The Conversation -- August 21, 2024

Say, Donald, you know those 15,000 Democrats who gathered to see Kamala & Tim rally in Milwaukee? And those 23,000 Democrats who cheered on Kamala & Tim at the convention in Chicago? Well, there were another several thousand at the Auditorium Theatre in Chicago, and they are laughing in your fat face: ~~~

As the Worms Turn. Ann Laurie of Balloon Juice: "Having spent the last many years gleefully attacking Democrats and rewarding Republicans, Our Very Serious Mainstream Media cannot believe that the people in charge of the Democratic National Convention are treating them as a caste somewhere between Nuisance and Adversary[.]" It seems the DNC had reduced the number of seats for credentialed media AND the electrical connections were not to the New York Times staff's standards. Thanks to RAS for the link. ~~~

     ~~~ The article by Max Tani, writing for Semafor is here. It is titled, "A friendly media grows grumbly in Chicago." MB: Frankly, I think this is a story with two sides, and the MSM may not be entirely wrong here. What seems to be upsetting them most is that "media access" now includes social media influencers, and these non-journos are taking up butt-space formerly allocated to the bona fide lords of the press and reliable interpreters of all they observe.

Florida Election Results. Andrew Atterbury of Politico: "Gov. Ron DeSantis' attempt to elect conservative-leaning school board members across Florida hit a snag Tuesday, as candidates backed by the Republican governor fell in several key races. DeSantis, who has made reshaping Florida's education system a top priority, endorsed 23 candidates ahead of Tuesday's election. And as of late Tuesday night, at least 11 appear to have lost. That is a notable downturn from 2022, when DeSantis saw a runaway success: Of the 30 he endorsed two years ago, just five lost."

The New York Times is live-updating developments Wednesday in the Israel/Hamas war.

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Presidential Race

Peter Baker of the New York Times: "The his-and-hers marquee convention speeches by the 45th president of the United States and the former first lady fired up the partisan crowd. Speaking back- to-back over the course of an hour, the Obamas reminded Democrats of a past era of hope and change while electrifying a convention after a ceremonial roll call nominated Vice President Kamala Harris for president and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota for vice president." MB: Might be worth reading just because this is one time Baker doesn't "both-sides" his subjects. For once, there's not a "but" in his analysis. See Akhilleus's comments below. ~~~

Nicholas Nehamas & Reid Epstein of the New York Times: "Democrats managed to be in two places at once on Tuesday night, holding a ceremonial roll-call vote at their Chicago convention to celebrate Vice President Kamala Harris as their party's nominee, while she herself rallied supporters roughly 80 miles north in Milwaukee. Ms. Harris's choice to appear in Milwaukee, the largest city in a crucial battleground state, was intentional and pointed: She stood onstage in the same arena where ... Donald J. Trump accepted the Republican nomination last month. For much of the evening in Milwaukee, the Harris campaign used the arena's Jumbotron to pipe in the events taking place in Chicago at the Democratic National Convention. But after Gov. Gavin Newsom of California announced his state's votes for Ms. Harris, ending the roll call of 57 states and territories, Ms. Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, marched onto the stage in Milwaukee.... The Milwaukee rally was just the latest event at which the Harris campaign filled a major arena with Democrats.... The campaign said about 15,000 people attended the rally in Milwaukee, and the 23,500-person convention hall in Chicago was packed."

The New York Times' live updates of events Tuesday in the Democratic National Convention are here: A few entries & partial entries follow: ~~~

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs & Julie Bosman: "Chicago was preparing for more protests on the second day of the Democratic National Convention, including a demonstration expected on Tuesday evening outside of the Consulate of Israel. A large protest march on Monday drew thousands of people, but fewer than organizers had expected. City officials said on Tuesday that they had made 13 arrests since the demonstrations began, including a small group of people who tried to breach a security gate not far from the United Center where the convention is being held."

Maggie Astor: "Malcolm Kenyatta, a state representative in Pennsylvania, is filling the role that State Senator Mallory McMorrow of Michigan filled last night: taking to the stage with an oversize prop version of the Heritage Foundation's 'Project 2025' and highlighting proposals within it."

Chris Cameron: "Stephanie Grisham, a former White House press secretary for Donald Trump, is now speaking on the main convention stage. The audience appeared to give her a tepid welcome as she approached the lectern, with some polite applause and scattered boos.... Nabela Noor, a social media influencer selected to speak at the convention, is sharing her story of fertility issues and her use of IVF."

Carl Hulse: "Senator Gary Peters of Michigan, chairman of the Democratic Party's Senate campaign arm, brought dozens of Teamsters on stage to underscore the party's commitment to protecting union benefits." ~~~

~~~ Cameron: "Senator Gary Peters ... has the crowd fired up with his pro-union message and warnings of a second Trump administration. 'If they win, working people like my friends from the Teamsters will pay the price,' Peters said." ~~~

~~~ Astor: "Ken Stribling, a retired member of the Teamsters union, credited the Biden-Harris administration with saving his pension through the pandemic relief bill President Biden signed in 2021. There has been some dissent within the union lately: Its president spoke at the Republican National Convention, and it hasn't issued an endorsement, but its National Black Caucus endorsed Kamala Harris last week."

Jonathan Weisman: "The torch has definitely been passed, with the grandsons of Jimmy Carter and John F. Kennedy addressing the delegates about past and future...."

Adam Nagourney: "'Today, J.F.K.'s call for action is now ours to answer,' said Jack Schlossberg, 31. He is the only grandson of Mr. Kennedy, who was assassinated in 1963. 'Because once again, the torch has been passed to a new generation.' Jason Carter, a 49-year-old lawyer and politician, said that his grandfather, who is 99 and in hospice care, 'can't wait to vote for Kamala Harris.... Kamala Harris carries my grandfather's legacy, 'he said. She knows what is right, and she fights for it.'"

Nicholas Nehamas: "Vice President Kamala Harris has touched down in Milwaukee for her rally tonight, but many of Wisconsin's most prominent Democrats are staying in Chicago for the Democratic convention.... In Milwaukee, a Harris campaign staff member just told the crowd here that Harris's speech would be broadcast at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.... Here in Milwaukee, there are thousands of people in this basketball arena dancing out of their seats to hip-hop, Taylor Swift remixes and Latin pop. Attendees were given electronic wristbands that flash red, white and blue, creating a pulsating rhythm of color in the stands as they wave their arms.... It is still striking how different the atmosphere is from President Biden's small, low-energy events."

Cameron: "The Democratic convention is now starting a ceremonial roll call vote of the convention delegates. The crowd is roaring its approval with every state that casts a vote to nominate Vice President Kamala Harris.... Music is infusing the whole roll-call ceremony with a concert-like energy. It has been a mix of many different genres and types of artists, celebrating the diversity of America's people and its culture."

Astor: "A reminder that while these convention roll call votes normally have concrete significance -- formalizing the presidential and vice-presidential nominations -- this one is entirely ceremonial. The official vote happened virtually earlier this month to avoid any possibility of legal trouble with Ohio's ballot access deadline."

Astor: "The primaries produced some uncommitted delegates related to pro-Palestinian campaigns against President Biden's support for Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Those votes are being announced as 'present' in an unassuming way before the presenter for each state quickly moves on to announcing the larger number of delegate votes for Kamala Harris.... The uncommitted delegates come from some voters who chose, essentially, a 'none of the above' option in the Democratic primaries as a protest vote."

