I’ve spent the last several months trying to settle on a straightforward explanation for why Joe Manchin decided to attack, denude and ultimately destroy the centerpiece of President Biden’s domestic agenda on the cusp of what already looks to be a brutal midterm season for the Democrats.

Manchin loves his coal, sure, so the clean energy provisions at the core of the Build Back Better Act (BBB) were poison to his own personal fortune. He’s a Democrat from a bright red state, and so must cleave at least somewhat to the economic fictions that sustain the right. Given the large chunk of hell he’s carved out for himself, however, these hardly seem like enough to justify the mayhem he has unleashed within his own party.

…and then it hit me in the middle of the night like an arcing splash of ice water dropped on my bed. I sat bolt upright in the gibbering dark and announced to the startled cat coiled at my feet: “My God! He’s running for president!”

Put yourself in Manchin’s shoes. Your own seat is secure until 2024, so there is no need to run for anything next year. Over the long process of murdering the BBB Act, you raked in millions in campaign “donations” from the energy lobby and other right-leaning interests, which means you’re flush enough to fund a national campaign.

Americans are now more likely to be socially liberal than conservative for the first time since Gallup started polling the question in 2001, the pollster reported Thursday, reflecting a broader trend of Americans becoming increasingly liberal on social issues over the past decade—though a far higher share of Americans still hold fiscally conservative views.

According to Gallup’s poll, which was conducted May 3-18 among 1,016 U.S. adults, 34% of adults now identify as socially liberal and 30% as socially conservative, though the largest share of respondents (35%) hold moderate views.

While there have been a few times in the past in which an equal share of respondents have held socially liberal and conservative views, in 2015 and 2018, typically more have identified as socially conservative, with 36% identifying as conservative in 2019 versus 28% as liberal.

While younger Americans are far more likely to identify as socially liberal than older adults, all age groups have become increasingly socially liberal over the past 20 years. Adults ages 18-34 were largely split on social issues in 2001 and are now “substantially” more liberal in 2021, Gallup reports, while 35- to 54-year-olds have gone from “modestly conservative” to “slightly more liberal than conservative.” Those ages 55 and up have become “slightly less” socially conservative, though a majority still hold conservative views. Gallup also notes declines in socially conservative views have been “roughly equal” between white Americans and non-white Americans, though white Americans are still more likely to be both socially and economically conservative..

For the first time, Woods and the heads of three other major petroleum companies were questioned under oath at a congressional hearing into the industry’s long campaign to discredit and deny the evidence that burning fossil fuels drove global heating. When pressed to make specific pledges or to stop lobbying against climate initiatives, all four executives declined.

They also come after an Exxon lobbyist was caught on tape discussing efforts to influence several members of congress on the reconciliation bill, including saying he talks to Sen. Joe Manchin’s (D-W.Va.) office every week.

Manchin, a key Senate swing vote, later denied having weekly meetings with the lobbyist.

His opposition has resulted in at least one key climate program being cut from Democrats' spending package, which would have incentivized energy companies to move away from fossil fuel use.

BUFFALO, N.Y.—In her victory speech, India Walton—the community organizer and first-time candidate who’d just beaten four-term incumbent Byron Brown in the city’s June 22 Democratic primary for mayor—referred lovingly to her 500 or so campaign volunteers as her “band of revolutionaries.
”That may sound trite. It’s not. It’s probably not possible to understand how disruptive Walton’s win has been unless you’re from here. But I’ll try.

Walton is a community organizer, former head of a community land trust, a registered nurse, a labor activist, and a single mother of four who earned her GED while pregnant with twins. This was her first race for political office.

York State Senate to the mayor’s office on the second floor of Buffalo’s beautiful art deco City Hall. The massive building went up in 1932 at the origin point of the city’s original radial street plan when the city’s power elite believed—or professed to believe—that Buffalo’s rapid growth over the previous 50 years would continue unabated, that this would be a city of a million people by 1950.

That’s not what happened. Disinvestment had in fact already begun in the 1920s, and, after an economic bump from World War II, the city’s industrial economy continued to decline, finally cratering in the 1970s.
Buffalo has been a client of the state and federal governments ever since. State aid provides one-third of the city’s revenue; federal money flows through the city bureaucracy to fund a network of anti-poverty nonprofits.

“If we are going to make real progress on the urgent crises facing all of our communities, we need lawmakers who are committed to legislating boldly - that's Nina,” Pressley said in a statement endorsing Turner.

Pressey said Turner, who previously served as a national co-chair of Sen. Bernie Sanders's (I-Vt.) 2020 presidential campaign, has been “unapologetic in her advocacy and her vision for the communities” in her district.

“As I’ve always said, policy is my love language, and I know Nina shares my belief in what we can accomplish when we create policies intentionally and in deep partnership with the community. I’m proud to endorse her candidacy, and look forward to working with her in Congress,” she added in a statement obtained by The Hill.

The endorsement makes Pressley the latest member of the progressive group of female congresswomen — which also includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) — to back Turner in the race.

The 11th Congressional District special election has a surplus of candidates. Emphasis on the word “surplus” – as in there are 13 candidates in this race, only around half of whom have an overt understanding of policy. Even fewer of those have any shot whatsoever at winning. That was abundantly clear during the cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer editorial board endorsement meeting Wednesday. Twelve of the candidates were all in one room taking questions from the Editorial Board and it showed a clear pattern of what the talent in this race is actually like.

Through numerous forums and in-depth interviews, it’s become increasingly clear that only a handful of the 13 who will be in the Aug. 3 ballot have any real policy chops. Tariq Shabazz, the 27-year-old Navy veteran and activist is definitely a wonk and conceivably has a political future. Former City Councilman Jeff Johnson also has shown a high level of understanding and detail when discussing issues like criminal justice reform and economics. Their problem, however, is they haven’t been able to crystallize that policy knowledge into a message that reverberates.

Cuyahoga County Councilwoman Shontel Brown, whom many thought would be in a dogfight with Turner just seven months ago, has slipped tremendously. She figured to have all the establishment help she could ask for when she first announced, but the necessary gusto hasn’t seemed to coalesce.
It was evident during the editorial board interview, with many of her answers sounding repetitious. Talking points are important to a campaign, but being unable or unwilling to deviate from those talking points simply isn’t going to win over voters.

The fact of the matter is, based on interviews, public appearances, fundraising, endorsements and most other metrics, former state Sen. Nina Turner looks like she’s running away in the race. It certainly looked that way at the Editorial Board interview (Note: I am not a member of the Editorial Board, nor do I know who they will endorse).

Turner is leading the Democratic contenders who are vying to fill former Rep. Marcia Fudge’s seat in Congress, according to a new poll. Turner’s campaign highlighted results of the poll Tuesday morning, which was conducted by Tulchin Research. You can explore the poll in the document at the bottom of this story.

“Notably, the poll shows Nina Turner with a sizable lead with support from 50% of likely voters,” her campaign said in a press release. “Across every demographic, Turner is the favorite to serve as OH-11’s next Congressperson.”

Since launching her campaign in December, Turner has also received numerous endorsements – including support from various politicians, organizations and celebrities.