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Overnight News Digest for August 3, 2022 (What's right with Kansas) [1]
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Date: 2022-08-03
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The big news tonight:
Kansas has completely shaken up the abortion debate — and the MSM’s doomistic prognosis for Democratic chances in the midterm elections.
As extensively reported on this site, the GOP thought they’d slip this one by us, scheduling a vote to overturn the state’s constitutional abortion guarantee for a low-impact primary, a time when turnout is low, there weren’t major Dem races on the ballot, and independents couldn’t even vote in the Dem and GOP primaries! Polling indicated that the measure would squeak through in this generally deep-red state.
Wrong.
The pundits who thought the end of Roe was no big deal, certainly not enough to motivate folks to go to the polls, were wrong Wrong WRONG.
x Kansas Secretary of State on turnout, speaking anecdotally:
"It could be almost 50%. And at that point, you're looking at general election numbers...it's looking a lot like the 2008 turnout for the Obama Presidential race. So it's incredibly high turnout."
THIS. IS. BIG. — Dasha Burns (@DashaBurns) August 3, 2022
Not only did Dems turn out in force, but those independents turned out JUST to vote to defend their right to choose.
x Unaffiliated voters make up the 2nd largest voting bloc in Kansas—but they can’t vote in partisan elections, only ballot referenda.
So nearly 170,000 “independent” voters showed up just to cast a ballot on abortion initiative, which lost by nearly 20 points. — Sawyer Hackett (@SawyerHackett) August 3, 2022
The measure ended up going down in flames, 58% to 41%.
What does this mean for the midterms?
x 10/ The political power of Roe and Reform has been clear to many people for months. Kansas removes all doubt. Voters can get the remaining senators to fall in line quickly enough by making their views clear to the remaining senators. And if they do the midterm can take … — Josh Marshall (@joshtpm) August 3, 2022
x Mark my words, the anti-choice movement is going to look at the Kansas result and decide that their best path to criminalize abortion is a federal ban.
It's coming, and that's what's on the ballot this November. — Chris Murphy (@ChrisMurphyCT) August 3, 2022
x I am begging pollsters and strategists to understand that passion is on the pro choice side, and that one of the jobs of your candidate is to make abortion an issue, and not just read a poll, see choice polling second or third, and talk like a robot about whatever polls first. — Brian Schatz (@brianschatz) August 3, 2022
x One theme: labelling the proposed amendment as a "government mandate." In this ad the word abortion is not said:
"It's a strict government mandate designed to interfere with private medical decisions ... Kansans don't want another government mandate."
https://t.co/rZ81NaiZzH — Bill Scher (@billscher) August 3, 2022
More good news from last night’s primaries:
x @ClimateHawksVote Good news for climate hawks from last night's primaries@EngelForArizona
Progressive climate hawks @CoriBush of Missouri and @RashidaTlaib of Michigan, both facing well-funded moderate primary opponents, won their races.@RepCori…
https://t.co/wR8lLi0XbV — Jeremy Bloom (@jeremybloom) August 3, 2022
Meanwhile, one of the relatively moderate GOP house members who did the right thing and voted to Impeach TFG lost his re-election bid to a raving MAGAT. And is now sad about Democrats.
A few days ago Peter Meijer went crying to Bari Weiss’s Substack about how terrible the mean Democrats are for running ads which accurately—and negatively—described his primary opponent, the conspiracy-nut and MAGA standout John Gibbs. ...Peter Meijer says that Democrats opportunistically running a negative ad that accurately described his opponent was more nauseating than members of his own party threatening him with violence and death. I’m sorry, but that’s forked up. ...Meijer and his apologists are insisting that his own voters lack agency and that they would have made “the right choice” if only Democrats hadn’t told the voters who and what John Gibbs is. And like I said up top: We are not children. Raising Gibbs’s name ID probably did help the guy.¹ But at the end of the day, the problem isn’t that Democrats tricked Republican voters into choosing John Gibbs. The problem is that Republican voters want John Gibbs. (via Digby’s Hullaballoo)
Inflation Reduction Act (formerly known as Build Back Better)
We’re (hopefully) heading toward a vote on Manchin’s climate action plan and fossil fuel bailout bill (plus Medicare!). But….
