CNN:  Senate Republicans blocked the John Lewis Voting Rights Act from advancing on Wednesday when the Senate took a procedural vote on whether to open debate on the legislation. The final tally was 50 to 49 with GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting with Democrats in favor.

“The John Lewis voting bill that the Senate considered is aimed at fighting voter suppression and restoring and updating key parts of the landmark Voting Rights Act, originally passed in 1965. The measure is named in honor of the civil rights icon and late Rep. John Lewis of Georgia.  At least 10 Republicans would have needed to join with all 50 members of the Senate Democratic caucus for the legislation to advance. That was not expected to happen as most Republicans have decried any Democratic attempts to enact new voting legislation in the current Congress as partisan and unnecessary.

“Democrats have been under intense pressure to pass voting legislation as the party currently holds a majority in both chambers of Congress and the White House. But efforts by the party to do so have run into a wall of opposition in the Senate as a result of GOP resistance.  Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont introduced a Senate version of the legislation early in October. Earlier this week, Leahy, along with Murkowski and Democratic Sens. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Dick Durbin of Illinois, released an updated, bipartisan compromise version of the bill making changes to the text to garner bipartisan support.”

Washington Post:  “The Marine Corps released a new plan Wednesday that says it must overhaul how it recruits and retains Marines, suggesting for the first time in decades that threats posed by China and other adversaries require personnel changes that could require some shrinking of the service to accommodate a new emphasis on keeping trained personnel.  Gen. David H. Berger, commandant of the Marine Corps, said that he sees no alternative but to pivot away from a system that through multiple wars has prioritized massing a ‘young, physically tough, replaceable force’ that was ‘not all that highly skilled.’ For the past 35 years, Berger said, the service has turned over about 75 percent of its force each year, rotating annually through thousands of young enlisted Marines who join for four years, while other services retain a higher percentage of troops.

“’We’re the anomaly, and we brag about it — and I think it’s worked for us,’ Berger said. “’t will not work for us going forward, I don’t think.’  Berger said the Marine Corps is going to have to ‘treat people like human beings instead of inventory,’ making it appealing for more who already have experience to stay. There is urgency to do so, he said, because rising challenges such as China will require mature, experienced service members who possess multiple skills and can act on their own in the absence of communications with higher headquarters.

“The plan — titled ‘Talent Management 2030’ — amounts to a significant cultural shake-up for a service that once told Americans in recruiting advertisements that they were ‘looking for a few good men’ and wouldn’t ‘promise you a rose garden.’ It also calls for the service to promote equity and diversity among Marines, create ‘lateral’ ways for people with coveted skills to join the service without starting at bottom ranks, and reduce requirements for personnel to move as frequently.  Additionally, the Corps plans to seek authorization next year to increase the duration of parental leave available to its personnel. The plan calls for primary caregivers to be able to take up to a year of leave, with a secondary caregiver receiving up to 12 weeks.

Democrats lost the Virginia gubernatorial race because the Democratic Leadership has failed to take the Republican attack on our Democracy seriously, failed to demonstrate any kind of willingness to uphold the rule of law, and failed to corral the most extreme elements of the party for the sake of building compromise and passing important legislation.

Leaders like Chuck Schumer need to give up this fantasy that the Republican Party gives two shits about Congressional norms or standards of decorum. They don’t. To quote Lincoln Project commenter Tara Setmayer, “Republicans do not give a f*ck about your feelings, they don’t give a f*ck about facts, or the truth.” Democrats have no sense of how to navigate Congress under these conditions. Proof of the fact is that for all of the back and forth over the infrastructure bill, there’s been absolutely nothing in terms of using the reconciliation bill to include legislative language that would eliminate debt ceiling votes entirely. In spite of months of warning, Democrats are already in the process of allowing themselves to be pushed up against the wall by Republicans who would love to create an economic collapse so they could blame it on Joe Biden.

