theguardian--2020-09-26--Who is Amy Coney Barrett? Trump's anti-abortion supreme court nominee

Subject to confirmation by the Senate , Amy Coney Barrett will be the youngest justice on the US supreme court , a position from which she will be set to influence American life for decades yet to come .
Donald Trump ’ s nomination of the 48-year-old comes two years after her name surfaced as a possible replacement for the retiring Anthony Kennedy , whose seat was ultimately filled by Brett Kavanaugh after contentious confirmation hearings .
Republicans want Barrett confirmed before the presidential election , on 3 November .
Democrats lack the power to block her but the process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than that which Kavanaugh survived .
To the fore is Barrett ’ s religious faith , prominently her association with People of Praise , a charismatic Christian group with what is described as an authoritarian internal structure .
Arguments from both political factions have been publicly rehearsed : will Barrett ’ s religious convictions affect her performance as a supreme court justice , or should they have nothing to do with determining her fitness for such an important role ?
Conservatives argue public questions about religious beliefs should be excluded .
Liberals suggest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ability to administer unconflicted jurisprudence on issues such as abortion and contraception , thereby threatening foundational values of religious liberty .
Barrett clerked for the late conservative justice Antonin Scalia , who argued that there is no constitutional right to abortion .
The gravest threat Barrett poses , according to many on the left , is to Roe v Wade , the 1973 ruling that ensured abortion rights .
In 2017 , Trump nominated the Louisiana native and Notre Dame Law School graduate to the Chicago-based seventh US circuit court of appeals .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ mother of seven – who adopted two children from Haiti – said she admired justice Elena Kagan , an Obama-appointed abortion rights supporter , for bringing “ the knowledge and skill she acquired as an academic to the practical resolution of disputes ” .
But during her confirmation hearing , Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein memorably said Barrett had “ a long history of believing that your religious beliefs should prevail ” and added : “ The dogma lives loudly in you.
” Barrett has said she is a “ faithful Catholic ” but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the discharge of my duties as a judge ” .
She has also said legal careers ought not to be seen as means of gaining satisfaction , prestige or money , but rather “ as a means to the end of serving God ” .
People of Praise , the group to which Barrett belongs , emerged out of the revivalist movement of the 1960s , which blended Catholicism and Protestant Pentecostalism .
Founded in South Bend , Indiana , in 1971 and with 1,700 members , the group describes itself as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ] each other financially and materially and spiritually ” .
“ Our covenant is neither an oath nor a vow , but it is an important personal commitment , ” it says on its website .
“ Members should always follow their consciences , as formed by the light of reason , and by the experience and the teachings of their churches.
” On Saturday William Cash , chairman of the Catholic Herald , told the Guardian members of People of Praise were on “ the conservative side of the church and are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who are fanatical about Pope Francis ” .
“ There ’ s nothing particularly extreme about People of Praise – other than it is very hierarchical and women are not given senior positions , ” he said .
The former reporter saw questions about Barrett ’ s Catholicism and the supreme court in the context of the White House race .
“ Not only is Biden Catholic , albeit in a very liberal way that will alienate many ‘ trads ’ , ” Cash said , “ but Melania Trump is also a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ private audience with Pope Francis in Rome , describing it as one of the most important moments of her life .
So Melania , Amy Coney Barrett and Biden are from opposite poles of the US Catholic planet.
” Former members of People of Praise and religious scholars have described an organization that appears to dominate some members ’ everyday lives , in which so-called “ heads ” , or spiritual advisers , oversee major decisions .
Married women count their husbands as their “ heads ” and members are expected to tithe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ organization .
According to a former member , Adrian Reimers , “ all one ’ s decisions and dealings become the concern of one ’ s ‘ head ’ , and in turn potentially become known to the leadership ” .
Heidi Schlumpf , a national correspondent for National Catholic Reporter , called the group ’ s level of secrecy “ concerning ” .
Trump may sense in Barrett ’ s nomination a last chance to energise religious conservatives in his race for re-election .
The president met evangelical leaders at the White @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In 2012 , as a professor at Notre Dame , Barrett signed a letter attacking a provision of the Affordable Care Act , the healthcare reform known as Obamacare , that forced insurance companies to offer coverage for contraception , a facet of the law later modified for religious institutions .
Republican attempts to bring down the ACA have repeatedly fallen short .
If Barrett is confirmed before the November election , one of her first cases shortly after it could determine its fate .

Subject to confirmation by the Senate, Amy Coney Barrett will be the youngest justice on the US supreme court, a position from which she will be set to influence American life for decades yet to come.
Donald Trump’s nomination of the 48-year-old comes two years after her name surfaced as a possible replacement for the retiring Anthony Kennedy, whose seat was ultimately filled by Brett Kavanaugh after contentious confirmation hearings.
Republicans want Barrett confirmed before the presidential election, on 3 November. Democrats lack the power to block her but the process is likely to be no less contentious than that which Kavanaugh survived.
To the fore is Barrett’s religious faith, prominently her association with People of Praise, a charismatic Christian group with what is described as an authoritarian internal structure.
Arguments from both political factions have been publicly rehearsed: will Barrett’s religious convictions affect her performance as a supreme court justice, or should they have nothing to do with determining her fitness for such an important role?
Conservatives argue public questions about religious beliefs should be excluded. Liberals suggest Barrett’s beliefs could overshadow her ability to administer unconflicted jurisprudence on issues such as abortion and contraception, thereby threatening foundational values of religious liberty.
Barrett clerked for the late conservative justice Antonin Scalia, who argued that there is no constitutional right to abortion. The gravest threat Barrett poses, according to many on the left, is to Roe v Wade, the 1973 ruling that ensured abortion rights.
In 2017, Trump nominated the Louisiana native and Notre Dame Law School graduate to the Chicago-based seventh US circuit court of appeals.
Barrett stands with Trump as they arrive to announce her nomination at the White House on Saturday. Photograph: Alex Brandon/AP
Answering a White House questionnaire, the mother of seven – who adopted two children from Haiti – said she admired Justice Elena Kagan, an Obama-appointed abortion rights supporter, for bringing “the knowledge and skill she acquired as an academic to the practical resolution of disputes”.
But during her confirmation hearing, Democratic senator Dianne Feinstein memorably said Barrett had “a long history of believing that your religious beliefs should prevail” and added: “The dogma lives loudly in you.”
Barrett has said she is a “faithful Catholic” but her religious beliefs do not “bear in the discharge of my duties as a judge”. She has also said legal careers ought not to be seen as means of gaining satisfaction, prestige or money, but rather “as a means to the end of serving God”.
People of Praise, the group to which Barrett belongs, emerged out of the revivalist movement of the 1960s, which blended Catholicism and Protestant Pentecostalism. Founded in South Bend, Indiana, in 1971 and with 1,700 members, the group describes itself as a community that “support[s] each other financially and materially and spiritually”.
“Our covenant is neither an oath nor a vow, but it is an important personal commitment,” it says on its website. “Members should always follow their consciences, as formed by the light of reason, and by the experience and the teachings of their churches.”
There’s nothing particularly extreme about People of Praise – other than women are not given senior positions William Cash
On Saturday William Cash, chairman of the Catholic Herald, told the Guardian members of People of Praise were on “the conservative side of the church and are unlikely to be the sort of progressives who are fanatical about Pope Francis”.
“There’s nothing particularly extreme about People of Praise – other than it is very hierarchical and women are not given senior positions,” he said.
The former reporter saw questions about Barrett’s Catholicism and the supreme court in the context of the White House race.
“Not only is Biden Catholic, albeit in a very liberal way that will alienate many ‘trads’,” Cash said, “but Melania Trump is also a practicing Catholic and has even had a private audience with Pope Francis in Rome, describing it as one of the most important moments of her life. So Melania, Amy Coney Barrett and Biden are from opposite poles of the US Catholic planet.”
Former members of People of Praise and religious scholars have described an organization that appears to dominate some members’ everyday lives, in which so-called “heads”, or spiritual advisers, oversee major decisions. Married women count their husbands as their “heads” and members are expected to tithe 5% of their income to the organization.
According to a former member, Adrian Reimers, “all one’s decisions and dealings become the concern of one’s ‘head’, and in turn potentially become known to the leadership”.
Heidi Schlumpf, a national correspondent for National Catholic Reporter, called the group’s level of secrecy “concerning”.
Trump may sense in Barrett’s nomination a last chance to energise religious conservatives in his race for re-election. The president met evangelical leaders at the White House before introducing Barrett to the press.
In 2012, as a professor at Notre Dame, Barrett signed a letter attacking a provision of the Affordable Care Act, the healthcare reform known as Obamacare, that forced insurance companies to offer coverage for contraception, a facet of the law later modified for religious institutions.
Republican attempts to bring down the ACA have repeatedly fallen short. If Barrett is confirmed before the November election, one of her first cases shortly after it could determine its fate.


theguardian--2020-09-26--Biden reaches out to Latino voters with plan to tackle inequalities

