“One of the key reasons President Trump won last November was his stance on illegal immigration. Between the wall and his promise to provide relief to ICE agents whose hands were tied by the Obama administration, the president won a first: an endorsement for a candidate in a presidential election from the ICE agents’ union.
ICE, like (too) many executive agencies, has been polluted by Obama appointees and loyalists, so the ICE agents in the field are not getting the support they need to meet the president’s illegal immigration goals. Indeed, ICE managers are reportedly making questionable calls like ordering ICE agents not to wear bullet-proof vests because doing so “might offend” illegal aliens.
A contingent of ICE agents frustrated by their management have launched the website JIC Report in the hopes of getting the Commander in Chief’s attention and letting him know that they are being hobbled by Obama holdovers who flout the president’s illegal immigration agenda at every turn.
From their “About Us” page: The JIC Report is a revolutionary new website that allows employee whistleblowers from within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to communicate directly with the American people in an effort to create public awareness, provide oversight and transparency, and seek an end to corruption and mismanagement within ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
This is not an anti-Trump site (ICE employees endorsed the President), it is, however, our only means of correcting an agency that is grossly mismanaged and has no outside oversight.
The disgruntled ICE agents stress that they are not “anti-Trump” and that they believe in him and his illegal immigration agenda. What concerns them is that change within the agency has not occurred and is even being intentionally blocked by Obama-era management.
The Washington Times reports:
The country’s immigration enforcement officers launched a website Tuesday demanding President Trump do more to clean up their agency, saying he’s left the Obama team in place and it’s stymieing his goal of enforcing the laws on the books.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervisors in Philadelphia banned officers from wearing bullet proof vests during an operation in the dangerous “badlands” section in the city’s north, for fear of offending the immigrant community, the new website, jicreport.com, charges.
Meanwhile officers in one Utah city are required to give city officials seven days’ heads-up before arresting anyone — and by the time they go in, the migrants they’re targeting seem to have gotten a heads-up and taken off, the website says.
Compiled by the National ICE Council, which represents ICE officers, the website is part whistleblower and part primal scream for Mr. Trump to pay attention to a group of people who were among his staunchest backers during last year’s campaign.
“ICE Officers grudgingly admit that the only President they ever endorsed hasn’t kept his word, and many officers now feel betrayed,” the officers say on the new website.
ICE Council President Chris Crane, in an open letter to Mr. Trump linked on the new website, says he finds himself regularly having to defend the president to ICE officers who backed Mr. Trump during the campaign but now feel “stab[bed] in the back” by the administration.
Mr. Crane said he gives Mr. Trump the benefit of the doubt, but said those around the president — who he doesn’t name — appear to be trying to shield him from hearing about the continued struggles at ICE.
“While officers view the President’s position on enforcement as courageous, the Trump administration has left all of the Obama managers and leadership in place, a group that ICE Officers know after the last eight years to be completely incompetent, corrupt and anti-enforcement,” Mr. Crane wrote.
In addition to these allegations, the ICE agents’ union website also claims that Obama loyalist ICE managers are “making deals” with city officials and providing notice of impending arrests. The result being that the illegal aliens “disappear” and cannot be apprehended.”
“Efforts to combat sexual harassment on Capitol Hill gained momentum on Tuesday as female lawmakers shared stories of male colleagues engaging in predatory behavior.
Lawmakers in both parties had already expressed support for mandatory sexual harassment awareness training, which is currently voluntary for legislative branch staffers. But they went further in a House Administration Committee hearing on Capitol Hill’s harassment policies and said even more can be done in a male-dominated workplace where sexual harassment can be pervasive.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), in testimony before the panel, said at least two current members of Congress have engaged in sexual harassment.
“In fact, there are two members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, right now, who serve, who have been subject to review or not have been subject to review, but have engaged in sexual harassment,” said Speier, who declined to name the male lawmakers.
Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) offered another example. She shared a story of a male lawmaker — still in Congress — who asked a young female staffer to bring materials to his residence. He opened the door dressed in only a towel, invited her inside and proceeded to expose himself.
The staffer subsequently quit her job.”
——————————
But unlike the pervs in Hollywood, these pervs are costing taxpayers money, and they don’t think you have a right to know about it.
“Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) informed NBC’s Chuck Todd on Tuesday that $15 million in taxpayer money had been paid out over the years to settle sexual harassment suits filed against members of Congress.”
