hotair--2020-07-01--Cuomo to McCloskey: Let's face it, you're the image of white supremacy now

Maybe Chris Cuomo should go back to interviewing his brother after all .
On last night ’ s show , the CNN host interviewed Mark McCloskey , the man who drew his firearms when a Black Lives Matter protest allegedly knocked down his gate and threatened him and his family .
McCloskey appeared with his attorney to discuss the incident , but Cuomo had other topics in mind — such as how self-defense in a mob action looks a little too politically uncorrect these days .
Cuomo then sorta-kinda accuses McCloskey of feeding into Donald Trump ’ s alleged white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ take in the first place , and McCloskey finally had enough ( via Townhall ’ s Beth Baumann ) : As you ’ ll see from the Daily Caller clip , Cuomo gets his Trump retweets mixed up in the middle of this interview , which is a rather big error .
The tweet that Trump deleted actually did have someone yell “ white power ” at one point , which generated all sorts of media interest and why Trump ended up deleting it .
( The White House says he didn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was pointed out to him . )
The video of the McCloskeys defending themselves had no such messaging however , and let ’ s not forget that the McCloskeys never took the video nor were responsible for putting it out on social media .
Nevertheless , Cuomo assigns them to the role of white-supremacy boosters : MCCLOSKEY : A guy stands in front of me , pulls out two loaded pistol magazines , snaps them in front of my face and says , ‘ You ’ re next.
’ If you were @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d feel like you had a right to defend yourself , as well .
CUOMO : Absolutely .
Somebody takes out magazines , ammunition and clicks it and makes a direct threat , I would feel threatened , 100 percent .
MCCLOSKEY : That ’ s what happened to me .
CUOMO : Look , I know you are going through a process with this .
I welcome you having counsel .
If you were within your rights to do what you were doing , it should be judged as such .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the broader implications because it ’ s just a horrible picture of what ’ s going on in America right now .
So , to me , it ’ s not about what ’ s right and wrong in a court of law , it ’ s what we have right and wrong about how we treat each other .
And that ’ s why the president retweeted this tweet .
Mr. Watkins , you know it .
And , Mr. McCloskey , you know it .
He retweeted it because he liked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ movement – and I ’ m not saying that was fair to you – but we know that ’ s why he did it , because that ’ s why he deleted it .
I wanted you to speak for yourself .
MCCLOSKEY : I ’ m glad you are a mind reader because no one else thinks you are .
At that point , a producer tells Cuomo that he ’ s got the wrong tweet in mind , but that doesn ’ t deter Cuomo from accusing McCloskey of ignoring a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact it refutes the point .
Whatever mind reading Cuomo does about Trump has nothing to do with McCloskey anyway .
Why not just focus on McCloskey ’ s experience rather than try to blame him for something out of his control ?
The point is this — if we want to defund the police , you ’ d better get used to mob rule and its inevitable react , which is proactive armed self-defense .
If you don ’ t like the way that looks , then perhaps it would be better @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than “ this movement ” that actively opposes it .
Cuomo is at his best when he ’ s interviewing his brother … and that ’ s not a compliment .

Maybe Chris Cuomo should go back to interviewing his brother after all. On last night’s show, the CNN host interviewed Mark McCloskey, the man who drew his firearms when a Black Lives Matter protest allegedly knocked down his gate and threatened him and his family. McCloskey appeared with his attorney to discuss the incident, but Cuomo had other topics in mind — such as how self-defense in a mob action looks a little too politically uncorrect these days.
Cuomo then sorta-kinda accuses McCloskey of feeding into Donald Trump’s alleged white supremacism with video he didn’t take in the first place, and McCloskey finally had enough (via Townhall’s Beth Baumann):
CUOMO: Trump retweeted the video of Mark McCloskey because "he liked the image of white resistance to this [black lives matter] movement." MCCLOSKEY: "I'm glad you're a mind reader because no one else thinks you are." pic.twitter.com/EOkdivasJ5 — Daily Caller (@DailyCaller) July 1, 2020
As you’ll see from the Daily Caller clip, Cuomo gets his Trump retweets mixed up in the middle of this interview, which is a rather big error. The tweet that Trump deleted actually did have someone yell “white power” at one point, which generated all sorts of media interest and why Trump ended up deleting it. (The White House says he didn’t hear it and deleted it when it was pointed out to him.) The video of the McCloskeys defending themselves had no such messaging however, and let’s not forget that the McCloskeys never took the video nor were responsible for putting it out on social media.
Nevertheless, Cuomo assigns them to the role of white-supremacy boosters:
MCCLOSKEY: A guy stands in front of me, pulls out two loaded pistol magazines, snaps them in front of my face and says, ‘You’re next.’ If you were there, Chris, I think you’d feel like you had a right to defend yourself, as well. CUOMO: Absolutely. Somebody takes out magazines, ammunition and clicks it and makes a direct threat, I would feel threatened, 100 percent. MCCLOSKEY: That’s what happened to me. CUOMO: Look, I know you are going through a process with this. I welcome you having counsel. If you were within your rights to do what you were doing, it should be judged as such. I wanted to talk to you about the broader implications because it’s just a horrible picture of what’s going on in America right now. So, to me, it’s not about what’s right and wrong in a court of law, it’s what we have right and wrong about how we treat each other. And that’s why the president retweeted this tweet. Mr. Watkins, you know it. And, Mr. McCloskey, you know it. He retweeted it because he liked the image of white resistance to this movement – and I’m not saying that was fair to you – but we know that’s why he did it, because that’s why he deleted it. I wanted you to speak for yourself. MCCLOSKEY: I’m glad you are a mind reader because no one else thinks you are.
At that point, a producer tells Cuomo that he’s got the wrong tweet in mind, but that doesn’t deter Cuomo from accusing McCloskey of ignoring a supposed white-supremacy subtext:
CUOMO: Oh, in fact, he didn’t delete it. Good, makes my point.
No, in fact it refutes the point. Whatever mind reading Cuomo does about Trump has nothing to do with McCloskey anyway. Why not just focus on McCloskey’s experience rather than try to blame him for something out of his control? The point is this — if we want to defund the police, you’d better get used to mob rule and its inevitable react, which is proactive armed self-defense. If you don’t like the way that looks, then perhaps it would be better to promote the rule of law rather than “this movement” that actively opposes it.
Cuomo is at his best when he’s interviewing his brother … and that’s not a compliment.


hotair--2020-07-01--Colorado GOP rep ousted in primary by "pistol-packing businesswoman"

Yesterday , while I was finishing up my vacation , voters in Colorado somehow managed to make it to the polls to hold their primary elections .
Even more surprising was the fact that they delivered some final results in relatively short order despite all of the pandemic madness , absentee ballots and general unrest .
One race produced something of an upset when the Centennial State ’ s Third District Republican congressman , Scott Tipton , fell to his primary challenger .
The victor was “ pistol-packing businesswoman ” Loren Boebert .
Her pro-gun , pro-freedom and pro-Trump campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fact that Tipton had largely been a staunch supporter of the President all along .
( Associated Press ) Five-term Colorado U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton was upset in Tuesday ’ s Republican Party primary by Lauren Boebert , a pistol-packing businesswoman , ardent defender of gun rights and border wall supporter who wants to abolish the U.S. Department of Education .
Boebert won after a campaign in which she accused Tipton of not being sufficiently pro-Donald Trump even though the president had endorsed Tipton , and even though Tipton is the Trump @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump congratulated Boebert on Twitter , saying , “ Congratulations on a really great win.
” She will run in November ’ s general election against Diane Mitsch Bush , who won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday by defeating James Iacino .
Tipton was gracious in his concession remarks .
He said , “ I want to congratulate Lauren Boebert and wish her and her supporters well.
” The fact that Boebert ’ s campaign did so well by accusing Tipton of being insufficiently Trumpish is something of a surprise .
As noted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tipton for another term and even named him his campaign co-chair for the presidential race .
Still , Boebert knew how to attract earned media and made the most of it .
She opened up her Shooters Grill restaurant in spite of pandemic shutdown orders issued by Governor Polis .
She drew early attention in the race last year during a confrontation with Beto O ’ Rourke over his gun confiscation plans , earning her even more headlines .
Boebert should have a fairly clear path to victory in November , though it @ @ @ @ @ @ @ some attention .
While much of Colorado has been sliding increasingly toward the blue side , the Third District sits mostly on the western slopes and is more rural and conservative in nature .
Or at least it was until recently .
Trump carried the district 52-40 in 2016 .
Tipton won his race that same year 55-40 after taking 58 % of the vote in 2014 .
But in 2018 , Tipton won by a noticeably smaller , 51-44 margin against Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush .
Interestingly , Bush will be running @ @ @ @ @ @ @ One fun side note about Ms. Boebert involves her restaurant , the Shooters Grill .
There is ( or at least was ) a prominent sign on the wall reading , “ Guns are welcome on premises .
Please keep all weapons holstered , unless the need arises .
In such cases , judicious marksmanship is appreciated.
” The restaurant also hosts certified concealed carry classes .
I somehow doubt that Donald Trump will be put off by these results .
He already sent out a congratulatory message to Boebert and he ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been such an unabashed supporter of his .
At the same time , Tipton has remained positive , looking like a team player , so he ’ ll likely be kept on as Trump ’ s campaign co-chair and should still have some future prospects in Colorado politics .