Republican senators and the business community are mounting a full-court press on Sen. Kyrsten Sinema to sink -- or substantially change -- the Democrats' economic package, arguing in private conversations that the new tax increases would hurt companies in her home state of Arizona. And in a private call with business groups on Tuesday, Sinema asked a question about the bill's proposed 15% minimum tax on corporations that gave them some hope for optimism. "Is this written in a way that's bad?" Sinema asked, according to Danny Seiden, president of the Arizona Chamber of Commerce, who relayed the call to CNN. Sinema… has expressed concerns about raising taxes on so-called carried interest, which would impact private equity and hedge fund managers, and raise $14 billion in the Democrats' bill. Sinema has relayed to top Democrats that she wants that provision out of the bill, according to a source familiar with the matter. ... last fall, Sinema indicated her support for a corporate minimum tax, saying at the time that it's a "common sense" proposal to ensure that "highly profitable corporations" pay their share of taxes. The proposal was developed last fall with her input after she rejected calls to raise corporate income tax rates, a Democratic aide said Wednesday.
Axios — Sinema eyes changes to tax, climate portions of reconciliation bill What we're hearing: Sinema is looking at significantly beefing up the reconciliation bill's funding for droughts and water security in the Southwest, sources familiar with her thought process tell Axios. She views the current $369 billion climate and energy portion of the bill as insufficient for addressing threat resiliency funding.
"There are some who were surprised to learn Kyrsten was enthusiastic about the climate provisions last year, because they rightly consider her a centrist. But she's a Senator from Arizona, first and foremost," John LaBombard, Sinema's former communications director and SVP at ROKK Solutions tells Axios. Meanwhile, Joe Manchin goes on Fox News… and SCHOOLS them on the difference between a tax increase and closing tax loopholes… and also the difference between the truth and LYING. x WATCH: The Inflation Reduction Act does NOT raise taxes - it closes loopholes that huge corporations with more than $1B in annual revenues exploit to pay zero in federal taxes. Claims that this bill will raise taxes on everyday Americans & small businesses are simply not true. pic.twitter.com/lWUkjj8Xfv — Senator Joe Manchin (@Sen_JoeManchin) August 2, 2022 Politico — Manchin to Sinema: Believe in this bill And Manchin had plenty of work to do during his quintet of appearances, with hosts pressing him whether the bill really fights inflation and how imposing a new minimum tax on large corporations might affect the economy. Faced with those questions, Manchin said simply on “Fox News Sunday": “We did not raise taxes. We closed loopholes.” He also made sure to credit Sinema with cajoling Democrats into that tax-skeptic position after many in her party weighed surtaxes on high earners and pushed for rate increases. Though Sinema’s stayed quiet since Manchin and Schumer announced the deal on Wednesday, Manchin said that he “would like to think she’d be favorable to it.” “Kyrsten Sinema is a friend of mine, and we work very close together. She has a tremendous, tremendous input in this legislation,” Manchin said on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” “She basically insisted [on] no tax increases, [we’ve] done that. And she was very, very adamant about that, I agree with her. She was also very instrumental” on prescription drug reform. And the message seems to be getting out there, because the Inflation Reduction Act is POPULAR.
x Democrats’ Inflation Reduction Act very popular with American public — Republicans will oppose it for fossil fuel polluters, Big Pharma and billion-dollar tax avoider corporations. pic.twitter.com/A8vAPmjhUD — Sheldon Whitehouse (@SenWhitehouse) August 3, 2022
The Inflation Reduction Act would offer homeowners thousands of dollars in incentives for new hot water heaters, HVAC, insulation and more. When key Senate Democrats agreed to a landmark $485 billion climate and health care bill last week, they gave it a name to match kitchen table conversations taking place across the country: The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022. But for Ari Matusiak, CEO of Rewiring America, a Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit promoting home electrification and efficiency, the bill is really about everything else inside U.S. homes: the gas-burning stoves, old water heaters, outdated wiring, even the drafts pushing through windows.
x Dark money fossil fuel groups don't want the climate bill to pass. That tells you a lot.
https://t.co/ZnqJokTnaL — Dr. Leah Stokes (@leahstokes) August 3, 2022
Nice people like Andrew Yang think a 3rd party is the answer to our prayers. Is it?
