March 11-12, 2020
Mar 11 04:11 Congressional Democrats' first instinct Mar 11 10:54 Bernie Sanders, the wimpy revolutionary Mar 11 22:26 Chris Cillizza, CNN spinmeister Mar 11 23:47 Schumer, Pelosi play politics; President provides leadership Mar 12 06:23 China Joe Biden as reliable as ever Mar 12 07:17 Gallup approval ratings: GOP politicians tops Democrats Mar 12 08:30 COVID-19 update by the numbers Mar 12 23:43 Coronavirus negotiations, Steve Mnuchin vs. Nancy Pelosi edition
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Congressional Democrats' first instinct
Whether I'm talking about Nancy Pelosi or Chuck Schumer, my first impression is simple. Their first instinct is political partisanship. President Trump's first instinct is to fix problems or make life better. That isn't to say that President Trump is as pure as the driven snow. It's saying that what drives this trio is noticeably different.
Karen Townsend noticed Pelosi's tendencies in this article . She wasn't gentle:
The speaker gave four criticisms of President Trump and his administration. First, she said, is disloyalty to the constitution. Next came her assertation that the Trump administration denigrates "newcomers" (code for illegal immigrants), Republicans degrade the environment, and lastly, she said, "Our values are being devalued by the current attitude in D.C." See, she wasn't bold enough to specifically say President Trump's name out loud among all of the word salad she was serving up to the audience, so she referenced "attitude" in an odd way. Civilization as we know it is at stake because Trump is killing it, or something.
In the spirit of reciprocity, I won't be gentle with Ms. Pelosi. I won't get lectured about the Constitution by a woman who impeached a president based on hearsay testimony. Call it Pelosi's situational appreciation of the Constitution. When there's a political advantage to caring about the Constitution, Ms. Pelosi will fake giving a damn about it. When there isn't, the Constitution is just a bunch of words written by slave owners.
As for not welcoming illegal immigrants, that's true. America is a land of plenty but only because we welcome people with moderation. Cheap labor is great for the bosses but it's worthless for the middle class. Finally, as with getting lectured about the Constitution, I won't get lectured about attitude and civility from someone, to steal a line from the cartoon version of How the Grinch stole Christmas, Ms. Pelosi "has all the sweetness of a seasick crocodile." Given the choice, I'd pick the seasick crocodile over Ms. Pelosi.
I wrote here that there aren't any moderate Democrats. They're a myth. There are just situational moderate Democrats. They're radicals when Speaker-in-Waiting AOC needs them to be. Think impeachment vote in December, 2019.
Posted Wednesday, March 11, 2020 4:11 AM
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Bernie Sanders, the wimpy revolutionary
At the start of this video, a young lady questioned Bernie Sanders about Joe Biden's mental health:
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Bernie responded by saying "I'm not going to go at that level and attacking...Joe and I have...Look, that's something for people to decide. All I can say is that Joe and I have very significant political differences and I'm not going to be making any personal attacks on Joe. That's not what I do." At that point, the audience applauded spontaneously.
What a total wimp Bernie is. Joe Biden is having major cognitive disturbances. Everyone has noticed them. There's even a video out by Bill Whittle that says "I'm Joe Biden and I forgot this message." The video lasts 20+ minutes:
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If Sen. Sanders won't highlight Biden's mental acuity issues, then he's a wimp who is selectively tough guy. Back when I was getting started as an activist, we used to talk about a presidential candidate passing the Commander-in-Chief Test. Joe Biden can't pass anything except the slobbering-old-grandpa-in=the-nursing-home test at this point.
These aren't gaffes. They're happening daily. Here's another incident:
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If Bernie wants to be president, he can't be this wimpy. If he won't take people on about the big things, then he isn't a legitimate presidential candidate. Imagine that spineless idiot negotiating with Iran, Russia, China or North Korea. That's a frightening thought.
Posted Wednesday, March 11, 2020 10:54 AM
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Chris Cillizza, CNN spinmeister
CNN's Chris Cillizza is a professional spinmeister. He isn't particularly honest but he's definitely a spinmeister. In this morning's article, Cillizza wrote about Joe Biden's confrontation with a construction worker in a Detroit factory over gun rights.
