The Trump Presidency – 2016

[mckerney]

Ford to Build Electric Cars in Mexico, Boost Investment at Michigan Facility | WNEP.com

DETROIT — Ford will build its next generation all-electric car in Mexico, rather than at the plant in Michigan where it promised to build it.

The automaker announced in January that it would invest $700 million and create 700 jobs at a plant in Flat Rock, Michigan to build EV’s, and that it would scrap plans for a new small car plant in Mexico.

The news was celebrated by the incoming Trump administration, which claimed that it had convinced U.S. automakers to bring jobs home.

Mark Fields, Ford’s CEO at the time, referred to the plans for the Michigan plant as a “vote of confidence” in the Trump administration.

[BBT]

The Jobs Report Is Overhyped. Here’s Why That’s A Problem.

On Aug. 4, at 8:30 a.m. Eastern time, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released monthly hiring data for July. A pack of economists and journalists pounced, excited to spread the numbers across social media. Good news! The United States had added 209,000 jobs, an above-average result that exceeded the consensus prediction of Wall Street analysts.

“America’s economy has beaten expectations,” the Guardian reported. Stock markets jumped when trading opened an hour later; the Dow Jones industrial average climbed to a record high. President Trump was moved to open his Twitter account. “Excellent Jobs Numbers just released – and I have only just begun,” he said. “Many job stifling regulations continue to fall. Movement back to USA!”

Here’s the thing: The U.S. didn’t add 209,000 jobs in July. Not even close.

One month after the announcement, the BLS revised its original estimate. The new number: 189,000 — decent, but unimpressive. And then in October, the BLS revised the July figure a third and final time: 138,000 — mediocre at best.

Don’t be too hard on yourself if you were still under the impression that the U.S. economy had had a summer for the ages. The shift from “excellent” to so-so did not receive much attention from the media. The mainstream press went bananas over the BLS’s headline employment number, as it usually does when the first estimate of the data comes out, and then barely acknowledged the revisions, also standard practice. This flawed approach affects how people view the economy.

[Edward64]

CNN sloppy reporting isn't helping ...

CNN corrects story on email to Trumps about Wikileaks - Dec. 8, 2017

CNN on Friday afternoon corrected an exclusive report that said candidate Donald Trump and his son Donald Trump Jr. had received an email providing a web address and decryption key allowing them to access hacked documents from WikiLeaks before such documents were publicly available.

When first published Friday morning, the story, written by senior congressional correspondent Manu Raju and politics reporter Jeremy Herb, said the email was sent to the Trumps on September 4, 2016. It was corrected to say that the email was actually sent on September 14, one day after WikiLeaks made the documents public.

"CNN's initial reporting of the date on an email sent to members of the Trump campaign about Wikileaks documents, which was confirmed by two sources to CNN, was incorrect," CNN said in a statement. "We have updated our story to include the correct date, and present the proper context for the timing of email."

In its updated story, CNN acknowledged, "The new information indicates that the communication is less significant than CNN initially reported."

[JPhillips]

It sounds less like sloppy reporting and more like a coordinated set of lies fed to CNN. It sounds like they followed their guidelines.

[kingfc22]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

It sounds less like sloppy reporting and more like a coordinated set of lies fed to CNN. It sounds like they followed their guidelines.

Either way the "Fake News minus anything Trump lies about crowd" will just bang this drum over and over again.

Take a look at last night when Trump gushed about the "Blacks for Trump" in the crowd and how "Blacks" had higher home ownership now that he is President.

AP FACT CHECK: Trump off on black homeownership, trade - The Washington Post

TRUMP, surveying the crowd: “Look at these guys, ‘blacks for Trump.’ I love you. I love you. By the way, now that you bring it up, black homeownership just hit the highest level it has ever been in the history of our country. Congratulations.”
THE FACTS: Not true or even close.
The U.S. Census finds that the black homeownership rate peaked during 2004, when 49.7 percent of black households owned homes (the rate for all races that year reached 69.2 percent, also a modern record). The black homeownership rate stayed in similar territory until the recession, when it dropped to the mid-40s.
This year: 42.7 percent in the first quarter, 42.3 percent in the second and 42 percent in the third. That’s an uptick from last year but far from a record. Quarterly rates this year for the total U.S. population: 63.6 percent, 63.7 percent and 63.9 percent.

