The Morning Dispatch: House GOP, Live from Orlando

Plus: A follow-up report on abuse at a Christian camp.

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375

Happy Tuesday! There’s a high of 85 degrees in the nation’s capital today. Your Morning Dispatchers humbly request all newsmakers to chill out and keep things slow while we’re working on our tans.

Quick Hits: Today’s Top Stories

  • The United States plans to share up to 60 million doses of its AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine stockpile with countries around the world in the coming months, the White House said yesterday. “Given the strong portfolio of vaccines that the U.S. already has and that have been authorized by the FDA, and given that the AstraZeneca vaccine is not authorized for use in the U.S., we do not need to use the AstraZeneca vaccine here during the next several months,” White House COVID-19 coordinator Jeff Zients said.

  • The U.S. Census Bureau reported the results of last year’s Census yesterday, finding the U.S. population grew 7.4 percent from 308,745,538 in 2010 to 331,449,281 in 2020—the slowest rate of growth since the Great Depression. The Census apportionment results will lead to Texas gaining two seats in the House of Representatives, five states gaining one seat each, and seven states losing one seat each.

  • Attorney General Merrick Garland announced yesterday the Department of Justice is opening an investigation into the city of Louisville, Kentucky and its police department, focused on the department’s use of force and whether it engages in discriminatory policing or unreasonable stops, searches, seizures, and arrests.

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  1. Avatar photo
    Kevin C. Smith

    Story topic: The effectiveness of a COVID-19 vaccine passport when moving between Hawaiian islands.

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  2. Avatar photo
    Jen

    Senator Bill Hagerty introduced an anti-Section 230 bill called the 21st Century Foundation for the Right to Express and Engage in Speech Act. The website below has a great takedown of the bill and how unconstitutional it is. For some reason many politicians seem to think the first amendment is about private companies not the government. And what’s worse a lot of these politicians have law degrees. 🤦🏼‍♀️
    https://www.techdirt.com/articles/20210427/11281046690/senator-bill-hagerty-believes-compelled-speech-is-liberty-anyone-upset-with-moderation-choices-should-be-able-to-sue.shtml

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    Pat Riot

    TMD should talk about the CyberNinjas in Arizona (soon coming to a GOP-controlled state near you). This is a BIG story that underscores the *real* Republican party, not the fantasy party that places Liz Cheney at the head of it.

    https://morningshots.thebulwark.com/p/the-crazy-is-metastasizing

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    Xaveria

    Of all these things, what is more emblematic of our age than this Santorum business?

    Champion of the new nationalist right spouts Christian triumphalist ahistorical drivel that we can only hope that he does not actually believe.

    Left wing media hears moron say, "Sure, there were Native Americans here, but frankly there's very little Native American in American culture." And they deliberately strip "in American culture" out of the headlines, proclaiming, "Santorum says that Native Americans have very little culture!"

    Leftist fanatics trumpet flat-out lie everywhere, reinforcing their existing conviction that the right is racist. Right wing fanatics trumpet the leftist lie everywhere, reinforcing their existing conviction that the left are liars. Both sides are correct. Everyone retreats satisfyingly outraged, and everyone misses the main story, which is that the only people stupider than Santorum are his voters.

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      Pat Riot

      Except that nobody said that except for Santorum's defenders. Native Americas absolutely *are* part of our culture in the USA and have been since the founding (more so then than now as a matter of fact).

      And like other racist dog whistles, the dishonesty is to take what he said out of context: he said what he said *for a specific reason*, which was to put native Americans into another category as distinct from, say, white Trump-supporting Americans.

      It's true the Europeans brought the ideas of the Enlightenment here, and that our founding fathers formulated the principles of Rights on which our country was founded. But by that time they were *Americans*, duly mixed in with natives and even Africans to create what was already a distinctly *American* culture that had the necessary anti-monarchist thinking to lead to our founding.

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        Xaveria

        Sorry, I'm not sure I understand you. Nobody said what except Santorum's defenders? I think that what he said was both untrue and racist. I also agree that the left was dishonest when they took his comments out of context and tried to make his comments even worse than they obviously are.

