Monday
October 4, 2021
Good morning,

Starting today, TNR is moving the daily newsletter, which you used to get in the late afternoon, to mid-morning, with a short introduction written by me or staff writer Tim Noah or someone else. So—let’s go.

Top news today: Congress, of course, and movement (if any) on the Build Back Better, or BBB, bill; the bipartisan infrastructure bill, or BIF; and the debt limit. There was a piece in The New York Times on Sunday in which Democratic moderates were quoted complaining about Biden going too far left. It’s a silly premise. The left wanted $6 trillion. The bill right now is at $3.5 trillion and is likely to wind up around $2 trillion. That’s legislative compromise. But the sight of moderate and conservative Democrats running to the Times to grouse is in its way encouraging. If they’re upset, maybe good things are happening.

If you don’t know the name Frances Haugen, you’d better. The Facebook whistleblower revealed her identity Sunday night on 60 Minutes and gave a scorching account of Facebook’s duplicity. She’ll be on Capitol Hill Tuesday.

Big piece to read today: The Washington Post’s investigative dig into the Pandora Papers, which reveals billions in wealth hidden from the government by the megarich. Today’s is the first of eight articles and is focused on corrupt heads of state (King Abdullah and, shocker, Vladimir Putin).

Column to read today: E.J. Dionne on what Joe Biden needs to do to sell the BBB bill. 

Also today: The Supreme Court convenes its new session. By next June, it’s highly possible that Roe v. Wade will no longer be law. 

At NewRepublic.com today, as you’ll see below, check out Seattle venture capitalist Nick Hanauer’s terrific column arguing that if the Democrats don’t manage to pass these bills and raise his taxes, he’s giving up on them; my piece on why the BBB bill is not just about fixing the economy but saving democracy; Grace Segers on the grim likely consequences of Joe Manchin’s demand that programs in the bill be means-tested; and from the October print issue, check out  Kate Aronoff on how lab-produced meats can help save the planet. 

Thanks for reading! 
Michael Tomasky, editor
Biden’s Plan to Tax Rich People Like Me is the Best Way to Grow the Economy
Democrats: If you screw this up, lose my phone number, because I’m done with you.
by Nick Hanauer
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Morning Quiz:
Political history question: Jimmy Carter won just five states in 1980 (along with the District of Columbia). What five states did he win?

Answer tomorrow.
Today’s must reads:
Democrats have to prove that the government can deliver for people. If they don’t, authoritarianism wins.
by Michael Tomasky
The West Virginia senator has floated means testing as a way of cutting costs, but his plan could have inadvertent negative effects.
by Grace Segers
Republicans in state legislatures all across the country are slowly gaming the system to deprive voters of their power.
by Matt Ford
Mark McGurl’s new book defines a frightening new era of literature, honed to Jeff Bezos’s algorithm.
by Kyle Chayka
Can meat grown in a laboratory help save the planet? And if it can, what’s standing in our way?
by Kate Aronoff
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