Ed Case

“I know first-hand that Israel has created an apartheid reality within its borders and through its occupation. The parallels to my own beloved South Africa are painfully stark indeed,” the late Anglican Bishop Desmond Tutu — standing up for Palestinian...

Illinois gave the U.S. Lincoln, Reagan and Obama, but it's better known for a more notorious political legacy: constant and persistent corruption.

Former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are set to participate in a debate hosted by ABC News on Sept. 10.

From the editorial: "The advice ... may seem pretty common sense — and it pretty much is. But (the) tips are also important, potentially life-saving reminders that bear repeating."

A Tribune series on the nature of corruption and its ubiquity in Illinois and Chicago politics kicked off Sunday.

'Most important decision'

The complaints include discrimination and sexual harassment allegations at schools and universities.

A biographer of Donald Trump's is seeing the ex-president start to panic after another huge night for the Democratic Party at their convention in Chicago. David Cay Johnston spotted one of Donald Trump's latest fundraising emails as a sign of anxiety. The Trump campaign's fundraising numbers have lagged despite hosting the Republican National Convention and naming his vice presidential running mate. In July, he was only able to pull in $139 million compared to Kamala Harris' nearly $500 million. Read Also: ‘A little boy’: Former GOP congressman says Trump’s worst tantrums are yet to comeThe language, he pointed out, is "red-baiting," Johnston said, "and sliming of her donors." The email flashes "EMERGENCY ALERT" at the top and another "ALERT" in a graphic at the bottom. The text is in all caps and begging for help. "She's expecting millions more dirty liberal dollars to pour in today," Trump's team wrote, revealing the Democrats' high fundraising numbers. "Today might be her best fundraising day ever!" Indeed, according to the Trump biographer, this is the "latest sign of [Trump's] panic." — (@)

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell, a longtime congressman from New Jersey and unflinching critic of former President Donald Trump, died at 87 years old on Wednesday, his family announced.Pascrell (D-N.J.), a former public school teacher, state assemblyman, and mayor of Paterson, was first elected to Congress in 1996 and served 14 terms.His death led to an outpouring of tributes from dignitaries in New Jersey and across the country. Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called him "a constant fighter for what is right and just."Pascrell, not one to hold back for fear of impropriety, was known for memorable one-liners. After he arrived in Washington, he put a bumper sticker on his door that said "NAFTA is Shafta," expressing his opposition to free trade agreements."The joy of Bill Pascrell is you never walked away from Bill Pascrell saying he was undecided," Rep. Richard Neal (D-Mass.), his colleague on the powerful House Ways and Means Committee, said in 2020.As he advanced in age, Pascrell became something of an ally to younger colleagues, endorsing a Green New Deal, for example. In 2019, he tweeted a satirical article from The Onion titled "82-Year-Old New Jersey Congressman Bill Pascrell Quietly Asks Ilhan Omar If He Can Be Part Of The Squad.""Well. How 'bout it," he jokingly asked the the small, left-wing band of lawmakers, getting an immediate "You're in, Bill Pascrell!" in response from Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.).Mostly, Pascrell was known in his later years for his no-holds-barred criticism of Trump—whose tax returns he pursued vigorously, in his role on the Ways and Means Committee—and other Republicans, and the comedy he produced at their expense.Pascrell took seeming delight in Trump's recent felony conviction in the New York hush money trial.A few days earlier, Pascrell took aim at U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, who's been mired in controversy for unreported gifts he accepted from Republican megadonors in the past. Pascrell posted an artistic rendering, based on a real scene from five years ago, of Thomas smoking a cigar while he sits beside megadonor Harlan Crow, his main benefactor, and right-wing legal influencer Leonard Leo, among others.Pascrell communicated with a directness that many Democratic officeholders are reluctant to employ, drawing praise—and smiles—from left-leaning followers of his social media account.In 2018, when Trump remarked that immigrants were coming to the U.S. from "shithole" countries, Pascrell invoked a racist character from the 1970s sitcom All in the Family.Pascrell, who was an advocate for veterans who'd suffered brain injuries in Iraq and Afghanistan, objected to Trump's disrespect for those who'd given their lives for the country.During the pandemic, Pascrell warned that Trump's approach to dealing with Covid-19 could be deadly for Americans.Trump's attorney general, William "Bill" Barr, was a frequent target of Pascrell's wrath: The congressman called him the "worst most corrupt despicable attorney general in U.S. history." So when Barr made claims about the Kenosha, Wisconsin, riots of 2020, Pascrell proved skeptical.In a 2020 debate, when Trump interrupted President Joe Biden while the then-Democratic nominee spoke about the military service of his son Beau Biden, who'd died of cancer five years earlier, Pascrell was unimpressed.Pascrell was an indefatigable critic of Postmaster General Louis DeJoy, whom he said had tried to sabotage—that is, slow down—the work of the U.S. Postal Service as a way of helping Trump's elections chances in 2020. (Most mail-in votes were for Democrats.) Pascrell blamed not just DeJoy but also the service's Board of Governors who had appointed the Republican businessman as their head.Pascrell kept beating the drum against DeJoy, unsuccessfully, until he died. (DeJoy is still the postmaster general.) The congressman also regularly used social media as a platform to argue that Republicans posed a threat to democracy.Pascrell, who was the second-oldest member of the House, will likely be replaced by another Democrat, as his district leans solidly blue.

