‘The hits just keep coming’: Congress stumbles from crisis to crisis

Lawmakers had faced a shutdown, impeachment and pandemic. Now, they’re in a Supreme Court fight with epic ramifications.

Ancient Egypt had only 10 plagues. The 116th Congress says, “Hold my staff.” 

The House and Senate have spent the past two years staring down some of the most consequential political events of recent decades: the longest-ever government shutdown; a presidential impeachment; a deadly global pandemic; a deepening economic recession that has led to Depression-era levels of unemployment; a long-overdue national reckoning over race and police brutality; and growing tension with China and Iran and even Saudi Arabia.

But there’s more. This includes natural calamities, from fire tornadoes to wildfires to murder hornets; the death of civil rights icon John Lewis and other influential figures in politics; QAnon extremists marching toward the halls of Congress; and a polarizing president who is known for creating his own conflicts. Continue reading.

If Trump loses in November, he will thrust the U.S. into a legitimacy crisis

AlterNet logoOne month ago, the polling aggregator at RealClearPolitics showed Joe Biden with a four-point lead over Donald Trump. As of Wednesday, that lead had jumped to eight points. Additionally, Gallup reports that Trump’s approval rating has dropped ten points in the last month. In other words, things aren’t looking very good for the president’s re-election.

In the month before the 2016 election, this is what Trump was tweeting.

It is probably fair to say that, at the time, Trump was preparing an excuse for why he lost—something that everyone was expecting. But the stakes are much higher in 2020. Failing to win a second term would brand Trump as a loser, something his narcissistic ego cannot tolerate. Even more importantly, it is very possible that the president could face criminal charges once he is out of office. So he’s picked up the mantra of a rigged election once again. Continue reading.

Minneapolis’ ‘long, hot summer’ of ‘67 – and the parallels to today’s protests over police brutality

The scene was intense. Black residents of Minneapolis angered over an incident of police brutality fought with officers in the streets and set buildings ablaze. Many were injured; dozens were arrested. Eventually the National Guard, called in to patrol the streets, ordered black citizens back into their homes.

This may sound a lot like a scene from the past week, but it’s actually a flashback to 1967, when African Americans took to the streets of north Minneapolis after a series of abuses that, like today, culminated in days of unrest.

It took place in one of the “long, hot summers” of the 1960s, when black Americans in cities across the country protested and rioted over police abuse and segregation. While our history books remind us of famous riots in major cities like Los Angeles, Newark and Detroit, what took place in Minneapolis – where the black population back then was just 8% – is often forgotten. Continue reading.

US braces for COVID-19 ‘slow burn’

The Hill logoThe U.S. is likely to enter a period of “slow burn” of coronavirus cases through the summer, with coronavirus cases and deaths down from their peak but still taking a heavy toll, experts say.

As the country passes the grim milestone of 100,000 deaths, experts say the pace of harm might be slower in the coming months, but there is unlikely to be a steep drop-off in the virus. There even could be some significant upticks as restrictions on businesses and movement are eased around the country.

Risk looms even higher in the fall and winter, as experts expect a new spike in cases of the virus as the weather gets colder, combined with the added damage from flu season. Continue reading.

One eye on possible presidential bid, Sen. Amy Klobuchar shapes D.C. agenda

Reporters followed Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2019. Credit: Manuel Balce Ceneta, AP

The Minnesota senator, considering a national campaign, is pushing affordable prescriptions, social media privacy in Congress.

– Sen. Amy Klobuchar’s early focus in Congress this year is on the kind of popular, consumer-oriented measures that have been a foundation of her Senate career.

At the start of her third term in office and weighing a run for president, Klobuchar in recent weeks has emphasized her renewed push for cheaper prescription drugs, and for tighter privacy laws for social media users. With both, she’s touting collaboration with Republican colleagues in hopes of progress despite a divided Congress.

“Let’s get this done,” Klobuchar says in a video posted on her Twitter account this week, where she argues for three measures she’s sponsored intended to lower prescription prices. “We should be governing from opportunity for the people of America. Not a crisis.”

View the complete January 31 by Patrick Condon on The Star Tribune website here.