Associated Press:  “Iran seized a Vietnamese-flagged oil tanker in the Gulf of Oman last month and still holds the vessel, two U.S. officials told The Associated Press on Wednesday, revealing the latest provocation in Mideast waters as tensions escalate between Iran and the United States over Tehran’s nuclear program.  Iran’s powerful paramilitary Revolutionary Guard troops took control of the MV Southys, a vessel that analysts suspect of trying to transfer sanctioned Iranian crude oil to Asia, on Oct. 24 at gunpoint. U.S. forces had monitored the seizure, but ultimately didn’t take action as the vessel sailed into Iranian waters.

“Iran celebrated its capture of the vessel in dramatic footage aired on state television, the day before the 42nd anniversary of the 1979 seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran.  Officials at the Vietnamese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Ship-tracking data analyzed by the AP from MarineTraffic.com showed the vessel still off Iran’s southern port of Bandar Abbas on Tuesday. A satellite photo from Planet Labs Inc. also showed the vessel off Bandar Abbas in recent days.

“The two U.S. officials spoke on condition of anonymity as the information had yet to be made public amid ongoing attempts to restart talks over Iran’s tattered 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Negotiations have stalled in Vienna since the election of hard-line President Ebrahim Raisi in June, allowing Iran to press ahead with its nuclear program and raising alarm in Western capitals.”

As someone who used to actively practice in all this culture war stuff and understands it intimately, I think maybe I’ll become a Democrat to help Democrats learn how to fight back against Republican fear mongering and thereby win the culture wars by actually persuading voters.

— Joe Walsh (@WalshFreedom) November 3, 2021

“‘That’s not going to happen,’ Biden tells reporters at White House when asked about the government paying $450,000 a person for those separated from a family member at the border” reports Bloomberg White House Correspondent Jennifer Jacobs.

Good news everyone! Apparently we secured all the elections in the last year, because I’m not seeing a lot of claims of fraud or stolen elections after yesterday. Congrats to all the election security peeps out there for all your hard work! pic.twitter.com/qrnqGXn1uF

— Chris Krebs (@C_C_Krebs) November 3, 2021

For the crime of tweeting “Dear Christians: the vaccines contain a bioluminescent marker called LUCIFERASE so that you can be tracked. Read the last book of the New Testament to see how this ends” Newsmax White House correspondent and former B-move actress Emerald Robinson has been sentenced to one week in Twitter jail, reports Dem lawyer Ron Filipkowski.

“John Kerry has a private jet, that has flown dozens of times this year all around the country,” Senator Ted Cruz (R-Quintana Roo)  declares, decrying the excesses of capitalism, apparently.  “I don’t know about you, but I don’t have a private jet.  I don’t believe any of the people on this stage have their own private jet.”

“Portman does,” someone on the stage states, referring to Republican Ohio Senator Rob Portman, prompting giggles from the group on stage and in the assembled media.

“Smartmatic, the voting technology company that is suing Fox News, some of its hosts and pro-Trump lawyers Rudy Giuliani and Sidney Powell for defamation, is now adding Newsmax and One America News Network to the list of defendants. Smartmatic’s lawyers filed defamation suits against the two hard-right TV networks on Wednesday, the one-year anniversary of Election Day 2020. ‘Despite claims to provide viewers with honest, unbiased reporting, these outlets victimized Smartmatic by spreading false information about the company following last year’s election, all in their efforts to increase viewership and revenue,’ J. Erik Connolly, one of the attorneys representing Smartmatic, said in a statement. Representatives for Newsmax and OAN did not immediately respond to CNN Business’ request for comment” – CNN.

Minneapolis Star-Tribune: “A federal judge says GOP political strategist Anton Lazzaro must remain in jail as he prepares his defense against sex-trafficking charges, citing ‘very troubling’ testimony that Lazzaro made veiled threats to law enforcement and prosecutors after being arrested earlier this year. While being transported by police, Lazzaro told Minneapolis officer Brandon Brugger he knew where he lived, and that he’d tried but failed to find personal information about an FBI agent – whom Lazzaro called a ‘ghost’ – according to Brugger. ‘There is no legitimate reason – none – for Lazzaro to be collecting home addresses and other personal information about the law enforcement officers involved in his case,’ wrote Judge Patrick Schiltz in an order filed Tuesday.”