Letters: There are still about 689,000 lead service lines, customer-owned pipes that connect a water main to a home, in Pennsylvania.

Trump’s claim and the law’s effect on Medicare resurfaces a long-running debate over savings versus cuts and the question of whether lowered spending automatically leads to a reduction in benefits for enrollees.

'reading too much into'

Donald Trump’s campaign is largely leaving paid canvassing and get-out-the-vote efforts to outside groups like America PAC, funded in part by Elon Musk.

America PAC aims to identify likely Trump supporters canvassing and digital outreach. It is among a handful of organizations to which Trump’s team has ceded most of the organizational effort.

“Father Knows Best” was a popular radio show in the post-World War era that morphed into an even more popular television series starring actor Robert Young. Young’s character, Jim Anderson, was an insurance company executive — probably the only time American mass media have positively portrayed such a figure. Young later played a much more [...]The post Ricardo Lara Deserves Credit for Trying to Solve California’s Home Insurance Crisis appeared first on GV Wire.

Destroy the guardrails of democracy before the election

Three quarters of Hawaii’s Congressional delegation are easily moved past their primary opponents and onto the general election ballot in November.

Homeowners facing serious problems with how their manufactured homes were installed at The Oaks of Weymouth got some good news Friday, when U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew visited with a representative of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"I am bound to take whatever plan the city chooses," writes one Forest Lake resident.

The Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, and Stephen Wolf, with additional contributions from the Daily Kos Elections team.Subscribe to The Downballot, our weekly podcast Embedded ContentLeading Off● WI Ballot: Wisconsin Democrats and their allies are waging an expensive campaign to convince voters next week to reject two Republican-backed constitutional amendments that would strip Democratic Gov. Tony Evers of key powers. But while conservatives don't appear to be spending nearly as much money on their campaign, the timing of the election and the wording of the two amendments could overcome any Democratic financial advantage.One of these amendments, which will be identified on the ballot as Question 1, would bar legislators from delegating authority over spending to the executive branch, a critical tool that gives officials leeway to address emergencies and other unforeseen issues. Question 2, likewise, would prohibit the governor from dispensing federal funds without the legislature's explicit permission. The GOP legislature wrote both amendments and scheduled them to appear on the Aug. 13 primary ballot, a day without any other major statewide races.A trio of progressive groups have raised more than $3.5 million, reports WisPolitics, to urge Wisconsinites to vote "no" on both. "They're designed to trick voters into eliminating checks and balances in our government," warns the narrator in a TV ad for one of those organizations, Protect Wisconsin’s Constitution-Vote No. "It's a power grab to give the MAGA politicians in our legislature the sole power to distribute emergency funding. They gerrymander, deny elections, and push abortion bans."Evers and other Badger State Democrats are also ardently opposing the two amendments. State party chair Ben Wikler recently predicted that their passage would make it tougher for the state government to distribute money in an emergency. Elizabeth Koehler, who heads the Nature Conservancy in Wisconsin, also used her op-ed in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel to argue that victories for Questions 1 and 2 would endanger vital federal funding for key conservation programs.On the other side, the conservative groups Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty and IRG Action Fund last month announced a "six-figure, public awareness campaign" to pass the amendments. WILL is one of Wisconsin's leading conservative organizations that litigates to defend Republican gerrymandering and efforts to restrict voting access.It's not clear how much money they have at their disposal, however, because WisPolitics writes that those two organizations weren't required to submit fundraising reports to state election officials "because the campaigns don’t constitute a majority of their work." (The only outfit that did turn in this paperwork reported raising just $15,000 through July 29.)However, conservatives are hoping that progressives won't be able to spend enough money to mobilize their base for what will likely be a low-turnout election. The amendments are also worded to make them sound like they're aimed at protecting checks and balances rather than eroding them.Question 1, for instance, would alter the state constitution to say that "[t]he legislature may not delegate its sole power to determine how moneys shall be appropriated." Question 2, likewise, says, "The governor may not allocate any federal moneys the governor accepts on behalf of the state without the approval of the legislature by joint resolution or as provided by legislative rule."The only poll we've seen, which was conducted by RMG Research in late June for a conservative group, found both questions winning when presented in such a way. A 31-22 plurality of registered voters said they'd favor an amendment "that would prevent the legislature from giving up its responsibility for making state spending decisions."A much stronger 62-22 majority responded in the affirmative when told, "Currently, billions of federal taxpayer dollars flowing into Wisconsin are being spent with approval by only the governor and no legislative review. Would you favor requiring both the legislature and the governor to approve this spending going forward?" That poll, though, was conducted before progressives began making their case for a "no" vote in earnest. It also sampled registered voters rather than the far smaller primary electorate.This campaign is the latest instance of legislative Republicans using their power to weaken Evers—an effort that began in 2018 after he unseated GOP Gov. Scott Walker but before the Democrat took office. Republicans have also conducted an unprecedented blockade of executive branch appointments by voting to fire his appointees and refusing to confirm others for key offices, such as the board that governs Wisconsin's university system.And while Evers has used his veto to stop right-wing bills from becoming law, the legislature has circumvented this by placing measures on the ballot. During the April presidential primary, for instance, the GOP successfully convinced voters to pass two more amendments that election administrators warned could make their jobs harder and potentially create chaos.However, Republicans may not be able to use this tool after this year's election. The state approved new legislative maps to replace Republican gerrymanders that the state Supreme Court struck down late last year, and the revamped boundaries give Democrats their best chance to flip the chamber since the GOP gained power in the 2010 red wave.Democrats are determined