[PilotMan]

You know, we really shouldn't get all bent out of shape over people who choose to use 'alternative facts' in addressing anything about trump, since the man himself disregards the truth and has no problem using that to browbeat anyone else.

Or..

We really care about the truth and facts, and even if a Wapo writer has to step down, then in the name of standards the president should too. All things being equal, of course.

[BBT]

This part of the Pensacola speech didn’t get the attention it deserves: Trump again implies that US may not defend NATO allies because they don’t pay us enough for protection. Trump again criticizes Germany & Merkel while again failing to criticize Russia & Putin. pic.twitter.com/r8WEjFL9m3

— Max Boot (@MaxBoot) December 10, 2017

[JPhillips]

The Pentagon just announced that transgender people can enlist starting Jan. 1. That really needs some explanation. Did Trump change his mind or is the Pentagon ignoring him?

[Thomkal]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

The Pentagon just announced that transgender people can enlist starting Jan. 1. That really needs some explanation. Did Trump change his mind or is the Pentagon ignoring him?

More like the courts are saying its not legal:

Transgender People Can Enlist in Military Jan. 1, Pentagon Says - Bloomberg

[BBT]

The Trump-Russia Probe Is About to Get Uglier

And that's keeping in mind an important reminder from Bill Ruckelshaus, a former acting FBI director who was a hero of Watergate when he quit Nixon's Justice Department in 1973 rather than following an order to impede the investigation of that landmark case. What's publicly known about inquiries like this one, he told me in June, is just a little of what's actually happening.

There is, for example, evidence that Mueller has expanded his investigation to look at financial deals involving Trump family interests.

Robert Anderson, a top counterintelligence and cybersecurity aide to Mueller when the latter was FBI director from 2001 to 2013, wrote in Time last month that Mueller "appears to have uncovered details of a far-reaching Russian political-influence campaign." Anderson predicted that the conspiracy would prove to involve wire fraud, mail fraud and moving money around illicitly between countries. He said more informants are likely to emerge, and declared, "When the people who may be cooperating with the investigation start consensually recording conversations, it's all over."

The issue of whether a sitting president can be indicted is unsettled. Those who know Mueller believe that he's less likely to pursue a prosecution than to send Trump's case to Congress to consider impeachment.


Trump loyalists have already started fighting that battle, with bitter preemptive counterattacks issuing from top congressional Republicans like House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes, Oversight Committee Chairman Trey Gowdy and even Senate Judiciary Committee chairman Charles Grassley. They've made it clear that they're more interested in discrediting Mueller than in learning about what happened between the Trump camp and Russia.

Trump, if caged, will lash out furiously. Maybe he'd try to fire Mueller and issue pardons for his family and friends. He'd rally his hardcore supporters, urging them to protest against the threat to him. Thus it's impossible to envision a peaceful resolution like the one that occurred in 1974, when Nixon was forced out to avoid impeachment.

"At the end of the day, Richard Nixon was found to have a sense of shame," notes Watergate prosecutor Richard Ben-Veniste. "It remains to be seen whether anything can shame Donald Trump."

[BBT]

DOLA:

Fascinating, yet terrifying look into our current president

Inside Trump's Hour-by-Hour Battle for Self-Preservation

The ammunition for his Twitter war is television. No one touches the remote control except Mr. Trump and the technical support staff — at least that’s the rule. During meetings, the 60-inch screen mounted in the dining room may be muted, but Mr. Trump keeps an eye on scrolling headlines. What he misses he checks out later on what he calls his “Super TiVo,” a state-of-the-art system that records cable news.

Watching cable, he shares thoughts with anyone in the room, even the household staff he summons via a button for lunch or for one of the dozen Diet Cokes he consumes each day.

But he is leery of being seen as tube-glued — a perception that reinforces the criticism that he is not taking the job seriously. On his recent trip to Asia, the president was told of a list of 51 fact-checking questions for this article, including one about his prodigious television watching habits. Instead of responding through an aide, he delivered a broadside on his viewing habits to befuddled reporters from other outlets on Air Force One heading to Vietnam.

“I do not watch much television,” he insisted. “I know they like to say — people that don’t know me — they like to say I watch television. People with fake sources — you know, fake reporters, fake sources. But I don’t get to watch much television, primarily because of documents. I’m reading documents a lot.”

Later, he groused about being forced to watch CNN in the Philippines because nothing else was available.

[cuervo72]

THE BEST DOCUMENTS.

[Jas_lov]

The tweet about Kirsten Gillibrand today is disgusting. Do his supporters actually like these tweets?

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

The tweet about Kirsten Gillibrand today is disgusting. Do his supporters actually like these tweets?

There's unquestionably a segment of his supporters that likes him *because* he does stuff like that, not in spite of it.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

The tweet about Kirsten Gillibrand today is disgusting. Do his supporters actually like these tweets?

let's go down the imagination path again and think about Obama saying this. Or let's imagine if a CEO of a major corporation said this in an interview. I mean, wow. The people who continue to simply pass this off as tolerable because he is "taking back America" have lost all my respect.

[digamma]

Well, just my opinion, but I don't think America is great (or being made great) when we insinuate women are sluts and campaign for people like Roy Moore.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Jas_lov

The tweet about Kirsten Gillibrand today is disgusting. Do his supporters actually like these tweets?

Was the tweet wrong?

"Someone once said that politics is the second-oldest profession. I'm beginning to think it bears resemblance to the first."

[BBT]

Well, that would require evidence, which wasn't provided and probably won't be.

Unlike the evidence mounting that Trump and his colleagues/family whored themselves, and the country, out to Putin/Russia.

[JPhillips]

Ed Gillespie sums up the problem the GOP has had for years. I'm not personally racist, but the only way to win is to motivate racists to go out and vote.

CONTROVERSIAL CAMPAIGN ADS

Gillespie faced a firestorm of criticism during the campaign for ads that critics called racially incendiary and misleading.

Several sought to link MS-13 gang violence to Northam’s vote against a ban on sanctuary cities, even though Virginia doesn’t have sanctuary cities that choose not to cooperate with federal immigration authorities. And a final ad push highlighted the case of a sex offender whose his rights were temporarily restored under a sweeping voter rights restoration order that Northam supports. Northam, a pediatrician, responded with an ad that said Gillespie’s suggestion that he would tolerate anyone hurting a child “despicable.”

Gillespie told Axelrod he ran those ads because message testing suggested it would help him win. But he said they were not the issues he wanted to focus on.

“Are those the issues I would have chosen to run on as opposed to the tax cuts and frankly even the criminal justice reform innovative proposals I put forward?” said Gillespie. “That’s where I rather the race have been about, but those weren’t what was indicating was going to move numbers and help me win.”

Gillespie said his campaign message about Virginia’s economy lagging didn’t resonate as well in the prosperous D.C. suburbs — which is why he had to focus on public safety to sway votes.

“The issue that looked like it was going to move voters in the suburbs of Northern Virginia was public safety,” he said. “Clearly, (the MS-13 ads) didn’t work. Did it create a backlash? I don’t think so. But I don’t know.”

[JPhillips]

dola

Rand Paul is full of shit.

I cannot in good conscience vote to add more to the already massive $20 trillion debt. I promised Kentucky to vote against reckless, deficit spending and I will do just that.

But he'll vote for the tax cut package without hesitation.

[RainMaker]

Originally Posted by BBT

DOLA:

Fascinating, yet terrifying look into our current president

Inside Trump's Hour-by-Hour Battle for Self-Preservation

It's weird because as President you have access to so much cool information and you spend 8 hours a day watching what they put on in hospital waiting rooms.

[Ben E Lou]

Originally Posted by RainMaker

It's weird because as President you have access to so much cool information and you spend 8 hours a day watching what they put on in hospital waiting rooms.

I don't think it's that weird. A person who has narcissistic tendencies and seems to lack basic intellectual curiosity about the world is going to be much more interested in "what are they saying about me" than in cool information.

[JPhillips]

And all of those briefings require reading.

[cuervo72]

Well he's the healthiest president ever, so he's never IN hospital waiting rooms.

[Kodos]

Originally Posted by cuervo72

Well he's the healthiest president ever, so he's never IN hospital waiting rooms.

That's what drinking 12 diet cokes a day will do for you: Absolute health.

[CrimsonFox]

Meanwhile...

http://www.cnn.com/2017/12/12/politi...sis/index.html

[BBT]

With Moore's loss tonight in Alabama, the Repubs in the Senate have to be looking hard at impeaching Trump prior to next year's mid-terms, right?

