The Full Belmonte, 11/12/2022
Kelly win in Arizona puts Dems 1 seat from Senate control
“PHOENIX (AP) — Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly won his bid for reelection Friday in the crucial swing state of Arizona, defeating Republican venture capitalist Blake Masters to put his party one victory away from clinching control of the chamber for the next two years of Joe Biden’s presidency.
With Vice President Kamala Harris’ tiebreaking vote, Democrats can retain control of the Senate by winning either the Nevada race, which remains too early to call, or next month’s runoff in Georgia. Republicans now must win both those races to take the majority.
The Arizona race is one of a handful of contests that Republicans targeted in their bid to take control of the 50-50 Senate. It was a test of the inroads that Kelly and other Democrats have made in a state once reliably dominated by the GOP. Kelly’s victory suggests Democratic success in Arizona was not an aberration during Donald Trump’s presidency.
The closely watched race for governor between Democrat Katie Hobbs and Republican Kari Lake was too early to call Friday night. In the secretary of state’s race, Democrat Adrian Fontes defeated Republican Mark Finchem, a top 2020 election denier.
Kelly, a former NASA astronaut who’s flown in space four times, is married to former U.S. Rep. Gabby Giffords, who inspired the nation with her recovery from a gunshot wound to the head during an assassination attempt in 2011 that killed six people and injured 13. Kelly and Giffords went on to co-found a gun safety advocacy group.” Read more at AP News
Donald Trump fights House Jan. 6 panel subpoena in federal lawsuit
Presidents and former presidents have testified voluntarily before Congress, but Trump's legal battle could set a new legal framework for relations between lawmakers and the executive branch.
“WASHINGTON – Former President Donald Trump Friday filed a federal lawsuit challenging a subpoena from the House committee investigating the Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021, according to media reports, officially sparking a legal battle with the panel that has accused him of being a central figure in the riot.
The panel's subpoena sought Trump’s documents by Friday and testimony by Monday.
The requests included records of phone calls, texts or Signal messaging app communications placed or received by Trump between the 2020 election and the riot. Among those targeted in the communications are members of Congress and advisers, including political operative Roger Stone and personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani.
The committee conducted more than 1,000 interviews and depositions, and collected hundreds of thousands of pages of documents, to chronicle what led to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack and what happened that day.
But the chairman, Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., said at the final hearing Oct. 13 the panel wants to hear from Trump to hold him accountable for trying to overturn the 2020 election in a way that led directly to violence.
‘He tried to take away the voice of the American people in choosing their president and replace the will of the voters with his will to remain in power,’ Thompson said. ‘He is the one person at the center of the story of what happened on Jan. 6th, so we want to hear from him.’
The vice chair, Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., said the committee has sufficient evidence to recommend the Justice Department bring criminal charges against ‘multiple individuals.’ More than 30 witnesses invoked their Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination to avoid testifying, including several in response to questions about their dealings with Trump, she said.
The taciturn witnesses included political operative Roger Stone and Michael Flynn, Trump’s onetime national security adviser, who each met with members of the Oath Keepers before the attack. John Eastman, one of Trump’s personal lawyers, developed the scheme to replace legitimate electors for President Joe Biden with Trump supporters in contested states. Another potential witness was Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official Trump wanted to name acting attorney general.” Read more at USA Today
Republicans Reckon With Midterm Election Fallout
They may still win the House. But an underwhelming showing has the G.O.P. wrestling with what went wrong: Was it bad candidates, a bad message or Donald J. Trump?
Nov. 11, 2022
“The Republican Party, staring at the worst midterm performance by a party out of power in two decades, traded recriminations on Friday over whether the ultimate cause was poor candidates, an overheated message or the electoral anchor that appeared to be dragging the G.O.P. down, former President Donald J. Trump.
With election results still rolling in, a thin Republican majority in the House still appeared likely, but the party’s hopes of capturing the Senate appeared in doubt Friday night after the Democratic incumbent Mark Kelly’s victory over Blake Masters in Arizona. For Republican leaders who had predicted a red wave that would broadly rebuke President Biden, the disappointing showing was undeniable.
