Beto’s Beefed-Up Texas Campaign

Back in August, Ted Cruz spokesperson Emily Miller called his Democratic political opponent Beto O’Rourke “a Triple Meat Whataburger liberal who is out of touch with Texas values.” The beef (ahem) started when the Fort Worth Star-Telegram claimed the O’Rouke logo looks like a Whataburger Spicy Ketchup packet.

Unlike Emily Miller (Baltimore) and Ted Cruz (Canada!), Whataburger and Beto O’Rourke were both born in Texas. So was film director Richard Linklater (Boyhood, Dazed and Confused, Slacker), who calls out Mr. Cruz for his distinctly un-Texan affection for White Castle sliders:

Trump Endorsed a Literal Attack on the Press

“Donald Trump has praised Greg Gianforte, the Congress member from Montana, for violently attacking a Guardian reporter, saying that someone who performs a body slam is ‘my guy.’

Trump described in glowing terms the physical assault that occurred on 24 May 2017 when Ben Jacobs, the Guardian’s political correspondent, was asking Gianforte a question about health care policy in the course of a special congressional election in Bozeman, Montana. The US president incited cheers and chants from a crowd of about 8,000 supporters on Thursday night when he said: ‘Greg is smart. And by the way, never wrestle him. You understand. Never.’

As the cheers rang out across an aircraft hangar in Missoula, Trump went on to say: ‘Any guy that can do a body slam … he’s my guy.’

Trump’s comments mark the first time the president has openly and directly praised a violent act against a journalist on American soil.”

— “Trump praises Gianforte for assault on Guardian reporter: ‘He’s my guy,'” Ed Pilkington, The Guardian

In related news, PEN America is suing Mr.Trump in New York district court, claiming he “violated the First Amendment and his oath to uphold the Constitution,” a document which doesn’t consider the press to be the Enemy of the People.

More:

“Trump’s Attacks on the Press Are Illegal. We’re Suing.” Suzanne Nossel, Politico

“Suing Trump for endangering the First Amendment,” Jennifer Rubin, Washington Post

“Yale Law clinic helps writers group file First Amendment suit against Trump,” Debra Cassens Weiss, ABA Journal

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Trickle-Down Economics Is Trickling Away

That old voodoo economics has the president in its spell, but where’s the magic?

Noah Smith: “If Trump’s corporate tax cuts end up having no observable effect on workers’ pay, it will be the final blow to the supply-side worldview.”

— “Trump Puts Supply-Side Economics to Its Final Test,” Noah Smith, Bloomberg

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Protesters Outside Mitch McConnell’s House: ‘I Like Beer!’

Beer-swilling protesters … oh wait, it’s a beer festival near DC’s Navy Yard. Great timing.

Demonstrators protesting the Supreme Court nomination of Brett Kavanaugh gathered outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s house in DC this morning, chanting “I Like Beer!” and singing “What do you do with a drunken justice, what do you do with a drunken justice, what do you do with a confirmation early in the morning? Chug! Chug! Chug! Chug!” In case you were blacked-out or in a drunken stupor last week, this refers to Judge Kavanaugh’s spirited “I like beer” defense during his Judicial Committee testimony.

There are people drinking PBR from red Solo cups outside Mitch McConnell’s house at this early hour. They are chanting “I like beer.”

— Kasie Hunt (@kasie) October 5, 2018

MSNBC’s Kasie Hunt followed-up, sounding a bit disappointed:  “The promised keg did not materialize.”

In a related development last week, the conservative Federalist Society hosted an “I Still Like Beer” party.

More:

“PBR-Drinking Kavanaugh Protesters Chant Outside McConnell’s Home ‘I Like Beer,'” David Rutz, Washington Free Beacon

“Brett Kavanaugh Protesters Bring Beer, Chant ‘Chug’ Outside Mitch McConnell’s House,” Jenna Amatulli, Huffington Post

“Kavanaugh protesters bring beer, chant ‘chug’ outside McConnell’s home,” Aris Folley, The Hill

Update:

“Kavanaugh supporters drink beer to celebrate his confirmation,” Aris Folley, The Hill

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Georgetown Prep’s New Motto: ‘Amo Cerevisiam’ (‘I Like Beer’)

During his sworn testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Judge Brett Kavanaugh affirmed one thing as true: He really likes beer, and he liked it while he was a student at Georgetown Prep, the pricey Jesuit high school in the DC suburbs. Young Brett even listed himself as “Treasurer of the Keg City Club” in his high school yearbook. Surely Bill Shine, the former Fox News exec who is now White House Communications Director, advised him to declare his love of suds whenever those wine-sipping Democrats questioned him about his heavy drinking, since America’s Joe Sixpacks are Trump’s core voters.

