Mighty John Lewis

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Congress honors the life and legacy of Rep. John Lewis

House of Representatives holds moment of silence; Chad Pergram reports.

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On the roster: Mighty John Lewis - Got a wild pitch? Ready to throw a fastball? - Trump steps up Biden attacks - Trump, Senate GOP face divisions on virus aid - The most Minnesotan story ever

MIGHTY JOHN LEWIS
The thing about beliefs is that they can be dangerous – especially if they’re sincere.

Once you really believe in something – a truth larger than yourself – you might just have to live differently. You might have to get out of your comfort zone and put yourself at risk. And if you act wrongly, other people can get hurt too.

Millennia’s worth of martyrs have died for their beliefs. They have suffered imprisonment, the loss of their families, property and reputation. They have been destroyed. And it’s still happening today.

But over the same period, the world has been plagued by the beliefs of fanatics who have killed, tortured, imprisoned and oppressed in the name of sincerely held beliefs – in a god, a sect, the superiority of a group, a system of government and on and on…

Yes, beliefs can be very dangerous indeed. And we sure have a lot of beliefs in American public life right now. While the percentage of Americans who express faith in the God of Abraham or in any mainstream religion is at an all-time low, lordy day do we have beliefs.

But it’s also clear that most people aren’t sure what to do with those beliefs – all that fresh, exhilarating certitude and maybe even a little feeling of superiority – once they have them.

They feel strongly, but may act weakly or not at all. They may just throw up a few posts, buy a bracelet or put some sticker on their car and go on about their lives as if they never really believed what they say they do. It is philosophical onanism.

On the other hand, some people radicalize. They want to go out into the streets and have fistfights. They want to rig elections. They want to scream in faces. They want to get people kicked off of platforms, shut down, silenced and forgotten. They want to see their enemies suffer. They will lie, cheat and steal to serve their beliefs, which conveniently excuse their own misconduct.

It’s a mess, no doubt. And it makes living together in harmony and cooperation quite challenging. Smug clickers and radical smashers do not make for a healthy republic.

But we cannot do without beliefs. Any effort to suppress them by the power of government would be impossible, not to mention wrong. In fact, we have always relied on the bubbling cauldron of American’s beliefs, even if sometimes misguided, to keep things hopping around here. If the zeal goes out of American public life, then we’ll really have trouble.

So what is it that we should hope that people would do with their beliefs in America today?

What should we hope that our fellow citizens do when they feel the burning fire of conviction crackling in their bones? What should we ask each other to aspire to?

To be like John Lewis.

That isn’t to say that you should have all the same beliefs as the 18-term Georgia congressman who died this weekend at the age of 80. Nor is it so say that Lewis was always right.

But he was a man who came to believe something very powerful in his youth: That racial segregation was an evil that had to be ended. And as a high-school student he decided that he was obliged to be part of doing so.

Washington has spent a couple of days now recalling Lewis’ feats – his willing acceptance of brutal beatings, imprisonment and scorn in support of his beliefs. You can watch Lewis, disoriented but determined, as a mob beats him and police drag him from a lunch counter. You can watch the hate in officers’ eyes as they brutally club Lewis and the other Freedom Riders.

If you haven’t acquainted yourself with what Lewis did and how he did it over the span of some 40 arrests in six years, you owe it to yourself and your country to do so. It will help you understand what Lewis was saying when he stood on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial alongside Martin Luther King in 1963:

“We are tired of being beaten by policemen. We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jail over and over again,” he said. “And then you holler, ‘Be patient.’ How long can we be patient? We want our freedom and we want it now. We do not want to go to jail. But we will go to jail if this is the price we must pay for love, brotherhood, and true peace.”

When he said it, America knew he meant it. Lewis had proven the truth of his argument by his willingness to suffer for it. Like his forebears in the Christian church, he won converts by his willingness to follow his beliefs into a jail cell or worse.

He could not force his fellow Americans into love, brotherhood and peace, but he and his fellows could sure shame them into it. He could not legislate morality among bigots, but he could precipitate it with his own noble actions.

Lewis remained a noble man throughout his long public career. He could preach fire and brimstone, but his real ministry remained one of example. His decency and kindness transcended the rest of it.

John Lewis faced real danger for his beliefs but did so bravely and without coming to hate his adversaries. He did not try to destroy those who opposed him, he tried to soften their hearts to the injustices they were perpetuating. He did not try to pull down the American system but instead straighten and reform it.

And, in these troubled times, he left us his example to follow as we wrestle with our own beliefs.

