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Where Things Stand: Back To The Regularly Scheduled Programming 
It started with “Fox and Friends” host Steve Doocy on Monday morning, urging viewers to get the COVID-19 vaccine because it will “save your life” — all while his co-host Brian Kilmeade hedged that “we’re not doctors” and said the network anchors aren’t going to “go there and give you other medical advice.” (FWIW, Doocy has been a encouraging viewers to get the shot for some time now, unlike some of his co-hosts.)
Where Things Stand: TX Dems’ Flight To DC Is Also Stalling GOP’s Anti-Critical Race Theory Bill
Texas House Democrats venture to D.C. is not only keeping the state from passing restrictive voting laws during the state’s special session. It’s also at least temporarily blocking the state legislature from passing a new law that would further discourage teachers from discussing race and systemic racism in Texas classrooms.
What’s Going on Up There?
I’ve written repeatedly over recent months about the politics of opacity in the Biden era. The debates that are in public are largely performative. The consequential conversations are among Senate Democrats and between Senate Democrats and the Biden White House. They are necessarily confidential and private. People who follow politics closely and feel deeply invested in the outcomes find themselves asked to take things on faith. Why didn’t they get to Wednesday’s milestone in April rather than the middle of summer? Why are Democrats still trying to find bipartisan ‘deals’ Republicans will always renege on.
I wanted to have a conversation with someone up there who can walk us through, at least in general terms, just how all this stuff is working and why it works that way. So yesterday we hosted an Inside Briefing with Sen. Brian Schatz (D) of Hawaii. We talked about all these questions and it provided a lot of helpful context to understand why these work as they do even if you don’t think it’s a good way for them to work. I learned a lot from it and I think you will too.
If you’re a member, you can watch our discussion after the jump.
Where Things Stand: McCarthy Kisses The Ring Ahead Of Jan 6 Committee’s First Hearing
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) met with the former president in New Jersey yesterday to discuss the midterms — the second such meeting the two have held since McCarthy announced from the House floor that Trump deserved at least some blame for the insurrection.
Where Things Stand: Pence Knew He’d Be Whisked Away On Jan 6
Then-Vice President Mike Pence refused to get in a car to leave the Capitol building after being evacuated from his ceremonial office on Jan. 6, primarily because he knew it would prevent him from doing his job — certifying President Biden’s electoral college victory.
Where Things Stand: Taxpayers Are Not Funding TX Dems’ Walkout
Despite what Texas Gov. Greg Abbott claimed on Monday, the Texas Democrats walkout trip to Washington, D.C. is not a “taxpayer-paid junket.”
Where Things Stand: It Was Always Going To Be A Lie
“Just say we won.”
While former President Trump was pushing lies about voter fraud for months leading up to the 2020 election, new reporting on what occurred on election night at the White House is a reminder of the extent to which Trump’s democracy dismantling was rooted in absolutely nothing. That night, Rudy Giuliani was leading the lie-flinging charge.
Where Things Stand: GOP Fretting About ‘Discrimination’ Against Unvaxxed Reaches New Level
The Conservative Political Action Conference over the weekend provided lots of concerning examples of just how dystopian Republican fearmongering around the COVID-19 vaccine has become.
Where Things Stand: Schumer Warns Colleagues To Prepare For Late Nights
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) warned his colleagues on Friday that their beloved August recess may be in flux if they are unable to tackle his ambitious agenda in time.