Republicans respond to vaccine funding and $1400 check with Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head, Donald Trump fights with the Republican Party over the use of his name, and Democrats worry about what their 2020 performance among some Black and Latino voters might mean for the 2022 midterms.

Show notes

Cancel Culture

• NY Mag: The Right Would Rather Debate Kids’ Books Than Biden’s Bills
•  Slate: Right Wing Laments Loss of Mr. Potato Head’s Imaginary Genitals as Hasbro Gives Toy Line Gender-Neutral Name
• AP: Mr. Potato Head drops the mister, sort of 
• WaPo: Early in Biden’s presidency, GOP shows the places they’ll go 
• NYT: Dr. Seuss Books Are Pulled, and a ‘Cancel Culture’ Controversy Erupts
•  Media Matters: Fox News’ Dr. Seuss obsession reveals the dishonest desperation of the right-wing war on “cancel culture”
•  Media Matters: Fox News’ Dr. Seuss obsession, by the numbers
• NBC News: The reckoning with Dr. Seuss’ racist imagery has been years in the making 
• Media Matters: What’s behind right-wing media’s curious lack of interest in $1.9 trillion
• AP: GOP struggles to define Biden, turns to culture wars instead
• NY Mag: The Right Would Rather Debate Kids’ Books Than Biden’s Bills
•  Media Matters: “Neanderthal thinking?” The social science underlying Fox News’ desire to make its audience feel victimized.
• Salon: Mr. Potato Head, Dr. Seuss and trans kids: How Democrats are already letting Republicans win in 2022 
• WaPo: Of course Fox News would rather talk about Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head 
•  HuffPo: Viral Attack Ad Exposes Stark Difference Between GOP, Democratic Priorities 
• CNN: ‘Stop talking about Dr. Seuss and start working with us’: Democratic congressman lashes out at GOP colleagues over pro-union bill 
• WaPo: Opinion: Biden is rolling back the culture war. The country should thank him. 
• Politico: Biden World gives a shoulder shrug to the raging culture wars 
•  WaPo: Opinion: Joe Biden is kryptonite to the Republican culture war
•  The New Republic: Republicans Aren’t Even Trying to Fight the Democrats’ Covid Relief Bill 
• WaPo: Opinion: The GOP’s strategy for retaking power is uglier than you think 
•  FiveThirtyEight: The Democrats Have An Ambitious Agenda. Here’s What They Should Learn From Obamacare.
•  NYT Op-Ed: How the G.O.P. Sabotaged Obamacare
• NPR: From The Start, Obama Struggled With Fallout From A Kind Of Fake News
• NYT: Obama and Republicans Clash Over Stimulus Bill, One Year Later
• CNN: Stimulus created jobs, controversy, backlash
•  LA Times: Column: Countering Dem relief package, GOP proposes a huge giveaway to the rich 
• MSNBC: Even now, Senate Republicans seek another tax break for the wealthy 
• Vanity Fair: REPUBLICANS ARE TRYING TO REBRAND THEMSELVES AS WORKING CLASS HEROES
•  NYT: Republicans Won Blue-Collar Votes. They’re Not Offering Much in Return. 
•  NYT: Republicans Grapple With Raising the Minimum Wage 
• NBC News: The GOP is rapidly becoming the blue-collar party. Here’s what that means.
• The Guardian: Republicans push ‘blue-collar comeback’ – but is the party a true friend of the worker?
• Reuters: Analysis: Despite Republican opposition, red states fare well in Biden’s COVID-19 bill 
•  Center for American Progress: Americans Want the Federal Government To Help People in Need
•  Pew Research: Broad Public Support for Coronavirus Aid Package; Just a Third Say It Spends Too Much
•  NYT: How Biden Is Trying to Help Working-Class Voters in Red-State Alabama 

Trump vs. Everybody 

• NYT: Trump, Hungry for Power, Tries to Wrestle Away G.O.P. Fund-Raising 
• Vox: Trump tells GOP committees to stop using his name for fundraising 
• Axios: Trump slams “RINOS and fools” in fresh appeal to donate to his PAC
• NPR: ‘No More Money For RINOs’: How Trump’s Fight With The GOP Is All About Control
• WaPo: Opinion: Trump’s latest explosion of rage against the GOP bodes badly for our future 
• Vox: Donald Trump is attempting a hostile takeover of the Republican Party
• WaPo: Trump accelerates his effort to wring power from the Republican Party
• WSJ: Trump-RNC Relationship Grows Thorny With Fundraising Dispute
• Politico: Trump’s House GOP fans don his mantle as they seek higher office 
• Mother Jones: Trump Has Gone to War With the GOP Over His Fundraising Brand. He Will Lose. 
• Newsweek: Adam Kinzinger Responds to ‘Desperate’ Donald Trump’s ‘RINOS’ Statement 
• NY Mag: Trump’s Future Agenda: Suppress the Vote and Purge the RINOs
• Reuters: Republican donations surge despite corporate boycott after Capitol riots 
• NY Mag: Small-Dollar Donations to the GOP Increased After the Capitol Riot: Report 
• Axios: Operatives eye GOP grassroots fundraising overhaul
• The Hill: GOP Senate campaign arm says it raised $6.4 million in February
• Axios: Hawley becomes GOP cash cow despite Jan. 6 blowback 
• Axios: “Cat in the Hat” puts cash in the bank for GOP 
• CNBC: GOP praises Trump after he urges Republican donors to send money directly to him 
• Politico: RNC brushes back Trump team on cease-and-desist demand 
• WaPo: RNC moves portion of its spring donor retreat to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago Club 
• Axios: U.S. Chamber decides against political ban for Capitol insurrection 
• CNN: US Chamber of Commerce won’t pull support for lawmakers who objected to election results on January 6
• CNN: GOP’s shifting focus opens a path for Biden 
• Vox: In a victory for progressives, the DCCC ends its consultant blacklist 

What happened in 2020 – Latino Vote edition 

• NY Mag: Democrats Shouldn’t Count On a ‘Morning In America’ Midterm. – By Ed Kilgore 
• The Guardian: Senate minimum wage battle could play out in midterm elections NYT: Democrats Beat Trump in 2020. Now They’re Asking: What Went Wrong? 
• WaPo: Power Up: This Democrat thinks he can win Roy Blunt’s seat
• CNN: GOP Sen. Roy Blunt announces he will not run for reelection –
• WaPo: How the 2022 Senate map is shaping up
• NYT: Roy Blunt of Missouri, No. 4 Senate Republican, Plans to Retire
• WaPo: Opinion: Roy Blunt wanted compromise and cordiality. He couldn’t survive the Trump GOP’s descent.
• WaPo: The Trailer: The House Democrats’ campaign chief thinks his party can defy history 
• NYT: A Vexing Question for Democrats: What Drives Latino Men to Republicans? 
• The Hill: Congressional Hispanic Caucus’s political arm taps new executive director 
• NY Mag – David Shor on Why Trump Was Good for the GOP and How Dems Can Win in 2022 
• NYT: Democrats Are Anxious About 2022 — and 2024
• Roll Call – CQ Future: The Latino vote
• Politico: Culture wars fuel Trump’s blue-collar Latino gains
• AP: From vote to virus, misinformation campaign targets Latinos
• WaPo: To learn about the Democratic Party’s future, look at what Latino organizers did in Arizona

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