Kiss Of Death Endorsements: Trump And Pelosi

I know I don't have to interpret that Twitter poll for you, although if you don't know who Shahid Buttar is, he's the progressive Democrat who, along with Nancy Pelosi, came out of the March jungle primary and will face her one-on-one in November. (You can contribute to Shahid's campaign here, as you can see, the only candidate endorsed by this blog.)

After Pelosi exhibited startling, even breath-taking hypocrisy by endorsing Joe Kennedy III who is challenging incumbent Democratic Senator Ed Markey for his Massachusetts seat, just 6.8% of respondents said her endorsement will influence them to favor Kennedy or favor him more. On the other hand... well you can see.

Most Republican senators aren't asking for Trump's endorsement. Like Pelosi's, an endorsement by Trump is just toxic-- especially among independents. Sure, in states or districts that are so heavily Republican, an endorsement from Trump or Pence or Mitch McConnell would be a net plus... and in deep red House districts it makes sense to ask for an endorsement. Senate seats are different. Trump is still popular in Wyoming, Idaho, Oklahoma and the Dakotas but don't expect to see Trump endorsements being ballyhooed by incumbent senators where independent voters determine winners. I don't know what John Cornyn (R-TX) is going to do but I would bet that Susan Collins (ME), Cory Gardner (CO), Thom Tillis (NC), and Joni Ernst (IA) aren't going to be advertising-- at least not to a general audience on TV or radio-- that Trump is backing them.

On the other hand, in Alaska, where nearly half the voters are independents, there is a lot of ballyhooing of Trump's endorsement of Republican incumbent Dan Sullivan-- all of it from Independent Al Gross who is running on the Democratic Party line. I spoke with Gross' campaign manager yesterday and he was almost gleeful to have seen Trump endorse Sullivan. "I hope President Trump comes up here to campaign for Dan," he said. "A majority of the state doesn't approve of him, and with his help, we can make that 60%!" He sent me this:

Yesterday, Collins announced that part-time Maine resident George W. Bush-- remember, relative to Trump and for many people, the stink has worn off now-- has endorsed her-- his first endorsement of 2020. "The nod from the former president, whose politics appear centrist by Trump-era standards, may nudge some traditional Republicans into Collins’ corner," wrote David Sharp for the Associated Press. "Trump has not endorsed the Maine senator, whose race is among a handful critical to Republicans’ hopes of keeping control of the Senate, where they have a 53-47 advantage. Collins, meanwhile, has not said whether she intends to vote for Trump." Fellow New England Republican, Governor Phil Scott (R-VT) made an announcement yesterday that leaves no doubt he doesn't want and would not accept Trump's endorsement: "I won't be voting for President Trump... I have not decided, at this point, whether to cast a vote for former Vice President Biden... something I would consider."

After Pelosi's endorsement of Joe Kennedy III infuriated progressives-- not as much because of the pick as because of Pelosi's disgusting hyocrisy-- AOC sent her followers a fundraising letter from her own campaign but for for Markey, a staffer explaining the double standard:

Last year, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee instituted a new blacklist-- targeting staffers and companies who worked for primary challengers. Unsurprisingly, that overwhelmingly targeted people who worked with progressives.

Now, it’s clear: That blacklist was never just meant to "protect incumbents." It was meant to block progressive leaders from being elected, like Ayanna Pressley, Jamaal Bowman, Cori Bush, or even Alexandria in 2018.

...Markey is not taking the safe route. He’s causing good trouble in Washington, fighting for international peace, a Green New Deal, and dismantling ICE. These are hard fights to win. Many look at them and back down. But not Ed Markey.

Markey is listening to the next generation of leaders-- the young folks on the ground working day in and day out to change the world-- and does everything in his power to amplify their voices on Capitol Hill. If Washington had more leaders like Ed Markey, we’d be a lot better off.

Scary that Pelosi is no longer self-aware enough to understand that her endorsement really is a kiss of death in most places in the country-- even in as blue a state as Massachusetts. Isn't she supposed to be retiring now and passing along her seat to her daughter? You know, the dynasty thing-- like the Kennedys.

