Attention to the Unseen

Elaina Plott Calabro writes: Kash Patel was dangerous. On this both Trump appointees and career officials could agree. A 40-year-old lawyer with little government experience, he joined the administration in 2019 and rose rapidly. Each new title set off new alarms. When Patel was installed as chief of staff to the acting secretary of defense just after the 2020 election, Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, advised him not to break the law in order to…

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The Washington Post reports: The 50 biggest donors this cycle have collectively pumped $1.5 billion into political committees and other groups competing in the election, according to a Washington Post analysis of Federal Election Commission data. The vast majority of money from top donors has gone to super PACs, which can accept unlimited sums from individuals and often work closely with campaigns despite rules against coordinating their advertising. From billionaire investors to shipping magnates, these megadonors skew Republican, though they…

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Business Insider reports: The Democratic and Republican National Conventions concluded this week, solidifying former President Donald Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris as their party’s respective nominees. But between the partisan speeches and celebrity appearances, the ambiance of the convention — created in part by the design of the stage each candidate spoke on and the signs held by audience members — underscored each party’s priorities headed into this year’s contentious election. A political scientist told Business Insider the stagecraft…

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Politico reports: California and San Francisco in particular have become the poster child for unaffordability, with expensive housing fueling waves of homelessness that burden city services and repel people and businesses. State lawmakers have responded, passing laws that streamline permits for affordable housing and banning single-unit zoning, an effort seen as critical to paving the way for more building. “America is not a museum,” San Francisco Mayor London Breed, who’s locked in a tough reelection race, said as Democrats gathered…

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CNN reports: Late last year, former President Donald Trump announced his endorsement of car dealership owner Bernie Moreno for Ohio’s Senate seat – elevating an untested candidate who’d never held public office over several other more prominent Republicans. Two days later, Moreno’s campaign spent about $17,000 at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort, and then followed up by spending an additional $79,000 the next month – making him one of the Florida club’s top political spenders. He wasn’t alone. With glitzy Mar-a-Lago fundraisers,…

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Politico reports: Republicans are confronting a decisive moment in the battle over public education: proving they can still win a culture war. School board candidates backed by Moms for Liberty, a conservative vanguard whose members popularized restrictions on classroom library books, are losing elections in Florida and some swing states. Republican leaders who rallied against critical race theory and LGBTQ+ issues recently faced recalls in red pockets of California. And in the presidential race, Democrats are playing offense. This week’s…

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Jeff Greenfield writes: What ultimately separates standout politicians from the rest is an ability to connect with the American people. It sounds obvious, but it’s a far more challenging task than it seems. Kamala Harris proved in her acceptance speech Thursday night that she understood the assignment. She’s already a unique presidential nominee, a biracial woman with a blended family. She’s faced attacks on her identity from Donald Trump and his allies. What Harris did in her acceptance speech was…

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