“‘And Lazzaro’s telling Officer Brugger that he knew where he lived was clearly an attempt to threaten and intimidate him.’ Lazzaro also said Assistant US Attorney Laura Provinzino was ‘going to regret this,’ according to Brugger. ‘Although it is not entirely clear why Lazzaro was saying that Provinzino would ‘regret’ pursuing criminal charges against him, the Court can conceive of no legitimate reason for Lazzaro to make such a threatening remark to an arresting officer,’ wrote Schiltz. Lazzaro, a 30-year-old whose political ties sent a shock wave through the Minnesota GOP after his arrest, faces 10 charges related to trafficking minors and obstruction. In lengthy testimony in August, Brugger described a conspiracy in which Lazzaro paid underage girls for sex in cash, and groomed them with presents such as a Prada purse, alcohol, vape pens and cellphones. Brugger said Lazzaro paid former University of St. Thomas student Gisela Medina, 19, in cash, travel and high-priced champagne to help recruit young girls for him on social media. Lazzaro and Medina have both pleaded not guilty to the charges.”

Nine Republican House members have introduced a bill that would repeal the 16th Amendment to the United States Constitution, ratified in 1913, which provides explicit permission for the federal government to levy and collect income tax without apportionment based on population.

Republican representatives sponsoring the bill are Brian Babin (TX), Ronny Jackson (TX), Dan Bishop (NC), Ralph Norman (SC), Mary E. Miller (IL), Doug LaMalfa (CA), Jody B. Hice (GA), Michael Cloud (TX), and Madison Cawthorn (NC).

If passed, the bill would only allow the federal government to appropriate for federal programs in each state as much money as was collected from those states or in direct proportion to the populations in those states. 

Associated Press:  “Nearly 8,500 active duty members of the Air Force and Space Force have missed the deadline for getting COVID-19 vaccinations, including 800 who flatly refused and nearly 5,000 with pending requests for a religious exemption, the Air Force said Wednesday.  The Air Force said that of the 326,000 active duty members of the Air Force and Space Force, 95.9 percent are fully vaccinated and 96.9 percent have gotten at least one shot.

“’A vaccinated force is a protected force, better able to deploy and to defend our interests anywhere at any time,’ said Ann Stefanek, an Air Force spokeswoman. ‘Receiving the COVID-19 vaccine is a necessary requirement to keep our people safe and healthy. This is a readiness issue.’  Tuesday was the Air Force deadline for all active duty members to receive vaccinations. The Air Force deadline was the first of all the military services, providing an initial glimpse into how America’s military will handle the mandate.

“The Air Force said 8,486 service members had not been vaccinated as of Tuesday. Of that total, 800 had ‘verbally refused.’ Another 2,753 had not started the vaccination process for reasons not cited in the Air Force announcement, and 4,933 have pending requests for exemption on religious grounds.  The Air Force said that by Dec. 2 it would complete its review of requests for medical and religious exemptions. Thus far, a total of 1,866 requests for medical or administrative exemptions have been approved. It said zero requests for religious exemptions have been approved.”

David Graham, The Atlantic: “Last night’s elections were fantastic news for the Republican Party, disastrous for the Democratic Party – and a mixed verdict for Donald Trump. In winning the Virginia gubernatorial race, Republican Glenn Youngkin – and other successful GOP candidates in the Old Dominion and elsewhere – nodded toward the kinds of themes that the former president has accentuated. After all, it’s his party now. But in winning while keeping Trump at arm’s length, Youngkin also showed the possibility of a party that isn’t Trump’s any longer… Youngkin was not eager to have Trump rally for him. Youngkin managed a nuanced act of not snubbing Trump voters while also modulating his message in a way that would win over suburban moderates.”