THE RULEBOOK: EU LATER
“Under a vigorous national government, the natural strength and resources of the country, directed to a common interest, would baffle all the combinations of European jealousy to restrain our growth.” – Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 11

TIME OUT: ‘LET’S GET DOWN TONIGHT’
Smithsonian: “Even if you don't know the Roland TR-808 drum machine by name, you’ve almost certainly heard it. If you’re familiar with the percussion on Marvin Gaye’s 1982 hit ‘Sexual Healing’—those bursts of bass and snare drums amid robotic ticks and claps that collapse atop one another—then you understand how the machine can form a kind of bridge from one moment of breathless desire to the next. That’s the magic of the TR-808, which was released 40 years ago and played a major role in propelling ‘Sexual Healing’ to the top of the charts. Less than a year after the song flooded American airwaves, the 808 was no longer in production, but it would not be forgotten for long: Appearing at the dawn of remix culture, the 808 and its successors soon helped turn the curation of machine-generated beats into its own art form.”

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SCOREBOARD
NATIONAL HEAD-TO-HEAD AVERAGE
Trump: 40.6 percent
Biden: 51.4 percent
Size of lead: Biden by 10.8 points
Change from one week ago: Biden ↑ 0.4 points, Trump ↑ 0.6 points
[Average includes: Fox News: Trump 41% - Biden 49%; ABC/WaPo: Trump 44% - Biden 54; CNBC: Trump 41% - Biden 51%; Quinnipiac University: Trump 37% - Biden 52%; NBC News/WSJ: Trump 40% - Biden 51%.]

BATTLEGROUND POWER RANKINGS
(270 electoral votes needed to win)
Toss-up: (109 electoral votes): Wisconsin (10), Ohio (18), Florida (29), Arizona (11), Pennsylvania (20), North Carolina (15), Iowa (6)
Lean R/Likely R: (180 electoral votes)
Lean D/Likely D: (249 electoral votes)
[Full rankings here.]

TRUMP JOB PERFORMANCE
Average approval: 41.2 percent
Average disapproval: 57 percent
Net Score: -15.8 points
Change from one week ago: no change in points
[Average includes: Fox News: 45% approve - 54% disapprove; ABC News/WaPo: 40% approve - 58% disapprove; CNBC: 43% approve - 57% disapprove; Quinnipiac University: 36% approve - 60% disapprove; NBC News/WSJ: 42% approve - 56% disapprove.]

GOT A WILD PITCH? READY TO THROW A FASTBALL?
Our favorite part of every edition of the Halftime Report newsletter is our “From the Bleachers” section where Politics Editor Chris Stirewalt responds to readers’ complaints, compliments, suggestions and tries to answer the questions voters have about government, politics and elections. He also gets asked about everything from philosophy to smoked meat to the designated hitter rule. We’re pleased to bring the concept to video with an updated Fox Nation show, “Halftime Report: From the Bleachers.” On Wednesdays and Fridays, Producer Brianna McClelland will put Chris to the test with your questions. He’ll do his best to answer and, along with Brianna, try to track down the answers they don’t know. Sign up for the Fox Nation streaming service here and send your best questions to HALFTIMEREPORT@FOXNEWS.COM before we take our first pitch on Wednesday.

TRUMP STEPS UP BIDEN ATTACKS
Fox News: “Turning to the upcoming election, [President Trump] had strong words for Joe Biden, taking political and personal shots at the presumptive Democratic nominee. ‘Biden wants to come in and ruin our country, triple your taxes,’ Trump said, claiming that if he becomes president, Biden will be pushed to the left. ‘He will destroy this country, but it won’t be him. It will be the radical left.’ … In the past, Trump has taken shots at Biden’s mental capabilities, and he continued to go down that path. ‘Biden can't put two sentences together,’ Trump said. … [Chris] Wallace asked Trump if he thinks Biden is senile, but Trump refused to go there, but still continued his attack. ‘I don't want to say that. I'd say he's not competent to be president.’ … Asked about the possibility of losing, however, Trump noted that he does not handle losing well, and may not handle it well if it happens in November. … Asked if this means that he will not accept the election results, Trump said, ‘No. I have to see.’”

Report: Kasich will address Dem convention - AP: “In the four months since Joe Biden effectively won the Democratic presidential nomination, he has focused on consolidating the party’s divergent and often warring factions. As the closing stretch of the campaign nears, that effort will expand to include Republicans disaffected with President Donald Trump. Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich, a Republican and frequent Trump critic, has been approached and is expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention on Biden’s behalf next month, according to a person with direct knowledge of the plans who insisted on anonymity to discuss strategy. Kasich is among a handful of high-profile Republicans likely to become more active in supporting Biden in the fall. Trump, meanwhile, is doing virtually nothing to expand his appeal beyond his most loyal supporters. Some GOP operatives believe the suburbs are lost while a contingent of high-profile Republicans are openly questioning the president’s reelection message. In an acknowledgment of the mounting challenges, Trump named a new campaign manager last week.”

