Dear God the Dems are infuriating. Doug Jones wins in AL after calling for Franken to resign and now says we should move on from accusations against Trump. In VA Northam, who ran on Medicaid expansion, is now saying he won't pressure the GOP to expand Medicaid and will instead look to find bipartisan ways to control costs, in other words, limit access to healthcare.

I lean left and gotta agree with Jones on this one. As long as accusation remain accusations and not charges then there's not really much you can do. Trump won't be ran out of town like Franken was.

But you sure as hell don't say Kumbya and move on. How hard is it to say, The accusations are serious, should be investigated, he should be held to the same standard...

It isn't that hard to say the right thing, especially after so many women voted to give you your job.

And he said "We will see how things go." which is basically what you're wanting him to say.

For Jones part, I think that was done because over 600,000 Alabamans voted for Moore, and some (most?) did that because they voted for/supported Trump. Not coming out of the gates attacking Trump was probably a wise move on his part.

I see the frustration but he also just won a state where nearly half the state voted for a pedophile. I doubt they care about sexual assault of adults if they don't care about it with kids.

McCain going back to Arizona for cancer treatment, will miss tax vote

This isn't specific to McCain or a knock on him. But as a country, shouldn't we be voting in younger Senators? This seems like a tough enough job on it's own but asking someone in their mid-80's to do it seems tough. And the odds of missing important votes seems much higher.

Like this isn't McCain specific, just something I noticed. 8 of our 100 Senators are over the age of 80. Some in their mid-80's with terms that will push 90. I mean aren't they trying to talk Hatch into running for another term?

With respect, that's horseshit. :)

He doesn't have to attack Trump, but starting things by contradicting himself and his voters in a vain attempt to win over voters that hate him isn't good. It's the Democrat way of things to spend too much energy trying to win over the people least likely to ever vote for you.

It looks like this is how they got Corker to flip.

Donald Trump And GOP Leaders Could Be Enriched By Last Minute Tax Break Inserted Into Final Bill

with respect and no horse shit, I disagree :)

Corker is acting like he had no knowledge of how that tax break got included in the final report:

Corker asks how real-estate provision ended up in tax bill | TheHill

Thad Cochran has been missing votes as well for health issues.

yeah skin cancer I heard, but last reports I heard was he would be back for the tax vote

Could be an interesting Monday-UN Security Council to vote on a resolution that would nullify Trump's move to name Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. And apparently it cannot be vetoed by the US or any of the "big 5"

UN Security Council to vote on resolution voiding Trump's Jerusalem announcement: report | TheHill

I'm...not sure how that works.

US: "We recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel."
UN: "No you don't."

I mean, just because we recognize it doesn't mean it *is* the capital or that the UN has to recognize it. Yeah, they can call us on a stance they don't like but they're just going to rile up Trump and the anti-UN folks.

Other news sources are saying the US can veto it, so who knows.

So does that news source.

I just read it again. I think bad wording makes the paragraph ambiguous.

This post deserved more love :lol:

Well I guess we know the answer now:

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...ted/960247001/

I thought the "big 5" had a permanent veto but the article I posted about this said that the US did not have a veto here. Note all other countries voting on this voted against Trump.

I think you misread the article (as I did). It's actually saying that the motion could only pass if there was no veto. It is poorly worded.

Yep reading comprehension for the win :)

No, as NobodyHere said, the wording is confusing. They meant that for it to pass, the US cannot veto it.

I'm so old I remember when it would have been a big deal when a former DNI called the President a Kremlin asset.

Senate panel rejects Trump's nominee to lead Ex-Im Bank | TheHill

Not that big of news, but the nominee was a former Congressman...who you guessed it, tried to shut this bank down. Trump wanted him there pretty badly.

This is it right? I mean, all the stuff that has come down the line the last 12 months and our discussion is pretty much dead. The non-stop circus has won and we're numb and burned out from it.

