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Good morning! Martin here, delighted to bring you the news that matters for Monday, though “delighted” might not quite be the right word, and certainly I don’t think it’s quite right to give you my usual “Happy” Mondays musical link, given the squalid scenes unfolding in Michigan.
In today’s ‘First Draft,’ we’ll consider how Rep. Haley Stevens carried out a political betrayal for the ages, stabbing Abdul El-Sayed and her own Democratic Party in the back just two days before election day, to say she’ll vote for Mike Rogers. Yes, that Mike Rogers: the repulsive Trumpist Islamophobe and shamelessly corrupt swamp creature Stevens spent much of the year attacking. Stevens said she did it because El-Sayed told her not to come to a unity rally. Really.
Elsewhere, there were major developments in election-related lawsuits brought by the Trump administration as it stares defeat in the face; none of them good for Trump, his cronies, or enablers like Rep. Stevens. Judges in Alaska and California stood firm, for now, and that counts. There’s plenty more to take in, so let’s get on to the news.
‘A Despicable Betrayal’
It might feel wrong to lead on Democratic Rep. Haley Stevens’s gutter treachery against her own party two days before the midterm elections, through her surprise embrace of Trumpism and MAGA, with the verdict of a party leader whose own support of Abdul El-Sayed in the Michigan Senate election has been disgracefully weak.
What the hell. Even Chuck Schumer was absolutely appalled at Stevens’s actions.
“This is a despicable betrayal from Rep. Stevens,” the Senate Minority Leader said.
“Senate Democrats are united in our support for Abdul El-Sayed, because we know he will fight for the economic interests of working families in Michigan, unlike Mike Rogers, who is a tool of Donald Trump and billionaire donors.”
If for some reason you find yourself doubting Schumer’s sincerity, well, he endorsed Stevens in the primary so his own sense of betrayal, at least, is clear. And if you don’t believe Schumer about Rogers, the Republican with whom Stevens appeared? Ask Stevens herself.