Some Thoughts on a Possible Big Primary Upset(s) in Colorado

The dissenting opinion in Watson v. Republican National Committee reveals just how deeply election denialism is now embedded in the conservative consciousness.

And also, the more immediate fear: Republicans may not be able to hold the House and Senate unless they enact drastic voter suppression laws in the 11th hour to stop potential Democratic gains in November. More here:

It’s a sign of the admins fears on a number of fronts: that working class voters fed up with the nation's affordability crisis — who joined the MAGA during earlier elections — might now, disillusioned by the rising costs of Trump’s war in Iran, see more hope in the progressive populist movement.

No one and nothing is exempt from being turned into his cudgel to pass the SAVE Act — which he apparently now needs because of the "communists."

Lot in Alito's dissent about the "perception" of fraud that a) he/others on right create to b) provide pretext for imposing restrictions GOP officials think will hurt Dem voters. Even w/o the one-sided culpability is the radical idea that an unfounded perception justifies disenfranchising voters

Barrett points out what's always been a weird part of RNC's argument: "Although the election-day statutes refer to a particular 'day' for the election, plaintiffs do not contend that everything must occur on that day," she wrote, adding that unlike grace periods, they don't object to early voting

Several states refused to attend Trump's Great American State Fair "and, in some cases, were represented by largely empty rooms with chairs, signs, and no staff to greet visitors." talkingpointsmemo.com/gallery/phot...

More: talkingpointsmemo.com/news/scotus-...

Not long after SCOTUS ruled to protect Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook against Trump's attempts to remove her without due process, the president all but vowed to try and fire her again talkingpointsmemo.com/news/scotus-...

Reports and photos from the event’s first weekend reveal a mix of sparse crowds, bad weather, and utter authoritarian weirdness.

The DOJ has tapped two prosecutors with gang and terrorism experience to implement NSPM-7. One is a former right-wing blogger. talkingpointsmemo.com/news/exclusi...

We've identified two prosecutors leading Task Force Vanguard, the DOJ's effort to implement NSPM-7. Their backgrounds, in gang and terrorism cases, offer a hint at the DOJ's approach here. Read here: talkingpointsmemo.com/news/exclusi...

So many prosecutors have left DOJ over the last year and a half that it's caused some to ask: can the admin find lawyers willing to do its bidding who also have real prosecutorial experience?

Exclusive: DOJ Taps Gang, Terrorism Prosecutors to Crack Down on Political Groups

A 5-4 SCOTUS decision protected Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook on narrow procedural grounds, leaving room for Trump to try firing her again.

The DOJ has tapped two prosecutors with gang and terrorism experience to implement NSPM-7. One is a former right-wing blogger.

Super excited to have @marisakabas.bsky.social join us for TPM's next event in NYC! Marisa + @joshtpm.bsky.social will talk abt covering Trump admin chaos + the risks for/advantages of independent outlets in an era of consolidation + sucking up to corporate power www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening...

Join TPM's @joshtpm.bsky.social and The Handbasket's @marisakabas.bsky.social in NYC on 7/29 for a conversation on covering the Trump era + how independent media outlets are making it work. Followed by a happy hour w/Marisa + TPM staffers Tickets are on sale now: www.eventbrite.com/e/an-evening...

Josh Marshall: it's certainly good that the Supreme Court didn't reject states' ability to accept mail ballots dated by Election Day. But the idea that it was even reviewed is absurd.

Gorsuch: "Open-ended delegations of legislative power have not gone away; now they will just be exercised by agency officials who answer to the President. The power to write new regulatory crimes still exists, but now the pen ultimately rests in the President’s hand."

