(C) Daily Kos
This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Abbreviated Pundit Roundup: A pause in DC for the inaugural, a reprieve in the Mideast [1]

['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.']

Date: 2025-01-18

Haaretz:

Israeli Government Approves Cease-Fire Deal for Gaza The full Israeli cabinet passed the agreement during a meeting that continued into the Jewish Sabbath, setting up the first reprieve in Gaza in over a year. The hostage release and cease-fire agreement passed cabinet with a majority of 24 ministers in favor and 8 against. National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir's far-right party Otzma Yehudit voted against the deal, as well as Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich's Religious Zionism. Others who voted against include Likud MK and Minister Amichai Chikli as well as Minister David Amsalem.

The ‘vote against’ people are the bad players, just so you know their names. But it seems to be happening for the moment despite them. Good.

x The cabinet meeting to approve the hostage deal was scheduled during Shabbat. Initially, Netanyahu planned to postpone it until after Shabbat ended. But the Haredi ministers refused. Instead, they left letters approving the deal. Moshe Arbel wrote, "There is no greater mitzvah… pic.twitter.com/ALE8sUWnxn — Shaiel Ben-Ephraim (@academic_la) January 17, 2025

Michael Schaffer/POLITICO Magazine:

Conspiracy Theories Have Gone Through a Major Vibe Shift A series of lawsuits and shifts among conspiracists have produced a strange lack of anxiety in Washington. When pizzagate jumped from the dark fringes of the web to an actual neighborhood thick with politics-and-media insiders, it crystallized an unfamiliar new feeling of lawless, irrational menace that became a permanent aspect of D.C. life during the first Trump term and never really vanished. As recently as November, many locals told me they were thinking of getting out of town ahead of potential election violence. There’s less of that kind of talk now — partly because Trump supporters won, but also because of a change in the nature of Internet-fueled rage, one that de-emphasizes specific accusations against specific Washington people and places. The fear of political violence remains live across America, but while no one was paying attention, the fear that your random local D.C. pizza joint could draw a bunch of online conspiracy theorists has ebbed.

Fact is, much of “professional” DC prefers Republicans in charge because the transactional nature of what they do is easier to understand and easier to cover.

Marist:

The Trump Administration, January 2025 Americans Divide About Mass Deportations, But More Than Six in Ten Oppose Pardon of January 6th Convictions 49% of Americans support or strongly support the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants, and 49% oppose or strongly oppose these deportations.

While 74% of Democrats are against mass deportations, 79% of Republicans are in favor of them. Of note, 53% of Republicans say they strongly support the mass deportation of undocumented immigrants. Independents divide (50% support to 49% oppose).

Men (55%) are more likely than women (45%) to support removing undocumented immigrants from the United States. Generationally, majorities of Gen X (53%), Baby Boomers (52%), and the Silent/Greatest Generation (54%) support mass deportations. In contrast, a majority of Gen Z/Millennials (54%) oppose this action.

62% of Americans disapprove of Trump pardoning people who were convicted of attacking the Capitol on January 6, 2021. 35% approve of the pardons.

x This, to me, seems less about “danger” and more about crowd size. A lot of people won’t want to come out in very cold temperatures and Trump doesn’t want to be photographed addressing a small crowd. — Judd Legum (@juddlegum.bsky.social) 2025-01-17T17:15:15.453Z

Greg Sargent/TNR:

Transcript: Trump’s Epic Humiliation of Nikki Haley Contains a Warning In an interview, Casey Michel, a reporter who covers D.C. lobbying, explains how Trump's humiliating attack on Nikki Haley puts would-be GOP critics on notice, helping build the Trump oligarchy. Sargent: In his rant, Trump said this, “It would be helpful if you would not send, or recommend to us, people who worked with, or are endorsed by ...” and then he listed a number of people. He cited Liz Cheney, Mitt Romney, and Mike Pence, of course, and “birdbrain” Nikki Haley and a bunch of others. He accused them of suffering from “Trump Derangement Syndrome” and so forth. Casey, everyone laughed at this, but it actually seems to send a pretty serious message: Criticize Trump and you might be on the outs forever, no matter how anxiously you suck up to him later and repent like Nikki Haley now. Is this a warning? Michel: Absolutely it is. This is all downstream from the fact that it is absolutely clear that the thing Trump prizes most is loyalty, is fealty. It is not even specific policy positions or broader specific strategic recommendations; it is simply loyalty to the man. Whatever he says, whatever he does, whatever he pursues, and of course, whatever benefits him personally. You’re either with him or you’re against him. And there’s no coming back as Nikki Haley now well knows.

Quinn Yeargain/Bolts:

On Voting Rights, Eight Legal Battles to Watch in 2025 From the continued threats against the Voting Rights Act to new restrictions on mail ballots and voter registration, courts will have a lot of opportunities to shape democracy this year. Heading into this new political era, Bolts has identified eight legal battles that are likely to shape voting rights in 2025. These cases will affect election rules locally, from redistricting in Florida and Louisiana to the future of mail ballots in Mississippi and the fate of new protections in New York. But their effects will also ripple nationwide, as other states eye how they may further buttress or cut down on voting.

Jack Jenkins/ X via Threadreader:

So, this article and its headline (which are, hilariously, partly about me while not naming me) are inaccurate, but I want to talk about it, because I think it actually ends up making my oft-voiced argument as to why folks should hire more religion reporters. Hear me out… x Mike Johnson fires back perfect response when reporter disputes Christian view of Genesis: 'Male and female, he made them' https://t.co/hvVDSksuDO pic.twitter.com/wqBBo21BWy — TheBlaze (@theblaze) January 15, 2025

You can read it here on Bluesky as well (Bluesky doesn’t have a Threadreader).

x “This is probably the most shameful thing I own,” Dollerup-Scheibel said, holding up the MAGA hat he was given. He didn’t expect to have his face circulating on social media. — The New Republic (@newrepublic.com) 2025-01-17T23:35:00.488Z

Tammy Duckworth via Cliff Schecter on Pete Hegseth:

[END]
---
[1] Url: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2025/1/18/2297533/-Abbreviated-Pundit-Roundup-A-pause-in-DC-for-the-inaugural-a-reprieve-in-the-Mideast?pm_campaign=front_page&pm_source=trending&pm_medium=web

Published and (C) by Daily Kos
Content appears here under this condition or license: Site content may be used for any purpose without permission unless otherwise specified.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/dailykos/