Rachel Maddow's Blog, page 3377
July 5, 2013
Morning Maddow: July 5
The NY Times looks at the IRS scandal, finds something interesting.
NC Gov. won't say whether he will sign the new abortion restrictions.
Appeals court overturns a ruling about abortion signs.
Man arrested on the U. of Washington campus allegedly with a stolen truck containing weapons and explosives.
The NRA offers free memberships to military and law enforcement.
Sens. McCain and Graham spent the 4th of July in Afghanistan.
July 4, 2013
Independence Day 2013
Associated Press
Other than Tricia's Morning Maddow post earlier, Maddow Blog will probably be pretty quiet today in honor of the 4th of July.
That said, I'll be around and may jump back in with some posts if there's a major, unexpected news development.
Looking ahead, tomorrow is also a holiday for Team Maddow, though we'll likely have a Morning Maddow post and I'll probably stop by. And on Saturday, we will publish our weekend feature, This Week in God.
Have a safe and enjoyable holiday.
Morning Maddow: July 4
Egypt's new interim president is sworn in.
The State Dept's new envoy for closing Guantanamo starts work.
Searchers looking for Sen. Mark Udall's missing brother find his body.
The Statue of Liberty reopens today.
Who gets to live and who has to die at Gettysburg.
NASA announces it will try to resuscitate the broken, planet-hunting Kepler telescope.
July 3, 2013
Links for the 7/3 TRMS
Citations for Wednesday night's show are listed after the jump.
Cairo cable would have been declassified in 2028
US memos: Mubarak's son as president tough sell
NC Senator Nesbitt busts GOP for sneak attack in war on women
"Forward together, not one step back!" #ncga
Thousands Testify in Austin on Abortion Bill
In North Carolina, voting procedure changes loom
Audio purportedly from inside the cockpit of Bolivian President Evo Morales's flight
Bolivia Air Force - Fuerza Aérea Boliviana - FAB001 flight precaution landing Vienna Austria
Bolivia vs. Europe over Snowden-linked plane delay
Morales' plane takes off after diversion to Vienna
Spain gives Bolivian leader airspace clearance after diplomatic standoff
Bolivia Blasts Austria for Detaining President
France denies blocking Bolivian plane amid rumours NSA leaker Snowden was aboard
US admits contact with other countries over potential Snowden flights – as it happened
Lawmakers propose Supreme Court sessions be televised
In jail, Bulger breezily talked about violence
George Zimmerman Trial Interrupted By Trolls Who Use Skype
Gun control: President Obama's biggest loss
How Obama could have avoided gun-control failure
After failure on gun legislation, Obama learning limits of his power
Colorado gun-control laws go in effect Monday; critics fume
Delaware General Assembly Wraps Up Session With Major Legislation
Ayotte Supporters Heckle Father of Murdered Daughter at Vigil to Remember Victims of Gun Violence
Ahead on the 7/3 Maddow show
Tonight's guests include:
Ayman Mohyeldin, NBC News foreign correspondent, live in Cairo
PJ Crowley, former U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for Public Affairs
Video preview will be posted momentarily.
Wednesday's Mini-Report
Today's edition of quick hits:
* What's next in Egypt?
* In related news: "Egyptian military leaders have assured the Obama administration that they are not interested in long-term rule following their toppling of President Mohammed Morsi and have appointed a government of civilian technocrats to temporarily run the country in an apparent bid to forestall potential U.S. sanctions, American officials said Wednesday."
* Pakistan: "At least 17 people were killed in a U.S drone attack in the volatile North Waziristan tribal region in northwest Pakistan early Wednesday, officials said. Local residents and security officials said the aircraft fired four missiles and struck a house at Sara-e-Darpakhel area of Miranshah, which is located near the Afghan border."
* Texas: "Texas Republicans voted early Wednesday to move forward with new abortion restrictions, after limiting testimony at a public hearing, refusing to consider Democratic amendments and imposing strict security precautions to prevent disruptions from protesting abortion-rights supporters."
* Their anger is understandable: "Latin American leaders reacted with fury on Wednesday to the diversion of the airplane carrying President Evo Morales of Bolivia through European airspace, calling it a grave offense to all of their countries, unjustified by suspicions that the fugitive American former security contractor, Edward J. Snowden, was on board."
* Arizona: "Three days after 19 firefighters perished in a wildfire, questions over what exactly went wrong loomed largest."
* The Edward Snowden story is overwhelming the NSA story. That's not a positive development.
* The latest CBO analysis of comprehensive immigration reform offers proponents more good news, which would be useful if conservative opponents cared about policy details.
* And even a week later, Bill O'Reilly is struggling to deal with the Supreme Court's DOMA ruling. I guess for some, acceptance takes longer than it should.
Anything to add? Consider this an open thread.
Virginia's McDonnell turns to high-powered defense attorney
Associated Press
As if Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell (R) didn't have enough to worry about, the Richmond Times Dispatch reports today that the governor's airfare to a NCAA March Madness game in 2011 may have been paid for by Jonnie Williams Sr., "the political donor whose gifts to the McDonnell family have attracted federal scrutiny."
At the time, the article added, McDonnell's office indicated that his political action committee was covering the tab, but the travel expenses now appears to have been underwritten by the same guy who bought the governor's Rolex, purchased the governor's wife's $10,000 suede jacket, and covered the governor's daughter's wedding.
The next logical step would be for McDonnell to spend some quality time with an excellent defense attorney, and wouldn't you know it, the governor is doing exactly that.
He's represented the administration of President George W. Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney, and President Bill Clinton during his impeachment proceedings.
Now he's one of the attorneys counseling Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, besieged by state and federal investigations into gifts he and his family have received while in office.