Joe Biden ’ s election campaign on Tuesday unveiled a plan to address the economic inequalities facing Latinos in America amid financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic , which has disproportionately harmed communities of color .
The plan was introduced a day after the anniversary of the mass shooting in El Paso , Texas , that took the lives of 23 people and where the shooter is accused in federal court of deliberately targeting Hispanics .
It comes as Biden , the presumptive Democratic nominee to face Donald Trump in November , attempts to build a bridge to Latino @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up the largest share of US voters who are people of color in this election .
Senior campaign officials announced plans and commitments focused on investing in the economic mobility of Latinos , starting with education and healthcare , as well as a commitment to support the building of a Smithsonian Latino museum on the National Mall in Washington DC .
Biden had previously promised to introduce a sweeping immigration plan on his first day in office , including protecting recipients of the Daca program , affording protections and rights to qualifying , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Dreamers– and also undoing the Trump administration ’ s hardline international asylum policies .
“ The policies of [ the Trump ] administration amount to an onslaught of violence and fear against the community .
That ends when Joe Biden is president , ” a senior campaign official said on a call with reporters on Tuesday morning .
Polling shows that while immigration remains a priority for Latino voters , so is healthcare , the economy and education .
Young Latinos , like young voters across several demographics , say they care about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ previously unveiled the “ Lift Every Voice ” agenda for African American communities , which included a call for the justice department to prioritize prosecuting hate crimes , and economic plans to help Black Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic .
His Latino agenda also overlaps with Biden ’ s “ Build Back Better ” plan , an economic agenda that includes manufacturing , climate and caregiving .
The plan promises “ far reaching economic investment ” into Latino communities through a first time homeowner credit and investment into Hispanic serving educational institutions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tackle social determinants of health ” by building on the Affordable Care Act .
The campaign reiterated promises to reshape the legal immigration system that the Trump administration has steadily dismantled .
As well as hiring more immigration judges for the overstretched system , the campaign said it will review Trump ’ s decision to end temporary protected status ( TPS ) , a longstanding program designed to prevent foreign nationals in the US from being deported back to countries devastated by natural disaster or civil unrest .
As president , Biden would @ @ @ @ @ @ @ TPS recipients who have lived in the US for decades , the campaign said .
Since the primary , the campaign has moved left on immigration amid pressure from liberal activists .
Still , Biden has resisted calls from progressives to eliminate Ice , the immigration and customs enforcement agency formed in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US , or to decriminalize undocumented border crossings , a proposal some of his primary rivals supported .
The plan comes as polling shows Biden leading Trump nationally and in key battleground @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where Latinos will make up a decisive share of the electorate .
Yet some polls show Biden ’ s support waning among Latino voters , and particularly young Latinos who preferred his leftwing rival , Senator Bernie Sanders , during the primary .
With less than 100 days until the election , Biden ’ s campaign has ramped up its efforts to reach these voters .
In recent weeks , the campaign has made several high-profile hires , including Julie Chavez Rodriguez , the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez , and Matt Barreto , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ top Democratic polling firm .
It also announced a $ 1m investment in Spanish-language outreach .
In 2016 , Trump won nearly 30 % of the Hispanic vote , a margin that has remained largely consistent .
There are signs that may be changing as a result of Trump ’ s handling of the coronavirus and his escalation of anti-immigrant sentiment and bigoted rhetoric .
In the first months of 2020 , 34 % of Hispanics approved of Trump , according to Gallup .
In the period from late May to June , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cornerstone of the Trump campaign ’ s Latino outreach is in Florida , a state critical to his re-election prospects .
But the state ’ s Hispanic electorate – once dominated by conservative Cuban Americans – is changing with an influx of Puerto Ricans to central Florida .
The Biden campaign says it is investing heavily in these voters as it tries to pry the state from Trump in November .
Meanwhile , the Biden campaign is looking to turn out Latinos in rust belt swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin , that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 2016 .
• This article was amended on 5 August 2020 to remove a term inconsistent with the Guardian ’ s style guidelines on references to race .

Lauren Gambino in Washington and Francisco Navas in New York

Joe Biden’s election campaign on Tuesday unveiled a plan to address the economic inequalities facing Latinos in America amid financial turmoil caused by the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately harmed communities of color.
The plan was introduced a day after the anniversary of the mass shooting in El Paso, Texas, that took the lives of 23 people and where the shooter is accused in federal court of deliberately targeting Hispanics.
It comes as Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee to face Donald Trump in November, attempts to build a bridge to Latino voters, who are poised to make up the largest share of US voters who are people of color in this election.
Senior campaign officials announced plans and commitments focused on investing in the economic mobility of Latinos, starting with education and healthcare, as well as a commitment to support the building of a Smithsonian Latino museum on the National Mall in Washington DC.
Biden had previously promised to introduce a sweeping immigration plan on his first day in office, including protecting recipients of the Daca program, affording protections and rights to qualifying, young, undocumented immigrants, known as Dreamers– and also undoing the Trump administration’s hardline international asylum policies.
“The policies of [the Trump] administration amount to an onslaught of violence and fear against the community. That ends when Joe Biden is president,” a senior campaign official said on a call with reporters on Tuesday morning.
Polling shows that while immigration remains a priority for Latino voters, so is healthcare, the economy and education. Young Latinos, like young voters across several demographics, say they care about climate change and racial justice.
Biden previously unveiled the “Lift Every Voice” agenda for African American communities, which included a call for the justice department to prioritize prosecuting hate crimes, and economic plans to help Black Americans affected by the coronavirus pandemic.
His Latino agenda also overlaps with Biden’s “Build Back Better” plan, an economic agenda that includes manufacturing, climate and caregiving. The plan promises “far reaching economic investment” into Latino communities through a first time homeowner credit and investment into Hispanic serving educational institutions. Its healthcare component promises to “tackle social determinants of health” by building on the Affordable Care Act.
The campaign reiterated promises to reshape the legal immigration system that the Trump administration has steadily dismantled. As well as hiring more immigration judges for the overstretched system, the campaign said it will review Trump’s decision to end temporary protected status (TPS), a longstanding program designed to prevent foreign nationals in the US from being deported back to countries devastated by natural disaster or civil unrest.
As president, Biden would create a path to citizenship for certain TPS recipients who have lived in the US for decades, the campaign said.
Since the primary, the campaign has moved left on immigration amid pressure from liberal activists. Still, Biden has resisted calls from progressives to eliminate Ice, the immigration and customs enforcement agency formed in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks on the US, or to decriminalize undocumented border crossings, a proposal some of his primary rivals supported.
The plan comes as polling shows Biden leading Trump nationally and in key battleground states, including Florida and Arizona, where Latinos will make up a decisive share of the electorate. Yet some polls show Biden’s support waning among Latino voters, and particularly young Latinos who preferred his leftwing rival, Senator Bernie Sanders, during the primary.
With less than 100 days until the election, Biden’s campaign has ramped up its efforts to reach these voters. In recent weeks, the campaign has made several high-profile hires, including Julie Chavez Rodriguez, the granddaughter of Cesar Chavez, and Matt Barreto, the founder of Latino Decisions, a top Democratic polling firm. It also announced a $1m investment in Spanish-language outreach.
In 2016, Trump won nearly 30% of the Hispanic vote, a margin that has remained largely consistent.
There are signs that may be changing as a result of Trump’s handling of the coronavirus and his escalation of anti-immigrant sentiment and bigoted rhetoric. In the first months of 2020, 34% of Hispanics approved of Trump, according to Gallup. In the period from late May to June, that fell to 26%.
The cornerstone of the Trump campaign’s Latino outreach is in Florida, a state critical to his re-election prospects. But the state’s Hispanic electorate – once dominated by conservative Cuban Americans – is changing with an influx of Puerto Ricans to central Florida. The Biden campaign says it is investing heavily in these voters as it tries to pry the state from Trump in November.
Meanwhile, the Biden campaign is looking to turn out Latinos in rust belt swing states like Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, that Trump won by the narrowest margins in 2016.


theguardian--2020-09-26--'Scranton v Park Avenue' is Biden's best campaign issue - not the supreme court | Bhaskar Sunkara

With the death of the US supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last Friday , the stakes of November ’ s election are more obvious than ever .
If Trump retains control of the presidency , most likely through a win in the electoral college but loss in the popular vote , that will cement minority Republican rule for a generation .
Abortion rights , healthcare legislation , labor protections and voting rights will all be directly impacted .
Democratic partisans are acutely aware of this fact .
ActBlue , the party ’ s most important fundraiser , raised more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since Ginsburg ’ s passing .
For some , like the New Yorker ’ s Jeffrey Toobin , Ginsburg ’ s death means that Democrats need to ratchet up their rhetoric about the courts and foreground their plans for significant institutional reform .
If Democrats can take the Senate , Toobin suggests , then the filibuster must be abolished , Washington DC and Puerto Rico granted statehood , the number of lower-court federal judges expanded , and the supreme court be packed with three more judges .
On the latter point , at @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Chuck Schumer , agrees , saying that “ everything is on the table ” .
Many of the same commentators and strategists getting on board with plans like court-packing think that Biden should be trying to appeal to moderate Republican suburban voters .
But there is an unacknowledged tension here : Ginsburg ’ s passing will likely limit defections from the small cadre of Republicans who find Trump distasteful enough to contemplate a Biden vote .
Many of these voters may think a conservative court is worth the embarrassment of being associated with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ treating the election as a referendum on the supreme court is that , as Anne Applebaum recently argued , it “ organizes the electorate along two fronts of a culture war , and forces people to make stark ideological choices .
Instead of focusing voters on the president ’ s failure to control Covid-19 or the consequent economic collapse , the culture war makes voters think only of their deepest tribal identities.
” But whether Applebaum wants it to be the case or not , the courts will be the forefront of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ events , then , should call into question the entire Biden premise of building a campaign around current or former Republican voters in affluent suburbs .
Another strategy – instead of chasing suburban voters uncomfortable with Trump ’ s conduct – is to offer bread-and-butter issues to lower propensity young and working-class voters , who Bernie Sanders had tried to mobilize in his primary run to varying levels of success .
( Perhaps easier accomplished in a general election rather than in closed party primaries . )
While the culture war might divide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new electorate can be potentially reached through appeals for widely popular progressive policies such as universal healthcare and a federal jobs program .
In a time where millions of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck – and many are experiencing unemployment and an uncertain future – offering more security and support is a message that can win an election .
Though they obviously overlap , the 64 % of Americans who think the rich should pay more in taxes to support public programs are a firmer basis to build a political coalition than @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ liberal ” , or , for that matter , the probably tiny number of former Trump voters who can be won over to Biden by outrage at the president ’ s behavior .
Rather than talking about “ packing the courts ” , Biden would be wise to appear credible on this bread-and-butter agenda and then use his mandate to “ do whatever it takes ” in the way of structural reform to accomplish it .
The former vice-president has been making some populist noises lately , such as when he recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the interests of “ Scranton ” and “ Park Avenue.
” ( This sparked the ire of the liberal MSNBC crowd , who , in an incredible encapsulation of their own irrelevance and privilege , attacked Biden ’ s framing for being divisive and Trump-like . )
But he ’ s not always consistent in this messaging .
There is still time for Biden to embrace a populist message more resolutely , and speak to the millions of Americans looking for a strong , progressive leader who can help them weather this economic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Great Depression .
The question isn ’ t whether Biden should pursue this path , but whether he will – and whether people should believe him if he finally does .
• None Bhaskar Sunkara is the founding editor of Jacobin magazine and a Guardian US columnist .
He is the author of The Socialist Manifesto : The Case for Radical Politics in an Era of Extreme Inequality