Maya King: "If there was any question that Georgia Democrats lacked enthusiasm -- or a taste for the spotlight -- the rapper Lil Jon offered the state's roll-call response, complete with a performance of 'Turn Down for What.'" ~~~

~~~ Cameron: "Lil Jon is now making a surprise performance on the convention floor.... 'We're not going back,' Lil Jon sings, prompting a chant and raucous cheers from the crowd."

Nehamas: "Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota just took the stage here at the Harris rally in Milwaukee, after the feed from the convention in Chicago abruptly cut off in the middle of the ceremonial roll call.... Walz reminds the crowd that the Republican convention took place at this very arena in Milwaukee four weeks ago, prompting loud boos. 'They were feeling good,' Walz said of Republicans. 'This thing was over. Well, trust me, Milwaukee, a hell of a lot can change in four weeks!'... Gov. Tim Walz is taunting Donald Trump and the Republicans now here in Milwaukee. 'Not only do we have massive energy at our convention, we've got a hell of a lot more energy at where they had their convention!'"

Nehamas: "Kamala Harris is joined on the stage by her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, as her campaign anthem, 'Freedom' by Beyoncé, blares across the arena."

Reid Epstein: "Kamala Harris, in Milwaukee, announced the completion of the roll call in Chicago. 'We are so honored to be your nominees,' she said. 'Together we will chart a new way forward.'"

Astor: "Back in Chicago, Ana Navarro has taken the stage. She is known as a Republican strategist, but she broke from the party over Donald Trump and has become a vocal Trump critic. Her appearance at the Democratic convention is part of a continuing emphasis on Republican supporters of Harris.... Navarro is hitting back at Trump's descriptions of Harris's proposed policies as 'communist.' She notes that she was born in Nicaragua and that she is familiar with communist dictators, and she says it is Trump -- with, for example, his refusal to accept his election loss -- who reminds her of them."

Hulse: "Senator Chuck Schumer dances onto the stage to make his pitch for the vice president."

Cameron: "There is intense applause as Senator Bernie Sanders takes the stage.... Sanders just drew the loudest applause line of his speech as he called for an end to the war in Gaza. 'We must end this horrific war in Gaza,' Sanders said. 'Bring home the hostages and demand an immediate cease-fire.'"

Astor: "Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois denounces Republicans for calling Black and Latino people 'D.E.I. hires,' a line some have used against Kamala Harris, implying that she got where she is only because of her race. Americans 'want to get promoted at work without being derided as a D.E.I. hire for the sin of being successful while not white,' he says."

Theodore Schleiffer: "Ken Chenault, the former chief executive of American Express..., is making the case that the pro-business argument for Harris is not about pecuniary interests like the capital gains rate, but about the rule of law."

Astor: Gov. "Lujan Grisham [N.M.] is talking about health care, after a short video that highlighted various times Donald Trump called for repealing the Affordable Care Act."

Hulse: "Angela Alsobrooks [-- Maryland's Democratic candidate for U.S. senator --] is empha[si]zing her working-class roots and talking about how she was inspired by Kamala Harris, whom she met 14 years ago while running for prosecutor in the Maryland suburbs of Washington."

Astor: "As a lifelong Republican, 'I feel a little out of place tonight, but I feel more at home here than in today's Republican Party,' Mayor John Giles of Mesa, Ariz., says, calling the Republican Party a cult dedicated to Donald Trump."

Bosman: "Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, a military veteran who relied on I.V.F. to conceive her two daughters, is attacking Donald Trump on both of those fronts, calling him a 'five-time draft-dodging coward' who is on an 'anti-woman crusade.'... A big applause line for Duckworth: 'Send a message to old Cadet Bone Spurs: Stay out of our doctors' offices, and, while you're at it, out of the Oval Office, too.'"

Rogers: "The video introducing Doug Emhoff, narrated by his son, Cole, is filled with highlights from his life and the sort of light ribbing only a son can provide.... 'We might not look like other families in the White House, but we are ready to represent all families in America,' Cole Emhoff concludes."

Astor: "Doug Emhoff is poking fun at the bumbling voicemail he left for Kamala Harris the first time he called her -- which, he says, Harris saved and makes him listen to every anniversary."

Nagourney: "Doug Emhoff credits Kamala Harris for making him pick up the battle against antisemitism. He talked about taking the bus to Hebrew school, the plastic on his grandmother's living room furniture in Brooklyn, and Harris cooking brisket for Passover. These are all touchstones for Jewish viewers."

Weisman: "One of Doug Emhoff's tasks tonight was to lean into his Judaism and to make clear that Donald Trump's attacks on Harris as somehow hating Jews would have no power. He did that, saying both he and his wife have fought antisemitism, that Harris joins him at synagogue on the High Holy Days and that he accompanies her to church on Easter."

Rogers: "Michelle Obama, one of the biggest superstars in her party, takes the stage to Stevie Wonder and thunderous applause.... She is in mourning, framing her remarks in the context of reaching for hope through despair. She begins by giving a tribute to her mother, Marian Robinson, who died in May.... 'The last time I was here in my hometown,' she says, 'was to memorialize my mother, the woman who showed me the meaning of hard work and humility and decency, the woman who set my moral compass high and showed me the power of my own voice.'... 'No one has a monopoly on what it means to be an American -- no one,' Michelle Obama says, her voice strong and clear.... 'She [Harris] understands that most of us will never be afforded the grace of failing forward.... The affirmative action of generational wealth.... If we see a mountain in front of us, we don't expect there to be an escalator waiting to take us to the top.'... 'Who's going to tell him that the job he's currently seeking might just be one of those "Black jobs"?' Michelle Obama asks of Donald Trump, turning one of his lines back on him."

Haberman: "Michelle Obama is giving a sharp, focused speech extolling the background of Kamala Harris. It's one of the best-delivered speeches of this convention so far."

Nagourney: "Michelle Obama;s speech might be remembered as the most effective takedown we've heard of Donald Trump yet here."

Astor: "That speech from Michelle Obama is going to be a tough act to follow, which Barack Obama alludes to self-deprecatingly, calling himself 'the only person stupid enough to speak after Michelle Obama.'"

Haberman: Barack "Obama lays it bare: 'Donald Trump sees power as nothing more than a means to his ends.' He describes him as trying to help himself and his 'rich friends.'"

Browning: "Obama played up his signature piece of health care legislation, the Affordable Care Act, which Donald Trump tried to tear up early in his presidency. 'I've noticed, by the way, that since it has become popular, they don't call it Obamacare no more,' he joked."

Simon Levien: "Obama encouraged people to have empathy for a grandparent who might have old-school values not in line with a society that's 'moving fast.' He is delivering a powerful unity message, explicitly asking the audience to reach across generations and ideological divides."

Amy Wang of the Washington Post: "Among the more eyebrow-raising speakers Tuesday night at the Democratic National Convention was a former Trump administration official: Stephanie Grisham, who previously served as press secretary to Donald Trump as well as chief of staff to first lady Melania Trump.... She wasn't just a supporter of the former president, she said, but 'a true believer' and one of his closest advisers.... Grisham claimed that, behind closed doors, Trump mocked his supporters as 'basement dwellers' and once, on a hospital visit, he was upset that cameras were focused on intensive care unit patients rather than on him.... 'On Jan. 6, I asked Melania if we could at least tweet that while peaceful protest is the right of every American, there's no place for lawlessness and violence. She replied with one word: 'No,' Grisham said. Behind her, an image of the alleged text conversation flashed on a screen." The NBC News story is here.

Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday night at the same basketball arena where ... Donald J. Trump accepted the Republican nomination just a month ago, at a time when his party believed he was coasting to victory against a hapless President Biden. Ms. Harris's choice of venue is the latest in a series of aggressive moves that seem designed to get under Mr. Trump's notoriously thin skin." (Also linked yesterday.)

Maeve Reston & Clara Morse of the Washington Post: "Kamala Harris's campaign and the Democratic National Committee raised three times as much as Donald Trump's campaign and the Republican National Committee in July, and ended the month with a cash advantage that positions the newly minted Democratic presidential nominee to air more ads and maintain a larger payroll than her Republican opponent in the final months of the race for the White House. Those results, which are based on federal filings released Tuesday and Wednesday, do not capture the full fundraising picture because several committees that support the candidates will not report their quarterly tallies until October."

Jeff Stein of the Washington Post: :Vice President Kamala Harris;s proposal last week to ban price gouging in certain sectors has spurred backlash from some Democratic economists, provoked consternation among business groups and emerged quickly as a focus of Donald Trump's on the campaign trail. Harris's allies, however, are arguing both publicly and privately that her plans have been taken out of context, and that the idea is a targeted expansion of existing state powers rather than new government 'price controls' that would transform the U.S. economy.... Harris and several Democratic lawmakers ... have stressed that most states already have rules that make price hikes illegal in certain contexts, such as in the aftermath of a natural disaster or other calamity. They pointed out that Trump had used the Defense Production Act during the pandemic to crack down on price gouging of critical medical supplies, and that Harris, as California's attorney general, had already pursued charges against prescription drug companies and firms that had conspired to keep the prices of electronics high."

Marie: I didn't know this was a thing till RAS pointed it out in yesterday's Comments. It turns out it's a thing: ~~~

~~~ Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times: "When Kamala Harris ... popped up to speak ... [at the Democratic convention, she was] wearing a tan suit. A tan suit!... The last time a tan suit made political waves, it was also late August, and the person wearing it was President Barack Obama. The occasion was a news conference on Iraq and Syria, but the response from a large swath of the watching public was shock! horror! at the outfit." Friedman then goes into a number of possible symbolic meanings&" Harris may have meant to impart by her wardrobe choice. MB: It turns out, according to Friedman, Harris's suit -- which looks like a plain prêt-à-porter pants suit to me -- is a designer thing which "came from the French label Chloé, designed by Chemena Kamali." My personal feeling is that the clothing you wear should be as forgettable, as simple and as comfortable as possible (within the vague parameters of suitability to the occasion), and at the top of that list of forgettable, simple comfy clothing would be a boring, loosely-fitted tan pants suit. (Also linked yesterday.)