The Lincoln Project Goes After Another GOP Scalp-- In Alaska

As you may know, I love the work the Lincoln Project does, especially their attacks on Trump, which are very harsh and very effective and, by all reports, driving Trump insane. The Lincoln Project, I should mention, is made up of conservative Republicans (and in some cases, conservative ex-Republicans) who, generally speaking, would like to overturn women's Choice, slash government regulation of predatory businesses, Make War Not Love and gut Social Security and Medicare. Other than that... I love these guys. They're doing a better job than the DNC eviscerating Señor Trumpanzee.

And they've been going after Republican senators too. Those ads seem, generally, more half-hearted and less... bloodthirsty. There was an exception with their Arizona ads against weak, appointed incumbent Martha McSally. Those were the kind of killer, vicious ads we expect from these GOP operatives-turned-anti-GOP. But most of the Senate ads were more like this Steve Bullock ad-- decent but not awesome-- nor even memorable. They don't even mention his opponent, Steve Daines, just flash a photo of him. The overall, anti-Republican senators ad was good and up to their high standards, but the specific ones... not so much. And they released another one like that today. This ad-- up top-- against for Independent Al Gross looks like it will be very effective in a soft, friendly way, but... no mention of Sullivan, Gross' Trump-loving GOP opponent. (I just saw the ad they released attacking Susan Collins this morning. This is what I call kickass)

I understand that they bought almost 2,000 points of prime airtime that will saturate Alaska all week, sure to knock the already unpopular Sullivan on his ass, especially with Gross running his own very powerful ad right now as well (below). An average voter has to see an ad at least 10 times for it to have an impact; the Lincoln Project's 2,000 points will amount to an average of 17 points. That has some meaning, especially with a candidate like Gross who hasn't run for office before and has relatively low name recognition.

I'm just spitballing here but I was wondering why the Lincoln Project did such good ads against McSally and and a pretty strong one for Gross, while just going through the motions on many of the other Republican senators. Then one of the principals' name popped in my head, Steve Schmidt. He's probably the one overseeing the ads; that's his specialty. And he was de-facto McCain campaign manager. He probably loathes the fact that McSally is sullying McCain's old seat with her supine, spineless obeisance to Trump... but what about Sullivan? That's more interesting and nuanced.

Schmidt's worst moment was the "credit" he gets for persuading McCain to make the absolutely catastrophic Sarah Palin running mate choice. That became the blackest mark against Schmidt in his entire political career. And, on one level, it was Dan Sullivan's fault. I'm guessing that this ad was the payback, whether consciously or unconsciously.

Schmidt asked his cool pal Karl Rove for his suggestion for a running mate. Rove, who is close to Sullivan's wealthy parents in Ohio, suggested Schmidt talk to their son, who was serving under like known Alaska Governor Palin as her Attorney General. Schmidt called Sullivan who persuaded him Palin would be a solid candidate... and that was the end of the McCain campaign and, for some time, Schmidt's reputation.

How lucky is Al Gross! I can't wait for the follow up to the soft one. I suspect the next Lincoln Project ad in Alaska is going to be more...cutting edge (and throat cutting for Dan Sullivan). I notice they put down another $580,000 in TV ad buys and I bet it isn't for this soft, getting-to-know-you ad. (So that's a cool million bucks Steve Schmidt is throwing against the guy who foisted Sarah Palin on him! And a million bucks on Alaska media is a lot of money.)

Alaska Can Determine Which Party Controls The Senate-- And Which Candidate Becomes President

Senate candidate John Wayne wants Alaska to secede-- or at least to not pay any taxes

Yesterday, writing for the Washington Post, Seung Min Kim reported that "Republican senators up for reelection this fall in tight races have been unwilling to publicly criticize Trump as he continues to fan racial tensions and struggles to control a pandemic that has devastated the economy and killed close to 130,000 Americans. But they are being careful not to embrace him either. In their campaign ads back home, it’s as if the unpopular incumbent president doesn’t exist, as Republicans choose instead to highlight their own achievements or go on the attack against their Democratic challengers. This deliberate approach underscores the difficult position Republicans find themselves in as they head into an election season that looks increasingly grim for the party. The senators don’t want to clash with Trump and rile up his stable of loyal supporters whose votes they will need to be reelected, but they also don’t want to hug him tightly him and turn off more moderate voters whose views of the president have turned negative."

