October 25, 2024

Friday, October 25, 2024. Annette’s News Roundup.

Kamala is always busy.

Yesterday.
Georgia, Kamala with Obama and the Boss.

The whole Atlanta rally. If you want to hear the Vice President at her best, start at 2:04.👇

Friday.
Houston.

Country music legend Willie Nelson will also attend the rally.

Saturday.
Michigan.

Kamala Harris, Michelle Obama to be in Kalamazoo, Michigan on Saturday. Saturday is also the first day of early voting statewide in Michigan.

Monday.

Joe is always busy.

Read it here.👇

Statement from President Joe Biden on Historic Decision to Leverage Russian Sovereign Assets to Support Ukraine | The White House

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Tim is always busy.

Yesterday. North Carolina

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More frightening proof we can’t count on the press to protect us.

In 2020, Mike Pence and the Capitol Police saved our Democracy.

The Press was not strong. Now, despite courage by one journalist, in Los Angeles the major newspaper fails us.

Where are the Journalists uniting to denounce the owner of the Los Angeles Times? Where are the J Schools? Or the organizations they belong to? Where is Columbia University’s Pulitzer Prize Board?

L.A. Times Editorial Chief Quits After Owner Blocks Harris Endorsement.

Mariel Garza said the editorial board was prepared to endorse Kamala Harris, but the paper’s owner, Patrick Soon-Shiong, decided not to make an endorsement in the presidential race.

The Los Angeles Times headquarters in El Segundo, Calif. The paper has endorsed a Democrat for president in every election cycle since 2008.

The head of The Los Angeles Times’s editorial board resigned on Wednesday after the paper’s owner quashed a presidential endorsement for Vice President Kamala Harris.

In an interview with Columbia Journalism Review, Mariel Garza, who held the title editorials editor, said she had quit because “I want to make it clear that I am not OK with us being silent. In dangerous times, honest people need to stand up. This is how I’m standing up.”

Ms. Garza said that the editorial board had planned to endorse Ms. Harris, but that Dr. Patrick Soon-Shiong, the billionaire owner of The Los Angeles Times, decided this month that the newspaper would not make any endorsement for president. The paper did not explain to readers why it was not issuing an endorsement.

Ms. Garza submitted her resignation letter to the paper’s executive editor, Terry Tang, who oversees both the newsroom and the opinion department. Ms. Tang came to the paper after previously serving as an editor at The New York Times for 20 years. (New York Times)

Are we about to experience a journalistic pandemic, killing editorials?

A Fascist spoke on the subject of journalists yesterday.

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Endorsements.

Fred Upton, Former G.O.P. Congressman Who Voted to Impeach Trump, Endorses Harris.

The veteran Michigan Republican called the former president “unfit to serve,” and said Vice President Kamala Harris would work to bring people together.

Shawn Reilly, Mayor of Wisconsin Republican Stronghold, Endorses Kamala Harris.

Mayor Shawn Reilly, who has been mayor of Waukesha since 2014, said in an interview that his endorsement is a "vote against Trump."

"It's difficult. The easy thing to do is just not say anything and cast my vote the way I want, but I think we're at a crossroads now," Reilly told Fox6 News. "I feel in my heart that this is something that I need to come out and say: I am going to be voting for Vice President Harris to become our next president."

He added: "It is a vote against Trump. I am terrified of Donald Trump becoming our next president for all the reasons I have indicated: he's already been impeached twice. He's been convicted of felonies and this is not what the United States needs." (Newsweek).

Stevie Nicks in Rollingstone.

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In the States.

New Jersey

Tom Kean Jr. versus Sue Altman, the nailbiter among NJ congressional races.

Republicans ‘pouring in’ money for Rep. Tom Kean Jr., Democratic establishment not so much for Altman.

Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr., seeking reelection in the 7th Congressional District, is in a tight race against Democratic challenger Sue Altman.

The 7th Congressional District is seen as the only competitive congressional race in New Jersey this year, and while all the political rating groups say it’s freshman Republican Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s to win, recent polling data shows Democrat Sue Altman has a path to victory.