Democratic incumbents have so far won nearly all of their races, while Republicans have racked up surprising losses from Maine to Washington, with candidates endorsed by Mr. Trump losing the pivotal Senate contest in Pennsylvania and key House and statewide races in Michigan, Ohio, North Carolina and elsewhere.
Even one bright spot for Republicans — the ousting of Nevada’s Democratic governor on Friday — was countered as three of the state’s incumbent House Democrats hung on to their seats, while a Senate contest in the state tightened as well….
The first substantive battle for the party broke out over the shape of leadership in the next Congress, in both the House and the Senate.
Jason Miller, who is helping to organize Mr. Trump’s expected announcement next week that he will again seek the presidency, went on Steve Bannon’s internet radio show on Friday and issued a veiled threat toward Representative Kevin McCarthy of California, the man who wants to be speaker and whom Mr. Trump has called ‘my Kevin.’ If Mr. McCarthy wants the gavel, Mr. Miller said, ‘he must be much more declarative that he supports President Trump’ in 2024.
Raising the heat, a potential rival for speaker, Representative Elise Stefanik of New York, the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, leaped to endorse Mr. Trump for the 2024 nomination, writing, ‘It is time for Republicans to unite around the most popular Republican in America.’
Who Will Control Congress? Here’s When We’ll Know.
Much remains uncertain. For the second Election Day in a row, election night ended without a clear winner. Nate Cohn, The Times’s chief political analyst, takes a look at the state of the races for the House and Senate, and when we might know the outcome:
The House. Republicans are likelier than not to win the House, but it is no certainty. There are still several key races that remain uncalled, and in many of these contests, late mail ballots have the potential to help Democrats. It will take days to count them.
The Senate. The fight for the Senate comes down to two states: Nevada and Georgia. Outstanding ballots in Nevada could take days to count, but control of the chamber may ultimately hinge on Georgia, which is headed for a Dec. 6 runoff.
How we got here. The political conditions seemed ripe for Republicans to make big midterm pickups, but voters had other ideas. Read our five takeaways and analysis of why the ‘red wave’ didn’t materialize for the G.O.P.
Even in the Senate, where control hangs in the balance, Senators Rick Scott of Florida, Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Mike Lee of Utah circulated a letter asking for a delay in leadership elections, amid calls from the former president to depose Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky as the Republican leader.
‘We are all disappointed that a red wave failed to materialize, and there are multiple reasons it did not,’ they wrote. ‘We need to have serious discussions within our conference as to why and what we can do to improve our chances in 2024.’
Senator Marco Rubio, handily re-elected to his seat in Florida, seconded the call. ‘We need to make sure that those who want to lead us are genuinely committed to fighting for the priorities & values of the working Americans (of every background) who gave us big wins in states like #Florida,’ he wrote on Twitter, quickly receiving the backing of Senators Ted Cruz of Texas and Cynthia Lummis of Wyoming.
Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, the party’s presidential nominee in 2012, released his own prescriptions for the future, which strongly hinted that Republican losses reflected the party’s embrace of rage and recrimination over policy proposals. He counseled Republicans to work with Democrats in the coming Congress to slow inflation by curtailing spending on Medicare and Social Security, to open broader pathways to legal immigration, and to address climate change globally while increasing domestic energy production.
For many Republicans in today’s party, he acknowledged, that would be the road ‘less traveled.’
‘The more tempting and historically more frequented road would be to pursue pointless investigations, messaging bills, threats and government shutdowns,’ he wrote.
Representative Liz Cheney, the Wyoming Republican exiled by her party for her resolute opposition to Mr. Trump, called the midterm results ‘a clear victory for Team Normal,’ but speaking on Friday afternoon at the University of Chicago’s Institute of Politics, she signaled that Tuesday’s vote was ‘a step in the right direction.’” ” Read more at New York Times
Republican Lombardo unseats Democrat Sisolak in Nevada governor’s race
“Republican Joe Lombardo is projected to unseat Democratic Gov. Steve Sisolak in Nevada after a tight race, handing the GOP its first pickup in a governor’s race this election cycle.
