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Eric Greitens has been plagued by scandal — but to some of his fans, that doesn't matter. | Colter Peterson/St. Louis Post Dispatch/Polaris | In 2018, Eric Greitens resigned from the governorship of Missouri after being accused of sexual assault and financial improprieties — he denies both. In March of this year, his ex-wife, Sheena, accused him in a sworn affidavit of hitting her and their young son after the resignation — he denies that, too. And in June, he posted a now notorious ad depicting him leading a mock armed raid on a house in search of "Republicans in Name Only." (That one he doesn't deny; it was a viral fundraising success, according to his campaign.) You might call his Senate run "scandal-plagued." Indeed, recent polls have shown his months-long lead over the field slipping. But like many Trump-era GOP politicians, Greitens is trying to spin all that negative press to his advantage, painting himself as an anti-establishment hero fighting back against the mainstream media and corrupt politicians. Kathy Gilsinan traveled across Missouri to learn more about why Greitens, despite or even because of his many scandals, still appeals to so many voters — and why some of his former allies have turned against him. For politicians like Greitens, she writes, "outrage is a feature, not a bug." Read Gilsinan's story.
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| "[He is] a labor-baiting, poker-playing, whiskey-drinking evil old man." Can you guess who said this about FDR's vice president, John Nance Garner, in 1939? Scroll to the bottom for the answer.**
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A Washington lobbyist is suing former House Speaker-turned-marijuana maven John Boehner, claiming that he pilfered talking points about legalization. | POLITICO illustration/Getty Images | Bad Buds … A Washington lobbyist is suing former House Speaker-turned-marijuana maven John Boehner, claiming that he pilfered talking points about legalization and stole the idea for creating an umbrella cannabis advocacy group. Lawyers for the accused put out a statement last month that boils down to: What is this guy smoking? Whether you find yourself on Team Boehner or not, the lawsuit is a window into the cutthroat nature of the cannabis sector in Washington's political-influence industry, writes Michael Schaffer in this week's Capital City column .
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| 44 percent … of Gen Zers aged 18 to 25 think there will be another civil war in the United States — a greater percentage than any other political, geographic or demographic group we surveyed, including liberals (32 percent) and conservatives (30 percent).
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Evan McMullin hopes that moderate Democrats, independents and Trump-skeptical Republicans will unite to help him defeat Utah Sen. Mike Lee. | Kim Raff for POLITICO |
Utah's Cross-Partisan Test … Evan McMullin rose to prominence as a protest candidate against Donald Trump in 2016. Now the conservative is back on the ballot — not as a gadfly, but as a serious contender to unseat Utah Sen. Mike Lee.
McMullin's candidacy is the perfect trial balloon for cross-partisan efforts to beat far-right Republicans in red states, writes Samuel Benson . He'll need to unite Trump-skeptical Republicans, independents and Democrats willing to compromise. Utah has all three.
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| If you are totally baffled by whether we are in a recession right now, don't feel ashamed. Republicans insist we are. Democrats scream it's not so. And economists, as they often do, say maybe yes, maybe no. It depends on what you mean by "recession." Here's how to sound smart on the topic without any heavy lifting. (From POLITICO's Chief Economic Correspondent Ben White.) - It's not true that we are "officially" in a recession even if Republicans say so. Yes, we've had two quarters in a row of a shrinking economy as measured by gross domestic product, one element of a classic recession. But the GDP numbers we have now are subject to revisions. And other areas of the economy, like job growth and consumer spending, don't look anything like any recession we've ever seen. - Believe it or not there actually IS an official recession designating body. Entertain and amaze your friends when you tell them it's the National Bureau of Economic Research , or NBER to the in-crowd. The economic wizards behind the NBER curtain often don't decide whether a period of time is a recession until well after the recession in question is over. - When they make that call, NBER economists look at a range of data. If the data show a broad contraction of economic activity over an extended period of time, they call it a recession. That's pretty much it. And we aren't there yet. - Finally, furrow your brow in any econ conversation and say, "We aren't in a recession now, but we could be in one soon if the Fed goes too far." Drop the mic and leave. - If you are forced to follow up, just say the Federal Reserve is hiking interest rates to battle inflation, but if they "pump the brakes" too hard, the good things about the economy (jobs and spending) could go bad. And THAT would definitely be a recession.
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For those who wish to hold onto the vision of the ISS as a unifier, floating far above our earthly differences, a vintage Lego model can be found on eBay for $104.99. | via eBay | Historian Ted Widmer has found another bit of history up for sale this week: A vintage LEGO model of the International Space Station . The news that Russia will withdraw its support for the ISS after 2024 marks the end of a long era of scientific collaboration dating back to July 17, 1975, when cosmonauts and astronauts first shook hands in outer space . That was a welcome sign that Russians and Americans could work together, high above the earth, even if they still had a few problems at ground level. It is too soon to tell whether a new version of the Cold War is beginning. But a remarkable experiment in collaboration is ending. For those who wish to hold onto the vision of the ISS as a unifier, floating far above our earthly differences, a vintage Lego model can be found on eBay for $104.99.
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Illustration by Andrey Kasay | Putting for Power … When the PGA pulled tournaments from Trump resorts in 2016 and 2021, it reportedly "gutted" the Golfer-in-Chief. This weekend, he's out for revenge, hosting the LIV golf tour, a flashy upstart luring some pros away from the PGA with Saudi money — despite bitter criticism from families that lost loved ones on 9/11. But this isn't Trump's first foray into alternative sports ventures. Jeff Pearlman, the author of a book about Trump's United States Football League blunder in the '80s, tells Ian Ward that there are parallels between the two Trump-backed athletic insurgencies.
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Image courtesy of the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library | This image, dated 1910, shows Franklin D. Roosevelt teasing his cousin, Jean Delano, on the Half Moon II sailboat at Campobello, New Brunswick, Canada. FDR first went to Campobello Island when he was one year old, and spent many subsequent summers holidaying there with his parents and then his wife and children. Here, he developed a love for the ocean and sailing. It was also where he first fell ill with polio at age 39 — after an ocean swim, he began to suffer a fever and weak legs, which led to partial paralysis. The Roosevelt Campobello International Park today is dedicated to FDR's memory. It also symbolizes the US-Canadian bond, owing to the island's position in Passamaquoddy Bay, which forms the border between Maine and New Brunswick.
| | | **Who Dissed? answer: The labor movement may have loved FDR, but some leaders weren't too keen on his VP. This barb came from John L. Lewis, President of the United Mine Workers of America from 1920 to 1960. | | | | Follow us | | | | |
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