“We’re not even a national party. We’re a coastal party.”
— Rep. Tim Ryan (D-OH), quoted by the Washington Examiner.
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Conflicts of Interest Could Bring Down Trump
Peggy Noonan: “I don’t know if there’s anyone around him who can convince him that the attitude with which he’s operated for 50 years must end, and something wholly new and different begin.”
“But whoever does must be aware of this: The press, which wants to kill him, is going to zero in on his biggest weak spot: money, profit, the deal. Democrats too will watch like hawks. And this is understandable! Presidents shouldn’t ever give the impression things aren’t on the up and up. And Mr. Trump campaigned saying he’d dismantle the rigged system, drain the swamp, fight the racket.”
“The press does not believe, not for a second, and Democrats do not believe, not for a second, that Mr. Trump will be able to change the habits of a lifetime. They are relying on it.”
Obama and Trump Talk Regularly
President-elect Donald Trump and President Obama have been in regular communication, CNN reports.
Said Trump adviser Kellyanne Conway: “I can tell you from President-Elect Trump’s side that he very much enjoys speaking with President Obama, talking about the serious issues that face this country and the world. They get along nicely. They disagree on many things. That’s not going to change.”
Conway Unloads on Romney
Appointing Mitt Romney as secretary of state would be viewed by many supporters of President-elect Donald Trump as a major betrayal, former Trump campaign manager Kellyanne Conway told CNN.
Said Conway: “It’s just breathtaking in scope and intensity.”
She added: “I’m all for party unity, but I’m not sure we have to pay for that with secretary of state position.”
Falwell Says Trump Wanted Him as Education Secretary
Jerry Falwell Jr., the president of Liberty University, told the Associated Press that President-elect Donald Trump offered him the job of Secretary of Education last week during a meeting in New York.
He said he declined the job but that Trump wanted a four- to six-year commitment and said he couldn’t leave Liberty for more than two years.
GOP Senators Won’t Be a Rubber Stamp
“While much of the attention in Washington is on who will fill the Trump cabinet, it is already clear who some of the most important people will be when it comes to fulfilling the Trump agenda,” the New York Times reports.
“One group will be particularly well positioned to either accommodate or infuriate Donald Trump: a handful of independent-minded Republican senators who have shown a willingness to break with the president-elect and have readily split with their own party on issues in the past.”
“Given the narrower divide in the Senate after the election, these senators must be kept on board if Mr. Trump and the Republican majorities in the House and the Senate want to advance legislation and nominations in the face of Democratic opposition. Some are already making known their readiness to take on the new administration.”
The Hill: GOP senators wary of nuking filibuster
Watch Trump Swear at His Staff
“Donald Trump swore at his staff, boasted about destroying people’s homes, and stuffed cash into a worker’s pocket during a trip to Scotland in 2010,” footage obtained by BuzzFeed News reveals.
“In an episode of the short-lived Golf Channel show Donald Trump’s Fabulous World Of Golf, which the channel refused to release before the U.S. election, Trump talked about getting rid of the ‘ugly’ homes surrounding his golf course and told a member of staff to ‘use his fucking brain’ or he’d be fired.”
More Women Considering Bids for Public Office
The Washington Post reports many women “are responding to Hillary Clinton’s defeat with a new sense of obligation to seek political power. After years of never imagining a career in the public eye or only vaguely entertaining the idea of working in politics, these women are determined to run for elected office.”
“They don’t speak for all women, many of whom voted for Trump — 42 percent of them, according to exit polls conducted by Edison Research. Notably, a majority of white women favored the Republican. But Clinton still benefited from an overall gender gap, and young women supported her by a margin of 32 percentage points.”
Trump Has Potential Conflicts Around the World
New York Times: “The globe is dotted with such potential conflicts. Mr. Trump’s companies have business operations in at least 20 countries, with a particular focus on the developing world, including outposts in nations like India, Indonesia and Uruguay, according to a New York Times analysis of his presidential campaign financial disclosures. What’s more, the true extent of Mr. Trump’s global financial entanglements is unclear, since he has refused to release his tax returns and has not made public a list of his lenders.”
Clinton’s National Lead Continues to Grow
Hillary Clinton now leads Donald Trump by 2.2 million votes nationally, according to the Cook Political Report.
David Wasserman forecasts Clinton’s final lead will be roughly 2.5 to 2.7 million votes, or about 2%.
Clinton Will Join Wisconsin Recount
Politico: “After a period of public silence about the results of the 2016 election, Hillary Clinton’s top campaign lawyer said the campaign will play a role in the Wisconsin recount initiated Friday by Green Party candidate Jill Stein. The Clinton campaign will follow the same approach in Michigan and Pennsylvania if the third-party hopeful pursues recounts in those states.”
Quote of the Day
“My knowledge of foreign policy is as good, or better, than anybody they’re talking to.”
— Rudy Giuliani, quoted by the Wall Street Journal, making the case for why he should be Secretary of State.
What Was Hillary Clinton’s Story?
Mark McKinnon: “Winning campaigns create a narrative architecture that ties it all together into something meaningful and coherent, as I articulated last year in a short New York Times op-documentary… The reality TV star understands the power of narrative. He identified a threat: outside forces trying to change the way we live. And an opportunity: make America great again. He established victims: blue-collar workers who have lost jobs or experienced a declining standard of living. He suggested villains: Mexican immigrants, China, establishment elites. He proposed solutions: build a wall, tear up unfair trade deals. And the hero was revealed, Donald Trump. What was Hillary Clinton’s story?”
U.S. Officials Defend Integrity of Vote
The Obama administration said that despite Russian attempts to undermine the presidential election, it has concluded that the results “accurately reflect the will of the American people,” the New York Times reports.
“The statement came as liberal opponents of Donald Trump, some citing fears of vote hacking, are seeking recounts in three states — Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania — where his margin of victory was extremely thin.”
Fidel Castro Is Dead
New York Times: “Fidel Castro, the fiery apostle of revolution who brought the Cold War to the Western Hemisphere in 1959 and then defied the United States for nearly half a century as Cuba’s maximum leader, bedeviling 11 American presidents and briefly pushing the world to the brink of nuclear war, died Friday.”
“In declining health for several years, Mr. Castro had orchestrated what he hoped would be the continuation of his Communist revolution, stepping aside in 2006 when he was felled by a serious illness. He provisionally ceded much of his power to his younger brother Raúl, now 85, and two years later formally resigned as president. Raúl Castro, who had fought alongside Fidel Castro from the earliest days of the insurrection and remained minister of defense and his brother’s closest confidant, has ruled Cuba since then, although he has told the Cuban people he intends to resign in 2018.”
The Miami Herald obituary is worth reading.
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Romney Must Apologize If He Wants Appointment
Donald Trump’s transition team wants Mitt Romney to publicly apologize for railing against the president-elect during the campaign if he hopes to become the next Secretary of State, Fox News reports.
Should the Electoral College Choose Clinton?
Lawrence Lessig: “Many think we should abolish the electoral college. I’m not convinced that we should. Properly understood, the electors can serve an important function. What if the people elect a Manchurian candidate? Or a child rapist? What if evidence of massive fraud pervades a close election? It is a useful thing to have a body confirm the results of a democratic election — so long as that body exercises its power reflectively and conservatively. Rarely — if ever — should it veto the people’s choice. And if it does, it needs a very good reason.”
“So, do the electors in 2016 have such a reason?”
Rick Hasen: “This seems to go against rule of law ideas that we all abide by the rules for an election set in advance. Turning the electors into mighty platonic guardians doesn’t seem to be the right way to go.”
