“A federal grand jury has indicted the chairman of the North Carolina Republican Party and a major Republican campaign donor on conspiracy and bribery charges,” The Charlotte Observer reports.
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Idaho Republican: “If President Obama had done the national emergency, Republicans would have gone crazy”
Mike Simpson, a long-serving member of the United States House of Representative, has publicly acknowledged the party’s “IOKIYAR” double standard.
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Trump blows off ceremonial presidential duties so he can sulk in the White House
Trump may project confidence through social media or when he appears in public, but it’s apparent that behind the scenes, he’s not feeling confident at all.
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Trial balloon or imminent news? Trump is preparing to remove Kirstjen Nielsen as Homeland Security secretary, aides say
The Washington Post reports that Trump may want yet another member of his Cabinet to pack their bags and get lost.
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Paul Volcker, at ninety-one, sees ‘a hell of a mess in every direction’
“The central issue is we’re developing into a plutocracy… We’ve got an enormous number of enormously rich people that have convinced themselves that they’re rich because they’re smart and constructive. And they don’t like government, and they don’t like to pay taxes.”
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After publicly cursing out her son, Pam Roach blames Democratic activists for her behavior
The Pam Roach Show is back, starring the incredibly obnoxious Pam Roach, who nicely epitomizes the Washington State Republican Party.
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Donald Trump defrauded the public by helping his parents dodge their tax obligations, New York Times investigation finds
Reporters David Barstow, Susanne Craig, and Russ Buettner explain how Trump used a multitude of tax dodges to inherit money from his parents and project the illusion that he is a wealthy, successful businessman. The truth, of course, is much different: Trump is a liar, a cheat, and a con man.
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Trump’s chief of staff reportedly told White House colleagues: “I don’t even know why any of us are here… This is the worst job I’ve ever had.”
Trump’s chief of staff reportedly told White House colleagues: “I don’t even know why any of us are here… This is the worst job I’ve ever had.”
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American democracy is on a knife’s edge
“A year ago it seemed possible that there might be limits to the party’s complicity, that there would come a point where at least a few representatives or senators would say, no more. Now it’s clear that there are no limits: They’ll do whatever it takes to defend Trump and consolidate power.”
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Leaked audio from Cathy McMorris Rodgers fundraiser catches Devin Nunes saying Rosenstein impeachment would delay Supreme Court pick
Find out what Devin Nunes and Cathy McMorris Rodgers had to say behind closed doors last week about impeaching Rod Rosenstein.
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Trump threatens another federal government shutdown if he doesn’t get his stupid wall, rattling Republicans
“We’re going to have a challenging midterm anyway, and I don’t see how putting the attention on shutting down the government when you control the government is going to help you.”
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Dana Milbank: Paul Ryan has been living in a cave
Trump congratulating Russian President Vladimir Putin on his “election”? PAUL RYAN: “I don’t know the content of that conversation.” Trump’s claim that President Barack Obama
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Democrats watch the Trump Show from the bleachers
Trump has overwhelmed the news industry, exhausting capacity and journalists alike. Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has been the subject of more legitimate corruption
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‘Pure madness’: Dark days inside the White House as Trump shocks and rages
“This portrait of Trump at a moment of crisis just over a year after taking office is based on interviews with twenty-two White House officials, friends and advisers to the president and other administration allies, most of whom spoke on the condition of anonymity to candidly discuss Trump’s state of mind,” The Washington Post says.
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After much debate, Idaho lawmakers reject call to amend U.S. Constitution
“Idaho lawmakers have rejected a call to convene a convention of states amend the U.S. Constitution, with the aim of passing a balanced budget amendment and otherwise restricting federal power,” the Spokesman-Review reports.
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The United States of America is decadent and depraved
“We cannot blame everything on Donald Trump, much though we might want to,” writes James Traub. “In the decadent stage of the Roman Empire, or of Louis XVI’s France, or the dying days of the Habsburg Empire so brilliantly captured in Robert Musil’s The Man Without Qualities, decadence seeped downward from the rulers to the ruled. But in a democracy, the process operates reciprocally. A decadent elite licenses degraded behavior, and a debased public chooses its worst leaders. Then our Nero panders to our worst attributes — and we reward him for doing so.”
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“Trump, Trump, Trump!” How 45’s name became a racial jeer
The New York Times examines “a phenomenon distinct from the routine racism so familiar in this country: the provocative use of Trump, after the man whose comments about Mexicans, Muslims and undocumented immigrants — coupled with his muted responses to white nationalist activity — have proved so inflammatory.”
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“Not fit to clean toilets”: USA Today excoriates Donald Trump in breathtakingly scathing editorial
“Not fit to clean toilets”: USA Today excoriates Donald Trump in breathtakingly scathing editorial
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Upstairs at home, with the TV on, Trump fumes over Russia indictments
The walls are closing in… Everyone is freaking out. — A senior Republican in close contact with top Trump staffers who spoke to the Washington
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Republican lawmakers’ troubles deepen as Koch donors and Bannon take aim
We could face a bloodbath. I think that we have a potential of seeing a Watergate-level blowout. — Ted Cruz, telling donors at the Koch-aligned
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The Republican’s guide to presidential etiquette
A must-read from The New York Times: “In 2017, there’s a whole new bar for tolerable conduct by the commander in chief. Our original guide cataloged several dozen examples. Almost five months later, it’s clear that an update is necessary. This expanded list is meant to ensure that Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and other congressional Republicans never forget what they now condone in a president.”
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