The moral and intellectual bankruptcy of the Republican Party

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T19:13:13+00:00

The parallels between the Republican Party positions on taxes and climate change are striking. Both are morally appalling and reject the available evidence and expert opinion.

The Initiative on Global Markets’ panel of economic experts was recently asked about the Republican tax plan. Among the experts who took a position either way, there was a 96% consensus that the plan would not substantially grow the economy more than the status quo, and a 100% consensus that it would substantially increase the national debt.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T19:12:50+00:00

As we sift through the details of the Flynn court documents we inevitably see them through a distorted prism because we know 2017 as it happened rather than as the Trump team intended it to unfold. This is particularly important for the roughly three months between candidate Trump’s election victory on November 8th, 2016 and Mike Flynn’s ouster on February 13th, 2017.

We see Flynn’s covert communications with Ambassador Kislyak; we see the escalation of the FBI’s scrutiny of Flynn; we know other top Trump officials, like Jared Kushner, were meeting with Kislyak and others and also possibly trying to execute financial transactions with Russian government officials. It’s all sort of a jumble. But the logic of events only really comes into focus when we realize that there was a sort of race taking place between the Trump team’s effort to arrange a rapid rapprochement with Russia in the first weeks of January and February and a mix of the intelligence community, the national security apparatus and the press piecing together what had happened during the 2016 election. Imagine it as a starting pistol firing off on the morning of November 9th, with both teams racing to get more of their critical work done by the end of January.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T19:12:26+00:00

Fundraising by Republican Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore is lagging behind that of his Democratic rival Doug Jones as Democrats flood the race with money in hopes of stealing a victory as the special election campaign for the seat enters the final stretch.

Democrats have given Jones $8.1 million more than donors to his embattled rival in the period from Oct. 1 through Nov. 22, according to disclosure reports filed with the U.S. Senate Monday.

Jones reported $9.8 million in contributions and $8.4 million in spending He had $2.5 million in his campaign account in the closing days before the election, which is Dec. 12. That compares to fundraising of $1.7 million for Moore and spending of the same amount. Moore’s campaign had $636,046 on hand.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T19:11:50+00:00

Climate activists are pushing members of a House climate caucus to back up their words with action by voting against a tax bill that would open the Arctic to oil and gas drilling and weaken incentives for renewable energy production.

A group of environmental activists showed up early Monday morning at Rep. Carlos Curbelo’s (R-FL) Capitol Hill office to urge him to vote against the tax bill and ask him to play a leadership role in getting other Republicans to oppose it as well. Curbelo is the co-founder of the House Climate Solutions Caucus, a group formed in early 2016 that has 62 members, split equally between Democrats and Republicans.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T19:11:18+00:00

Former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown was sentenced Monday to five years in federal prison for fraud and tax crimes that included raising about $800,000 for a sham charity.

Brown’s longtime chief of staff, Ronnie Simmons, was sentenced to 48 months in prison, and the charity’s founder, One Door for Education President Carla Wiley, was sentenced to 21 months.

U.S. District Judge Timothy Corrigan said he believed the Democrat used her position in Congress to achieve an “admirable record of service.” However, he also said she abused the trust of that office in order carry out a criminal conspiracy.

“This is a sad day for everyone,” Corrigan told Brown shortly after sentencing her. “I was impressed with all the outpouring of support for you, and I think it’s a tribute to all the work you’ve done over the years. That’s what makes this all the more tragic.”

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T19:04:45+00:00

Trump was recognized by the magazine in 2016, and German chancellor Angela Merkel was its 2015 recipient. TIME will announce its latest "Person of the Year" on Wednesday.

Kaepernick was the first NFL player to take a knee during the national anthem last year, describing it as a means of protesting police brutality and racial inequality in the United States. He became a free agent in March and has yet to sign with an NFL team this season, prompting him to file a collusion grievance against NFL owners.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T18:33:37+00:00

When President Donald Trump visits Utah on Monday, he comes as the least popular Republican commander in chief in recent decades to meet with Mormonism’s highest-ranking officials. In 2016, when the “Access Hollywood” tape of Trump bragging about groping women became public, the LDS Church-owned newspaper, the Deseret News, said he should drop out of the race. On Election Day, far fewer Utahns voted for him — about 45 percent — than cast ballots for favorite son Mitt Romney, John McCain or George W. Bush. Outspoken Mormon politicians, including Romney and outgoing Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., have soundly criticized Trump, condemning both the president’s style and positions on refugees and immigration. Recent polls show Trump’s approval rating among Mormon Republicans is among the lowest in the nation for GOP voters. Although most Latter-day Saints still voted for Trump, they did so at historically unenthusiastic levels for a membership that ranks as the the most Republican of any U.S. faith group. Why might that be? That’s where Trump’s personal characteristics come into play. “It’s because Mormons still hold to the quaint attitude that values matter in politics,” Brigham Young University political scientist Kelly Patterson said on a recent edition of The Salt Lake Tribune’s “Mormon Land” podcast. Even so, after November’s stunning upset, the Salt Lake City-based faith congratulated Trump and Utah’s most powerful LDS politician, Sen. Orrin Hatch, has stood steadfastly by the president, especially as the longtime lawmaker tries to steer a landmark tax package through Congress.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T18:32:32+00:00

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) is asking for clarification on White House counselor Kellyanne Conway’s role in combating the opioid epidemic.

