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Morning Briefing: Walter Mondale, Politico is Trash, and a Celebrity COVID Denier Has The Rona

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | April 20, 2021 |

By Dustin Rowles | Politics | April 20, 2021 |


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I give Politico a lot of sh*t in the morning briefing, but honestly, it’s only because they deserve it.

I should note that Politico was pulling this sh*t long before Trump came along. Maggie Haberman — the Times’ Trump whisperer — went from the New York Post to Politico to The Times, so you understand the kind of reporting that has come through there. They’re good at unearthing news. They’re also good at unnecessarily stirring sh*t. They’re also clearly good at unnecessarily sh*tting on the dead.

Let’s just note, for the record, that Mondale was more than his Electoral College loss. He was also the first Presidential candidate in a major party to put a woman on the ticket; he was Jimmy Carter’s VP, and he redefined the Vice Presidency; and he was the United States Ambassador to Japan from 1993 to 1996. He was also, by any account that I have seen, a decent man. In fact, he left this note to his staff:

Dear Team,

Well my time has come. I am eager to rejoin Joan and Eleanor. Before I Go I wanted to let you know how much you mean to me. Never has a public servant had a better group of people working at their side!

Together we have accomplished so much and I know you will keep up the good fight.

Joe in the White House certainly helps.

I always knew it would be okay if I arrived some place and was greeted by one of you!

My best to all of you!

Fritz

— Ted Nugent, a longtime COVID denier, has COVID, he announced in a Facebook post.

“I’ve got an announcement to make. Everybody told me that I should not announce this. I have had flu symptoms for the last ten days. I thought I was dying. Just a clusterfuck.”

“I was tested positive today. I got the Chinese shit. I’ve got a stuffed up head, body aches. My God, what a pain in the ass. I literally could hardly crawl out of bed the last few days… So I was officially tested positive for COVID-19 today.”

Nugent downplayed the severity of the virus as recently as 10 days ago.

— The White House is exploring the idea of forcing tobacco companies to reduce the level of nicotine in cigarettes to a point so low that they wouldn’t become addictive. It would be death for Big Tobacco. Not that I’m complaining, but if there’s not enough nicotine, what the hell is the point in smoking, unless you just like lung disease, and smelling like cigarettes, and spending a goddamn fortune for that right.

— Speaking of Biden, the Administration will no longer use the term “illegal alien,” because it is outdated and offensive. They will instead use the terms “undocumented noncitizen” or “undocumented individual.” It’s a long-overdue change, but I’m sure that Tucker Carlson will start another culture war over it.

— Also, the Biden Admin is unveiling a new piece of legislation focused on families. As many of you know, as part of the COVID package, families with young kids will start receiving $3600 a year per younger child, and $3000 a year per older child (and that money will be paid in monthly checks). The Biden Administration wants to extend those checks until 2025 (some Democratic lawmakers want to make it permanent). The rest of the $1 trillion spending package will include “$225 billion for child-care funding; $225 billion for paid family and medical leave; $200 billion for universal prekindergarten instruction; hundreds of billions in education funding, including tuition-free community colleges across the country.”

— The jury continues to deliberate in the Derek Chauvin trial. God help us. For what it is worth, Joe called George Floyd’s family yesterday to tell them that he was praying for them.