Yesterday, while I was finishing up my vacation, voters in Colorado somehow managed to make it to the polls to hold their primary elections. Even more surprising was the fact that they delivered some final results in relatively short order despite all of the pandemic madness, absentee ballots and general unrest. One race produced something of an upset when the Centennial State’s Third District Republican congressman, Scott Tipton, fell to his primary challenger. The victor was “pistol-packing businesswoman” Loren Boebert. Her pro-gun, pro-freedom and pro-Trump campaign appeared to resonate with voters, despite the fact that Tipton had largely been a staunch supporter of the President all along. (Associated Press)
Five-term Colorado U.S. Rep. Scott Tipton was upset in Tuesday’s Republican Party primary by Lauren Boebert, a pistol-packing businesswoman, ardent defender of gun rights and border wall supporter who wants to abolish the U.S. Department of Education. Boebert won after a campaign in which she accused Tipton of not being sufficiently pro-Donald Trump even though the president had endorsed Tipton, and even though Tipton is the Trump campaign’s co-chair for Colorado. Trump congratulated Boebert on Twitter, saying, “Congratulations on a really great win.” She will run in November’s general election against Diane Mitsch Bush, who won the Democratic nomination on Tuesday by defeating James Iacino.
Tipton was gracious in his concession remarks. He said, “I want to congratulate Lauren Boebert and wish her and her supporters well.”
The fact that Boebert’s campaign did so well by accusing Tipton of being insufficiently Trumpish is something of a surprise. As noted above, President Trump had already endorsed Tipton for another term and even named him his campaign co-chair for the presidential race. Still, Boebert knew how to attract earned media and made the most of it. She opened up her Shooters Grill restaurant in spite of pandemic shutdown orders issued by Governor Polis. She drew early attention in the race last year during a confrontation with Beto O’Rourke over his gun confiscation plans, earning her even more headlines.
Boebert should have a fairly clear path to victory in November, though it’s a race that will merit some attention. While much of Colorado has been sliding increasingly toward the blue side, the Third District sits mostly on the western slopes and is more rural and conservative in nature. Or at least it was until recently. Trump carried the district 52-40 in 2016. Tipton won his race that same year 55-40 after taking 58% of the vote in 2014. But in 2018, Tipton won by a noticeably smaller, 51-44 margin against Democrat Diane Mitsch Bush. Interestingly, Bush will be running once again this November against Boebert.
One fun side note about Ms. Boebert involves her restaurant, the Shooters Grill. There is (or at least was) a prominent sign on the wall reading, “Guns are welcome on premises. Please keep all weapons holstered, unless the need arises. In such cases, judicious marksmanship is appreciated.” The restaurant also hosts certified concealed carry classes.
I somehow doubt that Donald Trump will be put off by these results. He already sent out a congratulatory message to Boebert and he’s unlikely to criticize a businesswoman who has been such an unabashed supporter of his. At the same time, Tipton has remained positive, looking like a team player, so he’ll likely be kept on as Trump’s campaign co-chair and should still have some future prospects in Colorado politics.


hotair--2020-06-30--"Our Forever First Lady" praises Princeton for canceling Woodrow Wilson

How could former First Lady Michelle Obama have graduated from such a racist university ?
She graduated from Princeton in 1985 .
Why didn ’ t Michelle Vaughn Robinson attend a historically black college or university ?
Now all she can do is praise Princeton for dropping Woodrow Wilson ’ s name from its public affairs school .
Remember Michelle Obama ’ s thesis that she wrote during her time at Princeton , which was revealed after her unseemly remarks during Barack Obama ’ s run for president in 2008 ?
You may remember during that campaign she admitted to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first time in her life , she was proud of America simply because her husband was running for president .
As breathtaking of a declaration as that was at the time , it was nothing compared to her thesis .
At the time , she said she couldn ’ t remember what she wrote in her thesis .
What she wrote , though , was that the school “ humiliated and corrupted ” her .
She felt like an outsider , she said .
And , she felt like she was selling out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among institutions she despised .
And , “ It was black separatists , she concluded , who cared about the black community.
” … the path I have chosen to follow by attending Princeton will likely lead to my further integration and/or assimilation into a White cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society , never becoming a full participant .
This realization has presently made my goals to actively utilize my resources to benefit the Black community more desirable .
At the same time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ my four years of exposure to a predominantly White , Ivy League University has instilled within me certain conservative values .
For example , as I enter my final year at Princeton , I find myself striving for many of the same goals as my White classmates – acceptance to a prestigious graduate or professional school or a high paying position in a successful corporation .
Thus , my goals after Princeton are not as clear as before .
What a mess .
So , while she was relatively not overtly political during @ @ @ @ @ @ @ she has reemerged as a woman on a mission to be front and center among black activists .
She is still very popular with black supporters and that point was brought home during Sunday night ’ s broadcast of The BET Awards 2020 .
As Michelle Obama introduced Beyonce to receive the Humanitarian Award , the host of the show referred to Obama as “ our forever First Lady.
” Obama has been active in getting young people to register to vote and advocating for nationwide mail-in voting .
So , since she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Trump and campaigning for Joe Biden , it isn ’ t a shock that she piped up about Princeton ’ s decision after Trump spoke against it .
Trump spoke against erasing American history and the downfalls that happen when we don ’ t learn about the good and the bad in our country ’ s history during an interview with Hannity on FNC .
Michelle Obama wants to eat her cake and have it , too .
She enjoyed playing the put-on victim in her younger days at Princeton but then also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ education would pave the way for future success .
Which , I can only assume , was her motivation to attend the school in the first place .
Both she and her brother enjoyed the advantage of scholarships to attend Princeton .
I ’ m not much of a Woodrow Wilson fan but his segregationist history isn ’ t anything that has been newly exposed .
The fact that it is only now , at this moment in time that protests and Black Lives Matter dominates the news , that the university acted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ done at any time in the past , or his name could have never been placed on the public policy school in the first place .
The hypocrisy now shown by guilty white liberals is so predictable .
The former First Lady has led a privileged life despite always being the victim in her own mind .
She continues to do so .

How could former First Lady Michelle Obama have graduated from such a racist university? She graduated from Princeton in 1985. Why didn’t Michelle Vaughn Robinson attend a historically black college or university? Now all she can do is praise Princeton for dropping Woodrow Wilson’s name from its public affairs school.
Remember Michelle Obama’s thesis that she wrote during her time at Princeton, which was revealed after her unseemly remarks during Barack Obama’s run for president in 2008? You may remember during that campaign she admitted to a group of supporters that for the first time in her life, she was proud of America simply because her husband was running for president. As breathtaking of a declaration as that was at the time, it was nothing compared to her thesis. At the time, she said she couldn’t remember what she wrote in her thesis.
What she wrote, though, was that the school “humiliated and corrupted” her. She felt like an outsider, she said. And, she felt like she was selling out by accepting an education from an institution among institutions she despised. And, “It was black separatists, she concluded, who cared about the black community.”
… the path I have chosen to follow by attending Princeton will likely lead to my further integration and/or assimilation into a White cultural and social structure that will only allow me to remain on the periphery of society, never becoming a full participant. This realization has presently made my goals to actively utilize my resources to benefit the Black community more desirable. At the same time, however, it is conceivable that my four years of exposure to a predominantly White, Ivy League University has instilled within me certain conservative values. For example, as I enter my final year at Princeton, I find myself striving for many of the same goals as my White classmates – acceptance to a prestigious graduate or professional school or a high paying position in a successful corporation. Thus, my goals after Princeton are not as clear as before.
What a mess. So, while she was relatively not overtly political during her time in the White House, she has reemerged as a woman on a mission to be front and center among black activists. She is still very popular with black supporters and that point was brought home during Sunday night’s broadcast of The BET Awards 2020. As Michelle Obama introduced Beyonce to receive the Humanitarian Award, the host of the show referred to Obama as “our forever First Lady.”
Obama has been active in getting young people to register to vote and advocating for nationwide mail-in voting. So, since she is adamantly against the re-election of President Trump and campaigning for Joe Biden, it isn’t a shock that she piped up about Princeton’s decision after Trump spoke against it. Trump spoke against erasing American history and the downfalls that happen when we don’t learn about the good and the bad in our country’s history during an interview with Hannity on FNC.
Heartened to see my alma mater make this change, and even prouder of the students who’ve been advocating for this kind of change on campus for years. Let’s keep finding ways to be more inclusive to all students—at Princeton and at every school across the country. https://t.co/jQd0TmJe1r — Michelle Obama (@MichelleObama) June 29, 2020
Michelle Obama wants to eat her cake and have it, too. She enjoyed playing the put-on victim in her younger days at Princeton but then also had to admit that an Ivy League education would pave the way for future success. Which, I can only assume, was her motivation to attend the school in the first place. Both she and her brother enjoyed the advantage of scholarships to attend Princeton.
I’m not much of a Woodrow Wilson fan but his segregationist history isn’t anything that has been newly exposed. The fact that it is only now, at this moment in time that protests and Black Lives Matter dominates the news, that the university acted. Removing his name could have been done at any time in the past, or his name could have never been placed on the public policy school in the first place. The hypocrisy now shown by guilty white liberals is so predictable. The former First Lady has led a privileged life despite always being the victim in her own mind. She continues to do so.


hotair--2020-06-30--No more Trump rallies (for now)?

No more Trump rallies (for now)?