Exit-polling showed Trump with a less than 50% popularity...in Alabama. This has continued a trend of Trump-backed candidates performing poorly since last year's election. What will it be in Nevada or Arizona...or even Tennessee or Texas next year? Are they really willing to go into the election cycle with that albatross hanging around their necks?

And Pence is sitting right there to enact everything they want and do it in some kind of presidential manner. Sure, there will be some blowback for impeaching Trump, and he'll probably try to burn everything to the ground on the way out, but, once it blows over, their base will probably still be there just in time to possibly salvage the Senate (fully expect the House to flip next year).

Seems like the sooner it's done, the better; otherwise, they face the possibility of a Dem-controlled Senate and House with a president that just wants "wins" and doesn't care which side of the aisle they come from.

[JPhillips]

Omarosa is getting fired.

[Thomkal]

USA Today sinking to Donald's level:

USA Today Calls Trump Unfit To Clean Obama's Toilets In Scathing Editorial

[bhlloy]

Originally Posted by BBT

With Moore's loss tonight in Alabama, the Repubs in the Senate have to be looking hard at impeaching Trump prior to next year's mid-terms, right?

Exit-polling showed Trump with a less than 50% popularity...in Alabama. This has continued a trend of Trump-backed candidates performing poorly since last year's election. What will it be in Nevada or Arizona...or even Tennessee or Texas next year? Are they really willing to go into the election cycle with that albatross hanging around their necks?

And Pence is sitting right there to enact everything they want and do it in some kind of presidential manner. Sure, there will be some blowback for impeaching Trump, and he'll probably try to burn everything to the ground on the way out, but, once it blows over, their base will probably still be there just in time to possibly salvage the Senate (fully expect the House to flip next year).

Seems like the sooner it's done, the better; otherwise, they face the possibility of a Dem-controlled Senate and House with a president that just wants "wins" and doesn't care which side of the aisle they come from.

I think impeachment is still a pipe dream, but you are going to see anyone who could possibly be within 10 points of a Democrat next year doing anything they possibly can to distance themselves at this point.

The other interesting thing is what it means for close votes from now until then. This will surely embolden anyone who was thinking that voting with Trump on controversial high profile matters right now just might not be worth it for their long term career.

Probably shouldn’t get too giddy about this, as ultimately there were mitigating factors other than trump in the Alabama race the kind we will probably never see again. But I think the Dems can be very encouraged with the minority turnout and the underlying approval numbers for Trump are definitely going to start to give R’s a lot of sleepless nights.

[SackAttack]

Originally Posted by BBT

With Moore's loss tonight in Alabama, the Repubs in the Senate have to be looking hard at impeaching Trump prior to next year's mid-terms, right?

Exit-polling showed Trump with a less than 50% popularity...in Alabama. This has continued a trend of Trump-backed candidates performing poorly since last year's election. What will it be in Nevada or Arizona...or even Tennessee or Texas next year? Are they really willing to go into the election cycle with that albatross hanging around their necks?

And Pence is sitting right there to enact everything they want and do it in some kind of presidential manner. Sure, there will be some blowback for impeaching Trump, and he'll probably try to burn everything to the ground on the way out, but, once it blows over, their base will probably still be there just in time to possibly salvage the Senate (fully expect the House to flip next year).

Seems like the sooner it's done, the better; otherwise, they face the possibility of a Dem-controlled Senate and House with a president that just wants "wins" and doesn't care which side of the aisle they come from.

Look at this real hard.

Montana and North Dakota are not what you'd call "Democratic-friendly" states in election years, and 2018 is going to be a midterm where Democrats are playing defense. Indiana has a Democratic Senator, but Donnelly scraped 50.04% of the popular vote in a Presidential election year. What's he going to do in an off year? West Virginia's got a Democratic senator in Manchin, but even as a conservative Democrat he's still going to be at risk of his constituents saying "why should we vote for a lookalike Democrat when we can have an actual Republican?"

Wisconsin and Michigan are historically Democratic territory, but they went for Trump and Wisconsin has been trending redder in the last ten years, so, again - ain't saying the Democrats can't hang onto those seats, but even with Trump's unpopularity, there are still headwinds. Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio are flip opportunities also.

Looking at the other direction: Arizona? Eehh. Maybe. The American Southwest keeps getting talked about in "demographics are destiny" terms, and New Mexico seems to have settled in as a blue state. Sinema might be able to win against an unknown challenger. Not sure she'd beat Flake if he weren't retiring.

Wyoming, Utah, Mississippi, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas? lolno.