Jerry Wayne, the worker in question, confronted Biden about wanting to take away the Second Amendment:
[Video no longer available]
Here's what Cillizza wrote:
A video recently circulated by conservative outlets falsely suggested Biden supports widespread confiscation of guns, according to FactCheck.org.
That's interesting. I pay lots of attention to gun rights groups and I've yet to hear any of the major organizations accuse Moms Demand Action or other gun grabber groups of wanting for a "widespread confiscation of guns." These groups have said MDA and other Bloomberg organizations want to confiscate "assault weapons." That's entirely different than a widespread confiscation of firearms. If FactCheck wants to check information, it has the obligation to at least use facts. Misrepresentations aren't welcome.
There's a part of the confrontation that isn't getting enough scrutiny. When Mr. Wayne said "You're working for me", VP Biden replies "I'm not working for you. Give me a break, man. Don't be such a horse's a**." That's rather telling. Who does Biden think he's working for? Credit card companies? The DNC? Nancy Pelosi or AOC?
That's a gaffe in the DC sense of a gaffe. A generation ago, Michael Kinsley said that the definition of a gaffe is when a politician "accidentally told the truth." Biden isn't interested in working for the people. There isn't a credible poll that shows a majority of people to favor the confiscation of entire groups of firearms. That poll doesn't exist. Period. Full stop.
Mr. 'Man of the People' Biden just revealed that he isn't interested in working for blue collar America. That's been verified before. Specifically, it happened in this debate:
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Joe Biden has said that he'd put Robert Francis O'Rourke in charge of eliminating guns. He told Anderson Cooper that he's coming for everyone's assault weapons. He's willing to kill the fossil fuel industry to supposedly save the planet. That isn't a man of the people. That isn't a man who's earned the title Blue Collar Joe. That's someone who hung around too long in the DC Swamp.
Blue Collar Joe fights with factory workers and wants to get rid of mining jobs. That doesn't sound like a regular guy to me.
Posted Wednesday, March 11, 2020 10:26 PM
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Schumer, Pelosi play politics; President provides leadership
The joint statement from Nancy Pelosi and Sen. Schumer is disappointing in that it's a purely partisan document. While President Trump delivered a measured, serious speech to the nation in which he called for both sides to work together, Pelosi and Schumer chose to push division on Capitol Hill:
We have a public health crisis in this country and the best way to help keep the American people safe and ensure their economic security is for the president to focus on fighting the spread of the coronavirus itself. Alarmingly, the president did not say how the administration will address the lack of coronavirus testing kits throughout the United States.
Tomorrow, we urge Republicans in the House and Senate to help immediately pass the Families First Coronavirus Response Act. The bill will include free coronavirus testing, paid emergency leave for workers, food security assistance, help to states overburdened by Medicaid costs, and strengthened Unemployment Insurance, among other much-needed measures to keep the American people safe.
Notice that the Democrats' leadership on Capitol Hill didn't acknowledge President Trump's month-long travel ban of people coming from Europe, with the exception of the British. That's a major step. When the Trump administration implemented the travel ban with China, Democrats called President Trump xenophobic. Tonight's travel ban was met with crickets.
The Democrats' plan is government-centric. President Trump's plan is a mix of making sure that the US health care system stays strong, reducing international travel, financially helping workers who get infected with the virus and relying on the best public health system in the world to get us through this crisis. This isn't just a 'whole of government' approach. President Trump's plan is a whole of America plan.
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Compare the Pelosi-Schumer 2 paragraph statement with this Rubio-Gingrich op-ed :
First, the U.S. government should empower our robust private business sector to expand in order to meet new demand for medical supplies. Congress should cut taxes on manufacturers committing to new capital spending in America by making permanent the accelerated cost depreciation measures in the 2017 Republican tax law. New medical structures and equipment should be temporarily singled out for additional reductions.
Second, agencies with lending operations like the U.S. Small Business Administration should make low-cost capital available to businesses seeking to solve their supply chain problems by bringing production in-house to America, or otherwise buying from American small businesses.
Third, as American businesses struggle with supply chain disruptions due to the coronavirus, the U.S. government must resolve any tax, regulatory or capital barrier preventing a new, trusted source from emerging.
The Pelosi-Schumer plan does nothing to address this frightening situation. The thought that China has this much of a grip on our medicines is totally unacceptable. From the start of his administration, President Trump has worked hard to eliminate US reliance on Chinese products. This proves that he's right, especially in light of this crisis. This isn't just a health crisis. It's a national security crisis, too.
It's time for Pelosi and Schumer to start putting America first rather than playing partisan games. They're welcome to join the Put America First Team anytime.
Posted Wednesday, March 11, 2020 11:47 PM
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China Joe Biden as reliable as ever
In light of how dependent the US pharmaceutical industry is on China, it's painfully obvious that Tom Cotton's op-ed is must reading. Sen. Cotton's op-ed highlights Vice President Biden's pro-China bent. Sen. Cotton emphasizes his willingness to work with other Democrats on trade issues.
For instance, Sen. Cotton wrote "I've worked extensively with Democrats on China, with Chuck Schumer on cracking down on Chinese fentanyl trafficking, with Chris Van Hollen and numerous others on Huawei's threat to the world's telecommunications infrastructure. I don't exactly hear Biden hammering on these important issues on the campaign trail. And when a few weeks ago President Trump acted to impose travel restrictions on China as a consequence of its abysmal handling of the Wuhan coronavirus, Biden was right there and ready to act as Beijing's lawyer, slamming the policy as 'hysterical xenophobia.'"
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Now that President Trump has imposed a month-long travel ban on Europe (minus the British), where is Biden's hysterical calls that President Trump is engaged in "hysterical xenophobia"? The answer comes in this paragraph:
Now Biden's back on the campaign trail, and no one could be more thrilled than the Chinese Communist Party. (A Forbes headline last year summed up the situation well: "Joe Biden Is the Only Man Who Can Save China in 2020.") Biden's announcement of his campaign alone was enough to encourage Beijing suddenly to take a harder line on trade negotiations with the Trump administration. As Biden's star seemed to fade, China suddenly got easier to deal with, striking a "Phase 1" deal with us in January. It's a safe prediction that they are about to take a tougher line again. Meanwhile, Biden offers gems like these on the campaign trail. From May: " China is going to eat our lunch? Come on, man. They're not bad folks, folks. But guess what? They're not competition for us." And just the next month: "Our workers are literally three times as productive as workers : in Asia. So what are we worried about?"
For China Joe, stealing America's pharmaceutical infrastructure apparently isn't cause for worry. It isn't just about competitiveness. It's about putting in place a foundation where China owns something that we rely on for our public health. That makes it a national security issue. We can't put that at risk. We're an economic powerhouse because we're innovators and because we figure out efficiencies all the time.
Now that he's the prohibitive frontrunner for the Democrat nomination, it's time to think about how a Biden administration would sell us out to the Chinese. This isn't something we can afford to get wrong. Lives literally are at stake.
Posted Thursday, March 12, 2020 6:23 AM
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Gallup approval ratings: GOP politicians tops Democrats
This recent Gallup Poll shows the approval ratings for Republicans and Democrats heading in the opposite directions. According to Megan Brenan, the "rating for Republicans in Congress has risen six percentage points since late October, before the impeachment of President Donald Trump in the U.S. House of Representatives. Over the same period, congressional Democrats' approval rating has edged down three points and disapproval has climbed five points, from 57% to 62%."
Brenan later highlights the finding as "Although majorities of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents, as well as Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents, approve of the job their own party's members of Congress are doing, there is a significant difference between the two groups. Republicans' approval of congressional Republicans has jumped 13 points to 76% since October, but Democrats' 65% approval of congressional Democrats is virtually unchanged from October."
This is interesting, too:
Just as the public's assessments of congressional Republicans appear to have benefited from Trump's impeachment, so too has Trump. In January and February, the president's job approval rating rose to his personal best of 49%; it remains elevated from where it was before his impeachment. Likewise, Trump's favorability rating, which was 41% in October, reached 48% in January and is currently 46%, including 89% favorable among Republicans and Republican-leaning independents.
The Republican who should be most worried by this poll is Mitt Romney:
Utah Sen. Mitt Romney was the sole Republican to break with his party and vote to convict Trump on one of the two charges in the Senate impeachment trial. Although Romney's 39% favorability among U.S. adults is unchanged from a year ago, he is currently viewed more favorably among Democrats than he is among Republicans, a reversal of previous readings. A 56% majority of Democrats but just 23% of Republicans now hold favorable views of Romney.
Utah is a caucus state so whether Utah Republicans approve of him matters. It was only a few years ago that Utah Republicans threw out Sen. Bennett and replaced him with Mike Lee. Republicans disliked Bennett so bad that he didn't get enough support to get on the primary ballot.
Posted Thursday, March 12, 2020 7:17 AM
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COVID-19 update by the numbers
This article breaks down the number of cases of COVID-19 reported by state and the number of deaths reported. I won't list each state's reportings. You can check that yourself for your state.
What I will note is the statistics that jump out at me. For instance, Washington, New York and California have reported the most cases, with 366, 226 and 181 respectively. No other state has hit the century mark yet, with Massachusetts closest with 95 cases.
Exactly 5 states have reported COVID-19 deaths, with Washington State reporting the most with 29 deaths. The other states reporting deaths are California, Florida, New Jersey and South Dakota being the others. 44 of the 50 states have reported COVID-19 cases, as has the District of Columbia. 21 of the states that have reported cases have reported 5 or fewer cases.
The objective of this post is to provide fact-based summary to people. The purpose is to eliminate as much panic-driven information as possible. These statistics are current as of 8:00 am CT Thursday, March 12.
Posted Thursday, March 12, 2020 8:30 AM
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Coronavirus negotiations, Steve Mnuchin vs. Nancy Pelosi edition
The negotiations between Nancy Pelosi and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin have been ongoing all day. Hopefully, Ms. Pelosi won't attempt to pull the type of stunt she tried pulling with last night's bill . Last night's bill is best described as a special interest's special that had little to do with preventing and mitigating the coronavirus.
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy highlighted some of the Democrats' bill's shortfalls:
McCarthy said there's two "major problems." First, creating a paid sick leave program through the Social Security Administration that would take six months to set up and hamper the agency's normal functioning of disbursing checks to senior citizens. The second is forcing permanent paid sick leave "for all businesses without exemptions and no sunsets," McCarthy said.
There was also language in the bill that would've weakened the Hyde Amendment. Another provision in the Pelosi-Schumer-Democrat bill would've prohibited President Trump from issuing travel bans from other countries into the United States. That isn't constitutional because the head of the Executive Branch has virtually total authority to restrict international travel into the US. The sole exception to that authority is if the president restricts travel for purely religious reasons.
After Senate Majority Leader McConnell told Ms. Pelosi that her special interest special isn't going anywhere, Ms. Pelosi has spent the day negotiating with Steve Mnuchin, President Trump's Treasury Secretary. After getting shot down by Mitch, there's been a dramatic change in tone from Ms. Pelosi:
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"Families have needs," Pelosi said at a press conference Thursday. She said they've been working with Mnuchin on the bill in good faith and questioned whether congressional Republicans are now moving the goalposts.
Pelosi should've reminder herself of that when putting this special interest bill together. The Democrats' bill was known as a Christmas tree bill, meaning that it had all kinds of special interest 'Christmas ornaments' stuffed into it. If Democrats were interested in negotiating in good faith from the start, Democrats shouldn't have started with their original bill. Instead, Democrats should've put together a good faith bill right from the start.
Now that Republicans put their foot down, Ms. Pelosi is negotiating in good faith. Next, Republicans should fundraise off Ms. Pelosi's bad faith negotiations bill. They might as well since the DSCC already sent out a coronavirus fundraising appeal tonight. Democrats must be paid to pay a price for their partisanship.
Posted Thursday, March 12, 2020 11:43 PM
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