In a statement released before the race was called Friday night, Sisolak said it ‘appears we will fall a percentage point or so short of winning’ and that he believes in ‘our election system, in democracy and honoring the will of Nevada voters.’ He noted the struggles of the past four years — including the pandemic and inflation — and said he reached out to Lombardo to wish him success.
During the campaign, Lombardo, the sheriff of Clark County — which includes Las Vegas — criticized Sisolak’s handling of crime and the coronavirus pandemic and tapped into voters’ economic struggles in a state where inflation has remained especially high. He said he would be a ‘pro-life governor’ but sought to play down the issue and said he would follow ‘the vote of the people,’ as Sisolak accused him of changing positions out of political convenience.” Read more at Washington Post
“Election Deniers Fall Short in Efforts to Oversee Key 2024 Races
The ‘Big Lie’ lost where it mattered the most. Ryan Teague Beckwith looks into how voters resoundingly rejected election deniers for positions that would oversee the 2024 presidential race in the crucial battlegrounds of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.” Read more at Bloomberg
“Blue Wins in Key Governor's Races Lift Hopes of Climate Groups
Democratic governors will be taking office around the Midwest and Northeast just as more federal money is available for tackling climate change. Zahra Hirji writes that it’s one outcome from the midterms that happily took climate activists by surprise.” Read more at Bloomberg
Voters across the US made it resoundingly clear that they don’t want the near-total abortion bans currently being pushed nationwide after the Supreme Court overturned Roe vs. Wade. In the four cases where abortion referendums were on Tuesday’s ballots, Americans supported upholding reproductive rights.
FTX said Sam Bankman-Fried would remain at the company to assist with an orderly transition.
PHOTO: JEENAH MOON/BLOOMBERG NEWS
FTX filed for bankruptcy protection.
“The crypto exchange’s CEO Sam Bankman-Fried resigned but will stay to help with the transition. Hailed as a trusted platform just a week ago, the company said it would begin to review and monetize assets for stakeholders. The exchange, the latest in a string of crypto companies seeking bankruptcy protection this year, faces a shortfall of up to $8 billion. Earlier this week, rival Binance walked away from a deal to rescue FTX after looking at its finances.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
Many House races are still too close to call.
“The GOP is on track to win the 218 seats needed for control, analysts said. The focus is mostly on races in Western states where contests remain tight and some officials are taking longer to count votes. In the battle for the Senate, Democrats appear to have the edge, with attention focused on Nevada and Arizona. In Georgia’s Senate runoff, Republican Hershel Walker kicked off campaigning with a bus tour, while Democrats said they would commit fresh spending for incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock.” Read more at Wall Street Journal
“The Education Department removed the application for President Biden's student debt relief program from its website after a federal judge in Texas struck down the program last night.
‘Courts have issued orders blocking our student debt relief program,’ the application website says. ‘As a result, at this time, we are not accepting applications. We are seeking to overturn those orders.’ Keep reading at Axios
Trump lashes out against Youngkin: "He couldn't have won without me"
“Former President Trump lashed out against Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin on Friday, saying he ‘couldn't have won without me.’
The big picture: Trump has been claiming responsibility for the political rise of potential competitors in the 2024 GOP presidential primary, including Youngkin and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, as allies consider distancing themselves from him after an underperformance of Trump-backed candidates in the midterms.
What he's saying: ‘Young Kin (now that’s an interesting take. Sounds Chinese, doesn’t it?) in Virginia couldn’t have won without me,’ the former president said on Truth Social.
‘I Endorsed him, did a very big Trump Rally for him telephonically, got MAGA to Vote for him - or he couldn’t have come close to winning.’