““I think moving forward we have got to take steps to make sure that there is transparency. That in fact, the harasser is not going to have the settlement paid for out of the U.S. Treasury and have all the taxpayers paying for it. It should be something that is paid for by the individual.”
Todd followed up by asking Speier if taxpayer money has been used to protect the identities of these members of Congress.
“One member of Congress has been – has settled a claim, and there has been a taxpayer settlement,” Speier told Todd.
Todd asked Speier if taxpayers have a right to know to know about these settlements.
“Well, I think you do have the right to know. But right now, under the system, you don’t have a right to know,” Speier informed Todd. “We do know there is about $15 million that has been paid out by the House on behalf of harassers in the last 10 to 15 years.””
Twenty years from now, historians may conclude that the most significant long term effect of the Trump presidency was how it allowed China to assert dominance in Asia and replace the US as the global economic leader. Given Trump’s level of intelligence, maturity and knowledge of economics, it was all extremely predictable. Here are a couple of perspectives on his trip to Asia:
We talked about this the other night. After years of liberals excusing the actions of Bill Clinton, Trump and Roy Moore have now made sexual assault unacceptable to the Left.
What good is sexual harassment training going to do? The training teaches about all of the “fringe” behaviors that folks might not realize fall into that category (like telling a lady she looks nice). These guys have been engaging in blatant activities that everyone EVERYONE knows is sexual harassment.
The Politico article speaks of the “transactional” nature of some people’s decision making regarding political candidates. It puts the word in quotes as though it were some awful thing. I don’t think that way at all.
As far as I am concerned, voting is always a transactional proposition, and I make no apologies for viewing it that way. I do pray for wisdom and insight when voting, but having done that, I acknowledge that I have very limited choices in voting. I usually base my choice on some calculation of what the candidate will probably do once in office. I ask myself questions like: in what direction will he lead (I’m looking for a wise and just direction), and is he the most effective of the choices I have who will lead in that direction, will his character and personality get in the way or be a help. And finally, what is the alternative.
And when viewing a candidate’s detractors, I ask: is what they are saying true, if so, how will it affect the candidate’s performance in office, and why are these particular negative comments being brought up NOW instead of at some other less politically crucial time. Some people (and I can be one of them sometimes) are loath to be manipulated or feel manipulated by media or political opponents, so, while they are not irrelevant, the source and timing of criticisms—even true criticisms—matter.
And finally, ‘protest voting’, voting for a candidate one would not normally vote for, or staying home on election day are perfectly acceptable options if one’s conscience leads in that direction.
Linda, that shooting is still a top story, but not at the top of google news anymore. When they can link it to a useful political issue, it will undoubtedly bounce back to the top. :–/
The Rs are in a dilemma. If they behave morally, honestly and rationally, The Trump cultists will hate them and refuse to vote for them. If they join the Cult and defend all of Trump’s idiocy and dishonesty, the independents and the educated will refuse to vote for them.
As I said months ago, if I were a a Republican in Congress, I would retire.
Behaving morally doesn’t require bowing down to everything Trump says or does. Nor does it necessarily require that Trump be criticized every time he is wrong. Pence and Cruz both seem to be doing just fine in that regard. (And I confess myself pleasantly surprised with Cruz.) Still it’s very telling that so many people in Congress are ready to throw up their hands and quit when the going gets tough for them. And it really makes you wonder how they would last in a working person’s world when McConnell complains of a 40 or 50 hr work week. Poor babies. :–/
“The Senate has finally produced its proposed version of tax reform nearly halfway through this session of Congress, and it’s clear that Republicans in Congress don’t talk much with each other. Not only did Finance chair Orrin Hatch include a repeal of the ObamaCare individual mandate, which the House eschewed, they took the opposite approach to deficit control for reconciliation. The House made the corporate tax rates temporary and the individual tax cuts permanent. Hatch flipped that around, which is bound to raise some eyebrows:
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) released modifications to the Senate tax bill late Tuesday, including the effective elimination of ObamaCare’s individual mandate and the expiration of tax changes for individuals after 2025. …
Hatch’s modifications also include several provisions aimed at helping the middle class and shoring up support from GOP senators. These include increasing the child tax credit to $2,000 from $1,650 in the original bill and further lowering some of the individual tax rates. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have been pushing for a larger child tax credit expansion.
But the modified mark would also sunset the measure’s changes to the individual tax code, excluding the mandate repeal, after 2025. Provisions that would sunset include the lower tax rates, the larger standard deduction and child tax credit, the 17.4 percent deduction of income from pass-through businesses and the repeal of the individual alternative minimum tax.