High-powered Washington lawyer Emmet T. Flood was in Richmond at the Executive Mansion Tuesday to speak with McDonnell.
Flood is a partner in one of DC's most powerful law firms (Williams and Connolly); he represented Dick Cheney when the former vice president's office outed Valerie Plame as a CIA operative; and Flood served as deputy White House counsel to George W. Bush when his West Wing was engulfed in a series of scandals.
And now Flood is helping McDonnell, which is no doubt a good move for the governor, but also, as the Times Dispatch put it, "underscores the gravity of the governor's legal challenges."
When Walker pulls a Brewer on immigration
Associated Press
Just last week, Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer (R) surprised many when she expressed her support for the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill, calling it a "victory for Arizona." Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), among others, was delighted, and Democrats eagerly touted Brewer's comments.
It didn't last. A full day after praising the bipartisan legislation, Brewer said her description of the bill as a "victory for Arizona" did not mean she endorses the idea.
Oddly enough, the same thing happened today. Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) talked to local reporters this week and seemed to endorse the bipartisan Senate immigration bill.
Gov. Scott Walker distanced himself from House Republicans debating a new immigration bill Tuesday by endorsing a path to citizenship for immigrant workers.
In a meeting with the Daily Herald Media Editorial Board, Walker acknowledged that a substantial number of Wisconsin farms depend on migrant workers, some of them here illegally. He also was sharply critical of how difficult the federal government makes it for those workers to come to this country.
It wasn't an exact quote, but the report from the local news outlet added, "Walker said he is in favor of the Senate immigration bill."
As was the case with Brewer last week, reform proponents were delighted to have support from a high-profile governor, eagerly getting the word out about Walker's endorsement. And just like last week, Walker did what Brewer did, telling the Weekly Standard that the governor "has not endorsed any specific policy."
When the Weekly Standard asked if Walker would take a position at some point on the Senate bill, the governor's press secretary did not reply.
It's so nice to get this straightened out.
Egyptian military: Morsi is out
Associated Press
It seemed clear the clock was ticking on Mohammed Morsi's tenure in Egypt, and this afternoon, his time ran out.
The Egyptian military said Wednesday that it had ousted President Mohammed Morsi and suspended the country's constitution. Armored cars, tanks and troops deployed in the capital in what advisers to the president described as a coup.
In a scene reminiscent of the earliest days of the Arab Spring, tens of thousands of Egyptians who had demanded the president's ouster staged a jubilant celebration in Tahrir Square -- dancing, cheering and setting off fireworks.
You can watch the live feed of the celebration in Cairo here, and I'd also recommend watching this web-only feature from NBC's Richard Engel, who helps put the events in the context of the post-Mubarak era.
As for whether this constitutes a military coup of a democratically elected leader, I suppose there will be a fair amount of debate on this point, though it's worth noting that much of the country urged the military to intervene and chose not to participate in the election that elevated Morsi.
Update: For its part, the Obama White House will not denounce the military ousting Morsi.
The right's desperate search for more white voters
Fox News' Brit Hume has heard all the arguments about the Republican Party needing a more diverse voting base, but he's not buying it. This on-air commentary aired the other day:
Watch on YouTubeRejecting the argument that the Hispanic vote is necessary to the party's electoral fortunes, Hume called it "baloney," adding, "If you look at the statistics, you find there was one significant bloc of voters who turned out in smaller numbers this time in a major way -- way below expectations, below even their '08 turnout -- and that was white voters." He added that the Hispanic vote "is not nearly as important, still, as the white vote."
And why is that it interesting? In part because Hume said the exact opposite soon after the 2012 elections. As MSNBC's Benjy Sarlin explained this week, on election night, Hume called the "demographic" threat posed by Latino voters "absolutely real" and suggested Mitt Romney's "hardline position on immigration" may be to blame for election losses.
Hume apparently now thinks Hume's argument is "baloney."
But the larger point is that the Fox News anchor isn't the only one making this shift. Shortly after the election, Fox's Sean Hannity was on board with reform to improve the GOP's fortunes, and he's since moved to the right. More to the point, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said in January he wants a "comprehensive" immigration bill and then said last month, "There's this narrative being written in the press and by Democrats and, quite frankly by some Republicans, that I am pushing a comprehensive immigration bill, and that's just not true."
And what's driving these moves is the growing sentiment in conservative circles that if the Republican Party can only improve its performance among white people -- getting 70% of the vote instead of 60% -- then its demographic death spiral isn't too big a deal after all. It's a thesis Real Clear Politics' Sean Trende has touted for months, which has grown considerably in recent months as Republican opposition to immigration reform has grown.
Now, Byron York, Rush Limbaugh, Michele Bachmann, and Phyllis Schlafly are all making roughly the same argument: Latinos have become part of the Democratic coalition, so the smart move for the GOP is to stop going after them and start boosting white support (beyond where it already is).
"Their idea seems to be gaining currency," Frank Sharry, executive director of immigration advocacy group America's Voice, told MSNBC. "Right after the election most of the conservative commentariat said they had to do something to get right with Latino voters. Now there seems to be this bizarre conversation that could only happen in the conservative bubble about how Romney didn't win because he didn't mobilize enough white voters."
Sarlin and Mark Murray have pieces that dig deep into the data, and they're well worth your time, but I'd just add one related thought: it's not at all clear how Republicans can boost their performance among white voters so significantly without creating a significant and polarizing backlash that puts them in an even worse electoral position than they're in now.
That said, the argument Hume presented appears to be gaining traction. As Paul Waldman noted, the GOP "might just stick with this 'party of white people' thing" and see what happens.