Interesting - Gorsuch, agreeing w/ majority that potus can fire nearly everyone, acknowledges inherent danger in funneling the power previously vested in indy agencies to the president. Urges Court to figure out how to constrain that power since Congress can't realistically do it under veto threat

On to Slaughter - a dissenting Sotomayor pointed out that in recent cases where the Court degraded independent agency protections, it repeatedly upheld Humphrey’s as good law — making it clear that the philosophy has changed less than the Court’s composition

Barrett points out the inconsistency in Cook and Slaughter. “Yet here, the Court claims a special exception ‘sanctioned by history’ and based on the Federal Reserve’s role in setting monetary policy,” she wrote. “How can history support both a categorical rule and a carveout?”

In dissent, Thomas basically takes issue with Court creating carveout for the Fed — says Trump gets to fire who he wants there too

In concurrence, Jackson chimes in to say that you didn't even have to get to the merits, because Trump has no real injury. Not getting to fire who he wants to is “just another species of the far-fetched contention that the President [is] injured whenever he is prevented from doing as he wishes”

Some real 'don't be mad at me' energy from Kavanaugh in Cook, where he joined the majority: Says admin itself acknowledged Fed's specialness "even as the Government simultaneously (and successfully) argued that the for-cause removal protections for most independent agencies violate Article II."

The odd baby-splitting in the combination of Slaughter and Cook reveals the right-wing Court’s priorities: It may be sanguine about the demolition of agencies mostly used to regulate big business/protect workers, but is unwilling to let Trump take over the Fed and unleash global economic chaos

New: In two new cases (Slaughter and Cook), SCOTUS eliminates long-standing precedent that protected independent agencies from at-will firing by a vengeful president — BUT also creates a Federal Reserve carveout. Some baby splitting here as Court protects Fed from Trump's whims. Roberts writes both

The Supreme Court on Monday, 5-4, rejected Republicans’ attempt to limit which mail ballots can be counted, an effort which would have unleashed chaos and disenfranchised voters for the 2026 midterms and beyond.

Wow, big one — SCOTUS lets states continue to count ballots mailed by Election Day but received afterwards. Barrett writes for majority with Roberts and the libs, rules against the RNC. Avoids chaos and certain disenfranchisement for the midterms

Today's Morning Memo at @talkingpointsmemo.com: White House Religious Liberty Commission Releases ‘Embarrassing’ Report talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

Trump's latest pressure campaign around the SAVE Act seems to be backfiring, at least for now.

Google, AI, Oligarchy and the End of the ‘Open Web’ talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/googl...

Based on the near-instant speed of the removal, it seemed clear AI was in control of the heavy handed censorship on the platform. I was disturbed by the experience ... talkingpointsmemo.com/the-weekende...

At the center of the report is an attack on the wall of separation between church and state, which Christian nationalists falsely contend is a “myth.”

Speaker of the House Mike Johnson (R-LA) will send the housing bill to Trump this week, he says, giving the president 10 days to either veto it or let it become law.

Google, AI, Oligarchy and the End of the ‘Open Web’

TikTok Doesn’t Want Us To Talk About the News

The remarks were littered with malapropisms and hyperbolic threats as Trump responded to a string of progressive electoral wins in the past week by describing Democrats as dangerous and godless “Communists.” talkingpointsmemo.com/news/trump-r...

Trump tells an evangelical conference the recent Democratic primary winners in New York will attack Christians. “These ruthless communists will attack all religions, but in particular Christianity."

Trump's latest remarks were littered with malapropisms and hyperbolic threats.

‘Centrists,’ This is On You

The government seems to be walking back a plan to collect better race and ethnicity stats that has been targeted by Russ Vought's conservative think tank as "woke... neo-Marxist ideologies.” talkingpointsmemo.com/news/census-...

Please give this one a listen.

Please give this one a listen. 🎧: podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/c... 📺: www.youtube.com/watch?v=99ss...

Cuba’s Human Tragedy featuring Andrés Pertierra

Democratic Secretaries of State are hailing a Thursday court ruling shutting down key components of Trump’s March executive order that, in part, directed the U.S. Postal Service proposal to clamp down on mail-in voting.

Has the Census Become a ‘Woke’ Tool of ‘Neo-Marxist Ideologies’? We Investigate