What happened to our politics?

IN THIS EDITION

The nation’s deteriorating politics

Congressional Black Caucus leaders back Allred in Texas

The Creator Economy: Content to Commerce

Tech: Privacy group members kick off work on data protection

Fly Out Day Launch

THE TOP

The nation’s deteriorating politics

Happy Thursday morning. Today is the 24th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks on the United States.

The assassination of Charlie Kirk, the hugely popular 31-year-old conservative star, is gutting, shocking and horrific. The close ally of President Donald Trump leaves behind a wife who’ll never see her husband again and two young children who’ll grow up without their father.

We don’t like to tell you what to think and certainly have no business to tell you how you should feel.

But let us tell you what we’re thinking this morning: What are we even doing here?

Kirk’s brutal murder during a college program at Utah Valley University is the latest tragic chapter in the rapidly deteriorating political discourse that’s come to dominate our nation. The failed assassination attempts against Trump in 2024 deeply rattled the country. Yet nearly every pol in either party can recount multiple stories about the violent threats — or even attacks — they face on a regular basis.

Perhaps the scariest part of all is that no matter how much security there is, no matter how thorough the precautions are, more American politicians and political figures will be threatened, hurt or killed in politically-motivated violence in the near future. It’s horrible to say. But this is our reality.

During the last 15 years, there’s been a litany of incidents involving lawmakers, political leaders and their families. And the pace of these horrific episodes is accelerating.

Former Democratic Rep. Gabby Giffords (Ariz.) was shot in the head during a 2011 event at a shopping mall and nearly died. Six other people were killed in that mass shooting. House Majority Leader Steve Scalise was nearly killed in a 2017 shooting at congressional baseball practice in Virginia. A group of men were charged with plotting to kidnap Michigan Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in Oct. 2020.

Paul Pelosi, husband of then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, was severely injured in 2022 by an assailant who entered their San Francisco home with a hammer. Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro and his family were the target of an attack at the governor’s mansion during Passover. A California man pleaded guilty in April to the attempted murder of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh three years earlier. The former Democratic speaker of the Minnesota House of Representatives and her husband were shot to death in their home on June 14, while another Democratic lawmaker and his wife were severely wounded.

And no one will ever forget the political violence of Jan. 6, 2021, a cataclysmic event that continues to reverberate through the U.S. political system. Yet another congressional committee is now going to investigate what happened that fateful day, although those of us who were there already know.

Capitol Hill threats grow. Speaker Mike Johnson said last week during a G7 event in Canada that the United States Capitol Police has tracked a stunning 14,000 instances of threats made toward members of Congress this year alone. That’s a 55% increase over last year.

Much of the behavior that we see from national political leaders themselves would be deemed unacceptable for grade-school children.

Many – if not most – members and senators see the other party as their mortal enemies out to destroy the country, not just good-hearted yet wrong-thinking political rivals. That mindset makes each day an existential struggle between good and evil rather than a contest between competing political ideas or policies.

Fundraising emails are often filled with violent rhetoric. Angry, unhinged outbursts on the House floor have become commonplace. All in the pursuit of the next political buck or viral moment.

The rise of social media has fed into growing extremism on both sides of the aisle. Passing legislation or making bipartisan deals is seen as far less valuable than someone who can pound their opponents on TikTok or X. In fact, bipartisanship is a sign you’ve been compromised and fallen prey to the other side’s malevolent machinations.

The media plays a major role in all this too. Cable TV makes stars of those who engage in conflict and confrontation. If it bleeds, it leads – 24 hours per day, 365 days a year across every channel.

Here’s the truth: We all have play a part in creating a political discourse that we’re proud of for a country that most of us deeply love. This is something we should all keep in mind as we deal with the fallout of Kirk’s murder in the days and weeks ahead.

The latest.

– Vice President JD Vance posted a heartfelt tribute to Kirk on X, detailing their long history.

– AP: “Authorities are seeking a new person of interest in Kirk’s assassination, according to a law enforcement official. … The Utah Department of Public Safety has also confirmed no one is currently in custody in the investigation into Kirk’s killing.”

– Deseret News: Utah Gov. Spencer Cox: “The investigation is ongoing but I want to make it crystal clear right now to whoever did this, we will find you. We will try you, and we will hold you accountable to the furthest extent of the law. And I just want to remind people that we still have the death penalty here in the state of Utah.”

– NYT’s Maggie Haberman: “At the White House, Trump’s Grief and Shock Turn to Rage Over Charlie Kirk”

– WaPo’s Michael Birnbaum and Emily Davies: “In Trump’s White House, Charlie Kirk’s killing is deeply personal”

– Jake Sherman and John Bresnahan

LONE STAR WATCH

Congressional Black Caucus leaders back Allred in Texas

News: A group of prominent Congressional Black Caucus leaders are endorsing former Rep. Colin Allred’s (D-Texas) Senate campaign, a critical sign of support from Black leaders following state Rep. James Talarico’s high-profile entrance into the race.

CBC Chair Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Assistant House Democratic Leader Joe Neguse, former CBC Chair Steven Horsford (D-Nev.) and CBC PAC Chair Greg Meeks (D-N.Y.) are all endorsing Allred. Reps. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.) and Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) are also backing Allred.

“[Allred] has built the kind of diverse, broad-based coalitions it takes to win tough races and deliver results — bringing people together across race, region, and party,” Meeks said in a statement.

Texas Democratic Rep. Marc Veasey endorsed Allred earlier this summer.