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          Pat Riot

          Unless you go for some deep nutpicking, "the left" didn't say any such thing. The Newsweek article you linked didn't say that at all (it was mostly just complaining about Santorum generally--it didn't really get into his argument's specifics).

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            Xaveria

            The Newsweek article sensationalized the headline, and 80% of people don't read the headline. Fox does this all the time -- they lie in the headline to get the clicks, and then bury the truth in the article which fewer people read.

            "The left" is composed of millions of people. I don't mean to smear them all.
            But this is all I've seen on this subject: the Newsweek article and a reddit post proclaiming that "Rick Santorum bizarrely claims there was “nothing” in America until white Christians arrived."

            This is the way misinformation works. It's the same on the right and on the left. It's not everybody, and it's usually more of a twist than an outright lie. But oh boy does it spread. And try going on any of those message boards and saying, "This is bad but taken wildly out of context." People don't want to hear that. They want to make gross puns on the man's last name.

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            Pat Riot

            Ah, I see, there's the title, but that didn't really align with the rest of the article and can be read multiple ways.

            I think your pessimism is misplaced. Santorum said something awful and lots of good and diligent people correctly put him in his place. Maybe that won't always happen but it did here.

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      Magpie

      Is the left-wing media misquoting Santorum the way you describe? Are there sources that actually say "Santorum says that Native Americans have very little culture!"?

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      1. Avatar photo
        Xaveria

        https://www.newsweek.com/rick-santorum-slammed-saying-america-was-birthed-nothing-there-isnt-much-native-american-1586529

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          Magpie

          Hmm, misleading title, but body of the article is more accurate. Thanks.

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            Xaveria

            That is the way they all do it. 80% of people don't read the article, just the headline. Fox does this all the time. The one I remember best was during the whole "inject yourself with sunlight" debacle. Fox's headline the next day was "This is what the President really said at yesterday's press conference." What followed was a loooooong article, towards the end of which they said, "So, it does seem that the President said what is being reported."

            See how it works? A huge chunk of their readership see the headline, and just assume that the outlandish things they heard was just more lies and exaggerations from the lamestream media. And they believe that because there are so many examples of the left wing media making this sort of true but deeply misleading claim.

            When Fox got caught doing something like that, conservatives would shrug and say, "Well, it's true in spirit, and besides, it's just this one outlet." Which is just what liberals I know are doing with this story. No one minds a little mean-spirited truth-bending when it's their team doing it.

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  5. Avatar photo
    Jen

    Allahpundit tweeted:
    congrats to everyone on now having cdc approval for doing all the shit you’ve already been doing for a year outdoors without a mask
    https://twitter.com/allahpundit/status/1387085743772868617?s=21

    This tweet got me thinking: 1) the CDC is a joke 2) all the consternation on the Right (or from people who follow politics in general) about CDC guidelines is wasted energy as most people’s activities aren’t based on what the CDC says. I live in a suburb of Minneapolis. I’m outdoors walking every day. I do not wear a mask. I visit family and friends. We’re not wearing masks (indoors or outdoors). None of us pay much attention to what the CDC says. Maybe it’s different in NYC and DC where people won’t do anything until the CDC says they can. But I don’t think most of America is functioning like that.

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      Slp

      Interesting, I live in a state where the governor has been quite strict and we've never had a rule about masking outdoors. I don't really know how that works with whatever the CDC recommendations are. Maybe the governors have the authority and the CDC just makes recommendations, is that what it is?

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        Jen

        I believe they’re just guidelines.

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      Xaveria

      Let me be sure I understand you. Are you saying, "I don't wear a mask and haven't caught covid, so mask wearing must all be a hoax." ? Because that's what it sounds like you're saying.

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        Jen

        What I am saying is I haven’t ever worn a mask OUTSIDE so the CDC now saying it’s OK to wear masks outdoors means nothing to me. I’m sure I’m not the only one who hasn’t been wearing a mask OUTDOORS. It’s a joke that it’s taken the CDC this long to say it’s OK to do what people have already been doing for MONTHS.

