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Category: Politics
February 29, 2024
William Upton
Politics
War

Republican Pushes ‘Discharge Petition’ to Force Ukraine Funding Vote.

Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), co-chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, has initiated preparations for a discharge petition to force a House vote on Ukraine war funding. The petition must receive 218 signatures to proceed. Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell of New Jersey has already expressed a willingness to add his signature to the legislative maneuver.

The Pennsylvania Congressman will likely need support from several dozen support from Republicans. Democrat members of the House Progressive Caucus have signaled they will not support a discharge petition. Fitzpatrick remained uncertain about which funding proposal the discharge petition would be linked to, stating, “It’s existential, it’s time sensitive. Whether that’s our product or somebody else’s, we’ve just got to get the money out the door to them.”

Meanwhile, the Senate has already approved a $95 billion foreign aid bill, comprising approximately $61 billion for Ukraine, while the remaining appropriations are allocated to Israel, Taiwan, and humanitarian for Palestinians in Gaza. The Senate supplemental funding bill has stalled out in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA), facing pressure from House conservatives, has refused to bring the bill to the floor for a vote.

Reps. Fitzpatrick and Jared Golden (D-ME) have introduced their own bipartisan funding plan for Ukraine, Israel, and Taiwan. The legislation would appropriate $66 billion for foreign aid earmarked for those nations. It would also provide some funding for U.S. border security.

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Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), co-chairman of the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus, has initiated preparations for a discharge petition to force a House vote on Ukraine war funding. The petition must receive 218 signatures to proceed. Democratic Representative Bill Pascrell of New Jersey has already expressed a willingness to add his signature to the legislative maneuver. show more

Editor’s Notes

Behind-the-scenes political intrigue exclusively for Pulse+ subscribers.

RAHEEM J. KASSAM Editor-in-Chief
Remember to read this if you want some further information on the discharge petition as a mechanism!
for exclusive members-only insights
Remember to read this if you want some further information on the discharge petition as a mechanism! show more
for exclusive members-only insights
February 29, 2024
Culture
Politics

Ohio Senator Hires Black Guy To Say N-Word For His Audiobook.

Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown hired a black man to say “the n-word” for his latest audiobook.

Titled Desk 88: Eight Progressive Senators Who Changed America, the audiobook version is “co-narrated” by Leon Nixon, a black man best known for narrating several erotic books such as Hood Boyz Fall In Love Too 3 and Nobody Can Love You Like Them Roughnecks Do 2.

The new book dedicates each chapter to a different senator who has previously occupied Brown’s desk. The book contains racially charged quotes containing the “n-word” from the likes of Theodore Bilbo, Lee Atwater, former Vice President Al Gore, and former KKK member and Supreme Court Justice Hugo Black, all of which are narrated by Nixon.

Prior to narrating Desk 88, Nixon lent his voice to an audiobook narrating the events of January 6th.

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Ohio Democratic Senator Sherrod Brown hired a black man to say "the n-word" for his latest audiobook. show more
February 29, 2024
Election 2024
News
Politics

Romney Refuses to Vote for Trump Despite Saying He Agrees With His Policies.

Republican Sen. Mitt Romney revealed he would not vote for former President Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee in a future election, despite agreeing with many of his policies.

Although Romney admitted that “yeah, [I] aligned with many of his domestic policies,” the Senator insisted Trump’s “character” was a more important factor in casting his vote. “Having a president who is so defaulted of character would have an enormous impact on the character of America,” he said. “And for me, that’s the primary consideration.”

Romney made his comments on Wednesday’s edition of CNN’s ‘The Source’ when questioned by host Kaitlan Collins.

The Senator also used the platform to criticize President Biden’s approach to border security and immigration, stating that Biden has made “extraordinary mistakes” and labeled his performance “embarrassing.” Although Romney praised Trump for “some smart things” done during his presidency, he said that alone was not enough to secure his support. Despite this, he acknowledged that Trump could win against Biden if the election were to occur today.

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Republican Sen. Mitt Romney revealed he would not vote for former President Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican presidential nominee in a future election, despite agreeing with many of his policies. show more
February 28, 2024
Politics

SCOTUS Will Hear Trump Immunity Claim in Election Interference Case.

The US Supreme Court confirmed that it will consider whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted over election interference charges, marking a significant step in the ongoing immunity case. The justices will review an appeal from Trump’s legal team challenging a lower court’s rejection of their claim that Trump has immunity from prosecution because of his status as president when taking actions aimed at reversing opponent Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. The court has, in the meantime, put on hold the criminal case presented by special counsel Jack Smith.

The appeal to the nation’s highest court represents the final legal recourse Trump has concerning immunity in his federal criminal case. For months, the former president’s legal advisors reportedly believed that though their appeal might not succeed legally, it could serve to postpone the forthcoming trial, which had originally been scheduled to begin in early March.

Trump’s legal team, in requesting a stay of the lower court’s ruling, warned of significant ramifications for future presidencies if such immunity is not upheld.

