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  It's  O ur  D emocracy! Today’s Action: Sign up for Canvassing 101! Today's Top Stories: GOP senator dismisses racist insult by Trump as "nickname" Florida Sen. Rick Scott shrugged off the disgraced ex-president's latest racist attack — this time targeting former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao — as nothing more than a nickname, proving once again that fealty to Trump supersedes basic decency, ethical norms, or even party loyalty. Take Action:  Demand CBS News fire Trump's lying ex-chief of staff! Florida Republican senators request more federal aid despite not voting for hurricane relief Sen. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio requested a "robust and timely federal response" a day after refusing to support an $18.8 billion stopgap funding bill specifically allocating additional funding for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to respond to Hurricane Ian and future disasters. Take Action:  Tell President Biden to take action to fix Puerto Rico'...

  View in browser   BY  BEN WHITE Presented by Merchandise for sale is displayed at a store closing. | Spencer Platt/Getty Images NO PAIN, NO GAIN  — Fed Chair Jerome Powell would love to stop pumping the brakes on the economy with multiple, hefty interest rate hikes. He knows the aggressive boosting will almost certainly cause recession — potentially a bad one — and a significant spike in unemployment. And people will hate him for it, especially Democrats looking to retain power.  He would rejoice if rampant inflation came down on its own without the steel-toed boot of the world’s largest central bank stomping on its neck. “I wish there was a painless way,” Powell  lamented earlier this month . “There isn’t.” The Fed chief got no good news today with the  latest reading  on the core Personal Consumption Expenditures price index (our friend, PCE, which we’ve  explained in this space before ) rising faster than expected despite multiple rate h...

  September 29, 2022 Heather Cox Richardson Sep 30     Today the Senate approved a short-term extension of government funding to prevent a shutdown. The deal funds the government until December 16 and also provides about $12 billion in aid to Ukraine as it fights off Russia’s invasion. The House is expected to pass the measure tomorrow. Behind this measure is a potential nightmare scenario. MAGA Republicans have already threatened to refuse to fund the government unless President Joe Biden and the Democrats reverse all their policies. If Republicans take control of either the House or the Senate—or both—in the midterms, they have the potential to throw the government into default, something that has never happened before. The Republicans have this weapon because the U.S. has a weird funding system put in place more than 100 years ago. Congress appropriates money for programs that the Treasury then has to fund. But there is a “debt ceiling” for how much the government can ...

  View in browser   BY  CALDER MCHUGH Presented by Texas Democratic gubernatorial candidate Beto O'Rourke speaks at a campaign rally in San Antonio, Texas. | Jordan Vonderhaar/Getty Images COVER STORY   — Just a few short years ago, Beto O’Rourke and Stacey Abrams were among the Democratic Party’s shiniest stars, two youthful candidates who electrified their parties even in defeat. While they came up just short in their longshot 2018 bids to win statewide office in Texas and Georgia, respectively, their promise was such that each sparked talk of their prospects on the national stage. They’re back on the ballot again this year — Abrams in a rematch with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp, and O’Rourke in a bid to unseat Texas Gov. Greg Abbott — but this time the vibe is different. Both have consistently trailed their opponents in the polls. O’Rourke hasn’t led in a single survey since he announced his candidacy last November, and Abrams is barely doing better. So what changed? W...