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AMANDA CARPENTER: Brian Kemp’s Running Mate Is a Fake Elector.
Georgia Republican Governor Brian Kemp gets a lot of credit for resisting pressure from former President Donald Trump to “find the votes” to flip the 2020 election results in his state. But that was then. Today, Kemp stands shoulder-to-shoulder with one of the state’s top election deniers. That man is his running mate, the GOP candidate for lieutenant governor, Burt Jones.
Come for the West Wing fantasy politics, stay for the Carville-isms, like: “Really stupid voters produce stupid candidates,” “MAGA runs the show,” and “If you’re going to look at something 150 times a day, it might as well be pretty.” James Carville joins guest host JVL today.
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MONA CHAREN: What COVID Revealed About Our Kids.
This past week marked the first day of school in our neighborhood. I’m a sucker for the family tableau—a kid with her new backpack, mom and dad with cameras at the ready as the bus pulls up, the dog on a leash questioning why he’s losing his playmate to the big, yellow thief.
It’s alarming to consider how likely it is that by the time that smiling child reaches high school, she will be anxious, depressed, or cutting herself. According to the Surgeon General, 19 percent of high school students seriously consider suicide. Nor is it just musing. Between 2007 and 2018, suicide rates among young people between the ages of 10 and 24 increased by 57 percent. As Jonathan Haidt and Greg Lukianoff have explored, the wide adoption of smartphones in 2012 marked a sudden and dramatic change in adolescent well-being. Kids (especially girls) became more anxious, depressed, and fragile.
WILLIAM SALETAN: “Semi-Fascism”: The Shoe Fits.
Republicans are furious over President Biden’s recent remarks linking Donald Trump and his supporters to “semi-fascism.” For days, they’ve been all over TV and social media, denouncing Biden’s use of the F-word. But Biden was right. Many of the ideas and tactics deployed by Trump and his apologists, including those who decry Biden’s comparison, fit the dictionary definition of fascism.
Consider Rep. Jim Jordan, who will chair the House Judiciary Committee if Republicans retake the House this fall. Jordan says Biden is dividing America by “calling Republicans ‘semi-fascists.’” But three years ago, when Trump committed an openly authoritarian act, Jordan endorsed it.
In January 2019, the House of Representatives, which had a new Democratic majority, refused to fund a border wall demanded by Trump. So the president declared a national emergency to build the wall, seizing from Congress its constitutional authority over appropriations. No president had ever claimed such emergency powers to override the will of Congress. But Jordan stood with Trump. “We tried for 35 days . . . to get the Democrats to do what everyone knows needs to happen,” said Jordan. “I support the national emergency declaration 100 percent.”
🚨OVERTIME 🚨
Happy Thursday! Even nearly two years in, it’s easy to lose track of the days. Here’s Sarah Palin’s reaction to ranked choice voting, which did her in.
Here’s Hershel Walker, unvarnished. It’s a sight to behold.
A deep pull. Credit to Sen. Jack Reed for this:
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Editorial photos provided by Getty Images. For full credits, please consult the article.