Nevada's got possibilities.

So, I mean, last night was monumental, but two takeaways:

1) the math is still very much against the Senate flipping unless the scandal to end all scandals embroils the Republican Party and irrevocably taints the brand. Sexual harassment ain't gonna cut it. Too many Republican voters are willing to dismiss women as opportunistic liars who are only in it for the fame, talk show circuit, and to destroy powerful men with lies and why didn't they speak up 40 years ago when they were teenagers hmm.

You're not even going to be able to hang Moore around the necks of the party at large after Alabama elected Jones.

To take the Senate, Democrats need to run the table on defense, including holding onto seats in four overtly hostile states and in three or four purplish states in a midterm, when Democratic turnout is unpredictable.

THEN they need to win two seats from the 8 currently-Republican seats as well. One ain't going to cut it, because Pence still breaks ties. Their opportunities are pretty much Arizona and Nevada on that front (again, barring a massive scandal with a clear smoking gun).

I'm just not seeing a realistic path to those last couple seats. Granted, I didn't expect Jones to beat Moore, either, but that's not exactly a replicable set of circumstances, either.

The Jones win is a massive result for Democrats, but I think it's super temporary. In two years, Alabama going to nominate a Republican who isn't the dumpster fire Roy Moore is, and that seat will once again be a Republican seat. And it's not the sort of win they can leverage into greater gains unless it fires up the turnout machine.

2020 might be a more realistic goal for flipping the Senate; aside from the aforementioned Alabama, most of the (remarkably few) seats Democrats have to defend are in historically 'safe' territory. There aren't any obvious flip targets for the Republican seats, but there are some possibilities; Maine, Iowa and North Carolina are all winnable if Democrats drive their base to the polls to vote against Trump; Georgia keeps getting talked about in the same "demographics are destiny" breathless whispers that have followed Arizona and Texas around, but I don't think it's ready yet; and Kentucky could be in play if Bannon somehow engineers a primary coup against McConnell.

I mean, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there's a much bigger wave coming in 2018 than I think there is. I'm even skeptical that the House is going to flip, considering that Democrats stayed home in a census year, allowing Republicans to capture state legislatures just as it was time to redraw the boundaries.

I wouldn't complain if Republicans lost control of either chamber, but I do think expectations should be tempered even after last night's result.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Omarosa is getting fired.

Gotta be a Kelly move. How long until Trump is done with him? She wasn't just fired, she was allegedly physically removed.

[CrimsonFox]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Gotta be a Kelly move. How long until Trump is done with him? She wasn't just fired, she was allegedly physically removed.

I see the words "tantrum" and "Kicking and screaming" show up in articles. I wonder if there is video.

[JPhillips]

Supposedly she tried to get to Trump in the residence and had to be physically restrained by the Secret Service.

[Edward64]

Assuming these are questions a Fed judge is supposed to know, I would withdraw my nomination after being humiliated like this.

Trump Judicial Nominee Can't Answer Basic Questions About The Law In Disastrous Hearing | HuffPost

Petersen, who is currently the chairman of the U.S. Federal Election Commission, struggled to answer more questions as it became clear he did not have the experience typically expected of a federal judge.

KENNEDY: As a trial judge, you’re obviously going to have witnesses. Can you tell me what the Daubert standard is?

PETERSEN: Sen. Kennedy, I don’t have that readily at my disposal but I would be happy to take a closer look at that. That is not something I’ve had to contend with.

KENNEDY: Do you know what a motion in limine is?

PETERSEN: Yes.. I haven’t, I’m, again, my background is not in litigation as when I was replying to Chairman (Chuck) Grassley (R-Iowa), I haven’t had to um, again, do a deep dive.

Petersen then began ticking off his experience “in a decision-making role” at the FEC. Kennedy interrupted him:

KENNEDY: Yes, I’ve read your resume. Just for the record, do you know what a motion in limine is?

PETERSEN: I would probably not be able to give you a good definition right here at the table.

KENNEDY: Do you know what the Younger abstention doctrine is?

PETERSEN: Um, I’ve heard of it... but I, again.

KENNEDY: How about the Pullman abstention doctrine?

PETERSEN: I... I heard...

KENNEDY: Y’all see that a lot in federal court.