One thing wrong with Brett Kavanaugh’s high school beer drinking: It wasn’t legal. As AP’s Alanna Durkin Richer points out, Maryland’s drinking age was raised to 21 in July 1982, when Brett Kavanaugh was a 17-year-old high school junior. He danced around this fact during committee testimony to avoid perjury, saying senior classmates could drink legally, but all this does is implicate the Georgetown Prep upperclassmen who bought him beer when he was 17.

Mr. Kavanaugh may have technically avoided perjuring himself about this one fact, if not several others, but he clearly has a rather distant relationship with the truth. Hey, we almost wrote this without using the phrase “sober as a judge.”

More:

“Brett Kavanaugh likes beer, but not questions about his drinking habits,” By Allyson Chiu, Washington Post

“Kavanaugh wrongly claims he could drink legally in Maryland,” Alanna Durkin Richer, Associated Press

“Brett Kavanaugh’s slippery answers about high school partying matter,” Matthew Yglesias, Vox

“At the Center of the Kavanaugh Accusations: Heavy Drinking,” Mike McIntire and Ben Protess, New York Times

“Many teens drink. Rich ones like Kavanaugh are more likely to abuse alcohol.” Suniya S. Luthar, Washington Post

“Trump on Kavanaugh: ‘I was surprised at how vocal he was about the fact that he likes beer,'” Caitlin Oprysko, Politico

“Kavanaugh’s High School, Georgetown Prep, Warned Parents in 1990 of ‘Sexual or Violent Behavior’ at Parties,” Jon Schwarz and Camille Baker, The Intercept

In-N-Out Burger Pisses off Half of California

California fast-food favorite, In-N-Out Burger, recently dished up something controversial on it’s secret menu: a $25,000 political contribution to the California Republican Party. That’s not all that surprising, given the religious conservatism of the family-owned business, but California Democrats found it hard to swallow, and some vowed to boycott the burger chain.

But wait, don’t put down that Double-Double. In-N-Out Burger also gave at least $50,000 to Californians for Jobs and a Strong Economy, an outfit that aims to elect business-friendly Democrats to the state legislature.

So enjoy your drive-thru burger, Democrats. You want fries with that?

More:

“‘I’m gonna buy my staff In-N-Out,’ says top California Democrat who led calls for boycott,” Eric Ting, San Francisco Chronicle

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Donald Trump, Banana Republican

On Monday President Trump attacked Attorney General Jeff Sessions for the Federal indictments of two sitting Republican congressmen, both strong Trump supporters:

Two long running, Obama era, investigations of two very popular Republican Congressmen were brought to a well publicized charge, just ahead of the Mid-Terms, by the Jeff Sessions Justice Department. Two easy wins now in doubt because there is not enough time. Good job Jeff……

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) September 3, 2018

Republican Senator Ben Sasse, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, responded: to the President’s partisan attack on the rule of law:

“The United States is not some banana republic with a two-tiered system of justice – one for the majority party and one for the minority party. These two men have been charged with crimes because of evidence, not because of who the President was when the investigations began. Instead of commenting on ongoing investigations and prosecutions, the job of the President of the United States is to defend the Constitution and protect the impartial administration of justice.”

“This is not the conduct of a President committed to defending and upholding the constitution,” tweeted Arizona Republican Senator Jeff Flake, “but rather a President looking to use the Department of Justice to settle political scores.”

Contrary to Mr. Trump’s tweet, at least one of the investigations began during his own administration. Rep. Christopher Collins (R, NY-27) is charged with participating in an insider trading scheme, and phoned insider stock tips while picnicking on the White House lawn in June 2017. He has denied wrongdoing but is not seeking re-election. Rep. Duncan Hunter (R, CA-50) and his wife were indicted for allegedly using campaign funds to pay for personal expenses. Mr. Hunter is still on the midterm ballot.

