Daily Archives

November 10, 2017

23 posts · Friday

Moore Denies Sexual Misconduct Allegations

November 10, 2017 at 4:47 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore told Sean Hannity that a story about alleged sexual misconduct was “completely manufactured.”

Moore also claimed that his campaign has evidence of “collusion” related to the allegations, but isn’t ready to release details to the public. He suggested that, “I’m sure in the next four weeks they’re gonna come out with another article.”

Moore further explained that he “dated a lot of young ladies” but he doesn’t “remember dating any girl without the permission of her mother.”

Roy Moore Response Shows GOP Deserves to Die

November 10, 2017 at 4:17 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Max Boot: “This episode is the sorry culmination of two trends that have disfigured the conservative movement beyond all recognition: contempt for the facts and desire to win at all costs. Republicans are increasingly reliant on ‘alternative facts’ manufactured by the likes of Fox News and Breitbart, which claim that global warming isn’t real and neither is the Russian hack of the Democratic National Committee. The real scandal, they tell us, is the Steele dossier paid for by the Democrats in an attempt to uncover Trump’s Russian connections. Or is it the evidence-free claim that Obama supposedly wiretapped Trump?”

“In the final analysis, no indictment of their candidate will convince the faithful. As Trump once said, ‘I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters’ Or, more to the point, Roy Moore could molest a 14-year-old girl and not lose votes. Because for Republican partisans, their opponents are ‘the forces of evil,’ and anything is preferable to that. Even Donald Trump. Even Roy Moore. So in ostensibly fighting evil, Republicans have become complicit in it.”

“This is a party that does not deserve to survive.”

Not Much of a Tax Cut for Ordinary Americans

November 10, 2017 at 4:12 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

John Cassidy: “The business tax cuts and A.M.T. abolition don’t leave any room for ordinary American households to receive substantial tax cuts. Both Republican bills do expand family tax credits and reduce the marginal tax rates that most households would face; but they also claw back a lot of revenue in other ways, some of which are targeted at families.”

“The upshot of all this is that the Republican tax proposals, which Trump has promoted by promising the biggest tax cuts in history, isn’t much of a tax cut at all in the sense that most Americans understand the term. It’s really designed to reduce the tax burden on businesses and wealthy individuals, and it could only be justified if, defying history, it delivered the economy-wide upsurge in G.D.P. growth, capital investment, and wages that the White House has promised, and which Cohn talked about in his interview. The supposed middle-class tax cuts are a fig leaf.”

Young Voters Propelled Northam to Victory

November 10, 2017 at 3:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Andrew Sullivan: “The under-30s turnout in the Virginia governor’s race in 2009 was 17 percent; in 2013, it was 24 percent; this week it was 34 percent. And as young turnout surged, it became progressively more Democratic. In 2013, the under-30s split 45–40 percent for the Democrats; in 2016, in the presidential race, it was 54–36; last week it was 69–30. The third-party vote among the young also collapsed: from 15 percent in 2013 to one percent last Tuesday.”

“I draw a couple of inferences from this: Trump’s extraordinary success among older voters in 2016 has produced a backlash among younger voters in 2017, who are far less complacent than they were last year and ever-more repulsed by Trump’s racist reactionism. And the younger generation has learned one thing from 2016: Voting for your ideal candidate is less important than voting for the candidate that can effectively halt the advance of the far right. Better late than never, I suppose — and Charlottesville may have helped concentrate their minds.”

For members: Young Voters Will Decide the Future for Democrats

Deadlocked In Alabama

November 10, 2017 at 2:33 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

A new Opinion-Savvy/DDHQ poll in Alabama finds Roy Moore (R) and Doug Jones (D) in a dead heat for U.S. Senate, 46% to 46%.

“Beyond the horse race between the two declared candidates, voters were also asked about the allegations that broke in the Washington Post yesterday, and if Moore should withdraw from the race over them. An overwhelming share of those surveyed- 82.2%- were aware of the allegations. A majority of voters — 54% — do not think Moore should withdraw at this time. Among Republicans, that percentage soars to 72.9%.”

Senate Republicans Sever Fundraising Ties to Moore

November 10, 2017 at 1:29 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“A day after explosive allegations of sexual assault surfaced against Alabama senate candidate Roy Moore, the Republican Party’s senate campaign arm has severed financial ties with the embattled former state supreme court justice,” the Daily Beast reports.

“The NRSC’s removal from the account is the most concrete step taken to date to create distance between the national Republican Party and the Moore campaign. Other lawmakers have called on Moore to leave the race. But most have said he should do so only if the accusations are proven true.”

Mueller Probes Flynn Meeting with Rohrabacher

November 10, 2017 at 1:27 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Investigators for Special Counsel Robert Mueller are questioning witnesses about an alleged September 2016 meeting between Mike Flynn, who later briefly served as President Trump’s national security adviser, and Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, a staunch advocate of policies that would help Russia,” NBC News reports.

“The meeting allegedly took place in Washington the evening of Sept. 20, while Flynn was working as an adviser to Trump’s presidential campaign. It was arranged by his lobbying firm, the Flynn Intel Group. Also in attendance were Flynn’s business partners, Bijan Kian and Brian McCauley, and Flynn’s son, Michael G. Flynn.”

Senate Panel Approves ‘Not Qualified” Nominee

November 10, 2017 at 12:50 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Brett Talley, President Trump’s nominee to be a federal judge in Alabama, has never tried a case, was unanimously rated ‘not qualified’ by the American Bar Association’s judicial rating committee, has practiced law for only three years and, as a blogger last year, displayed a degree of partisanship unusual for a judicial nominee, denouncing ‘Hillary Rotten Clinton’ and pledging support for the National Rifle Association,” the Los Angeles Times reports.

“On Thursday, the Senate Judiciary Committee, on a party-line vote, approved him for a lifetime appointment to the federal bench.”

White House Braces for Another Staff Shakeup

November 10, 2017 at 10:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The White House is bracing for another staff shakeup upon President Trump’s return from Asia, with senior-level staff moves that could further consolidate chief of staff John Kelly’s power in the West Wing,” Politico reports.

“Deputy chief of staff Rick Dearborn — a former top Jeff Sessions Senate aide who played a central role during the presidential transition — is expected to be reassigned to the Commerce Department or another federal agency… Kelly is also preparing to replace his deputy Kirstjen Nielsen, who is awaiting confirmation to fill Kelly’s old job as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security.”

Extra Bonus Quote of the Day

November 10, 2017 at 10:06 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Come on, Republicans. Is this who we are? This cannot be who we are.”

— Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), on Twitter, reacting to Alabama Republicans coming to the defense of Roy Moore (R).

‘You Can’t Be a Victim 40 Years Later’

November 10, 2017 at 10:00 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Alabama state Rep. Ed Henry (R) lashed out at Roy Moore’s accusers and Republicans who said the U.S. Senate candidate should back out of the special election in an interview with the Cullman Times.

He said he believes “legal action should be considered against Moore’s accusers, finding their story unbelievable.”

Said Henry: “If they believe this man is predatory, they are guilty of allowing him to exist for 40 years. I think someone should prosecute and go after them. You can’t be a victim 40 years later, in my opinion.”

Bannon Has Urged Cuban to Run for President

November 10, 2017 at 9:22 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Mark Cuban has discussed the possibility of running for president in 2020 with Steve Bannon over the past few months, the Daily Beast reports.

Axios: “Bannon wants to break down the entrenched political system, so he might view Cuban — with his mix of social liberalism and Ayn Rand devotion — as someone he could work with on the left. And while it might seem odd that Bannon would seemingly work against Trump, don’t forget that he told Vanity Fair last month that he only gives his boss a 30% chance of lasting a full term.”

GOP Panic Boosts Tax Cut Plan Chances

November 10, 2017 at 8:34 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jonathan Swan: “With the release of the Senate’s plan yesterday, tax cuts are off to a stronger start than health reform’s fraught debut earlier this year. You’ve got high top rates on wealthy people, a concession to the left — yet tons of loopholes and crony tax breaks. Even Republicans who have been skeptical all year about tax reform’s prospects say they see glints of momentum.”

One reason: “Sheer political panic: This may be Republicans’ only chance to hold onto the House. GOP leaders, especially Speaker Ryan, are under no illusions — particularly not after the results in Virginia.”

Another: “Donor pressure: As members and senators have admitted out loud, donors won’t be returning phone calls if united GOP government can’t deliver tax reform.”

Bonus Quote of the Day

November 10, 2017 at 8:02 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“This is what happens when you let reckless, incompetent idiots like Steve Bannon go out and recruit candidates who have absolutely no business running for the U.S. Senate.”

— Former Mitch McConnell chief of staff Josh Holmes, quoted by the New York Times, on the allegations that Roy Moore initiated sexual relations with teenagers.

Papadopoulos Lied to Protect Trump

November 10, 2017 at 7:59 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“George Papadopoulos, the Trump foreign policy aide who pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI, initially misled agents out of what he claimed was loyalty to President Trump,” ABC News reports.

“Trump had publicly denied that there had been any contact between his campaign and Russian officials, and Papadopoulos did not want to contradict the official line, the source said.”

Quote of the Day

November 10, 2017 at 7:24 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The Bezos-Amazon-Washington Post that dropped that dime on Donald Trump, is the same Bezos-Amazon-Washington Post that dropped the dime this afternoon on Judge Roy Moore. Now is that a coincidence?”

— Stephen Bannon, quoted by CBS News, comparing the Access Hollywood tape disclosure to a report that Moore initiated sexual relations with teenagers.

Dismissed Menendez Juror Suggests Hung Jury

November 10, 2017 at 7:20 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“The juror dismissed from Sen. Robert Menendez’s bribery case said they began deliberations on Monday with nine of them — including herself — prepared to find him not guilty of the most serious charges. By Thursday, they were still deadlocked,” the Newark Star Ledger reports.

The juror “described a tense, sometimes combative, atmosphere in the jury room. The disorganized deliberations at moments broke down, with jurors speaking over each other, and at least once using foul language.”

Mueller Probes Flynn’s Role in Plan to Deliver Cleric

November 10, 2017 at 7:17 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Special Counsel Robert Mueller is investigating an alleged plan involving former White House National Security Adviser Mike Flynn to forcibly remove a Muslim cleric living in the U.S. and deliver him to Turkey in return for millions of dollars,” the Wall Street Journal reports.

“Under the alleged proposal, Mr. Flynn and his son, Michael Flynn Jr., were to be paid as much as $15 million for delivering Fethullah Gulen to the Turkish government.”