‘But he knows that, and admits it,’ Trump continued. ‘Besides, having a hard time with the Dems in Virginia - But he’ll get it done!’
Separately, Trump unloaded on Gov. Ron DeSantis Thursday, after the Florida Republican's big win in the midterm election.
“The Fake News asks him if he’s going to run if President Trump runs, and he says, 'I’m only focused on the Governor’s race, I’m not looking into the future,'“ Trump said. "Well, in terms of loyalty and class, that’s really not the right answer."
Zoom out: Youngkin won the 2021 Virginia gubernatorial election, defeating former Democratic governor Terry McAuliffe.
In doing so, he created a new template for how Republican candidates operate in competitive races during the Trump era.
During his run, Youngkin walked a tightrope between praising Trump to draw in voters from his base while also keeping him at an arms’ length to appeal to independents, Axios' Sarah Mucha reported at the time.
Worth noting: Stop AAPI Hate, a group that tracks incidents of hate and discrimination toward Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders in the U.S., condemned Trump's comments on Friday — specifically his implication that Youngkin has Chinese connections.
The organization also said anti-China rhetoric has inflamed violence against Asian American communities.
‘Almost three years ago, Trump’s racist rhetoric — like this — fueled one of the most serious rises in anti-AAPI hate that our community is still reeling from today,’ Manjusha P. Kulkarni, co-founder of Stop AAPI Hate, said in a statement to Axios.
‘So many in our community are afraid of what will happen to them and their loved ones as he re-enters the scene. But we’ve come a long way — AAPIs are engaged, activated, united and strong. [...] And we’re calling on other elected officials to support us by holding him to account.’
What we're watching: Before the midterms, Trump said he'd be making a "very big" announcement at Mar-a-Lago next Tuesday, with the expectation being he'd announce a 2024 presidential campaign.” Read more at Axios
“It looks as if Georgia may decide control of the US Senate following the mixed verdict of the midterm elections, and with it, any chance President Joe Biden might find compromise on the parts of his domestic agenda he has yet to pass. The GOP now faces deep soul-searching: Donald Trump’s favored candidates flopped as voters rejected hundreds of Republicans at state and federal levels who falsely claim fraud tipped the 2020 election. And following his decisive re-election as Florida’s governor, Ron DeSantis—and not Trump—is increasingly being touted as the GOP’s best hope for winning back the White House.” Read more at Bloomberg
Ukraine works to stabilize Kherson after Russian pullout
“MYKOLAIV, Ukraine (AP) — The Ukrainian military carried out ‘stabilization measures’ near the southern city of Kherson on Saturday following the end of an eight-month occupation by Russian forces, a retreat that cast a further pall on President Vladimir Putin’s designs to take over large parts of Ukraine.
People across Ukraine awoke from a night of jubilant celebrating after the Kremlin announced its troops had withdrawn to the other side of the Dnieper River from Kherson, the only regional capital captured by Russia’s military during the ongoing invasion.
In a regular social media update Saturday, the General Staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said Russian forces were fortifying their battle lines on the river’s eastern bank after abandoning the capital. About 70% of the Kherson region remains under Russian control.
Ukrainian officials from President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on down cautioned that while special military units had reached Kherson city, a full deployment to reinforce the advance troops still was underway. On Friday, Ukraine’s intelligence agency said it thought some Russian soldiers stayed behind, ditching their uniforms for civilian clothes to avoid detection.” Read more at AP News
“Putin’s Elite Tremble as Hardliners Call for ‘Stalinist’ Steps
The rise of hardliners is alarming Russian insiders that Putin will seek more confrontation abroad and sweeping repression at home. Once marginal players like Yevgeny Prigozhin, the owner of the Wagner mercenary group, have become the public force behind the war effort.” Read more at Bloomberg
Putin and Prigozhin in 2010. Photographer: Alexey Druzhinin/AFP/Getty Images
“Russia Quietly Checks Its Bomb Shelters as War Fears Spread
Bomb shelters across Russia are being brought back to life after decades of neglect since the Cold War. State workers are checking basements and other protected facilities, and repairing and cleaning installations not used since the Soviet era, according to people familiar with the efforts.” Read more at Bloomberg
Biden pledges US will work with Southeast Asian nations
“PHNOM PENH, Cambodia (AP) — President Joe Biden promised Saturday that the United States would work with a strategically vital coalition of southeast Asian nations, telling leaders that ‘we’re going to build a better future that we all want to see’ in the region where U.S. rival China is also working to expand its influence.
