January 7, 2019

All Bollocks, No Strike

January 7, 2019 Buck Banks

Trump has rescinded his appointees’ pay hike,
And there won’t be a raise for Vice President Mike.
But to the 800k
Who are getting no pay,
Trump’s message: It’s not a shutdown, it’s a strike!

More Americans Identify as Independent

January 7, 2019 Buck Banks

42%

Gallup: “Significantly more U.S. adults continued to identify as political independents (42%) in 2018 than as either Democrats (30%) or Republicans (26%). At least four in 10 Americans have been political independents in seven of the past eight years, including a record-high 43% in 2014.”

Short Question, Very Long Answer

January 7, 2019 Buck Banks

“Why does everyone want to impeach me, Nancy?”

— President Trump, quoted by CBS News, to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at a White House meeting on the government shutdown.

WSJ Slams Trump for Parroting Russian Propaganda About Afghanistan

January 7, 2019 Buck Banks

“We cannot recall a more absurd misstatement of history by an American President.”

— The Wall Street Journal editorial page slamming President Trump’s comments earlier this week which echoed Russian propaganda when he defended the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

Pelosi Defends Tlaib — Kind of

January 7, 2019 Buck Banks

“I wouldn’t use that language. I don’t — again establish any language standard for my colleagues but I don’t think it’s anything worse than what the president has said.”

— Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), quoted by NBC News, on a viral video of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) saying “we’re going to impeach the motherf**ker.”

U.S. House Still More Christian than General Populace

January 7, 2019 Buck Banks

88%

Pew Research: “The 116th Congress includes the first two Muslim women ever to serve in the House of Representatives and is slightly more religiously diverse overall than the prior Congress. Still, 88% of the members are Christian, compared with 71% of U.S. adults overall.”

New House Optics Bode Ill for GOP

January 7, 2019 Buck Banks

“The visuals of new House should send a shiver through anyone who cares about future of Republican Party. One side looks like America and our future, the other looks like board meeting of a 1950’s corporation. A basic law of politics: be for the future not past.”

Day: January 7, 2019

All Bollocks, No Strike

More Americans Identify as Independent

42%

Gallup: “Significantly more U.S. adults continued to identify as political independents (42%) in 2018 than as either Democrats (30%) or Republicans (26%). At least four in 10 Americans have been political independents in seven of the past eight years, including a record-high 43% in 2014.”

Short Question, Very Long Answer

“Why does everyone want to impeach me, Nancy?”

— President Trump, quoted by CBS News, to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) at a White House meeting on the government shutdown.

WSJ Slams Trump for Parroting Russian Propaganda About Afghanistan

“We cannot recall a more absurd misstatement of history by an American President.”

— The Wall Street Journal editorial page slamming President Trump’s comments earlier this week which echoed Russian propaganda when he defended the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of Afghanistan.

Pelosi Defends Tlaib — Kind of

“I wouldn’t use that language. I don’t — again establish any language standard for my colleagues but I don’t think it’s anything worse than what the president has said.”

— Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), quoted by NBC News, on a viral video of Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) saying “we’re going to impeach the motherf**ker.”

U.S. House Still More Christian than General Populace

88%

Pew Research: “The 116th Congress includes the first two Muslim women ever to serve in the House of Representatives and is slightly more religiously diverse overall than the prior Congress. Still, 88% of the members are Christian, compared with 71% of U.S. adults overall.”

New House Optics Bode Ill for GOP

“The visuals of new House should send a shiver through anyone who cares about future of Republican Party. One side looks like America and our future, the other looks like board meeting of a 1950’s corporation. A basic law of politics: be for the future not past.”

— GOP strategist Stuart Stevens, on Twitter.

Poetic Justice

Verbatim

— Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD), quoted by CBS News.

“Here’s the problem with the red meat: It becomes an addiction. Once you go there and you put that out there, then you’re forced to defend it. So what do they do? They double down. They triple down again.”

— Sen.-elect Abdul El-Sayed (D), quoted by the Washington Post, on Republicans relying on anti-Muslim attacks in the Michigan U.S. Senate race.

— Stephen Miller, quoted by The Guardian, pledging “total devotion” to President Trump.

Numerati

3,824

$1.4 billion

-35 points

31%

63% to 38%

KFF Poll: “With the 2026 midterm campaigns in full swing and early voting about to begin, there is a wide enthusiasm gap between partisan voters, with Democratic voters 25 percentage points more likely than Republican voters to say they are ‘more motivated’ than usual to vote (63% vs. 38%).”