THE SHOW NOTES: DeSantis Goes to War Against AP Wokes, Pence and the Documents, & The FBI Agent and the Russians
Welcome! Is Tom Brady going to the Miami Dolphins?
HEADLINE: Spoiled children of privilege trying to burn Atlanta down
IMPORTANT: DOJ Poised to Sue Google Over Digital Ad Market Dominance - Bloomberg (paywall)
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Clip of the day:
2024 Senate Map: Democrats Have A Problem
Larry Sabato’s initial analysis of the 2024 Senate map shows the Republican path to winning back the Senate will depend on the toss-up races in Montana, Arizona, West Virginia, and Ohio.
Overview: Of the 34 seats up for reelection, Democrats are defending 23 while Republicans are only defending 11. All of the Republican seats are considered likely holds leaving very little exposure to the GOP.
West Virginia: Joe Manchin (D-WV) refused to say whether he would run for reelection on Meet The Press. The bright red state of West Virginia that went for Trump by 40 points in both cycles is an increasingly difficult task for any Democrat.
Montana: While Trump won Montana by 20 points in 2016 and 16 points in 2020, beating Jon Tester (D-MT) seems to be a difficult challenge for any Republican. Tester has served since 2006 but has not officially announced a reelection bid.
Arizona: Kyrsten Sinema’s decision to leave the Democratic Party (in name only) opens the possibility for a three-way race. Blake Masters and Kari Lake - the two worst-performing candidates in the 2022 cycle - have both expressed interest in challenging Sinema.
Ohio: The transformation of Ohio from a quintessential swing state to a fairly reliable Republican state paints a difficult path to reelection for Sherrod Brown (D-OH). Brown won in 2018 thanks to a wave cycle for Democrats and a very weak Republican challenger. The 2024 GOP field is set up to be anything but weak.
The Debt Fight
In no uncertain terms, Senate Republicans told Kevin McCarthy the debt fight is all his. McCarthy blasted the GOP Senate-backed $1.7 trillion spending plan last month and is now at a stalemate with President Biden as government funding expires in September.
Why this matters: A group of Senate Republicans raised the debt ceiling twice in 2021 through bipartisan coalitions. After McCarthy trash-talked their initial proposal, Senate Republicans don’t feel the need to lead on the issue or come rescue House Republicans.
DeSantis Goes to War Against AP Wokes
Ron DeSantis rejected an advanced high school course on African American studies because it pushes a political agenda.
DeSantis: This course on Black history, what’s one of the lessons about? Queer theory. Now, who would say that an important part of Black history is queer theory? That is somebody pushing an agenda.
The rest of the news:
Trump stopping in New Hampshire ahead of South Carolina on Saturday - Fox News
7 killed in shooting in Half Moon Bay, California - CNN
Why the new game ‘Hogwarts Legacy’ is roiling the LGBTQ community - The Washington Post - (paywall)
Political books are often bland. Mike Pompeo’s is savage. - The Washington Post (paywall)
Rebranding rift guts Blue Dog Dem ranks - Politico
Biden's incoming chief of staff met with Hunter Biden at least three times in 2016 - Fox News
Survey: 0 Percent of Black Georgia Voters Had a Poor Voting Experience - NR
National Poll: Biden’s Approval Recovers Two Years into Term, Trump Maintains Lead over DeSantis in GOP Primary - Emerson
Tweets that caught my eye:
Market snapshot:
Hi Erik, Did you see the article where Rev Warnock has purchased a 1.1 million dollar townhouse in DC with a $600,000 Down payment. 4 bedroom 4 bathrooms 2 miles from the capital.
https://freebeacon.com/democrats/raphael-warnock-buys-million-dollar-townhouse-as-his-churchs-tenants-live-in-squalor/
Looks like "epistemology" is the word of the day on Karine Jean-Pierre desk calendar.