The Commentariat -- April 10, 2020
Afternoon Update:
The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Friday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Friday are here.
Florida. Jeffrey Solochek of the Tampa Bay Times: "Gov. Ron DeSantis on Thursday would not rule out sending Florida's schoolchildren back to their classrooms in May, if the conditions are right. 'We're going to look at the evidence and make a decision,' DeSantis said, when asked if he intended to keep schools closed for the remainder of the current academic year. 'If it's safe, we want kids to be in school. .... Even if it's for a couple of weeks, we think there would be value in that.'"
Wisconsin. Molly Beck of the Milwakee Journal Sentinel: "The state health department is tracking new cases of the coronavirus to determine whether it was spread among voters during Tuesday's spring election. The state Department of Health Services and local public health officials are 'monitoring' the relationship between new cases in the coming weeks and voting in person, agency officials said Thursday."
Kyle Cheney of Politico: "Twenty House committee chairs are asking the nation's top federal agency watchdogs for advice on how to protect them from potential retaliation by ... Donald Trump for uncovering mismanagement or wrongdoing inside his administration. The Democratic committee leaders, who include Oversight Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney, Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler, say they're seeking legislative proposals that could restrict Trump's ability to remove or demote inspectors general for political reasons."
Trump's 2020 Campaign Starts Out Racist. John Wagner of the Washington Post: "A new attack ad by President Trump's campaign that portrays former vice president Joe Biden as too cozy with China to confront the country ... includes an image of Gary Locke, a former governor of Washington state, that appears to falsely suggest he is a Chinese official. Locke, who is Chinese American and was serving as U.S. ambassador to China at the time, is briefly depicted onstage at a 2013 event in Beijing with Biden...."
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The New York Times' live updates for coronavirus developments Thursday are here. The Washington Post's live updates for Thursday are here.
Patricia Cohen & Tiffany Hsu of the New York Times: "Another 6.6 million people filed for unemployment benefits last week as the coronavirus outbreak continued its devastating march through the American economy, the Labor Department reported on Thursday. The release came as the Federal Reserve said it could pump $2.3 trillion into the economy through new and expanded programs it announced on Monday, ramping up efforts to help companies and state and local governments suffering financially amid the coronavirus.... In just three weeks, more than 16 million U.S. workers have lost their jobs -- more losses than the most recent recession produced over two years." A CNBC story is here. (Also linked yesterday.)
Fred Imbert of CNBC: "The Dow rallied 285.80 points [Thursday], or 1.22%, to close at 23,719.37. The S&P 500 advanced 1.45% to 2,789.82 The Nasdaq Composite gained 0.77% to 8,153.58. Stocks rallied to end a historic week of gains after the Fed unveiled even more measures to help the economy during the coronavirus outbreak. The Fed announced as slew of programs, including loans geared towards small and medium sized businesses, that will total up to $2.3 trillion. The central bank also gave more details on its plans to buy investment-grade and junk bonds. Those moves were enough to overshadow another massive spike in weekly jobless claims."
Pippa Stevens of CNBC: "OPEC and its allies, known as OPEC+, on Thursday agreed to historic production cuts that will take 10 million barrels per day offline as the coronavirus pandemic saps demand for crude. The agreement came as the oil-producing nations held an extraordinary meeting to discuss production policy amid falling oil prices. The group will cut 10 million barrels per day in May and June, 8 million barrels per day from July through the end of the year, and 6 million barrels per day beginning in January 2021 and extending through April 2022, according to Reuters."
