Donald Trump does not have the legal authority to launch airstrikes against Syria, yet he has done so tonight, multiple news outlets are reporting, and confirmed by an intelligence community source (who also happens to be a loyal reader of this newsletter). Story is here and will be updated as it unfolds. People have long been predicting that the biggest risk associated with Trump's plummeting approval rating would be war. Here we are.
Meanwhile, domestic politics carries on, and I have a little scoop: Bernie Sanders is planning a national tour to boost candidates in special elections and visit areas of the country he feels could use a boost of organizing, according to sources familiar with the planning. Details to come in a story tomorrow.
Mitch McConnell nuked the filibuster for Supreme Court nominations today, but in reality, it was already gone. The moment that McConnell said that he would nuke it if Democrats used it meant that it was no longer actually around. It'd be like owning a hammer made out of glass. Sure, you own a hammer. Just don't bang any nails with it.
Orrin Hatch (accidentally) made the point perfectly today: he said if Democrats were smart they'd have let Neil Gorsuch slip through and then used the filibuster the next time around. He was asked if he'd have supported blowing up the filibuster in that next case, and he said, "well, yeah." So there you go. It was already gone. Now it's just official. And Gorsuch will be confirmed. (They do not, however, have the votes to do away with the filibuster on regular legislation, nor do they want to.)
I interviewed Sen. Jeff Merkley today on his way to the critical vote on the filibuster of Gorsuch. Here's the TYT video of that interview. We walk through the hallways, tunnels and Capitol complex stairwells that I haunt most days. You can even see one of those underground senatorial trains go by in the background.
The formatting in yesterday's email was messed up for some people, so here again is a link to the story I sent out, on Rob Quist, a populist Democrat running in a competitive special election in Montana, which national Democrats are mostly ignoring so far. Perhaps with some pressure we'll see that change.
To get a sense of just how angry the population is at Republicans right now, consider this: they've even had to start spending money in a special election in Kansas, a district that represents the heart of Koch Industries. (It was Mike Pompeo's seat; he's now running the CIA.)
Here's Daniel Marans story on how Republicans are panicking even in Kansas. The special election there is next week, and I feel bad that I didn't flag it here earlier. But the Democratic candidate is strong, Democrats in Kansas are fired up, and while an upset there is close to impossible, it's not entirely impossible.
If you're thinking tonight about the bombing of Syria, it might be worth giving MLK's Nobel speech another read: "I am not unmindful of the fact that violence often brings about momentary results. Nations have frequently won their independence in battle. But in spite of temporary victories, violence never brings permanent peace. It solves no social problem: it merely creates new and more complicated ones. Violence is impractical because it is a descending spiral ending in destruction for all. It is immoral because it seeks to humiliate the opponent rather than win his understanding: it seeks to annihilate rather than convert. Violence is immo ral because it thrives on hatred rather than love. It destroys community and makes brotherhood impossible. It leaves society in monologue rather than dialogue. Violence ends up defeating itself. It creates bitterness in the survivors and brutality in the destroyers."
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