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November 18, 2017

17 posts · Saturday

← November 17, 2017November 19, 2017 →

The Shocking Math of the GOP Tax Plan

November 18, 2017 at 4:01 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Adam Davidson: “If it gives us nothing else positive, the Republican tax plan—and, in its Senate form, the health-care repeal—at least provides clarity. There is no debate. The middle class will, in the long run, pay more in taxes than under current law, and the rich will pay less.”

“Just ask the very people who wrote it. The U.S. Congress Joint Committee on Taxation is run by the chairs of the House Ways and Means Committee and the Senate Finance Committee—Representative Kevin Brady and Senator Orrin Hatch, respectively. The Joint Committee’s reports of this week make startling reading, or as startling as a series of spreadsheets of tax revenue data can be. The report shows that this bill is much like a teaser rate on a new credit card: there are some goodies in the first couple of years, but those disappear fairly quickly, at least for those below the median income.”

“The report shows that the rich benefit and the poor are hurt in every way that it measures.”

Filed Under: Budget & Taxes

Top General Says He Would Resist ‘Illegal’ Nuclear Order

November 18, 2017 at 2:58 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of the U.S. Strategic Command (STRATCOM), told an audience that he has given a lot of thought to what he would say if President Trump ordered a strike he considered unlawful, CBS News reports.

Said Hyten: “I think some people think we’re stupid. We’re not stupid people. We think about these things a lot. When you have this responsibility, how do you not think about it?”

“As head of STRATCOM, Hyten is responsible for overseeing the U.S. nuclear arsenal. Hyten said he has been trained every year for decades in the law of armed conflict, which takes into account specific factors to determine legality — necessity, distinction, proportionality, unnecessary suffering and more. Running through scenarios of how to react in the event of an illegal order is standard practice, he said.”

Filed Under: National Security Tagged With: John Hyten

Bonus Quote of the Day

November 18, 2017 at 2:55 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“If we become the party of Roy Moore and Donald Trump, we are toast.”

— Sen. Jeff Flake (R-AZ), caught on a live microphone by KNXV-TV.

Filed Under: Republicans Tagged With: Jeff Flake

Why Al Franken Probably Survives

November 18, 2017 at 2:39 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

This piece is only available to Political Wire members.

In the hours after Sen. Al Franken (D-MN) was accused of sexual misconduct by radio news anchor Leeann Tweeden, calls for his resignation came furiously from both Democrats and Republicans.

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Filed Under: Ethics, Members, Senate Tagged With: Al Franken, MN-Sen

Gene Simmons on Power

November 18, 2017 at 2:32 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Out this week: On Power: My Journey Through the Corridors of Power and How You Can Get More Power by Gene Simmons.

New Yorker: “Simmons’s thesis, if that’s not too decorous a word, is that power is an amoral tool, no matter how much of it you have. It’s the wrong argument for any moment, but it’s especially perverse in this one, when so many powerful men, including Simmons, have been revealed as venal megalomaniacs. He promises a Machiavellian treatise ‘on the dynamics of power in every realm of life,’ but he ignores any evidence of said power’s corruptibility. Instead, he tells us, like a hard-nosed vice-principal, to work endlessly, to crush the lazy, and to celebrate our lust for cold, hard cash.”

Filed Under: Political Books

Why Jake Tapper Is Angry

November 18, 2017 at 12:44 pm EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jake Tapper explains why he’s often so agitated on his CNN show:

“I recognize that it’s probably a pain in the ass for a lot of people now,” he told The Atlantic. “But it is just who I am.”

“I’m just like, I don’t want any of this to be happening,” he added. “There are so many lies and so much indecency, and I’m not only talking about President Trump. There is just a world of it exploding—and we are, I fear, as a nation, becoming conditioned and accepting of it. And it’s horrific.”

Filed Under: Media Buzz

Spicer’s Post-White House Career Fizzles

November 18, 2017 at 11:22 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“At first, Sean Spicer’s exit from the White House followed the blueprint for famous administration officials,” BuzzFeed News reports.

“Step one: Hire mega lawyer/agent Bob Barnett, who has represented presidents and their operatives in lucrative deals, from Barack Obama and David Axelrod to George W. Bush and Karl Rove. Step two: Make the rounds at various TV networks, where a contributor job can yield reliable, high-profile income.”

“But step three — landing the plush TV deal — never happened.”

“Now Spicer and Barnett, who seeks to uphold a reputation as the preeminent talent broker in Washington, are both distancing themselves from one another, according to sources familiar with the matter.”

Filed Under: Media Buzz Tagged With: Sean Spicer

Trump’s Hillary Clinton Obsession

November 18, 2017 at 11:04 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“President Trump just can’t quit Hillary Clinton. Rarely a few days pass without the president tweeting about the woman he beat,” Axios reports.

“Trump has tweeted or retweeted a message about Clinton approximately 837 times since 2012, and 56 times since the election.”

His tweet this morning: “Crooked Hillary Clinton is the worst (and biggest) loser of all time. She just can’t stop, which is so good for the Republican Party. Hillary, get on with your life and give it another try in three years!”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign

Gianforte’s Apology Contradicts What He Told Police

November 18, 2017 at 10:51 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Documents released by law enforcement officials in Montana show that Greg Gianforte, then the Republican candidate in the state’s special congressional election, told police in May that a reporter from the Guardian had grabbed his wrist during a physical altercation at his campaign headquarters, blaming the ‘liberal media’ for ‘trying to make a story,'” the Washington Post reports.

