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- 🇺🇸 Menendez's Mess
🇺🇸 Menendez's Mess
Plus, from skydiving to unicorn riding.
Good morning, and happy Tuesday. Two Massachusetts moms made adaptive clothing for kids with disabilities. Now, they hope to bring it to the masses.
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SENATE
Menendez’s Mess
Last Friday, Senator Bob Menendez (D-NJ) and his wife were indicted on federal charges of bribery and related offenses Friday over his relationships with businessmen. On Monday, Menendez defiantly rejected calls for him to step down while maintaining his innocence.
Reporting from the Left: Sen. Bob Menendez indicted again for corruption, allegedly had cash stuffed in coat, gold bars (ABC News)
Reporting from the Right: Democratic Sen. Bob Menendez facing indictment on bribery charges (FOX News)
From The Flag: The charges, filed in US District Court in New York, accuse Menendez of accepting "hundreds of thousands of dollars of bribes in exchange for using [his] power and influence as a Senator to protect and enrich" three New Jersey businessmen, and to benefit the Arab Republic of Egypt. Here’s what both sides are saying:
LEFT-LEANING SENTIMENT
Mendez Needs To Go: “It’s The Right Thing To Do” and “It’s Politically Necessary”
The disparity in Democrat’s reaction to this indictment compared to Republicans’ reaction to former President Donald Trump’s is revealing.
“Democrats need to uphold their principles of decency in a democracy, hold Menendez accountable, and not blindly stand by him.”
“Heated partisanship can keep bad politicians in office, for fear of helping the other party.”
Democrats’ response to the Menendez indictment tells all you need to know about today’s GOP Dean Obeidallah, CNN: “...New Jersey’s leading Democratic officials have called on the senior senator from their state to resign, given the detailed and damning allegations in the indictment. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy set the tone…with a statement that ‘the alleged facts are so serious that they compromise the ability of Senator Menendez to effectively represent the people of our state.’ …numerous New Jersey Democratic members of Congress echoed that sentiment… While Menendez is not the leader of the Democratic Party on a national level, he is still one of the Democrats’ most senior and powerful senators, given his role as chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee… Yet not one Democratic official has responded the way Trump’s GOP allies did to the former president’s criminal cases. …some Trump allies went beyond calling the matter a ‘grave injustice’ and a ‘brazen weaponization of power’ like McCarthy did. Other Trump GOP supporters used violent rhetoric.”
Democrats need to shove Menendez off the stage Jennifer Rubin, The Washington Post: “...this is a moment of choosing for Democrats. Unlike their GOP counterparts, they should not feel compelled to cover their eyes and ears when one of their own appears to be caught red-handed. Democrats, the only party still adhering to minimal standards expected in a democracy, should not stand by Menendez silently. … If they want to be the guardians of democracy, the rule of law, and truth-telling, they cannot mimic Republicans’ partisan hackery. Let him fight the charges, as he clearly intends to, but not from a perch on Capitol Hill. … And to be politically crass, there is zero downside for Democrats to insist Menendez go. [New Jersey Governor] Murphy would appoint a successor, and the deep blue state would surely elect a Democrat to fill the seat in 2024, when Menendez’s term is up anyway.”
One more opinion piece from the Left: Bob Menendez Never Should Have Been Senator This Long in the First Place David A. Graham, The Atlantic
RIGHT-LEANING SENTIMENT
Menendez Standing Firm. Democrats Confused.
Menendez insists the hundreds of thousands in cash are from personal accounts, maintaining his innocence in the face of significant evidence.
Democrats appear divided on how to proceed with the situation, with many weighing the moral options against the political implications.
Menendez is using his Cuban heritage as the reason why he is being targeted for prosecution.
Sen. Bob Menendez makes announcement on political future, insists he'll be exonerated on federal indictment Danielle Wallace, FOX News: “Menedez detailed his decades-long record in Congress and insisted hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash the FBI found at his home was withdrawn from his personal savings account. … In what experts tell Fox News is a risk for his own defense in court, Menendez also stood by his political record on Egypt. … The indictment accuses Menendez of improperly pressuring an official at the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to seek to protect a business monopoly granted to Hana by Egypt. … In June 2022, the FBI executed a search warrant at Menendez and his wife's New Jersey home where federal agents many of the fruits of the bribery scheme, including cash, gold, the luxury convertible, and home furnishings. Prosecutors say $480,000 in cash, much of it stuffed into envelopes and hidden in clothing, closets, and a safe, was discovered in the home, as well as over $70,000 in cash in Nadine's safe deposit box.”
Democrats divided over Bob Menendez’s future in the Senate Eden Villalovas, Washington Examiner: “Democrats in the House and Senate are divided about Sen. Bob Menendez's (D-NJ) political future after he and his wife were indicted on Friday on bribery charges. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) became the first senator to call for Menendez’s resignation on Saturday. The first-term Democrat said that while Menendez is “entitled to the presumption of innocence,” he can't “continue to wield influence over national policy, especially given the serious and specific nature of the allegations.” … However, Senate Democrats have been reluctant to say if their colleague should step aside, with a slew of hesitant statements coming out on Sunday. Democrats hold a slim 51-49 majority over Republicans in the chamber, and there have been threatening cases this year that could further narrow that margin. Along with calls for Menendez’s resignation, Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV), a key swing member who is not shy to vote away from the Democrats, has been ‘thinking seriously’ of leaving his party.
One more opinion piece from the Right: Sen. Bob Menendez pulls Cuba card, says piles of cash feds found from his savings Josh Christensen, New York Post
FLAG THIS
Menendez Has Been Losing Support
Even before the indictment, polling from Monmouth University indicated that Menendez had been losing support among New Jersey Democrats while he was under investigation.
Menendez, who is up for re-election in 2024, had the approval of 58% of New Jersey Democrats, with 23% disapproving and 19% saying they don’t know as of mid-August. That’s a notable shift from where he stood in April 2022, when his approval was at 66%, 16% disapproval, and 17% saying they didn’t know (The Hill).
Do you believe Senator Menendez should step down from office? |
FLAG FINDS
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West Side Story, Mutant Tomatoes, Peace Potatoes
On This Day in 1957: West Side Story, composed by Leonard Bernstein, opens at the Winter Garden Theatre on Broadway. For the groundbreaking musical, Bernstein provided a propulsive and rhapsodic score that many celebrate as his greatest achievement as a composer.
Today I learned Potatoes 'permanently reduced conflict' in Europe for about 200 years
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