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MAY 13,  2021

AFTER LIZ – FROM THE NEW YORK POST:    Congressman Chip Roy is slated to challenge Rep. Elise Stefanik in the race to replace Rep. Liz Cheney, who was ousted from her role on Wednesday, as House Republican Conference chair, the No. 3. GOP leadership position in the lower chamber.  Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) confirmed to The Post that he is set to nominate Roy, of Texas, a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, as a candidate for the role, which entails helping lead House Republicans’ messaging efforts.  New York’s Stefanik has largely been seen as the heir apparent to the position, having locked up key endorsements from former President Donald Trump, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.). She began whipping votes ahead of Cheney being removed from her role.  But conservatives have voiced reservations about the congressional record of Stefanik — the former chair of the centrist Tuesday Group whose profile saw a sharp rise as one of Trump’s most vocal defenders during the first impeachment trial — arguing that it is too moderate to qualify her to speak for the conference.
Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is still considered the frontrunner to land Cheney’s vacated post.  Elise will get the job.  She is personable and persuasive, and, besides, the GOP cannot replace a woman with another white man in today's environment.  It would give the party an all-male House leadership at a time when it is trying to increase its appeal to women and minorities...and that appeal is working.

VIRGINIA VOTES FOR GOVERNOR THIS YEAR – FROM BREITBART:    A gas station in Richmond, Virginia, charged customers $6.99 a gallon Tuesday not long after the governor declared a state of emergency because of the Colonial Pipeline ransomware cyberattack that caused gasoline shortages. According to WTVR, Lether Kerney, who pulled up to the BP gas station on Williamsburg Road, said, “It was a lot of people there, no one looked at the price.” “I had half a tank of gas, so when it got to $25 I started looking to see what was going on. And after I got to $30, I was like, ‘oh my God! I spent $35.45 to fill up my tank. Six gallons of gas for $35. That’s absolutely ridiculous,'” she continued. Kerney said when she arrived and began filling up, she did not realize the station was charging $5.99 a gallon. A resident named Cha Cha said she watched the price go up once she filled her vehicle’s tank for $2.99.  Election in November.  Gas prices make people very angry.  Good chance to flip Virginia red.

May 13, 2021       Permalink           

WE AWAIT THE MODIFICATIONS – OVERNIGHT:  Our Washington masters have handed down a new edict on masking, but we wonder how much change there'll really be.  Already, Prince Andrew of the House of Cuomo in New York has said he won't obey the federal standards.  So much for following the science.  From Fox: 

President Joe Biden trumpeted updated federal guidance for fully vaccinated populations Thursday while providing an update on the pandemic. People who are fully vaccinated against coronavirus no longer need to wear masks while indoors or outdoors or physically distance in either large or small gatherings, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) Director Dr. Rochelle Walensky announced during a White House COVID-19 briefing Thursday.

"The CDC is saying, they have concluded, that fully vaccinated people are at a very, very low risk of getting COVID-19," Biden said. "Therefore if you are fully vaccinated, you no longer need to wear a mask."

"Get vaccinated or wear a mask until you do," the president later added.

Fully vaccinated individuals are still advised to wear masks while in crowded indoor settings such as while on public transportation and in hospitals, prisons and homeless shelters. Unvaccinated populations are advised to mask up to protect themselves and those around them who have yet to receive shots.

"As great as this announcement is today, we don’t want to let up. We all know how tough this virus has been," Biden said. "The safest thing for the country is for everyone to get vaccinated."

The president’s comments follow an FDA expanded use authorization to allow Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine to be administered in kids as young as 12, with the CDC following in suit Wednesday.

During the president’s update Thursday, he also reiterated a goal to reach 70% of the U.S. adult population having received at least one COVID-19 vaccine by July 4. He emphasized that the pandemic will not come to an end until it is tackled globally.

The president delivered his remarks in the Rose Garden and joined Vice President Kamala Harris in leaving the podium, both fully vaccinated and unmasked.

COMMENT:  So Joe, tell me, do individual institutions, restaurants, theaters and stores have the right to impose their own masking requirements?  Do state governors have the right to modify what you're sayin', Joe?  The announcement today really does bring more questions than answers. 

Oh, can companies fire workers who decline to be vaccinated?

And why don't all these rules apply to flu shots?  Or shots to prevent anything else, like liberalism?

We await answers, which will then probably be contradicted.