More:

“Trump Twitter attack on Sessions and Justice is most serious impeachment fodder yet,” Chris Truax, USA Today

“Trump’s Attacks on Jeff Sessions and the DOJ Are Reaching Absurd New Levels,” Ryan Bort, Rolling Stone

“Trump sets up rule-of-law crisis,” Jonathan Swan, Axios

“The Proud Corruption of Donald Trump,” David A. Graham, The Atlantic

“Sorry, Mr. Trump, the Attorney General Is America’s Lawyer,” New York Times editors

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Cruz vs. Beto: The Beef

In what may be the most Texan comment in this year’s Senate race between incumbent Ted Cruz and Democratic challenger Beto O’Rourke, Cruz spokesperson Emily Miller called Beto “a Triple Meat Whataburger liberal who is out of touch with Texas values.” The beef (ahem) started when the Fort Worth Star-Telegram claimed the O’Rouke logo looks like a Whataburger Spicy Ketchup packet.

Note: Unlike Emily Miller (Baltimore) and Ted Cruz (Canada!), Whataburger and Beto O’Rourke were both born in Texas.

More:

“What Could Ted Cruz’s Campaign Have Meant When It Called Beto O’Rourke a ‘Triple Meat Whataburger Liberal’?”  Dan Solomon, Texas Monthly

Updates:

“Beto O’Rourke Could Be The Democrat Texas Has Been Waiting For,” Anne Helen Petersen, BuzzFeed News

“Beto O’Rourke: can the upstart Texas Democrat eject Ted Cruz?” Tom Dart, The Guardian

“Beto O’Rourke vs. Ted Cruz and the Fight for America,” Christopher Hooks, GQ

 

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Showtime!

It’s spectacle showtime for charlatan-in-chief Donald Trump, who’ll select his prime-time pick for America’s next top model Supreme Court justice tonight at 9PM Eastern. Suspense mounts! Which conservative ideologue will win? Who will go home with a consolation prize?

More:

“How Trump turned the US Supreme Court into prime time television,” Ephrat Livni, Quartz

“Trump pushing for another reality-show reveal of Supreme Court pick,” Andrew Restuccia, Politico

“A ‘Supreme’ show: Trump savors big reveal for court choice,” BY Catherine Lucey and Zeke Miller, AP via Charlotte Observer

“Trump’s New Pageant: SCOTUS Pick Will Have To Look ‘All-American,’ Jibe With Trump,” Nicole LaFond, TPM Livewire

“Trump Is Picking His Supreme Court Nominee Like He’s Casting the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition,” Bess Levin, Vanity Fair

“The Supreme Court Show,” Ross Douthat, New York Times

“The most interesting late development in Trump’s Supreme Court derby,” Aaron Blake, Washington Post

Inside Baseball:

“The Five Frontrunners,” Adam Feldman, Empirical SCOTUS

“Trump’s 2018 Supreme Court Shortlist and Their Views on Administrative Law,” Chris Walker, Notice & Comment

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Trump Narrows Supreme Court Picks Down to Three

Drama! Suspense mounts on the reality-TV show known as the Trump presidency as we near the prime time Monday night announcement of Mr. Trump’s nominee to replace Supreme Court Justice Whatshisname. The president has narrowed the list prepared by the Heritage Foundation and the Federalist Society to three possible nominees, Brett Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, and Raymond Kethledge. While Republicans argue about which one is the most stalwart conservative ideologue, Mr. Trump makes personnel decisions based on a candidate’s looks. That’s certainly worked out well for him so far!

More:

“Trump pushing for another reality-show reveal of Supreme Court pick,” Andrew Restuccia, Politico

“Trump’s New Pageant: SCOTUS Pick Will Have To Look ‘All-American,’ Jibe With Trump,” Nicole LaFond, TPM Livewire

“Trump Is Picking His Supreme Court Nominee Like He’s Casting the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Edition,” Bess Levin, Vanity Fair

“The Supreme Court Show,” Ross Douthat, New York Times

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