Mehdi Hasan at Zeteo News:

A group of influential Republican senators has sent a letter to International Criminal Court (ICC) chief prosecutor Karim Khan, warning him not to issue international arrest warrants against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other Israeli officials, and threatening him with “severe sanctions” if he does so.  In a terse, one-page letter obtained exclusively by Zeteo, and signed by 12 GOP senators, including Tom Cotton of Arkansas, Florida’s Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz of Texas, Khan is informed that any attempt by the ICC to hold Netanyahu and his colleagues to account for their actions in Gaza will be interpreted “not only as a threat to Israel’s sovereignty but to the sovereignty of the United States.”

Dear Senator Tillis,

I am writing to demand immediate action against a shocking and manipulative tactic being employed by Elon Musk in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race. Musk’s political action committee, America PAC, is offering Wisconsin voters $100 to sign a petition opposing “activist judges” and an additional $100 for each person they refer. This effort is not only unethical but a direct attempt to buy votes in an election that will determine the future of the state’s Supreme Court.

This scheme is an assault on the integrity of our democratic process. For Musk, a billionaire, to use his vast resources to manipulate an election in this way is a dangerous precedent that undermines the very foundation of our democracy. Elections must reflect the will of the people, not the influence of the ultra-wealthy who can purchase desired outcomes.

I urge you to take immediate and decisive action to publicly condemn this manipulation and work toward making such tactics illegal. We cannot afford to let this continue, as it threatens to further corrupt our electoral system and erode public trust in the democratic process.

I expect you to speak out against this, take legislative action to prevent this from happening again, and ensure that our elections remain free and fair for all voters. The time to act is now, before such manipulation becomes entrenched in our political system.

The GOP seems to be consolidating around Budd

It appears that Republicans are closing ranks around Ted Budd in the US Senate primary. Earlier this week, Senate Presiden Pro Tem Phil Berger announced his endorsement and this morning, Budd is running ad with Lieutenant Governor Mark Robinson touting his support. I suspect some of the consolidation is an attempt to prevent a costly and divisive runoff, but it begs questions about where the GOP…