•Rep. Cori Bush, D-MO, is leading a sit-in on the Capitol Steps over the House of Representatives’ failure last weekend to extend the national eviction on moratoriums. She has been joined by fellow progressive Democrats, including members of the Squad, Punchbowl News reports, as well as Rev. Jessie Jackson, who has been protesting in favor of federal election reforms.
•Progressive Democrats have their hopes high that former Ohio state senator Nina Turner, an ally of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-VT, will maintain her slim lead in the polls over Cuyahoga County Democratic Party Chairwoman Shontel Brown, The Hill says, in a special primary election today to replace Rep. Marcia Fudge, who is President Biden’s Housing & Urban Development secretary.
•Calls for indoor masking by the CDC to combat the coronavirus may return. We debate the issue, with liberal (in the left column) and conservative (in the right column) reactions Wednesday on the home page of The Hustings, https://thehustings.news
Sen. Lindsay Graham Has COVID-19 Despite Vaccine – Sen. Lindsay Graham, R-SC, says he has tested positive for COVID-19 despite having been vaccinated, and will self-quarantine for 10 days. Graham says his vaccination kept the coronavirus symptoms “mild”. Last weekend, he attended a party on Sen. Joe Manchin III’s, D-WV, houseboat on the Potomac River along with a group of fellow senators.
Note: Those other senators attending Manchin’s houseboat reception may be needed on the floor for Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-NY, to meet his goal of reaching a final vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill and get it to the Oval Office resolute desk before the Senate’s August recess begins Monday. The good news for Schumer is that the CDC says there is no need to quarantine for a positive COVID-19 test unless the patient is symptomatic.
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Wyden to Tweak Infrastructure Bill Over Cryptocurrencies – Senate Finance Chairman Ron Wyden, D-OR, plans to tweak a rule on cryptocurrency transaction tax enforcement before the final vote on the bipartisan infrastructure bill, Roll Call reports. Lobbyists have informed Wyden that cryptocurrency developers may find it difficult to comply with the rule. The changes can be made in a manager’s amendment agreed to by senators ahead of the vote.
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Wisconsin Senator Spreads FBI 1/6 Conspiracy Theory – Sen. Ron Johnson, R-WI, a chief Donald J. Trump acolyte, recently spread the unfounded conspiracy theory championed by Fox News personality Tucker Carlson that the FBI knew about the January 6 Capitol insurrection ahead of time, according to a recording of a political event in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin reported by The Washington Post. The conspiracy theory is based on the FBI’s infiltration of militia groups to foil their alleged plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, D, last October.
“So you think the FBI had fully infiltrated the militias in Michigan, but they don’t know squat about what was happening on January 6, what was happening with those groups? I’d say there’s more to the story.”
Note: There is. The alleged plot to kidnap Whitmer was foiled at least half a year after the governor drew extremists’ groups ire about lockdowns during the pandemic, while the January 6 Capitol Hill coup attempt took place about two months after Donald J. Trump lost re-election for president. If the FBI had informants among the pro-Trump groups who attacked the Capitol, they were informed of “something big” happening there just a few weeks before the riot. Since January 6, Johnson has gone from trying to pin the riots on Antifa and Black Lives Matter false flag attacks, to a group of peaceful “tourists” and now to Carlson’s far-fetched FBI theory.
Johnson is up for re-election in the midterms, and almost certainly will get a share of ex-President Trump’s $102-million-plus campaign war chest, raised through contributions from the populist’s supporters. There are at least six candidates running for the Democratic Party nomination to challenge Johnson next year, according to Up North News, including Wausau radiologist Dr. Gillian Battino, state Treasurer Sarah Godlewski, state Sen. Chris Larson, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson and Alex Lasky, chief executive for the 2021 NBA Champion Milwaukee Bucks.
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Ex-Con Former Illinois Governor Sues for Right to Run Again – Former Democratic Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, convicted on corruption charges in 2008 and pardoned by President Trump in February 2020 after serving eight years of a 14-year sentence, is suing his home state for the right to run for office again Politico reports.
“I haven’t thought about running for office,” said Blagojevich, 64, whose conviction included his attempt to sell an appointment to Barack Obama’s U.S. Senate seat. “But I’m not going to rule out any options, either.”
Note: With charges by the New York state court against the Trump Organization and its CFO, Allen Weisselberg, looming over all-but-declared 2024 presidential candidate Donald Trump, the fate of Blagojevich’s ability to run for office in Illinois again may draw interest in the next couple of years. To be clear, there is nothing legally that can stop Trump in ‘24, yet. Meanwhile, Blagojevich, who has described himself as a “Trumpocrat,” could potentially be in for a share of that Trump candidate war chest and help establish a new class of ex-con politician.
--Edited by Todd Lassa and Nic Woods