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        1. Midge

          Are you sure Allahpundit isn't misinterpreting this?

          The CDC just released this poster of guidelines:

          https://cbsnews2.cbsistatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/04/27/21c118f0-9d49-4f10-8d8b-1c85dce55f0e/thumbnail/620x837/cfb8fe8568c06ff4b54adbae4270da14/324153-choosingsaferactivities11.png

          Because it's a chart categorizing various activities on three safety levels, it includes activities which may have been safe for a long while now for reference. The chart has two purposes, as far as I can tell. One is (admittedly still quite risk-averse) advice for now, the other is the implicit promise of seeing more maskless activities get greenlighted on the chart as more people get vaccinated. Just because an activity appears greenlighted for no masks on the chart now doesn't mean it hasn't been greenlighted for a while now.

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          1. Avatar photo
            Jen

            I don’t think Allahpundit’s tweet was 100% serious. But I think the broader point about the CDC still stands. I think their messaging has been confusing and way to cautious. Same goes for the Biden Administration. Their message should be get vaccinated so you can get back to a normal life. We’re not really hearing that. Having said that I’ll bet more States start removing mask requirements. For sure by the time we get to July the public at large is going to be done wearing masks. The only question mark is will entertainment activities like concerts and broadway be back to pre-pandemic status. I hope so.

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  6. Avatar photo
    Cecelia Grace

    Re: QotD
    There's some interesting stuff going on in Hawaii regarding beachfront property law. It intersects with local/colonizer culture and class structures in some weird ways. Stories like this one linked below (which I remember seeing on 60 Minutes, actually) are probably slipping through the cracks between local and national reporting, and require time and care to bring to public consciousness. Sounds like a job for the Dispatch to me!
    https://www.staradvertiser.com/2020/11/18/hawaii-news/oceanfront-property-tied-to-obama-granted-exemption-from-hawaiis-environmental-laws/

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    Mark Wm L

    My 15-year old son and 16-year old daughter (who happens to have Down syndrome) have visited over 225 National Park Service sites, but have never been to Hawaii, which has eight NPS sites. I'm confident readers would enjoy a feel-good, coming-of-age, on-the-road, fish-out-of-water account of our travels as chronicled by a TMD reporter while at the same time learning how we survived the pandemic fearing the incredibly high risk of death my daughter would have if infected and the relative merit of Hawaii's mitigation measures.

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    Jen

    This morning the Senate Judiciary committee had a hearing with execs from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube (along with a couple social media ethicists) discussing social media algorithms and their impact on society. The ranking members at this hearing were Chris Coons and Ben Sasse. They both said they purposely didn’t invite the CEOs because they didn’t want the hearing to turn into a partisan spectacle. Both of them asked good, on topic questions. Not so with some of the other members who went right to partisan talking points. Towards the end of the hearing Ben Sasse basically gave them a smack down saying many of his colleagues are too quick to push for regulation and that the focus on section 230 and the zeal to regulate is driven by short term partisan agendas. He also said members of Congress need to remember that they’re bound by 1st amendment constraints and they need to be more attentive to public/private distinctions. Yes and Amen. Republicans will rue the day section 230 no longer exists. It warms the heart to see a senator stick to first principles and true conservatism and not pander to the moment. 🥰

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      Aylene Wright

      Ok, you are actually tempting me to watch this, not just for the content but because it seems Sasse is actually trying to assert some leadership here over his colleagues. It's something I have actually seen occasionally in other contexts; I certainly got the sense he was leading the effort to cap unemployment benefits at 100% of wages last year, but officially it was a joint venture with Graham and both Scotts.

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        Jen

        I hope so. This was just a hearing but I was pleased to see he called his fellow senators out. It’s clear not many understand section 230 at all. Sasse is participating in the McCain Institute’s Sedona Forum tomorrow doing a one on one interview with the CEO of YouTube. I hope she’s allowed to ask him anything and I hope he doesn’t hold back with his answers.

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          Jen

          I got an email with tomorrow’s Sedona Forum schedule. The topic for Sasse’s one on one with the CEO of YouTube is: The Future of Technology and Democracy.