Will Saletan, Slate: “Youngkin’s victory doesn’t vindicate the national GOP, either. In the CBS News poll, 70 percent of McAuliffe voters said they were backing him to support the national Democratic Party, while only 63 percent of Youngkin voters said they were backing him to support the national Republican Party. Half of McAuliffe’s independent voters said they were siding with him to support the Democrats, but only 40 percent of Youngkin’s independent voters said they were siding with him to support the GOP. In the exit poll, 15 percent of Virginia voters said the GOP wasn’t conservative enough, but 45 percent said it was too conservative. McAuliffe wasn’t wrong to tie Youngkin to Trump. He was right, but it wasn’t enough. The real miscalculation is coming now, as Trump and his sycophants in the GOP misread the results. If they seriously believe that the former president was an asset – and are thinking of featuring him in other states in 2022 – Democrats should encourage them.”

Republican Florida Governor Ron DeSantis apparently takes his scientific advice from a second grader, whom he dragged onto Fox News to promote lies and misinformation.  “Go ahead,” DeSantis tells the girl.  “I’m not wearing a mask because you touch it and you get germs on your hand and then you put it on your face and breath in all the germs,” the girl recites, without mentioning that as a seven year old, she would have a lot of germs on her hands without a mask.

This is expected to presage a state program championed by DeSantis to wipe out cooties in out time.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has defeated Republican challenger Jack Ciattarelli to win a second term, per Cook Political Report’s Dave Wasserman.

Virginia’s election was attacked last night! The dirty Republicans and their Hungarian allies stole the state from Terry McAuliffe! There’s no way Sleepy Glenn got that many votes! What kind of thermostats do they use in the counting rooms? DINO Ralph Northam is compromised by India! You can tell he’s secretly a Republican because he wore blackface and maybe a KKK hood when he was in medical school! Why won’t Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring investigate the reports of Saudi Arabian satellites beaming vote-stealing viruses into the Roanoke area?

Fresh off the disappointment of Terry McAuliffe losing the gubernatorial election Tuesday night, Democrats are facing another setback in the Old Dominion state:  the likelihood that they’re going to lose control of the House of Delegates.

With the decided seats in the 100-seat house evenly split at 45 to each party, ten seats remain undecided.  According to the New York Times election tracker, Republicans are leading in six of the ten undecided races.

Democrats will still hold a majority in the Virginia senate–barely.  Democrats have 21 seats in the Senate, with Republicans controlling 19 (including one with a GOP-caucusing independent).  The next election for the state senate is 2024, when all the seats in the chamber will be up for election.

Washington Post: “It was a month after the 2020 presidential election, and Bernard Kerik was starting to panic. The former New York City police chief and his friend Rudolph W. Giuliani were shelling out thousands of dollars for hotel rooms and travel in their effort to find evidence of voting fraud and persuade state legislators to overturn Joe Biden’s victory. Yet President Donald Trump’s campaign had turned down Kerik’s request for a campaign credit card. The bills were piling up. ‘How do I know I’m gonna get my money back?’ Kerik remembers thinking to himself at the time, according to a recent interview he did with The Washington Post.”

“The bills went unpaid until after Fox News personality Jeanine Pirro went to bat on their behalf, according to a Republican official, who like some others interviewed for this article spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private conversations. Soon after, the campaign cut Kerik a check — with Trump’s approval, according to a former senior campaign official. That move, in mid-December, smoothed the way for what would eventually be more than $225,000 in campaign payments to firms owned by Kerik and Giuliani — including more than $50,000 for rooms and suites at the posh Willard hotel in Washington that served as a ‘command center’ for efforts to deny Biden the presidency in the days leading up to the attack on the Capitol on Jan. 6. The fact that campaign funds were used to finance efforts to subvert Biden’s victory could complicate the former president’s ongoing attempt to use claims of executive privilege to shield documents and testimony from the congressional committee investigating Jan. 6, according to some legal scholars.”

“We have a year to go, which is an eternity in politics. Rest assured, Republicans will come away from this even more smug, arrogant, overconfident and insufferable. Good. They will overplay their hand on culture war issues now, like they always do. We will right our ship” reports Ron Filipkowski.