With the death of the US supreme court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg last Friday, the stakes of November’s election are more obvious than ever. If Trump retains control of the presidency, most likely through a win in the electoral college but loss in the popular vote, that will cement minority Republican rule for a generation. Abortion rights, healthcare legislation, labor protections and voting rights will all be directly impacted.
Democratic partisans are acutely aware of this fact. ActBlue, the party’s most important fundraiser, raised more than $100m from 1.5 million individuals since Ginsburg’s passing. For some, like the New Yorker’s Jeffrey Toobin, Ginsburg’s death means that Democrats need to ratchet up their rhetoric about the courts and foreground their plans for significant institutional reform. If Democrats can take the Senate, Toobin suggests, then the filibuster must be abolished, Washington DC and Puerto Rico granted statehood, the number of lower-court federal judges expanded, and the supreme court be packed with three more judges. On the latter point, at least, the Senate minority leader, Chuck Schumer, agrees, saying that “everything is on the table”.
Many of the same commentators and strategists getting on board with plans like court-packing think that Biden should be trying to appeal to moderate Republican suburban voters. But there is an unacknowledged tension here: Ginsburg’s passing will likely limit defections from the small cadre of Republicans who find Trump distasteful enough to contemplate a Biden vote. Many of these voters may think a conservative court is worth the embarrassment of being associated with another Trump term.
The problem with treating the election as a referendum on the supreme court is that, as Anne Applebaum recently argued, it “organizes the electorate along two fronts of a culture war, and forces people to make stark ideological choices. Instead of focusing voters on the president’s failure to control Covid-19 or the consequent economic collapse, the culture war makes voters think only of their deepest tribal identities.” But whether Applebaum wants it to be the case or not, the courts will be the forefront of the minds of many regular voters. Recent events, then, should call into question the entire Biden premise of building a campaign around current or former Republican voters in affluent suburbs.
Another strategy – instead of chasing suburban voters uncomfortable with Trump’s conduct – is to offer bread-and-butter issues to lower propensity young and working-class voters, who Bernie Sanders had tried to mobilize in his primary run to varying levels of success. (Perhaps easier accomplished in a general election rather than in closed party primaries.) While the culture war might divide much of the existing electorate, this new electorate can be potentially reached through appeals for widely popular progressive policies such as universal healthcare and a federal jobs program. In a time where millions of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck – and many are experiencing unemployment and an uncertain future – offering more security and support is a message that can win an election.
Though they obviously overlap, the 64% of Americans who think the rich should pay more in taxes to support public programs are a firmer basis to build a political coalition than the quarter of Americans who identify as “liberal”, or, for that matter, the probably tiny number of former Trump voters who can be won over to Biden by outrage at the president’s behavior. Rather than talking about “packing the courts”, Biden would be wise to appear credible on this bread-and-butter agenda and then use his mandate to “do whatever it takes” in the way of structural reform to accomplish it.
The former vice-president has been making some populist noises lately, such as when he recently framed the election as a choice between the interests of “Scranton” and “Park Avenue”. (This sparked the ire of the liberal MSNBC crowd, who, in an incredible encapsulation of their own irrelevance and privilege, attacked Biden’s framing for being divisive and Trump-like.) But he’s not always consistent in this messaging.
There is still time for Biden to embrace a populist message more resolutely, and speak to the millions of Americans looking for a strong, progressive leader who can help them weather this economic storm – much like FDR did during the Great Depression. The question isn’t whether Biden should pursue this path, but whether he will – and whether people should believe him if he finally does.


theguardian--2020-09-27--Biden’s team hopes for repeat of his 2012 performance as Trump debate nears

For Democrats and supporters of Joe Biden ’ s presidential campaign , the hope is that the version of the former vice-president who faced then congressman Paul Ryan back in 2012 shows up to debate Donald Trump on Tuesday in Ohio .
The Biden who showed up for the Ryan debate helped turn around Barack Obama ’ s re-election campaign .
Ask just about any Obama campaign alumna or Democratic strategist and they will concede that Obama ’ s performance against Mitt Romney in the first debate was lacking .
“ I would describe what he did in 2012 as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Devine , who ran Vermont senator Bernie Sanders ’ 2016 presidential campaign .
It was a low point in the campaign , former Obama campaign staffers recalled in interviews with the Guardian , and it was unclear whether Biden ’ s performance in the vice-presidential debate would help lift the suddenly faltering campaign – or let it sink further .
“ Obama ’ s performance was just miserable , ” Devine said .
“ Biden went in there against Ryan and , boy , he was appropriately aggressive .
On point .
Really @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the bleeding.
” Staffers for the reelection campaign often contrast the first debate with the vice-presidential debate .
“ Obama had flubbed the first debate and there was a lot of pressure on [ Biden ] to deliver and he nailed it and I know he sort of cold-cocked them , ” one top re-election campaign adviser recalled .
Now , the stakes for Biden ’ s performance are far higher , as he tops the Democratic ticket and faces off against a norm-shattering figure in a momentous election the whole world is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his debates against Hillary Clinton in 2016 was notoriously scattergun , involving burger lunches and Rudy Giuliani , but he went out and competed through sheer force of character , rather than any visible policy chops .
Speaking to Fox & Friends in an interview broadcast on Sunday , the president said he had been preparing for Biden debate every day .
“ When you ’ re president , you sort of see everything that they ’ re going to be asking , ” he said .
“ And they may disagree with @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a great job .
We created the greatest economy in history .
And now it ’ s coming back .
We closed it .
We saved millions and millions of lives by doing what I did .
And now we ’ re bringing it back.
” Bill Daley , a former chief of staff to Obama who also advised Biden on one of his earlier White House bids , told the Guardian the first debate “ is almost the whole ball game because we have a polarized country , everyone knows who they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for a small group of people and they ’ ll watch the first debate and make a judgement.
” The Biden who took the stage alongside Ryan surprised some .
He was energetic and policy literate .
And he didn ’ t produce the verbal missteps that for years he was famed for .
As Ryan ticked off statistics or delivered carefully crafted attack lines , Biden switched between stern seriousness and exasperated eyerolls .
Seven minutes in , Biden used one of his trademark phrases – “ Malarkey !
” – to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Not a single thing he said is accurate , ” Biden said with a determined smile , then went on to detail how Ryan , as chairman of the House ways and means committee , had a hand in cutting off funding for a US embassy in Benghazi .
Where aides on the Obama campaign knew the president was not delivering in the first debate , Biden staff at Centre College in Kentucky flooded the spin room , where reporters interview candidates and surrogates after a debate , to capitalize on their man @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hour , hour and a quarter had been so good it didn ’ t even matter what had happened next , ” one former Obama campaign staffer recalled .
“ We wanted to convey that.
” At Obama campaign reelection headquarters there was a strong sense of relief and optimism , according to multiple former staffers .
Eight years later , one of Donald Trump ’ s favorite attacks is to knock his 77-year-old opponent on his age or vivacity – though Trump himself is 74 .
Biden also benefits from being the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ expectations going into these debates , ” said David Wilhelm , Biden ’ s Iowa campaign manager in his 1988 presidential bid .
“ Expectations can shift of course even from debate to debate .
He ’ ll benefit from that.
” Biden keeps top advisers close .
Ron Klain , the former vice-president ’ s chief of staff who helped prep him in 2012 , has been involved this time round .
Sheila Nix , another longtime aide who was involved in 2012 , is now a top staffer for California senator @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mate .
Mike Donilon , another longtime Biden adviser , and Biden campaign deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield are also involved in debate preparations .
Veterans of working with Biden and other campaigns argue that he usually does better in head-to-head debates than multi-candidate affairs .
He also likes to get into policy without getting too wonky , recalled a top Obama reelection adviser .
In preparation , Biden “ just wants the back-up to make the points that he wants to make ” .
“ He was terrific in the 2012 vice-presidential @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a better model for this than where he had 10 people or eight people on stage , ” said Bob Shrum , a veteran strategist who has advised Biden .
Biden and his team have been readying for the debate for weeks , but only in the past few days has the focus increased , according to a Democrat with ties to the campaign .
Biden himself acknowledged that recently .
“ I ’ ve started to prepare but I haven ’ t gotten into it really heavily , ” Biden said on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tomorrow.
” He was set to spend most of the final days before the debate preparing .
Devine warned that the worst case for Biden is if voters come out of the debate questioning his capacity to be president .
Devine stressed he didn ’ t think that would happen – but “ that ’ s how low they ’ ve set the bar ” .

