Trump Supporters Disrupt Early Voting in Virginia

New York Times logo

A group waving Trump flags and chanting “four more years” created a commotion at a polling location in Fairfax, Va. A county official said some voters and staff members felt intimidated.

A group of Trump supporters waving campaign flags disrupted the second day of early voting in Fairfax, Va., on Saturday, chanting “four more years” as voters entered a polling location and, at one point, forming a line that voters had to walk around outside the site.

County election officials eventually were forced to open up a larger portion of the Fairfax County Government Center to allow voters to wait inside away from the Trump enthusiasts.

Election officials said that the group stayed about 100 feet from the entrance to the building and, contrary to posts on social media, were not directly blocking access to the building. But they acknowledged that some voters and polling staff members felt intimidated by what some saw as protesters. Continue reading.

Sen. Kamala Harris to Keynote 9th Annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – The Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party is pleased to announce Senator Kamala Harris will be the keynote speaker at the Party’s Ninth Annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner on Thursday, October 1st, at 5:30 PM. In addition to Senator Harris, the DFL Party will be joined by Senators Amy Klobuchar, Tina Smith, Elizabeth Warren, and Governor Tim Walz.

In keeping with the DFL Party’s ongoing work to limit the spread of COVID-19, this year’s dinner will be entirely virtual. Tickets are available here and the event will be livestreamed for members of the media.

“I’m honored that Senator Harris will be our keynote speaker for the DFL Party’s Ninth Annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner,” said DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin. “Our Humphrey-Mondale Dinner is a celebration of the accomplishments of leaders and activists within our party and Kamala Harris has a tremendous record of delivering real change for the American people.

Continue reading “Sen. Kamala Harris to Keynote 9th Annual Humphrey-Mondale Dinner”

Momentum growing among Republicans for Supreme Court vote before Election Day

The Hill logo

Momentum is growing among Senate Republicans for a Supreme Court confirmation vote to take place before Election Day, something that GOP strategists say would rev up conservative voters and deliver a huge accomplishment for President Trump before voters go to the polls.

As of Saturday afternoon, Senate Republicans had yet to have a conferencewide call on the vacancy created by the death of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, but already a number of GOP lawmakers are publicly and privately making the case for a vote before Nov. 3 instead of in the lame-duck session.

“The logistics are getting it done before the election are very difficult. That is very fast. But it’s not unusually fast. [Late Justice] John Paul Stevens was confirmed in 19 days, and anyone picked is going to be recently voted on,” said a senior Senate Republican aide, who predicted that Trump would chose a conservative appellate court judge. Continue reading.

Shadow of Merrick Garland Hangs Over the Next Supreme Court Fight

New York Times logo

The fight over the confirmation of Judge Garland in 2016 set the tone for an even more brutal battle over who should succeed Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

WASHINGTON — On a Saturday evening in February 2016, just hours after Justice Antonin Scalia died during a hunting trip, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the Republican majority leader, interrupted a Caribbean vacation to draw a line in the sand.

“The American people should have a voice in the selection of their next Supreme Court justice,” he said. “Therefore, this vacancy should not be filled until we have a new president.”

At that very moment, Mr. McConnell changed the course of the court and every future confirmation battle to come. By the time President Barack Obama nominated Judge Merrick B. Garland — a mild-mannered jurist with impeccable credentials, a moderate record and fans across the ideological spectrum — the Washington apparatus that gears up around Supreme Court nominations no longer felt quite the same. Continue reading.

Warning signs flash for Lindsey Graham in South Carolina

The Hill logo

Democrats are feeling increasingly optimistic about their chances of unseating Sen. Lindsey Graham (R) in South Carolina, bolstered by a recent slate of favorable polling and a massive cash windfall building behind Democrat Jaime Harrison’s Senate campaign.

A Quinnipiac University poll of the state released this week — the second in a little more than a month — showed Graham and Harrison running neck and neck at 48 percent each.

In the two days since then, Harrison has pulled in a staggering $2 million, adding to an already massive $10.6 million haul in August alone. And in a sign that national Democrats are eyeing the race with greater enthusiasm, the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee announced a new seven-figure cash injection in the state.  Continue reading.

China threatens U.S. companies with sanctions following Trump’s WeChat ban

Washington Post logo

TAIPEI, Taiwan — American companies including Apple and Google could land in Beijing’s crosshairs after the Chinese government responded to President Trump’s WeChat ban by pointedly announcing details about a restrictive new corporate blacklist.

China’s Commerce Ministry said Saturday that companies added to its “unreliable entities list” would be prohibited from investing in China or trading with the Chinese market — including imports and exports. The Chinese government has not yet named which companies would land on the list, but state media has long threatened that Apple and Google could be sanctioned if China’s relations with the United States continued to fray.

The move appeared to signal China was ready to retaliate less than one day after the Trump administration said it would ban TikTok and WeChat from mobile app stores, citing national security concerns. The U.S. ban of popular Chinese software — including WeChat, an app that is central to Chinese communications, business and everyday life — represented a sharp acceleration in the unraveling of trade relations with China and a step by the United States to mirror Beijing’s ­long-standing policy of prohibiting foreign social media services on national security grounds. Continue reading.

Collins: President elected Nov. 3 should fill Supreme Court vacancy

The Hill logo

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), a key centrist vote in the Senate, said Saturday that the upper chamber should not vote to confirm late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s successor before the election and that the nominee should be chosen by whoever wins on Nov. 3. 

“Given the proximity of the presidential election … I do not believe that the Senate should vote on the nominee prior to the election,” Collins said in a statement. “In fairness to the American people, who will either be re-electing the President or selecting a new one, the decision on a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court should be made by the President who is elected on November 3rd.” 

Collins, however, said she would have no objection to the Senate Judiciary Committee beginning the process of reviewing the credentials of the person President Trump is expected to nominate in the next several days. Continue reading.

GOP governor breaks ranks and urges Senate Republicans to hold off on Ginsburg replacement

AlterNet logo

On Saturday morning, Gov. Charlie Baker (R-MA) issued a statement on Twitter urging Senate Republicans to hold off on filling Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s seat until after the November election.

Baker, considered one of the most moderate Republican governors, did not clarify whether he supports waiting until after the new Congress is seated and presidential inauguration takes place, or just after the election itself. However, he made clear he doesn’t want the confirmation to be tainted with “partisan political infighting.”

Continue reading.

The Memo: Court battle explodes across tense election landscape

The Hill logo

A new, incendiary ingredient has been added to the explosive political atmosphere as Election Day looms.

The death on Friday of 87-year-old Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg sparks an instant and ferocious fight over the Supreme Court. 

Ginsburg was the de facto leader of the court’s four-member liberal bloc and an icon to progressives. Her death clears the way for President Trump to nominate a successor in the final days of his first term. Continue reading.

Kushner’s Callous Conduct On Covid-19 Panel ’Flabbergasted’ Others Present

When Jared Kushner was grilled by CNN’s Wolf Blitzer earlier this week, the White House senior adviser vigorously defended President Donald Trump on a range of issues — including the president’s widely criticized response to the coronavirus pandemic. Kushner has played a key role in that response: he was put in a charge of a private sector-oriented coronavirus task force that was separate from the White House task force with Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Deborah Birx.

And in a lengthy, in-depth article for Vanity Fair, Katherine Eban revealed some explosive details of Kushner’s coronavirus response, focusing heavily on a meeting on Friday, March 20.

Kushner was present at that meeting, which was attended by “a large group of officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency — people one attendee described as ‘the doers’ — to strategize how best to replenish the nation’s depleted reserves of PPE.” Continue reading.