GOOD NEWS FOR MARCH 30, 2024

Democratic candidate Marilyn Lands won an Alabama special election by 62-37%, possibly signaling a national shift. In a special election, for a seat vacated by a Republican pleading guilty to voter fraud, she ran on abortion rights and IVF protection. USA Today

Donald Trump is “electoral poison,” says a former GOP strategist, Reed Galen. He cites Trump’s soft primary numbers, low turnout, and votes against him. “He’s losing 20-30% of his own base.” Galen says they’re not good numbers, and that he will take voting results over polls as better indicators. Newsweek

A prominent conservative has raised an alarm that Trump could lose. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, warns, “We are outgunned and will be outspent.” This week Clinton and Obama joined Biden in a “nightcap armchair conversation,” hosted by Stephen Colbert, which raised more than $26 million in one night, a record for a single political event and more than Trump raised in all of February. Newsweek

Biden and his campaign are starting to flex their muscles. Since his State of the Union, Biden has visited every major battleground state. His campaign is going full steam ahead on hiring, establishing field offices, and beginning the crucial work of mobilizing voters early. At the same time, Donald Trump has real infrastructure issues, and is actively attacking non-MAGA voters who will decide this election. The Daily Beast

The GOP’s Early Voting Mess. Trump is saying voting by mail and early voting is corrupt. GOP officials are saying that early voting and voting by mail is crucial to winning battleground states. This year, predictions are 50% of voters will have voted before Election Day. The Washington Post Nowhere is this more critical than Pennsylvania. Here’s an organization that excels in getting out the early vote in a swing county. Want to volunteer? Click here. Donate? Click here.

Furious network anchors launched an on-air rebellion against NBC’s hire of ousted RNC chair Ronna MacDaniel. She has recently, stridently, undermined the legitimacy of our elections, our president, our press, and was hands-on involved with fake electors in Michigan. Rachel Maddow’s A-block put it all out there. NBC undid the hire. CNN

Lisa Murkowski is done with Trump. The senator from Alaska might be done with the GOP as well. This Republican sounds grounded amid the craziness. She has interesting, evolving opinions. Read about her here: CNN

Furious Christian backlash mounts against Trump selling Bibles during Holy Week. Nathan Empsall, executive director of Faithful America, told Newsweek, “Trump is doing his best impression of the corrupt moneychangers who profited by ripping off worshipers… Christians are sick of seeing MAGA’s false prophets twist our loving faith for an agenda of hatred and selfishness.” Newsweek

Kari Lake, a Republican Senate candidate in Arizona who lost her 2022 race for governor, concedes that she maliciously defamed a Republican election official in 2022. Damages are yet to be awarded, but she caved right before discovery was to be made public. Tucson News The Hill

Jeffrey Clark said more than he should, and incriminated Trump. During a disciplinary hearing to save his law license, Clark, who is indicted along with Trump, Guiliani, and others in the Georgia election racketeering trial, dodged questions about attorney-client privilege. Instead, he identified Trump as the person he was working for while violating DOJ procedures. The New Republic

John Eastman disbarment recommendation. A California Bar Court judge recommended disbarment Wednesday, which means Eastman will be ineligible to practice law. Eastman proposed the fake electors scheme. USA Today

Judge tells Trump he can’t badmouth jurors, witnesses, and people’s families in his criminal election obstruction case in New York. It’s sad news that a former president of the United States needs to be gagged for our safety. The good news is that Judge Merchan is sitting on him. Politico

An ordeal comes to an end. Texas gets something right. Crystal Mason was given a five-year prison sentence for casting a provisional ballot in 2016 while on supervised release for felony tax fraud. She didn’t know she was ineligible to vote, and was swept up in the Republican-led witch hunt for voter fraud. Finally, she has been exonerated. The Texas Tribune

The UN passed a resolution for a Gaza ceasefire, with a demand that all hostages be returned. The U.S. abstained, making this possible. We did not vote in favor because the text did not condemn Hamas, but our action marks a hardening of our stance towards Israel. BBC

Joe agrees with Palestinian protesters. “They have a point,” Biden said after the protesters were escorted out. “We need to get a lot more care into Gaza.” Members of the audience cheered and gave him a standing ovation. NBC News

Vice President Harris continues to lead the implementation of Root Causes Strategy, a program that focuses on a coordinated, place-based approach to change underlying causes that compel Central Americans to migrate from their homes. The Administration is on track to meet its $4 billion dollar commitment to the region—a multi-faceted plan to improve lives and reduce immigration pressures. Read about it here. The White House

Biden is cutting emissions from high-carbon industries. The Department of Energy (DOE) today announced 33 projects across more than 20 states to decarbonize energy-intensive industries, reduce industrial greenhouse gas emissions, support good-paying union jobs, revitalize industrial communities, and strengthen the nation’s manufacturing competitiveness. The Hill Energy.Gov

New pollution rules aim to lift sales of electric trucks. The EPA projects that 25 percent of new long-haul trucks, the heaviest on the road, and 40 percent of medium-size trucks, like box trucks and landscaping vehicles, could be nonpolluting by 2032. The New York Times

The Biden Administration strengthens Endangered Species Act protections, weakened under Trump. CNN

Amid dysfunction, Democrats in the House, a few Republicans, and Mike Johnson are managing to keep us from falling off the cliff through coalition building. This podcast of The Daily explains that relationship. The Hill