Obama: Don't Be Trump!" Dan Merica & Caroline Kelly of CNN: "Former President Barack Obama on Thursday gave some advice to a group of mayors on how to deal with the coronavirus outbreak, saying that 'the biggest mistake any (of) us can make in these situations is to misinform.' Obama was speaking during a virtual meeting organized by Bloomberg Philanthropies. 'Speak the truth. Speak it clearly. Speak it with compassion. Speak it with empathy for what folks are going through, Obama said, according to a press release on the virtual meeting....On Wednesday, Obama tweeted that it would not be feasible to relax current measures to combat the spread of coronavirus without a 'robust system of testing and monitoring -- something we have yet to put in place nationwide.' Those comments, much as the ones made to mayors on Thursday, presented a notable contrast in tone compared to the views of Trump." Emphasis added. ~~~
~~~ MEANWHILE. Brett Samuels & Peter Sullivan of the Hill: "President Trump on Thursday shrugged off the need to significantly expand nationwide coronavirus testing capabilities in order to be able to restart the U.S. economy and then keep it open.... 'We want to have it and we're going to see if we have it. Do you need it? No. Is it a nice thing to do? Yes,' Trump said. 'We're talking about 325 million people. And that's not going to happen, as you can imagine, and it would never happen with anyone else either.' But experts say that widespread testing is a crucial step. Easing blunt measures like stay-at-home orders requires enough widespread testing to identify infected people so they can be isolated and people they've been in contact with notified, they say." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: You know why Trump opposes testing. Fewer than one percent of U.S. residents have been tested for the coronavirus. Obviously as the number of those tested goes up, so does the number who test positive. In reality, testing is necessary to reopen elements of the economic infrastructure; in Trump's view, testing is an inhibition to reopening the economy because it would expose Trump's delusional pretense that everybody is all better.
Trump Plans to Sicken & Kill Americans to Improve His Re-election Chances. Matt Zapotosky, et al., of the Washington Post: "The Trump administration is pushing to reopen much of the country next month, raising concerns among health experts and economists of a possible covid-19 resurgence if Americans return to their normal lives before the virus is truly stamped out. Behind closed doors, President Trump -- concerned with the sagging economy -- has sought a strategy for resuming business activity by May 1, according to people familiar with the discussions.... Trump regularly looks at unemployment and stock market numbers, complaining that they are hurting his presidency and reelection prospects, the people said.... Trump said at his daily briefing Thursday that the United States was at the 'top of the hill' and added, 'Hopefully, we're going to be opening up -- you could call it opening -- very, very, very, very soon, I hope.'"
But My Ratings! Brett Samuels: "President Trump on Thursday blasted The Wall Street Journal for an editorial criticizing the daily White House press briefings.... 'The Wall Street Journal always "forgets" to mention that the ratings for the White House Press Briefings are "through the roof,'" Trump tweeted, referencing a New York Times piece that recently compared the number of viewers to 'Monday Night Football' or 'The Bachelor.' president asserted that the briefings were the'"only way for me to escape the Fake News & get my views across. WSJ is Fake News!'... The [righty-ring wing WSJ editorial] board urged Trump to cede center stage at the briefings to Vice President Pence and top health officials, who have regularly appeared at the briefings but have primarily waited to provide updates until the president delivers his own remarks. Trump's tweet Thursday -- which marked a rare shot from the president at the Rupert Murdoch-owned Wall Street Journal -- highlighted the president's fixation on how his briefings are playing in the media. He frequently boasts about their popularity, and White House officials have complained about networks that do not air them in their entirety." ~~~
~~~ Jonathan Martin & Maggie Haberman of the New York Times: "In his daily briefings on the coronavirus, President Trump has brandished all the familiar tools in his rhetorical arsenal: belittling Democratic governors, demonizing the media, trading in innuendo and bulldozing over the guidance of experts.... On a day [-- Thursday --] that New York State reported 799 deaths from the coronavirus in a 24-hour period, Mr. Trump's focus was on himself, and his feuds.... As ... new polls show support for the president's handling of the crisis sagging, White House allies and Republican lawmakers increasingly believe the briefings are hurting the president more than helping him. Many view the sessions as a kind of original sin from which all of his missteps flow, once he gets through his prepared script and turns to his preferred style of extemporaneous bluster and invective."