Even in Alaska? The spineless, worthless Democrats don't even run federal candidates there. Two unpopular Republican incumbents, Senator Dan Sullivan and Rep. Don Young, are up for reelection in November and the hollow shell of a Democratic Party is backing two independent candidates, Al Gross for Senate and Alyse Galvin for House. Sullivan is so dazed and confused that he isn't even running any ads. And Young's ads are all about the glories of shooting wolves out of low-flying planes or about his gigantic antler collection from all the dead moose he's slaughtered. No one's mentioning Trump, even though he beat Hillary 163,387 (51.3%) to 116,454 (36.5%) with Libertarian Gary Johnson at 5.9%. Alaskans like independents. In fact, that's why Sullivan should feel nervous.

PPP released a fascinating poll results from Alaska yesterday. One of my favorite bits of info isn't about either 2020 race. Respondents were asked if they approve or disapprove of Senator Lisa Murkowski. 55% disapproved and just 29% approve. That's much worse than results of the same question asked about Trump. 46% approve and 49% disapprove. Nonetheless, when voters were asked "Who do you have a higher opinion of: Lisa Murkowski or Donald Trump? ," they picked Murkowski 48% to 45% for Trump.

I doubt Trump is going to lose Alaska's 3 electoral votes. Alaskans don't like him or Biden (who has a 53% unfavorable rating to overcome) but when picking between the lesser evil, people PPP asked-- 21% Democrats, 34% Republicans and 44% independents-- it was very close:

The Senate race is strange-- politics in Alaska is strange. Voters disapprove of the job-- basically rubber-stamping Trump on everything-- Sullivan has done: 35% approve, 37% disapprove, one of the lowest approvals of any sitting U.S. senator this year. Most people (72%) don't know who Al Gross is yet or haven't made up their minds about him Voters are torn between the two candidates:

But what PPP doesn't get into is John Wayne. There's a third independent on the ballot, John Wayne Howe-- on the Alaska Independence Party ballot line. John Wayne is running to Sullivan's (and Gross') right. The front page of his campaign website makes it clear where he stands: "We are buffeted by many ills from government. Foremost in my mind is taxation. The government; Federal, State, borough, city, all are thieves. Even when the spending comes from a vote of the people it is stealing, the only difference is those that voted for spending are now also guilty. How do we fund government without theft? It may sound as a joke, until you spend a few weeks thinking about it, but the funding Must come from individuals voluntarily giving. This is the only way government will ever be responsive to the people. If government is not voluntary, it is a dictatorship. I will do all I can to end taxes."

His campaign is also exciting NRA fans-- and Alaska has plenty of them-- because he's running on a platform about passing a law to allow transporting military assault weapons across state lines. He'll probably take 10% of the vote-- and that will come right off the top of the GOP's electorate.

Meanwhile Gross is attempting to appeal an organic base of support that cuts across partisan lines. The Democratic Party has endorsed him and will work for him and the DSCC is helping him raise money. And he has a growing following of voters that Democrats historically have not been able to identify with: rural voters, hunters, fishermen, etc. So far he hasn’t run a dime of paid communications, which he will need to do to bring up his name recognition. As of the March 31 FEC reporting deadline he had raised a massive $3,020,756, so presumably he will be running a major TV and radio ad campaign.

As for Sullivan, he has zero street cred in Alaska and can’t turn to his rich parents in their Ohio country club to get it. Maybe he should run for office there.

As far as the at-large House seat, voters disapprove of Don Young 44-35%, while Alyse Galvin has a 30-22% favorable rating among the same voters. SO who would they vote for if the election were held today?

If Trump manages to drive a close electoral college battle into the House-- something we looked at a few days ago-- flipping the Alaska House delegation from red to blue, could determine who the next president is!

