First Read: “If Roy Moore is victorious tonight – and if he wins the general in December – that will only strengthen the Steve Bannon/Breitbart/Nigel Farage forces in future GOP primaries. Think Arizona (where Sen. Jeff Flake is incredibly vulnerable), Nevada (ditto Sen. Dean Heller) and even Colorado (where Rep. Mike Coffman has dared Tom Tancredo to primary him).”
McCain Says His Cancer Prognosis Is ‘Very Poor’
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says doctors have given him a “very, very serious prognosis” as he battles brain cancer, CNBC reports.
Of his chances for survival, McCain says: “Some say 3 percent, some say 14 percent.”
“McCain underwent surgery in July for a brain tumor that was later found to be a form of glioblastoma, the same type of cancer that took the life of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy in 2009. McCain said that he thinks about Kennedy a lot. He says Kennedy continued to work despite the diagnosis and ‘never gave up because he loved the engagement.'”
Quote of the Day
“Everybody knows that’s going to fail.”
— Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT), quoted by the Washington Post, on a planned vote on the GOP’s latest health care plan.
Most Think Corporations Aren’t Taxed Enough
A new ABC News/Washington Post poll shows that 65% of Americans feel large corporations pay too little in taxes.
“Given what the public knows about it, they opposes Trump’s tax plan by 44% to 28%, with a substantial 28% undecided. Half of those polled expect the administration’s plan to reduce taxes on the wealthy, while just 10% think it’ll reduce taxes on the middle class. A quarter expect equal treatment.”
Team Trump Prepares the Shiv for Mitch McConnell
“The Trump White House is gearing up to lay blame for a series of likely failures this week squarely at the feet of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY),” the Daily Beast reports.
“On Tuesday, Republican primary voters in Alabama are poised to reject Trump and McConnell’s preferred pick for the seat, Sen. Luther Strange (R-AL). The next day, a Republican-authored last-ditch attempt to repeal and replace Obamacare is almost certain to go down to defeat after , if it comes to a vote at all.”
“The dual setbacks could have profound ramifications throughout the party, forcing it to reckon with a Republican electorate deeply upset with its inability to move an agenda and its own inability to get that agenda moved. The rush to assign responsibility for that failure is taking place before it even occurs.”
Use of Personal Devices Widespread In White House
Politico: “Frustrated with West Wing aides’ rampant use of personal communications devices for official business, former chief of staff Reince Priebus tried over the summer to stop – or at least limit – the practice. During a July senior staff meeting, Priebus asked aides to store their personal phones in secure lockers in the White House or either leave them at home during the workday, according to people who attended. The administration subsequently installed additional lockers, typically only found outside secure rooms, in the West Wing, as part of an effort to force aides to use their White House accounts for communications.”
“But the request was largely ignored, according to six current and former administration officials, advisers and others who correspond with White House. Aides laughed about Priebus’ request, and senior officials — including Priebus — continued to use their personal phones for phone calls, text messages and emails for White House matters.”
Tax Plan Gives GOP Limited Room to Maneuver
Wall Street Journal: “Republicans face a daunting challenge as their tax plan comes into sharper focus: They are trying to fit more than $5 trillion of tax cuts inside a $1.5 trillion box.”
“In all, the Republicans’ wish list will likely add up to more than $5 trillion worth of tax cuts over a decade, estimates Kyle Pomerleau of the Tax Foundation. Getting it into a budget blueprint that allows for just $1.5 trillion in cuts over 10 years could require paring back ambitions for rate cuts and curtailing long-cherished breaks. It could also mean resisting calls to use the bill to repeal a whole other set of taxes created as part of the 2010 Affordable Care Act.”
Caitlin Owens: Some Republicans want to merge tax reform and health care.
Clinton Aide Will Now Protest Trump Full Time
“Hillary Clinton’s longtime gatekeeper Philippe Reines is no longer just a freelancing critic of the Trump administration: he has quit his day job to devote himself full-time to excoriating the president and his top aides,” Politico reports.
Said Reines: “It’s stand in front of the tank time.”
Ivanka Trump’s China Ties Shrouded In Secrecy
“It is no secret that the bulk of Ivanka Trump’s merchandise comes from China. But just which Chinese companies manufacture and export her handbags, shoes and clothes is more secret than ever,” an Associated Press investigation has found.
