Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) nails it when it comes to President Trump. “He has declined to distinguish the actions of our government from the crimes of despotic ones. The appearance of toughness, or a reality show facsimile of toughness, seems to matter more than any of our values.”
If Democrats could nail down another seat it will make the November midterms that much easier. “Republicans’ latest special election headache is unfolding in central Ohio, where a chaotic primary has divided the party and stoked fears of losing another seat in Donald Trump territory to Democrats.”
Former secretary of state Rex W. Tillerson thinks Chief of Staff John F. Kelly hit the nail on the head. “The officials said Kelly portrays himself to Trump administration aides as the lone bulwark against catastrophe, curbing the erratic urges of a president who has a questionable grasp on policy issues and the functions of government. He has referred to Trump as ‘an idiot’ multiple times to underscore his point, according to four officials who say they’ve witnessed the comments.”
Each new poll is another nail in the GOP House majority’s coffin. CNN is “moving a dozen Republican held House districts to a more competitive rating. Each race . . . is moving in the direction of the Democrats even though the Republican remains favored in all of them. As a reminder, Democrats need a net gain of 23 seats in order to win control of the House. Of the 11 races rated Lean Democratic by CNN, seven are currently held by Republicans, as are 19 of the 21 races rated Toss-Up. Of the 25 races CNN now rates as Lean Republican, all are Republican-held — or in the case of the Ohio 12th District seat vacated by Pat Tiberi, had been held by a Republican.” Oops.
Economists who predicted the economy would overheat nailed it. “Any doubt that the Federal Reserve has fallen behind the interest rate curve should have been dispelled by recent US price and wage inflation data, as well as by the sharp sell-off in long-dated US Treasury bonds. One has to hope that at its meeting this week the Fed pays due attention to those developments in its setting of interest rate policy. If not, we should brace ourselves for very disorderly financial markets down the road.”
Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) nailed for voting for a tax bill that wasn’t going to help workers. “During the tax debate, Rubio also voiced skepticism about the possible benefits of the corporate tax cut, saying the tax package had to do more to protect lower-income families. He announced his opposition to the Senate package days before a vote, calling for an expansion of a tax credit for children that would have primarily helped poor and middle class families. Rubio voted for the bill after a diminished version of his proposed tax credit was included in the law’s final text.”
If Democrats can nail down seats in Kansas it really is a tsunami. “Kansas, as reliably red as any state in the nation in recent years, could elect a Democrat to the U.S. House this year for the first time in a decade. It might even elect two. That’s as good a sign as any of the Democratic tide building in 2018.”