Trump Says He "Loves" Alaska But Everyone Knows He Only Loves Trump

In the 2000 election, 167,398 Alaskans (58.62%) voted for George W Bush against Al Gore. Four years later 190,889 Alaskans (61.07%) voted for Bush against John Kerry. Bush was popular among Alaskan voters-- who also backed John McCain (59.42%) and Mitt Romney (54.80%). But Trump isn't well liked by most Alaskans. He barely eked out a majority against Hillary-- 51.28%, pretty sad compared to Bush. And today it was widely reported that Bush had decided he will neither endorse nor even vote for Trump in November. Colin Powell, Bush's Secretary of State, told Jake Tapper on State of the Union that he "certainly can not in any way support" Trump this year and that Trump has "drifted away" from the Constitution, has been an ineffective president, and "lies all the time." Trump's response was to tweet that Powell is "a real stiff." He hasn't savaged Bush yet. None of this is going to make Alaskan independents more likely to back Trump. Independent voters decide who wins elections in Alaska.

Right now, Alaska has two Republican U.S. senators-- Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, the former an independent-minded conservative and the latter a knee-jerk boot-licker for Trump. Sullivan, who is rumored to be considering dropping out of his reelection bid and allowing Gov. Dunleavey to take the GOP nomination so that he (Sullivan) can run for Governor in 2022, is in a toss up race against independent Dr. Al Gross, who has been endorsed by the Democratic Party. Murkowski isn't up for reelection until 2022. But she already has an opponent: Señor Trumpanzee.

As we saw yesterday, she praised Jim Mattis' criticism of Trump and told a journalist she is "struggling" with the idea of backing his reelection. The most thin-skinned sociopath in American politics immediately flipped his wig and let loose with these two nasty, adolescent tweets:

After embarrassing himself by attacking and threatening a senior Republican senator-- despite having promised McConnell he wouldn't do that in return for McConnell's unwavering obeisance-- Trump lavished praise on all the GOP senators most likely to lose in November because of his reverse coattails: David Perdue (R-GA), Joni Ernst (R-IA), Cory Gardner (R-CO), Martha McSally (R-AZ), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Steve Daines (R-MT) and, of course, Dan Sullivan. Sullivan is such a nonentity in DC that Trump couldn't even think of a single thing to say about him... so just retweeted 5 random Sullivan tweets from May 22, 23 and June 2.

The Anchorage Daily News reminded its readers that "During the 2016 presidential campaign, both Murkowski and Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-AK) called on Trump to drop out of the race after the release of a video in which the GOP nominee boasted in vulgar language about forcing himself sexually on women. Both said they weren’t voting for him at the time."

This morning, Gross told me that "Alaskans appreciate when their elected officials take a stand and have a backbone. We can all respectfully disagree with one another, but at the end of the day, Alaskans want to be represented by independents-- people who aren't beholden to an orthodoxy, a party, or an ideology-- because here in Alaska if  you can't think for  yourself, you just won't survive. Dan Sullivan doesn't understand this because he doesn't understand Alaska. He's not from here, and has been solely focused on climbing the National Republican political ladder. I have zero interest in climbing any political ladder. My focus is on making Alaskans' lives better. That's my focus and always will be. I'm Always Alaska."

Trump's Veto Stands-- He Is Free To Attack Iran At Will

Blood On Their Hands by Nancy Ohanian

On Thursday, the Senate attempted to override Trump's veto of the joint resolution that directed him to remove American armed forced from hostilities against Iran that hadn't been authorized by Congress. There was never any chance an override was in the cards-- not with 44 Republicans firmly committed to backing anything and everything Trump does. Every Senate Democrat voted to override but only 6 Republicans had the guts (or sense) to join them:

Lamar Alexander (R-TN)
Bill Cassidy (R-LA)
Susan Collins (R-ME)
Mike Lee (R-UT)
Lisa Murkowski (R-AK)
Rand Paul (R-KY)

After the vote, Al Gross, the independent running on the Democratic line in Alaska, noted that "Yet again, party-line Dan Sullivan put National Republicans first, and left Alaska behind. Alaskans don’t believe in party run politics especially when it means putting our military members at risk without oversight and careful consideration. Considering our needs or interests has never been something Dan Sullivan takes to heart so it’s not surprising he voted this way. Dan’s like lap dog for the national Republicans, and Alaskans deserve a real, independent leader to put Alaskans first, whether the president likes it or not."

Had Gross been in the Senate, both Alaska senators would have voted to override. Something tells me Murkowski is hoping that's the outcome in November anyway.