..So in order to make sure that this new party can pass step one, let’s take a look at the profile of the voter it will have to attract. Who are they? And who are they not? They are NOT people who voted for Evan McMullin in 2016 and Joe Biden in 2020...
They are NOT the people who voted for Donald Trump in 2016 but not in 2020...
They ARE people who actually like Donald Trump...
They ARE people who are in lock-step with Fox & Friends in the right-wing culture war: This is critical. The preponderance of Trump voters support “Don’t Say Gay” and the Big Beautiful Wall; share the flabby-armed former president’s antipathy towards transgender athletes participating in women’s supports; thought DeSantis did a heckuva job on COVID; do not trust anyone who wants to take their guns; are still mad at Colin Kaepernick; and will be repulsed if you let your kid pick their own pronouns... In review, the voters you need to attract: Voted For Trump. Like Trump.
Hate Never Trump Republican Traitors.
Hate “Woke” Culture.
Are mad at people who drive a Prius with a “Coexist” sticker while drinking their coffee coolattas. Now lets move to step two: Step Two : Answer this question again: Does your party offer something that will attract a substantial portion of real-world Trump voters? As it turns out I lied when I said there was a two-part test. It is really only a one-part test but it’s so daunting that I wanted to give it a little bit of time to settle in the ol’ brainy brain...
Alex Jones vs Sandy Hook families (plus: Jan 6 Committee!)
In a remarkable moment, Bankston disclosed to Jones and the court that he had recently acquired evidence proving Jones had lied when he claimed during the discovery process that he had never texted about the 2012 Sandy Hook shooting. Bankston said that Jones' attorney had, in an apparent mishap, sent him two years of cell phone records that included every text message Jones had sent. In another notable moment during cross-examination Wednesday, Jones was asked whether he had connected Maya Guerra Gamble, the judge overseeing the trial, to pedophilia and human trafficking. When Jones denied having done so, Bankston played video for the court of an Infowars video which did just that
x Alex Jones's lawyer made an unforgivable error by letting his client testify. He is getting absolutely eviscerated in cross-examination.
https://t.co/zsdGSpjt6d — 🌻Joel יואל🌻 (@Academia_Nut) August 3, 2022
x “Do you know what perjury is?” pic.twitter.com/awbBpVf4Tl — Acyn (@Acyn) August 3, 2022
x A judge scolded right-wing conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Tuesday for lying under oath during his defamation trial in Travis County, Tex.
“You must tell the truth while you testify,” Judge Maya Guerra Gamble said. “This is not your show.”
https://t.co/YzxxNm93Op pic.twitter.com/4sQ48lJEgU — The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) August 3, 2022
And the REALLY fun part? This is the Alex Jones who was up to his eyeballs in Jan 6 insurrection shenanigans. And his lawyer just turned over his phone with 2 years worth of messages…
x And on review, Bankston (the plaintiff's lawyer) says he had every text Alex Jones sent over the last two years.
Which ... correct me if my math is wrong -- just about perfectly covers the Jan6 period. — emptywheel (@emptywheel) August 3, 2022
Cue the 1/6 committee:
x BREAKING: the 1/6 committee is prepping to subpoena the Sandy Hook lawyers for Alex Jones’ phone records, which his lawyers accidentally gave to them.
https://t.co/Y0IkBDvL4Z — Mueller, She Wrote (@MuellerSheWrote) August 3, 2022
And speaking of Jerks:
Hawley’s vote against the resolution did not come as a surprise. He had announced his intent to vote against the resolution earlier this week, outlining his opposition in an op-ed published by The National Interest. He said he does not believe the U.S. should expand its security commitments in Europe, because America’s “greatest foreign adversary” is China. Hawley argued that growing the country’s security commitments in Europe would make Americans less safe. ...Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Wednesday delivered remarks in support of the resolution and wished those opposed to the measure “good luck” in finding a “defensible excuse” for their “no” votes.