He was supposed to hold a rally in Alabama next weekend for Jeff Sessions ’ s Senate primary opponent , Tommy Tuberville .
Today the White House announced that that ’ s been scrapped , no doubt to Sessions ’ s relief .
As you ’ ll see at the end of this post , White House spokesman Mercedes Schlapp was asked today on Fox News when we ’ re apt to see the president back in an arena before a crowd and she dodged the question , talking up the campaign ’ s online video platform instead .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” page on the Trump campaign website and you ’ ll find a notice above listings for various meet-ups , etc , that “ These events are in the process of being turned into virtual seminars and a Trump Victory Organizer will contact attendees with more details.
” Sure sounds like rallies are done for now .
CNN reported last Monday that prior to Trump ’ s event in Tulsa “ there had been tentative plans to announce another rally for the near future , perhaps as early as the next two weeks.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ cashiered those plans ; the last thing Trump needs now is another round of hooting at him for not being able to fill an arena at a moment when his base is understandably scared to participate in a mass gathering .
Worse , the past week has been submerged in news about outbreaks across the south , including the state Trump was scheduled to visit next week .
Alabama ’ s positivity rate has nearly doubled over the past nine days .
If he had insisted upon going ahead with the rally , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ half-empty building and more bad press for prioritizing his need for adulation above good social-distancing practices .
So no rallies .
For the time being .
Trump was slated to travel to [ Alabama ] ahead of the Senate race between his former attorney general Jeff Sessions and the former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville , but plans were called off as state officials voiced concerns about a mass gathering and campaign officials ultimately decided against it .
A person close to the campaign said there are currently no rallies on the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possible venues for when they decide to host them again… There had once been plans to announce new rallies shortly after Tulsa , with some of Trump ’ s aides believing the event would validate their claims of pent-up demand .
But instead the opposite occurred and the campaign began to rethink how Trump ’ s rallies would look going forward , including weighing smaller events or outdoor venues… Trump had been itching to return to the campaign trail and was personally enthusiastic about the idea of traveling to Alabama days ahead of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ endorsed his former attorney general ’ s opponent .
He views the rallies as an outlet where he can connect with his supporters in a way that he can ’ t inside when he ’ s in Washington and has blamed bad poll numbers on his absence from the campaign trail .
He ’ ll get to scratch his itch to speak live to a crowd twice in the next week , first with his remarks at Mt .
Rushmore on Friday and then the following day at the Salute to America event @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outdoors , I take it , since they ’ re there to watch fireworks .
Even so , local public health officials in South Dakota are worried about a coronavirus spike stemming from the event .
Which reminds me — how are things going in Tulsa now that we ’ re 10 days on from Trump ’ s rally ?
If an outbreak was seeded there , one would think we might be starting to see it in the daily case counts by now .
We aren ’ t really seeing it : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 23 but that was too soon after the rally to have originated there .
Right now Tulsa ’ s seeing cases at around the same levels as two weeks ago .
A good sign so far !
On the other hand , I haven ’ t seen any data about where the rallygoers inside the building reside .
One would expect that Tulsa County might be overrepresented among them , but diehard Trumpers come from all around to see him in person .
It ’ s worth noting that Oklahoma experienced a record @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Maybe that ’ s nothing more than the state experiencing the same uptick from early reopening that its neighbor to the south is coping with , or maybe it ’ s a rally thing .
We ’ ll keep an eye on it .
Another reason for Trump to avoid rallies for now is that they poll terribly with the public and are destined to poll even worse as anxiety about the new COVID outbreak climbs .
Suffolk asked people in its new national poll what they thought about the GOP ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ event with cheering crowds to drum up enthusiasm , and the Democrats ’ plans , a virtual event with sparse live attendance .
It was no contest : People want to know that the candidates are taking the outbreak seriously .
Trump canceling rallies is a gesture towards that .
Here ’ s Schlapp talking up virtual events as a terrific alternative to live rallies , which tells you where things stand right now .
Speaking of the GOP convention , Ron DeSantis said today that he won ’ t issue another lockdown @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s plans for a live convention in Jacksonville but it also amounts to DeSantis gambling his national future , not to mention the welfare of many millions of Floridians .
If Florida ’ s outbreak turns bad — like , Cuomo bad — and he declines to do everything in his power to limit transmission , his enemies will punish him for it forever .
I think he ’ s basically right on the merits that it ’ s not businesses being open that ’ s the problem , it ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that is ( “ I think when you see the younger folks , I think a lot of it is more just social interactions , so that ’ s natural ” ) .
But businesses attract crowds , especially crowds of young adults that are bored with isolating and convinced that they ’ re bulletproof .
There ’ s a reason he shut down in-house service at bars again , after all .

He was supposed to hold a rally in Alabama next weekend for Jeff Sessions’s Senate primary opponent, Tommy Tuberville. Today the White House announced that that’s been scrapped, no doubt to Sessions’s relief. As you’ll see at the end of this post, White House spokesman Mercedes Schlapp was asked today on Fox News when we’re apt to see the president back in an arena before a crowd and she dodged the question, talking up the campaign’s online video platform instead.
In fact, go to the “Events” page on the Trump campaign website and you’ll find a notice above listings for various meet-ups, etc, that “These events are in the process of being turned into virtual seminars and a Trump Victory Organizer will contact attendees with more details.”
Sure sounds like rallies are done for now. CNN reported last Monday that prior to Trump’s event in Tulsa “there had been tentative plans to announce another rally for the near future, perhaps as early as the next two weeks.” The lackluster attendance seems to have cashiered those plans; the last thing Trump needs now is another round of hooting at him for not being able to fill an arena at a moment when his base is understandably scared to participate in a mass gathering. Worse, the past week has been submerged in news about outbreaks across the south, including the state Trump was scheduled to visit next week. Alabama’s positivity rate has nearly doubled over the past nine days. If he had insisted upon going ahead with the rally, he might have been faced with another half-empty building and more bad press for prioritizing his need for adulation above good social-distancing practices.
So no rallies. For the time being.
Trump was slated to travel to [Alabama] ahead of the Senate race between his former attorney general Jeff Sessions and the former Auburn University football coach Tommy Tuberville, but plans were called off as state officials voiced concerns about a mass gathering and campaign officials ultimately decided against it. A person close to the campaign said there are currently no rallies on the horizon, but aides are scoping out possible venues for when they decide to host them again… There had once been plans to announce new rallies shortly after Tulsa, with some of Trump’s aides believing the event would validate their claims of pent-up demand. But instead the opposite occurred and the campaign began to rethink how Trump’s rallies would look going forward, including weighing smaller events or outdoor venues… Trump had been itching to return to the campaign trail and was personally enthusiastic about the idea of traveling to Alabama days ahead of the Senate race where he’s endorsed his former attorney general’s opponent. He views the rallies as an outlet where he can connect with his supporters in a way that he can’t inside when he’s in Washington and has blamed bad poll numbers on his absence from the campaign trail.
He’ll get to scratch his itch to speak live to a crowd twice in the next week, first with his remarks at Mt. Rushmore on Friday and then the following day at the Salute to America event in D.C. Those audiences will be gathered outdoors, I take it, since they’re there to watch fireworks. Even so, local public health officials in South Dakota are worried about a coronavirus spike stemming from the event. Which reminds me — how are things going in Tulsa now that we’re 10 days on from Trump’s rally? If an outbreak was seeded there, one would think we might be starting to see it in the daily case counts by now. We aren’t really seeing it:
There was a big surge on June 23 but that was too soon after the rally to have originated there. Right now Tulsa’s seeing cases at around the same levels as two weeks ago. A good sign so far! On the other hand, I haven’t seen any data about where the rallygoers inside the building reside. One would expect that Tulsa County might be overrepresented among them, but diehard Trumpers come from all around to see him in person. It’s worth noting that Oklahoma experienced a record number of daily confirmed infections today. Maybe that’s nothing more than the state experiencing the same uptick from early reopening that its neighbor to the south is coping with, or maybe it’s a rally thing. We’ll keep an eye on it.
Another reason for Trump to avoid rallies for now is that they poll terribly with the public and are destined to poll even worse as anxiety about the new COVID outbreak climbs. Suffolk asked people in its new national poll what they thought about the GOP’s plans for its convention, a live event with cheering crowds to drum up enthusiasm, and the Democrats’ plans, a virtual event with sparse live attendance. It was no contest:
Asked about the national political conventions next month, most Americans oppose the decision by Republicans to stage a traditional rally in Jacksonville, Florida, for Trump to accept the GOP nomination, despite the pandemic. That is called “reckless and dangerous” by 54% of those surveyed, including more than one in three Republicans. Half that number, 27%, say Democrats made a mistake in moving largely toward a “virtual” convention anchored in Milwaukee, saying it will “cost them an opportunity to generate enthusiasm and organize supporters.” One in four Democrats call that decision a mistake.
People want to know that the candidates are taking the outbreak seriously. Trump canceling rallies is a gesture towards that.
Here’s Schlapp talking up virtual events as a terrific alternative to live rallies, which tells you where things stand right now. Speaking of the GOP convention, Ron DeSantis said today that he won’t issue another lockdown for Florida. That should protect Trump’s plans for a live convention in Jacksonville but it also amounts to DeSantis gambling his national future, not to mention the welfare of many millions of Floridians. If Florida’s outbreak turns bad — like, Cuomo bad — and he declines to do everything in his power to limit transmission, his enemies will punish him for it forever. I think he’s basically right on the merits that it’s not businesses being open that’s the problem, it’s young adults not following social distancing rules that is (“I think when you see the younger folks, I think a lot of it is more just social interactions, so that’s natural”). But businesses attract crowds, especially crowds of young adults that are bored with isolating and convinced that they’re bulletproof. There’s a reason he shut down in-house service at bars again, after all.


hotair--2020-06-30--Mayor de Blasio announces $1 billion in cuts to the NYPD budget, AOC says it's not enough

Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NY City Council have reached an agreement to cut $ 1 billion from the NYPD budget next year but Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says it isn ’ t enough .
The mayor appears to have come up with a plan that will shift a big portion of that $ 1 billion in funding to another city agency without actually cutting anything .
But the remainder of the cuts still mean less overtime and that the city won ’ t be hiring nearly 1,200 new officers : The mayor and the City Council agreed on Monday @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cuts by , among other things , canceling the planned hiring of 1,163 police officers .
But slightly less than half of the $ 1 billion in cuts will come from a budgetary sleight of hand : School safety officers , who are currently under the auspices of the Police Department , will be moved to the authority of the Department of Education , according to three council members familiar with the plan .
The funding changes to the Police Department fell short of the demands from protesters who have been camping out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ week .
Like the protesters , several members of the City Council were also not satisfied with the cuts : Councilman Ben Kallos , a Democrat who represents the Upper East Side , said he planned to vote no on the budget , in part because he said the police cuts were insufficient… “ We are not seeing a meaningful reduction in head count and the changes that people are literally marching in the streets for , ” he said .
“ I don ’ t think anyone marching for Black Lives Matter @ @ @ @ @ @ @ agents moved from the N.Y.P.D .
budget to the schools budget.
” AOC released a statement which was similarly critical of the cuts : “ Defunding the police means defunding the police .
It does not mean budget tricks or funny math.
” As the NY Times points out , the mayor is under pressure from a new Occupy movement has set itself up outside City Hall and is demanding more than $ 1 billion in cuts to the NYPD budget .
Occupy City Hall has been camping out for a few days @ @ @ @ @ @ @ broke out between police and protesters : Here ’ s what the protest area looked like today : Part of me genuinely wonders why the mayor is even bothering to resist the protesters ’ demands .
Why not go all the way and simply announce a major cut in the size of the NYPD ?
He ’ d be hailed a hero by the occupy crowd for doing it .
Of course the police would hate him for it but most of them seem to hate him already .
It appears some small @ @ @ @ @ @ @ realizes going full socialism on the NYPD would quickly prove to be a major disaster for the city on top of the coronavirus disaster it is still dealing with .
Why else would he fight the tide like this ?
The vote is supposed to take place today .
If it happens , that will give the mayor a $ 1 billion talking point , but the far left won ’ t be satisfied so there ’ s no telling what they will do next .
Last time Occupy staked a claim in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there had been enough collective violence at camps around the country that police said enough was enough and cleared them out .
After four shootings in 9 days , we appear to be reaching that point in Seattle ’ s CHOP zone but it could take a few weeks before we get there with Occupy City Hall .
In the meantime , some cops have already had enough .
The NY Post reported over the weekend that 272 officers have put in retirement papers since George Floyd ’ s death : The flurry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ killing of George Floyd on May 25 , with 272 uniformed cops putting in retirement papers from then through June 24 , the NYPD says .
That ’ s a 49 percent spike from the 183 officers who filed during the same period last year , according to the department .
An NYPD source suggested the recent departures could signal a coming crisis for the 36,000-member department , which also faces a $ 1 billion budget reduction amid the “ defund the police ” furor .
“ We are worried about a surge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ we can sustain without new recruits , and are afraid the City Council has not taken the surge into account , ” he said .
There aren ’ t going to be any new recruits so it ’ s starting to look like the protesters will get the headcount reduction they are asking for .

Mayor Bill de Blasio and the NY City Council have reached an agreement to cut $1 billion from the NYPD budget next year but Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says it isn’t enough.
The mayor appears to have come up with a plan that will shift a big portion of that $1 billion in funding to another city agency without actually cutting anything. But the remainder of the cuts still mean less overtime and that the city won’t be hiring nearly 1,200 new officers:
The mayor and the City Council agreed on Monday to reach that $1 billion in cuts by, among other things, canceling the planned hiring of 1,163 police officers. But slightly less than half of the $1 billion in cuts will come from a budgetary sleight of hand: School safety officers, who are currently under the auspices of the Police Department, will be moved to the authority of the Department of Education, according to three council members familiar with the plan. The funding changes to the Police Department fell short of the demands from protesters who have been camping out at City Hall Park for nearly a week.
Like the protesters, several members of the City Council were also not satisfied with the cuts:
Councilman Ben Kallos, a Democrat who represents the Upper East Side, said he planned to vote no on the budget, in part because he said the police cuts were insufficient… “We are not seeing a meaningful reduction in head count and the changes that people are literally marching in the streets for,” he said. “I don’t think anyone marching for Black Lives Matter is doing it to see school safety agents moved from the N.Y.P.D. budget to the schools budget.”
AOC released a statement which was similarly critical of the cuts: “Defunding the police means defunding the police. It does not mean budget tricks or funny math.”
Inbox: @AOC weighs in quite critically on developing de Blasio-City Council NYPD budget deal > pic.twitter.com/QRZ3hvmBU6 — Ben Max (@TweetBenMax) June 30, 2020
As the NY Times points out, the mayor is under pressure from a new Occupy movement has set itself up outside City Hall and is demanding more than $1 billion in cuts to the NYPD budget. Occupy City Hall has been camping out for a few days so far. Yesterday a shoving match broke out between police and protesters:
#OccupyCityHall THE NYPD ARE RUSHING US AND BEATING US 4 HOURS BEFORE THE BUDGET VOTE #DefundThePolice pic.twitter.com/60MMzkfSXF — dean colin marcial (@deanmarcial) June 30, 2020
Here’s what the protest area looked like today:
Protestors have taken over the Brooklyn bridge city hall station pic.twitter.com/0ko3v6H9lu — Bowen Xiao (@BowenXiao_) June 30, 2020
Protestors have defaced the Surrogate’s Court building. pic.twitter.com/RjKsOH7WWH — Bowen Xiao (@BowenXiao_) June 30, 2020
NOW: Line of NYPD officers forming in front of “Occupy City Hall” pic.twitter.com/ZFn0WCE5R3 — Bowen Xiao (@BowenXiao_) June 30, 2020
Spiderman shows up and delivers pizza’s to protestors. pic.twitter.com/8oFURCIwLc — Bowen Xiao (@BowenXiao_) June 30, 2020
Part of me genuinely wonders why the mayor is even bothering to resist the protesters’ demands. Why not go all the way and simply announce a major cut in the size of the NYPD? He’d be hailed a hero by the occupy crowd for doing it. Of course the police would hate him for it but most of them seem to hate him already. It appears some small part of de Blasio’s brain realizes going full socialism on the NYPD would quickly prove to be a major disaster for the city on top of the coronavirus disaster it is still dealing with. Why else would he fight the tide like this?
The vote is supposed to take place today. If it happens, that will give the mayor a $1 billion talking point, but the far left won’t be satisfied so there’s no telling what they will do next. Last time Occupy staked a claim in New York we had to wait until there had been enough collective violence at camps around the country that police said enough was enough and cleared them out. After four shootings in 9 days, we appear to be reaching that point in Seattle’s CHOP zone but it could take a few weeks before we get there with Occupy City Hall.
In the meantime, some cops have already had enough. The NY Post reported over the weekend that 272 officers have put in retirement papers since George Floyd’s death:
The flurry of Finest farewells began after the police-involved killing of George Floyd on May 25, with 272 uniformed cops putting in retirement papers from then through June 24, the NYPD says. That’s a 49 percent spike from the 183 officers who filed during the same period last year, according to the department. An NYPD source suggested the recent departures could signal a coming crisis for the 36,000-member department, which also faces a $1 billion budget reduction amid the “defund the police” furor. “We are worried about a surge in attrition reducing our headcount beyond what we can sustain without new recruits, and are afraid the City Council has not taken the surge into account,” he said.
There aren’t going to be any new recruits so it’s starting to look like the protesters will get the headcount reduction they are asking for.


hotair--2020-06-30--New thorn in Trump's side: "Always Trumpers"?

Meh .
No one named in this WaPo story is a real “ Always Trumper.
” Chuck Grassley , John Thune , and the Wall Street Journal editorial board are all Trumpers of convenience , people who defend him purely because their own constituencies insist upon it .
POTUS hasn ’ t lost any true “ Always Trumpers.
” His famous line about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue and not losing any votes — among bona fide Always Trumpers — is memorable because it ’ s true .
But the WaPo piece makes a point worth noting notwithstanding that .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been bolder lately about disagreeing with him as his polls have declined .
Not very bold , admittedly .
Even now , the criticisms tend to be framed in terms of how other people are failing the president ( e.g.
, his campaign ) , not how the president himself is failing .
Direct criticisms of Trump tend to be no more scathing than gentle suggestions that perhaps he should refine how he communicates certain points .
Yet there ’ s some real change here , just as there is in McConnell @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congressional Republicans are grasping for ways to put some distance between themselves and the president without putting so much distance that he notices and starts tweeting at his base that the treacherous RINOs are abandoning him .
For instance , they can ’ t say , “ The president ’ s refusal to wear a mask in public is an embarrassing failure of leadership and his bad example may be exposing some people to needless risk.
” But they can say , vaguely , that there should be no stigma around mask-wearing , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ an especially amusing example in the lengths to which he ’ s willing to go to criticize Trump indirectly by blaming other people for the president ’ s mistakes : On Monday , Grassley , 86 , talked about the president as if he were incapable of holding a single thought together and said it was Hannity ’ s fault that Trump sounded so foolish .
“ I would blame Fox more than I blame the president , because the president , it ’ s easy for him to digress here and there @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wants him to get reelected .
Okay , so he says , What ’ s your plans for the next four years ?
So the president starts to answer it , and then digresses a little bit .
Hannity should have got him back on the subject , ” Grassley told reporters .
It ’ s not Hannity ’ s job to keep the president on message .
But that would be a fun rhetorical device for other congressional Republicans to use who want to criticize Trump but otherwise lack the stones to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ d be nice if Sean Hannity would ask more questions of the president about whether he has a plan to limit this new outbreak of coronavirus or if he plans to just ride this f***ing thing to a congressional wipeout this fall.
” Which some of his aides are worried about , if you believe Axios .
Trump finally got a good poll yesterday when Trafalgar , the same outfit that detected his upsets in the midwest four years ago , found him back on top of Biden in Wisconsin by a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be a little redder this fall a few months ago , but any sort of lead in the Rust Belt for POTUS is good news for him right now .
The less good news is that two other polls dropped today confirming that Biden has a huge lead nationally .
One , from Pew , captures the deterioration in Trump ’ s numbers over the past few months : Biden ’ s up two with men and up 16 with women , who are poised to hand him the presidency with their lopsided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s crushing it among college grads and trails by just six points among those with a high-school diploma or less , a group Trump is counting on .
This graph speaks for itself and suggests that there may indeed be a few “ Always Trumpers ” who have drifted a bit since the start of the pandemic : And this graph confirms what various other polls have showed , namely , that the election is a referendum on the president .
Trump voters are voting for Trump , Biden voters are voting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ bad hand for the incumbent to have to play in the middle of a pandemic , economic collapse , and civil unrest : The other new national poll out today , from Suffolk , has Biden ahead 53/41 , up from 50/42 a few months ago .
On the specific question of who would do better handling the coronavirus , Biden leads by 24 ; when asked to rate the candidates on whether they can bring the country together , Trump was -42 .
The 10-point deficit in Pew and 12-point deficit in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against Biden is in line with other recent national polling , which averages out to a Biden lead of 9.6 points today at RCP .
What does that mean downballot ?
Nothing good : Nate Silver noted a few hours ago that Trump ’ s job disapproval in his own site ’ s average is now the highest it ’ s been since December 2017 .
The good news for the president is that the true Always Trumpers are still with him .
By definition , I mean ; they ’ re called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
The bad news is that they ’ re only 40 percent of the electorate and a lot of “ Trumpers of convenience ” in 2016 seem to have drifted away .
An economic rebound might bring them back , but without that rebound I don ’ t know what chance he has .
Yelling at people that Biden has brain damage won ’ t work unless Biden gives them a compelling reason to agree , more so than he ’ s done thus far .
By the way , there *is* one @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s willing to say that Trump needs to start doing something differently .
That ’ d be Jeffrey Lord , who has a piece out today titled “ Let Trump Be Trump.
” Your exit question comes from Jim Geraghty : Who ’ s not letting Trump be Trump ?
The entire problem the president ’ s having lately is that he ’ s Trumpier than he ’ s ever been .