Several reporters and commentators have noted that Donald Trump must be very upset by the huge number of people who showed up for the DNC in Chicago and the concurrent Harris rally in Milwaukee. So how do you suppose the ratings-obsessed Trump will take this? ~~~

     ~~~ Josh Marcus of the Independent: "The first night of the ongoing Democratic National Convention in Chicago had significantly better ratings than the opening of the Republican National Convention last month, according to overnight data. The DNC had 11.4 percent of sampled households watching in 44 major metro areas across seven networks on Monday, compared with the RNC's 9.4 percent rating, a difference of over 20 percent, according to TV analyst Michael Mulvihill, president of insights and analytics at FOX Sports, FOX Entertainment, and Tubi."

What with all the famous, distinguished beloved people speaking at the Democratic convention, maybe you're wondering why such speakers didn't appear at the RNC. But wait! You're forgetting this guy, featured on the Thursday night of the convention in the run-up to Trump's acceptance speech: ~~~

     ~~~ Charlie Nash of Mediaite: "During an event in Medina, Ohio to promote his new Real American Beer, [wrestler Hulk] Hogan called out to the crowd, 'You want me to body slam somebody? You want me to body-slam Kamala Harris? I said, do you want me to body slam Kamala Harris?! You want me to drop the leg on Kamala?' He continued, 'Is Kamala a chameleon? Is she Indian?' before raising his left hand and saying, 'How,' in imitation of a stereotypical native American, or 'American Indian.' 'I'm gonna get heat for that one, brother,' added Hogan, who was fired from the WWE in 2015 after he was caught on tape using the N-word." Thanks to Akhilleus for the link. See also his commentary below.

Helen Coster & Nathan Layne of Reuters: "... Donald Trump will visit a Michigan town on Tuesday one month after white supremacists rallied there.... Trump is scheduled to talk about 'crime and safety' at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in Howell, a town of some 10,000 people northwest of Detroit.... The town has historical links to the KKK: In the 1970s, Grand Dragon Robert Miles had a Howell mailing address and held meetings on a nearby farm. About a dozen white supremacists chanted 'Heil Hitler' and carried signs reading 'White Lives Matter' during a march through downtown Howell last month. According to local media, another group of demonstrators shouted, 'We love Hitler, we love Trump' from a highway overpass just outside Howell. The Harris campaign has criticized Trump for planning the event in Howell while failing to condemn what it called a 'blatant display of racism and antisemitism in his name.' In an interview with Reuters after a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, Trump did not directly respond to a question about that criticism." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

~~~ So here's what happened: ~~~

~~~ Hannah Knowles & Isaac Arnsdorf of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Tuesday falsely depicted Vice President Kamala Harris's path to the Democratic nomination as violent and distorted her record on crime, even as he defended his supporters who attacked police at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Trump, whose lies about theft of the 2020 election inspired his supporters to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power, falsely accused Harris of orchestrating a 'vicious, violent overthrow' by replacing President Joe Biden at the top of the Democratic ticket.... He went on to defend the Jan. 6 rioters by falsely claiming 'nobody was killed,' as he compared that day to the protests that erupted after the police killing of George Floyd. Four people died in the mob on Jan. 6, three from medical problems and one shot by a police officer. One officer who fought the mob died of a stroke the next day, and four more officers committed suicide in the days and months that followed.... Asked about the Democrats' criticism over Howell's historic association with the Ku Klux Klan, Trump responded that [President] Biden had visited here in 2021. His campaign has said the location was chosen for being in the Detroit media market." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: It is true that President Biden visited Howell in 2021 to promote his infrastructure bill at the International Union of Operating Engineers Construction Career Center. Protesters along the route to the center greeted Biden's motorcade by waving "Fuck Biden" signs.

Sarah Burris of the Raw Story: "The Livingston County Sheriff and his deputies stood behind Trump in uniform to support the ex-president's plan to reduce crime. While Trump didn't outline his strategy, he cited a number of crimes he heard about -- including the dangers of buying bread. 'You can't walk across the street to get a loaf of bread, you get shot, and you get mugged, you get raped, whatever it may be. You've seen it. I've seen it,' Trump said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Let's posit, for a moment, that Trump's view of street crime is true. Is the best messenger someone who (1) said he could shoot somebody in broad daylight and people would still support him; (2) promised that if re-elected, "no one will lay a finger on your firearms" & he would roll back President Biden's gun control measures; or (3) is an adjudicated rapist?

Lauren Sforza of the Hill: "A spokesperson for former President Trump's campaign [Steven Cheung] used Beyoncé's song 'Freedom' in a video posted to social media featuring the former president.... CNN and The Associated Press reported that Beyoncé gave the Harris campaign permission to use her song 'Freedom' throughout her presidential campaign. Harris used the song in several campaign events and featured it in her first ad, with which she launched her bid for the White House last month.... Beyoncé endorsed the Biden-Harris ticket in 2020 and previously headlined a preelection concert for then-Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton in Cleveland alongside her husband, Jay-Z." MB: Gosh, why do I suspect the Trump campaign pirated the song?

Rebecca O'Brien of the New York Times: "Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s running mate [Nicole Shanahan] said in a podcast interview that they were considering dropping their struggling independent presidential bid and endorsing Republican Donald J. Trump, blaming the Democratic Party for what she said was a 'sabotage' of their campaign.... She accused the Democratic Party of 'planting insiders into our campaign to disrupt it and create actual legal issues for us.' A spokeswoman for the Democrats dismissed those allegations." Politico's story is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Eric Bradner of CNN: "Donald Trump said Tuesday he would 'certainly' be open to Robert F. Kennedy Jr. playing a role in his administration if the independent candidate drops out of the 2024 race and endorses the former president. 'I like him, and I respect him,' Trump told CNN's Kristen Holmes in an interview after a campaign stop in Michigan. 'He's a brilliant guy. He's a very smart guy. I've known him for a very long time,' the Republican presidential nominee said. 'I didn't know he was thinking about getting out, but if he is thinking about getting out, certainly I'd be open to it.'" Thanks to Ken W. for the link. See also his comment below.

David Sanger of the New York Times: "President Biden approved in March a highly classified nuclear strategic plan for the United States that, for the first time, reorients America's deterrent strategy to focus on China's rapid expansion in its nuclear arsenal. The shift comes as the Pentagon believes China's stockpiles will rival the size and diversity of the United States' and Russia's over the next decade. The White House never announced that Mr. Biden had approved the revised strategy, called the 'Nuclear Employment Guidance,' which also newly seeks to prepare the United States for possible coordinated nuclear challenges from China, Russia and North Korea. The document, updated every four years or so, is so highly classified that there are no electronic copies, only a small number of hard copies distributed to a few national security officials and Pentagon commanders."

Marie: Donald Trump and his Congressional friends' tax cuts for rich people & corporations have substantially raised my taxes every year since the GOP imposed them. This was not an unintended consequence of the "cuts"; Republicans meant to raise my taxes. Trump's tax cut, among other things, was punishment for human decency. Now hear this: ~~~

     ~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Tuesday that he will not allow the Trump-era cap on state and local tax deductions to continue after its scheduled expiration at the end of next year. Former President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress inserted a provision in the 2017 tax reform bill to cap state and local tax deductions at $10,000. That provision hit residents of expensive blue states such as New York, New Jersey and California with higher state and local taxes especially hard, but it raised a lot of revenue to offset the cost of Trump's other proposals, such as cutting the corporate tax rate from 28 percent to 21 percent.... 'We Democrats, as long as I'm leader, when state and local deductibility expires, it will be gone,' [Schumer] declared." (Also linked yesterday.)

Danielle Kaye of the New York Times: "A federal judge on Tuesday upheld a challenge to the Federal Trade Commission's ban on noncompete agreements, blocking it from taking effect in September as scheduled. Judge Ada Brown of U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas ruled that the antitrust agency lacked authority to issue substantive rules related to unfair methods of competition, including the noncompete rule, which would have prohibited companies from restricting their employees' ability to work for rivals. The push to adopt the rule is part of the Biden administration's effort to crack down on practices that regulators argue are anticompetitive, unfairly constraining workers. Judge Brown had temporarily blocked the ban in July. Her decision on Tuesday renders that injunction permanent, and nationwide in scope." See Ken W.'s comment below.

You Can Embarrass Mickey Mouse. Claire Fahy of the New York Times: "Disney withdrew its request to settle a wrongful-death lawsuit out of court on Monday, clearing the way for the case of a woman who died from a severe allergic reaction to food she ate at a Disney World restaurant to be heard in front of a jury. The woman, Kanokporn Tangsuan ... was severely allergic to nuts and dairy. She died in October after eating dishes her server assured her were allergen-free, according to a lawsuit filed by her husband against Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. Disney's request was met with swift backlash last week, after news outlets reported on the company's claim that Dr. Tangsuan's husband, Jeffrey Piccolo, had agreed to arbitration when he signed up for a free trial of the streaming service Disney+ and was therefore not eligible to sue.... Initially, Disney argued in legal filings that the matter should be settled by an outside arbitrator, because Mr. Piccolo had agreed to settle any disputes out of court when he signed up for a free trial of its streaming service on his PlayStation and again when he purchased tickets to Epcot through the MyDisney website."