There was no vote in the House, but it's worth remembering that when it passed the House on March 11, there were just 6 no good, dirty, fake Democrats who sided with Trump and the GOP:

• Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)
• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)
• Elaine Luria (New Dem-VA)
• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)
• Stephanie Murphy (Blue Dog-FL)
• Max Rose (Blue Dog-NY)

The only one of these war-monger fake Dems with a primary os Kendra Horn, where she is being challenged by progressive Democrat Tom Guild. Yesterday, he told OK-05 voters that "Under no circumstances should America become engaged in military action in Iran without prior congressional approval. I am deeply disappointed that my June 30 primary opponent Rep. Horn gave the current president or any president carte blanche to start another costly war in the Middle East. During this widespread and destructive pandemic and unprecedented meltdown in the American economy, we should be rebuilding and investing in America, not engaging in more unauthorized international military actions. The American people are tired to the point of exhaustion with America’s endless wars."

Blue America's most recently endorsed candidate, West Virginia progressive Cathy Kunkel, noted that the Republican in the seat she's running for, Alex Mooney, "the hypocritical Republican Congressman from WV-02, was the only Republican to cosponsor legislation (HR 1274) repealing the Authorization for Use of Military Force, yet to vote against this resolution. When push came to shove, support for Trump in an election year was more important than his previous belief in restoring Congressional authority to make war. H.R. 1274 cosponsor list show that Thomas Massie (KY) and Justin Amash (MI) were the only other Republican co-sponsors, and both were consistent in supporting the resolution to remove U.S. troops from hostilities with Iran)."

Please consider contributing to Tom's and Cathy's campaigns by clicking on the Blue America 2020 congressional primary thermometer above and giving what you can.

Foolishly, McConnell Ramps Up The Republican Party's War On Women Again

Why would McConnell get the GOP war against women rolling again, juts as the election season is moving into high gear? Who gained and who lost yesterday when he forced the Senate into a no-win situation with two abortion votes. McConnell's no fool and he knew there was no possibility the already-rejected bills would pass. So why move away from his strategy of no votes on policy, just on Trumpist confirmations of judges and other characters sent over by the Regime?

Do the culture war bills to sharply restrict access to late-term abortions and threaten doctors who perform them with criminal penalties signal a decision by the GOP to make Freedom of Choice a campaign issue this year? Apparently so. They'll certainly energize the anti-Choice warriors in the Republican coalition.

Most polling shows just over a third of voters think abortions should be illegal-- in a recent ABC-Washington Post poll 22% said illegal in most cases and 14% said illegal in all cases. As always, a majority of Americans agree that abortions should be legal on all or most cases and that the decision should be up to the pregnant woman.

A few years ago, Pew took a look at how opinions on abortions differed by state. The backward, reactionary states that always vote Republican and where people lose their teeth early in life because they don't understand dental care, are totally anti-choice of course. These are the states where the fewest people back a woman's right to choice:

• West Virginia- 35%
• Kentucky- 36%
• Mississippi- 36%
• Alabama- 37%
• Arkansas- 38%
• Louisiana- 39%
• Tennessee- 40%
• South Carolina- 42%

And these are the states-- almost all blue-- they overwhelmingly favor leave the decision up to the woman and those she chooses to consult:

• Massachusetts- 74%
• Vermont- 70%
• Connecticut- 67%
• Hawaii- 66%
• New Hampshire- 66%
• New York- 64%
• Maine- 64%
• Maryland- 64%
• Oregon- 63%
• Rhode Island- 63%
• Alaska- 63%
• Nevada- 62%
• New Jersey- 61%
• Washington- 60%
• Colorado- 59%
• California- 57%
• Illinois- 56%
• Florida- 56%
• Montana- 56%
• Delaware- 55%

Neither bill got through the Democratic technical filibuster. The first got 53 votes out of the 60 needed, with Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Bob Casey (D-PA) voting with all the Republicans except Susan Collins (R-ME) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK). The second vote got 56 votes, coming closer to being able to shut downtime filibuster. Collins and Murkowski both voted with the Republicans on that one, as did Alabama Democrat Doug Jones.

