Category: Government

Trump’s Firing Of Obama Appointed Federal Prosecutors Creates Opportunity for Democrats…

Interesting thoughts. Trump’s firing of Obama appointed federal prosecutors possibly benefiting democrats?  People of the caliber and talent Trump fired may result in republicans losing elected offices in the next 2 to 4 years perhaps? certainly something we would be more than happy to see!

From POLITICO

Until Friday, Barbara McQuade served as United States attorney in Eastern Michigan. By Saturday, one day after the Trump administration demanded her resignation, her prospects as a candidate for governor or attorney general were the talk of the state Democratic Party.

McQuade was among more than 40 U.S. attorneys appointed by former President Barack Obama and let go by President Donald Trump last week, an act that suddenly flooded the political marketplace with experienced federal prosecutors of the sort both parties love to tap to run for high office.

It’s a move that could come back to haunt the GOP. New York is buzzing with rumors about what’s next for Preet Bharara, the highest-profile of the former U.S. attorneys, who has been tipped for elected office in the past. Kenneth Polite, the former U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Louisiana, resigned Friday and immediately reinvigorated talk of a run for state attorney general, mayor of New Orleans or sheriff of Orleans Parish.

“They come with a lot of advantages,” said Ian Russell, former political director of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, whose committee department recruited federal prosecutors as potential candidates. “There’s the prosecutorial experience, the sense of respect Americans have for the impartial Justice Department. They’ve got political connections, but their work is nonpolitical in nature, and there are firewalls to protect that. Many have fundraising and political support networks they could tap.”

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The last time the presidency changed hands, it was Republicans who reaped the benefits of U.S. attorneys’ prestige and connections.

Within a year of the end of the George W. Bush administration, Chris Christie was elected governor of New Jersey and a collection of fellow former U.S. attorneys were already running high-profile campaigns. Matt Mead, a Bush-era U.S. attorney, won election as Wyoming governor in 2010, the same year that Pennsylvania’s Patrick Meehan and Arkansas’ Tim Griffin were elected to the House. Meehan quickly became one of the best fundraisers in the House landscape when he jumped into the race for a Philadelphia-area swing seat, which he won.

Two other Bush-era U.S. attorneys would follow them into the House: Susan Brooks of Indiana in 2012 and John Ratcliffe of Texas in 2014.

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“There is a lot of political skill that is invested in people assigned to those jobs,” said Thomas Heffelfinger, a former U.S. attorney during both Bush administrations, who noted that President Bill Clinton removed him from office in a fashion similar to Trump’s recent oustings. “And, to be blunt, you don’t get those jobs without asking for them, so there’s that kind of small-level electioneering.”

Russell said it is “logical” to expect Democrats to try recruiting as many of the ex-prosecutors as possible for state and federal offices in 2018.

Take every opportunity to make lemonade whenever possible.

More UNDER THE FOLD.

On The Heels Of Trump’s Election A Must Watch…

The following two-part series, The People Versus America, is a must watch. As hard as it may be for those who support Trump and his Make America Great Again theme it is those very folks who need to watch the series and come to terms with its honest reality. Link to the video follow the text below.

Aljazeera – The election of Donald Trump in November 2016 exposed a deep vein of distrust across the US, where millions became disillusioned with a political and corporate elite out of touch with the sentiments of ordinary Americans.

The institutions that serve US citizens are increasingly regarded as self-serving while the people are increasingly divided and polarised along racial and economic lines.

In this two-part series, The Big Picture: The People vs America we explore the construction and mythology of the American Dream and uncover the reality of exclusion and denial.

We chart the history of post-Second World War America to uncover how race has dominated the political landscape and continues to shape the America of today.

We also explore just how America became so fractured, and how for many, the American Dream has been lost.

LINK to video.

Is A Government Shutdown On The Horizen?…

Sometimes you just have to do what is ethically and morally right. So, democrats, bring on the shutdown unless the Trump wrecking ball powers down!

Bloomberg – Senate Democrats warned Republicans Monday that attempts to take funding away from Planned Parenthood or pay for President Donald Trump’s border wall in a stopgap spending bill that must pass by late April would result in a government shutdown.

The threat from Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and other Democratic leaders sets up a climactic first showdown with the president, particularly with their inclusion of Trump’s signature border wall proposal.

“If Republicans insist on inserting poison pill riders such as defunding Planned Parenthood, building a border wall, or starting a deportation force, they will be shutting down the government and delivering a severe blow to our economy,” Schumer said in a statement.

Up until now, Trump hasn’t needed Democratic votes to stock his cabinet or advance the repeal of Obamacare, but a spending bill keeping the government open is subject to a 60-vote threshold in the Senate. If Congress doesn’t act, a partial government shutdown would begin on April 29.

Democrats also warned against including funding for a “deportation force” as the Trump administration emphasizes ramped up arrests and deportations of immigrants in the country illegally.