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Florida Senate Race. Patricia Mazzei of the Washington Post: "Debbie Mucarsel-Powell, a former one-term congresswoman from Miami, won the Democratic nomination in the race for U.S. Senate in Florida on Tuesday, setting up a challenge against Rick Scott, the Republican incumbent. Ms. Mucarsel-Powell, 53, who led in fund-raising and had President Biden's support, easily defeated three other Democrats. Mr. Scott, 71, who is seeking his second Senate term, also won, after facing nominal opposition in his party's primary."

Florida Congressional Race. Patrick Svitek of the Washington Post: "Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) on Tuesday defeated a primary challenger backed by former House speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) as part of his push to unseat the handful of Republicans who helped oust him last year. Gaetz, who led the effort to remove McCarthy, defeated retired Navy officer Aaron Dimmock, according to the Associated Press, who was endorsed by the former speaker."

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⭐Israel/Palestine, et al.

Robert Jimison, et al., of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken pressed on Tuesday for a cease-fire in the Gaza Strip, but officials familiar with the latest U.S.-backed proposal said it left major disagreements between Hamas and Israel unresolved. After meeting with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel on Monday, Mr. Blinken said that Israel had accepted the U.S. proposal -- the details of which have not been made public -- and that the onus was now on Hamas to agree to it as well. But Israeli and Hamas officials have downplayed the idea that a deal could be imminent, saying that mediators' efforts -- and the latest American proposal aimed at bridging gaps between the two sides -- have failed to resolve some of the most substantive disputes in the talks."

digby: "Judy Woodruff [of NPR] reports that as the administration is trying hard to get a cease fire and hostage release in Gaza, Donald Trump is on the phone exhorting his buddy Netanyahu not to do it. How can this be ok? More importantly how have we come to the point where it's just a passing comment instead of front page news? I realize that the Logan Act is pretty much a joke. And there are certainly previous examples of Republicans doing this for political gain during an election (I'm looking at you Nixon and Reagan.) But it's still not right, especially now what with Trump being a convicted criminal and a fascist and all. The media should never treat this as normal but they especially shouldn't be doing it now." Thanks to Patrick for the link. Patrick remarks that "We used to call this treason." Others, commenting near the end of yesterday's thread, are in agreement. Me, too.

News Lede

CNBC: "The U.S. economy created 818,000 fewer jobs than originally reported in the 12-month period through March 2024, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. As part of its preliminary annual benchmark revisions to the nonfarm payroll numbers, the Bureau of Labor Statistics said the actual job growth was nearly 30% less than the initially reported 2.9 million from April 2023 through March of the following year. The revision of the total payrolls level of -0.5% is the largest since 2009. Wall Street had been watching the numbers closely, with many economists expecting a sizeable reduction in the originally reported numbers. Even with the revisions, job creation during the period stood at more than 2 million, but the report could be seen as indication that the labor market is not as strong as the previous BLS reporting had made it out to be." The New York Times report is here. ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Say what? How could the Labor Department be this far off? I know Jay Dee gets his statistics from the movies, but I would have thought the Labor Department would have slightly more reliable sources. ~~~

     ~~~ In a related story, Senator JD Vance, the Republican candidate for vice president, telephoned the New York Police Department Tuesday night to inform them that a gigantic gorilla had climbed the Empire State Building and was holding a "pretty blonde woman" in his huge paw.

The Conversation -- August 20, 2024

Marie: Donald Trump and his Congressional friends' tax cuts for rich people & corporations have substantially raised my taxes every year since the GOP imposed them. This was not an unintended consequence of the "cuts"; Republicans meant to raise my taxes. Trump's tax cut, among other things, was punishment for human decency. Now hear this: ~~~

     ~~~ Alexander Bolton of the Hill: "Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) told reporters at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago Tuesday that he will not allow the Trump-era cap on state and local tax deductions to continue after its scheduled expiration at the end of next year. Former President Trump and his Republican allies in Congress inserted a provision in the 2017 tax reform bill to cap state and local tax deductions at $10,000. That provision hit residents of expensive blue states ... with higher state and local taxes especially hard, but it raised a lot of revenue to offset the cost of Trump's other proposals, such as cutting the corporate tax rate from 28 percent to 21 percent.... 'We Democrats, as long as I'm leader, when state and local deductibility expires, it will be gone,' [Schumer] declared."

Marie: I didn't know this was a thing till RAS pointed it out in today's Comments. It turns out it's a thing: ~~~

~~~ Vanessa Friedman of the New York Times: "When Kamala Harris ... popped up to speak ... [at the Democratic convention, she was] wearing a tan suit. A tan suit!... The last time a tan suit made political waves, it was also late August, and the person wearing it was President strong>Barack Obama. The occasion was a news conference on Iraq and Syria, but the response from a large swath of the watching public was shock! horror! at the outfit." Friedman then goes into a number of possible symbolic "meanings" Harris may have meant to impart by her wardrobe choice. It turns out, according to Friedman, Harris's suit -- which looks like a plain prêt-à-porter pants suit to me -- is a designer thing which "came from the French label Chloé, designed by Chemena Kamali." MB: My personal feeling is that the clothing you wear should be as forgettable, as simple and as comfortable as possible (within the vague parameters of suitability to the occasion), and at the top of that list of forgettable, simple comfy clothing would be a boring, loosely-fitted tan pants suit.

Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "Vice President Kamala Harris will hold a rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday night at the same basketball arena where ... Donald J. Trump accepted the Republican nomination just a month ago, at a time when his party believed he was coasting to victory against a hapless President Biden. Ms. Harris's choice of venue is the latest in a series of aggressive moves that seem designed to get under Mr. Trump's notoriously thin skin."

Helen Coster & Nathan Layne of Reuters: "... Donald Trump will visit a Michigan town on Tuesday one month after white supremacists rallied there.... Trump is scheduled to talk about 'crime and safety' at the Livingston County Sheriff's Office in Howell, a town of some 10,000 people northwest of Detroit.... The town has historical links to the KKK: In the 1970s, Grand Dragon Robert Miles had a Howell mailing address and held meetings on a nearby farm. About a dozen white supremacists chanted 'Heil Hitler' and carried signs reading 'White Lives Matter' during a march through downtown Howell last month. According to local media, another group of demonstrators shouted, 'We love Hitler, we love Trump' from a highway overpass just outside Howell. The Harris campaign has criticized Trump for planning the event in Howell while failing to condemn what it called a 'blatant display of racism and antisemitism in his name.' In an interview with Reuters after a rally in Pennsylvania on Monday, Trump did not directly respond to a question about that criticism."

Tommy Christopher of Mediaite: "Among the ... attractions [at Monday's Democratic convention] was a two-minute spoof of the long-running cop show Law & Order.... 'He lies. He rips off workers. He sexually abuses women/// He cheats in business. He cheated on his wife with a porn star and paid her off so the American people wouldn't find out during an election,' the video's narrator said, with quick-cut video elements suggestive of the TV show. In addition to that, Trump was featured in a biographical package on Vice President Kamala Harris that contrasted Harris and Trump -- and which flashed a widely-shared clip of Trump and [Jeffrey] Epstein smiling with each other at a party[.]" ~~~

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Presidential Race

Michael Shear of the New York Times: "President Biden used his valedictory address at the Democratic National Convention on Monday to deliver a lengthy defense of his own record aimed at cementing a 50-year legacy of public service, even as he passed the reins to Vice President Kamala Harris as the new face of the party he led until just weeks ago.... 'I've given my heart and soul to our nation, and I've been blessed a million times in return,' the president said as he made the case that Ms. Harris is the best person to lead the country now that he is no longer in the race. 'She's tough. She's experienced. And she has enormous integrity,' Mr. Biden said. Selecting Ms. Harris as his vice president, he added, 'was the best decision I made my whole career.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Video of the full speech is here. Here's Time magazine's highlights video: ~~~

Washington Post Editors: "In retrospect, [President] Biden should not have sought reelection. The June 27 debate was worse than just a bad night, as the president maintained afterward. The 81-year-old had showed signs of slipping for a long time, but his inner circle worked to conceal his decline.... It is Mr. Biden's willingness to surrender power, albeit via internal machination rather than the ballot box, that deserves special recognition. It creates a powerful and, for Mr. Biden, favorable contrast with Mr. Trump -- who refused to acknowledge defeat in 2020 and instead stirred up a mob in Washington.... The last weeks have shown how Mr. Biden's act created a pathway for a new generation of Democratic leaders.... His worthiest moments in politics ... were those in which he modeled empathy, moderation and statesmanship. That includes perhaps the toughest call he had to make in his decades in politics: his decision to step aside."

The New York Times live-updated news of the Democratic convention's opening day. Following are some of the updates that began at about 6:45 pm ET Monday, when DNC chair Jaime Harrison & convention chair Minyon Moore gaveled the convention to order. For copies of some earlier items, see yesterday's Conversation. MB: If possible for you, it's better to read the reporters' words in the original Timesese.~~~

Julie Bosman: Chicago Mayor Brandon "Johnson welcomed delegates to Chicago in his usual style -- ebullient, dramatic and with huge praise for his city, the greatest one in the world, as he said tonight."

Jennifer Medina: "Representative Maxine Waters called Fannie Lou Hamer one of [Vice President] Harris's heroes, referring to her time at the Democratic National Convention in 1964, when she arrived with a group of black delegates from Mississippi and asked that they be seated in place of the all white delegation. 'She asked the country a simple but profound question: "Is this America?"' Waters recounted. When Harris receives the nomination later this week, she added: [We can ask ourselves, is this America? And we will be able to say loudly and proudly, you're damn right it is!'"

Bosman: "In a tribute that brought people in the crowd to tears, the Rev. Jesse L. Jackson Sr., the civil rights icon, took the stage with his family. Jackson, 82, who uses a wheelchair and has Parkinson's disease, is no longer able to speak clearly."

Nicholas Nehamas: "In an overwhelming voice vote, delegates just ceremonially confirmed Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota as the Democratic nominee for vice president before breaking into chants of 'U.S.A.!'... Delegates just approved the Democratic Party's platform for the 2024 election, a document stocked with political comfort food for liberals that had been written before President Biden dropped out and still contained many references to his second term."

Kellen Browning: "Peggy Flanagan, the lieutenant governor of Minnesota, who will become the state's first female governor if Tim Walz is elected vice president, said her brother was one of the first people to die of Covid in Tennessee at the beginning of the pandemic. 'Our communities were suffering; our economy was struggling; and Donald Trump was playing games,' she said. Her comments set up a video clip contrasting Trump's statements downplaying the pandemic with the Biden administration's handling of it."

Erica Green: "The homages to civil rights leaders embedded in the programming illustrates the significance of having two Black chairs at the helm of convention planning.... In a video montage, the Rev. Al Sharpton referenced Hamer and Chisholm and said there was a 'direct line​' from ​1964 to today​."

Ken Bensinger: "Union support has always been a bulwark of Democratic support. As the heads of six major unions -- the AFSCME, SEIU, LIUNA, IBEW and AFL-CIO -- took the stage a moment ago, the arena audience, to underscore that point, began chanting 'union yes! union yes!' One by one, the labor leaders praised Kamala Harris's accomplishments for the working class."

Medina: "Mayor Karen Bass of Los Angeles spoke of her decades-long relationship with Harris and was one of the only speakers, so far, to explicitly mention the historic nature of her campaign. 'When I asked her to swear me in -- the first woman vice president, swearing in the first woman mayor of Los Angeles -- we knew we were sending a message to young girls everywhere that they, too, can lead,' Bass said to wild applause."

Green: "Senator Laphonza Butler, the lone Black woman serving in the United States Senate from California and a longtime and close friend of Harris's, just outlined how Harris's background has prepared her for this moment."

Maggie Haberman: "Gov. Kathy Hochul of New York is speaking. She's gotten big cheers from her home state delegation. She's also in a unique position to attack Trump."

Medina: "Gina Raimondo, the secretary of commerce, turned the focus to the economy, promising tax cuts and new housing for the middle class as a 'defining goal of her presidency.'"

Nick Corasaniti: "The Harris campaign video that introduced the surprise appearance by the vice president got a much louder reception in the arena than almost any speaker tonight. And when she entered, the place erupted." ~~~

