MEANWHILE, OVER AT VODKAPUNDIT: Oh, You Naughty First Amendment. “Since my managing editor won’t let me reply to Wu with any of Carlin’s seven words you can’t say on television — even though all seven would be appropriate and, I promise you, artfully arranged — I’ll have to resort to reasoned analysis.”
Author Archive: Stephen Green
July 3, 2024
SARAH HOYT’S SHOCKED FACE IS TAKING A PERSONAL DAY: SHOCKER! Biden’s Cross-Dressing Dress Thief Scores Sweetheart Deal.
MEANINGLESS UNTIL DOCTOR JILL SAYS OTHERWISE: ‘The Dam Has Broken’: 25 House Dems Plan to Call for Biden to Drop Out.
GREAT MOMENTS IN SELF-AWARENESS:
Today I signed the National Plan to End Parkinson’s Act – a law that will help prevent, treat, and cure Parkinson’s disease and similar disorders.
This law is about dignity. It gives people hope that we can end this cruel disease and that we can still do big things. pic.twitter.com/Vac4gZFEym
— President Biden (@POTUS) July 3, 2024
Brian Stelter reposted with “Today, of all days…” but quickly deleted it after taking flak from the Left.
BOTTOM STORY OF THE DAY: CNN Freelance Journalist Worked With, Supported Hamas.
HERE WE GO AGAIN? Home Affordability in the US Sinks to Lowest Point Since 2007. “The costs of a typical home — including mortgage payments, property insurance and taxes — consumed 35.1% of the average wage in the second quarter, the highest share since 2007 and up from 32.1% a year earlier, according to a new report from Attom.”
I LIKE THE CUT OF HIS JIB: Was This President Trump’s Ballsiest Play Ever?
NATE SILVER: Biden is probably in trouble. Here’s how to replace him.
I’m going to do something stupid: not tell you what I think should happen with Biden — that’s covered by the Times story — but offer a prediction of what I think will happen.
The reason this is stupid is because it’s mostly up to one man: Biden. If we’re being extremely literal, the decision technically isn’t Biden’s alone.2 But for all practical purposes, it comes down to the choices of what is probably a very narrow circle of family and advisors — and ultimately to Biden himself. There isn’t any good way to build a formal model of Biden’s thought process.
But by reading this newsletter, I suppose I think you’re indulging me to articulate predictions that will quite possibly be wrong — but where I think I have one or two insights that might be worthwhile. Even if that means people will screencap this and throw it back in my face later — which they will.
And if I had to bet, I’d bet against Biden being the Democratic nominee on Nov. 5.
Will Collier pointed out on Twitter X that Biden’s decision “will probably come down to Jill and Hunter… and they can be bought.”
That’s true enough in Hunter’s case — relatively cheaply, too. But it’s long seemed like the thing Jill wants, she can only get while Biden remains president.
None of this is possible to predict, of course, so stay tuned.
DEM HACK INTERVIEWS HACKING DEM: Joe Biden To Sit Down With ABC News’ George Stephanopoulos For First Post-Debate TV Interview. “Interestingly, despite the pleas from some of Biden’s most loyal supporters, the president’s network interview will not be live.”
Surprised?
A NEW DAILY VODKAPUNDIT FEATURE: Biden Campaign Collapse Tracker: Capitol Hill Blues.
Welcome to the Biden Campaign Collapse Tracker, a new daily (ish?) feature that will last every bit as long as Presidentish Joe Biden’s reelection campaign does — so check back tomorrow because, like Joe, it might still be here.
I kid, of course — I’m still on the side that believes that Biden will see it through to the bitter end. But this is a fast-moving game where everything can change in a hurry.
Let’s get started before everything changes again with the focus today on the palace intrigue coming from Capitol Hill.
Much more at the link.
I’L BELIEVE THERE’S A CLIMATE CRISIS WHEN THE PEOPLE TELLING ME THERE’S A CLIMATE CRISIS START ACTING LIKE THERE’S A CLIMATE CRISIS: Google’s carbon emissions surge nearly 50% due to AI energy demand.
Google’s emissions surged nearly 50% compared to 2019, the company said Tuesday in its 2024 environmental report, marking a notable setback in its goal to achieve net-zero emissions by 2030.
Google’s emissions also increased 13% year over year in 2023, per the report.
The company attributed the emissions spike to an increase in data center energy consumption and supply chain emissions driven by rapid advancements in and demand for artificial intelligence. The report noted that the company’s total data center electricity consumption grew 17% in 2023.
The impact of AI on electricity demand is well documented. Electricity demand is forecast to grow as much as 20% by 2030, with AI data centers alone expected to add about 323 terawatt hours of electricity demand in the U.S., CNBC previously reported.
Also Google:
HMM: Alvin Bragg’s Team Makes Surprising Announcement About Trump’s Sentencing. “On Tuesday, Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg’s office announced that despite contesting the motion to overturn the hush money verdict based on immunity claims, it would not oppose delaying former President Trump’s sentencing.”