May 13, 2021       Permalink

MAY 12,  2021

SHORT TAKES ON THE DRIFTING WRECKAGE – OVERNIGHT: 

MAJOR HEALTH NEWS – FROM PIX 11:    New York City will continue to restrict use of plastic straws after the city council passed a new measure restricting their use in restaurants, bars and markets.  The legislation, first introduced by Councilmember Rafael Espinal in 2018, bans the provision of single-use plastic stirrers and “splash sticks” of any kind, in addition to the limitation of straws.  Beginning Nov. 1, places like restaurants, cafes, bars, grocery stores, delis and food trucks can no longer provide single-use plastic straws unless customers actively request one. In that case, establishments will be required to provide a plastic straw free of charge, no questions asked. To refuse to provide the plastic straw, or to ask why, could constitute a violation of New York City’s human rights law.  Straws as a human right.  What a concept.  I'd go to war over that, wouldn't you?  I'm so grateful for this moment. 

RON ROMPS – FROM POLITICO:   TALLAHASSEE — Gov. Ron DeSantis remains on solid ground as he heads into his reelection campaign as Democrats ramp up their efforts to challenge him, a fresh new round of polling in Florida shows.  Three polls all have DeSantis with favorable job approval ratings more than a year and a half ahead of Election Day and highlight the difficulty that Democrats will have with the incumbent, who is raking in millions for his reelection effort.  Still, at least one poll paid by Democratic state Sen. Annette Taddeo’s political committee, shared exclusively with POLITICO, shows that Democrats may have some openings to go after the incumbent. Taddeo’s poll, conducted by SEA Polling & Strategic Design, suggests not all Floridians support the governor’s move to ban so-called “vaccine passports” or crack down on mail-in balloting and drop boxes.  The poll, done for Taddeo as she considers whether to mount her own statewide bid, showed DeSantis with a job approval rating of 53 percent, compared to 55 percent in a newly-released poll on behalf of the Florida Chamber of Commerce. The governor had a 60 percent job approval rating in a survey done by well-known Republican pollster Ryan Tyson for the Florida Restaurant and Lodging Association.  The Chamber poll also showed DeSantis with double-digit leads in head-to-head matchups with U.S. Reps. Val Demings and Charlie Crist as well as Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried. Crist has already jumped into the race, with both Fried and Demings expected to follow. Fried put out a video on Wednesday teasing a June 1 official announcement.  The three polls were done between mid-April and the first week of May and ranged in size from about 600 people surveyed to 1,000 people.  One of America's best governors and clearly on the short list for the Republican presidential nomination in 2024.  That means the Dems will make him into a special target, and throw everything they can at him. 

May 12, 2021       Permalink

LIZ ISN'T – AT 6:40 P.M. ET:  Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was ousted from her leadership position among House Republicans today.  It is a very rare move by a political party, but Liz's insistence on continuing her campaign against former President Trump played a large role.  From Fox: 

House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney Wednesday morning in a closed-door vote from the No. 3 spot from leadership -- but the Wyoming Republican remained defiant on the way out.

Cheney had remained steadfast in her opposition to former President Donald Trump and his "dangerous lies" about the 2020 election being stolen from him -- putting her at odds with other House Republicans who wanted to move on from the Jan. 6 riot and unite the party to win in the 2022 midterms.

Cheney was removed by a voice vote and took a swing at Trump after the Capitol meeting.

"I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office," Cheney said after the vote. "We have seen the danger that he continues to provoke with his language. We have seen his lack of commitment and dedication to the Constitution, and I think it's very important that we make sure whomever we elect, is somebody who will be faithful to the Constitution."

An election on who will replace Cheney will occur at a later date. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is the front runner who has the endorsement of Trump and the top two GOP leaders: Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise.

Trump praised the decision to remove Cheney immediately after the vote and attacked the Wyoming congresswoman and daughter of the former vice president.

"Liz Cheney is a bitter, horrible human being," Trump said in a statement. "I watched her yesterday and realized how bad she is for the Republican Party. She has no personality or anything good having to do with politics or our country. She is a talking point for Democrats."

COMMENT:  It's very sad.  Liz Cheney comes from a great political tradition, and has strongly supported the basic positions of conservatism.  But her obsessive hatred of Trump, which, as you just read, was heartily returned, made it impossible for her to remain in a leadership position.   She was too divisive at a time when the GOP needs unity to move toward next year's election.  It doesn't need martyrs.

Whether Liz has a future with the party will depend on two things – 1) whether she can be re-elected to the House from Wyoming, where her anti-Trumpism has made her controversial; and 2) whether she can make an important enough contribution to be seen as too valuable to lose.  That is a tough order.

May 12,  2021     Permalink