December 11, 2017

From ‘Plan’ to ‘Scam’

December 11, 2017 Buck Banks

It’s hard to label what the Republicans are making a “plan.”
It sure doesn’t fulfill the promises of the man with the orange tan.
But as congressional bumblers
Keep massaging the numbers,
It’s just looking more and more like a rich white guy’s scam.

Nearly Half of Voters Oppose GOP Tax Plan

December 11, 2017 Buck Banks

48%

A new USA Today/Suffolk University Poll finds just 32% support the GOP tax plan while 48% oppose it. Key finding: “That’s the lowest level of public support for any major piece of legislation enacted in the past three decades, including the Affordable Care Act in 2009.”

Clinton Sees ‘Assault on Facts and Reason’ in the U.S.

December 11, 2017 Buck Banks

“There is a deliberate, very well-organised, sophisticated assault on facts and reason and evidence. In our country, it’s driven originally by a cabal of billionaires and religious fundamentalists, and their view is that it doesn’t matter what they say. If they say it often enough and they put enough money behind it, they’ll convince a significant number of people.”

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by The Guardian.

Big Decline in Voters Identifying as Republican

December 11, 2017 Buck Banks

5 points

NBC News: “From November 2016 to November 2017 there was a 5-point drop in the number of people who call themselves Republicans, from 42% to 37%, according to Gallup. In that same time, the number of people identifying as Democrats stayed flat at 44%. … Do the math and a 2-point edge for the Democrats in party identification, 44% to 42%, has been pushed to 7 points, 44% to 37%, in just one year. That’s getting up into the area that may be a concern for Republicans in the 2018 midterms, where a big swing in party allegiance could lead to a swing in House and Senate seats.”

Nearly 400 Women Set to Run for Congress

December 11, 2017 Buck Banks

369

“As of December 7 there were 369 women running or planning to run for Congress in 2018, according to Rutgers University’s Center for American Women and Politics, which would be the most women House candidates ever,” Axios reports. “The number is subject to change, as the filing deadlines for most states are months away.”

Day: December 11, 2017

From ‘Plan’ to ‘Scam’

Nearly Half of Voters Oppose GOP Tax Plan

48%

A new USA Today/Suffolk University Poll finds just 32% support the GOP tax plan while 48% oppose it. Key finding: “That’s the lowest level of public support for any major piece of legislation enacted in the past three decades, including the Affordable Care Act in 2009.”

Clinton Sees ‘Assault on Facts and Reason’ in the U.S.

— Hillary Clinton, quoted by The Guardian.

Big Decline in Voters Identifying as Republican

5 points

Nearly 400 Women Set to Run for Congress

369

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

“The man is afraid of the voice of the people and that the people understand and know what he’s doing. He’s trying to stifle the ability of journalists to let the people of America know what’s really going on with their government.”

— “Kamala Harris called President Donald Trump’s ban of CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House ‘absolutely abhorrent,’” The Wrap reports.

“Not one of them is trained in technical skills. Not one research PhD, as opposed to China, where half the cabinet is science and technology PhDs. We’re led by grifters and fools.”

— Columbia professor Jeffrey Sachs, on X, on President Trump’s 35-person cabinet.

“Mr. President, some of your immigration enforcement efforts have gone too far… The same Hispanics who helped you get to the White House in 2024 feel betrayed today.”

— Rep. Maria Elvira Salazar (R-FL), breaking with President Trump in a direct-to-camera video.

Numerati

1,000

10%

“The unprecedented spate of mid-decade redistricting for the U.S. House has changed the congressional districts for one-tenth of Americans and significantly altered the makeup of at least one-fifth of districts, according to a new study,” the Associated Press reports.

71%

A new Fox News Poll finds 71% of voters think the Trump administration lacks a clear strategy for ending the Iran War, including 95% of Democrats, 83% of independents, and 43% of Republicans. Sixty percent say U.S. military action against Iran was the wrong decision, while just 37% say it was right.

$9.5 billion

“The Trump administration last year spent $9.5 billion on paid administrative leave for federal workers as part of its plan to shrink the government and save taxpayers money, according to a new estimate by a congressional watchdog,” CNN reports.

470

Reuters has documented at least 470 targets of retribution under Trump’s leadership – from federal employees and prosecutors to universities and media outlets. The list illuminates the sweeping effort by the president and his administration to punish dissent and reshape the government.