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The US Supreme Court confirmed that it will consider whether former President Donald Trump can be prosecuted over election interference charges, marking a significant step in the ongoing immunity case. The justices will review an appeal from Trump's legal team challenging a lower court’s rejection of their claim that Trump has immunity from prosecution because of his status as president when taking actions aimed at reversing opponent Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory. The court has, in the meantime, put on hold the criminal case presented by special counsel Jack Smith. show more
biden falling
February 28, 2024
Breaking
Politics

Biden Refuses Cognitive Test During Physical Exam.

President Joe Biden underwent his annual physical at Walter Reed Medical Center Wednesday, making the visit before heading to a meeting with law enforcement at the White House.

“I’m squared away, they say I look too young,” Biden claimed, though it soon became apparent that the President had refused to take a cognitive test. The disturbing revelation comes shortly after a Department of Justice report from his own government revealed that he is an “elderly man with a poor memory.”

In response to inquiries about Biden’s cognitive health, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre revealed that the President did not undergo a cognitive test during his physical, affirming that he “doesn’t need one”. Jean-Pierre declined to make Biden’s physician available for press questioning, contending that it’s not the standard practice. This deviates from the usual protocol during the Trump administration, when the former President’s physician was subjected to extensive questioning.

A group of Obama-era staffers recently revealed that Biden’s mental abilities are an obvious hindrance to his re-election prospects.

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President Joe Biden underwent his annual physical at Walter Reed Medical Center Wednesday, making the visit before heading to a meeting with law enforcement at the White House. show more
February 28, 2024
Jack Montgomery
Media
Politics

Paul Krugman Says ‘White Rural Rage’ Is ‘Single Greatest Threat Facing American Democracy.’

New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has declared, “white rural rage is arguably the single greatest threat facing American democracy” in an op-ed where he also admits that “at some level, I still don’t get the politics” of white rural Americans.

Krugman made the remarks in a review of White Rural Rage: The Threat to American Democracy, a screed by left-wing journalist Paul Waldman, an MSNBC columnist, and left-wing academic Thomas Schaller, previously featured by the likes of The Colbert Report.

Seemingly attempting to be charitable, Krugman admits “progress isn’t painless” and that the consequences of the changes wrought on rural America in recent years have been “devastating economically and socially.” He blames “technology” as the principal cause, reluctantly admitting “imports” from places like China have also played some role.

Krugman goes on to argue, however, that “metropolitan areas with large numbers of highly educated workers” have been subsidizing their benighted rural countrymen through “Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid and more.”

He then mocks those same rural Americans as dupes of “Donald Trump, a huckster from Queens who offers little other than validation for their resentment,” lamenting the fact their “white rural rage” will likely be “misdirected” against Joe Biden in November.

“[S]mall-town America is supposed to be filled with hard-working people who adhere to traditional values, not like those degenerate urbanites on welfare, but the economic and social reality doesn’t match this self-image,” he claims, adding defensively that he expects to be accused of sneering for his op-ed: “Draw attention to some of these realities, and you’ll be accused of being a snooty urban elitist. I’m sure responses to this column will be … interesting.”

Krugman also praises New York City as “relatively safe.”

He concludes he “still [finds it] hard to understand” why white rural voters support Trump.

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New York Times columnist Paul Krugman has declared, "white rural rage is arguably the single greatest threat facing American democracy" in an op-ed where he also admits that "at some level, I still don’t get the politics" of white rural Americans. show more
February 27, 2024
William Upton
Media
Politics

WATCH: NeverTrumper Jonah Goldberg ‘Jokes’ on CNN That He ‘Can’t Stop Cutting’ Himself.

Jonah Goldberg, a CNN commentator and NeverTrumper, made a disturbing and off-color ‘joke’ about committing self-harm on CNN Tuesday morning. Appearing on CNN This Morning, Goldberg suggested the acquiescence of GOP establishment figures to Donald Trump’s nomination as the Republican candidate for President has driven him to engage in “cutting.”

Referencing a New York Times report that former President Trump may be close to securing Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell‘s (R-KY) endorsement, Goldberg said: “It’s stories like this that are why I can’t stop cutting myself.”

Cutting is considered to be a nonsuicidal form of self-harm, often in response to depression, anger, or stress. The act of cutting can be fatal, though death is often not the intention. Hunt quickly tried to move on from Goldberg’s comments, responding: “Let’s not joke about this.”

Goldberg told Hunt he had “significant respect for McConnell” and had hoped he’d resist backing Trump for the White House after the January 6th, 2021, capitol riots. A former editor with National Review, the neoconservative Goldberg lamented that political pragmatism would likely lead McConnell to endorse Trump despite the alleged animosity between the two political leaders.

“I said earlier just as an aside that politicians will always disappoint you,” Goldberg told Hunt, adding: “This is a perfect example of it.” After departing National Review in 2019 — partly over his NeverTrump views — Goldberg founded the online political blog The Dispatch with several staff from the now-defunct neoconservative Weekly Standard.

Around 17 percent of individuals engage in self-harm in their lifetime, while 45 percent of self-harm incidents take the form of cutting. Self-harm actions are a sign of underlying mental health issues and stresses that need professional attention.