“His statement appears to contradict the apology he later issued to Ben Jacobs, saying the reporter ‘did not initiate any physical contact with me,’ raising questions about whether the congressman was truthful with authorities.”

Filed Under: House of Representatives Tagged With: Greg Gianforte

Quote of the Day

November 18, 2017 at 10:43 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“I didn’t think he’d be as bad as he turned out to be.”

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by Politico, on Donald Trump’s presidency. When asked if there was anything about him she admired, she said: “No. The answer is absolutely no.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Hillary Clinton

Trump Adds 5 to List of Possible Supreme Court Justices

November 18, 2017 at 10:42 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“In a move certain to please conservatives, President Trump added five names to his list of candidates for a prospective U.S. Supreme Court vacancy as he presses ahead with a campaign to move the federal judiciary to the right,” Reuters reports.

“Two of them are appellate judges who were nominated by Trump earlier this year and confirmed by the Senate: Amy Coney Barrett and Kevin Newsom. Another, Brett Kavanaugh, sits on the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, long viewed as a stepping-stone to the high court. The others were Britt Grant, a Georgia Supreme Court justice, and Patrick Wyrick, a Oklahoma Supreme Court justice.”

Filed Under: Judiciary

Trump Still Loves Polls

November 18, 2017 at 10:42 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Aides in the White House often show Trump polls designed to make him feel good, according to aides and advisers. Usually they’re the ones that focus just on voters who cast ballots for him in 2016 or are potential Trump supporters —Trump’s base—but occasionally include public polls like Rasmussen, depending on what the numbers say.”

Said Gov. Chris Christie (R): “You know, I thought that he’d be a little less in campaign mode than he’s been. I think he’s never really kind of gotten out of campaign mode and I thought he might. I guess it’s his judgment that that’s what he has to do but that’s surprised me a little bit.”

Filed Under: White House

Clinton Says the Difference Is In the Apology

November 18, 2017 at 10:41 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“Hillary Clinton slammed President Trump and Alabama Senate candidate Roy Moore over their alleged sexual misconduct, criticizing them for not ‘accepting responsibility’ and ‘apologizing’ for their reported transgressions as Sen. Al Franken did,” Politico reports.

“Clinton said that Franken, who was accused this week of groping a female broadcaster in 2006, acted responsibly by owning up to his actions and publicly apologizing for them — a far cry from the response given by Trump and Moore.”

Filed Under: Senate, White House Tagged With: Al Franken, Roy Moore

Donald Jr. and Wikileaks Talk Dirty

November 18, 2017 at 9:47 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Jack Shafer: “If we’ve learned anything from months of scandal reporting, the Russians set their sights on two types of people wandering the halls of Trump Tower. There were the self-promoters like Michael Flynn and Paul Manafort who they knew would cooperate based on direct or potential payouts. But the Russians also shopped a second group of Tower denizens, the over-their-heads strivers often compared to the hapless Fredo Corleone. These Fredos—George Papadopoulos and Carter Page—attracted Russian agents like magnets, and were easily manipulated by direct appeals to their stooped egos.”

“But of all the Fredos occupying Trump world, perhaps Donald Trump Jr. proved to be the easiest mark for the Russians.”

Filed Under: 2016 Campaign

White House Defends Trump’s Attack on Franken

November 18, 2017 at 9:38 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

The White House defended President Trump’s attack on Sen. Al Franken’s sexual misconduct by saying the allegations against Franken were very different from accusations against Trump, USA Today reports.

Said White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders: “Specifically, Sen. Franken has admitted wrongdoing and the president hasn’t. That’s a very clear distinction.”

Filed Under: White House Tagged With: Al Franken

Aides Give Up Trying to Control Trump’s Tweets

November 18, 2017 at 9:36 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

Politico: “Controlling potentially damaging tweets was a job left mostly to the legal team in the early days of the administration. Marc Kasowitz, a former Trump attorney, and Jay Sekulow, a current member of the president’s legal team, gave Trump one simple rule to guide his tweeting habit: Don’t comment online about the Russia investigation.”

Said one former aide: “The message was, tweet about policy, tweet about politics, but don’t attack the special counsel.”

“None of the advice seemed to have any lasting effect on a president who views acting on his own impulses as a virtue. And these days, the staff has basically stopped trying: There is no character inhabiting the West Wing who is dispatched to counsel the president when he aims the powerful weapon of his Twitter feed at himself.”

Filed Under: White House

Roadblocks Emerge in Senate for Tax Bill

November 18, 2017 at 9:09 am EST By Taegan Goddard Leave a Comment

“GOP leadership is confronting mushrooming demands from individual senators with much more power to bollix up the tax plans, thanks to the party’s super-thin majority,” Politico reports.

“Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) has already said he won’t vote for his colleagues’ proposal because of how it treats small businesses… Deficit hawks like Sens. Bob Corker (R-TN) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) are worried the plan will cost far more than advertised thanks to its liberal use of “temporary” tax provisions that will likely be eventually extended.”

“Moderate Susan Collins (R-ME) has her own concerns, including with plans to repeal the Affordable Care Act’s individual mandate to have health insurance as part of tax reform. Others like Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) have been wildcards, avoiding taking a public position on the proposal.”

Filed Under: Budget & Taxes

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About Political Wire

Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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