Month: November 2017
The Coming Wave
“In 2016 we made the mistake of rationalizing away the prospect of a Trump victory. He was too unorthodox. He couldn’t possibly sustain momentum through the grueling primary campaign. We should not make same mistake in 2018. Sure, a lot can change between now and next November. And, Democrats have a narrow path to 24 seats – even with a big wave or tailwind. But, do not ignore what’s right in front of us. A wave is building. If I were a Republican running for Congress, I’d be taking that more seriously than ever.”
— Amy Walter
Roy Moore — Red Lobster Lounge Lizard
“I just kind of said, ‘Do you know how old I am?’” she recalled. “And he said, ‘Yeah. I go out with girls your age all the time.’”
— Kelly Harrison Thorp, telling the Birmingham News that when she was 17 years old and working as a hostess at the Red Lobster restaurant, Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) asked her if she’d go out with him sometime.
— Kelly Harrison Thorp, telling the Birmingham News that when she was 17 years old and working as a hostess at the Red Lobster restaurant, Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore (R) asked her if she’d go out with him sometime.
Vast Majority of Voters Disapprove of GOP Tax Plan
A new Quinnipiac poll finds that American voters disapprove of the Republican tax plan by a 52% to 25% margin. Republican voters approve 60% to 15%, with 26% undecided. All other party, gender, education, age and racial groups disapprove.
Congress has Paid $17 Million in Sexual Misconduct and Discrimination Settlements
$17 million
Congress has paid out more than $17.2 million over the last 20 years to cover 268 settlements on Capitol Hill, according to the Office of Compliance, which was set up in 1995 under the Congressional Accountability Act. In 2002 and 2007 those tallies topped several million dollars, Axios reports.
More Signing Up for Obamacare
1.5 million
Sam Baker: “Nearly 1.5 million people have signed up for coverage through HealthCare.gov in the first two weeks of this year’s open enrollment period — up from just over 1 million at the same point in the last enrollment window. Those results are stronger than many experts anticipated, in light of the Trump administration’s cuts to enrollment outreach.”
Most Think Trump Will Benefit from Tax Plan More than They Will
56%
A new Politico/Morning Consult poll finds 56% of voters think President Trump and the company he built will benefit from proposed changes to the tax code, but fewer than three in 10 expect those changes to help them.
Judd Apatow Wasn’t Talking About Al Franken But He Should Have Been
I couldn’t click fast enough when I saw tweets about Sen. Al Franken and a claim he forced himself on a woman during a USO tour 11 years ago. That’s because I always liked Al Franken, back to the days of appearances on Letterman, then Saturday Night Live, and then the U.S. Senate. His book, “Al Franken: Giant of the Senate” was both inspirational and entertaining, and gave me hope for Washington, since Franken talked about how personal relationships get built (except in the case of Ted Cruz, of course) that cross party lines and lead to better legislation.
When I read talk radio host’s Leeann Tweeden’s account word by word, I came away feeling unconvinced that Franken did something clearly egregious, let alone wildly awful and out of character. It sounded like an incident Franken might have cited in his book, where he talked at length about the “dehumorizing machine” that Republicans ran his works of satire through during his first Senate campaign. Franken said that some of the material they trotted out as proof of his unfitness for office was indeed in terrible taste, while some was just plain bad. But some was funny, or at least it was in context, and during the times it was produced.
Still, I was concerned. Not just that Tweeden’s version of events was accurate but that Franken would be disgraced even if they weren’t.