Senior citizens help Trump trim deficit to Biden - Fox News: “Biden leads by 8 points over Trump, 49-41 percent. That advantage is outside the margin of error. However, neither candidate receives 50 percent support and 10 percent are undecided/back someone else -- and the race has narrowed since June, when the former vice president was up by 12 points (50-38 percent). There’s a large gender gap, as Trump is ahead by 5 points among men, while Biden is up 19 among women. Biden also leads among Blacks (+64), Hispanics (+30), millennials (+22), suburban voters (+11) and independents (+11). Seven percent of those approving of Trump’s job performance back Biden. Whites with a college degree (+3) and without a degree go for Trump (+9). He’s also the choice among White evangelical Christians (+43), rural voters (+9) and seniors (+1). Last month, seniors went for Biden by 10.”

Seib: Both sides seek silent majority voters - WSJ: “Is there a hidden Trump vote? The good news for President Trump is this: There just might be. The bad news for the president: The universe of potential hidden supporters is heavily populated with the kinds of people who happen to be more comfortable with Joe Biden than they were with Hillary Clinton four years ago. … Mr. Biden still has problems with these voters; the most recent Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll shows white voters with less than a college education tend to be unenthused about him, and they still break more for Mr. Trump. But their support for Mr. Biden in the matchup against Mr. Trump is higher than it was for Mrs. Clinton.”

Biden tries to woo unions on climate - Axios: “Joe Biden’s latest climate change and clean energy plan mentions the word union more than it does the climate itself. Wind and solar energy have grown immensely across America over the last decade, but associated union jobs have not. The Democrats’ presumptive presidential nominee is trying to change that, which politicians and others say is key to tackling climate change. ‘There’s a halo effect that pertains to the clean energy industry with respect to how those industries treat workers,’ said Jason Walsh, executive director of the BlueGreen Alliance, a group backed by labor unions and environmental groups. … Biden has always had a closer relationship with unions, considered one of the Democratic Party’s most important political constituencies, than some of his more progressive counterparts. Now, the pandemic and resulting economic recession is catapulting worker rights and equity to the forefront of all debates, including energy and climate change.”

TRUMP, SENATE GOP FACE DIVISIONS ON VIRUS AID
AP: “President Donald Trump insisted ‘good things’ were underway on the next COVID-19 aid package Monday as he met with Republican congressional leaders, but new divisions between the Senate GOP and the White House posed fresh challenges as the crisis worsened and emergency relief was expiring. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has been prepared to roll out the $1 trillion package in a matter of days. But the administration criticized more virus testing money and interjected other priorities that could complicate quick passage. … McConnell and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy huddled with Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows. Mnuchin vowed passage by month’s end, as earlier benefits expire, and said he expected the fresh $1 trillion jolt of business tax breaks and other aid would have a ‘big impact’ on the struggling economy. Mnuchin said he’s preparing to start talks with Democrats. He and Meadows were headed to the Hill later to brief lawmakers.”

Pressure’s on - Bloomberg: “President Donald Trump and Republicans in Congress are facing a last chance to keep the economic rout sparked by the resurgent coronavirus from deepening before the November election. Amid a steady stream of bad economic news, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other GOP leaders will begin on Monday hammering out the details of a roughly $1 trillion Republican plan for a new round of virus relief for individuals and businesses. That will be the their opening bid as they begin negotiations with Democrats, who’ve already put out an expansive, $3.5 trillion proposal. Beside the dollars involved, the sides remain far apart on many of the particulars, including McConnell’s determination to include liability limits for businesses, schools and other organizations. And there are more complications. The administration is already balking at $25 billion in new funding favored by Republican lawmakers in the bill to help states with testing and contact tracing, according a person familiar with the talks. Trump’s team also opposes a plan to allocate billions for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.”

Trump fumes over pandemic criticism - Fox News: “Trump, in a contentious sitdown that aired Sunday, told ‘Fox News Sunday’ host Chris Wallace that recent statistics regarding COVID-19 cases and deaths are misleading. Early in the discussion, the president disputed Wallace’s claim that the U.S. currently has the seventh-highest mortality rate in the world. ‘I think we have one of the lowest mortality rates in the world,’ Trump said, offering White House statistics that differed from the ones Wallace cited. … From there, Trump pushed back against statements from leading U.S. doctors, specifically CDC Director Robert Redfield and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.”