Citing the three Association of Southeast Asian Nations summits he’s participated in as president, Biden said the 10-country bloc is ‘at the heart of my administration’s Indo-Pacific strategy’ and promised to collaborate to build a region that is ‘free and open, stable and prosperous, resilient and secure.’
‘I look forward to continuing our work together with ASEAN and with each one of you to deepen peace and prosperity throughout the region to resolve challenges from the South China Sea to Myanmar and to find innovative solutions to shared challenges,’ Biden said, citing climate and health security among areas of collaboration.” Read more at AP News
Alec Baldwin sues to ‘clear his name’ in movie set killing
“LOS ANGELES (AP) — Saying he wants to clear his name, Alec Baldwin on Friday sued people involved in handling and supplying the loaded gun that he was using when it fired, killing cinematographer Halyna Hutchins during a 2021 filming accident in New Mexico.
Baldwin filed a cross-complaint in Superior Court in Los Angeles alleging negligence against some of the people sued by a script supervisor, Mamie Mitchell. Among other things, it seeks a share of any damages that Mitchell may win from the people Baldwin names and asks that they pay for any damages assessed against him.
Mitchell was standing behind Hutchins, who died shortly after being wounded during setup for a scene in the western movie ‘Rust’ at a film set ranch on the outskirts of Santa Fe on Oct. 21, 2021.
Mitchell sued Baldwin, who was a producer on the film, the production company and many others involved for assault and negligence.” Read more at AP News
National Native American Veterans Memorial
The National Native American Veterans Memorial, on the grounds of the National Museum of the American Indian, Washington, D.C. Photo: Matailong Du for the Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian
“Native American veterans gathered in Washington today to dedicate a memorial honoring their military service, Axios' Shawna Chen reports.
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of the American Indian expected more than 1,500 Native veterans from 125 tribes in a procession along the National Mall ahead of the dedication ceremony.
The National Native American Veterans Memorial opened two years ago, but the pandemic delayed the dedication ceremony until now.
The landmark is the first national memorial honoring the military contributions of Indigenous people — who serve in the U.S. Armed Services at a higher rate than any other group, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.
More than 140,000 American Indians and Alaska Natives who are veterans currently live in the U.S., the department says.” Read more at Axios
Gallagher, Watermelon-Smashing Comedian, Is Dead at 76
He called himself “The Wizard of Odd” for his outrageous stage act, making him one of the most recognizable comedians of the 1980s.
“Gallagher, who became one of the most recognizable comedians of the 1980s for an outrageous act that always concluded with him smashing a watermelon with a sledgehammer, died on Friday at his home in Palm Springs, Calif. He was 76.
His death was confirmed by his longtime former manager, Craig Marquardo, who said the cause was organ failure after ‘numerous heart attacks’ over the course of Mr. Gallagher’s life.
The self-proclaimed ‘Wizard of Odd,’ Gallagher — his first name was Leo, although for many years he refused to reveal it — said his job was to ‘yell at the world.’ To the thousands of his front-row fans who were honored, or at least not visibly offended, by being splattered with cantaloupes, cottage cheese and all manner of other groceries, Mr. Gallagher offered himself as an exuberant release from life’s strains.
In a 1984 interview with The Miami Herald, he spoke of people’s worries about money, family and responsibilities. ‘If you make fun of it, the people laugh,’ he said. ‘They release the tension and are somehow healed — a bit.’” Read more at New York Times