** Josh Marshall of TPM: "As we work to find out the scope and goals of the White House's seizure of medical goods across the United States, a simpler pattern is coming into view: the White House seizes goods from public officials and hospitals across the country while doling them out as favors to political allies and favorites, often to great fanfare to boost the popularity of those allies. The Denver Post today editorialized about one of the most egregious examples. Last week, as we reported, a shipment of 500 ventilators to the state of Colorado was intercepted and rerouted by the federal government. Gov. Jared Polis (D) sent a letter pleading for the return of the equipment. Then [Wednesday] President Trump went on Twitter to announce that he was awarding 100 ventilators to Colorado at the behest of Republican Senator Cory Gardner, one of the most endangered Republicans on the ballot this year. As the Post put it, 'President Donald Trump is treating life-saving medical equipment as emoluments he can dole out as favors to loyalists. It's the worst imaginable form of corruption -- playing political games with lives.'... We need more information, more explanations of what standards the White House is using to distribute these goods. The consistent refusal to explain speaks volumes."
Kaitlan Collins, et al., of CNN: "... Donald Trump is preparing to announce a second coronavirus task force solely focused on reopening the nation's economy, multiple sources told CNN." (Also linked yesterday.)
What Did You Expect? Matt Stieb of New York: "On Sunday, the official White House account tweeted out a message to the generous hoteliers of America: 'Thank you to hotels around the country for providing healthcare workers and first responders a place to stay while they're on the front lines of the pandemic.' Though Trump rarely forgoes an opportunity to promote himself, the White House was not able to include his properties in the letter of gratitude. According to report from Politico, Trump hotels are not providing space for healthcare workers in U.S. cities grappling with substantial coronavirus outbreaks."
Quid Pro Quo? Akbar Shahid Ahmed & Chris D'Angelo of the Huffington Post: "President Donald Trump has spent weeks promising to protect cruise lines from the economic pain of the coronavirus pandemic. Now a fund that Trump ally Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman controls has revealed a big new stake in Carnival Corporation, the world's largest cruise operator. The sudden change of fortunes for a company run by Micky Arison, a longtime Trump associate, could be as much about personal relationships and geopolitics as about business.... As of Thursday afternoon, the kingdom's 43.5 million shares were worth more than $500 million...By addressing one of Trump's big current fixations, the Saudis may have secured undue influence on the president and U.S. foreign policy ― another quid pro quo for a president who's proven transactional in his approach to global affairs." --s
Donald Shaw of Sludge: "President Trump has latched onto antimalarial drug hydroxychloroquine as a possible treatment for COVID-19 patients.... On Monday, Sludge reported that one of President Trump's biggest donors is the founder of a pharmaceutical industry-funded nonprofit that is lobbying the White House to boost the use of the drug. The New York Times reported that Trump has a small financial stake, by way of a mutual fund, in Sanofi, a top manufacturer of the drug. But here's another possibility: Trump may have been influenced by a Palm Beach donor named Joseph Pizza... .According to his LinkedIn, Pizza is president and CEO of Interchem.... One product Interchem sells is hydroxychloroquine sulfate, the primary active ingredient of Plaquenil." --s
Mike Wants to Be on the Teevee. Oliver Darcy of CNN: "Vice President Mike Pence's office has declined to allow the nation's top health officials to appear on CNN in recent days and discuss the coronavirus pandemic ... in an attempt to pressure the network into carrying the White House's lengthy daily briefings in full. Pence's office, which is responsible for booking the officials on networks during the pandemic, said it will only allow experts such as Dr. Deborah Birx or Dr. Anthony Fauci to appear on CNN if the network televises the portion of the White House briefings that includes the vice president and other coronavirus task force members.... After Trump leaves the podium, CNN frequently cuts out of the White House briefing to discuss and fact-check what the President had said.... The Vice President's office has blocked all CNN appearances since last Thursday night." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Update. Oliver Darcy: "Vice President Mike Pence's office reversed course on Thursday afternoon, after declining for days to allow the nation's top health officials to appear on CNN and discuss the coronavirus pandemic, in what was an attempt to pressure the network into carrying the White House's lengthy daily briefings in full. After this story was published, Pence's office allowed for the booking of Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Director Dr. Robert Redfield for CNN's Thursday night coronavirus town hall. Dr. Anthony Fauci was also booked for Friday on 'New Day.'"