A Monmouth University Poll released Wednesday said Kean was leading Altman by 2 percentage points, with 46% expressing support for Kean and 44% supporting Altman. That is within the poll’s margin of error of 4.7 percentage points, meaning the race is still too close to call. This is the only nonpartisan poll that has been done on the district this year, but it mirrors the results of an internal poll commissioned by the Altman campaign and another poll by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

That DCCC Analytics poll showed Vice President Kalama Harris up by one point over former President Donald Trump and Rep. Andy Kim (D-3rd) up by four points over Republican Curtis Bashaw in the Senate race. The poll’s margin of error is five points.

Monmouth Poll reveals tight race between Kean, Altman.

These results are somewhat surprising, given the makeup of the 7th District. At the beginning of the month, there were 19,000 more registered Republicans — 33.7% — than Democrats — 30.7%. Independents outnumber both parties and could decide the race.

“We always knew this was going to be a competitive race,” said Ben Dworkin, director of the Rowan Institute for Public Policy and Citizenship at Rowan University. “The question is, who is favored. You have to consider Kean, as the incumbent, with the money and the improved district to be the favorite,” he said, referring to changes to the electoral map in 2021.

“Plus Altman, because of her pre-candidate life didn’t endear herself to a whole bunch of Democratic leaders in the state. To Altman’s credit, she has gotten as close as she is and has made this a very competitive district largely on her own,” Dworkin said.

Reliably Republican district — usually.

The district generally had been reliably Republican this century, up to the 2018 election. A backlash against Trump’s election in 2016 swept three Republicans out of Congress, including in the 7th District. By 2020, when voter registration flipped and the number of Democrats in the district outnumbered Republicans, Kean lost to the incumbent Democrat, Rep. Tom Malinowski.

After the release of 2020 census data, a bipartisan panel redrew congressional boundaries, as required by law. The chosen map, proposed by the Democratic members of the panel, made the 7th District more Republican — adding more conservatives in Hunterdon, Warren and Sussex counties. In the 2022 Malinowski versus Kean rematch, the district had 16,000 more registered Republicans than Democrats. Kean won by about 8,500 votes, or close to three percentage points.

The son of a popular former governor, Kean, 56, served more than two decades in the Legislature, nearly all of them in the Senate, and has greater name recognition than Altman.
Since then, registrations have continued to trend Republican.

But presidential election years have a different electorate, with many voters who go to the polls just once every four years. And voters’ choice for president could impact their pick for Congress.

Considering the margin of error, both the DCCC and Monmouth polls show the presidential race essentially tied.

“There are practically no undecided presidential voters at this point,” said Patrick Murray, director of the Monmouth University Polling Institute, in releasing the results Wednesday. “However, a good chunk of these voters have yet to make up their minds about who to back in the House election. They are going to turn out, which means any late-breaking down-ballot decisions could determine who wins this seat.”

A key to victory

Murray said getting out the vote will be key. The Monmouth Poll shows that Altman’s strongest supporters are white, college-educated women, people of color and those who support abortion rights. Kean’s are white college-educated men and white voters without a college degree, and their most important issue is the economy.

“Altman’s across-the-board advantage on abortion is keeping her competitive,” Murray said. “But Kean counters that with strength among voters without a college degree as well as an edge among white college-educated men who are more concerned about the economy than other issues. Altman is doing well among minority voters in this district, but there is lower overall motivation to get out and vote this year. On top of that, they don’t see much difference between the two House candidates on the issue that matters most to them.”

‘Extremism’ charges go both ways in 7th Congressional District debate

The son of a popular former governor, Kean, 56, served more than two decades in the Legislature, nearly all of them in the Senate, and has greater name recognition than Altman. The 42-year-old Altman most recently served as executive director of the New Jersey Working Families Alliance and was famously dragged by New Jersey State Police from a legislative hearing about state tax incentives because she had booed.

A badge of honor for Altman for years, the photos of that encounter with the State Police have been used in numerous pro-Kean campaign mailers and ads that depict the Hunterdon County native as a radical.