~~~ Katie Rogers: "That Harris appearance was ostensibly to prop up President Biden and thank him for his 'historic leadership,' as she said, but the attention and excitement was very much trained on her and illustrated what her candidacy now represents for the Democrats: an energy boost."

Browning: "Steve Kerr, the coach of the N.B.A.'s Golden State Warriors, fresh off a gold medal in Paris, just got the largest non-Harris ovation so far tonight. He came out to a video highlight of his time playing for the Chicago Bulls."

Rogers: "Shawn Fain, the president of the powerful United Auto Workers union, just got the crowd in the hall to break into a chant: 'Trump's a scab!'"

Nicholas Fandos: "The decision to give Representative Alexandria-Ocasio Cortez ... a prime-time speaking slot underscores the evolution of the Democratic Party and the congresswoman.... Ocasio-Cortez has been one of her party's biggest critics of Israel's war against Hamas in Gaza, accusing the nation of genocide and demanding the United States cut off military aid. But tonight, even as pro-Palestinian protesters have gathered in Chicago, she conspicuously credits Harris with 'working tirelessly to secure a cease-fire in Gaza and bring hostages home.'" ~~~

~~~ Reid Epstein: "That was quite the moment inside the hall as Ocasio-Cortez took the stage to raucous chants of 'A.O.C.'"

Rebecca O'Brien: "The crowd is on its feet and roaring for [Hillary] Clinton." ~~~

~~~ Haberman: The crowd for Hillary Clinton was so loud and so extensive in its applause that she had to urge them to sit."

Lisa Lerer: "Clinton is positioning Harris in a line that stretches from the suffragettes to her own failed 2016 bid. It's an embrace of gender that was central to Clinton's 2016 run but that Harris hasn't made quite as explicitly in her own campaign.... Clinton is also breaking from Harris's underdog message, saying that Harris 'has them on the run now.'"

Browning: "Some women on the floor have tears in their eyes as they listen to Clinton say that they are 'so close' to breaking through the 'highest, hardest glass ceiling.'"

Browning: "The South Carolina delegation is on its feet chanting 'Clyburn! Clyburn!' Representative James Clyburn has taken the stage."

Ulloa: "Lively applause and chants of 'Jamie, Jamie' as Representative Jamie Raskin of Maryland takes the stage." MB: Raskin said the president takes an oath to "take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed," not that the vice president be executed. (Slight paraphrase.)

Ulloa: "Representative Jasmine Crockett, a Democrat from Texas, is a rising progressive star..., is taking the stage."

Medina: "In his extended riff about 'all God's children,' [Sen. Raphael] Warnock [Ga.] mentioned Palestinian children, which received huge applause inside the arena."

Epstein: Big applause for Jill Biden when she recalled the moment President Biden decided to drop out of the race and endorse Kamala Harris."

Rogers: President "Biden chased this office for decades. He did not get this convention moment in 2020, because of the pandemic. Tonight he is saying goodbye. He looks overcome."

Maggie Astor: "It's really something that, after all these decades, after finally winning the presidency in 2020, perhaps the biggest ovation of his career is for stepping aside."

Epstein: "The standing ovation for Joe Biden lasted four minutes and 30 seconds before he could begin his remarks. He tried settling the crowd down several times before the cheers and chants of 'Thank you, Joe' abated."

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs, et al., of the New York Times: "Thousands of protesters marched in Chicago on Monday as the Democratic National Convention began nearby, an early test of the city's security preparations and of Vice President Kamala Harris's attempts to project a sense of intraparty unity. Protesters from a coalition of more than 200 groups, which represented a range of liberal causes but were united in anger over the Biden administration's approach to Israel and Gaza, walked through the streets on Monday afternoon after an hourslong rally at a park."

Annie Karni & Katie Glueck of the New York Times: "As Democrats revolted against [President] Biden's re-election bid this summer, [Hillary] Clinton wanted no role in pushing him out, according to people briefed on her thinking. But behind the scenes, she was also adamant that if the president chose to step aside, [Vice President] Harris should become the party's nominee with no drawn out primary. The two women, once on opposite sides during the contentious 2008 Democratic primary, have quietly bonded over the past several years, sharing dinners at Mrs. Clinton's Washington home, discussing high-impact decisions like whom Ms. Harris should pick for her running mate, and connecting over the still-stubborn ways that women in high office can be underestimated.... 'Nothing would make Hillary happier than seeing the first in history beat the worst in history,' said Philippe Reines, a former top adviser to Mrs. Clinton who has been playing the role of Mr. Trump in Ms. Harris's debate prep."

Jamie Gangel & Gregory Krieg of CNN: "Retired federal appeals court Judge J. Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative legal scholar put on the bench by President George H.W. Bush, is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris over ... Donald Trump, whose candidacy he describes as an existential threat to American democracy. It will be the first time Luttig, a veteran of two Republican administrations, has voted for a Democrat. 'In the presidential election of 2024 there is only one political party and one candidate for the presidency that can claim the mantle of defender and protector of America's Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law,' Luttig wrote in a statement.... 'As a result, I will unhesitatingly vote for the Democratic Party's candidate for the Presidency of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.'" (Also linked yesterday.)