Melanie Trolls Clownstick von Fuckface: ~~~
As the CDC studies the spread of #COVID-19, they recommend people wear cloth face coverings in public settings when social distancing can be hard to do. Remember, this does NOT replace the importance of social distancing. pic.twitter.com/HRaQHFgXxn
— Melania Trump (@FLOTUS) April 9, 2020
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: BTW, I got a postcard from the White House & the CDC last week telling me how to reduce my chances of contracting the coronavirus. On the front of the card it says, "President Trump's Coronavirus Guidelines for America," and on the back are actual guidelines & no political message. Did everybody get one?
Sky Palma of the Raw Story: "During an interview with Fox News host Laura Ingraham Wednesday night, Attorney General Bill Barr praised President Trump's 'statesman-like' effort at the 'beginning' of the coronavirus epidemic where he 'tried to bring people together' while 'working with all the governors' -- a characterization that did not go over well with many of the President's critics...." Mrs. McC: So, according to Barr, "statesman-like" is lying repeatedly about the severity of the pandemic; praising himself & his popularity, promoting quack "science" while literally pushing aside experts; resisting, mocking and/or ignoring social distancing guidance; excoriating reporters for asking legitimate questions during a Q&A (and demanding they "congratulate" him; and dissing governors on "the other side" while praising Republican governors. What's not "statesman-like"? Throwing actual poop at reporters?
NPR Embarrasses Trump DHHS into Maintaining Coronavirus Test Sites. Jeff Brady of NPR: "The Department of Health and Human Services is stepping back from a plan to end support on Friday for community-based coronavirus testing sites around the country. Instead the agency says local authorities can choose whether they want to transition to running the programs themselves or continue with federal oversight and help. The news came after NPR reported yesterday that some local officials were critical of plans to end the program before the pandemic peaks." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: They really don't care, do they? That's two stories today where the Trumpettes have almost immediately reversed a coronavirus-related decision only because the media embarrassed them. Both demonstrate how little the administration cares about the effects of the pandemic on Americans: half-pence is so petty he wouldn't allow officials to appear on CNN to share Covid-19 info unless CNN covered his portion of the daily White House briefings, and more importantly, DHHS was ready to cut off funding for testing around the country. ~~~
~~~ There's still one place in the USA where it's not only super-easy but also mandatory to get a coronavirus test. -- Mrs. Bea McCrabbie
White House to administer rapid coronavirus test on all journalists before allowing them to attend this afternoon's daily briefing with the president after a news outlet employee who was in the building on Tuesday fell ill. -- Peter Baker of the New York Times, in a tweet Thursday
Lachlan Markay of the Daily Beast: "The Food and Drug Administration is demanding that conspiracy theorist Alex Jones stop advertising dubious dietary supplements as coronavirus treatments and threatening legal action if he doesn't comply. The FDA sent a letter to Jones and his website InfoWars on Thursday demanding that he stop telling the viewers of his popular internet broadcasts that they can ward off the virus with colloidal silver products sold on his website. Those videos, the FDA wrote, 'misleadingly represent them as safe and/or effective for the treatment or prevention of COVID-19.'" ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: So why isn't the FDA sending Trump a cease-and-desist letter warning him to stop advertising hydroxychloroquine as a miracle cure?
Jacob Pramuck of CNBC: "Senate Democrats on Thursday blocked a Republican push to unanimously pass a bill to put $250 billion more into a loan program for small businesses devastated by the coronavirus pandemic. With only a few senators in the Capitol, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell tried to move the measure by a unanimous vote. Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., objected to the request, stalling the legislation.... After Cardin rejected the measure, he called McConnell's move to pass the funding a 'political stunt.' He pushed for provisions including funding for Small Business Administration disaster assistance grants.... Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., then tried to unanimously pass a Democratic amendment. McConnell blocked it, and the Senate adjourned until Monday after a roughly 30-minute pro forma session." (Also linked yesterday.)