Meh. No one named in this WaPo story is a real “Always Trumper.” Chuck Grassley, John Thune, and the Wall Street Journal editorial board are all Trumpers of convenience, people who defend him purely because their own constituencies insist upon it. POTUS hasn’t lost any true “Always Trumpers.” His famous line about shooting someone on Fifth Avenue and not losing any votes — among bona fide Always Trumpers — is memorable because it’s true.
But the WaPo piece makes a point worth noting notwithstanding that. It is true that Trumpers of convenience have been bolder lately about disagreeing with him as his polls have declined. Not very bold, admittedly. Even now, the criticisms tend to be framed in terms of how other people are failing the president (e.g., his campaign), not how the president himself is failing. Direct criticisms of Trump tend to be no more scathing than gentle suggestions that perhaps he should refine how he communicates certain points.
Yet there’s some real change here, just as there is in McConnell’s public support for mask-wearing. Congressional Republicans are grasping for ways to put some distance between themselves and the president without putting so much distance that he notices and starts tweeting at his base that the treacherous RINOs are abandoning him. For instance, they can’t say, “The president’s refusal to wear a mask in public is an embarrassing failure of leadership and his bad example may be exposing some people to needless risk.” But they can say, vaguely, that there should be no stigma around mask-wearing, as McConnell has. Grassley’s an especially amusing example in the lengths to which he’s willing to go to criticize Trump indirectly by blaming other people for the president’s mistakes:
On Monday, Grassley, 86, talked about the president as if he were incapable of holding a single thought together and said it was Hannity’s fault that Trump sounded so foolish. “I would blame Fox more than I blame the president, because the president, it’s easy for him to digress here and there, but Hannity — you assume Fox wants him to get reelected. Okay, so he says, What’s your plans for the next four years? So the president starts to answer it, and then digresses a little bit. Hannity should have got him back on the subject,” Grassley told reporters.
It’s not Hannity’s job to keep the president on message. But that would be a fun rhetorical device for other congressional Republicans to use who want to criticize Trump but otherwise lack the stones to do it. E.g., “It’d be nice if Sean Hannity would ask more questions of the president about whether he has a plan to limit this new outbreak of coronavirus or if he plans to just ride this f***ing thing to a congressional wipeout this fall.”
Which some of his aides are worried about, if you believe Axios. Trump finally got a good poll yesterday when Trafalgar, the same outfit that detected his upsets in the midwest four years ago, found him back on top of Biden in Wisconsin by a point. Wisconsin was shaping up to be a little redder this fall a few months ago, but any sort of lead in the Rust Belt for POTUS is good news for him right now. The less good news is that two other polls dropped today confirming that Biden has a huge lead nationally. One, from Pew, captures the deterioration in Trump’s numbers over the past few months:
Biden+10, 54-44, per Pew Research. They had Biden+2 in April.https://t.co/OrhSppiUuw — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) June 30, 2020
Biden’s up two with men and up 16 with women, who are poised to hand him the presidency with their lopsided margins in various head-to-head polls. He’s crushing it among college grads and trails by just six points among those with a high-school diploma or less, a group Trump is counting on. This graph speaks for itself and suggests that there may indeed be a few “Always Trumpers” who have drifted a bit since the start of the pandemic:
And this graph confirms what various other polls have showed, namely, that the election is a referendum on the president. Trump voters are voting for Trump, Biden voters are voting against Trump. A referendum is a bad hand for the incumbent to have to play in the middle of a pandemic, economic collapse, and civil unrest:
The other new national poll out today, from Suffolk, has Biden ahead 53/41, up from 50/42 a few months ago. On the specific question of who would do better handling the coronavirus, Biden leads by 24; when asked to rate the candidates on whether they can bring the country together, Trump was -42. The 10-point deficit in Pew and 12-point deficit in Suffolk that he’s seeing head-to-head against Biden is in line with other recent national polling, which averages out to a Biden lead of 9.6 points today at RCP. What does that mean downballot? Nothing good:
…Biden double-digit leads aren't outliers anymore. We're in uncharted territory and I think we should be pretty open-minded about what it would mean downballot. — Nate Cohn (@Nate_Cohn) June 30, 2020
Nate Silver noted a few hours ago that Trump’s job disapproval in his own site’s average is now the highest it’s been since December 2017. The good news for the president is that the true Always Trumpers are still with him. By definition, I mean; they’re called “Always Trumpers” for a reason. The bad news is that they’re only 40 percent of the electorate and a lot of “Trumpers of convenience” in 2016 seem to have drifted away. An economic rebound might bring them back, but without that rebound I don’t know what chance he has. Yelling at people that Biden has brain damage won’t work unless Biden gives them a compelling reason to agree, more so than he’s done thus far.
By the way, there *is* one real “Always Trumper” who’s willing to say that Trump needs to start doing something differently. That’d be Jeffrey Lord, who has a piece out today titled “Let Trump Be Trump.” Your exit question comes from Jim Geraghty: Who’s not letting Trump be Trump? The entire problem the president’s having lately is that he’s Trumpier than he’s ever been.


hotair--2020-06-30--Black Lives Matter protester shot driver in Provo, Utah

Provo , Utah was the scene of dueling rallies last night .
According to police , there was a planned police rally and a counter-protest .
Things were peaceful until around 8:30 when the driver of a white SUV was swarmed by a large group of Black Lives Matter protesters in the street .
The driver kept advancing , trying to escape the hostile crowd and that ’ s when one of the protesters pulled out a gun : “ Several protesters began crowding around the vehicle , ” said John Geyerman , Provo Police deputy chief .
“ The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the passenger side , pointed a handgun at the driver , and shot one round through the window .
The driver who was struck by the bullet accelerated , trying to leave the situation .
The same protester ran after the vehicle and fired a second shot that went through the rear passenger window.
” … The driver was taken to Utah Valley Hospital .
Here ’ s video of the incident shot from across the street .
This picks up as the vehicle is already surrounded .
The driver is honking and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first gunshot : Fortunately , the driver ’ s wounds were not life-threatening .
He drove himself to a hospital .
This second clip is a slowed down image showing the shooter aiming his gun at the driver and firing .
He ’ s wearing some kind of green hat or hoodie .
So who was this guy ?
Well , according to a local man who goes by Hootie Hennessey , the shooter was involved in the protests from beginning to end and appeared to be friendly with other protesters .
Hennessey @ @ @ @ @ @ @ them last night .
In screengrabs from his own video you can see what appears to be the same person with the green hat/hoodie standing with other protesters who are similarly dressed .
[ He has since deleted these tweets and protected his account . ]
Hootie uploaded another video to YouTube which shows several of the people in the photo above arguing with a woman on the street later last night .
The woman wants the protesters to go home and they respond by shouting at her and calling her “ Karen.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ hair is part of this shouting match as is guy in the blue mask in the photo above ( he has a bullhorn in this clip ) .
I wonder if they know the shooter ?
I hope the Provo police are asking them .
All of this apparently escalated as the night wore on .
As you can see in this clip , also shot by Hootie , initially protesters were throwing things at cars and blocking traffic on a smaller street .
Things escalated from there .
Here ’ s the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ shot of a vehicle being swarmed by some of the same protesters ( including the red-haired girl ) on a much larger street .
Hootie also gets interviewed in this clip .
He saying he supports the BLM movement but didn ’ t like what he saw in Provo last night .
Here ’ s a statement about the incident from the Mayor of Provo .
This clip also includes a description of what happened from the Deputy Chief of Police .
He says that after shooting at the driver of the white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the protest and later smashed the mirror of another car .
Finally , Sen. Mike Lee just tweeted this a few moments ago saying that blocking traffic and shooting cars is not peaceful .
Sen. Lee ’ s statement actually downplays what happened here .
The shooter doesn ’ t appear to have been just shooting at a car , he appears to have taken aim and fired at the driver , hitting him .
I ’ m not an attorney but that sounds like attempted murder to me .