Slurs & Lies Are All He's Got. Marianne LeVine, et al., of the Washington Post: "... Donald Trump on Monday questioned whether Democrats knew where Vice President Kamala Harris 'came from,' reprising a tactic that he has previously used against other Democrats, including former president Barack Obama and women of color in Congress. Trump also freshly described Harris's policy positions as a 'regulatory jihad,' without explanation, using a loaded Arabic term often translated as holy war. He consistently mispronounced her first name.... At another point, he questioned her upbringing ... [and] referencing Harris's father, a distinguished Jamaican economist." Trump's remarks, made in York County, Pennsylvania, were meant to be about the economy, and he told a bunch of lies about that. ~~~

     ~~~ Weird Guy Says He's "Extremely Normal." Brett Samuels of the Hill: "Former President Trump on Monday mocked Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D) as a 'whack job' as he responded to the Democratic vice presidential nominee labeling Trump and his running mate as 'weird.' Trump during a campaign stop in Pennsylvania argued Vice President Harris's choice of Walz as her running mate showed she has a far-left ideology before launching into an aside about the criticisms from Walz that Trump and Sen. JD Vance (R-Ohio) are 'weird.' 'This whack job. You know, he said we're weird. That JD and I are weird. I think we're extremely normal people. Like you,' Trump said to the crowd at a factory in York. 'He's weird. Did you ever see him go on the stage and go like crazy? Between his movement and her laugh, there's a lot of craziness. I'd say a step further than weird. Weird is a nice word by comparison.'"

More Slurs & Lies. Kathryn Watson of CBS News: In an interview with CBS News' Caitlin Huey-Burns, Donald Trump "said he just had a medical exam and received a 'perfect score,' and two cognitive tests, which he said he 'aced.... I got everything right,' Trump said. 'And one of the doctors said, "I've never seen that before, where you get everything right." No, I have no problem....'... 'You will release your medical records to the public?' Huey-Burns asked the former president. 'Oh sure, I would do that very gladly, sure,' Trump responded....

"In recent rallies, Trump has been complaining about the replacement of President Biden at the top of the ticket, characterizing [Vice President] Harris' nomination as a 'coup.' He's also been assailing her intelligence, repeatedly calling her 'stupid,' despite her long legal career. Huey-Burns asked Trump if that's the right message to win over moderate voters.... 'I think that the message is what a bad job they've done. I mean, if you look at this economy, if you look at inflation, and you know, I love this country....' But asked for specifics, Trump couldn't point to evidence or examples of deficits in Harris' intellect. 'Our country needs a very smart person, and I don't think she's a very smart person,' Trump replied. 'So, I'm not looking to -- I don't consider that an insult -- that's just a fact.'"

     ~~~ Marie: Here's how I know Trump is lying about his cognitive test: this test is commonly given to seniors during their annual examinations. I've taken it more than a dozen times, and for someone who is not suffering from cognitive impairment, it's a super-simple exercise. For example, the patient is asked to draw a clockface and "set" the clock at 10 after 10. Trump has repeatedly claimed that his doctors were amazed at the cognitive perfection he exhibited during previous tests. But because the test is designed to be easy, I suspect "perfect scores" are the most common results. So doctors would not have dropped their jaws in amazement at Trump's performance and said, "I've never seen that before, where you get everything right." Most people likely get everything right most of the time.

Rhona Tarrant of CBS News: "... Donald Trump shared AI-generated images of women wearing 'Swifties for Trump' t-shirts to his Truth Social account on Sunday, including a satirical post that claimed Taylor Swift fans were turning to Trump after security concerns forced the cancellation of her Vienna concerts earlier this month. Trump captioned the post 'I accept!' and shared screenshots of four X posts that show women wearing 'Swifties for Trump' t-shirts, as well as a fabricated image of Taylor Swift that reads, 'Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.' Swift has not endorsed a presidential candidate in this election but endorsed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2020 race." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ You can see Trump's post here. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: Of the 10 photos posted, it appears 8 are A.I.-generated. Two, of the same young woman, are real. (Also linked yesterday.)

The Bluff Cannot Hold. Michael Bender of the New York Times: "Senator JD Vance of Ohio on Monday accused Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota of misleading the public about their records and taking relatively few questions on the campaign trail. But Mr. Vance's attacks, made to supporters at an appearance in Philadelphia, also trained the spotlight on his own less-than-direct answers to specific questions, including whether he and ... Donald J. Trump would support an increase in the federal minimum wage and whether his own opinions have changed on the need for a federal abortion ban." (Also linked yesterday.)

Glenn Thrush & Adam Goldman of the New York Times: "American intelligence agencies said on Monday that Iran was responsible for hacking into ... Donald J. Trump's campaign and trying to breach the Biden-Harris campaign. The finding, which was widely expected, came days after a longtime Trump adviser, Roger J. Stone, revealed that his Hotmail and Gmail accounts had been compromised. That intrusion evidently allowed Iranian hackers to impersonate him and gain access to the emails of campaign aides."

Ben Protess, et al., of the New York Times: "Manhattan prosecutors left the politically fraught decision of when to sentence Donald J. Trump in his criminal hush-money case to a judge, declining to endorse or oppose the former president's request to postpone until after the November election. The sentencing is currently set for Sept. 18.... Mr. Trump had asked to postpone the sentencing until after the election partly so he had more time to challenge his conviction. In a letter to the judge overseeing the case, Justice Juan M. Merchan, prosecutors from the Manhattan district attorney's office acknowledged the existing schedule posed some challenges. But the prosecutors also disputed many of Mr. Trump's arguments for delaying his sentencing, and said they were 'prepared to appear for sentencing' at any date the judge chooses."

Philip Bump of the Washington Post: "The release of the final report from the House committees tasked with evaluating whether President Joe Biden should be impeached reinforces the downside to [Congressional] power [to uncover wrongdoing]: It can also be deployed by bad-faith actors in an explicit effort to politically damage rivals.... [Publication of the report on the first date of the DNC -- when President Biden was slated to speak -- is not a coincidence.] There is almost nothing in the final report that wasn't known or understood before the formal investigation began.... The insincerity of the effort is epitomized by the complete and overt lack of interest Comer and his allies had in similarly investigating Trump and his family, recipients of far more money far more directly tied to foreign governments. In fact, when [Rep. Jim] Comer [R-Ky.] took over Oversight, he shut down an existing probe into Trump.... History ... will ... remember this effort as a failed, ultimately useless attempt to protect the Republican Party and the electoral prospects of Donald Trump."

Arizona. Another Piece of the Plot. Ian Millhiser of Vox: "The Republican Party wants the Supreme Court to weigh in on a nauseatingly complicated voting rights case, which could potentially disenfranchise thousands of presidential voters in the swing state of Arizona. The case is known as Republican National Committee v. Mi Familia Vota. The case involves an astoundingly convoluted system Arizona uses to register certain voters == one that emerged from 20 years of conflicting state and federal laws, plus seemingly endless litigation over those laws. Among other things, Republicans claim that several thousand Arizona voters should be allowed to vote only in congressional elections, and that they are barred from voting in state and local elections or voting for the president." To make a long story short, a Republican win would disenfranchise mostly non-White -- i.e., more likely Democratic -- voters.

Grace Ashford, et al., of the New York Times: "George Santos, the disgraced former Republican congressman from New York whose penchant for lying led to one of the oddest sideshows in modern U.S. politics, pleaded guilty on Monday to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. While Mr. Santos's plea will allow him to avoid a trial on a total of nearly two dozen charges -- including money laundering and stealing public funds -- it all but ensures he will face at least two years in prison and as long as two decades. The trial was set to begin next month.... Mr. Santos repeatedly insisted that he would defend his innocence in court, only to reverse course as the opportunity approached." (Also linked yesterday.)

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Washington, D.C. Meagan Flynn & Michael Brice-Saddler of the Washington Post: "Charged with bribery in federal court, D.C. Council member Trayon White Sr. (D-Ward 8) could face punishment from the council, including expulsion, after Chairman Phil Mendelson on Monday formed a committee to weigh the evidence against him. White, who is running for reelection in November, is accused by federal prosecutors of agreeing to accept a total of $156,000 in cash and kickbacks this summer in exchange for using his influence and position as a D.C. Council member to try to help a pair of companies lock down lucrative city contracts involving violence prevention."

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Israel/Palestine, et al.

The New York Times live updates of developments Tuesday in the Israel/Hamas war are here.

