🇺🇸 Defying the District

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Good morning, and happy Wednesday! What chance do military movies like ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ and ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ have at the Oscars? Actually a pretty solid one, given how many other war films have come out on top.

Plus, this country star’s new song features Ukrainian President Zelenskyy…

Also, here’s to a healthier you, wherever you are…

FLAG POLLS

🟰 Monday, March 6, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 45, Disapprove 45 (IBD/TIPP)

📉 Tuesday, March 7, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 48, Disapprove 50 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Monday, March 6, Direction of Country: Approve 38, Disapprove 55 (Rasmussen Reports)

📉 Monday, March 6, President Biden Job Approval: Approve 47, Disapprove 51 (Rasmussen Reports)

TRENDING

Right: Biden's Bad-Faith Ploy on Student Debt Laid Bare in Court Daniel Berman, AMAC

Right: The Peter (Buttigieg) Principle Byron York, Washington Examiner

Right: Bannon Declares All-Out War on Fox News Matt Vespa, Townhall

Left: Ron DeSantis' Struggle Chris Lehmann, The Nation

Left: Trump Becomes the Thing He Never Wanted To Be--Boring McKay Coppins, Atlantic

Left: CPAC Was a Janky Half-Empty Trump Convention Ben Jacobs, New York Magazine

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QUICK CLICKS

Pension Protest, Nord Stream Suggestion, Tag Deadline

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US: Mexico abduction kills 2 Americans, 2 rescued near border (AP)

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US: Rand Paul hurls serious accusation against Fauci in another heated confrontation (Fox News)

Sports: Franchise tag deadline winners and losers: Lamar Jackson, Giants winners; Cowboys losers for paying another RB (CBS Sports)

CRIME

Defying the District

Last week President Joe Biden announced he wouldn't use his veto power if congressional Republicans block a proposed set of changes to the Washington, DC criminal code. This is possible because the Federal Government ultimately has authority over DC.

Reporting from the Left: Why Biden flipped a 180 on DC's ability to self-govern (CNN)

Reporting from the Right: Jeffries grilled on whether Biden pulled 'the rug out' from House Dems on DC crime bill (Fox News)

From the Flag: Democrats in both Washington and Congress are upset with Biden, and argue his current position is a major reversal they didn’t see coming. They also maintain the move undermines DC’s push for statehood. Republicans say changes to the city’s criminal code will worsen crime, which is. Here’s more from both sides.

RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT

Whether It’s Rooted in Public Safety or Politics, This Was the Right Move

• Congress took a rare step here, because Republicans want to rein in crime, and Democrats want to maintain their majority in the Senate.

• Biden made a politically expedient decision here, as Republicans are set to hammer his record on crime ahead of the 2024 election.

• Despite vowing to back up the DC Council, Biden reversed his position, and only disclosed that by leaking it to the press.

“Overruling the District of Columbia on Crime” Editorial Board, Wall Street Journal: “Republicans in the new Congress are heading for their first big victory. President Biden said Thursday that he won’t veto a resolution to overturn a District of Columbia law that eases sentences on carjackings, burglaries and other felonies if it passes the Senate. Congress has oversight authority of the district under the US Constitution, though it hasn’t overturned one of its laws in more than 30 years. This one deserves it. Crime has spiked in the district as it has in many big cities, and it defies all common sense to go easier on criminals when they are piling up victims. Democrats prize ‘home rule’ in the district, which is run by fellow Democrats. But they also want to retain their Senate majority in 2024… (and) crime continues to be a Democratic political vulnerability, thanks to ‘defund the police’ and progressive prosecutors elected with George Soros backing.”

“Biden’s Politically Shrewd Handling Of DC Soft-On-Crime Bill” Tim Meads, Daily Wire Opinion “Credit where credit is due, President Joe Biden just handled Washington, DC’s soft-on-crime bill in a politically shrewd manner that both neutralizes the far-left in his party and somewhat blocks future GOP criticism. … The move outraged the most extreme parts of his party. … Well, the move might have screwed over the anti-police members of his party, but it bolsters Biden’s resume and talking points heading into the 2024 campaign. Republicans have long claimed that the Democratic Party — and therefore Biden — is responsible for the crime wave facing America’s cities. … Now, Biden has a tangible example he can point to as evidence that he supports the police, wants to crack down on thugs, and isn’t afraid to buck his political party in the name of public safety. His team is already running with that message.”

One more opinion piece from the Right: Biden's cowardly flip-flop on crime Editorial Board, Washington Examiner

LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT

DC’s Democracy Betrayed After Biden Promised To Be a Champion

• Biden effectively betrayed Washington, DC and made the city less safe, because the current criminal code can inhibit prosecution.

• Congress is interfering in DC’s democratic rights and enabling Republicans’ anti-Black takeover of this reform process.

• Biden knows being seen as “soft on crime” is an Achilles heel for any Democrat – he’s not going to let the GOP brand him that way.

“Why Biden Stabbed DC in the Back” Mark Joseph Stern, Slate: “For the first two years of his presidency, Joe Biden positioned himself as a champion of statehood and home rule in the District of Columbia. The president urged Congress to make DC the 51st state… and vowed to defend District residents’ right to govern themselves through their limited local democracy. … Then, on Thursday, he stabbed DC in the back. In a single tweet, the president reversed more than two years of staunch support for home rule—abandoning his principles the moment they became politically inexpedient. Biden announced that he would sign legislation nullifying the modernization of DC’s criminal code. His action will, perversely, make the District less safe, preserving an outdated 122-year-old criminal code whose ambiguities actually make it harder for prosecutors to charge violent crimes. … The president has, in effect, declared open season on the District’s democracy.”

“Biden's position on DC crime bill is a betrayal of Black voters” Jesse J. Holland, MSNBC Opinion: “DC Mayor Muriel Bowser vetoed the city's council update of its crime code and has continued to oppose the change, even after the council overrode her veto. That's her right, but she still should have called out Congress for acting in a manner consistent with overseers and argued for DC residents' right to decide how their crime laws should look. The Republicans behind these takeover bills cloak their anti-Black, anti-democratic actions by using the same buzzwords the tyrants in the Jim Crow South used: ‘public safety’ and ‘citizens’ rights,’ and they’re citing rising crime figures. Is crime out of control in many cities? Yes. … (but) that’s why we have elections: When the people who live in these areas are dissatisfied with the work of their elected leaders and the effectiveness of the police, they can make their voices heard by voting them out.”

One more opinion piece from the Left: Biden’s smart political move angers progressives John Avlon, CNN Opinion

FLAG THIS

Biden’s Move Potentially Linked To Poor Numbers on Crime

A poll conducted last week put President Biden’s approval rating at 42% overall – but just 32% for crime. Among women, Independents, suburban, and rural voters, it was below 30% (Economist/YouGov).

A separate survey found 56% of Americans reported crime had increased where they live – a record increase since Gallup first asked the question in 1972. In a follow-up survey, 7 in 10 said they expect crime to keep rising this year.

In Washington, DC murders were up 30% over the course of 2022.

FLAG FINDS

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WATERCOOLER

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