Provo, Utah was the scene of dueling rallies last night. According to police, there was a planned police rally and a counter-protest. Things were peaceful until around 8:30 when the driver of a white SUV was swarmed by a large group of Black Lives Matter protesters in the street. The driver kept advancing, trying to escape the hostile crowd and that’s when one of the protesters pulled out a gun:
“Several protesters began crowding around the vehicle,” said John Geyerman, Provo Police deputy chief. “The male protester ran toward the SUV on the passenger side, pointed a handgun at the driver, and shot one round through the window. The driver who was struck by the bullet accelerated, trying to leave the situation. The same protester ran after the vehicle and fired a second shot that went through the rear passenger window.”… The driver was taken to Utah Valley Hospital.
Here’s video of the incident shot from across the street. This picks up as the vehicle is already surrounded. The driver is honking and moving forward and then you hear the first gunshot:
Filmed this while covering protests in Provo a few hours ago. Full story in the morning on @UniverseBYU pic.twitter.com/nUB6F3faTR — Lisi Merkley (@lisimerkley) June 30, 2020
Fortunately, the driver’s wounds were not life-threatening. He drove himself to a hospital. This second clip is a slowed down image showing the shooter aiming his gun at the driver and firing. He’s wearing some kind of green hat or hoodie.
So who was this guy? Well, according to a local man who goes by Hootie Hennessey, the shooter was involved in the protests from beginning to end and appeared to be friendly with other protesters. Hennessey walked over to the protests and filmed them last night. In screengrabs from his own video you can see what appears to be the same person with the green hat/hoodie standing with other protesters who are similarly dressed. [He has since deleted these tweets and protected his account.]
Hootie uploaded another video to YouTube which shows several of the people in the photo above arguing with a woman on the street later last night. The woman wants the protesters to go home and they respond by shouting at her and calling her “Karen.” Notice the girl with the red hair is part of this shouting match as is guy in the blue mask in the photo above (he has a bullhorn in this clip). I wonder if they know the shooter? I hope the Provo police are asking them.
All of this apparently escalated as the night wore on. As you can see in this clip, also shot by Hootie, initially protesters were throwing things at cars and blocking traffic on a smaller street.
Things escalated from there. Here’s the local news report featuring another video Hootie shot of a vehicle being swarmed by some of the same protesters (including the red-haired girl) on a much larger street. Hootie also gets interviewed in this clip. He saying he supports the BLM movement but didn’t like what he saw in Provo last night.
Here’s a statement about the incident from the Mayor of Provo. This clip also includes a description of what happened from the Deputy Chief of Police. He says that after shooting at the driver of the white SUV, the protester continued to participate in the protest and later smashed the mirror of another car.
Peaceful protests are a fundamental right and often can become an important catalyst for positive change. Criminal acts and violence such as we saw last night in Provo were anything but peaceful and are UNACCEPTABLE. The public safety of our community is a top priority. pic.twitter.com/AHgF9jbelB — Michelle Kaufusi (@mayorkaufusi) June 30, 2020
Finally, Sen. Mike Lee just tweeted this a few moments ago saying that blocking traffic and shooting cars is not peaceful.
Peaceful protest is a right. But blocking traffic is not peaceful. Destroying property is not peaceful. Shooting cars is not peaceful. Those endangering the lives of others must be found and held accountable. My thoughts and prayers are with the victim and his family in Provo. — Mike Lee (@SenMikeLee) June 30, 2020
Sen. Lee’s statement actually downplays what happened here. The shooter doesn’t appear to have been just shooting at a car, he appears to have taken aim and fired at the driver, hitting him. I’m not an attorney but that sounds like attempted murder to me.


hotair--2020-06-30--Biden on Russian bounties story: Trump doesn't seem to be "cognitively aware" of what's going on

“ I can hardly wait to compare my cognitive ability with the cognitive ability of the man I am running against , ” he said today at a press conference , his first in three months .
He ’ s really going there , is he ?
There ’ s no avoiding the issue of mental competence in this campaign , as you know if you saw the Rasmussen poll last night .
The public has suspicions about Biden , especially the cohort of senior citizens that seems interested in voting Democratic this year but might need some persuading .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ if this fight is coming , he might as well go on offense .
“ The idea that somehow he didn ’ t know or isn ’ t being briefed , it is a dereliction of duty if that ’ s the case , ” he went on to say of Trump and the intelligence on Russian bounties targeting U.S. troops .
“ And if he was briefed and nothing was done about this , that ’ s a dereliction of duty.
” This reminds me a bit of Team Bush ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was to take Kerry ’ s core strength — his military service — and turn it into a weakness via the Swift Boat stuff .
Biden ’ s strategy looks to be a twist on that , to take his own core weakness — the doubts about his acuity — and try to make it Trump ’ s .
The president , after all , doesn ’ t always have “ the best words ” during interviews .
He relies heavily on verbal tics like “ strongly ” and “ powerfully.
” He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the finer details of policy , which frequently leaves him filibustering in interviews when he gets a question about specifics .
Biden has material to work with .
And the advantage he has is that he doesn ’ t need to convince the public that Trump ’ s “ lost a step.
” All he needs to do is convince them that acuity is an issue for both of them to some extent , which makes it a wash.
He ’ s trying to neutralize the subject of cognitive decline on Election Day @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s neck .
The fact that the White House ’ s best defense on the Russian bounties story for the moment is that the president don ’ t read his intelligence briefing materials makes it that much easier for Biden .
The Times has new information this afternoon about that intelligence .
The spin from John Ratcliffe and Gina Haspel is that the intel about the bounties is still being reviewed .
Essentially , it ’ s half-baked ; you don ’ t serve it to the president until it ’ s fully @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the NYT obviously wants to counter that perception because they ’ re now sharing details about the evidence .
The suspicions about bounties don ’ t just come from jihadi prisoners telling U.S. interrogators what they think they want to hear .
There ’ s a money trail , allegedly .
American officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia ’ s military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account , which was among the evidence that supported their conclusion that Russia covertly offered bounties for killing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ according to three officials familiar with the intelligence .
Though the United States has accused Russia of providing general support to the Taliban before , analysts concluded from other intelligence that the transfers were most likely part of a bounty program that detainees described during interrogations .
Investigators also identified by name numerous Afghans in a network linked to the suspected Russian operation , the officials said — including , two of them added , a man believed to have served as an intermediary for distributing some of the funds and who is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ The disclosures further undercut White House officials ’ claim that the intelligence was too uncertain to brief President Trump , ” the Times continues , which , I take it , explains the leaker ’ s motives .
The story goes on to say that yesterday ’ s briefing at the White House for some House Republicans was delivered mainly by Mark Meadows and John Ratcliffe , who had recently been House members themselves , as well as yes-man NSA Robert O ’ Brien .
The point of it seems to have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ talking point that the intelligence just wasn ’ t ready to share with the president yet and that ’ s why he wasn ’ t briefed .
The Times leaker is trying to counter that .
Additionally , NBC is confirming this afternoon that the White House had some intel about the bounties as early as 2019 , a claim sources also made to the AP .
The longer the time horizon for this story becomes , the harder it is to believe that it was never mentioned to POTUS .
Trump enemies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this afternoon .
Some of those enemies are “ soft ” opponents… …and some are the opposite : Even Senate Republicans ( well , some Senate Republicans ) are demanding answers , which makes me laugh .
What are they going to do if Trump tells them no ?
Oh , knock it off .
The caucus has been good soldiers for Trump for three and a half years , they ’ re not going to start challenging him in the home stretch of an election on which control of the Senate depends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ front and center in the campaign .
Time for partisans on each side to line up .

“I can hardly wait to compare my cognitive ability with the cognitive ability of the man I am running against,” he said today at a press conference, his first in three months.
He’s really going there, is he?
There’s no avoiding the issue of mental competence in this campaign, as you know if you saw the Rasmussen poll last night. The public has suspicions about Biden, especially the cohort of senior citizens that seems interested in voting Democratic this year but might need some persuading. Biden’s evidently decided that, if this fight is coming, he might as well go on offense.
Asked about reports of Russian bounties, Biden says, "[Trump] talks about cognitive capability. He doesn't seem to be cognitively aware of what's going on." pic.twitter.com/dG4H0w20iA — Evan McMurry (@evanmcmurry) June 30, 2020
“The idea that somehow he didn’t know or isn’t being briefed, it is a dereliction of duty if that’s the case,” he went on to say of Trump and the intelligence on Russian bounties targeting U.S. troops. “And if he was briefed and nothing was done about this, that’s a dereliction of duty.”
This reminds me a bit of Team Bush’s strategy against Kerry in 2004, which was to take Kerry’s core strength — his military service — and turn it into a weakness via the Swift Boat stuff. Biden’s strategy looks to be a twist on that, to take his own core weakness — the doubts about his acuity — and try to make it Trump’s. The president, after all, doesn’t always have “the best words” during interviews. He relies heavily on verbal tics like “strongly” and “powerfully.” He’s never been a stickler about the finer details of policy, which frequently leaves him filibustering in interviews when he gets a question about specifics. Biden has material to work with. And the advantage he has is that he doesn’t need to convince the public that Trump’s “lost a step.” All he needs to do is convince them that acuity is an issue for both of them to some extent, which makes it a wash. He’s trying to neutralize the subject of cognitive decline on Election Day, not hang it around Trump’s neck.
The fact that the White House’s best defense on the Russian bounties story for the moment is that the president don’t read his intelligence briefing materials makes it that much easier for Biden.
The Times has new information this afternoon about that intelligence. The spin from John Ratcliffe and Gina Haspel is that the intel about the bounties is still being reviewed. Essentially, it’s half-baked; you don’t serve it to the president until it’s fully cooked. Whoever’s leaking to the NYT obviously wants to counter that perception because they’re now sharing details about the evidence. The suspicions about bounties don’t just come from jihadi prisoners telling U.S. interrogators what they think they want to hear. There’s a money trail, allegedly.
American officials intercepted electronic data showing large financial transfers from a bank account controlled by Russia’s military intelligence agency to a Taliban-linked account, which was among the evidence that supported their conclusion that Russia covertly offered bounties for killing U.S. and coalition troops in Afghanistan, according to three officials familiar with the intelligence. Though the United States has accused Russia of providing general support to the Taliban before, analysts concluded from other intelligence that the transfers were most likely part of a bounty program that detainees described during interrogations. Investigators also identified by name numerous Afghans in a network linked to the suspected Russian operation, the officials said — including, two of them added, a man believed to have served as an intermediary for distributing some of the funds and who is now thought to be in Russia.
“The disclosures further undercut White House officials’ claim that the intelligence was too uncertain to brief President Trump,” the Times continues, which, I take it, explains the leaker’s motives. The story goes on to say that yesterday’s briefing at the White House for some House Republicans was delivered mainly by Mark Meadows and John Ratcliffe, who had recently been House members themselves, as well as yes-man NSA Robert O’Brien. The point of it seems to have been to arm the audience with the talking point that the intelligence just wasn’t ready to share with the president yet and that’s why he wasn’t briefed. The Times leaker is trying to counter that. Additionally, NBC is confirming this afternoon that the White House had some intel about the bounties as early as 2019, a claim sources also made to the AP. The longer the time horizon for this story becomes, the harder it is to believe that it was never mentioned to POTUS.
Trump enemies beyond Biden are piling on about it this afternoon. Some of those enemies are “soft” opponents…
This is all so unbelievable! My son was there! I’m in utter disbelief.https://t.co/cd2GnhhCSh — Cindy McCain (@cindymccain) June 30, 2020
…and some are the opposite:
I would have read my damn briefs, Barbra, that's for sure. https://t.co/YSZS0Lvqo9 — Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) June 30, 2020
Even Senate Republicans (well, some Senate Republicans) are demanding answers, which makes me laugh. What are they going to do if Trump tells them no?
“I want to understand how it’s conceivably possible that the president didn’t know. How does that possibly happen?” Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said. “Number two, what is their plan to make sure that our enemies know that if you target American servicemen and women, the consequences are going to be draconian? And right now, I want to hear their plan for Taliban and GRU agents in body bags.”
Oh, knock it off. The caucus has been good soldiers for Trump for three and a half years, they’re not going to start challenging him in the home stretch of an election on which control of the Senate depends. Especially with Biden pushing the matter front and center in the campaign. Time for partisans on each side to line up.