Robert Jimison, et al., of the New York Times: "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken said on Monday that Israel had accepted a Biden administration proposal to bridge some remaining differences with Hamas on a cease-fire deal, as he pushed what he called 'probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity' to secure a truce and free the remaining hostages in Gaza. Mr. Blinken made the declaration after a nearly three-hour meeting with the Israeli prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, in Jerusalem. 'In a very constructive meeting with Prime Minister Netanyahu today, he confirmed to me that Israel accepts the bridging proposal -- that he supports it,' Mr. Blinken told reporters. 'It's now incumbent on Hamas to do the same.' The statement put new pressure on Hamas, whose officials have called the proposal fundamentally slanted toward Israel, although the details have not been publicized."

Ukraine. Andrew Kramer of the New York Times: "Russian troops defending a pocket of territory wedged between a river and the border with Ukraine were at risk of becoming encircled, military analysts said Monday, after Ukraine bombed bridges that are the only routes for resupply or retreat.... The bombing of bridges ... takes aim at land between the Seym River, the border and an area inside Russia already controlled by Ukraine, with the potential to entrap the Russian forces positioned there. Three bridges span this stretch of river, all now destroyed or damaged...."

The Conversation -- August 19, 2024

Grace Ashford, et al., of the New York Times: "George Santos, the disgraced former Republican congressman from New York whose penchant for lying led to one of the oddest sideshows in modern U.S. politics, pleaded guilty on Monday to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. While Mr. Santos's plea will allow him to avoid a trial on a total of nearly two dozen charges -- including money laundering and stealing public funds -- it all but ensures he will face at least two years in prison and as long as two decades. The trial was set to begin next month.... Mr. Santos repeatedly insisted that he would defend his innocence in court, only to reverse course as the opportunity approached."

Rhona Tarrant of CBS News: "... Donald Trump shared AI-generated images of women wearing 'Swifties for Trump' t-shirts to his Truth Social account on Sunday, including a satirical post that claimed Taylor Swift fans were turning to Trump after security concerns forced the cancellation of her Vienna concerts earlier this month. Trump captioned the post 'I accept!' and shared screenshots of four X posts that show women wearing 'Swifties for Trump' t-shirts, as well as a fabricated image of Taylor Swift that reads, 'Taylor wants you to vote for Donald Trump.' Swift has not endorsed a presidential candidate in this election but endorsed President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2020 race." ~~~

     ~~~ You can see Trump's post here. Thanks to RAS for the link. MB: Of the 10 photos posted, it appears 8 are A.I.-generated. Two, of the same young woman, are real.

The Bluff Cannot Hold. Michael Bender of the New York Times: "Senator JD Vance of Ohio on Monday accused Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota of misleading the public about their records and taking relatively few questions on the campaign trail. But Mr. Vance's attacks, made to supporters at an appearance in Philadelphia, also trained the spotlight on his own less-than-direct answers to specific questions, including whether he and ... Donald J. Trump would support an increase in the federal minimum wage and whether his own opinions have changed on the need for a federal abortion ban."

Jamie Gangel & Gregory Krieg of CNN: "Retired federal appeals court Judge J. Michael Luttig, a prominent conservative legal scholar put on the bench by President George H.W. Bush, is endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris over ... Donald Trump, whose candidacy he describes as an existential threat to American democracy. It will be the first time Luttig, a veteran of two Republican administrations, has voted for a Democrat. 'In the presidential election of 2024 there is only one political party and one candidate for the presidency that can claim the mantle of defender and protector of America's Democracy, the Constitution, and the Rule of Law,' Luttig wrote in a statement obtained exclusively by CNN. 'As a result, I will unhesitatingly vote for the Democratic Party's candidate for the Presidency of the United States, Vice President of the United States, Kamala Harris.'"

The New York Times is live-updating news of the Democratic convention. (Copies & partial copies of some entries after about 6:45 pm ET, when the convention was gaveled in, appear in Tuesday's Conversation.) ~~~

Neil Vigdor: "Democratic National Committee operatives projected a series of messages onto the facade of Donald Trump's 92-story condo-hotel tower in Chicago last night, a move that was intended to goad the former president on the eve of the party's convention. Some of the messages read 'Trump-Vance "Weird as Hell"' and "Project 2025 HQ."'..."

Maggie Astor: "Several organizations focused on combating climate change joined forces on Monday for a $55 million advertising campaign in support of Vice President Kamala Harris, embracing what they describe as the economic upside of the Democratic Party's environmental efforts. The campaign will include ads in at least six swing states: Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin."

Nicholas Fandos: "Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, a leader of the Democratic party's progressive wing, will speak tonight in prime time from the convention floor, according to an aide to the congresswoman. The high-profile speaking slot is a sharp contrast to 2020, when she was allotted just 90 seconds to symbolically nominate Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont."

Jazmine Ulloa: "In Chicago, the Hispanic Caucus meeting at the D.N.C. this morning opened with a video of Vice President Kamala Harris speaking about her immigrant mother and how she was overlooked because of her accent.... The room breaks into applause for Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, the Democratic vice-presidential nominee, as he drops in to make brief remarks."

Chris Cameron: "Delegates representing Democratic voters who cast 'uncommitted' ballots in the party's primaries held a news conference this morning, reiterating their calls for Vice President Kamala Harris and the Democratic Party to call for an arms embargo against Israel, and an end to its deadly military campaign in Gaza."

Cameron: "The Democratic party platform, released last night ahead of the nominating convention, has a few sections that are out of date: It erroneously mentions a 'second term for President Biden 19 times, nearly a month after ... Vice President Kamala Harris took over the top of the ticket."

Ernesto Londoño: "Demonstrators marching in Chicago said they remained hopeful that Vice President Kamala Harris would come out in favor of cutting military aid to Israel. During a gathering that has been peaceful and often joyful, many voters said they intended to support third-party candidates or refrain from voting in November."

Eric Lee: "Gov. JB Pritzker of Illinois welcoming President Biden to Chicago upon his arrival at Soldier Field."

Nicholas Bogel-Burroughs: "A small group of demonstrators calling for an end to the war in Gaza broke off from the main protest march that started at Union Park a few hours ago.... About 50 Chicago police officers -- roughly equal to the breakaway group of protesters -- have arrived to assist the police officers who were already here.... A group of riot police with helmets and batons are now entering from the other side, closing off the breakaway protest groups on either end.... The police detained at least four protesters who had broken away from the main protest group and gone through one of the security perimeter gates, including taking one protester to the ground and then dragging him away. Several protesters had been lobbing signs and cans at the police."

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Presidential Race

Axios has a rundown of the main speakers at the Democratic National Convention, which begins today.

Jonathan Martin of Politico in Politico Magazine: "Democrats are a healthier, better organized, more hierarchical and even ruthless party.... This doesn't mean [Vice President] Harris is sure to prevail in November. Her challenges and those of the party remain.... As David Axelrod, the longtime Democratic strategist puts it, the Great Summer Swap of 2024 only handed the party a chance to compete -- it hardly guaranteed victory. Happy Days aren't here again just yet. That Democrats made such a wrenching decision, though, illuminates a crucial distinction between the parties. Saddled with an aging and unpopular incumbent president, Democrats used President Biden's disastrous debate performance to stage what was effectively a front-bench putsch. Orchestrated by other party leaders, Biden's ouster revealed how pragmatic, cold-eyed and unsentimental Democrats have become in the age of Trump.... The non-MAGA Republicans only wish they could pull off what their opposition did last month."

Rebecca O'Brien & Nicholas Nehamas of the New York Times: "... Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate, Gov. Tim Walz of Minnesota, headed out on a brief bus tour on Sunday to fire up voters in perhaps the most crucial battleground state in the 2024 election.... Ms. Harris and Mr. Walz were joined on the outing by their spouses, Doug Emhoff and Gwen Walz, traveling in two new campaign buses from the Pittsburgh airport, where they arrived on Air Force Two to greet a small group of supporters. The Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas are the two main drivers of Democratic support in Pennsylvania, a state whose 19 electoral votes could decide the presidency. Recent polling shows a neck-and-neck race there between Ms. Harris and ... Donald J. Trump, with some surveys showing Ms. Harris gaining a narrow edge recently.... Speaking to a crowd of supporters outside the Rochester campaign office on Sunday, Ms. Harris appeared to suggest that Mr. Trump was a 'coward.'... Over the last several years there's been this kind of perversion that has taken place, I think, which is to suggest that the measure of the strength of a leader is based on who you beat down,' Ms. Harris said -- though she did not name Mr. Trump. 'Anybody who's about beating down other people is a coward.'" ~~~

     ~~~ Reuters' story on the cowardly lyin' Trump is here.

Anumita Kaur of the Washington Post: "Former Republican congresswoman Barbara Comstock endorsed Kamala Harris's presidential bid on Sunday, joining another former Virginia representative [Denver Riggleman] in crossing party lines while the state's GOP establishment remains firmly in Donald Trump's camp. 'After Jan. 6, after Donald Trump has refused for four years to acknowledge that he lost, and his threats against democracy, I think it's important to turn the page,' Comstock said during a CNN interview Sunday. 'That's why I will be voting for the vice president.'" The Hill's report is profiles President Biden. (Also linked yesterday.)