Michigan. Julie Mack of Michigan Live: "The emergency department is bursting to the seams, day after day, night after night. 'We've run out of stretchers. We've run out of body bags,' said [Krysti] Kallek, who is a nurse.... Patients end up in the emergency-department hallways using oxygen tanks, she said. One night, they even ran out oxygen tanks, so staff ran oxygen tubing from patient rooms to the people in the hallways.... The situation is so fraught that emergency-departments nurse are afraid to take a meal break because that leaves even fewer nurses to monitor so many patients, she said. 'I couldn't tell you the last time I took a break.'... Across the state, there are concerns about staffing. Worries about shortages of personal protective equipment. Fears about their own health. At least three Michigan healthcare workers have died from coronavirus." --s
Kansas. Jonathan Shorman of the Wichita Eagle: "Kansas Gov Laura Kelly [D] is suing to stop Republican lawmakers from overturning her executive order limiting church gatherings -- triggering a high-stakes legal showdown amid a deadly pandemic. Kelly on Thursday afternoon sued the Legislative Coordinating Council -- the seven-member body of legislative leaders that voted Wednesday to revoke her order, calling it an infringement on freedom of religion. The lawsuit marks a dramatic escalation in the state's ongoing fight over constitutional rights and public health, a dispute that potentially holds life-or-death implications as pastors and priests weigh whether to open church doors this Sunday. Three of the state's 12 coronavirus clusters have stemmed from church gatherings, and health officials fear large [Easter] Sunday services will further spread the contagion throughout the state.... The Republican legislative leaders who voted to revoke the order ... came under crushing criticism after the vote."
Erica Henry & Paul LeBlanc of CNN: "Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis falsely claimed Thursday that the novel coronavirus hasn't killed anyone under 25 nationwide while discussing a timeline for reopening schools in the state.... In reality, the CDC reports on its website that four people between the ages of 15 and 24 and one person between the ages of one and four have died. CNN has also reported on the death of a newborn in Connecticut on April 1 and an infant in Illinois last month whose death is being investigated as possibly caused by the virus. Young people can also serve as carriers of the virus, transmitting to the elderly and people with underlying conditions -- those most at risk." Mrs. McC: And of course CDC numbers don't count young people who may have died of Covid-19 but were not tested for the virus. ~~~
~~~ Yes But Maybe They Were Black and/or Poor. Likhitha Butchireddygari & Anna Wiederkehr of 538: "Preliminary reports on COVID-19 fatalities suggest black Americans are dying at elevated rates, and poorer Americans are many of the workers whose jobs put them at daily risk of exposure.... Younger black Americans are more likely to be vulnerable.... The poorest and least educated Americans are more likely to be at risk than those with higher incomes or more education."
Florida. David Smiley, et al. of The Miami Herald: "Florida emergency managers are accustomed to planning for hurricanes. But as the June 1 start of the season grows closer and the state's coronavirus outbreak lingers on, questions and uncertainties are nagging at the people preparing for the worst-case scenario.... [W]ith less than two months to go until the tropics reach the conditions that forecasters expect will generate an above-average storm season, government officials and local politicians are hustling to prepare for what Broward County Mayor Dale Holness described as a 'double disaster' of a hurricane strike amid a COVID-19 outbreak." --s
This Might Be the First U.S. Murder Mystery Tied to Covid-19. Katie Shepherd of the Washington Post: “When police showed up to their home near Jupiter, Fla., on March 26, neither Gretchen Anthony, nor her husband, David Ethan Anthony, answered the door.... Her relatives [had] reported suspicious text messages sent from her phone that claimed she had a severe case of covid-19.... One text said she had been admitted to a local clinic and was being 'held' there by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, police said. Another said Gretchen had been transferred to a hospital and placed on a ventilator. But when family members phoned the clinic and hospital..., staff told them nobody named Gretchen Anthony had been admitted.... When she couldn't be found, a relative reported Gretchen missing and alerted police about the suspicious texts. Almost two weeks later, her 43-year-old husband was arrested on kidnapping and murder charges."
Heather Stewart of the Guardian: Britain's PM "Boris Johnson is back on a hospital ward after spending three nights in intensive care, and is in 'extremely good spirits', Downing Street has announced.... Dominic Raab, who is deputising for Johnson, had earlier said the prime minister was making 'positive steps forward'. Speaking at the daily Downing Street press conference, Raab admitted he had not spoken to Johnson since the prime minister was admitted to hospital, but insisted the government continued to function smoothly."