to make use of this opportunity, and they're fielding candidates in 97 of the 99 seats in the Assembly, while Republicans are contesting 84 races. The state Senate, by contrast, is likely to remain in GOP hands because only half the chamber is up each cycle, but Democrats are hoping to make crucial gains this year to set them up for more success in 2026. Both parties will pick their nominees for both the Assembly and Senate—including in some key battlegrounds—on Tuesday, the same day that voters will decide the fate of these two amendments.Election Night● HI State House: Hawaii holds its downballot primary on Saturday, and while there aren't many competitive races to look forward to, not everyone gets to rest easy this weekend. State House Speaker Scott Saiki faces his third Democratic primary challenge in as many cycles against former state Board of Education member Kim Coco Iwamoto, whose 2006 election to that office made her the nation's most prominent transgender elected official.Iwamoto went on to decisively lose a 2016 nomination battle for the state Senate before taking fourth place in the 2018 primary for lieutenant governor against now-Gov. Josh Green. (The runner-up was Jill Tokuda, who now represents the 2nd Congressional District.) Her subsequent campaigns against Saiki, though, have been much closer, and she lost by just 167 and 161 votes in 2020 and 2022, respectively.Iwamoto is insisting she'll finally break through on Saturday. She argued to Hawaii News Now's Daryl Huff that the speaker's support from prominent politicians, including Green, proves that "the status quo in Hawaii, they’re threatened by this." Allies of Saiki, whom one political observer has dubbed a "centrist with liberal tendencies," are indeed taking her renewed effort seriously, and a large public-sector union is financing a super PAC to defend him in this Honolulu seat. If Iwamoto wins, then politics in this dark blue state could be in for a big upheaval. Honolulu Civil Beat's Kevin Dayton writes that Saiki, who has served as speaker since 2017, has earned "a reputation for keeping a firm grip on the direction of the House—too firm, some of his fellow lawmakers would say." Saiki, though, has a different take on his long tenure, declaring, "In this day and age, with what’s happening nationally, the public doesn’t want a dictator."Other prominent Aloha State politicians, meanwhile, have little to worry about on Saturday or in the fall. Indeed, HNN political analyst Colin Moore acknowledged after filing closed in June that he'd "never" seen such an uneventful election cycle at home.Governors● VA-Gov, VA-LG: Lt. Gov. Winsome Earle-Sears told a Republican gathering over the weekend that she wouldn't seek reelection to her current post next year, though she held off on announcing her long-anticipated campaign to succeed termed-out GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin. "So I know you heard I am not running for the lieutenant governorship again," she told the party faithful, "but I am exploring a run for governor."Earle-Sears, though, did not use a subsequent interview with The Daily Progress' Jason Armesto to provide a timeline for when she would make a final decision. "People ask me, ‘Well when are you going to launch?'" she acknowledged. "And I say, ‘When I stop exploring.’ So we’ll see. We’ll see what happens."Attorney General Jason Miyares, who is Virginia's third and final statewide Republican, is also a potential candidate for governor, though he's indicated he won't decide anything until this year's election is over. "I will be happy to comment about and discuss my political future [at] the appropriate time. We have a really important election right now," he told the National Review's Audrey Fahlberg in late June.There's far less uncertainty on the Democratic side. Rep. Abigail Spanberger launched her own campaign last year, and she lost her only serious primary opponent in April, when Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney dropped out to launch a bid for Earle-Sears' seat.House● MI-08: Democrat Kristen McDonald Rivet has publicized a survey from Global Strategy Group that shows her narrowly trailing Republican Paul Junge 45-44 in Michigan's competitive 8th District, though the memo says that's an improvement from her 35-28 deficit in an unreleased poll from May. The release for this survey, which was completed days before both McDonald Rivet and Junge decisively won their respective primaries on Tuesday, did not include numbers for the presidential race.The only other general election poll we've seen here in recent months was an early June poll from UpONE Insights, conducted on behalf of the Junge campaign, that showed him leading McDonald Rivet 42-39.● NJ-09: Democratic Rep. Bill Pascrell's office announced Wednesday evening that he'd been discharged from the hospital after a 24-day stay. The 87-year-old Pascrell, who checked himself in last month for a fever, later required breathing assistance after what his staff characterized as a "setback." Pascrell's team, though, said in late July that his condition was improving.Poll PileAZ-Sen: HighGround Public Affairs: Ruben Gallego (D): 50, Kari Lake (R): 39 (44-42 Harris in two-way)HighGround's CEO is a longtime Republican strategist but has donated to Gallego's campaign.Ad RoundupMD-Sen: Angela Alsobrooks (D)MI-Sen: Mike Rogers (R)MO-Sen: Josh Hawley (R-inc) - anti-Lucas Kunce (D)MT-Sen: DSCC - anti-Tim Sheehy (R)NV-Sen: Jacky Rosen (D-inc)WI-Sen: Tammy Baldwin (D-inc)WI-03: Katrina Shankland (D)Campaign Action

