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GOP senator held up Trump nominee, demanding to see border wall contracts after Army Corps panned construction firm he prefers — A Republican senator held up the confirmation of a White House budget official this week in an attempt to obtain sensitive information about border wall contracts he's …

Deprived of Power, House Republicans Head for the Exits — WASHINGTON — Imagine being swept out of power in Congress and relegated to the role of spectator and naysayer as your political opponents dictate the terms of legislative debate. Add in the specter of a painful slog to re-election …
Discussion:
Daily Kos, Vanity Fair and The Atlantic
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‘Take Texas seriously’: GOP anxiety spikes after retirements, Democratic gains
Discussion:
POLITICUSUSA and ThinkProgress
Jennifer Rubin / Washington Post:
First, the GOP shrinks. Next it should get crushed.
First, the GOP shrinks. Next it should get crushed.
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, FiveThirtyEight, Balloon Juice, The Root and DCCC

Warren makes inroads into Sanders's world, one backer at a time — TEMPE, Ariz. — Onstage at a packed theater here Thursday night, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (D-Ariz.) praised Sen. Elizabeth Warren, saying she's “got guts and she's got a vision.” About a week earlier …
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Elizabeth Warren is running a brilliant campaign — David Axelrod, a senior CNN political commentator and host of “The Axe Files,” was senior adviser to President Barack Obama and chief strategist for the 2008 and 2012 Obama presidential campaigns. The opinions expressed in this commentary are his.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's Chief of Staff and Communications Director Will Depart Her Office — Two of Rep. Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez's top staffers are leaving her office. — Saikat Chakrabarti, her chief of staff, and Corbin Trent, her director of communications — who …
Discussion:
New York Times, BizPac Review, Sara A. Carter, The Hill, RedState, Politico, Fox News, PJ Media Home, Breitbart, The National Interest, New York Post, The Gateway Pundit, CNN, twitchy.com and Mediaite
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John Gage / Washington Examiner:
Upheaval: AOC's chief of staff and top spokesman quit
Upheaval: AOC's chief of staff and top spokesman quit
Discussion:
Tennessee Star, RedState and Patterico's Pontifications

Iran's Foreign Minister Was Invited to Meet Trump in the Oval Office — Last month, amid a rapid-fire escalation in tensions between Washington and Tehran, the Iranian Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, received an unexpected invitation—to meet President Donald Trump in the Oval Office.
Discussion:
The National Interest and New York Times

Trump prepares a push to woo black voters — President Donald Trump is looking to woo black voters — if he can make them forget about his tweets. — The Trump 2020 campaign has been quietly reaching out to prominent African Americans about joining its latest coalition, intended to boost Republican support in the black community.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway
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Whistleblower Allegations Surfaced Just Before DNI Pick John Radcliffe Withdrew — Trump blamed the media for his nominee's withdrawal, but it may have to do with his proximity to a company accused of being instrumental in reprisal against a whistleblower. — An email disclosing …
Discussion:
ThinkProgress
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McConnell's new posture toward Moscow — “Moscow Mitch” was red hot. — Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, on the Senate floor Monday, denounced critics (including me) who say his recent blocking of efforts to fortify defenses against another Russian attack on U.S. elections are aiding and abetting Vladimir Putin.
Discussion:
Fox News and Associated Press
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H. Alan Scott / Newsweek:
‘Moscow Mitch’ McConnell is Now a Ben Folds Song
‘Moscow Mitch’ McConnell is Now a Ben Folds Song
Discussion:
Washington Post

Diversity, Inclusion and Anti-Excellence — A former dean of the Yale Law School sounds a warning. — Anyone who has followed the news from college campuses over the past few years knows they are experiencing forms of unrest unseen since the late 1960s. — Now, as then, campuses have become an arena for political combat.

An elite D.C. girls' school thought its founding nuns taught slaves to read. Instead, they sold them off for as much as they could. — The cash-strapped nuns were desperate to sell their slaves. — It was the 1820s, and debt was piling up for Mother Agnes Brent, superior of the Georgetown Visitation Convent in Washington.
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Rachel L. Swarns / New York Times:
The Nuns Who Bought and Sold Human Beings

Biden holds two-to-one lead over Sanders in post-debate poll — Former Vice President Joe Biden has a 2-to-1 lead nationally over the next closest Democratic presidential contender after the second round of debates, according to the latest Harvard CAPS/Harris Poll.
Discussion:
Outside the Beltway

A reporter says the White House suspended his credentials in an ‘attempt to stifle the free press’ — Brian Karem, the chief White House correspondent for Playboy magazine, said Friday that his press pass is being suspended for 30 days in what he called an “anti-First Amendment move.”
Discussion:
Townhall

Anti-Muslim Activist Laura Loomer to Run for Congress — Banned from every major social media network, Laura Loomer will almost certainly lose her challenge to Rep. Lois Frankel. — Anti-Muslim activist Laura Loomer launched a congressional bid on Friday, setting herself up for almost certain defeat …
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs
Samuel R. Bagenstos / SSRN:
Abstract — The Roberts Court has recently handed several high-profile wins in labor and employment law cases to anti-labor and pro-employer forces. This paper argues that those decisions replicate crucial moves made by some infamous Lochner-era cases—and that those same moves continue …

Look at the Mueller Report as a Detective Story. It Will Blow Your Mind. — It may turn out to be a film noir. The investigators uncovered the plot, but the society is too rotten to do anything about it. — Ms. Jurecic is the managing editor of Lawfare.

Donald Trump's ‘go back’ comments were ‘genius’, says Nigel Farage — Brexit leader admits racist remarks about congresswomen made him feel uncomfortable but says they were shrewd — Nigel Farage has described Donald Trump's “go back” comments aimed at four congresswomen of colour as “genius”.
Discussion:
The Guardian and The Independent

‘It was terrifying’: Black Chadds Ford couple left shaken by white Pa. trooper's alleged misconduct — Rodney and Angela Gillespie were excited when they returned July 1 to the United States, to the home they'd built in 2007 on a 2.7-acre parcel in a leafy section of upscale Chadds Ford.

Ohio's Hamilton County may test whether Trump's divisiveness will help or hurt him in 2020 — CINCINNATI — When President Trump railed against Baltimore and other diverse American cities as dangerous and “broken” during a campaign rally here this week, supporters cheered Trump's assessment.

The Problem With Greta Thunberg's Climate Activism — Her radical approach is at odds with democracy. — Mr. Caldwell is the author of “Reflections on the Revolution in Europe: Immigration, Islam, and the West.” — Climate activists in Western Europe had already been radicalizing …

Trump Hired Robert Lighthizer to Win a Trade War. He Lost. — The Trump administration's obsession with trade threats, tariffs, and bullying both allies and rivals into submission was based on an ambitious theory. It turned out to be a fallacy. — Robert Lighthizer, the U.S. trade representative …

Climate Could Be an Electoral Time Bomb, Republican Strategists Fear — WASHINGTON — When election time comes next year, Will Galloway, a student and Republican youth leader at Clemson University, will look for candidates who are strong on the mainstream conservative causes he cares about most …

Tulsi Gabbard Thinks We're Doomed — Or we will be if America doesn't leave the rest of the world alone. That's why the 38-year-old congresswoman from Hawaii is running for president. — STANDING ROCK, N.D. — Tulsi Gabbard is running for president of a country that she believes …
Discussion:
Vox

Top Kidney Charity Directed Aid to Patients at DaVita and Fresenius Clinics, Lawsuit Claims — A whistle-blower said the leading charity favored patients from the major dialysis chains because the companies were its biggest donors. — One of the nation's largest public charities steered financial aid …