Happy Thursday and welcome back to today’s edition of Common Sense with Ally Sammarco—your daily briefing on U.S. politics. Let’s break it down.
Americans Blame GOP (and Everyone Else) for Shutdown…..A new Reuters/Ipsos poll finds that 67% of Americans say Republicans deserve “a fair amount or a great deal” of the blame for the ongoing government shutdown, while 63% place similar blame on Democrats and Trump himself. Many people now fear that delays to Social Security, student aid, and basic services will soon hit them directly.
Common Sense takeaway: Republicans are playing victim, but it’s not working. Voters may be frustrated with everyone, but the shutdown is ultimately Trump’s mess, and no one is falling for the lies.
Pentagon’s New Press Rules Trigger Backlash….Yesterday, press organizations denounced a revised DOD policy that could revoke journalists’ access as early as next week. The rules—though “negotiated” with media outlets—contain clauses that may criminalize communications by service members, even of unclassified info. The Pentagon says it’s about security, while journalists warn it’s censorship.
Common Sense takeaway: The end goal for this DOD is to have state-sanctioned media. They want to fire all personnel who don’t agree with their philosophy, and they want all media who cover them honestly to be thrown out. This is just a method of doing that.
Trump’s Targeting Plan for Liberal Groups Revealed….According to internal sources, the Trump administration has launched a multi-agency push (FBI, DHS, IRS, DOJ) to investigate liberal nonprofits and activist groups for rhetoric surrounding Charlie Kirk and funding “political violence.” Stephen Miller is reportedly driving the effort, with Pam Bondi and Treasury officials coordinating. Civil liberties organizations are expressing extreme concern about domestic surveillance and suppression.
Common Sense takeaway: In any other timeline, this would be grounds for impeachment. Targeting your political enemies is NOT NORMAL and should not be treated as such. If they spent half the amount of time on lowering costs, as they do trying to find “Antifa” (which is not a real organization), we might actually get somewhere.
Jeffries and Lawler Erupt in Capitol Hallway Clash….House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Republican Rep. Mike Lawler got into a heated confrontation Wednesday in a Capitol hallway. Lawler accused Jeffries of playing political games and said constituents are suffering because the shutdown drags on. Jeffries shot back, calling Lawler “an embarrassment,” said he was being talked over, and told him to “keep your mouth shut.”
Common Sense takeaway: I’m happy to see some intensity from Hakeem Jeffries, whom a lot of people have been questioning if he is right for the job as minority leader. Now, let’s keep this energy 24/7.
That’s it for today. Thanks for reading Common Sense with Ally Sammarco. Check back tomorrow for more.