          This seems like a pretty interesting forum overall. It’s streaming online. You can register for the event here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sedona-forum-2021-defending-democracy-registration-148619552081?mc_cid=93caa8e8cd&mc_eid=2c60026abc

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            Aylene Wright

            Thanks for the link, I actually did register. I don't know if I will have time to watch all of it but hopefully it will be archived. I had always found the event interesting but they usually only made a few speeches public from it.

            Also interesting from a political POV that McConnell is one of the speakers even though the "traitor" Cindy McCain (who endorsed Biden and strongly implied she thought her husband would have if he were still living), will be there. But not sure it says anything about the direction of the GOP itself, beyond McConnell's own calculations.

            Now of course McConnell personally seems to be trying to have it both ways regarding Trump since 1/6/21, harshly criticizing him but ducking the impeachment decision by claiming it was unconstitutional, even saying he'd support Trump if he were the 2024 nominee. But as it doesn't seem Trump has been mollified by these attempts to do so and maybe McConnell has decided there's no point in trying to blunt Trump's wrath.

            For I certainly can imagine Trump hearing that McConnell was at this event with "RINO Nevertrumpers", reaching for his phone to Tweet something nasty about him, realizing he's still banned, and sheepishly dictating an official statement to a lackey instead.

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      Jen

      And I see Senator Bill Hagerty just announced he is introducing a bill that would end section 230 and turn social media companies into common carriers. He wrote an op-ed about it in the WSJ.
      https://twitter.com/SenatorHagerty/status/1387094137573367809?s=20

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        JohnF

        I really don't understand these people. "We're going to force Facebook to stop moderating content and instead publish everything its users want to post" is not a desirable end goal.

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          Jen

          It’s just really depressing. At the tech hearing this morning John Kennedy asked whether section 230 immunity should be removed for platforms that optimize for engagement (um, is there one that doesn’t?); Josh Hawley said "I think we should probably just repeal section 230 completely”; Mazie Hirono said there needs to be a section 230 carve-out for civil rights violations. It was obvious towards the end of the hearing that Ben Sasse was pissed about some of the questions asked and the direction the hearing went (at one point Marsha Blackburn told one of the witnesses from Twitter she was happy they looked more presentable than Jack Dorsey has in other hearings). I’m not sure who was all in the room when Sasse went on his rant but I’m glad he said what he did. Someone on the conservative side needs to be saying this stuff.

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            cheerio

            I really hate meetings with more than 4 people and I think if I had to sit and listen for hours to that kind of BS, my head would explode.

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    Jen

    Ross Douthat has an op-ed in The NY Times suggesting a “common good” caucus could save the GOP.
    https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/27/opinion/republican-party.html

    To me this is nothing more than saying the GOP needs to become more populist. Douthat might believe it but where is the evidence that it is good for the GOP? Yes in the Trump era more affluent suburban voters drifted away from the GOP and more white working class drifted in but is there any evidence this was based on anything other than Donald Trump? Is there any evidence these people will turn out for Republicans when Trump isn’t on the ballot? Is there any evidence that suburban voters are permanently part of the Democratic coalition now? How much of this is policy driven vs personality & cultural? Donald Trump wasn’t a policy person. He wasn’t pushing a minimum wage increase or a child tax benefit. I bristle at the whole notion of “common good” because who decides what that is? And if it’s just more government spending and intrusion in the private sector to pander to certain groups then the Democrats will always be better at it. I also find it interesting that none of these thinkers ever discuss how the GOP gets back suburban voters. I think it would be a big mistake for Republicans to write off these voters (who also tend to be reliable voters that turn out each election cycle).

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  10. Avatar photo
    Ed

    RE: Question of the Day: No place is Paradise if you live there. Even exotic locales become mundane. "Utopia" means "No Place." It would take a lot of research.

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      Magpie

      I live on the lovely west coast of British Columbia, Canada. When it's not some combination of cold, wet and dark (November, December and January, I'm talking to you!), it often strikes me as being one of the most beautiful places on earth. And I've been here for decades.

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