“In the months since she took her White House role, public information about the companies importing Ivanka Trump goods to the U.S. has become harder to find. Information that once routinely appeared in private trade tracking data has vanished, leaving the identities of companies involved in 90 percent of shipments unknown. Even less is known about her manufacturers.”
Bannon vs. the GOP
Politico: “In a thundering 20-minute speech Monday night that was partly a rally for insurgent Senate candidate Roy Moore but equally a declaration of war on the Republican Party hierarchy, Bannon made clear that this next act of his political career could make the Republican civil war of recent years look tame.”
Said Bannon: “Mitch McConnell and this permanent political class is the most corrupt and incompetent group of individuals in this country. They think you’re a pack of morons. They think you’re nothing but rubes. They have no interest at all in what you have to say, what you have to think or what you want to do.”
Romney Pleads for Help for Puerto Rico
Mitt Romney made a plea to lawmakers to “put aside controversies” and “prioritize rescue” efforts in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria tore through the Caribbean last week, The Hill reports.
He said the American territory is on the “brink of a humanitarian disaster.”
Dallas Cowboys Make a Statement
“Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones joined his team’s players in kneeling before the national anthem prior to their game Monday night at Arizona,” the Washington Post reports.
“They stood, with arms still interlocked, for the anthem.”
How Voter ID Probably Cost Clinton Wisconsin
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GOP May Attempt Health and Tax Reform at Same Time
Politico: “The supposedly hard deadline at the end of the month to repeal Obamacare might not be so hard after all.”
“Here’s how it could be done: While the Senate parliamentarian has ruled that the repeal push under fiscal 2017 must die after Sept. 30, Republicans could provide reconciliation instructions for both health care and tax reform in the fiscal 2018 budget resolution that Congress must pass to again unlock the fast-track procedural powers. That might entail some procedural hurdles, but one GOP aide said Monday that because the Finance Committee has jurisdiction over about 95 percent of health care policy, ‘it’s not like we couldn’t slip it in anyway.'”
Said Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT): “We’ve got to do both. They’re complicated by necessity. So I don’t think that takes away the complications. But I think we’re supposed to be able to handle complications.”
At Least Six Trump Advisers Used Private Email
“At least six of President Trump’s closest advisers occasionally used private email addresses to discuss White House matters,” the New York Times reports.
“The disclosures came a day after news surfaced that Jared Kushner, the president’s son-in-law and adviser, used a private email account to send or receive about 100 work-related emails during the administration’s first seven months. But Mr. Kushner was not alone. Stephen Bannon, the former chief White House strategist, and Reince Priebus, the former chief of staff, also occasionally used private email addresses. Other advisers, including Gary Cohn and Stephen Miller, sent or received at least a few emails on personal accounts.”
“Officials are supposed to use government emails for their official duties so their conversations are available to the public and those conducting oversight.”
Zinke Says One-Third of Interior Employees Not Loyal
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke “that nearly one-third of employees at his department are not loyal to him and President Trump, adding that he is working to change the department’s regulatory culture to be more business friendly,” the AP reports.
Said Zinke: “I got 30 percent of the crew that’s not loyal to the flag.”
Collins Will Not Support GOP Health Care Bill
Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME) said that she would oppose the latest plan to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, leaving Republican leaders clearly short of the votes they need for passage, the New York Times reports.
Said Collins: “Health care is a deeply personal, complex issue that affects every single one of us and one-sixth of the American economy. Sweeping reforms to our health care system and to Medicaid can’t be done well in a compressed time frame, especially when the actual bill is a moving target.”
She added: “Today, we find out that there is now a fourth version of the Graham-Cassidy proposal, which is as deeply flawed as the previous iterations. The fact that a new version of this bill was released the very week we are supposed to vote compounds the problem.”
Russian Facebook Ads Sought to Exploit Racial Divisions
“The batch of more than 3,000 Russian-bought ads that Facebook is preparing to turn over to Congress shows a deep understanding of social divides in American society, with some ads promoting African-American rights groups including Black Lives Matter and others suggesting that these same groups pose a rising political threat, say people familiar with the covert influence campaign,” the Washington Post reports.
“The Russian campaign — taking advantage of Facebook’s ability to simultaneously send contrary messages to different groups of users based on their political and demographic characteristics — also sought to sow discord among religious groups.”