THE SHOW NOTES: Markets Tank, Banning TikTok, & Pete's Problem
Welcome! Do you use Venmo? You may have a tax surprise thanks to Biden.
GO READ THIS: Emails Show CDC Removed Defensive Gun Use Stats After Gun-Control Advocates Pressured Officials in Private Meeting - The Reload
HEADLINE #1: Biden allies plot 2024 strategy focused on Trump, even if he fades away - NBC
HEADLINE #2: Iranian soccer player sentenced to death after protesting - NY Post
DID YOU KNOW: Republicans swept every state agricultural office
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🚨 🚨 Clip of the day: “Parents don’t have a right to know.”
McCarthy Uses Conservatives
Kevin McCarthy is using moderate Republicans to oppose demands from the House Freedom Caucus that are impeding his efforts to become Speaker. The House Freedom Caucus demands include keeping the controversial “motion to vacate” which allows any member of the house at any time to force a vote which can oust a Speaker.
Why this matters: Conservatives see this as an essential tool to keep McCarthy - a known pragmatist unburdened from ideological conviction - from going wobbly on important votes. McCarthy sees this as a massive headache that led to the demise of Speaker Boehner.
Here’s the quote from Politico:
By using moderates as a critical tool for countering conservatives, McCarthy appears to be carefully positioning himself to say to his right flank: Sorry, your own colleagues won’t support such a demand. Having them play “bad cop” on anything from the motion to vacate to, possibly, a future debt ceiling showdown, for example, could set McCarthy up to be seen as the “good cop” — a reasonable dealmaker trying to find a path forward between warring factions.
Mayor Pete’s Super PAC
The remaining infrastructure of Pete Buttigieg’s 2020 presidential run has been transformed into a Super PAC that is ready to run whenever he is. ‘Win the Era’ made a nominal mark on the 2022 midterm elections by endorsing a handful of candidates under the ostensible guise of relevancy. In reality, the move was strategically made to keep the campaign’s highly valuable email list updated.
What’s next: The Super PAC has been careful to not step on the toes of the Biden campaign or suggest Buttigieg would challenge his boss in 2024. But who knows?
The current problem: Pete Buttigieg left for a vacation in Portugal as contract negotiations were underway to prevent a highly consequential rail workers’ strike. Here’s what Sen. Josh Hawley told The Washington Free Beacon:
"This is the same guy who took months of paid leave at the height of the supply chain crisis," (Josh Hawley) continued, referencing the paternity leave that Buttigieg took after he and his husband adopted children. "If rail workers showed up for work as rarely as Buttigieg does, the country would fall apart."
Sanity Prevails?
The United States Senate unanimously voted last night to prevent federal employees from downloading TikTok on government devices. The bill heads to the House where it has a high likelihood of passing.
Why it matters: A jarring related story from The New York Times reveals TikTok is “pushing videos about eating disorders and self-harm to 13-year-old users at a rapid clip.” Here’s the paragraph that matters The Times:
The researchers found that many videos promoted eating disorders through hashtags using code words in an effort to avoid moderation and that harmful videos sat alongside more positive ones about recovery. For example, people have used #EdSheeranDisorder to tag posts about eating disorders while appearing to talk about the pop singer.
The rest of the news:
5 House conservatives plan to vote as unit on McCarthy's speaker bid - Axios
Bernard Arnault just became the world’s richest person. So who is he? - CNN
Former Loudoun County Superintendent Indicted by Special Grand Jury - NBC4
Exposure to Daylight Predicts When You'll Fall Asleep, Study Shows - Science Alert
Conservatives, Christians Systematically Excluded From Benefits of Christmas Shopping on Amazon - DailySignal
Musk bans Twitter account tracking his jet, threatens to sue creator - The Washington Post (paywall)
Loudoun County Pages Merrick Garland - WSJ (paywall)
Tweets that caught my eye: