Year: 2018

Trump Cannot Silence Brennan

Buck Banks

“This action is part of a broader effort by Mr. Trump to suppress freedom of speech and punish critics. It should gravely worry all Americans, including intelligence professionals, about the cost of speaking out. My principles are worth far more than clearances. I will not relent.”

— Former CIA Director John Brennan, responding on Twitter to President Trump revoking his security clearance.

Trump Presidency: ‘The Greatest Intelligence Operation of Our Time’

Jon Ponder

In an interview on MSNBC, investigative journalist Craig Unger, author of the new book, House of Putin, House of Trump, described how Donald Trump first gained access to Russian mob money, starting with New York real-estate transactions in the 1980s:

I go back nearly 40 years, and I see essentially the greatest intelligence operation of our times. It started off in 1984 with a man who has ties to the Russian mafia, and he meets with Donald Trump in the Trump Tower, the supreme moment of Donald Trump becoming a master of real estate in the United States — and what we end up seeing is Trump Tower become sort of a cathedral of money laundering.

[…]

Democrats Ahead by Nine Points in Generic Ballot

Buck Banks

51% to 42%

A new Quinnipiac poll finds Democrats leading Republicans in the generic congressional ballot, 51% to 42%. Key finding: Independent voters go Democratic 50% to 38%. Another key finding: “Donald Trump’s presidency makes 52% of American voters think less favorably of the Republican Party, while 16% think more favorably of the GOP and 30% say President Trump has no impact on their views.”

GOP Getting Progressively Weirder

Buck Banks

“If I were coming of age today and my example for conservatism was based on Donald Trump, Laura Ingraham, and Sean Hannity, would I sign up? I can’t imagine that I would join that cause. Should this trend continue, it’s going to be increasingly hard for Republicans to attract thoughtful, compassionate, and even sane supporters. If that happens, not only will the GOP become progressively whiter, older, more rural, and more male, it will also become…weirder.”

— Matt Lewis

Constituent Heckles Jones Over Kavanaugh Vote

Buck Banks

“You have enough information. We love you. But you will vote no. And you have enough information to vote no. You can kiss my ass if you vote yes. You can kiss my ass if you vote yes. You can kiss my ass.”

— Sen. Doug Jones (D-AL) “was heckled at a town hall meeting Monday night in Birmingham when a woman threw a pair of stuffed lips in the senator’s direction while venting her anger that Alabama’s junior senator is keeping an open mind on U.S. Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh,” the Birmingham News reports.