Peter Baker & Zolan Kanno-Youngs of the New York Times evaluate Kamala Harris's tenure as vice president. (Also linked yesterday.)

Are you better off today than you were four years ago? Here's Rhode Island casting its delegate votes for president in the 2020 virtual Democratic National Convention": ~~~

Colby Itkowitz & Hannah Allam of the Washington Post: "From the moment Vice President Kamala Harris emerged as the surprise Democratic presidential nominee..., Donald Trump began arguing that she was anointed through a 'coup' rather than chosen by primary voters. After barely mentioning election integrity at the Republican convention in July, Trump is now casting the upcoming election as 'rigged' against him and baselessly labeling any hurdle in his path as election interference. 'This was an overthrow of a president. This was an overthrow,' Trump said at a rally in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., on Saturday, referring to Harris replacing Biden on the ticket.... This was a coup.' Trump's efforts to undermine confidence in this year's election are reminiscent of the tactics he used in the 2020 campaign and indicate how he could again seek to delegitimize the results if he loses, setting the stage for another combustible fight over the presidency, election and national security experts said." ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: If you're thinking, "So what?" see Nick Corasaniti's report & Rachel Maddow's op-ed, linked below. And if you still think the GOP plot to steal the election if necessary won't work, think of the corrupt Supremes. There's a high possibility that five or six crooked justices could rule that an operational plot was Constitutional.

Miranda Nazzaro of the Hill: "Fox News chief political analyst Brit Hume on Sunday argued that while former President Trump could win the November election, voters' dislike of him makes him 'not a majority candidate.'... While Trump has a 'very hard, solid base of support,' Hume argued, it does not go above 40 to 45 percent. 'So, his weakness is the predicate for our politics going back now three elections,' Hume said. 'He was able to surmount Hillary Clinton, a uniquely unpopular opponent, but he couldn't beat Biden, and you know, you look at the losses in the midterms -- or the disappointing results in the midterms -- it's all about one thing, it's about that.' In the end, the enthusiasm felt among his supporters will not be enough to make him a 'majority candidate,' Hume said."

Trump & Vance, Expert Statisticians

As a result of Kamala's inflation price hikes, they've cost the typical household a total of $28,000. These are numbers coming from the government. They are not coming from me. -- Donald Trump, media event in Bedminster, N.J., August 15

Trump might have picked up the $28,000 figure from "a random statistic in a blog post." -- Glenn Kessler, Washington Post

Senator Jay Dee Gets His "Crime Stats" from the Movies. Jazmine Ulloa & Chris Cameron of the New York Times: "Senator JD Vance of Ohio, the Republican vice-presidential nominee, on Friday defended his past unsubstantiated claims about immigration in which he suggested that early waves of Italian, Irish and German immigration led to higher crime and interethnic conflict, by citing the movie 'Gangs of New York.'... 'Well, first of all, I also said there were a lot of benefits to that wave of immigration, but has anybody ever seen the movie "Gangs of New York"? That's what I'm talking about,' he said. 'We know that when you have these massive ethnic enclaves forming in our country, it can sometimes lead to higher crime rates.'... Historians and criminologists say there are no empirical studies to support claims like those made by Mr. Vance. The studies that do exist have repeatedly concluded that immigrants are less likely to commit crimes than people born in the United States.... Tyler Anbinder, a historian who ... served as a historical adviser for the movie 'Gangs of New York,' said immigrants in New York during the film's time period and since have not committed crime disproportionate to their population numbers and have almost always been arrested at lower rates than natives."

Azi Paybarah, et al., of the Washington Post: "More than $247 million was spent in the first six months of this year on television, streaming platform and digital ads that mention immigration, according to AdImpact, which tracks campaign advertising. That is $40 million more than ads that mention any other issue. Over 90 percent of the ads supported Republican candidates and were paid for by their campaigns or political action committees backing them.... Taken as a whole, the ads convey an unrealistic portrait of the border as being overrun and inaccurately characterize immigrants generally as a threat, of which there is little evidence. FBI data show U.S. border cities are among the nation's safest. And a 2023 report from a group of economists found immigrants are at least 30 percent less likely to be incarcerated than U.S.-born individuals.... Footage [show Border Patrol agents teargassing migrants storming the border] was taken during the Trump administration, but in dozens of ads, it is paired with voice-over and text tying it to Democrats."

The New & Improved Jim Crow. Nick Corasaniti of the New York Times: "Since the [Republican] takeover [in May], the Georgia State Election Board has approved a host of rules on certifications and investigations backed by right-wing election activists who claim, falsely, that the 2020 election was stolen from Mr. Trump. The moves underscore a sharp rightward turn for what is supposed to be an apolitical body.... If there is another chaotic challenge to the election results this November, Georgia is shaping up to be a hot spot, as it was in 2020." ~~~

~~~ Rachel Maddow, in a New York Times op-ed: "Since Donald Trump and Ronna McDaniel, the then-chair of the Republican National Committee, phoned local officials in Michigan in November 2020 to encourage them not to certify vote totals, Republicans have quietly seeded county and state election boards with eager allies. Election boards across the country now include Republican officials who have not only propounded Mr. Trump's lies about the last presidential election being 'stolen,' they have tested how far they can go in denying the certification of the vote.... In the past three and a half years, the ad hoc certification ploys that failed to flip the last presidential election to Mr. Trump have been professionalized and systematized by Republican officials and their allies.... In Georgia, the State Election Board approved a rule this month that gives election officials in each of the state's 159 counties the option to delay or refuse certification in order to make a 'reasonable inquiry' into the results.... The point of ... certification refusals may not be to falsify or flip a result, but simply to prevent the emergence of one. If one or more states fail to produce official results, blocking any candidate from reaching 270 electoral votes, the 12th Amendment prescribes ... a vote in the newly elected House of Representatives to determine the presidency. Each state delegation would get one vote; today, Republicans control 26 state delegations; Democrats control 22; and two are evenly divided."

Fake Impeachment Report Caps Fake Impeachment Investigation. Luke Broadwater of the New York Times: "House Republicans on Monday formally made the case for impeaching President Biden, releasing a lengthy report accusing him of corruption and seeking to allow his family to profit off his office in connection with foreign business deals made by his son Hunter, who has been charged with felony tax crimes. In the 291-page document, released on the day that Democrats gather in Chicago to begin their party convention, Republicans call Mr. Biden's conduct 'egregious' and say he should be impeached for abuse of power and obstruction. But the report contains no proof that Mr. Biden, when he was vice president, engaged in any corrupt quid pro quo to benefit his son's business partners, and Republicans admit they have no direct evidence that he ordered any interference into a Justice Department investigation into Hunter Biden.... Like the impeachment investigation itself, the report -- prepared by the Oversight, Judiciary and Ways and Means Committees after a monthslong investigation -- appears to be orchestrated for maximum political impact."

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Minnesota. We Think We Can, We Think We Can. Katie Robertson of the New York Times: "Many metropolitan newspapers across the country have narrowed their ambitions in recent years, closing regional bureaus and cutting back statewide coverage in an effort to trim costs. The Star Tribune in Minneapolis is taking the opposite tack. The paper will now be called The Minnesota Star Tribune, its chief executive announced on Sunday, and it will use an injection of money from its billionaire owner [Glen Taylor] to expand its coverage beyond the Twin Cities into other parts of the state. Steve Grove, the publisher and chief executive, said the push, which includes hiring reporters in various parts of the state, was part of an effort to as much as triple the publication's paid digital subscriptions over the next five years."

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Israel/Palestine, et al. The New York Times' live updates of developments Monday in the Israel/Hamas war are here. Here's part of the pinned item (@ 8 am ET): "Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken met with officials in Israel on Monday at what he called 'a decisive moment' for diplomatic negotiations aimed at reaching a cease-fire in Gaza and securing the release of hostages. After months without progress, talks that ended in Qatar on Friday and were expected to resume this week in Egypt represented 'probably the best, maybe the last, opportunity to get the hostages home, to get a cease-fire, and to put everyone on a better path to enduring peace and security,' Mr. Blinken said as he met with President Isaac Herzog in Tel Aviv."

News Ledes

New York Times: "Phil Donahue, who in the 1960s reinvented the television talk show with a democratic flourish, inviting audiences to question his guests on topics as resolutely high-minded as human rights and international relations, and as unblushingly lowbrow as male strippers and safe-sex orgies, died on Sunday at his home on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. He was 88."

New York Times: "Ruth Johnson Colvin, who founded what became one of the world's largest organizations of volunteers tutoring basic language skills to functionally illiterate peoples in America and other lands, opening doors to citizenship and better lives, died on Sunday at her home in Syracuse, N.Y. She was 107."