Hello hello,
Well, absent showy antics from Joe Manchin and Trumpland respectively, the top news story of the day is Ukraine, on which the following major developments have ensued: President Biden reassured that no U.S. troops will be sent to Ukraine. Other NATO nations are moving personnel and materiel into Eastern Europe: France, Spain, Denmark, and the Netherlands are all sending or contemplating sending tanks, troops, and planes. Notably absent from the above list is Germany, which is the target of speculation in the U.S. press today about whether it will really stand with NATO here, given its reliance on Russian natural gas. German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who heads a coalition of the left, and French President Emmanuel Macron, a centrist, held a meeting and press conference in Berlin Tuesday to affirm that Russian will pay a very severe price for any invasion, but France is willing to send defensive weapons to the government in Kyiv and Germany is not (the Greens hold the foreign policy ministry in Scholzâs government, and they are comparatively hawkish on Russia). One broader point most Americans probably havenât thought much about is made by Gideon Rachman in his Financial Times column (subscription only): that Western Europe is unusually divided within itself these days, its member nations in a uniquely insular frame of mind. He observes that âmost of the big countries in western Europe are currently in the midst of destabilising political transitionsâwhich make them even less prepared than usual for a confrontation with Russia.â He even (half-) jokes that a war in Ukraine may be the only thing that can save Boris Johnsonâs skin.
Politico leads with a big story about Kamala Harrisâs troubles. It quotes a few allies as tacitly acknowledging that sheâs had a pretty rocky time of it and that her political instincts havenât always been sharp. Whatâs most interesting here, though, is what this article leaves unsaid, which is this: If Joe Biden proves unable to run in 2024, is Harris necessarily the unchallenged heir apparent to the Democratic nomination? That question is considered impolite right now, but rest assured, after the midterms, or maybe before depending on events, it will have its day in the sun. My take: Biden running in â24 will depend on (1) some kind of rebound, at least to the high 40s and (2) his being able to persuade Americans that heâs up to it; if he canât manage both of those, he may well be convinced to step aside. Harris will certainly be challenged by others but will have a pretty big head start.
There isnât a ton of other news thatâs especially pressing. Certain Hill Democrats vow that the fights for voting rights and Build Back Better go on (the latter believable, the former less so). Nancy Pelosi announced sheâll run for her seat again, but that has no bearing necessarily on whether sheâll run for Speaker again, which is a different thing.Â
Disney is making a live-action version of Snow White? Isnât that kind of ⦠weird? Peter Dinklage, the actor best known (to me, anyway) as one of Liz Lemonâs boyfriends on 30 Rock, called it a âbackward story about seven dwarfs living in a cave.â Disney, in pitch-perfect corporate speak, replied: âTo avoid reinforcing stereotypes from the original animated film, we are taking a different approach with these seven characters and have been consulting with members of the dwarfism community.â I dunno. Seems to me there are a lot of other stories out there.Â
At NewRepublic.com, Casey Michel burrows into the history behind the FBIâs bombshell raid of Democratic Representative Henry Cuellarâs Texas home last week; Grace Segers explains why reforming the Electoral Count Act of 1887 is suddenly so popular with even many Republicans; and Alex Shephard analyzes Spotifyâs Faustian bargain with Joe Rogan and Neil Youngâs righteous stand against it. Shephard doesnât see Young as having all that much leverage on his own, alas, but argues that support for Youngâs him-or-me position âcould expand if other popular musicians join him on the grounds that the platform has essentially used their work to subsidize vaccine denialism while handing out relative pittances to the artists that put Spotify on the map.â
Thanks for reading, âMichael Tomasky, editor |
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