I HAD BEEN ASSURED THAT INFLATION WAS IMAGINARY, TRANSITORY, A HIGH-CLASS PROBLEM, AND OVER ALREADY: Fed’s Powell says US on ‘disinflationary path,’ but more data needed before rate cuts.
KRUISER’S MORNING BRIEFING: Mainstream Media Hacks Will Have No Problem Pivoting Back to Biden “Dem officials and their flying monkeys in the mainstream media are usually on the same page, steadily murmuring their untruths in unison. Since last Thursday, they’ve been a drunk, dysfunctional family at a Thanksgiving dinner where the slobbering uncle tried to deep fry a frozen turkey.”
AMERICA’S NEWSPAPER OF RECORD:
Checkmate: Dem Leaders Write 'I Hereby Resign From The Presidency, No Takebacks' On Biden's Teleprompter https://t.co/dmvHsfGWnl pic.twitter.com/cJkC6bHUDe
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) July 2, 2024
Ron Burgundy John Gill will read anything that is put on that teleprompter. And when I say anything, I mean anything.
THE ENEMY WITHIN: Iranian Exiles Protest Alleged Assassin’s Fellowship at Princeton.
HMM: Biden Plunges in Swing States in Leaked Post-Debate Poll.
A confidential polling memo circulating among anxious Democrats is confirming some of their worst fears: President Joe Biden’s support has started to tumble in key electoral battlegrounds in the wake of his disastrous debate performance in Atlanta, and Biden’s diminished standing is now putting previously noncompetitive states like New Hampshire, Virginia, and New Mexico in play for Donald Trump. What’s more, Biden has taken such a reputational hit that he is polling behind other alternative Democratic candidates—including Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer—in hypothetical one-on-one matchups against Trump.
The memo was put together after the debate by OpenLabs, a progressive nonprofit that conducts polling and message-testing for a constellation of Democratic groups, including the 501(c)4 nonprofit associated with Future Forward, the preferred Super PAC for Biden’s reelection campaign. OpenLabs is something of a black box: Their website is mostly blank, they don’t seek publicity, and their client list is closely held. But their data-driven memos are trusted in Democratic circles, and typically passed around to a small group of clients and strategists. One of those Democrats forwarded me the OpenLabs document on Tuesday morning.
I figured it was pretty much impossible to poll worse than Harris, whose 2020 primary race folded before Iowa.
More:
The survey also found that Biden is now losing in New Hampshire, news that aligns with a Saint Anselm College poll released Monday showing Trump suddenly winning the Granite State. It’s the drip-drip of polls like these that will continue to put pressure on Biden and his team in the coming weeks, even as they seek to move on from the debate, as my colleague John Heilemann astutely noted on Monday. The other signal that will be closely watched by the Biden campaign is whether senior party members, many of whom made a show of circling the wagons over the weekend, begin to break ranks. If Biden’s falling stature starts to damage Senate and House candidates down the ballot, Democrats on Capitol Hill might take their private concerns public and demand that Biden step aside before the Democratic National Convention in August.
Related: Texas Democrat openly calls on Biden to leave presidential race. “A Texas congressman is the first sitting Democratic lawmaker to call for Joe Biden to step aside as the party’s presidential nominee, after his disastrous debate performance last week.”
Ed Morrissey adds: “Doggett is no spring chicken either. He’ll turn 78 in October, and has served for almost 30 years in Congress. He’s also safely ensconced in a D+24 district in Austin (TX-37), so it’s not as if he’s particularly vulnerable in an electoral collapse created by Biden either. If the White House has lost Doggett, they’re in trouble — big trouble.”
Emphasis in the original.
FLOP SWEAT TIME: Jake Tapper Blows Whistle on Private Meeting Democrat Governors Held About Joe Biden. “During this real-life Council of Elrond, the governors discussed their surprise at not hearing directly from Biden and expressed a desire for communication from him or his administration. They are seeking a meeting with Biden either at the White House or via Zoom, though nothing has been scheduled yet. The governors emphasized their need to hear directly from Biden amid growing concerns.”
July 2, 2024
THE COUNTRY IS IN THE VERY BEST OF HANDS:
JUST IN – Hunter Biden has joined meetings with President Biden and his top aides this week at the White House, reportedly the reaction from some senior White House staff has been, “What the hell is happening?” – NBC News
— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) July 2, 2024
Is Hunter cleared for this stuff and, if so — how?
THE GETTING AWAY FROM IT ALL IS VERY NICE. COMING HOME TO THE MASTERCARD STATEMENT… NOT SO MUCH: 36% of Americans plan to take on debt for summer travel. Here’s why that worries financial experts.
ANOTHER REASON NOT TO GET COCKY:
I think they would want to stay out of the news no matter what they planned or knew.
I also think they want Biden to win because that means they call the shots. Dirty tricks seem inevitable. https://t.co/HK58YINt9e
— Scott Adams (@ScottAdamsSays) July 1, 2024
IT ISN’T ALWAYS NICE TO MAKE TWITCHY: Orange Man BAD Takes on HILARIOUS New Meaning After Bronzed Biden Appearance and X Takes are Comedy GOLD.