For Democrats and supporters of Joe Biden’s presidential campaign, the hope is that the version of the former vice-president who faced then congressman Paul Ryan back in 2012 shows up to debate Donald Trump on Tuesday in Ohio.
The Biden who showed up for the Ryan debate helped turn around Barack Obama’s re-election campaign. Ask just about any Obama campaign alumna or Democratic strategist and they will concede that Obama’s performance against Mitt Romney in the first debate was lacking.
“I would describe what he did in 2012 as a circuit breaker,” said Tad Devine, who ran the Vermont senator Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign.
It was a low point in the campaign, former Obama campaign staffers recalled in interviews with the Guardian, and it was unclear whether Biden’s performance in the vice-presidential debate would help lift the suddenly faltering campaign – or let it sink further.
“Obama’s performance was just miserable,” Devine said. “Biden went in there against Ryan and, boy, he was appropriately aggressive. On point. Really drove the thing and I think staunched the bleeding.”
Staffers for the re-election campaign often contrast the first debate with the vice-presidential debate.
“Obama had flubbed the first debate and there was a lot of pressure on [Biden] to deliver and he nailed it and I know he sort of cold-cocked them,” one top re-election campaign adviser recalled.
Now, the stakes for Biden’s performance are far higher, as he tops the Democratic ticket and faces off against a norm-shattering figure in a momentous election the whole world is watching.
Trump’s preparation for his debates against Hillary Clinton in 2016 was notoriously scattergun, involving burger lunches and Rudy Giuliani, but he went out and competed through sheer force of character, rather than any visible policy chops.
Speaking to Fox & Friends in an interview broadcast on Sunday, the president said he had been preparing for Biden debate every day.
“When you’re president, you sort of see everything that they’re going to be asking,” he said. “And they may disagree with you, but we’ve done a great job. We created the greatest economy in history. And now it’s coming back. We closed it. We saved millions and millions of lives by doing what I did. And now we’re bringing it back.”
Bill Daley, a former chief of staff to Obama who also advised Biden on one of his earlier White House bids, told the Guardian the first debate “is almost the whole ball game because we have a polarized country, everyone knows who they’re going to vote for except for a small group of people and they’ll watch the first debate and make a judgment”.
The Biden who took the stage alongside Ryan surprised some. He was energetic and policy literate. And he didn’t produce the verbal missteps that for years he was famed for. As Ryan ticked off statistics or delivered carefully crafted attack lines, Biden switched between stern seriousness and exasperated eyerolls. Seven minutes in, Biden used one of his trademark phrases – “Malarkey!” – to parry a remark by Ryan.
“Not a single thing he said is accurate,” Biden said with a determined smile, then went on to detail how Ryan, as chairman of the House ways and means committee, had a hand in cutting off funding for a US embassy in Benghazi.
Where aides on the Obama campaign knew the president was not delivering in the first debate, Biden staff at Centre College in Kentucky flooded the spin room, where reporters interview candidates and surrogates after a debate, to capitalize on their man’s performance.
“The first hour, hour and a quarter had been so good it didn’t even matter what had happened next,” one former Obama campaign staffer recalled. “We wanted to convey that.”
At Obama campaign reelection headquarters there was a strong sense of relief and optimism, according to multiple former staffers.
Eight years later, one of Donald Trump’s favorite attacks is to knock his 77-year-old opponent on his age or vivacity – though Trump himself is 74. Biden also benefits from being the underdog.
“He benefits from low expectations going into these debates,” said David Wilhelm, Biden’s Iowa campaign manager in his 1988 presidential bid. “Expectations can shift of course even from debate to debate. He’ll benefit from that.”
Biden keeps top advisers close. Ron Klain, the former vice-president’s chief of staff who helped prep him in 2012, has been involved this time round. Sheila Nix, another longtime aide who was involved in 2012, is now a top staffer for California senator Kamala Harris, Biden’s running mate. Mike Donilon, another longtime Biden adviser, and Biden campaign deputy campaign manager Kate Bedingfield are also involved in debate preparations.
Veterans of working with Biden and other campaigns argue that he usually does better in head-to-head debates than multi-candidate affairs. He also likes to get into policy without getting too wonky, recalled a top Obama re-election adviser. In preparation, Biden “just wants the back-up to make the points that he wants to make”.
“He was terrific in the 2012 vice-presidential debate and I think that would be a better model for this than where he had 10 people or eight people on stage,” said Bob Shrum, a veteran strategist who has advised Biden.
Biden and his team have been readying for the debate for weeks, but only in the past few days has the focus increased, according to a Democrat with ties to the campaign. Biden himself acknowledged that recently.
“I’ve started to prepare but I haven’t gotten into it really heavily,” Biden said on Wednesday. “I will be beginning tomorrow.”
He was set to spend most of the final days before the debate preparing.
Devine warned that the worst case for Biden is if voters come out of the debate questioning his capacity to be president. Devine stressed he didn’t think that would happen – but “that’s how low they’ve set the bar”.


theguardian--2020-09-27--Trump names Amy Coney Barrett for supreme court as first debate looms – live

Donald Trump , meanwhile , has spoken to Fox & Friends host Pete Hegseth about his supreme court pick , in an interview broadcast on Sunday .
“ Mostly , I ’ m looking for somebody that can interpret the constitution as written , ” Trump said .
“ We say it all the time and [ Judge Amy Coney Barrett ] is very strong on that.
” He also bragged about his undoubted legacy , a makeover of the federal court system orchestrated by Mitch McConnell , the Senate majority leader , and to some extent by Don McGahn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but resilient White House counsel .
“ By the end of the term , we ’ ll have almost 300 federal judges and court of appeals judges , which is a record .
So we will have had a great impact on the court system going forward , ” Trump said .
The actual number is around 200 , but there ’ s time .
If you ’ re wondering what all this has to do with why Republicans vote for Trump , here ’ s a report on what the Republican grandee @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing , which has persuaded him to keep voting for Trump despite everything Trump has done to his party , and the abuse Trump threw at George HW Bush , Baker ’ s closest friend whose feet he rubbed while he died : Trump also discussed Tuesday ’ s debate , telling Hegseth he had been preparing every day and saying : “ When you ’ re president , you sort of see everything that they ’ re going to be asking .
“ And they may disagree with you , but we @ @ @ @ @ @ @ We created the greatest economy in history .
And now it ’ s coming back .
We closed it .
We saved millions and millions of lives by doing what I did .
And now we ’ re bringing it back .
”