This may be a smarter approach, but it’s going to be a tough sell to voters. Republicans and the White House need significant and quick economic growth out of tax reform — a boost not just in job creation but also a move back to the US for large corporations, which have taken to tax inversions over the last few years for better competitive positions in global markets. That’s the biggest part of Donald Trump’s America-First approach, but a temporary tax cut won’t suffice as a catalyst for the scale necessary to demonstrate unchallengeable success. Those cuts have to be permanent for businesses to shift their long-term investment strategies enough to produce the economic results Trump and the GOP need for 2020, if not next year.
In essence, Republicans are rolling the dice on the middle-class tax cuts in Hatch’s plan. They’re betting that in 2025 the idea of allowing those tax cuts to expire will be so unpalatable that they can use a regular order vote on making them permanent. That’s not exactly how it panned out with George W. Bush’s “temporary” tax cuts; it took a series of budget battles and years of brinksmanship to settle that issue. However, it will be a lot tougher to fight that battle over corporate tax rates in 2025 than individual tax cuts. Hatch is at least giving Republicans a fighting chance at winning in eight years, and he’s raising the stakes on it by making the cuts and exemptions broader than the House version did.
Needless to say, though, the bill looks like Republicans favor corporations over individual taxpayers in taking this approach. Democrats will rain class warfare all over them, and it might be enough to peel off more than a couple of moderates in the Senate Republican caucus. One would presume that Hatch and Mitch McConnell whipped this version before unveiling it so as not to embarrass themselves by failing to get to 50 when it comes to the floor, but …. say, you’ve been around this year for ObamaCare repeal efforts, right? Riiiiiiight.”
—————————
A simple tweet, sent when a nation is in shock, is a quick and effective way of provoking outrage. That’s what @SouthLoneStar discovered after rebuking British Muslims in the wake of the Westminster terrorist attack in March. After the attack, the tweeter shared a photograph of a young Muslim woman walking along the bridge looking at her phone, and wrongly accused her of ignoring the injured. It was swiftly picked up in the media – and the depiction of the incident became a minor cause célèbre.
SouthLoneStar appeared to be a fairly conventional member of the American “alt-right” taking a sudden interest in London. And he – or perhaps she – was pleased with the result. For days after, the tweeter was gleefully sharing press clippings. “Wow … I’m on the Daily Mail front page! Thank you British libs! You’re making me famous,” he said, referring to an article that appeared on Mail Online and which still bore the tweet at the time of writing. A day later: “I’m on The Sun! Thank you again, British libs! Now I’m even more famous!”
But there was a hidden – and disturbing – dimension to the incident, because this tweeter was part of a Russian disinformation campaign.
When it comes to politics, the value of outrage is becoming overrated; and it’s exhausting. Many of us are too worn down to be outraged at every available opportunity any more—though opportunities continue to abound. That’s one reason a good solid argument is so appealing. It dispenses with much of the extraneous emotional churn and focuses on the issue at hand. ;–)
Moore really needs a nickname. I hate to admit that the choice is obvious. A politician who is profoundly ignorant, relentlessly demagogic and a sexual predator. He is “Southern Trump”.
When you are up at midnight rewriting the concluding paragraphs of tomorrow's column on the ever-evolving Republican tax plan it is probably time to reevaluate your life choices.
Whatever views on tax reform, please note: 1. US has one of most progressive tax systems in world 2. To look like Scandinavia, libs will have to raise taxes on working & middle class /1 https://t.co/f7rc93yIH5
This is in reference to the poll that showed that some evangelicals supported Moore even more after the allegations.
“It needs to be said—a host of people are letting their disgust towards evangelicals frame their interpretation of the fallout from allegations against Moore and they are simply treating the information unfairly.
Rather than seeing the most logical (Occam’s Razor), they are drawn to the most disgusting (a hermeneutic of disgust).
Even Nate Silver opined on the interpretation, explaining, “For most voters, “more likely to support after allegations” means “I’m a Moore supporter & don’t believe the allegations” and not “I approve of the conduct the allegations allege.”
It has to be pretty unfair and pretty widespread when Nate Silver notices and comments on the perception of evangelicals. . .
@8:09 ….or, we could always cut our military spending. We spend more than the rest of the top 8 or 10 combined, and is about a quarter of our budget if I’m remembering correctly.