hotair--2020-06-30--Bar owners sue Texas Governor: "Where does it stop?"

While the mayor of Houston is busy building his Wall of Shame to retaliate against business owners who fail to comply with Governor Abbott ’ s orders to mitigate the current spike in coronavirus cases in Texas , business owners are banding together to fight against re-closing .
Are bars being unfairly singled out ?
Governor Abbott reversed the re-opening of bars last week and the bar owners are left with closing their businesses and laying off employees all over again .
Abbott now , in hindsight , regrets allowing bars to re-open during Phase Three of the state ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Abbott ’ s not alone – other governors are doing the same in states showing an increase in positive test results .
Bars are singled out as a large contributing factor in the spread of the coronavirus .
Two dozen bar owners and private citizens have banded together and signed on to a lawsuit .
They demand that Governor Abbott and the state allow bars to remain open .
The lawsuit claims Abbott ’ s emergency order that shut down the bars is unconstitutional .
The lawsuit was filed Monday in Travis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a twist here – the attorney is Jared Woodfill , the former chairman of the Harris County Republican Party .
This is some red-on-red fighting .
Woodfill is representing hundreds of plaintiffs in another lawsuit challenging the governor ’ s earlier executive orders .
He says Abbott is acting “ like a king ” and choosing winners and losers as he shuts down businesses .
“ Gov .
Abbott continues to act like a king , refusing to convene the Legislature to address his unconstitutional orders , ” said Woodfill , a former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
“ Abbott is unilaterally destroying our economy and trampling our constitutional rights.
” Abbott has allowed hair and nail salons , barber shops , tattoo studios and piercing studios to reopen , even though “ bar owners have less interaction , proximity , or frequency with patrons than beauticians , or cosmetologists , or tattoo artists , ” the lawsuit says .
Unless Abbott and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission are stopped , the rights of state business owners could be similarly trampled in future pandemics , the lawsuit says .
“ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for future governmental remedies related to viruses or diseases ?
” the lawsuit says .
“ Will we continue to allow defendants to take away our liberties and destroy the economy – where does it stop ?
” The lawsuit came as the Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced Monday that seven bar licenses had been suspended for 30 days for opening in violation of Abbott ’ s order , including the Park at the Domain in Austin and Black Stone USA in Fredericksburg .
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents visited about 1500 bars last @ @ @ @ @ @ @ open and 52 agreed immediately to close .
The seven bars that refused to close had their license suspended .
Woodfill points to the fact that the governor overstepped his authority by suspending state laws , which is a power reserved for the state legislature .
“ Governor Abbott has chosen to sentence bar owners to bankruptcy.
” The lawsuit ’ s lead plaintiff , Tee Allen Parker , says her bar isn ’ t the problem .
The 45-year-old owner of the Machine Shed Bar & Grill said she did all that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ initial shutdown when the coronavirus first began to spread in Texas .
She closed the bar , sent employees home but continued to pay them , made her own hand sanitizer , and sold face masks .
She doesn ’ t wear a mask herself and has now banned them from her bar in the East Texas town of Kilgore .
Parker says she is unfairly being scapegoated .
Why are large public events being allowed to take place – protests , memorials , and the funeral for George Floyd in Houston , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ her bar is told to close ?
She has a point – unlike larger clubs and bars , her bar only has about 100 seats and the chairs have been arranged so that social distancing is in place .
It doesn ’ t sound like people are packing in the place and disregarding mitigation precautions .
Parker said she once supported Abbott but he has moved to quickly and been too inconsistent in his decision-making on closing businesses .
So far , Woodfill has sued Governor Abbott six times over virus-related restrictions .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ mandates to church services .
Abbott ’ s emergency orders have repeatedly cited a 1975 state law that gives his office special powers during disasters — which , until this year , have mostly consisted of hurricanes and tornadoes .
But according to the state constitution , only the Texas legislature has the ability to suspend laws in the middle of the pandemic , he said .
The governor can also call state legislators to Austin and ask them to draft up Texas ’ s response to the virus , Woodfill said , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ so .
“ It ’ s just been a horde of infringement on people ’ s individual liberties and constitutional rights in the form of executive orders , ” he added .
“ This is one individual making draconian decisions that have destroyed the Texas economy.
” Woodfill said he is hoping the Texas Supreme Court will take up all the pandemic-related lawsuits collectively , setting a legal precedent for what the governor might do in the case of another viral outbreak .
Parker is staying active in this matter .
She organized @ @ @ @ @ @ @ outside her bar on Sunday to raise money for other bars to pay their bills .
She plans to rally with other bar owners today outside the Texas Capitol and has asked to speak with Governor Abbott one-on-one .

While the mayor of Houston is busy building his Wall of Shame to retaliate against business owners who fail to comply with Governor Abbott’s orders to mitigate the current spike in coronavirus cases in Texas, business owners are banding together to fight against re-closing. Are bars being unfairly singled out?
Governor Abbott reversed the re-opening of bars last week and the bar owners are left with closing their businesses and laying off employees all over again. Abbott now, in hindsight, regrets allowing bars to re-open during Phase Three of the state’s plan to jumpstart the Texas economy. Abbott’s not alone – other governors are doing the same in states showing an increase in positive test results. Bars are singled out as a large contributing factor in the spread of the coronavirus.
Two dozen bar owners and private citizens have banded together and signed on to a lawsuit. They demand that Governor Abbott and the state allow bars to remain open. The lawsuit claims Abbott’s emergency order that shut down the bars is unconstitutional. The lawsuit was filed Monday in Travis County (Austin). There is a twist here – the attorney is Jared Woodfill, the former chairman of the Harris County Republican Party. This is some red-on-red fighting. Woodfill is representing hundreds of plaintiffs in another lawsuit challenging the governor’s earlier executive orders. He says Abbott is acting “like a king” and choosing winners and losers as he shuts down businesses.
“Gov. Abbott continues to act like a king, refusing to convene the Legislature to address his unconstitutional orders,” said Woodfill, a former chairman of the Harris County Republican Party. “Abbott is unilaterally destroying our economy and trampling our constitutional rights.” Abbott has allowed hair and nail salons, barber shops, tattoo studios and piercing studios to reopen, even though “bar owners have less interaction, proximity, or frequency with patrons than beauticians, or cosmetologists, or tattoo artists,” the lawsuit says. Unless Abbott and the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission are stopped, the rights of state business owners could be similarly trampled in future pandemics, the lawsuit says. “Will we allow defendants to set precedent for future governmental remedies related to viruses or diseases?” the lawsuit says. “Will we continue to allow defendants to take away our liberties and destroy the economy – where does it stop?” The lawsuit came as the Alcoholic Beverage Commission announced Monday that seven bar licenses had been suspended for 30 days for opening in violation of Abbott’s order, including the Park at the Domain in Austin and Black Stone USA in Fredericksburg.
Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents visited about 1500 bars last weekend. Of those, 59 were open and 52 agreed immediately to close. The seven bars that refused to close had their license suspended.
Woodfill points to the fact that the governor overstepped his authority by suspending state laws, which is a power reserved for the state legislature. “Governor Abbott has chosen to sentence bar owners to bankruptcy.” The lawsuit’s lead plaintiff, Tee Allen Parker, says her bar isn’t the problem. The 45-year-old owner of the Machine Shed Bar & Grill said she did all that was asked of business owners during the initial shutdown when the coronavirus first began to spread in Texas. She closed the bar, sent employees home but continued to pay them, made her own hand sanitizer, and sold face masks. She doesn’t wear a mask herself and has now banned them from her bar in the East Texas town of Kilgore. Parker says she is unfairly being scapegoated. Why are large public events being allowed to take place – protests, memorials, and the funeral for George Floyd in Houston, church services, and the like yet her bar is told to close?
“You can’t tell me that my tiny little bar is the problem. He’s the problem,” she said of Abbott in an interview with The Washington Post. “He’s targeting us, and it’s discrimination.”
She has a point – unlike larger clubs and bars, her bar only has about 100 seats and the chairs have been arranged so that social distancing is in place. It doesn’t sound like people are packing in the place and disregarding mitigation precautions. Parker said she once supported Abbott but he has moved to quickly and been too inconsistent in his decision-making on closing businesses.
So far, Woodfill has sued Governor Abbott six times over virus-related restrictions. The lawsuits have ranged from face mask mandates to church services.
Abbott’s emergency orders have repeatedly cited a 1975 state law that gives his office special powers during disasters — which, until this year, have mostly consisted of hurricanes and tornadoes. But according to the state constitution, only the Texas legislature has the ability to suspend laws in the middle of the pandemic, he said. The governor can also call state legislators to Austin and ask them to draft up Texas’s response to the virus, Woodfill said, but Abbott has also refused to do so. “It’s just been a horde of infringement on people’s individual liberties and constitutional rights in the form of executive orders,” he added. “This is one individual making draconian decisions that have destroyed the Texas economy.” Woodfill said he is hoping the Texas Supreme Court will take up all the pandemic-related lawsuits collectively, setting a legal precedent for what the governor might do in the case of another viral outbreak.
Parker is staying active in this matter. She organized a “Bar Lives Matter” concert outside her bar on Sunday to raise money for other bars to pay their bills. She plans to rally with other bar owners today outside the Texas Capitol and has asked to speak with Governor Abbott one-on-one.