27 Sept 2020 23.56 BST A federal appeals court on Sunday temporarily halted a six-day extension for counting absentee ballots in Wisconsin’s presidential election, a momentary victory for Republicans in the one of the key battleground states. The AP reports: As it stands, ballots will now be due by 8 p.m. on Election Day. A lower court judge had sided with Democrats and their allies to extend the deadline until Nov. 9. Democrats sought more time as a way to help deal with an expected historic high number of absentee ballots. The Democratic National Committee, the state Democratic Party and allied groups including the League of Women Voters sued to extend the deadline for counting absentee ballots after the April presidential primary saw long lines, fewer polling places, a shortage of workers and thousands of ballots mailed days after the election. U.S. District Judge William Conley ruled Sept. 21 that ballots that arrive up to six days after Election Day will count as long as they’re postmarked by Election Day. Sunday’s action puts Conley’s order on hold until the 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals or U.S. Supreme Court issues any further action. No further details were immediately posted by the appeals court. US district judge William Conley ruled on 21 September that ballots that arrive up to six days after election day will count as long as they’re postmarked by election day. Sunday’s action puts Conley’s order on hold until the 7th Circuit US court of appeals or US supreme court issues any further action. Photograph: Mike DeVries/AP
27 Sept 2020 23.12 BST Trump is pressed further on his tax information. Asked if he could give the American people a sense of what he pays in federal income tax, he says: “First of all, I’ve paid a lot and I’ve paid a lot of state income taxes, too. ... It’ll all be revealed. It’s going to come out, but after after the audit. They’re doing their assessment. We’ve been negotiating for a long time. Things get settled, like in the IRS. But right now when you’re under audit, you don’t do it. You don’t do that. So we’re under audit. But the story is a total fake.” President Donald Trump speaks during a news conference on Sunday at the White House. Photograph: Joshua Roberts/Getty Images
Updated at 23.51 BST
27 Sept 2020 23.02 BST Trump dismisses New York Times expose as 'fake news' Donald Trump has dismissed the New York Times revelation of his tax information as “fake news”. “It’s fake news,” he says. “It’s totally fake news. Made up, fake. We went through the same stories, you could have asked me the same questions four years ago, I had to litigate this and had to talk about it. Totally fake news. Actually, I paid tax. And you’ll see that as soon as my tax returns – it’s under audit, they’ve been under audit for a long time, the IRS does not treat me well, they treat me like the Tea Party, like they treated the Tea Party, and they don’t treat me well. They treat me very badly. You have people in the IRS that treat me very, very badly. But they’re under audit. And when they’re not, I would be proud to show you. But that’s just fake news.” Trump says he didn’t know the story was going to be published today, but “somebody said they were going to a negative [story].” (His attorney is on record in the piece.) 00:51 'Fake news': Trump denies tax claims from New York Times – video
Updated at 07.15 BST
27 Sept 2020 22.57 BST President Trump says he did not discuss the November election with his third supreme court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, as he thought it would not be appropriate. He’s then asked whether he was joking about demanding Joe Biden take a drug test before Tuesday’s debate. “I’m not joking,” he says. “I’m willing to take a drug test and I think he should, too. Because he’s had a very uneven – I watched him when he was debating Pocahontas and Harris, who treated him so badly – but I watched him and he was out of it.”
27 Sept 2020 22.49 BST Donald Trump has spent more than 10 minutes riffing on an array of baseless conspiracy theories: Hunter Biden, the impeachment “hoax”, widespread voter fraud and more. “These are all things that are very big on the internet,” he says. He has yet to acknowledge the New York Times expose.
Updated at 22.52 BST
27 Sept 2020 22.38 BST “We have noticed some comments made in the media about my incredibly qualified nominee, Amy,” Trump says in opening Sunday afternoon’s news conference from the White House podium as Rudy Giuliani and Chris Christie look on from the wings. “I’m sort of waiting for the New York Times and the Washington Post, ABC, CBS NBC, CNN, MSDNC – I’m waiting for them to endorse me.” The briefing has immediately taken on the tenor of a campaign speech.
27 Sept 2020 22.33 BST New York Times executive editor Dean Baquet has written a note explaining the newspaper’s decision to publish Trump’s tax information. “We are publishing this report because we believe citizens should understand as much as possible about their leaders and representatives – their priorities, their experiences and also their finances,” he writes. “Every president since the mid-1970s has made his tax information public. The tradition ensures that an official with the power to shake markets and change policy does not seek to benefit financially from his actions.” Baquet continues: “Mr. Trump, one of the wealthiest presidents in the nation’s history, has broken with that practice. As a candidate and as president, Mr. Trump has said he wanted to make his tax returns public, but he has never done so. In fact, he has fought relentlessly to hide them from public view and has falsely asserted that he could not release them because he was being audited by the Internal Revenue Service. More recently, Mr. Trump and the Justice Department have fought subpoenas from congressional and New York State investigators seeking his taxes and other financial records.”
27 Sept 2020 22.17 BST New York Times publishes Trump's tax information As we wait for Donald Trump to take the podium in the White House briefing room, the New York Times reveals it has obtained the US president’s tax return data for thousands of personal and corporate returns going back more than two decades. Donald J. Trump paid $750 in federal income taxes the year he won the presidency. In his first year in the White House, he paid another $750. He had paid no income taxes at all in 10 of the previous 15 years — largely because he reported losing much more money than he made. As the president wages a re-election campaign that polls say he is in danger of losing, his finances are under stress, beset by losses and hundreds of millions of dollars in debt coming due that he has personally guaranteed. Also hanging over him is a decade-long audit battle with the Internal Revenue Service over the legitimacy of a $72.9 million tax refund that he claimed, and received, after declaring huge losses. An adverse ruling could cost him more than $100 million. The Times report also reveals the financial pressure on Trump is mounting as he is personally responsible for loans and other debts totaling $421m, with most of it coming due within four years. “Should he win re-election, his lenders could be placed in the unprecedented position of weighing whether to foreclose on a sitting president,” it reads.
Updated at 22.29 BST
27 Sept 2020 21.25 BST The Washington Post has published an investigation on Donald Trump’s seizure of his father’s estate while the future US president faced personal financial ruin in 1990. Notably, Michael Kranish’s piece does not rely on any anonymous sources, rather audiotaped conversations, depositions and other public documents: Donald Trump was facing financial disaster in 1990 when he came up with an audacious plan to exert control of his father’s estate. His creditors threatened to force him into personal bankruptcy, and his first wife, Ivana, wanted “a billion dollars” in a divorce settlement, Donald Trump said in a deposition. So he sent an accountant and a lawyer to see his father, Fred Trump Sr., who was told he needed to immediately sign a document changing the will according to his son’s wishes, according to depositions from family members. It was a fragile moment for the senior Trump, who was 85 years old and had built a real estate empire worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He would soon be diagnosed with cognitive problems, such as being unable to recall things he was told 30 minutes earlier or remember his birth date, according to his medical records, which were included in a related court case. Now, those records and other sources of information about the episode obtained by The Washington Post reveal the extent of Fred Trump Sr.’s cognitive impairment and how Donald’s effort to change his father’s will tore apart the Trump family, which continues to reverberate today. The recent release of a tell-all book by the president’s niece Mary L. Trump and the disclosure of secret recordings of her conversations with her aunt reflect the ongoing resentment of some family members toward Donald Trump’s attempt to change his father’s will. With the election weeks away, the documents and recordings provide more fodder for Mary Trump’s continuing efforts to see her uncle defeated by Democrat Joe Biden, whom she has said she would do “everything in my power” to elect. Trump’s sister Maryanne Trump Barry was recorded by her niece in January 2019 expressing outrage over her brother’s efforts to change the will as their father’s mental capacity was declining. “Dad was in dementia,” Barry said.
Updated at 21.35 BST
27 Sept 2020 20.39 BST Nancy Pelosi, the Speaker of the House, said on Sunday she thinks a deal can be reached with the White House on a coronavirus relief package and that talks were continuing, Reuters reports. “We are having our conversations. And when I have a conversation with the administration, it is in good faith,” Pelosi said on CNN. “I trust (Treasury) Secretary (Steve) Mnuchin to represent something that can reach a solution. And I believe we can come to an agreement.” Formal talks between Pelosi, Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer, Mnuchin and the White House chief of staff, Mark Meadows, aimed at hammering out a relief package broke down on 7 August with the two sides far apart. Pelosi and Mnuchin have since spoken by phone. With formal Covid-19 relief talks stalled for weeks, the house ways and means committee chairman, Richard Neal, on Thursday said Democratic lawmakers were starting to draft a bill totalling at least $2.2tn. Pelosi on Sunday said it was “definitely a possibility” that she would offer legislation in the coming days if the impasse with the Trump administration continued but said she would rather have a deal with the White House than a “rhetorical argument”. Any legislation the Democratic-led House might approve would be unlikely to advance in the Senate, which is controlled by Republicans. Pelosi and Schumer had originally sought a $3.4tn relief package but have scaled back their demands. Meadows has previously said that Trump would be willing to sign a $1.3tn bill.
27 Sept 2020 19.59 BST Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, who will moderate Tuesday night’s first presidential debate between Donald Trump and Joe Biden, will not be tasked with fact-checking the candidates in real time, the co-chair of the debate commission has confirmed. “We don’t expect Chris or our other moderators to be fact checkers,” Frank Fahrenkopf, co-chair of the non-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates (CPD), said Sunday on CNN’s Reliable Sources. “The minute the TV is off there will be plenty of fact checkers.” He added: “When we choose moderators, we make very clear to them that there’s a vast difference between being a moderator in a debate and being a reporter who is interviewing someone. When you’re interviewing someone, if they say something that is in direct opposition to something they said a week ago, your duty is to follow up and say, wait a minute, you didn’t say that a week ago. But that’s not the case in the debate. If one of these candidates says something on the stage Tuesday, it’s the role of the other person in a debate to be the one to raise that and say, wait a minute, you’re changing the position and so forth rather than the moderator.” Fahrenkopf went on to say the CPD would not comply with Trump’s demand – which he reiterated in a tweet on Sunday morning – that both candidates be drug-tested before Tuesday’s meeting. “One of my daughters is a doctor and I’m sure she doesn’t want me taking anybody’s drug test,” Fahrenkopf said. “So, no, that’s not – that’s not within our bailiwick that the commission is going to do or consider.”
27 Sept 2020 19.31 BST Donald Trump departed Trump National in the presidential motorcade shortly before 2pm after spending the morning at his private golf club in Virginia. As has become customary during the president’s visits to the Loudoun county property, groups of supporters and protesters gathered outside were there to make themselves heard as Trump left the property. According to a White House pool report: There is still a cluster of protesters outside the club, both pro and anti Trump. One sign read “GOP senators are hypocrites.” Another person was laying out small fake gravestones along the side of the road with a sign that said “he knew.” Another sign said “Epic failure democracy killer.” There were also pro-Trump flags and 3 Jeeps drove back and forth on the road with Trump campaign flags waving from the back. Dueling chants of “vote him out” and “four more years” broke out among the assembled group. The chants intensified when the motorcade began rolling. There were about 20 protesters on one side of the street; pool didn’t have visibility to count on the other side, but it was a roughly similar amount. Donald Trump swings during a round of golf on Sunday at Trump National golf club in Sterling, Virginia. Photograph: Tasos Katopodis/Reuters A protester stands outside the Trump National on Sunday. Photograph: Brendan Smialowski/AFP/Getty Images Donald Trump’s motorcade is met by protesters and supporters on Sunday outside Trump National. Photograph: Ken Cedeno/Reuters
Updated at 19.33 BST
27 Sept 2020 18.17 BST Martin Pengelly Biden returned to his theme from earlier remarks about the process for replacing Ginsburg, lamenting Republicans’ determination to rush Amy Coney Barrett on to the court in defiance of their own precedent, if not of any actual constitutional provision. More in hope than expectation, surely, he also repeated his call for Republican senators to “step back from the brink” and pause the rush to confirmation. Two, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – both supporters of abortion rights, as it happens – have said they do not think a justice should be confirmed before the election. That leaves Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, with a 51-49 vote to confirm – more than enough. In Wilmington, Biden insisted:
The voters will not stand for this abuse of power. And if we are to call ourselves a democracy, their voices must be heard. I urge the American people to keep voting and to let your current Senators know that you want to be heard before they vote to confirm a new Justice. And I urge every Senator to take a step back from the brink — to take off the blinders of politics for just one critical moment — and stand up for the Constitution you swore to uphold. This is the time to de-escalate, to put an end to the shattering of precedents that has thrown our nation into chaos. Just because you have the power to do something doesn’t absolve you from your responsibility to do right by the American people. Uphold your constitutional duty. Summon your conscience. Stand up for the people. Stand up for our cherished system of checks and balances. Americans are watching. Americans are voting. We must listen to them now. We must allow them to exercise their sacred power.
Updated at 18.30 BST


theguardian--2020-09-27--How comedian Michael Spicer hangs politicians out to dry