A Planned Parenthood funding fight brought Congress to the brink of shutting down the government in March 2011, and immigration has also been a major fight in previous spending bills. {Continue Reading}

Our Nation’s Most Powerful Check On President Trump…

Just finished reading an interesting opinion article of truth by The Washington Post editorial board. Donald Trump during his campaign for the presidency and in his address to the joint session of congress made many promises, promises that reality will block him from keeping. Both domestic and global realities will prevent Trump from succeeding in providing his vision of Making America Great Again.

THE ELECTION of President Trump has prompted a lot of talk about the checks and balances of the American constitutional system. As guarantors of freedom and stability, James Madison’s cherished devices — separation of powers, an independent judiciary, freedom of the press — will be tested as never before, it has been said. But another potential check on presidential action has gotten less attention: the sheer power of reality. There are some things Mr. Trump won’t be able to do because, well, he just can’t. Call it the reality check.

To be clear: We are not referring to political reality. Of course there are certain things the president can’t do, at least not immediately, because of opposition at home or abroad: In the face of Arab-world opposition, for example, he has hesitated on his promise to move the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. What we have in mind, rather, are things that are impossible, period — such as massively cutting taxes and leaving entitlement programs alone, while simultaneously reducing the federal debt. Or deconstructing the “administrative state ” while beefing up the federal government’s capacity to find and deport undocumented immigrants. Or protecting a sacrosanct right to gun ownership while stopping the mayhem in Chicago.

The contradictions have been heightening as Mr. Trump and his team attempt to cobble together a federal budget, with a blueprint for discretionary spending due on March 16. At his Senate hearing to be confirmed as treasury secretary, Steven Mnuchin asserted forcefully that the Internal Revenue Service needed more funding, which would more than pay for itself in enhanced tax compliance. Yet the White House budget office, searching for cuts to pay for Mr. Trump’s proposed $54 billion defense increase, has proposed slashing the already tight IRS budget 14.1 percent. Mr. Trump is bound and determined to step up security along the U.S.-Mexico border, including by building a wall. To get the resources, his budgeters are reportedly targeting the Coast Guard’s $9 billion budget for a $1.3 billion cut. Sounds like an invitation for drug smugglers and migrants to come in by water instead of by land.

Mr. Trump’s pitch to the American electorate in 2016 was that they could have it all — low taxes and generous government benefits; a dynamic economy that “protects” existing jobs — and that the only thing preventing this nirvana was the perfidy of Washington’s elite. Entrust me with power, he declared, and everything will be different. Of all his many false promises, this was probably both the most effective and the phoniest. Government’s resources and capabilities are limited, and trade-offs are real. Like all his predecessors, Mr. Trump will be forced, by reality, to set priorities and make choices, whether he ever acknowledges that openly or not. And sooner or later, he will be held accountable for them.

One of these realities, our constitution and rule of law, thankfully stands solidly in the way of Trump achieving his authoritarian agenda. Another powerful force standing in Trump’s way is the free and independent press with its multitude of ethical journalists that continue to call Trump out on his falsehoods.

Nancy Pelosi’s Letter To Speaker Ryan…

Following is a letter to Speaker of the House Paul Ryan from Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi.  Questions she raises are reasonable and demand answers. With the GOP intent on railroading their replacement through the Congress and Senate calling your representatives and senators to express your concern might be something you want to consider.

March 7, 2017

The Honorable Paul Ryan

Speaker of the House

H-232, United States Capitol

Washington, D.C.  20515

Dear Speaker Ryan,

This week, the Committees on Energy & Commerce and Ways & Means will be marking up Republicans’ long-feared bill to dismantle affordable health care.  The GOP legislation will have life or death consequences for tens of millions of families across America, and extraordinary impacts on state and federal budgets long into the future.

The American people and Members have a right to know the full impact of this legislation before any vote in Committee or by the whole House.

Members must not be asked to vote on this legislation before the CBO and the Joint Committee on Taxation have answered the following questions about your legislation in 2018 and 2019, over the 10-year budget window, and in the decade after: How will this bill measure up to the Affordable Care Act and current Medicaid law on coverage, quality, and cost?  And how will it impact Medicare solvency?

  • Coverage – How many fewer Americans will have health insurance coverage compared to current law in Medicaid and the Marketplace?  Also what happens to coverage among Americans with pre-existing conditions?
  • Quality – What happens to the premiums, deductibles, out-of-pocket costs, and average value of insurance plans for those with coverage in the Marketplace and those Americans with pre-existing conditions as a result of letting states define essential benefits and change ACA protections?
  • Cost – How will the bill impact the federal deficit and the solvency of the Medicare Trust Fund?  What happens to state budgets after the loss of federal dollars from both the expansion of Medicaid under the ACA and from the GOP’s Medicaid per capita cap?  What is the impact on hospitals and other providers due to the increase in uncompensated care?  Given the loss of insurance coverage and change in taxes, how many dollars are transferred from low and middle-income families to high-income families as a result of the bill?

Mr. Speaker, as a former Chair of both the Committee on Ways and Means and the Budget, you understand the importance of having the numbers as well as anyone.  These are critical questions and I hope that Republicans will honor their responsibility to the American people both before the Committees vote and before the final bill goes to the House floor.

Thank you for your attention to this matter.

best regards,

 

NANCY PELOSI

Democratic Leader

Via: MEDIAite