Will their votes against Choice today hurt Susan Collins (with hardcore Republicans in Maine), Dan Sullivan (AK), Cory Gardner (CO), Steve Daines (MT)? And what about in states with Senate races that are more closely divided? North Carolina, for example has 49% favoring Choice and 45% opposed. How is that going to impact Thom Tillis in November? Did Joni Ernst make a mistake today by voting against Choice? Iowa has a 52% pro-Choice majority and just 46% against it. Arizona senator Martha McSally voted for the restrictions but a plurality of her constituents-- 49-46%-- favor choice... and that plurality has been growing since the poll was taken half a dozen years ago.

People think of Alaska as a red state. Obama lost both times he ran and Trump beat Hillary 52.8% tp 37.6%. But look at those numbers on Choice. Alaskans are strongly on the pro-Choice side. Yesterday, savvy Republican Lisa Murkowski voted against the Republican position on the first bill, while Dan Sullivan, a bit of a bunk-head  and who's up for reelection, voted against Choice. His opponent, a political independent and a medical doctor, pounced. Al Gross told me that "Dan is nothing but a zealot for the far right wing's harmful partisan agenda, and this vote epitomizes that. For all his talk about small government, he and his DC pals believe it's the government's job to interfere with a woman's right to choose. Well I believe differently. As a Doctor, an Alaskan, and a father, I call this behavior out. Dan Sullivan-- maybe you haven't learned yet, but this is not representative of Alaskan values. Study quick, November is right around the corner and we're going to beat you."

As for the presidential campaign, this is an issue Republicans also lose on in key swing states in the Midwest (besides Florida and New Hampshire):

• Wisconsin- 53-45%
• Pennsylvania- 51-44%
• Ohio- 48-47%
• Michigan- 54-42%

The votes today may have been helpful to McConnell himself, but it looks like most vulnerable Republican senators will be hurt by it. Cory Gardner, another example, has always been an anti-Choice fanatic-- something he proved again yesterday. I asked his progressive opponent, former Colorado House Speaker Andrew Romanoff how that vote will play in Gardner's struggling reelection campaign. "For Mitch McConnell, Cory Gardner, and their right-wing allies," said Romanoff, "criminalizing abortion is more important than feeding the 11 million children who will go hungry tonight in the richest nation on earth. Shameful."

How Many Senate Republicans Will Stand Up For America In The War Powers Debate?

Never dependable in a pinch

Even after 8 of the worst Democrats in the House-- each of whom absolutely deserves to be defeated for reelection, but is being bolstered by the DCCC-- sided with Trump in a failed attempt defeat the War Powers Resolution, The Hill reported Tuesday morning that there might be "as many as 10 Republican senators" who buck Trump on this crucial approach to constitutional jurisdiction over war and peace. These are the House Democrats who, along with almost every Republican in the House, betrayed the country and their oaths of office:

• Anthony Brindisi (Blue Dog-NY)
• Joe Cunningham (Blue Dog-SC)
• Josh Gottheimer (Blue Dog-NJ)
• Kendra Horn (Blue Dog-OK)
• Elaine Luria (New Dem-VA)
• Ben McAdams (Blue Dog-UT)
• Stephanie Murphy (Blue Dog-FL)
• Max Rose (Blue Dog-NY)

It would have been 9 Democrats, instead of 8, betraying the country, their constituents and the Constitution but DCCC-Blue Dog Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey is now officially a Republican and, of course, voted against the War Powers Resolution as a Republican and dedicated and enthusiastic Trump ass-licker.

The Hill's Alexander Bolton wrote that "The increasing number [10 Republican senators] is the latest sign of growing GOP frustration over the Trump administration’s justification for the drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qassem Soleimani. Sen. Tim Kaine (D-VA) is circulating a bipartisan resolution that would direct Trump to remove U.S. forces from any hostilities against Iran within 30 days of its enactment."