Michael Spicer has been trying – mostly failing – to make it as a comedian for the best part of two decades .
As a teenager , Spicer amassed enough rejection letters to wallpaper the spare bedroom of his family home .
( He was a precocious teenager . )
Spicer kept plugging away at comedy writing throughout his 20s and 30s , pitching to TV commissioners but receiving unending rejections .
“ A lot of the stuff I wrote wasn ’ t quite good enough , ” he admits .
It wasn ’ t that Spicer wasn ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ would always touch the surface of success , ” he says – but he certainly wasn ’ t getting anywhere fast .
Parts in BBC satirical comedy The Mash Report , hosted by Nish Kumar , and the Diane Morgan sitcom Mandy were promising , but they weren ’ t enough to make ends meet , so Spicer took a job writing copy for a shipping company .
His mother couldn ’ t understand why his career never seemed to take off .
“ She ’ d say to me , ” Spicer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s so much rubbish on TV .
How can there not be room for you ?
’ ” He watched his comedy peers , like Morgan and Kumar , break through into the mainstream .
“ They became household names , ” he says , “ while I was playing characters like ‘ Tosser Number 1 ’ , or ‘ Man on the Street ’ .
It was hard in a way , although I felt nothing but good things for them , because I knew how talented they were.
” And then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ scrolling through Twitter while at work at the shipping firm .
He saw a viral clip of Boris Johnson being interviewed by Talk Radio during the Tory leadership race .
The interviewer asked Johnson what he did to relax .
“ You could see that he was really struggling for an answer , ” Spicer says .
“ The two sides of his brain were literally fighting each other : do I tell the truth , or lie ?
” As Johnson stared into the distance , stalling for time , Spicer observed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for advice to be fed into his ear .
When Spicer got home that evening , he filmed a minute-long video in which he pretended to be Johnson ’ s adviser , feeding him lines through a headpiece .
“ Say something , you vase of wank !
” Spicer urges , sitting behind a pile of box-binders and notes .
The video cuts back to Johnson being interviewed .
“ Buses ...
I make models of buses , ” says Johnson .
Spicer uploaded the video to Twitter around 10pm , then @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to find that his social media feed had exploded .
The video changed everything for him .
“ It was completely surreal , ” he says .
“ It felt like a fever dream.
” Since that day , Spicer has spun off his harried political aide character into series The Room Next Door , which features the comedian attempting to avert some of the most unbelievable moments in recent political discourse .
( There have been many . )
Such is the success of The Room Next Door – which he uploads @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and has amassed 50m views – that Spicer has appeared on James Corden ’ s The Late Late Show , has a 10-date live tour booked for next year , and a book coming out in October .
( The Secret Political Adviser is a collection of emails , texts , memos and documents collated by Spicer ’ s fictitious political adviser spanning the period 2016-2020 – ie when everything started going wrong in the world . )
Spicer is 43 .
All the doors he ’ s been knocking on for years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wait to take his coat and offer him a drink .
The career he ’ s been working towards since he was a teenager is finally here .
“ It would have been nice to have a career in comedy without this constant narrative of horror behind it , ” he observes .
“ But here we are.
” Spicer represents the new vanguard of comedians satirising the political quagmire we ’ ve become embroiled in since the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump .
We are living in the age @ @ @ @ @ @ @ many of them , and they come so thick and fast , that what would once have led the news agenda for 24 hours gets forgotten in minutes .
Trump regularly says things so extreme that they are barely legal – in 2020 alone , he has touted bleach injections as a cure for coronavirus , encouraged police to shoot civilians , defended armed vigilantes , and suggested that he won ’ t accept the election result – and yet the world keeps turning .
Outrage can only sustain itself for so long @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big you can see them from outer space – the gulf of guff , the ocean of lies – the role of the comedian is to remind us that the times we are living in are not normal , no matter how desensitised we have become to the cringing failures and mendacious distortions of our elected leaders .
“ Usually , the writers of political satire would impersonate a president and do scripted lines , ” says Dr Dannagal Young , a political humour expert at the University of Delaware .
“ Their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them down to their most absurd .
But what ’ s different about this new wave of comedy is that the words being satirised are the actual words being spoken by elites , and the role that ’ s played by someone like Michael Spicer is to be the foil : the person who comes in and highlights the ridiculousness of everything being said.
” Spicer ’ s political adviser in The Room Next Door is the proverbial adult in the room : the person to articulate the “ OMG WTF ?
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contemplate the state of political discourse in this country with abject despair .
A generation ago , Spicer and his peers would have written jokes about Johnson : now they simply show us Johnson in his own words .
“ Back in the day , ” says Spicer , “ we used to watch Spitting Image puppets .
Now we are being led by the puppets .
How could you create any more of a caricature of Trump , with his tan , and hair , and the things he says ?
My @ @ @ @ @ @ @ It chimed with people .
That ’ s why I ’ m as popular as I am.
” One of Spicer ’ s Room Next Door sketches features him watching in disbelief as home secretary Priti Patel pledges that the government will go after “ counter-terrorists ” with the full force of the law not once , not twice , but seven times .
“ Priti , please listen , ” Spicer ’ s political adviser begs in the sketch .
“ Counter-terrorism offenders is not a thing .
That ’ s like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or ‘ decency advocate Priti Patel.
’ ” It ’ s a very funny video , albeit a depressing one : nothing Spicer came up with could be funnier than the reality of Patel ’ s bungling incompetence .
“ Imagine being a comedy writer , ” observes Spicer of Patel , “ and 70 % of your material is already written , it ’ s all gold , and your co-writer doesn ’ t want any credit.
” Such is the ineptitude of this current cohort of politicians , they ’ re @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ During New Labour , ” says Spicer , “ there was a well-oiled spin machine making sure that nothing went wrong .
Prescott would occasionally fall off the leash , but Blair was a spin doctor ’ s dream ...
But what has happened is that there is no machine any more .
When Liz Truss goes out and tries to explain Brexit negotiations , then gives up and admits she doesn ’ t know what ’ s going on – that would never have happened in the days of New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trying to create a caricature of politicians , comedians are simply reacting to them.
” There was a period at the beginning of Trump ’ s presidency when media outlets tried to interpret what he was saying , and parse it into some sort of coherent narrative .
Those days are past .
Now , many media outlets report Trump unfiltered because there is no discernible message , in any traditional sense .
Trump is uncontrolled id with a whipped-cream hubris frosting – how to satirise someone so contemptuous of legal , social @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the most jaw-dropping moment of his presidency , ” says Spicer , “ is when Trump said [ in 2019 ] that he could win the war in Afghanistan in a week if he wanted to , but he doesn ’ t want to kill 10 million people .
But if things were different , he ’ d be up for genocide.
” Into this logic void has stepped a wave of comedians , who don ’ t write jokes about the news , so much as literally report it .
“ Someone @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in and reflects the absurdity of what ’ s being said , ” says Young .
“ It invites us to ask how we got into the situation where this person is in this position of power.
” Spicer is not the only person to pioneer this type of comedy : US comedian Sarah Cooper , who impersonates Trump using his own words , just scored a Netflix special .
There is another reason Spicer has become so popular .
Today ’ s news cycle moves at a rapacious pace .
Yesterday ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ screeching U-turn becomes tomorrow ’ s armed vigilante mob .
You can ’ t keep up .
“ When I was going back over Trump ’ s first year in office for the book , ” says Spicer , “ there was so much stuff that I ’ d forgotten about .
Remember when he banned people from Muslim countries entering the US ?
” Comedians can ’ t develop material based on these mishaps , because by the time they get it on tour , it will have dated – there is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Social media offers a space to react to the chaos and absurdity of contemporary political discourse , in real time .
“ Stand-up comics always have to be aware of burning material , ” says comedy agent Corrie McGuire , who represents artists including Ashley Storrie , Myra DuBois and Lolly Jones .
“ But social media allows people to be creative , and use material that won ’ t be relevant the next time they tour .
Twitter ’ s great for reacting to funny things that have happened in the news @ @ @ @ @ @ @ relevant in three days ’ time , because we have such a high turnover of information now.
” Does Spicer owe his career to social media ?
“ 100 % , ” he responds swiftly .
“ I ’ m not sure it would have happened without it.
” Spicer had been sending scripts to commissioners at the BBC and Channel 4 for years , with no success : “ I feel like the BBC , in terms of comedy , is still relying on traditional avenues , like Oxford and Cambridge , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the best of the best .
People at the top are too reliant on those old avenues still working , and ultimately that ’ s not how you find interesting , diverse and original voices.
” By building an online following , Spicer has been able to circumvent traditional industry gatekeepers .
“ It used to be that if you couldn ’ t get on TV , you couldn ’ t sell enough tickets for a tour , ” McGuire says .
“ Now you can get a big audience without getting on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is give opportunities to people who wouldn ’ t have access to traditional channels.
” Comedians like Mo Gilligan and Ashley Storrie started out uploading clips to social media , before coming to the attention of commissioners : Gilligan was given his own Channel 4 show in 2019 ; Storrie has a radio show on the BBC .
Spicer got his recurring guest slot on The Mash Report after the producers trawled social media for new voices .
“ They took a punt on me , ” he says .
“ I will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ beloved of politicians and political journalists , has traditionally been many comedians ’ chosen platform , increasingly , TikTok is becoming an effervescent source of fresh talent .
“ TikTok is killing sketch comedy , ” says Spicer .
“ Sketch comedy on TV used to be a big deal , but it ’ s not really any more , and the reason is that people are doing sketches on TikTok , and doing them well .
That ’ s how people consume short-form comedy now .
They don ’ t need the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from social media.
” Spicer is followed by a number of high-profile politicians , including Keir Starmer , Nicola Sturgeon , Emily Thornberry and Matt Hancock .
“ Hancock watches my videos , ” Spicer says .
“ I think he enjoys it .
He knows it ’ s not going to harm his career , even though I really want it to.
” The Room Next Door has even been name-checked in parliament , during a trade bill debate by Labour MP Bill Esterson .
Spicer ’ s appearance on The Late @ @ @ @ @ @ @ contact over Twitter .
“ He slid into my DMs , ” Spicer laughs .
He has now recorded four sketches for the show , all from his family home in Ashford , Kent .
“ That was a massive career high , ” he says .
There is the possibility , of course , that Trump will lose in November , and Johnson in four years , and some grown-ups will be elected to office .
Is Spicer worried that will kill The Room Next Door ?
“ I don ’ t @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all our prayers in America , ” he says , “ and I don ’ t have that much confidence in Keir Starmer… he seems a bit vanilla.
” And besides , we ’ re a way off Spicer running out of material yet .
As I write this interview I have half an eye open on Twitter , where a video of Matt Hancock acknowledging that the former Australian prime minister is a “ homophobe and misogynist ” , but defending him for being “ an expert on trade ” , is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in The Room Next Door will have something to say about that .
Because if you don ’ t laugh , you may just cry .
The Secret Political Adviser by Michael Spicer ( Canongate , £9.99 ) is published on 1 October .
Order a copy for £9.29 from guardianbookshop.com

