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A lot of nonsense came out of CPAC last weekend, which was to be expected, but we were particularly vexed by a tweet from Kari Lake, the failed far-right gubernatorial candidate from Arizona. She won the straw poll for attendees’ preferred 2024 vice presidential candidate, beating out Nikki Haley and Ron DeSantis (Donald Trump won the poll for president with 62% of the vote). Lake’s Twitter account responded to the results as follows: “We’re flattered, but unfortunately our legal team says the Constitution won’t allow for her to serve as Governor and VP at the same time.” Ugh. Despite all we’ve learned about the integrity of the 2020 election — including, most recently, from revelations from the Dominion lawsuit against Fox News, and a report that a former attorney general from Lake’s state concealed his own investigators’ findings that debunked claims of election fraud — the Big Lie remains remarkably durable within the GOP. And the party’s election denial wing, led by the Kari Lakes of the world, continue to use that playbook. —Melissa Amour, Managing Editor
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Two Americans kidnapped in Mexico found dead and two found alive, officials say —CNN
Fed likely needs to raise rates higher and possibly faster, Powell tells lawmakers —Reuters
U.S. sues to block JetBlue from buying Spirit Airlines —Associated Press
Congress is fighting Washington, D.C., criminal code reform. Why? —USA Today
In Selma, Biden says right to vote remains under assault —The Register Citizen
FCC nominee withdraws, following bruising lobbying battle —The Washington Post
Biden to host 2nd state visit, for South Korean leader Yoon —Associated Press
State AGs demand TikTok comply with U.S. consumer protection investigations —Reuters
Cop City protests: 23 face domestic terrorism charges after arrests in Atlanta —CNN
Hope Hicks meets with Manhattan prosecutors as Trump inquiry intensifies —The New York Times
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‘I was there on Jan. 6. I saw what happened’
Fox News host Tucker Carlson is drawing friendly fire for his claim that the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol was little more than "peaceful chaos.” A handful of Senate Republicans, including Kevin Cramer, Mitt Romney, Mike Rounds, and Thom Tillis, are pushing back. “It’s a very dangerous thing to do, to suggest that attacking the Capitol of the United States is in any way acceptable and it’s anything other than a serious crime, against democracy and against our country," Romney said. "And people saw that it was violent and destructive and should never happen again. But trying to normalize that behavior is dangerous and disgusting.”
McConnell agrees. At a GOP leadership press conference, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said he supported U.S. Capitol Police Chief Thomas Manger, who, in a letter to the Capitol Police force, denounced Carlson for spreading “offensive and misleading conclusions” about the insurrection, including a “disturbing accusation” that Officer Brian Sicknick’s death had nothing to do with the riot. —NBC News
What really happened. On the same day Carlson made his false claims, the Justice Department laid out its clearest evidence yet that the Proud Boys — and the far-right group’s leader, Enrique Tarrio — played a unique role in the not-so-peaceful chaos that unfolded on Jan. 6. Leaders of the Proud Boys activated a network of foot soldiers to breach the Capitol, prosecutors argued to a federal judge, describing how more than a dozen of the group’s associates overran police lines, dismantled barricades, and facilitated the mob’s entry into the building itself. —Politico
On the run. As Jan. 6 arrests reach 1,000 people, the FBI is searching for two of them. A Florida woman who was supposed to stand trial beginning yesterday on charges stemming from the Capitol attack, as well as another defendant, are now missing, officials say. A federal judge in Washington issued bench warrants for the arrest of Olivia Pollock and Joseph Hutchinson III last week after the court was notified that they had tampered with or removed the ankle monitors that track their location. Stay tuned. —CBS News
MORE: Mike Pence asks judge to block subpoena for Jan. 6 testimony —CNN
Bernstein: McCarthy reaping what he sowed to become Speaker
“[House Speaker Kevin] McCarthy is dealing with a very narrow Republican House majority and a group of radical Republicans who might push for his ouster as speaker at any time. McCarthy’s solution to his predicament is to give the extremists everything they ask for. That was sufficient to get him the job in the first place, albeit in an ugly fashion, during the session’s first week. And it’s producing plenty of programming for Republican media, whether by providing Fox News’ Tucker Carlson exclusive access to surveillance video from the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol or handing representatives like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz prominent roles on high-profile committees.” —Jonathan Bernstein in Bangor Daily News
Jonathan Bernstein is a Bloomberg columnist covering politics and policy and a former professor of political science at the University of Texas at San Antonio and DePauw University.
MORE: Tucker Carlson shows first of the Jan. 6 footage he received from House Speaker Kevin McCarthy —The Hill
WaPo Ed Board: Support Ukraine, support democracy
“Turning back Russian aggression is not only important for our European allies’ security but also to maintain a basic principle of civilized international relations: that one state cannot invade and subjugate another that has posed no threat. It is also crucial to transmit the message to China, North Korea, and other would-be aggressors that the United States will stand fast in defense of its own interests and other democracies.” —The Washington Post
MORE: China’s new foreign minister warns of conflict with U.S., defends Russia ties —CNN
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‘Un-American to its core’
Even Newt Gingrich has called it “insane.” A Florida bill would require bloggers to register with the state and file periodic reports with the state if they are paid for posts about the state's governor, lieutenant governor, cabinet members, or legislative officials. Bloggers would have to disclose who paid them and how much, along with other information such as where the post is located online. They would be fined $25 per each day the report is late, up to a maximum of $2,500 for each report. The legislation would not apply to content on “the website of a newspaper or other similar publication.” The proposal, filed last week, has already draw criticism from 1st Amendment groups who argue it violates press freedoms. —ABC News
MORE: As Israel’s democracy erodes, its government delegitimizes criticism —Politico
Catoggio: Hogan puts country first by declining to run
“Why should we care that a politician with no national future has now formally acknowledged that he has no national future? We should care because [former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan] set a commendable example. ‘A cult of personality is no substitute for a party of principle,’ he said in a statement. ‘There are several competent Republican leaders who have the potential to step up and lead. But the stakes are too high for me to risk being part of another multicar pileup that could potentially help Mr. Trump recapture the nomination.’” —Nick Catoggio in The Dispatch
Nick Catoggio is a staff writer for The Dispatch and writes the newsletter “Boiling Frogs.”
MORE: Hogan: ‘Not ready to walk away’ from politics, wants to bring ‘sanity’ to discourse —ABC News
Aftergut: CPAC shows Trump is likely 2024 GOP nominee
“In September, [Trump] all but threatened widespread violence on the streets if he was indicted. On March 3, he found new ways to align himself with violent insurrectionists — he released a pseudo-patriotic recording featuring himself and the ‘J6 Prison Choir.’ None of this will play well with the swing voters in battleground states who determine presidential elections. Of course, no positive 2024 election outcome will occur automatically. Organizing early and persistently will be necessary for any and all who seek to preserve our democratic republic.” —Dennis Aftergut in The Hill
Dennis Aftergut is a former federal prosecutor, currently of counsel to Lawyers Defending American Democracy.
MORE: How the ’Big Lie’ played out on the CPAC stage —The Guardian
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Donald Trump’s consideration of Kari Lake as a potential vice presidential nominee, because he believes she may help him win suburban female voters, makes as much sense as thinking that running Herschel Walker for the Senate in Georgia would be the key to winning Black voters. —Jim V., New York
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The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Renew America Foundation.
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