DMV – all the information required to register to vote — so it makes good sense to streamline that process with voter registration.
Biden gets a big round of applause as he wraps up his speech at the UN pic.twitter.com/hjDXBleeSk — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 19, 2023 https://x.com/atrupar/status/1704140636738244767?s=20 WOW! The UN audience laughs at Trump after he claims, “my administration has accomplished more than almost any administration in the history of our country.” pic.twitter.com/tXg50ejQqy — Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) September 25, 2018 Update: Let’s not forget this winner…
James Comer continues to try to deceive the Capitol Hill press corps and country (LEFT)Comer insists “I haven’t said he should be impeached,” after McCarthy declared an inquiry open (RIGHT)Comer on Newsmax: “You know where I stand on that, I would vote to impeach right now.” pic.twitter.com/JSbL52x4Jt — Ian Sams (@IanSams46) September 19, 2023 By the way: New testimony from a number of FBI and Internal Revenue Service officials casts doubt on key claims from an IRS whistleblower who alleges there was political interference in the federal criminal investigation of Hunter Biden’s taxes. According to transcripts provided to CNN, several FBI and IRS officials brought in for closed-door testimony by House Republicans in recent days said they don’t remember US Attorney David Weiss saying that he lacked the authority to decide whether to bring charges against the president’s son, or that Weiss said he had been denied a request for special counsel status.
Former GOP strategist Rick Wilson writes about how the Republicans get over. Normally, I would say that they haven’t got the greatest track record in presidential races over the past 30 years so why listen to them? But with the imbecilic, narcissistic, pathological liar Donald Trump’s inexplicable popularity I think it’s probably a good idea to at least consider some of their tactics: Republican political operators are raised on two rules. Just two. Rule 1: Just win, baby. Rule 2: Stay on message. If you have doubts about either of the rules, refer to the other rule. Just Win The “Just win” rule is precisely what it sounds like; victory is the only goal, and everything else is noise and distraction. “Just Win” is the rule that leads Democrats to wonder repeatedly why garbage-tier GOP candidates win in states and seats in which they should be competitive. It’s the reason the GOP will defend the indefensible until the last dog dies, whether policy or politician. It’s why the shamelessness of the GOP political class, of which I was once a successful and very well-compensated member, is their superpower.
Michelle Cottle is right about this: The dysfunctional dance taking place in the House between Speaker Kevin McCarthy and his right flank has driven me to consider something I never imagined possible: that Matt Gaetz is right. A House speaker can be successful only with the confidence of the members who put him or her in charge, when he or she can follow through on promises made and concessions extracted. Indeed, there may be no job in American government that calls for crackerjack deal-making skills more than that of speaker: so many egos, alliances and grievances to manage to keep things moving. Mr. McCarthy, in his desperate pursuit of the speakership last winter, ran around making promises willy-nilly to the House’s small band of right-wingers, and he will now rise and fall on how he handles those commitments and expectations. So far, things are not looking good for Kev — and, by extension, for a functional Congress. Miffed at the speaker’s handling of the spending fight, the right’s hard-liners have been threatening to oust him, shut down the government or both.
But such is the power of the Main Signal that all the concrete accomplishments are already forgotten, blown away like leaves in the wind, while the vibes-based age critique is front-and-center in everyone’s consciousness. And so we may get fascism. Great work everyone. — David Roberts (@drvolts) September 19, 2023 This is so depressing, and a major media failure. Devastatingly dangerous.
STEVE BANNON (HOST): Comer announced that this joint effort, you know, Oversight with Judiciary, this, you know, moving towards the impeachment of Biden, that they’re going to meet next week, and they’re going to subpoena the bank records, so that will be September – be the last couple of days of September, almost October, October 2023. They’re going to go subpoena the bank records of Hunter Biden, something they should have done in the first week. And this is why it’s a clown show, and they’re not serious. It’s all performative. Unless you’re on them 24/7, and I mean, on them. Up in their grill. Nothing will happen. They don’t want to do anything. This is the same surrender caucus. The reason the country is in the shape it’s in, is because the Republican Party under Bush and under these clowns have rolled over and been part of the problem, while lulling you to sleep over TV for stupid people. Seriously. And they make a big deal about it. We are going to subpoena. Hunter Biden’s bank records. Dude, that should have happened the first day for drama.
This is a quick test of whether Word successfully exports its own inline equations to the Web, after I was informed that inline MathType equations weren’t exported. One thing which never ceases to bemuse me is the intellectual insularity of mainstream economics. Every intellectual specialization is, by necessity, insular. Specialization necessarily requires that, to have … Continue reading "The Impossibility of Microfoundations for Macroeconomics"