Michael Spicer has been trying – mostly failing – to make it as a comedian for the best part of two decades. As a teenager, Spicer amassed enough rejection letters to wallpaper the spare bedroom of his family home. (He was a precocious teenager.) Spicer kept plugging away at comedy writing throughout his 20s and 30s, pitching to TV commissioners but receiving unending rejections. “A lot of the stuff I wrote wasn’t quite good enough,” he admits. It wasn’t that Spicer wasn’t getting anywhere at all – “I would always touch the surface of success,” he says – but he certainly wasn’t getting anywhere fast.
Parts in BBC satirical comedy The Mash Report, hosted by Nish Kumar, and the Diane Morgan sitcom Mandy were promising, but they weren’t enough to make ends meet, so Spicer took a job writing copy for a shipping company. His mother couldn’t understand why his career never seemed to take off.
“She’d say to me,” Spicer chuckles, “‘but there’s so much rubbish on TV. How can there not be room for you?’” He watched his comedy peers, like Morgan and Kumar, break through into the mainstream. “They became household names,” he says, “while I was playing characters like ‘Tosser Number 1’, or ‘Man on the Street’. It was hard in a way, although I felt nothing but good things for them, because I knew how talented they were.”
And then, in June 2019, Spicer was scrolling through Twitter while at work at the shipping firm. He saw a viral clip of Boris Johnson being interviewed by Talk Radio during the Tory leadership race. The interviewer asked Johnson what he did to relax. “You could see that he was really struggling for an answer,” Spicer says. “The two sides of his brain were literally fighting each other: do I tell the truth, or lie?” As Johnson stared into the distance, stalling for time, Spicer observed that it looked like he was waiting for advice to be fed into his ear.
When Spicer got home that evening, he filmed a minute-long video in which he pretended to be Johnson’s adviser, feeding him lines through a headpiece. “Say something, you vase of wank!” Spicer urges, sitting behind a pile of box-binders and notes. The video cuts back to Johnson being interviewed. “Buses...I make models of buses,” says Johnson. Spicer uploaded the video to Twitter around 10pm, then went to bed. He woke up to find that his social media feed had exploded. The video changed everything for him. “It was completely surreal,” he says. “It felt like a fever dream.”
Since that day, Spicer has spun off his harried political aide character into series The Room Next Door, which features the comedian attempting to avert some of the most unbelievable moments in recent political discourse. (There have been many.) Such is the success of The Room Next Door – which he uploads to Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and has amassed 50m views – that Spicer has appeared on James Corden’s The Late Late Show, has a 10-date live tour booked for next year, and a book coming out in October. (The Secret Political Adviser is a collection of emails, texts, memos and documents collated by Spicer’s fictitious political adviser spanning the period 2016-2020 – ie when everything started going wrong in the world.)
Spicer is 43. All the doors he’s been knocking on for years have suddenly swung open; suited attendants wait to take his coat and offer him a drink. The career he’s been working towards since he was a teenager is finally here. “It would have been nice to have a career in comedy without this constant narrative of horror behind it,” he observes. “But here we are.”
Spicer represents the new vanguard of comedians satirising the political quagmire we’ve become embroiled in since the Brexit vote and the election of Donald Trump. We are living in the age of political gaffes: there are so many of them, and they come so thick and fast, that what would once have led the news agenda for 24 hours gets forgotten in minutes. Trump regularly says things so extreme that they are barely legal – in 2020 alone, he has touted bleach injections as a cure for coronavirus, encouraged police to shoot civilians, defended armed vigilantes, and suggested that he won’t accept the election result – and yet the world keeps turning. Outrage can only sustain itself for so long.
In this age of howlers so big you can see them from outer space – the gulf of guff, the ocean of lies – the role of the comedian is to remind us that the times we are living in are not normal, no matter how desensitised we have become to the cringing failures and mendacious distortions of our elected leaders.
“Usually, the writers of political satire would impersonate a president and do scripted lines,” says Dr Dannagal Young, a political humour expert at the University of Delaware. “Their role is to reframe situations or digest them down to their most absurd. But what’s different about this new wave of comedy is that the words being satirised are the actual words being spoken by elites, and the role that’s played by someone like Michael Spicer is to be the foil: the person who comes in and highlights the ridiculousness of everything being said.”
‘Back in the day we used to watch Spitting Image puppets. Now we are being led by the puppets’: Michael Spicer. Photograph: Pål Hansen
Spicer’s political adviser in The Room Next Door is the proverbial adult in the room: the person to articulate the “OMG WTF?” many of us have felt as we contemplate the state of political discourse in this country with abject despair. A generation ago, Spicer and his peers would have written jokes about Johnson: now they simply show us Johnson in his own words.
“Back in the day,” says Spicer, “we used to watch Spitting Image puppets. Now we are being led by the puppets. How could you create any more of a caricature of Trump, with his tan, and hair, and the things he says? My character is reacting to that nonsense. It chimed with people. That’s why I’m as popular as I am.”
One of Spicer’s Room Next Door sketches features him watching in disbelief as home secretary Priti Patel pledges that the government will go after “counter-terrorists” with the full force of the law not once, not twice, but seven times. “Priti, please listen,” Spicer’s political adviser begs in the sketch. “Counter-terrorism offenders is not a thing. That’s like saying ‘anti-fox hunting fox-hunters’, or ‘decency advocate Priti Patel.’” It’s a very funny video, albeit a depressing one: nothing Spicer came up with could be funnier than the reality of Patel’s bungling incompetence. “Imagine being a comedy writer,” observes Spicer of Patel, “and 70% of your material is already written, it’s all gold, and your co-writer doesn’t want any credit.”
Such is the ineptitude of this current cohort of politicians, they’re doing the work of comedians for them. “During New Labour,” says Spicer, “there was a well-oiled spin machine making sure that nothing went wrong. Prescott would occasionally fall off the leash, but Blair was a spin doctor’s dream... But what has happened is that there is no machine any more. When Liz Truss goes out and tries to explain Brexit negotiations, then gives up and admits she doesn’t know what’s going on – that would never have happened in the days of New Labour. It means that rather than trying to create a caricature of politicians, comedians are simply reacting to them.”
Spicer is the foil who reflects the absurdity of what’s being said
There was a period at the beginning of Trump’s presidency when media outlets tried to interpret what he was saying, and parse it into some sort of coherent narrative. Those days are past. Now, many media outlets report Trump unfiltered because there is no discernible message, in any traditional sense. Trump is uncontrolled id with a whipped-cream hubris frosting – how to satirise someone so contemptuous of legal, social, and moral norms? “Probably the most jaw-dropping moment of his presidency,” says Spicer, “is when Trump said [in 2019] that he could win the war in Afghanistan in a week if he wanted to, but he doesn’t want to kill 10 million people. But if things were different, he’d be up for genocide.”
Into this logic void has stepped a wave of comedians, who don’t write jokes about the news, so much as literally report it. “Someone like Spicer is the foil who comes in and reflects the absurdity of what’s being said,” says Young. “It invites us to ask how we got into the situation where this person is in this position of power.” Spicer is not the only person to pioneer this type of comedy: US comedian Sarah Cooper, who impersonates Trump using his own words, just scored a Netflix special.
There is another reason Spicer has become so popular. Today’s news cycle moves at a rapacious pace. Yesterday’s exam fiasco becomes today’s screeching U-turn becomes tomorrow’s armed vigilante mob. You can’t keep up. “When I was going back over Trump’s first year in office for the book,” says Spicer, “there was so much stuff that I’d forgotten about. Remember when he banned people from Muslim countries entering the US?”
Comedians can’t develop material based on these mishaps, because by the time they get it on tour, it will have dated – there is simply so much politics these days. Social media offers a space to react to the chaos and absurdity of contemporary political discourse, in real time. “Stand-up comics always have to be aware of burning material,” says comedy agent Corrie McGuire, who represents artists including Ashley Storrie, Myra DuBois and Lolly Jones. “But social media allows people to be creative, and use material that won’t be relevant the next time they tour. Twitter’s great for reacting to funny things that have happened in the news, which won’t be as relevant in three days’ time, because we have such a high turnover of information now.”
Does Spicer owe his career to social media? “100%,” he responds swiftly. “I’m not sure it would have happened without it.” Spicer had been sending scripts to commissioners at the BBC and Channel 4 for years, with no success: “I feel like the BBC, in terms of comedy, is still relying on traditional avenues, like Oxford and Cambridge, as this guarantees you’ll get the best of the best. People at the top are too reliant on those old avenues still working, and ultimately that’s not how you find interesting, diverse and original voices.”
By building an online following, Spicer has been able to circumvent traditional industry gatekeepers. “It used to be that if you couldn’t get on TV, you couldn’t sell enough tickets for a tour,” McGuire says. “Now you can get a big audience without getting on TV. What social media has done is give opportunities to people who wouldn’t have access to traditional channels.”
Comedians like Mo Gilligan and Ashley Storrie started out uploading clips to social media, before coming to the attention of commissioners: Gilligan was given his own Channel 4 show in 2019; Storrie has a radio show on the BBC. Spicer got his recurring guest slot on The Mash Report after the producers trawled social media for new voices. “They took a punt on me,” he says. “I will always be grateful.”
While Twitter, beloved of politicians and political journalists, has traditionally been many comedians’ chosen platform, increasingly, TikTok is becoming an effervescent source of fresh talent. “TikTok is killing sketch comedy,” says Spicer. “Sketch comedy on TV used to be a big deal, but it’s not really any more, and the reason is that people are doing sketches on TikTok, and doing them well. That’s how people consume short-form comedy now. They don’t need the TV any more – they get it from social media.”
Spicer is followed by a number of high-profile politicians, including Keir Starmer, Nicola Sturgeon, Emily Thornberry and Matt Hancock. “Hancock watches my videos,” Spicer says. “I think he enjoys it. He knows it’s not going to harm his career, even though I really want it to.” The Room Next Door has even been name-checked in parliament, during a trade bill debate by Labour MP Bill Esterson. Spicer’s appearance on The Late Late Show came about after Corden made contact over Twitter. “He slid into my DMs,” Spicer laughs. He has now recorded four sketches for the show, all from his family home in Ashford, Kent. “That was a massive career high,” he says.
There is the possibility, of course, that Trump will lose in November, and Johnson in four years, and some grown-ups will be elected to office. Is Spicer worried that will kill The Room Next Door? “I don’t think Biden will be the answer to all our prayers in America,” he says, “and I don’t have that much confidence in Keir Starmer… he seems a bit vanilla.” And besides, we’re a way off Spicer running out of material yet. As I write this interview I have half an eye open on Twitter, where a video of Matt Hancock acknowledging that the former Australian prime minister is a “homophobe and misogynist”, but defending him for being “an expert on trade”, is currently trending.
No doubt that man in The Room Next Door will have something to say about that. Because if you don’t laugh, you may just cry.
The Secret Political Adviser by Michael Spicer (Canongate, £9.99) is published on 1 October. Order a copy for £9.29 from guardianbookshop.com