Charlottesville Police Chief Michael Kochis says the case was plagued by misinformation.

First, Walz was a safer pick, and there was Shapiro's vigorous support of Israel, but ultimately Walz was a do-no-harm selection, pundits say

Sen. Ron Wyden accused Thomas of taking additional trips with Harlan Crow—including in Russia—without disclosing them.

Some Democrats see antisemitism in the disproportionate focus on the Pennsylvania governor's Israel views.

Dr. Steve McGuire is a former political science and American government professor and serves as the Paul & Karen Levy Fellow in Campus Freedom at the American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA). McGuire writes, Podcasts, and speaks on free...

The Grassroot Institute is coming off a "uniquely successful year" as Democratic political leadership embraces ideas from the other side of the aisle.

The South Carolina Supreme Court has ruled that two controversial execution methods — electrocution and firing squad — should not be considered "cruel and unusual" forms of punishment under South Carolina's constitution, clearing the way for three different methods for...

The compromised court has imposed a radical vision on the country.

Donald Trump has a message for conservative foot soldiers: I define the movement, not you.

Leonard Leo, the co-chairman of the Federalist Society, is calling President Biden's bluff in latest attempt to impose new changes to the Supreme Court.

Vice President Kamala Harris says the proposal President Joe Biden has unveiled for changes to the U.S. Supreme Court would help restore confidence in the court

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden has unveiled a long-awaited proposal for changes at the U.S. Supreme Court, calling on Congress to establish term limits and an enforceable ethics code for the court’s nine justices. He’s also pressing lawmakers to ratify a constitutional amendment limiting presidential immunity.

The proposal is one of three measures Biden endorsed Monday to reform the Supreme Court.

Vice President Harris says the proposal President Biden has unveiled for changes to the U.S. Supreme Court would help restore confidence in the court.

President Biden unveiled three proposals to reform the Supreme Court, including term limits, a binding code of conduct and constitutional amendment about presidential immunity.

'Mired in a crisis of ethics'

Biden threw his weight behind the court imposing a binding code of ethics—though it remains a longshot to pass.

"The cost of gun proliferation is clear in terms of homicides, suicides and accidents, but it's harder to compute the other side of the balance," Flam writes.

President Biden has implemented numerous education policies denounced by Republicans who hope former President Trump would sweep them away if he returns to the White House, but some could prove more unyielding than others. Biden reforms on everything from student loans to Title IX could be on the chopping block in a second Trump [...]

The U.S. surgeon general declared gun violence a public health crisis.

INDIANAPOLIS — Vice President Kamala Harris, in a Wednesday afternoon address here, cast the 2024 election as a fight against “extremists” who want to take the country backward, delivering one of her first speeches as the likely Democratic nominee for...

The White House communication team's credibility has been called into question after weeks of saying President Biden would remain in the election as health concerns mounted.

Harris’ comment thrusts Project 2025 even more forcefully into the spotlight as Democrats use it to showcase prospective threats if Trump wins the White House this year.

Most Hawaii political leaders welcomed President Joe Biden’s decision to drop out of the 2024 presidential race and swiftly expressed support for his replacement pick of Vice President Kamala Harris, but it’s still unclear whether these historic events will energize Hawaii voters enough to affect local elections.

Aaron Sorkin offered a re-write for the 2024 election this weekend, suggesting in a New York Times op-ed that the Democratic party nominate Mitt Romney. Sorkin, the Oscar-winning scribe of The Social Network and Emmy-winner for The West Wing, pointed out the similarities between West Wing’s fictitious President Bartlet and the real-life political landscape this [...]

A total of 37 Democrats in Congress have called on Biden to drop out following a rocky debate performance and two gaffe-filled public appearances.

A total of 36 Democrats in Congress have called on Biden to drop out following a rocky debate performance and two gaffe-filled public appearances.