Allred, who served three terms in the House after winning a seat in 2018, represented a Dallas-area district and belonged to the CBC. Allred won the Democratic nomination in the 2024 Texas Senate race but lost to Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) by eight points.

Yet while Allred breezed through the 2024 primary, the former House Democrat faces a far sterner test this cycle. Talarico raised more than $1 million in the first day of his campaign while winning plaudits from liberals for his launch video. Another Democrat, former NASA astronaut Terry Virts, is also in the race.

Allred’s campaign is positioning the 2024 hopeful as the stronger general election candidate, pointing to internal polling that has Allred leading potential GOP candidate Ken Paxton in a head-to-head matchup. Talarico argued to us that in order to win in 2026, Texas Democrats need to employ a “non-traditional” message.

Paxton is locked in a competitive GOP primary with longtime Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas). Other Republicans may jump into that contest as well.

— Max Cohen

THE CREATOR ECONOMY

The Creator Economy: Content to Commerce

Content creators are finding success both online and offline – turning YouTube channels into successful businesses.

Today, we launched the third feature in our series, The Creator Economy, in partnership with YouTube. In this four-part series, we explore the impact creators have on the economy and how they’re starting to drive the policy debate in Washington.

For our third feature, Content to Commerce, we spoke with Cassey Ho, who first posted on YouTube in 2009. Ho is a model for how creators can use their online platforms as launchpads for full-fledged businesses.

Ho started out posting fitness videos on her Blogilates channel for a handful of Pilates students. Now, more than 15 years later, she runs a major wellness business with its own website, millions of followers, an athleisure clothing line in Target and 30 employees.

“When I first started in 2009, and those who started before me, none of us knew that this would make money,” Ho said.

We also interviewed Sens. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) about how content creators are contributing economically to their states and what Congress can do to boost their businesses.

“It’s definitely a burgeoning part of the economy,” Schiff said. “It’s a great new opportunity for people to start their own small business, and sometimes make it into a multi-million dollar brand.”

And catch up on our second feature in the Creator Economy series, Entertainment’s New Era with Dude Perfect.

– Samantha Handler

Tech: Privacy group members kick off work on data protection

News: The House Energy and Commerce Committee’s privacy working group began lawmaker-level meetings this week to come up with a framework for data protection.

The meeting marks an escalation in the panel’s effort to tackle a topic that’s troubled Congress for years.

“We’ve got a lot of stuff to work out, but it’s headed in a good direction,” Rep. Russell Fry (S.C.), one of the Republican-only working group’s nine members, said of the session.

Fry added there was a lot of “thoughtful discussion” at the gathering on Wednesday afternoon shortly before votes.

Rep. Troy Balderson (R-Ohio) described the meeting as “nothing formal yet,” but said the group would be reconvening in two weeks.

Data protection has stymied the committee for several years, and panel Chair Brett Guthrie (R-Ky.) set up the group in February shortly after he took control of the gavel.

The group’s goal is to at least get a framework that would represent the Republican viewpoint on the issue before going to the full roster of Republicans on the committee and, potentially, Democrats.

Before this week, panel staff had been collecting feedback from stakeholders — sometimes even meeting weekly — but lawmakers hadn’t sat down to start their part of the work.

Balderson said he thought that “November probably is the timeline” for the group to come up with a product.

Guthrie told us he didn’t attend the session, and a spokesperson for Rep. John Joyce (R-Pa.), who’s leading the group, didn’t comment on the meeting.

In AI world. Guthrie also told us he hadn’t delved into Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz’s (R-Texas) bill that would let developers in the artificial intelligence space seek a waiver of federal regulations as the firms work on their products.

“I haven’t seen that,” Guthrie said of the measure, which Cruz unveiled Wednesday.

— Ben Brody

PUNCHBOWL NEWS EVENTS

Fly Out Day Launch

On Wednesday night, we celebrated the launch of Fly Out Day at the Punchbowl News townhouse. Punchbowl News Founder and CEO Anna Palmer and Meta’s Vice President of Communications Brian Roehrkasse gave remarks while attendees networked with drinks and light bites.

Guests also got a look at the Fly Out Day studio — click here for some behind the scenes photos of the event and the studio. Thank you to our Fly Out Day launch partner Meta for partnering with us to make this event possible.

Raising a glass: Taylor Haulsee of Speaker Mike Johnson’s office; Margaret Mulkerrin of Rep. Steny Hoyer’s (D-Md.) office; Jay Bhargava and Evan Dixon of the House Budget Committee; Ashley Jones of Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s (D-Fla.) office; Amanda Critchfield of the Senate Finance Committee; Reema Dodin of Sen. Brian Schatz’s (D-Hawaii) office; Torunn Sinclair and Lydia Hall of the Congressional Leadership Fund; Jacques Petit of Sen. Ruben Gallego’s (D-Ariz.) office; Brendan Buck of Seven Letter and Rebecca Buck of the Better Medicare Alliance.

Jeff Carroll of Capitol Counsel; Shuwanza Goff; Matt Dickman and Joelle Terry of Comcast; Jane Adams of Johnson & Johnson; Ashley Lerner of GM; Pete Nonis of General Catalyst Institute; Annie Grayer of CNN; Sam Feist of C-SPAN; Alex Isenstadt of Axios; Anthony Adragna of Politico; Scott Mulhauser, Lianne Bollinger, and Sarah Figgatt of BPI; and Jackie Rooney, Matt Donnally, and Francis Brennan of Meta.

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