Ricky, @7:53 Regarding Cotton, I’m not ditching Trump for anyone else just yet. Still, it is good to see that there are some other options for the future. It remains to be seen just how serious those others are. It will take a thick skin to be the one at the helm when there is still strong support in high places for the worst aspects of globalism.
Wandering Views 
Looks like once again Obama era holdovers are working at preventing Trump from accomplishing his goals. Purge them.
https://legalinsurrection.com/2017/11/ice-agents-launch-whistleblower-website-fear-trump-stabbed-them-in-the-back/
“One of the key reasons President Trump won last November was his stance on illegal immigration. Between the wall and his promise to provide relief to ICE agents whose hands were tied by the Obama administration, the president won a first: an endorsement for a candidate in a presidential election from the ICE agents’ union.
ICE, like (too) many executive agencies, has been polluted by Obama appointees and loyalists, so the ICE agents in the field are not getting the support they need to meet the president’s illegal immigration goals. Indeed, ICE managers are reportedly making questionable calls like ordering ICE agents not to wear bullet-proof vests because doing so “might offend” illegal aliens.
A contingent of ICE agents frustrated by their management have launched the website JIC Report in the hopes of getting the Commander in Chief’s attention and letting him know that they are being hobbled by Obama holdovers who flout the president’s illegal immigration agenda at every turn.
From their “About Us” page: The JIC Report is a revolutionary new website that allows employee whistleblowers from within Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to communicate directly with the American people in an effort to create public awareness, provide oversight and transparency, and seek an end to corruption and mismanagement within ICE and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
This is not an anti-Trump site (ICE employees endorsed the President), it is, however, our only means of correcting an agency that is grossly mismanaged and has no outside oversight.
The disgruntled ICE agents stress that they are not “anti-Trump” and that they believe in him and his illegal immigration agenda. What concerns them is that change within the agency has not occurred and is even being intentionally blocked by Obama-era management.
The Washington Times reports:
The country’s immigration enforcement officers launched a website Tuesday demanding President Trump do more to clean up their agency, saying he’s left the Obama team in place and it’s stymieing his goal of enforcing the laws on the books.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement supervisors in Philadelphia banned officers from wearing bullet proof vests during an operation in the dangerous “badlands” section in the city’s north, for fear of offending the immigrant community, the new website, jicreport.com, charges.
Meanwhile officers in one Utah city are required to give city officials seven days’ heads-up before arresting anyone — and by the time they go in, the migrants they’re targeting seem to have gotten a heads-up and taken off, the website says.
Compiled by the National ICE Council, which represents ICE officers, the website is part whistleblower and part primal scream for Mr. Trump to pay attention to a group of people who were among his staunchest backers during last year’s campaign.
“ICE Officers grudgingly admit that the only President they ever endorsed hasn’t kept his word, and many officers now feel betrayed,” the officers say on the new website.
ICE Council President Chris Crane, in an open letter to Mr. Trump linked on the new website, says he finds himself regularly having to defend the president to ICE officers who backed Mr. Trump during the campaign but now feel “stab[bed] in the back” by the administration.
Mr. Crane said he gives Mr. Trump the benefit of the doubt, but said those around the president — who he doesn’t name — appear to be trying to shield him from hearing about the continued struggles at ICE.
“While officers view the President’s position on enforcement as courageous, the Trump administration has left all of the Obama managers and leadership in place, a group that ICE Officers know after the last eight years to be completely incompetent, corrupt and anti-enforcement,” Mr. Crane wrote.
In addition to these allegations, the ICE agents’ union website also claims that Obama loyalist ICE managers are “making deals” with city officials and providing notice of impending arrests. The result being that the illegal aliens “disappear” and cannot be apprehended.”
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I was wondering when we’d get around to this bunch of offenders. And look, it’s a bi-partisan affair.
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/360324-lawmakers-describe-pervasive-sexual-harassment-on-capitol-hill
“Efforts to combat sexual harassment on Capitol Hill gained momentum on Tuesday as female lawmakers shared stories of male colleagues engaging in predatory behavior.
Lawmakers in both parties had already expressed support for mandatory sexual harassment awareness training, which is currently voluntary for legislative branch staffers. But they went further in a House Administration Committee hearing on Capitol Hill’s harassment policies and said even more can be done in a male-dominated workplace where sexual harassment can be pervasive.
Rep. Jackie Speier (D-Calif.), in testimony before the panel, said at least two current members of Congress have engaged in sexual harassment.
