Republican voters can’t agree on much of anything, except direct payments in Biden’s COVID-19 plan

Then the 52-year-old McGill went on to demonstrate how Donald Trump has basically destroyed what was once the central organizing tenet of the GOP: “The debt is so far out of hand that it’s a fantasy number at this point,” he offered. “We might as well just blow it out till everything collapses.” That’s what happens…

Republicans aren’t turning away from Trump’s Big Lie, because confronting the truth is too painful

Not only are state and county Republican officials endorsing the Big Lie about election fraud, many of them are explicitly supporting the violent assault on Jan. 6. At the same time, Republicans in leadership positions who have repudiated either the violence on Jan. 6 or Donald Trump’s lies that made that day possible are finding themselves “sanctioned”…

Senate official deems minimum wage hike out for COVID-19 relief, so Democrats find a new approach

Campaign Action Nevertheless, there seems to be no stomach in the White House for challenging that ruling. The White House released a statement Friday morning essentially withdrawing Vice President Kamala Harris from the process. The advice of the parliamentarian can be overruled by a simple majority, which would require Harris’ help. The problem is primary with this year’s…

Senate battleground races already getting dicey for GOP as Trump-McConnell feud heats up

In Pennsylvania, the vote of retiring GOP Sen. Pat Toomey to convict Trump has already pitted county parties against Republican moderates like former Rep. Ryan Costello, who is eyeing a bid to replace Toomey. In saner times for the GOP, Costello might be the type of statewide candidate with crossover appeal that the Mitch McConnell wing…

Faced with real consequences for participating in insurrection, MAGA followers turn on Trump

Take William “Billy” Chrestman of Olathe, Kansas. A bearded Proud Boy who was mistaken for founder Gavin McInnes when video of the insurrection first appeared on social media, he now faces multiple federal charges related to his behavior that day, including conspiracy, civil disorder, and obstruction of an official proceeding. His attorneys are claiming that…

Donald Trump’s insult-to-the-nation of an impeachment defense continues: Live coverage #2

Daily Kos Staff Friday February 12, 2021 · 10:15 AM PST 2021/02/12 · 10:15 Donald Trump’s impeachment defense begins—and is expected to end—today, following two days of argument for his guilt by the House impeachment managers. That prosecution was rock solid, tracing out how Trump set the stage to delegitimize an election he lost, then…

This senator, who calls herself a Democrat, wants you to know she’s blocking your living wage

Campaign Action She’s declaring “what’s important” here and saying that it’s not the people. It’s not whether 27 million people—nearly 19 million women—get a living wage for themselves and their families. No, for her “what’s important” is upholding the arcane Senate rule that would allow the minority Republicans to continue to keep people in poverty.…

Senate Republicans say Democrats made such an airtight case against Trump, no need to convict now

The new rationale goes something like this: House Democrats have done such an excellent job of indicting Trump in the court of public opinion that Senate Republicans now have no need to convict in order to prevent him from holding office again. Here’s an unnamed Republican senator making the case to The Hill: “Unwittingly, they are…

Harris, Yellen meet with Black Chambers of Commerce on American Rescue Plan

The Biden campaign and now-administration have focused on the racial inequities in the crisis. That has included working with people like Wes Moore of the Black Economic Alliance, who has been advising the administration. “We have been having great conversations with the folks in the White House. And I think there is a clear understanding of why…