Renewable Energy on a roll!
The Texas grid is having energy supply issues as heat waves cause energy demand to spike. Rooftop solar and energy storage offer relief for homeowners and the grid at large. ...One reason the grid was able to keep up with demand is thanks to the buildout of renewable energy, namely solar and wind, across the state. The two resources provide about 25% of ERCOT’s power, and solar does a particularly good job serving the grid during summer demand peaks. ...“We’ve got twice the solar we had last summer, and something like three times what we had eighteen months ago,” energy consultant Doug Lewin told Texas Monthly. “We actually set another solar record today, and we set one yesterday. Renewables throughout most of May and June, as we’ve been experiencing extreme heat, really were the difference between [having] a whole lot of conservation calls and potential rolling outages and not having them.”
x This is Canada's largest solar power plant. It will power 150,000 homes and offset 472,000 tonnes of GHG emissions every year. It cost $700 million. We could build another one with just 4 days of Exxon's profits alone.
We have the solutions. #ActOnClimate#climate #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/cdYA4h2MXG — Mike Hudema (@MikeHudema) August 3, 2022
x "More than 2/3rds of renewable capacity can be found in mostly rural districts — and more than 3/4 of those lean #Republican."
Renewables investment in R-leaning districts will bring tax revenue, jobs, and lower energy costs!
https://t.co/bIDfieZhP4 — Conservative Caucus (@cclconservative) August 3, 2022
x .@GovKathyHochul expected here at Woodside Houses in Queens to announce new heat pumps will be installed in apartments, the beginning of a citywide rollout for NYCHA. The window units are far more energy efficient, providing both cool and warm air. pic.twitter.com/oAIXO43EgF — Zack Fink (@ZackFinkNews) August 2, 2022
x New Jersey School District Gets 390 kW of Solar Power on Two Schools
https://t.co/iZH7Bm9k0v — CleanTechnica (@cleantechnica) August 3, 2022
x Was curious so:
A solar panel weighs about 40 pounds and has a 400W capacity. Installed in Indiana, it can be expected to generate >13MWh's (400W * 8760hrs * 25yrs * 15% CF). Coal generates 185lbs of ash - JUST ASH - per MWh.
2,430lbs toxic ash vs. 40lbs recyclable hardware. — John Smillie (@JohnSmillie42) July 31, 2022
x Interesting thread on a paper that looks at political support for a carbon tax accompanied by a rebate. Spoiler: Giving people money helps.#PriceOnCarbon
https://t.co/jrYp2gpVNk — Citizens' Climate Lobby (@citizensclimate) August 3, 2022
x Since politicians don't seem to get it, it needs to be said again.
No magic solution needed: we can switch to renewables now, with the technology we have
https://t.co/0aKE2DdNPS @zmescience #WWS #WindWaterSolar #100RE #RenewableEnergy @Stanford @Project100WWS — Mark Z. Jacobson (@mzjacobson) July 29, 2022
Fetterman continues to pwn Dr Oz:
x NEW BILLBOARD ALERT 🚨
If you commute from NJ to PA (idk like a certain celebrity doctor running for Senate 🙄)...
then a warm welcome awaits you at the Betsy Ross Bridge 🤗 pic.twitter.com/JRwXwvbdFs — John Fetterman (@JohnFetterman) August 2, 2022
Fake news about fake meat
And finally, Cracker Barrel’s best crackers do declare that their biscuits are burning!
They’re totally steamed that THEIR restaurant has been FORCED by THOSE LIBS to carry FOOD THEY DO NOT BELIEVE IN.
[END]
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