theguardian--2020-09-27--Can the Democrats turn the tables on Trump in supreme court battle?

Hard numbers suggest that the fight over the nomination of the conservative Catholic judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US supreme court is over before it begins .
The 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate is solidly in favour of Donald Trump ’ s preferred replacement for the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg – and according to the constitution , it is the Senate , not the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives , that decides .
There appears to be little the Democrats can do .
But is that true ?
Get out the vote Polls show most voters believe Ginsburg ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wins the White House , with independent ( uncommitted ) voters especially strongly opposed to a rushed process .
A Washington Post-ABC News survey found a 58-37 % split in favour of delay among all adults .
If Republicans defy public opinion and push through a final vote before the 3 November election , Democrats may begin to pick up critical support in several tight Senate contests .
In such a scenario , the GOP may delay the final Senate vote until after the election .
And if , as seems likely , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and goes to the supreme court for a ruling , as in 2000 ) , politics will freeze – and almost anything could happen .
Another worry for Trump : 64 % of Democrat voters say the prospect of a reinforced conservative supreme court majority has made it “ more important ” that Joe Biden wins , as against 37 % of Republicans who say the same for Trump .
The president is already in trouble with non-religious white suburban women voters , many of whom view him as a misogynist hostile to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ abortion .
By energising such opposition , the nomination could backfire on Trump .
Even if Barrett ’ s nomination is confirmed , the Democrats may pursue a number of reforms , without reference to the Supreme Court , that could prevent the Republicans manipulating the electoral system ( and thus judicial appointments ) in future – and retroactively redress the court ’ s political balance .
One such reform would be a strengthening of the 1965 Voting Rights Act to ensure universal registration and to stop partisan congressional redistricting and vote suppression @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in poorer , pro-Democrat areas .
Another badly needed measure is an overhaul of the outdated voting system itself , for example to avoid future controversies over postal voting , currently being exploited by Trump .
Big snag : in order to implement these and similar measures , the Democrats would need majorities in both houses of Congress , and control of the White House .
But proponents say that if that outcome is achieved in November , there must be no hesitation .
Democrats , they say , must learn to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ radical proposals under discussion include action by a Biden presidency to expand the supreme court bench from the current nine justices to 11 , which could go some way towards mitigating the prospective 6-3 conservative majority ( assuming Judge Barrett is confirmed ) .
Even more dramatic is a proposal to grant statehood to the District of Columbia , which includes the city of Washington , and to the “ unincorporated territory ” of Puerto Rico .
The disenfranchised African-American and Latino majority in Washington DC has long campaigned for statehood , viewing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ million inhabitants , Puerto Rico is more populous than 20 mostly Republican-voting rural states .
If both acquired statehood , the 100-seat Senate would gain four , most likely Democrat senators .

Hard numbers suggest that the fight over the nomination of the conservative Catholic judge Amy Coney Barrett to the US supreme court is over before it begins. The 53-47 Republican majority in the Senate is solidly in favour of Donald Trump’s preferred replacement for the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg – and according to the constitution, it is the Senate, not the Democrat-controlled House of Representatives, that decides. There appears to be little the Democrats can do. But is that true?
Get out the vote
Polls show most voters believe Ginsburg’s replacement should be selected by whoever wins the White House, with independent (uncommitted) voters especially strongly opposed to a rushed process.
A Washington Post-ABC News survey found a 58-37% split in favour of delay among all adults. If Republicans defy public opinion and push through a final vote before the 3 November election, Democrats may begin to pick up critical support in several tight Senate contests. In such a scenario, the GOP may delay the final Senate vote until after the election. And if, as seems likely, the election result is itself disputed (and goes to the supreme court for a ruling, as in 2000), politics will freeze – and almost anything could happen. Another worry for Trump: 64% of Democrat voters say the prospect of a reinforced conservative supreme court majority has made it “more important” that Joe Biden wins, as against 37% of Republicans who say the same for Trump. The president is already in trouble with non-religious white suburban women voters, many of whom view him as a misogynist hostile to women’s rights, such as abortion. By energising such opposition, the nomination could backfire on Trump.
Change the rules
Even if Barrett’s nomination is confirmed, the Democrats may pursue a number of reforms, without reference to the Supreme Court, that could prevent the Republicans manipulating the electoral system (and thus judicial appointments) in future – and retroactively redress the court’s political balance. One such reform would be a strengthening of the 1965 Voting Rights Act to ensure universal registration and to stop partisan congressional redistricting and vote suppression practices that discourage voting by ethnic minorities in poorer, pro-Democrat areas. Another badly needed measure is an overhaul of the outdated voting system itself, for example to avoid future controversies over postal voting, currently being exploited by Trump. Big snag: in order to implement these and similar measures, the Democrats would need majorities in both houses of Congress, and control of the White House. But proponents say that if that outcome is achieved in November, there must be no hesitation. Democrats, they say, must learn to be as ruthless as their opponents.
Move the goalposts
More radical proposals under discussion include action by a Biden presidency to expand the supreme court bench from the current nine justices to 11, which could go some way towards mitigating the prospective 6-3 conservative majority (assuming Judge Barrett is confirmed). Even more dramatic is a proposal to grant statehood to the District of Columbia, which includes the city of Washington, and to the “unincorporated territory” of Puerto Rico. The disenfranchised African-American and Latino majority in Washington DC has long campaigned for statehood, viewing its denial as discriminatory. With 3.2 million inhabitants, Puerto Rico is more populous than 20 mostly Republican-voting rural states. If both acquired statehood, the 100-seat Senate would gain four, most likely Democrat senators.