hotair--2020-06-30--Today's hot topics on #TEMS: "White wokeness," Seattle's brokenness, SCOTUS spokeless, intel stokene

Today's hot topics on #TEMS: "White wokeness," Seattle's brokenness, SCOTUS spokeless, intel stokeness, and more!

Today on The Ed Morrissey Show ( 4 pm ET ) , we have another great lineup for the news of the day !
The show will be streamed on Hot Air ’ s Facebook page and embedded here and on the show page for those who are not on Facebook .
Join us as we welcome : • Duane “ Generalissimo ” Patterson brings us up to date on the week ’ s top stories and gives us a preview of tomorrow ’ s Hugh Hewitt show .
Duane ’ s swapping with Andrew this week ( catch Andrew @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ) , but we ’ ll tackle all the usual hot topics today , especially the end of the Supreme Court session , what ’ s the haps at the CHAZ , and maybe even drill down into the competing claims in the latest Russia intel scandal .
• What is “ white wokeness , ” and how has it gone off the rails over the last few weeks ?
Our friend Charles Love explained it in the City Journal and the New York Post , and now he ’ s on hand @ @ @ @ @ @ @ African-Americans .
The author of We Want Equality : How the Fight for Equality Gave Way to Preference and senior director of Seeking Educational Excellence will update us on those efforts as well as pointing out a way forward for real dialogue between Americans of various ethnicities and experiences .
The Ed Morrissey Show and its dynamic chatroom can be seen on the permanent TEMS page .
Be sure to join us , and don ’ t forget to keep up with the debate on my Facebook page , too !
How can @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ?
Find out in GOING RED , published in April from Crown Forum !

Today on The Ed Morrissey Show (4 pm ET), we have another great lineup for the news of the day! The show will be streamed on Hot Air’s Facebook page and embedded here and on the show page for those who are not on Facebook.
Join us as we welcome:
The Ed Morrissey Show and its dynamic chatroom can be seen on the permanent TEMS page. Be sure to join us, and don’t forget to keep up with the debate on my Facebook page, too!
How can Republicans and conservatives keep winning after 2016? Find out in GOING RED, published in April from Crown Forum!


hotair--2020-06-30--Moderate Amy McGrath defeats progressive Charles Booker in Kentucky Democratic primary

Last Tuesday Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her reelection primary in a blowout .
But that wasn ’ t the only primary contest in which a moderate was facing off against a progressive .
In Kentucky , former fighter pilot Amy McGrath was the establishment standard-bearer but she faced a serious challenge from progressive Charles Booker .
Today , with a couple of Kentucky counites finally releasing their vote totals , the Associated Press has called the race for McGrath : Former Marine pilot Amy McGrath overcame a bumpier-than-expected Kentucky primary to win the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination Tuesday , fending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a bruising , big-spending showdown with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell… Booker ’ s long-shot Senate bid surged amid the national eruption of protests against police brutality .
He joined demonstrations in his hometown of Louisville to demand justice for Breonna Taylor , who was fatally shot by Louisville police in her own home .
Booker gained the backing of leading national progressives as he supported a universal basic income and Medicare for All — ideas that McGrath resisted .
McGrath charted a more moderate course inside Democratic politics .
She supports @ @ @ @ @ @ @ part of the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and supports expanded access to Medicare for people 55 and older .
Booker was basically running in the Bernie Sanders lane and picked up endorsements from national figures on the far left : There are two ways to look at this .
On the one had Booker lost and the endorsements from Sanders and AOC obviously weren ’ t enough to get him over the line .
So this looks like a pretty clear signal that what works in Brooklyn doesn ’ t necessarily translate in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it was a pretty close race .
As I write this , the NY Times has only about 15,000 votes separating the candidates .
That ’ s a pretty solid showing for someone who is very progressive in a red state .
But Booker was probably helped by the fact that McGrath really didn ’ t run her campaign against him : Most of her spending focused on McConnell , as McGrath essentially ran a general-election campaign against him for months , even after Booker joined the race in January .
She focused @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the state ’ s Democrats , a concession to the rapidly tightening race , and outspent Booker heavily in the final week .
Even then , her advertising leaned on many Democrats ’ belief that her campaign is best suited to challenge McConnell this fall .
The reason Booker performed well in the closing weeks was the current national moment connected to Black Lives Matter .
We ’ ve seen a lot of dramatic reactions from mayors and city councils around the country , everything from plans to disband the police to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that progressive surge and still it wasn ’ t enough .
So does Amy McGrath have a shot at unseating cocaine Mitch McConnel ?
The NY Times says it ’ s an uphill battle : She will still have ample cash for her race against Mr. McConnell , who is seeking a seventh term , but her uneven performance as a candidate , first in 2018 and again in this primary , has raised doubts about how strong of a campaign she will run in the general election .
Here ’ s a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Steve Kornacki makes a good point near the end of this .
What we saw in this drawn out contest in Kentucky is probably what we ’ re going to see around the country this November .
Voting day election results can be dramatically different from mail-in-votes and that can create early results that are misleading .
In this case , a 50 point lead for Booker in one county was whittled down to 6 points after mail-in ballots were counted .

Last Tuesday Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez won her reelection primary in a blowout. But that wasn’t the only primary contest in which a moderate was facing off against a progressive. In Kentucky, former fighter pilot Amy McGrath was the establishment standard-bearer but she faced a serious challenge from progressive Charles Booker. Today, with a couple of Kentucky counites finally releasing their vote totals, the Associated Press has called the race for McGrath:
Former Marine pilot Amy McGrath overcame a bumpier-than-expected Kentucky primary to win the Democratic U.S. Senate nomination Tuesday, fending off progressive Charles Booker to set up a bruising, big-spending showdown with Republican Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell… Booker’s long-shot Senate bid surged amid the national eruption of protests against police brutality. He joined demonstrations in his hometown of Louisville to demand justice for Breonna Taylor, who was fatally shot by Louisville police in her own home. Booker gained the backing of leading national progressives as he supported a universal basic income and Medicare for All — ideas that McGrath resisted. McGrath charted a more moderate course inside Democratic politics. She supports adding a public health insurance option as part of the Obama-era Affordable Care Act and supports expanded access to Medicare for people 55 and older.
Booker was basically running in the Bernie Sanders lane and picked up endorsements from national figures on the far left:
Winning the support of local newspapers and out-of-state liberal leaders like Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont and Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Mr. Booker tapped into fury over the killings of Breonna Taylor and David McAtee to jolt what had been a quiet race conducted mostly under the radar until the last month.
There are two ways to look at this. On the one had Booker lost and the endorsements from Sanders and AOC obviously weren’t enough to get him over the line. So this looks like a pretty clear signal that what works in Brooklyn doesn’t necessarily translate in Kentucky. On the other hand, it was a pretty close race. As I write this, the NY Times has only about 15,000 votes separating the candidates. That’s a pretty solid showing for someone who is very progressive in a red state.
But Booker was probably helped by the fact that McGrath really didn’t run her campaign against him:
Most of her spending focused on McConnell, as McGrath essentially ran a general-election campaign against him for months, even after Booker joined the race in January. She focused some of her late advertising more directly to the state’s Democrats, a concession to the rapidly tightening race, and outspent Booker heavily in the final week. Even then, her advertising leaned on many Democrats’ belief that her campaign is best suited to challenge McConnell this fall.
The reason Booker performed well in the closing weeks was the current national moment connected to Black Lives Matter. We’ve seen a lot of dramatic reactions from mayors and city councils around the country, everything from plans to disband the police to the CHAZ. Booker benefited tremendously from that progressive surge and still it wasn’t enough.
So does Amy McGrath have a shot at unseating cocaine Mitch McConnel? The NY Times says it’s an uphill battle:
She will still have ample cash for her race against Mr. McConnell, who is seeking a seventh term, but her uneven performance as a candidate, first in 2018 and again in this primary, has raised doubts about how strong of a campaign she will run in the general election.
Here’s a report of the win from MSNBC. Steve Kornacki makes a good point near the end of this. What we saw in this drawn out contest in Kentucky is probably what we’re going to see around the country this November. Voting day election results can be dramatically different from mail-in-votes and that can create early results that are misleading. In this case, a 50 point lead for Booker in one county was whittled down to 6 points after mail-in ballots were counted.