Elections 2020
Sean Sullivan of the Washington Post: "A day after becoming the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, former vice president Joe Biden sought to appeal to liberal supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders on Thursday with a pair of new proposals to expand access to health care and curtail student loan debt. Biden proposed lowering the eligibility age for Medicare coverage from 65 to 60. He also came out in favor of forgiving student loan debt for people who attended public colleges and universities and some private schools and make up to $125,000 a year. The announcements came after private conversations between Biden's team and aides to Sanders (I-Vt.), who announced Wednesday that he was suspending his campaign."
IOKIYVote for Trump. Jonathan Chait: "'Mail-in voting is horrible. It's corrupt,' declared President Trump earlier this week. When a reporter asked how he could reconcile that position with the fact that he had personally voted by mail in the last election, Trump replied, 'Because I';m allowed to.' This perfectly circular logic -- if more voters were permitted to vote by mail, they would also be 'allowed to' -- seemed not to satisfy him. Trump has refined his view, explaining that casting a ballot by mail is fine for members of the military and senior citizens, but is 'ripe for fraud' when used by others[.]... Trump is not even attempting to formulate a facially neutral principle. He is simply asserting that members of the military and senior citizens -- constituencies that lean Republican -- can be trusted not to commit voter fraud, but that constituencies that might vote Democratic cannot.... (Trump campaign officials already confirmed this to Politico -- they will allow mail voting for senior citizens, but not others.) The travesty that was Tuesday's election in Wisconsin is his plan to win in November." Chait argues that Democrats don't seem to get what's going on & are about to miss their chance to leverage a "correction." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ The Trump Model Works! Ed Kilgore of New York: "... seven states that generally discourage voting by mail but waive excuse requirements for Republican-leaning old folks are Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Texas. Coincidentally or not, these are all deep-red states carried by Trump in 2016, most of them by large margins (Texas, which went MAGA by nine points, was the closest). They appear to provide Trump's model for the country as a whole." (Also linked yesterday.)
Death of a Democracy. Paul Krugman: "... the scariest news of the past week didn't involve either epidemiology or economics; it was the travesty of an election in Wisconsin where the Supreme Court required that in-person voting proceed despite the health risks and the fact that many who requested absentee ballots never got them.... The pandemic will eventually end; the economy will eventually recover. But democracy, once lost, may never come back. And we're much closer to losing our democracy than many people realize. To see how a modern democracy can die, look at events in Europe, especially Hungary, over the past decade.... Wisconsin, in particular, is well on its way toward becoming Hungary on Lake Michigan, as Republicans seek a permanent lock on power.... What we saw in Wisconsin, in short, was a state party doing whatever it takes to cling to power even if a majority of voters want it out -- and a partisan bloc on the Supreme Court backing its efforts.... Does anyone seriously doubt that something similar could happen, very soon, at a national level?" ~~~
~~~ ** Frank Rich: "Any casualties that ensue [from the Wisconsin] will be the culmination of Chief Justice John Roberts's career-long campaign to thwart voting rights for America's minority population.... By Wisconsin, I really mean Milwaukee, the state's largest city and the home to most of its African-American population. That's where it was impossible to enforce social distancing because the usual 180 polling places were reduced to five -- to serve a population of some 600,000.... Black Americans risked and sometimes lost their lives for the right to vote during the Jim Crow era. Now, 55 years after the Voting Rights Act of 1965, they are being forced to do so again. Those horrific images of medically endangered Wisconsin voters waiting hours to cast a ballot are today's corollary to those old photos of rabid police attack dogs threatening blacks who attempted to secure their civil rights in the 1960s. The hasty decision of the Roberts court that got us here is just the latest in his string of assaults on black voters.... [Roberts] presided over the decision ... while working in quite different circumstances from those that were visited on voters on line in Milwaukee. The Supreme Court has shut down its courtroom and oral arguments, convening by teleconference so its justices can enjoy the safety protections that the court's 5-4 decision denied to those standing in line to vote on Tuesday." ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: In the annals of history, John Roberts will be remembered right up there with Chief Justices Roger Taney (Dred Scott) & Melville Fuller (Plessey v. Ferguson). (Yes, I hadda look up Fuller, because I'd never heard of him.)