She has raised almost as much money as Kean, but is at a financial disadvantage.

As of the end of September, Kean had raised almost $5.4 million, about $200,000 more than Altman, according to reports filed with the Federal Election Commission. She had outspent him by about $1.1 million. Kean had $1.4 million more in the bank than she did.

Outside money, negative ads

Additionally, Kean is benefiting from more outside spending than Altman. Groups, mostly the Working Families Party, have spent more than $465,000 on her behalf, according to the nonprofit Open Secrets, which tracks money in politics. But other groups have spent more than $2.5 million in negative ads and mailers, with $2.2 million of that coming from the Congressional Leadership Fund that boosts House Republicans. Other organizations, most notably America PAC, backed by Elon Musk to support Trump and conservatives, have spent at least $600,000 to boost Kean.

‘The fact that the Republicans are pouring in all this money, the Democrats aren’t, and it’s a tied race suggests that the Democrats are missing an opportunity here.’ — Patrick Murray, Monmouth University Polling Institute
The New York Republican Federal Campaign Committee has not disclosed spending any money in the race, but the group has paid for at least nine glossy mailers either boosting Kean as trustworthy and pro-police or supporting Kean while also attacking Altman as someone who would raise taxes and defund the police. Both the New York Republican and Congressional Leadership groups have included photos of Altman being removed from the legislative hearing on their mailers.

Rob West, Altman’s campaign manager, said the campaign’s message can overcome being outspent.

“This is now the third poll that shows what we’ve always known — this is a jump-ball race and Sue can win,” he said. “No amount of outside spending will cover up his [Kean’s] failure to deliver real results over his 23-year political career and his refusal to show up for his constituents.”

After a Friday night campaign rally in Somerville, Altman told reporters she is hopeful that some pro-Democrat groups will spend in the district in the last two weeks of the campaign.

“I think there is a very strong case to be made that, hopefully some other outside spending will come in,” she said.

The Kean campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

A need for surgical precision

Homes in the district have been getting pro-Kean messages for more than a year.

Kean, through his congressional office, sent out 93 communications, including robo calls, digital ads, emails and some glossy mailers that resemble campaign mail; one states “Congressman Tom Kean Jr. is fighting to secure America’s borders,” while another boasts, “Making life affordable again: putting people over politics.”

And two conservative groups, American Action Network and Governing Majority Education Fund, sent out mailers urging residents to “call” Kean and “thank him” for standing up for them in Congress.

NJ Elections: Who’s running in the 7th Congressional District

The New Jersey Democratic State Committee has paid for at least three pro-Altman mailers and her campaign got about $577,000 from House Victory Project 2024, which is supporting a number of Democratic candidates. But to date, the House Majority PAC had not spent any money to back her candidacy and the DCCC had not made any independent expenditures in the race through the end of September.
“The fact that the Republicans are pouring in all this money, the Democrats aren’t, and it’s a tied race suggests that the Democrats are missing an opportunity here,” Murray told NJ Spotlight News. “This looks a race where this could be one of those seats that could help them pick up the House control but they’re not spending any effort there.”

Running ads in New Jersey races is expensive because state candidates or those running in north Jersey must advertise in the New York media market, which is the most expensive in the country.

The Altman campaign has gotten some organizational and fundraising support, as well as assistance with research and voter mobilization from the DCCC. Through its Red to Blue program, the DCCC provides strategic guidance, staff resources and other help. According to OpenSecrets, that amounts to just $4,000.

Winning a race while being outspent isn’t impossible, but it does take surgical precision to figure out which voters to target and push to get out and vote, Dworkin said.

“It’s about identifying those voters who are going to say, ‘Yeah, I’m going to vote for her, even though I might traditionally be a Republican,’” he said, “and then get them to vote. And it matters more for her because there are several thousand more Republicans in the district than Democrats. So she’s looking for those Republicans who won’t vote for Trump and she needs to get them to not vote for Kean, as well.”

Having more money would help do that, he added, saying, “It would help if she had the full support of the Democratic establishment.”