If you or someone you know is struggling with self-harm, call or text the National Alliance on Mental Illness hotline (NAMI) at 800-950-6264 or call or text 988.

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Jonah Goldberg, a CNN commentator and NeverTrumper, made a disturbing and off-color 'joke' about committing self-harm on CNN Tuesday morning. Appearing on CNN This Morning, Goldberg suggested the acquiescence of GOP establishment figures to Donald Trump's nomination as the Republican candidate for President has driven him to engage in "cutting." show more
February 27, 2024
Wake Up Right
Data
Politics

NO CAP: Young Voters Turning To Trump.

Donald Trump has closed the gap with Joe Biden among young voters, a group that Biden won overwhelmingly in 2020.

The numbers: According to the latest poll from Axios, which surveyed voters 18 and 34 years old:

  • 48 percent support Trump
  • 52 percent support Biden

Why this matters: This 4-point gap bodes well for Trump because, in 2020, Joe Biden won young voters by 20 points.

What’s driving them? The same poll asked these voters to name the top issues they’ll be voting on.

  • Economy: 39 percent;
  • Abortion: 16 percent;
  • Student debt: 11 percent;
  • Immigration: 11 percent;
  • Climate change: 10 percent;
  • Guns: 7 percent;
  • Other: 7 percent.
Big picture: This poll isn’t an outlier. A similar New York Times poll in December found Trump ahead of Biden with young voters, 49 percent to 43 percent. And in November, an NBC poll had Trump ahead by 4 points.
What to expect from Biden: His handlers will focus on abortion and student debt in the coming months in an attempt to reinvigorate young voters. Last week, he used executive power to try and buy the youth vote by forgiving another $1.2 billion in student loan debt for 3.9 million borrowers.
This article is adapted from the free ‘Wake Up Right’ newsletter, which you can subscribe to here.
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big tech
February 27, 2024
Ed Kozak
Politics

GOP Budget Chair Mulls Raising Taxes.

House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) has said that raising taxes will be necessary to balance the federal budget. His comments will likely irritate President Trump and his team, given the pledge to make the Trump-era tax cuts a permanent fixture in a second Trump administration.

“It’s only fair to have both revenue and expenditures on the table,” Arrington told Semafor. “The last time there was a fix to Social Security that addressed the solvency for 75 years, it was Ronald Reagan and Tip O’Neill, and it was bipartisan. It had revenue measures and it had program reforms. That’s just the reality,” said Arrington, who led the charge to create a bipartisan fiscal commission to address government debt.

In January, 19 GOP members of the Budget Committee and three Democrats voted for a proposal to establish the commission, which Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La) supported.

Both sides of the political aisle are already attacking the commission. Following the Budget Committee’s vote to establish the commission, Democratic Rep. Lloyd Doggett (Texas) said: “There is a real concern out there that this commission will be called the ‘Cut Social Security Commission.’” A group of conservative organizations released a letter attacking the commission as a “trap designed to get Republican fingerprints on a tax increase in exchange for ‘spending cuts’ that never materialize.”

The bipartisan attacks on a commission that exists to reduce the deficit prove “you need to depoliticize” the issue, Arrington said. The issue is “so weaponized on all sides, that we get nowhere,” he said.
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House Budget Committee chairman Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) has said that raising taxes will be necessary to balance the federal budget. His comments will likely irritate President Trump and his team, given the pledge to make the Trump-era tax cuts a permanent fixture in a second Trump administration. show more
February 27, 2024
William Upton
Politics

California Residents in New Effort to Recall Gavin Newsom.

California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is facing a new effort to recall him from the Governor’s mansion. On Monday, citizen activists led by the group Rescue California delivered recall papers to the Governor’s office. After serving the recall notice, Rescue California and its allies will need to gather at least 1.38 million signatures to force the recall vote. The group hopes to garner 1.6 million signatures since the California Secretary of State will likely invalidate some.

The latest recall effort comes on the heels of a 2021 attempt to remove Newsom as governor. Newsom survived the recall, handily defeating conservative talk-radio host Larry Elder. The September 14, 2021, ballot featured two questions: whether to recall Newsom and who should replace him as governor if recalled. Nearly 62 percent of voters voted against the recall effort.

Rescue California and other recall proponents argue the effort is justified because Newsom has become too focused on his national political ambitions and media surrogacy for President Joe Biden’s re-election effort. They contend Newsom has ignored California’s budget crisis, opting for the national spotlight instead. The state’s non-partisan Legislative Analyst’s Office has projected that California’s budget deficit has ballooned to $73 billion — double what the Governor has claimed.

Newsom has become a fixture on national television networks as the 2024 presidential election heats up. Many Democrats and Republicans consider the California Governor a possible presidential replacement should Biden be unable to run.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom (D) is facing a new effort to recall him from the Governor's mansion. On Monday, citizen activists led by the group Rescue California delivered recall papers to the Governor's office. After serving the recall notice, Rescue California and its allies will need to gather at least 1.38 million signatures to force the recall vote. The group hopes to garner 1.6 million signatures since the California Secretary of State will likely invalidate some. show more