Music: Ulf Wakenius ft. Lars Danielsson, Magnus Öström — ‘Taste of Honey’
A campaign that was all about saving democracy is now all about saving Joe Biden
John Hendrickson writes: At Joe Biden’s rally in Madison, Wisconsin, this afternoon, the men and women who had crammed into a middle-school basketball gym dutifully clapped, yelled words of support, and waved signs bearing the president’s name. But when it came time to chant “Four more years,” they sounded as if they were merely going through the motions. Most of the attendees I spoke with said they were more committed to the Democratic Party than its 81-year-old leader. Some told…
Massachusetts governor, a top Biden ally, urges him to ‘listen to the American people’
Politico reports: One of Joe Biden’s high-profile campaign surrogates is publicly urging him to consider exiting the presidential race. Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, a member of Biden’s national campaign advisory board who earlier this spring headlined a big-dollar fundraiser for him in Boston, said in a statement Friday that he should “carefully evaluate whether he remains our best hope to defeat Donald Trump.” Biden “saved our democracy in 2020 and has done an outstanding job over the last four years,”…
Will Iran’s new reformist president fulfill his promises?
The Guardian reports: The shock election of Masoud Pezeshkian as Iran’s new president is as much a testimony to his personality as to his politics. A former heart surgeon and health minister, he came across in the many presidential TV debates as a man of great personal integrity and humility, desperate to bring the country together after it had been divided domestically and abroad. In the end, it will only be his opponents’ fear of his continued popularity that…
Hopes of Gaza ceasefire rise further as Hamas reportedly backs new proposal
The Guardian reports: Hopes for a ceasefire in Gaza have risen further after reports that Hamas has given its initial approval of a new US-backed proposal for a phased deal. Egyptian officials and representatives of the militant Islamist organisation confirmed Hamas had dropped a key demand that Israel commits to a definitive end to the war before any pause in hostilities, Reuters and the Associated Press reported. Efforts to secure a ceasefire and hostage release in Gaza have intensified over…
UK appoints new attorney general critical of Israeli rights violations
Middle East Eye reports: The new British government has appointed Richard Hermer, an experienced lawyer who has often spoken out against Israeli breaches of international law, as the country’s attorney general. Prime Minister Keir Starmer, whose Labour Party won a landslide majority in this week’s election, selected Hermer as the chief legal adviser to the government on Friday. The attorney general oversees the Government Legal Department, the Serious Fraud Office and the Crown Prosecution Service (which Starmer led between 2008…
The French republic is under threat. We are 1,000 historians and we cannot remain silent
Patrick Boucheron, Antoine Lilti et al write: For the first time since the second world war, the far right is at the gates of power in France. As historians from differing political backgrounds who share an attachment to democratic values and the rule of law, we cannot remain silent in the face of an alarming prospect that we still have the capacity to resist. Despite a superficial makeover, the National Rally (RN) remains fundamentally the successor and heir of the…
Unhappy lives linked to recent rise of right-wing populism in Europe
PsyPost reports: A recent study published in the American Behavioral Scientist has shed light on the link between life dissatisfaction and the rise of right-wing populist movements in Europe. By analyzing survey data from 14 countries collected between 2012 and 2018, researchers found that individuals who are dissatisfied with their lives are more likely to hold negative views on immigration and distrust political institutions, which in turn increases their likelihood of supporting right-wing populist parties. The researchers aimed to understand…
Music: Binkbeats — ‘Rhythmiconomy’
Kamala Harris and Gretchen Whitmer could make a winning ticket for Democrats
Julian Zelizer writes: If President Joe Biden decides to withdraw from the election, Democrats need not fear — they have a ticket in front of them that can still defeat presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump. Not only would a ticket with Kamala Harris as president and Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer as her running mate have the best odds of getting the party through this moment of crisis, but also the potential to excite voters and produce a historic outcome. To…
Many Americans are now looking at Kamala Harris as if for the first time
Elaina Plott Calabro writes: When Ron Klain admitted to me a year ago that the White House could have worked harder to elevate Kamala Harris’s profile, he didn’t know that the Democratic Party, and perhaps American democracy itself, would soon be riding on her readiness to be president. But perhaps he should have. It was July 2023, and while interviewing President Joe Biden’s former chief of staff in his law office in downtown Washington, D.C., I’d asked if the administration…
Democrats start moving to Harris as Biden digs in
CNN reports: Amid the ongoing fallout from Joe Biden’s debate performance, talk in many top Democratic circles has already moved to who Kamala Harris’ running mate would be. That’s how certain a widening group of leading party officials, operatives and donors are that the president’s slow start to salvage his campaign just won’t work, with several close allies skeptical that he is up to the reelection campaign he has pledged to stay in, based on CNN’s conversations with two dozen…
Sen. Mark Warner works to gather Senate Democrats to ask Biden to exit race
The Washington Post reports: Sen. Mark R. Warner (D-Va.) is attempting to assemble a group of Democratic senators to ask President Biden to exit the presidential race, according to two people with direct knowledge of the effort. Warner is telling Democratic senators that Biden can no longer remain in the election in the wake of his faltering debate performance, according to the people familiar with private conversations who spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak freely. Warner has told…
Disney heiress, wealthy Democratic donors say they won’t finance the party until Joe Biden drops out
CNBC reports: President Joe Biden is facing an uprising from some his own party’s wealthy donors, including an heiress to the Disney family fortune, who say they will no longer fund the Democratic Party until Biden drops out of the presidential race following his disastrous debate performance. Abigail Disney, granddaughter of Roy O. Disney, who co-founded The Walt Disney Co., told CNBC on Thursday that she plans to withhold donations to the party she has funded for years until Biden…
Trump disavows Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, despite close MAGA ties
Axios reports: Former President Trump on Friday disavowed the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, which has sparked widespread news coverage about policy plans for a potential second Trump administration. Why it matters: Project 2025 has long annoyed Trump and his top campaign officials, despite the deep links and allies shared by the two entities. Lately, Democrats have been attacking Project 2025 as a proxy for the stakes of defeating “MAGA Republicans.” Trump’s disavowal comes two days after Heritage Foundation president Kevin Roberts drew outrage from Democrats…
‘We’re coming for Labour’: Reform’s small seat count conceals size of its threat
The Guardian reports: Shortly after 3.30am on Friday, as Nigel Farage was finally elected to Westminster at the eighth time of asking, the Reform UK leader stood to deliver a speech that was fully intended to interrupt Labour’s euphoric celebrations elsewhere. Having played a large part in the implosion of Conservative support, Reform would now be targeting Labour voters, the new member for Clacton said. “We’re coming for Labour – be in no doubt about that.” Vowing to build a…