A number of Trump’s judicial nominees have come under fire for not being fit to serve on the federal bench. Four of his court picks have been rated “not qualified” by the American Bar Association ― an embarrassingly high number to receive the abysmal rating in a president’s first year. One of them, district court court nominee Brett Talley, withdrew his nomination this week.

[JPhillips]

And this guy was rated qualified by the ABA.

[JPhillips]

Dear Lord, the tax bill is 1000 pages!

I'm sure the GOP will vote against such a long and complicated bill.

GOP process arguments are never sincere.

[corbes]

Daubert and a motion in limine are things any courtroom lawyer ought to know unreservedly. It'd be the equivalent of asking a candidate for football GM to explain the offsides rule and what a salary cap is.

Abstention is more arcane, but a federal judge candidate ought to be at least conversant.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by SackAttack

Look at this real hard.

Montana and North Dakota are not what you'd call "Democratic-friendly" states in election years, and 2018 is going to be a midterm where Democrats are playing defense. Indiana has a Democratic Senator, but Donnelly scraped 50.04% of the popular vote in a Presidential election year. What's he going to do in an off year? West Virginia's got a Democratic senator in Manchin, but even as a conservative Democrat he's still going to be at risk of his constituents saying "why should we vote for a lookalike Democrat when we can have an actual Republican?"

Wisconsin and Michigan are historically Democratic territory, but they went for Trump and Wisconsin has been trending redder in the last ten years, so, again - ain't saying the Democrats can't hang onto those seats, but even with Trump's unpopularity, there are still headwinds. Florida, Pennsylvania and Ohio are flip opportunities also.

Looking at the other direction: Arizona? Eehh. Maybe. The American Southwest keeps getting talked about in "demographics are destiny" terms, and New Mexico seems to have settled in as a blue state. Sinema might be able to win against an unknown challenger. Not sure she'd beat Flake if he weren't retiring.

Wyoming, Utah, Mississippi, Nebraska, Tennessee, Texas? lolno.

Nevada's got possibilities.

So, I mean, last night was monumental, but two takeaways:

1) the math is still very much against the Senate flipping unless the scandal to end all scandals embroils the Republican Party and irrevocably taints the brand. Sexual harassment ain't gonna cut it. Too many Republican voters are willing to dismiss women as opportunistic liars who are only in it for the fame, talk show circuit, and to destroy powerful men with lies and why didn't they speak up 40 years ago when they were teenagers hmm.

You're not even going to be able to hang Moore around the necks of the party at large after Alabama elected Jones.

To take the Senate, Democrats need to run the table on defense, including holding onto seats in four overtly hostile states and in three or four purplish states in a midterm, when Democratic turnout is unpredictable.

THEN they need to win two seats from the 8 currently-Republican seats as well. One ain't going to cut it, because Pence still breaks ties. Their opportunities are pretty much Arizona and Nevada on that front (again, barring a massive scandal with a clear smoking gun).

I'm just not seeing a realistic path to those last couple seats. Granted, I didn't expect Jones to beat Moore, either, but that's not exactly a replicable set of circumstances, either.

The Jones win is a massive result for Democrats, but I think it's super temporary. In two years, Alabama going to nominate a Republican who isn't the dumpster fire Roy Moore is, and that seat will once again be a Republican seat. And it's not the sort of win they can leverage into greater gains unless it fires up the turnout machine.

2020 might be a more realistic goal for flipping the Senate; aside from the aforementioned Alabama, most of the (remarkably few) seats Democrats have to defend are in historically 'safe' territory. There aren't any obvious flip targets for the Republican seats, but there are some possibilities; Maine, Iowa and North Carolina are all winnable if Democrats drive their base to the polls to vote against Trump; Georgia keeps getting talked about in the same "demographics are destiny" breathless whispers that have followed Arizona and Texas around, but I don't think it's ready yet; and Kentucky could be in play if Bannon somehow engineers a primary coup against McConnell.

I mean, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe there's a much bigger wave coming in 2018 than I think there is. I'm even skeptical that the House is going to flip, considering that Democrats stayed home in a census year, allowing Republicans to capture state legislatures just as it was time to redraw the boundaries.

I wouldn't complain if Republicans lost control of either chamber, but I do think expectations should be tempered even after last night's result.