Mike Lee (R-UT) and Rand Paul (R-KY) are already publicly somewhat on board-- though Paul has a tendency to run his mouth and roar until vote time and then meekly back Trump. Bolton claims that 8 more Republicans are considering Kaine's resolution and names Susan Collins (R-ME), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Mitt Romney (R-UT), the 3 obvious ones, and adds Todd Young (R-IN). That leaves 4 unnamed. The Republicans at the greatest electoral risk this year, aside from Collins, are:

• Cory Gardner (R-CO)
• Martha McSally (R-AZ)
• Thom Tillis (R-NC)
• David Perdue (R-GA)
• Joni Ernst (R-IA)
• Dan Sullivan (R-AK)
• Kelly Loeffler (R-GA)

There's an outside shot that John Cornyn (R-TX), Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and MoscowMitch (R-KY) could be vulnerable but the lockstep support for Trump from these three goofballs is completely baked into the cake already. When asked how many Republicans are open to his resolution, Kaine told The Hill "Probably about 10. There’s good discussion going on." Lee also mentioned 10 as the number of Republicans open to at least considering it.

Democrats can force a vote on the measure at any time, but Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-NY) on Monday said a vote will happen later in the week.

Schumer wants to make sure his entire caucus is present, increasing the odds that a vote would be held sometime after Tuesday night’s Democratic presidential primary debate in Iowa.

It needs only a simple majority to pass.

If it passes the Senate, the House would also need to pass the resolution before it can be sent to the White House, where Trump would be expected to veto it.

Lee said fellow Republicans should view the Kaine-sponsored resolution as a “completely noncontroversial measure” that restates the Constitution’s declaration that Congress shall have sole power to declare war.

He said it merely spells out that “additional hostilities against Iran need to be authorized by Congress.”

“That is a perfectly unremarkable statement,” Lee added. “The fact that this would be objectionable to anyone in either political party is really saying something.”

Republican senators are suggesting changes to Kaine’s resolutions, which the Democratic senator says can be offered as amendments on the Senate floor.

“I want to make sure that anything I vote on makes clear that the president maintains his Article II prerogatives and also that it does not contain any political content,” Young told reporters Monday, referring to Trump’s constitutional power to respond to attacks or imminent threats.

Kaine has agreed to accept Republican amendments that remove specific reference to Trump or might be construed as forcing the withdrawal of U.S. troops from areas where Iranian proxies are present.

...Senators in both parties say a briefing by senior administration officials last week failed to provide a clear legal justification for the U.S. drone strike that killed Soleimani.

The murky legal arguments put forth by the administration come on top of an evolving story about whether U.S. personnel in the Middle East faced an imminent threat from Soleimani, as Trump claimed last week when he said Iran and its allies “were looking to blow up our embassy.”

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Friday also asserted “an imminent threat,” adding the intelligence included “attacks on U.S. embassies.” He declined to define what exactly he meant by imminent.

Defense Secretary Mark Esper over the weekend told CBS’s “Face the Nation” that he “didn’t see” a “specific piece of evidence” that Soleimani was masterminding an attack on as many as four U.S. embassies.

The president pulled back from his initial claim on Monday by arguing that “it doesn’t really matter” whether there was an imminent threat against U.S. personnel and that the strike against Soleimani was justified “because of his horrible past.”

Perdue isn't getting away with his robot-like devotion to Trump-over-country without a spirited retort from at least one of his Democratic opponents. Teresa Tomlinson, the progressive in the Georgia U.S. Senate primary, noted, with gumption, that "Support for the War Powers Act is constitutional not partisan. I urge Senator Perdue to change course and finally put his allegiance to our constitution over his personal allegiance to Donald Trump."

Al Gross is the Independent/Democrat running for the Alaska Senate seat currently held by Trump puppet, Dan Sullivan. This morning, Gross told me that "Dan Sullivan believes in giving the President full war authority-- that's irresponsible. A Senator must serve as a check on, not a rubber stamp for the President. Dan Sullivan shows no leadership because he always puts Republican Party priorities before Alaska's priorities. I'll be a very different kind of Senator."

Can Trump Bribe His Way Out Of Impeachment? He's Certainly Trying

Yesterday, the House Republicans showed us-- once again-- what they're made of: TREASON. Every single Republican stuck with Trump and spat in the face of the Constitution and in the face of the United States. Now, of course, everyone is wondering what will happen in the Senate once the House impeaches Trump. If you want to look at it transactionally-- and these are politicians we're talking about here-- among the Republican-held Senate seats up for grabs next year, several will be decided by independent voters (who have increasingly turned against Trump)-- not in zombie-Republican states like Tennessee and Arkansas, where the GOP can win without any independents, but these 8 states:

• Maine- Susan Collins
• Colorado- Cory Gardner
• Arizona- Martha McSally
• Iowa- Joni Ernst
• North Carolina- Thom Tillis
• Montana- Steve Daines
• Alaska- Dan Sullivan
• Georgia- David Perdue

Yesterday, before the House vote, Alex Isenstadt reported for Politico that Señor Trumpanzee "is rewarding senators who have his back on impeachment-- and sending a message to those who don't to get on board." Rewarding as in C.A.S.H. "Trump," he continued, "is tapping his vast fundraising network for a handful of loyal senators facing tough reelection bids in 2020. Each of them has signed onto a Republican-backed resolution condemning the inquiry as 'unprecedented and undemocratic.'... With his new push, Trump is exerting leverage over a group he badly needs in his corner with an impeachment trial likely coming soon to the Senate-- but that also needs him." And Susan Collins (R-ME) gets squat.

Republican senators on the ballot next year are lagging in fundraising, stoking uncertainty about the GOP’s hold on the chamber, and could use the fundraising might of the president. Trump’s political operation has raked in over $300 million this year.

On Wednesday, the Trump reelection campaign sent a fundraising appeal to its massive email list urging donors to provide a contribution that would be divided between the president and Colorado Sen. Cory Gardner, Iowa Sen. Joni Ernst, and North Carolina Sen. Thom Tillis. Each of the senators are supporting the anti-impeachment resolution despite being endangered in 2020.

“If we don’t post strong fundraising numbers,” the message warned, “we won't be able to defend the President from this baseless Impeachment WITCH HUNT.”

Next week, Trump will lend a hand to Georgia Sen. David Perdue, a staunch ally who has also spoken out against impeachment. On Nov. 8, the president will host an Atlanta fundraising lunch that will jointly benefit his campaign, the Republican National Committee, and Perdue’s reelection effort. Attendees are being asked to give up to $100,000, according to an invitation obtained by Politico.

Trump is also set to appear next week at a reception for Senate Leadership Fund, a super PAC closely aligned with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and party leadership.

The offensive comes as Trump presses Republicans to remain united behind him. During a cabinet meeting last week, the president implored Republicans to “get tougher and fight” while lamenting that Democrats “stick together. You never see them break off.”

...“The donors listen to the president, and he has the most capacity to energize small-dollar contributions by making the case that he needs a Senate majority to be successful,” said Scott Jennings, a former political aide in the George W. Bush White House.

Trump’s interest in assisting down-ballot candidates has heartened Republican strategists who worry that the 2020 election is turning out to be a re-run of the disastrous 2018 midterms, when GOP candidates were vastly out-raised. The hope is that Trump can harness his massive small-donor network to help Republican senators, who are trying to protect a narrow majority.

“The hard lessons from 2018 were that elections have consequences and it is the president’s party now,” said Scott Reed, the senior political strategist at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

Trump, Reed added, “has the ability to turn on the money spigot like no one else.”

Michael Franken, a retired admiral currently running for the Iowa Senate seat occupied by Joni Ernst pointed out that "The unknown is when the influx of extravagant GOP funding does little more than annoy the voter. In Iowa, for instance, the middle third, who question Trump’s suitability for decision making and may very well be losing their farms due to disastrous trade policies, may already be lost. Recent polling numbers for Senator Joni Ernst fell to a 39% approval rating from a high of 57% in February. (She parrots Trump.) Getting bombarded by TV ads may lull some listeners to vote for Trump’s acolyte, but not if the farm is on the auction block."

Dr. Al Gross is an independent candidate for U.S. Senate, officially endorsed by the Alaska Democratic Party. Last night he told me that "Here in Alaska, if we want to survive, we think for ourselves. That's why Alaska has the greatest proportion of independent voters of any state in the country. 55.25% of voters are registered as independents. Yet Dan Sullivan keeps showing us that he's in lock step with Washington DC's partisan political game-playing. We appreciate our freedom here in Alaska and make sure to have each other's backs. Dan Sullivan is beholden to Mitch McConnell and the DC political class. He's not looking out for us. He's looking out for himself and for his own career. He appears to prefer to rise or fall with McConnell and the National Republican Party rather than stake out an Alaskan position on any issue at all."