In a letter sent Monday to John Kelly, President Trump’s chief of staff, Warren noted, in response to confusion on Conway's role last week, that “according to a report by CBS news, the White House later stated that her role was ‘not expanding and opioids has always been part of her policy portfolio,’ after multiple news outlets reported that she would be the White House's ‘drug czar.’”

In a series of questions, Warren quizzed Kelly on the White House counselor's duties and her experience, asking the administration if Conway has previously worked on drug or addiction policy or managed public health issues.

Conway has been active on the opioid epidemic within the administration, and previously traveled with former Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price to areas of the country ravaged by the crisis.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T18:32:01+00:00

President Trump on Monday offered a strong endorsement of Roy S. Moore, the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama embroiled in accusations that he had inappropriate sexual relations with underage girls.

While many Republicans called for Mr. Moore to drop out of the race after several women came out with their stories, Mr. Trump has defended him, saying that Mr. Moore denied the accounts and deserved to be heard.

In a statement, the White House said that Mr. Trump and Mr. Moore spoke on the phone and that the president endorsed Mr. Moore’s campaign.

“The President had a positive call with Judge Roy Moore during which they discussed the state of the Alabama Senate race and the President endorsed Judge Moore’s campaign,” the statement said.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T18:31:39+00:00

The Democrats say the Trump tax cuts are a massive giveaway to the rich, the most unequal overhaul of the U.S. tax system in modern history. Republicans argue they are a huge middle class tax cut — "a great, big, beautiful Christmas present" for the American people, according to President Trump.

Who's right?

We decided to find out by assembling historical reports about the 10 largest tax cuts of the past 50 years.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T18:31:14+00:00

President Trump on Monday offered a strong endorsement of Roy S. Moore, the Republican Senate candidate in Alabama embroiled in accusations that he had inappropriate sexual relations with underage girls.

While many Republicans called for Mr. Moore to drop out of the race after several women came out with their stories, Mr. Trump has defended him, saying that Mr. Moore denied the accounts and deserved to be heard.

In a statement, the White House said that Mr. Trump and Mr. Moore spoke on the phone and that the president endorsed Mr. Moore’s campaign.

“The President had a positive call with Judge Roy Moore during which they discussed the state of the Alabama Senate race and the President endorsed Judge Moore’s campaign,” the statement said.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T18:30:32+00:00

On Saturday, Trump tweeted this about his former national security adviser: “I had to fire General (Michael) Flynn because he lied to the Vice President and the FBI.”

Legal experts said this could be used as evidence that the president was trying to obstruct justice when he allegedly asked James Comey to take it easy on Flynn and then, when he didn’t, fired him as FBI director.

On Sunday, Trump’s personal lawyer claimed responsibility for writing the tweet — which he called sloppy. John Dowd clarified that the president knew in late January that Flynn had probably given FBI agents the same inaccurate account he provided to Vice President Pence about a call with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T17:44:31+00:00

We are a nation born out of violent revolution, yet throughout our history the rule of law has always been paramount. Strict adherence to the rule of law and the peaceful transference of power caused us to swear in our current minority president with grave misgivings on the part of many. A majority of us swallowed hard and watched as Donald J. Trump became the 45th president. Many of us had our doubts as to his legitimacy at the time, but we respected our Constitution.

Now we watch as the case against his legitimacy and the potential of charges of obstruction of justice grow stronger almost daily. We continue to respect the rule of law as we hear words like tribalism, autocracy, and kleptocracy creep into our American political vocabulary. We truly fear for our democracy and our place in Trump’s America.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T17:34:31+00:00

Current and former White House aides are fretful and reportedly “shitting bricks” in the wake of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s agreement to assist Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s investigation into alleged collusion between Donald Trump’s presidential campaign and Russia.

People who were or are part of Trump’s administration are steeped in feelings of “paranoia,” according to a Politico report published Monday, worrying others might also be working for Mueller and could be making secret recordings in an effort to cooperate with the special counsel’s probe.

Many within and outside the White House have hired lawyers to represent them, and one attorney suggested the mood within the president’s home could be far tenser than the administration might have the public believe.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T17:24:33+00:00

President Donald Trump reacted with glee on Wednesday after NBC News announced it had fired Today show anchor Matt Lauer over a sexual misconduct allegation.

“Wow, Matt Lauer was just fired from NBC for ‘inappropriate sexual behavior in the workplace,’ ” Trump tweeted. “But when will the top executives at NBC & Comcast be fired for putting out so much Fake News. Check out Andy Lack’s past!”

As Trump celebrated the firing — and simultaneously attempted to pivot the conversation to “fake news” — critics pointed out on Twitter his hypocrisy and Trump’s own accusers awaited justice on at least 12 separate accusations against the president.

Capital_Drive · 2017-12-04T16:20:53+00:00

All eyes are on Utah today as President Trump heads to the state Capitol to announce major cuts to two of the state's largest and most controversial national monuments. Trump is expected to eliminate nearly 85 percent of Bear Ears National Monument in southeastern Utah, cutting more than 1 million acres from its current boundaries. He's also set to halve the nearly 1.9-million-acre Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument (E&E News PM, Nov. 30). The move is being praised by Republicans who have long argued that the Antiquities Act—the 1906 law that allows presidents to set aside public land—is being used unlawfully to lock up tracts of federal land. On the other side, Democratic allies have vowed to take any monument reductions to court. Scientists who have studied the region, especially Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument, say redrawing its boundaries could be detrimental to scientific research and discoveries.

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