Nick Corasaniti & Stephanie Saul of the New York Times: "Three tubs of absentee ballots that never reached voters were discovered in a postal center outside Milwaukee. At least 9,000 absentee ballots requested by voters were never sent, and others recorded as sent were never received. Even when voters did return their completed ballots in the mail, thousands were postmarked too late to count -- or not at all. Cracks in Wisconsin's vote-by-mail operation are now emerging after the state's scramble to expand that effort on the fly for voters who feared going to the polls in Tuesday's elections. The takeaways -- that the election network and the Postal Service were pushed to the brink of their capabilities, and that mistakes were clearly made -- are instructive for other states if they choose to broaden vote-by-mail methods without sufficient time, money and planning."
New Hampshire. Dareh Gregorian of NBC News: "A New Hampshire judge dismissed a state law that opponents said made it more complicated for students to register to vote, calling it 'unconstitutional,' 'discriminatory' and 'unreasonable.'... The state Democratic Party, the League of Women Voters and numerous college students sued in 2017 to block the Republican-backed law, which required new voters to fill out complicated forms and expose themselves to possible criminal prosecution and civil fines if they didn't turn over certain proof-of-residence documents.... The judge noted that there has been an average of one confirmed case of voter fraud a year in New Hampshire over the past 20 years, and he concluded that the requirements in the law did little to address fraud and only made registering more difficult.... State Solicitor General Daniel Will said in a statement, 'After an initial review of the order, we expect to appeal the decision to the New Hampshire Supreme Court.'"
Aaron Blake of the Washington Post: "When an inspector general issued a report in December saying the investigation [into Russia interference in the 2016 presidential election] was properly founded, [AG Bill] Barr put out an extraordinary statement disagreeing with that. And now, Barr has gone quite a bit further.... 'What happened to him [Trump] was one of the greatest travesties in American history,' Barr said in a clip played on Fox News on Wednesday night. 'Without any basis, they started this investigation of his campaign, and even more concerning actually is what happened after the campaign -- a whole pattern of events while he was president ... to sabotage the presidency -- or at least have the effect of sabotaging the presidency.'" (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~
~~~ Mrs. McCrabbie: Let's see: (1) Trump & Co. conspired with Russians, engaged in more conspiracies to cover up this & other conspiracies, lied a lot, & used Russian hacks against Trump's opponent; (2) DOJ investigated but let Trump & most of his cronies off; (3) the "travesty" is the investigation. Either I'm crazy or Bill Barr is. ~~~
~~~ Matt Zapotosky of the Washington Post: "Attorney General William P. Barr said in an interview aired Thursday that he supported President Trump's controversial decision to oust the intelligence community's inspector general, whose decision to alert Congress about a whistleblower complaint last year helped spark Trump's impeachment. In an interview with Fox News, Barr said Trump 'did the right thing' in removing Michael Atkinson from his post as the intelligence community's internal watchdog, and recalled how the Justice Department had fought against Atkinson last year when he wanted to turn the whistleblower complaint over to lawmakers. 'He had interpreted his statute..., and tried to turn it into a commission to explore anything in the government and immediately report it to Congress without letting the executive branch look at it and determine whether there was any problem,' Barr said of Atkinson."
Cohen Behaving Badly. Aram Roston & Mark Hosenball of Reuters: "Michael Cohen..., Donald Trump's former personal attorney, has been placed in solitary confinement at a federal prison in New York state where he is serving time for violating campaign finance laws, according to his lawyer and two sources familiar with the matter. Cohen, 53, was transferred on Wednesday to a Special Housing Unit at Otisville Federal Correctional Institution, a disciplinary section of the prison, the sources said.... 'It is my understanding that a verbal dispute over phone use prompted a temporary placement to SHU pending an investigation. I do not however know who prompted the altercation, or if the action taken was factually/regulatory appropriate,' Cohen's lawyer, Roger Adler, said in an email to Reuters."
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