Major news tonight from HuffPost impacting New Jersey’s most competitive congressional battleground contest: In the final two weeks before Election Day, House Democrats’ largest super PAC is set to spend $4 million on television and digital advertisements in support of Sue Altman, the Democratic nominee in New Jersey’s 7th Congressional District.

The last-minute investment by House Majority PAC, or HMP, is the first major investment by a national Democratic organ in Altman’s bid to unseat first-term Rep. Tom Kean Jr. (R), the son of a popular former governor of the Garden State.

The group’s decision to jump in ― aided by a $500,000 contribution from the New Jersey Education Association, the state’s main teachers union ― speaks to Democrats’ confidence in their other candidates’ standing in neighboring New York, where many of the country’s most pivotal House races are.

“Sue Altman is proud of her pro-choice record, proud to stand with working families and proud to push back against the hate and harm of Project 2025,” Sean Spiller, president of the NJEA, said in a statement. “Her opponent is hiding from voters because he knows the Trump agenda is not what voters in CD7 want but he’s too scared to stand up for them. That’s why we are proud to partner with the House Majority PAC to help make sure CD7 elects Sue Altman.” (Insidernj.com).

If you are looking for a House race that might well turn the House Blue, Sue Altman’s race against Tom Kean might well be your best bet.

Volunteer with Team Altman to Flip NJ-07.

On the ground or remote. This is a full “all hands on deck” Get Out the Vote effort. You can make a difference.

https://www.mobilize.us/altmanforcongress/event/633177/y

Feel free to donate too. Sue Altman.

https://app.oath.vote/donate?p=niemtzow-stein-copy&ref=PPIAM0N1

Colorado.

Arizona.

Pennsylvania.

@markmobility Northampton County PA has voted for the winning presidential candidate for 100 years.

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Trump is always crazy.

Trump says he’d ‘fire’ special counsel Jack Smith in ‘two seconds’ if elected again.

Trump’s latest conspiracy claim refuted by the Pentagon.

Trump and his minions are claiming that the military has been authorized to act against American citizens.

Trump, of course, threatens retribution against anyone who opposes him so naturally he projects that others are doing this.

In rare move, Pentagon denies falsehood about troops allowed to use force during election

WASHINGTON (AP) — In a rare move, the Pentagon strongly pushed back Thursday against misinformation spread on social media that falsely suggests U.S. troops have been authorized to use force against American citizens during the election.

The misinformation — spread online by former Trump administration national security adviser Michael Flynn and former presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr., among others — suggests that a Defense Department policy revision released in late September was timed to interfere with the Nov. 5 presidential election.

Use of force by federal troops on U.S. soil against U.S. civilians is against the law — except in cases of self-defense — and is outlined in the Posse Comitatus Act.

Kennedy, who ended his presidential bid and backed Republican former President Donald Trump, tweeted the false narrative to his 4 million followers. It falsely claims that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic nominee, pushed through a Defense Department directive allowing lethal force against Americans who protest government policies.

The revision in question is Department of Defense Directive 5240.01, and it does not allow troops to use force on U.S. citizens. The timing of its release was not related to the election, Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough said.

“The policies concerning the use of force by DOD addressed in DoDD 5240.01 are not new, and do not authorize the DOD to use lethal force against U.S. citizens or people located inside the United States, contrary to rumors and rhetoric circulating on social media,” Gough said in a statement to The Associated Press.

The Pentagon regularly updates its directives. This update was intended to align the language on use of force from other policies into 5240.01, which only applies to defense intelligence personnel. (Associated Press).

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Your Daily Reminder.

Trump is a convicted felon.

On May 30th, he was found guilty on 34 felony counts by the unanimous vote of 12 ordinary citizens.

The Convicted Felon Donald J. Trump was scheduled to be sentenced on July 11th and September 18th. He will now be sentenced on November 26.

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Yesterday was Liberty Day in NYC.

Click on the link below 👇 to see 30 photos of the Ticker Tape Parade. Guaranteed to bring a smile to your face and lift your spirits.

The WNBA Champions, The Liberty, celebrated in New York City.