“In fact, there are two members of Congress, Republican and Democrat, right now, who serve, who have been subject to review or not have been subject to review, but have engaged in sexual harassment,” said Speier, who declined to name the male lawmakers.
Rep. Barbara Comstock (R-Va.) offered another example. She shared a story of a male lawmaker — still in Congress — who asked a young female staffer to bring materials to his residence. He opened the door dressed in only a towel, invited her inside and proceeded to expose himself.
The staffer subsequently quit her job.”
——————————
But unlike the pervs in Hollywood, these pervs are costing taxpayers money, and they don’t think you have a right to know about it.
http://ntknetwork.com/15-million-in-taxpayer-money-has-been-paid-out-to-settle-congressional-sexual-harassment-suits/
“Rep. Jackie Speier (D-CA) informed NBC’s Chuck Todd on Tuesday that $15 million in taxpayer money had been paid out over the years to settle sexual harassment suits filed against members of Congress.”
““I think moving forward we have got to take steps to make sure that there is transparency. That in fact, the harasser is not going to have the settlement paid for out of the U.S. Treasury and have all the taxpayers paying for it. It should be something that is paid for by the individual.”
Todd followed up by asking Speier if taxpayer money has been used to protect the identities of these members of Congress.
“One member of Congress has been – has settled a claim, and there has been a taxpayer settlement,” Speier told Todd.
Todd asked Speier if taxpayers have a right to know to know about these settlements.
“Well, I think you do have the right to know. But right now, under the system, you don’t have a right to know,” Speier informed Todd. “We do know there is about $15 million that has been paid out by the House on behalf of harassers in the last 10 to 15 years.””
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Twenty years from now, historians may conclude that the most significant long term effect of the Trump presidency was how it allowed China to assert dominance in Asia and replace the US as the global economic leader. Given Trump’s level of intelligence, maturity and knowledge of economics, it was all extremely predictable. Here are a couple of perspectives on his trip to Asia:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/global-opinions/trumps-extraordinary-12-day-adulation-tour-through-asia/2017/11/14/a60a44fc-c98d-11e7-8321-481fd63f174d_story.html?hpid=hp_no-name_opinion-card-c%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&utm_term=.b86b76ca15cf
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2017/11/15/chinas-rise-didnt-have-to-mean-americas-fall-then-came-trump/?utm_term=.67d966bcc8f7
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And a third:
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/theworldpost/wp/2017/11/13/trump-china/?tid=a_inl&utm_term=.3bc3fe02a96a
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Other journalists are applauding Shepherd Smith for what he told Fox News viewers about the Clinton/uranium “scandal”.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/11/15/fox-news-shepherd-smith-debunks-his-networks-hillary-clinton-scandal-story-infuriates-viewers/?utm_term=.95e928f2cb8a
I would be interested if any Trump supporters could refute any of the points made by Smith.
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We talked about this the other night. After years of liberals excusing the actions of Bill Clinton, Trump and Roy Moore have now made sexual assault unacceptable to the Left.
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/11/14/roy-moore-allegations-bill-clinton-democrats-215825
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What good is sexual harassment training going to do? The training teaches about all of the “fringe” behaviors that folks might not realize fall into that category (like telling a lady she looks nice). These guys have been engaging in blatant activities that everyone EVERYONE knows is sexual harassment.
LikeLiked by 4 people
Another day, another shooting. It isn’t even news anymore.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Politico article speaks of the “transactional” nature of some people’s decision making regarding political candidates. It puts the word in quotes as though it were some awful thing. I don’t think that way at all.
As far as I am concerned, voting is always a transactional proposition, and I make no apologies for viewing it that way. I do pray for wisdom and insight when voting, but having done that, I acknowledge that I have very limited choices in voting. I usually base my choice on some calculation of what the candidate will probably do once in office. I ask myself questions like: in what direction will he lead (I’m looking for a wise and just direction), and is he the most effective of the choices I have who will lead in that direction, will his character and personality get in the way or be a help. And finally, what is the alternative.
And when viewing a candidate’s detractors, I ask: is what they are saying true, if so, how will it affect the candidate’s performance in office, and why are these particular negative comments being brought up NOW instead of at some other less politically crucial time. Some people (and I can be one of them sometimes) are loath to be manipulated or feel manipulated by media or political opponents, so, while they are not irrelevant, the source and timing of criticisms—even true criticisms—matter.
