Politics

Asa Hutchinson says we need a “course correction” in the Republican Party. There are many Republicans who agree with him. But with weak name recognition and some viewpoints that are out of step with the Republican base, is there a lane for the seventy-two-year-old former governor of Arkansas, who formally launched his campaign Wednesday? At the moment, he’s the only declared candidate who is explicitly attacking Trump — albeit in his folksy, gentlemanly way. So, even if there’s no lane for him to win the GOP nomination, can he damage Trump’s chances, potentially assisting DeSantis — or will he and other long-shot candidates simply splinter the anti-Trump vote and help to ensure the former president’s nomination? Hutchinson is at 0.

Yesterday, Cockburn's colleague Amber Athey wrote a story about Abby Grossberg, the former Tucker Carlson booker suing Carlson, his producers and Fox News due to the sexism, bullying and antisemitism she says she experienced while employed there. Amber's story confirmed a small but potentially important detail: the fact that Grossberg had never met Carlson in person during her time working for his show. Diligent hack that she is, Amber approached Grossberg's law firm for comment, which she received from Kimberly Catala, a lawyer at Filippatos PLLC. Amber was therefore surprised to receive another email this afternoon, from Parisis G. Filippatos, the firm's founding partner, with the subject line "'press' inquiries from the maga twitersphere" [sic]. As requested by Mr.

Kevin McCarthy rose to the speakership despite being loathed by a lot of very online conservatives and a rump portion of his own party in the House. He had to win that role across multiple votes, which the media pronounced as humiliating, indicative of a GOP incapable of governing and all the normal tropes that partisans such as Jake Tapper deploy in place of real informed analysis of the situation. This is why they’ve proven to be so utterly wrong about McCarthy’s strength as a leader since taking the gavel.

“Leave no one behind” has been the American warrior’s ethos for decades. It is ingrained in the Army Ranger’s Creed: “Leave no fallen comrade behind.” It is the reason they searched so desperately for Navy Seal Marcus Luttrell, the Lone Survivor, and so many others throughout our country’s history who have been separated from the team in the heat of battle. As a midshipman at the United States Naval Academy, the Marines who trained us beat accountability into us to ensure we take care of our own — always.  These are the core values service members carry with them, and these are the values that attract young Americans to join the armed forces. That is, until Joe Biden became commander-in-chief.

Massive media news has gazumped all else in Washington today, with politicos far more interested in what is happening at Fox News and CNN than at the White House or on the Hill. In truth, it is the news that Tucker Carlson and Fox have parted ways that really has DC talking; Don Lemon’s acrimonious dismissal from CNN a less consequential, if amusingly bitchy, chaser.  Given the blurred lines between politics, entertainment and news in America today, the Tucker story is almost as big a political story as it is a media story. (And for more details on the circumstances of the departure, read Cockburn’s juicy diary entry below.

Joe Biden is considering making his re-election announcement as early as Tuesday.  After months of teasing his inevitable run with awkward comments like telling Al Roker he will be pushing out Easter eggs, it would seem the moment is upon us.   So what does this mean for 2024?   Well, there’s still a long way to go. And as 2016 showed us, primaries make for plenty of surprises. Still, even with the unknowns, there’s a good chance that we end up with a 2020 re-rerun: former president Donald J. Trump versus President Joseph R. Biden. Because that worked out so well for everybody last time!  There are plenty of problems currently plaguing the country, from inflation to train derailments.

What’s that flapping sound? Could it be the sound of chickens coming home to roost? Or maybe it’s just the grating noise of secretary of state Antony Blinken rolling himself into a ball and, pressing his eyes shut and cupping hands over his ears, repeating, mantra-like, “please make it stop”? I don’t know exactly what the noise is or whence it comes. But Thursday’s revelations from the House Judiciary and Intelligence Committees about Blinken and Obama’s acting CIA director and all-round Democratic Mr. Fixit Michael Morell are certainly brewing up a storm.

So far in his presidency, Joe Biden has largely been able contain the political fallout of the misdeeds of his son Hunter. He has been helped by a pliant press that, with some honorable exceptions, is reluctant to do anything so indecent as reporting on the president’s family. But another crucial factor has been a Justice Department investigation that has progressed at a snail’s pace.  That ongoing investigation into possible tax evasion and a firearms offense, launched more than five years ago, has left Hunter in a holding pattern that suits his father: the White House has been able to bat away questions about whether Hunter had done anything illegal.  That stalemate is now over.

The Democratic establishment has never looked more vulnerable to progressive upheaval; Biden's supposed leadership bridge to a new generation leads nowhere. "Moderate" darling transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg has seen his slim national prospects dwindle with every near-miss in the air and toxic train derailment on the ground. Vice President Kamala Harris has been about as visible as Biden was on the 2020 campaign trail — and a geriatric Capitol Hill leadership class appears on its last legs. The scene is set for the party’s progressives to strike. And yet there is little relief in sight for the party’s left wing as its own geriatric champion rides off into the sunset.

Dominion did not lose three-quarters of a billion dollars from Fox's alleged defamation. It’s unlikely they actually lost very much at all; indeed they probably gained considerable credibility and additional business. This was especially so since the judge made findings favorable to Dominion’s professionalism. Had the case gone to verdict, and had Fox lost, the network probably would have been required to pay a relatively small amount of damages — certainly nothing approaching the amount for which they settled. Moreover there was a substantial chance that Fox could have won this suit, either at trial or on appeal. Dominion had a heavy burden to demonstrate that Fox was guilty of actual malice, that is, a reckless disregard for the truth.