Mark Sumner is a journalist and writer for Daily Kos, a progressive news and opinion website. With a focus on national issues in the United States, Mark's articles cover a range of topics including politics, social justice, and current events. His work has also been featured in publications such as AlterNet, CROOKS, DOUG B, and IEEE.
Preston is the artificial intelligence that powers the Intelligent Relations PR platform. Meet Preston
United States (National)
Not enough data
Not enough data
Mark Sumner's articles cover a wide range of topics, including government and politics with a focus on legal policy regulation, evolving stories, and government announcements. His coverage spans various subjects such as climate change, COVID-19, Republican primaries, Trump-related news, and international affairs.
To effectively reach out to Mark Sumner for potential contributions or insights related to his areas of coverage, consider offering well-researched perspectives or expert commentary on ongoing political events in the United States. Given his extensive reporting on legal policy regulation and evolving stories within the US political landscape, pitches centered around these themes are likely to resonate strongly with him.
This information evolves through artificial intelligence and human feedback. Improve this profile .
By: Mark Sumner
On Wednesday, the Secret Service announced its intention to beef up security around the Capitol on January 6, 2025. As The Washington Post reports, that day has been designated as “a National Special Security Event” by the Department of Homeland Security and the Secret Service will coordinate with other agencies to provide security for the day.
Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance admitted on Sunday to creating the racist lie about immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, eating pets.
![GOP senator launches racist attack on witness at hate crimes hearing by Mark Sumner for Daily Kos Daily Kos Staff Wednesday, Sep. 18, 2024 Wednesday, Sep. 18, 2024 at 9:30:10am PDT Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana attacked a witness at a hearing on hate crimes using a line of racist questioning so vile that it could serve as a handbook for why hate crime legislation is necessary. In a string of sneering statements, Kennedy accused Maya Berry—the executive director of the Arab American Institute—of supporting terrorists, then refused to allow her to respond, then ignored what she said as he continued the attack. The hearing was meant to look at the rise in hate speech and reported hate crimes across the nation, including those directed at both Jewish and Muslim communities amid the latest war between Israel and Hamas. And Kennedy turned it into a live demonstration of how to increase the hate. In a series of questions, the senator asked Berry if she supported Hamas. When she said she did not support Hamas and made it clear the question was offensive, Kennedy talked over her and went on as if she hadn't provided a response. He then repeated this act with the militant group Hezbollah. And then Iran. Then with a United Nations program that Kennedy unfairly painted as supporting terrorists. x x YouTube Video Kennedy began his time pointing out that Berry was a long-time Democratic Party activist and a member of the Democratic National Committee in 2016, which he seemed to think was a crime all on its own. Then he moved directly into the attack in a way that clearly shocked Berry. Kennedy: You support Hamas, do you not? Berry: I— Senator, oddly enough I'm going to say thank you for that question because it demonstrates the purpose for our hearing today. It— Kennedy: Let's start first with a yes or no. Berry: Hamas is a foreign terrorist organization that I do not support. But you asking the executive director of the Arab American Institute that question very much puts the focus on the issue of hate in our country. Kennedy: I got your answer, and I appreciate it. What is the, uh— You support Hezbollah too, don't you? While Berry responded to Kennedy's disgusting remarks with the kind of steely grace that so many civil rights leaders have been forced to display over the decades, her treatment in the Senate chamber was shocking. That was especially true in Kennedy's final moments. Kennedy: Let me ask you one more time. You support Hamas, don't you? You support UNRWA and Hamas, don't you? Berry: Sir, I think it's exceptionally disappointing that you're looking at an Arab American witness before you and saying, “You support Hamas.” Kennedy: You know what's disappointing to me— Berry: I do not support Hamas. I do not support Hamas or any— Kennedy: You can't bring yourself to say you don't support UNRWA, you don't support support Hamas, you don't support Hezbollah— Berry: I was very clear in my support for UNRWA. I— Kennedy: —and you don't support Iran. You should hide your head in a bag. UNRWA is the United Nations' relief agency for Palestinian refugees. It's in the middle of a vaccine drive after polio has made a reappearance among displaced Palestinians, and it has the primary responsibility for health care and food distribution in refugee camps. Berry has made clear she supports the efforts of UNRWA. Kennedy targeted the organization because Israel's U.N. ambassador has claimed that UNRWA has ties to Hamas, which is widely disputed . The full hearing can be found here . Even though the purpose of the hearing, which Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Dick Durbin opened by giving examples of how hate crimes of all kinds were on the rise, several Republicans showed disdain for the hearing —and specifically for the idea that it should include concerns over hate speech against Arab Americans or Muslims. That included Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina complaining that the hearing should be about only antisemitism and not “ lumping ” that problem in with any other. But while others demonstrated the flippancy and contempt Republicans have repeatedly shown when discussing hate crimes, Kennedy's performance went above and beyond in its shocking treatment of a witness and its reinforcement of exactly why hate is on the rise. Despite appearances, Kennedy is not an idiot. His accent is heavily exaggerated . His cornpone manner is an act. His whole dumber-than-a-box-of-rocks schtick is the creation of an Oxford-educated multimillionaire who reinvented himself as an aw-shucks man of the people. He acts this way not because he's a fool but because that's what he thinks of his constituents. Kennedy knew exactly what he was doing in that hearing. Which makes it infinitely worse. Kennedy's statement that Berry should “hide [her] head in a bag” came the same week that the Taliban began enforcing new draconian laws in Afghanistan requiring women to cover their faces in public. It sounds as if Kennedy would fit in much better there than in the United States Senate. Correction: A previous version of this story misspelled Sen. Lindsey Graham's first name. Campaign Action](https://cdn.prod.dailykos.com/images/1346756/story_image/GettyImages-2155445504.jpg?1726672738)
By: Mark Sumner
Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana attacked a witness at a hearing on hate crimes using a line of racist questioning so vile that it could
On Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell warned that it would be “politically beyond stupid” for Republicans in the House to send the
In Nebraska on Tuesday, two dozen state senators met with Gov. Jim Pillen as part of what may be the cycle’s most unlikely scheme to save Donald Trump. The plot drew in Trump’s most sycophantic ...
The conflict that began with Vladimir Putin's illegal and unprovoked invasion of Ukraine has always been a war that was bound to define the future
A 100' geyser is erupting in Texas . The cause isn't some deeply buried supervolcano. It doesn't signal some arcane geologic process.
The next few weeks will bring a series of events whose effect will linger not just over the next four years, but over decades—even centuries.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has a simple explanation for why North Korea is providing troops to assist in Vladimir Putin's illegal invasion of Ukraine. "I think it's because of the money," said Zelenskyy. "I think North Korea is very poor,...
In the last week, Russian forces moved around the town of Selydove, south of the strategically important city of Povrosk.
(833) 317-6278 