Top GOPers look for distance from Trump on corona - NYT: “President Trump’s failure to contain the coronavirus outbreak and his refusal to promote clear public-health guidelines have left many senior Republicans despairing that he will ever play a constructive role in addressing the crisis… In recent days, some of the most prominent figures in the G.O.P. outside the White House have broken with Mr. Trump over issues like the value of wearing a mask in public and heeding the advice of health experts like Dr. Anthony S. Fauci… They appear to be spurred by several overlapping forces, including deteriorating conditions in their own states, Mr. Trump’s seeming indifference to the problem and the approach of a presidential election in which Mr. Trump is badly lagging his Democratic challenger, Joseph R. Biden Jr., in the polls. Once-reticent Republican governors are now issuing orders on mask-wearing and business restrictions that run counter to Mr. Trump’s demands.”

Expectations high for Oxford vaccine - CNBC: “A potential coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University with pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca has produced a promising immune response in a large, early-stage human trial, according to newly released data published Monday in the medical journal The Lancet. The researchers are calling their experimental vaccine ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 (AZD1222). It combines genetic material from the coronavirus with a modified adenovirus that is known to cause infections in chimpanzees. The phase one trial had more than 1,000 participants in people ages 18 to 55. AstraZeneca’s shares were down 2.5% in midday trading. The researchers said the vaccine produced antibodies and killer T-cells to combat the infection that lasted at least two months.”

GOP DONORS TURN FOCUS TO HOLDING ON TO THE SENATE
NYT: “President Trump’s weak poll numbers and a surge of Democratic cash flooding key Senate races have jolted top Republicans and intensified talk among party donors and strategists about redirecting money to protect their narrow Senate Republican majority amid growing fear of complete Democratic control of Washington in 2021. … A total collapse at the top of the ticket, Republican strategists and donors agree, would only make holding the Senate harder. But maintaining the Senate is an urgent imperative for the G.O.P …Senate Republican incumbents and candidates are losing badly in the money chase not just in the top Senate battlegrounds — states like Maine, Arizona, Colorado and North Carolina — but also in deep red states, such as Montana… The private discussions about whether to shift resources toward imperiled Republican Senate candidates reflect a mix of factors: a lack of confidence that Mr. Trump will beat Joseph R. Biden Jr.; fear that the president is already a drag on down-ballot candidates; desire to maintain a G.O.P. ‘firewall’ on Capitol Hill if Mr. Biden prevails; and the belief that money is not among Mr. Trump’s myriad problems.”

PLAY-BY-PLAY
Missouri governor set to pardon couple that brandished weapons against marchers - NY Post

As question mount about federal police in Portland, Trump to send feds to Chicago - Chicago Tribune

Overwhelming support for monuments to Founding Fathers - Fox News

Rubio, Sullivan mix up John Lewis and Elijah Cummings in memorial messages - NYT

Pergram: Remembering John Lewis - Fox News

Warren’s alliance with Biden has kept eyes on her for veep - Boston Globe

AUDIBLE: PRODUCER-IN-CHIEF
“So I think we'll start that probably starting [Tuesday], I'll do it at 5:00 like we were doing. We had a good slot, and a lot of people were watching, and that's a good thing.” – President Trump telling reporters that he will resume his daily coronavirus announcements which he suspended in the wake of suggesting that disinfectant could be injected into the lungs of patients.

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THE MOST MINNESOTAN STORY EVER
WCCO: “Visitors at a Twin Cities beach learned police watch them in ways they didn’t expect. The Golden Valley Police Department used a drone to catch beachgoers breaking the law by going topless or nude at Twin Lake, just west of Theodore Wirth Park. … Golden Valley Police Det. Sgt. Randy Mahlen says something had to be done. ‘It had reached the point where it was time for people to be held accountable for their actions,’ Mahlen said. He said they have received more than a dozen complaints this spring and summer regarding people being nude, drinking alcohol or doing drugs at the beach. Over the past weeks, he said officers strictly educated beachgoers on the laws and gave warnings. But repeated complaints led to Friday’s enforcement. It included seven officers from GVPD and Minneapolis Parks Police.”

AND NOW, A WORD FROM CHARLES…
“In democracies, the pardon should be used as sparingly as possible. It is, after all, an admission of failure. It should be used not for dispensing clemency but for righting obvious miscarriages of justice that are otherwise unremediable...” – Charles Krauthammer (1950-2018) writing in the Washington Post on Jan. 8, 1987.

Chris Stirewalt is the politics editor for Fox News. Brianna McClelland contributed to this report. Want FOX News Halftime Report in your inbox every day? Sign up here.