The Senate is a pipe dream. If the 48-37 generic ballot (per 538) holds in November, they'll take the House despite the gerrymandering

[JPhillips]

Trump admin gives CDC, the nation's top public health agency, a list of words/phrases it is prohibited from using. Words/phrases are: “vulnerable,” “entitlement,” “diversity,” “transgender,” “fetus,” “evidence-based" & “science-based”

Wouldn't want those scientists talking about evidence.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

Wouldn't want those scientists talking about evidence.

Wonder who made the list, given that Trump can't even spell those words

[Scoobz0202]

If you were a betting man/woman, what are the odds that Trump and Co. fire Mueller over the holidays.

Edit: I ask because I read this earlier:

I’m increasingly worried Republicans will shut down the House Intelligence Committee investigation at the end of the month.

Here’s why:

— Adam Schiff (@RepAdamSchiff) December 15, 2017

Since March, our investigation has made important progress. We’ve interviewed numerous key witnesses behind closed doors, held public hearings, reviewed thousands of documents, identified new leads — all to understand and expose Russia's meddling and protect our democracy. Yet, Republicans have scheduled no witnesses after next Friday and none in 2017. We have dozens of outstanding witnesses on key aspects of our investigation that they refuse to contact and many document requests they continue to sit on.It appears Republicans want to conduct just enough interviews to give the impression of a serious investigation.Next week, they scheduled critical witness interviews out of state, when we are voting on the tax bill and vital government funding bills and no Members will be able to ask questions, in an effort to squeeze them in before end of year. These witnesses are willing to come to DC.
Despite our repeated urging, Majority has declined to issue subpoenas in numerous avenues of the investigation, where there's simply no other way to get the information. Some refusals we’ve made public, like witnesses hiding behind nonexistent privileges, many others we haven’t.




The responsibility to conduct a thorough investigation, or to prevent one, ultimately falls on @SpeakerRyan. I’m concerned he's heeding the calls of Bannon and @POTUS to “DO SOMETHING” by closing down the Russia investigation & opening up another investigation of Hilary Clinton Beyond our investigation, here’s what has me really concerned: The attacks on Mueller, DOJ and FBI this week make it clear they plan to go after Mueller’s investigation. Aggressively and soon.By shutting down the congressional investigations when they continue to discover new and important evidence, the White House can exert tremendous pressure to end or curtail Mueller’s investigation or cast doubt on it. We cannot let that happen.

[Izulde]

Nevada hinges entirely on who the Republican nominee is. Heller committed political suicide by voting for Obamacare repeal, so he's vulnerable to Tarkanian. If he somehow fends Tarkanian off, and is the Republican nominee, Democrats pick up the seat. If he gets primaried by Tarkanian, like I think he will be, the seat stays comfortably Republican.

[JPhillips]

Reid can do some amazing work in NV and his machine is still active.

[stevew]

Is there a website called whatcrazyshittrumpdidtoday dot com? Cause if not that needs to happen.

[Groundhog]

Originally Posted by stevew

Is there a website called whatcrazyshittrumpdidtoday dot com? Cause if not that needs to happen.

Not the same domain name, but this is what you're looking for: Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) | Twitter

[Edward64]

Looks likely that Trump will get a major win with the Tax bill (and history books). The extra bonus is the gutting of individual mandate (and, I assume, the ultimate collapse of Obamacare in its current state).

GOP tax plan: Key details of the final bill, explained - Dec. 15, 2017

Just six weeks after lawmakers and the public got their first glimpse of the first draft of a tax overhaul bill, Republicans on Friday released their final version. They aim to pass it next week and send it to President Trump for his signature.

The final bill still leans heavily toward tax cuts for corporations and business owners. But it also expands or restores some tax benefits for individuals relative to the earlier bills passed by the House and Senate.

The individual provisions would expire by the end of 2025, but most of the corporate provisions would be permanent.

All told, the final bill includes trillions in tax cuts, most of which but not all are offset by revenue-raising measures. The bill on net would increase deficits by an estimated $1.46 trillion over a decade, according to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. That number would be much higher if, as Republicans assume, a future Congress does not allow the individual tax cuts to expire after 2025.

[JPhillips]

It's funny how passing anything has now become a win. This bill is opposed by almost 60% of the public.

[bronconick]

Originally Posted by JPhillips

It's funny how passing anything has now become a win. This bill is opposed by almost 60% of the public.

It's a Pyrrhic win.

[miked]

I hear if we give businesses more money, they raise wages and pass it down to the workers and NOT the shareholders. The only thing standing in the way of businesses investing in their own operations is that pesky tax rate!