Election 2024
Liz Wolfe | 3.13.2024 9:30 AM
Rematch from hell: Yesterday, both President Joe Biden and former President Donald Trump made basically official what we already knew to be true: that they will be facing each other come November, in the worst rematch—a true lose-lose for anyone who cares about liberty.
With Nikki Haley already cleared from the field, Trump had been campaigning as if he was already the nominee. Last night, he clinched wins in the GOP primaries of Georgia, Mississippi, Hawaii, and Washington state. Biden's win in the Georgia Democratic primary sent him over the edge in terms of delegates needed. Now, technically, both will be nominated at their party's respective conventions this summer, but the results that are in indicate they'll be facing each other once again.
"Just 38% of U.S. adults approve of how Biden is handling his job as president while 61% disapprove, according to a recent survey by The Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research," reports the Associated Press. "The RealClearPolitics average of polls shows 42% of voters say they have a favorable opinion of Trump, up from an all-time low of 36% in December 2022," reports Bloomberg.
"But the combined ratings of the two major candidates are near historic lows," reports Bloomberg, "leaving at least 18% of voters unhappy with both candidates"—a group pollsters call "double haters." (I just call them "sane people.")
The fall guys: "On Friday, the [Republican National Committee (RNC)] voted to install North Carolina Republican Committee Chair Michael Whatley and the ex-president's daughter-in-law Lara Trump, as co-chairs," reports Bloomberg. Then on Monday, more than 60 staffers were fired, a move that "essentially fuses the RNC with the Trump campaign." This is not exactly uncommon: campaign and party ought to be able to work efficiently to advance the selected candidate.
Nor is it unprecedented to select a family member for a major party role (though maybe it should be). Ronald Reagan's daughter, Maureen, was made RNC co-chair in 1987. And, though it's a bit of a different situation, the recently dismissed Ronna McDaniel comes from a political family herself. (McDaniel is a niece of former presidential contender and current Utah Senator Mitt Romney.)
Still, "Trump's decision to announce a new slate of RNC leaders before securing the required delegates to be the GOP nominee angered some Trump critics," reports Politico. "He did so in February, when Nikki Haley was still running for president, and she criticized both the RNC and [former Chair Ronna] McDaniel for trying to push her out of the primary." Trump had criticized McDaniel for her decision to host primary debates, which he did not want to be part of, and has repeatedly lambasted McDaniel, blaming her for the party's cash woes. Someone's gotta be the fall guy, I suppose, but beware a party entirely composed of Trump sycophants, with little eye toward the future after MAGA.
Banning social media that's owned by China? A bill championed by Reps. Mike Gallagher (R–Wis.) and Raja Krishnamoorthi (D–Ill.), who serve in the House of Representatives' Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, attempts to reanimate old fears surrounding TikTok and force the app to either be banned in the U.S. or be sold to different (and government-approved) owners. The House will vote on it today.
The legislation would either force a sale of the company or ban U.S. app stores from letting users access TikTok and any other social media site deemed a "foreign adversary controlled application." Foreign adversaries include China, North Korea, Russia, and Iran. One problem among many: that list of adversaries could expand at any time, and the label could be used in a less judicious way going forward.
Other red flags include the fact that the bill is oddly selective, choosing not to ban all apps owned by foreign nationals, or all apps with ties to foreign adversaries, but rather social media companies in particular—the very sites where First Amendment-protected expression (however inane) get disseminated.
Worse still, the bill's definition of "controlled by a foreign adversary" is overly broad, meaning controlled by "(A) a foreign person that is domiciled in, is headquartered in, has its principal place of business in, or is organized under the laws of a foreign adversary country; (B) an entity with respect to which a foreign person or combination of foreign persons described in subparagraph (A) directly or indirectly own at least a 20 percent stake; or (C) a person subject to the direction or control of a foreign person or entity described in subparagraph (A) or (B)."
Many people worry about possible espionage efforts by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), or the way the CCP might influence ByteDance (TikTok's owners) and alter what American users see in their algorithms during a critical moment. But this new bill should also invite worry, if legislators get their way.
Scenes from New York: In New York, young migrant children sometimes sell candy on the subway to attempt to make a few bucks to help their families. The New York Times did a little digging into which agencies the children ought to be reported to. (Truancy surely isn't desirable, but would NYPD's involvement help matters at all?)
So it has all the MANY cybersecurity problems of all age verification bills
It mandates social media companies retain "any data and metadata concerning users' identities and activities" for 1 yr—an atrocious security practice that would attract hackers and and welcome breaches pic.twitter.com/AkYtcbA5E6
— Shoshana Weissmann, Sloth Committee Chair ???? (@senatorshoshana) March 12, 2024
I think my personal fave is that the armies of credentialed groupthink enforcers from our most elite groupthink-enforcing institutions are there to make sure "everyone feels encouraged to express their ideas." https://t.co/2MUUxRQgOh
— Mary Katharine Ham (@mkhammer) March 12, 2024
It used to be way more common to be killed by lightning. pic.twitter.com/WX1YiWgRcJ
— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) March 12, 2024
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