I think this is just the calm before the real storm.

numb describes it pretty well I think. Nearly every day the Trump govt does/says something that annoys Dems/Liberals. We know the only way that is going to change is to concentrate on the mid-terms and next Presidential election. If we can get control of Senate or House, we can begin to fight back against Trump. Sadly he's got all the cards right now.

So let's see if I read this correctly. It's round two for the condemnation of Trump's move to declare Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. It is not binding on the US, but they would not be able to veto it:

UN to hold emergency meeting, new vote on Trump's Jerusalem decision: report | TheHill

As of this afternoon the last Virginia House race recount shows the Dem ahead by one vote.

wow

Senate Republicans unite around tax bill as Corker flips to 'yes'

Sen. Bob Corker Failed to Properly Disclose Millions of Dollars in Income

Yeah, no ethical wrongdoing whatsoever here. Move along.

I mentioned earlier that they likely know what's coming in 2018. A bunch of them are stepping down at the end of their terms. At this point it's just about enriching themselves.

When dems take congress and presidency it'll all unravel like obamacare now. We're staring at so much pass/undo gov't for the next 50 years it'll be a shit show.

Senator John Cornyn on Twitter: "Under #TaxCutsandJobsAct a married couple earning $100,000 per year ($60,000 from wages, $25,000 from their non-corporate business, and $15,… https://t.co/vThZOZYNYY"

Good to see they have their finger on the pulse to know who the common man is, those making $100k with $40k of it coming from business income from multiple entities.

Haven't seen something so absolutely in touch with the plight of the working man since the newspaper graphic showing how a tax bill would affect a single mother making over $250k a year.

Loved the comments on his tweet

I wonder if "non-corporate" business income includes things like LuLaRoe or Rodan + Fields.

Or Amway.

Maybe McDonalds can update their sample budget for employees to not need a 2nd job with all the tax savings coming their way.

Top Republicans are already talking about cutting Medicare and Social Security next - Vox

Fuck.Them.

I mean, I'm against capital punishment, but I wouldn't exactly shed a tear if every single one of these assholes disappeared and were never seen again.

Who knew?!?!

Will companies spend tax savings to create jobs? - Dec. 19, 2017


This one is my favorite...

While I certainly agree with this, Democratic messaging on this bill has been nothing short of awful. If I read another thing about how the tax bill will affect what I do in 2027 I'm gonna puke. No one cares about 2027.

A solid majority is opposed to the bill, so something is getting through.

The worst part is that about 14% of CEOs are likely lying.

I think that's the real problem right there.

Yup.

On that note, am I correct in assuming that some percentage of the country will see an increase in take-home pay at some point in 2018? Assuming also that Republicans have calibrated the bill to make that percentage to be high enough, wouldn't it then play a significant role in the midterms? ("My Party voted to give you that extra money in your paycheck every month; the other guy's Party voted to keep your money.") Isn't that all that really matters politically here? Yes, I get that long-term ramifications matter in many other ways, but to the average dolt voting...

It will be interesting to see what impact this will have on state budgets. It looks like it will increase the revenue in some states and decrease it in others. I'm definitely expecting furloughs to wipe out any tax benefits I get. And if that happens, state employees are generally instructed not to work a second more than required, which slows everything down and makes the government generally less responsive.

Depends if the tax cut in their withholdings is large enough for them to notice. If regular people don't get much of a cut it won't make a difference. I doubt corporations will give them wage bumps. Right now the bill is seen as a big giveaway to rich people and corporations. If they start talking about medicare/SS cuts it'll be more ammo for Democrats to use against this bill. Trump's approval rating is going to matter a lot more in the midterms.

I'm sure that's what the Republicans are aiming for. However, with the individual mandate being cut, many will see their med insurance rates rise with some having to drop their insurance. With further cuts to Social Security and Medicare, the Republicans will be going after programs that affect a lot of the likely voters come '18.