And finally, ‘protest voting’, voting for a candidate one would not normally vote for, or staying home on election day are perfectly acceptable options if one’s conscience leads in that direction.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Linda, that shooting is still a top story, but not at the top of google news anymore. When they can link it to a useful political issue, it will undoubtedly bounce back to the top. :–/
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Debra @ 8:57. Very well said. If only your leader were so well spoken.
LikeLiked by 1 person
It is going to be ugly:
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/other/2018_generic_congressional_vote-6185.html
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Well Ricky, that’s what happens when you lie to voters, don’t fulfill the promises you made, and have a worse approval rating than Trump and Satan.
But I’m sure in your mind, it’s all Trump’s fault, right?
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The Rs are in a dilemma. If they behave morally, honestly and rationally, The Trump cultists will hate them and refuse to vote for them. If they join the Cult and defend all of Trump’s idiocy and dishonesty, the independents and the educated will refuse to vote for them.
As I said months ago, if I were a a Republican in Congress, I would retire.
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“If they behave morally, honestly and rationally…………..”
That’d be a first. When will they be starting? 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Behaving morally doesn’t require bowing down to everything Trump says or does. Nor does it necessarily require that Trump be criticized every time he is wrong. Pence and Cruz both seem to be doing just fine in that regard. (And I confess myself pleasantly surprised with Cruz.) Still it’s very telling that so many people in Congress are ready to throw up their hands and quit when the going gets tough for them. And it really makes you wonder how they would last in a working person’s world when McConnell complains of a 40 or 50 hr work week. Poor babies. :–/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Why am I not surprised?
https://hotair.com/archives/2017/11/15/senate-tax-bill-corporate-cuts-permanent-individuals-not-much/
“The Senate has finally produced its proposed version of tax reform nearly halfway through this session of Congress, and it’s clear that Republicans in Congress don’t talk much with each other. Not only did Finance chair Orrin Hatch include a repeal of the ObamaCare individual mandate, which the House eschewed, they took the opposite approach to deficit control for reconciliation. The House made the corporate tax rates temporary and the individual tax cuts permanent. Hatch flipped that around, which is bound to raise some eyebrows:
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) released modifications to the Senate tax bill late Tuesday, including the effective elimination of ObamaCare’s individual mandate and the expiration of tax changes for individuals after 2025. …
Hatch’s modifications also include several provisions aimed at helping the middle class and shoring up support from GOP senators. These include increasing the child tax credit to $2,000 from $1,650 in the original bill and further lowering some of the individual tax rates. Sens. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) have been pushing for a larger child tax credit expansion.
But the modified mark would also sunset the measure’s changes to the individual tax code, excluding the mandate repeal, after 2025. Provisions that would sunset include the lower tax rates, the larger standard deduction and child tax credit, the 17.4 percent deduction of income from pass-through businesses and the repeal of the individual alternative minimum tax.
This may be a smarter approach, but it’s going to be a tough sell to voters. Republicans and the White House need significant and quick economic growth out of tax reform — a boost not just in job creation but also a move back to the US for large corporations, which have taken to tax inversions over the last few years for better competitive positions in global markets. That’s the biggest part of Donald Trump’s America-First approach, but a temporary tax cut won’t suffice as a catalyst for the scale necessary to demonstrate unchallengeable success. Those cuts have to be permanent for businesses to shift their long-term investment strategies enough to produce the economic results Trump and the GOP need for 2020, if not next year.
In essence, Republicans are rolling the dice on the middle-class tax cuts in Hatch’s plan. They’re betting that in 2025 the idea of allowing those tax cuts to expire will be so unpalatable that they can use a regular order vote on making them permanent. That’s not exactly how it panned out with George W. Bush’s “temporary” tax cuts; it took a series of budget battles and years of brinksmanship to settle that issue. However, it will be a lot tougher to fight that battle over corporate tax rates in 2025 than individual tax cuts. Hatch is at least giving Republicans a fighting chance at winning in eight years, and he’s raising the stakes on it by making the cuts and exemptions broader than the House version did.
Needless to say, though, the bill looks like Republicans favor corporations over individual taxpayers in taking this approach. Democrats will rain class warfare all over them, and it might be enough to peel off more than a couple of moderates in the Senate Republican caucus. One would presume that Hatch and Mitch McConnell whipped this version before unveiling it so as not to embarrass themselves by failing to get to 50 when it comes to the floor, but …. say, you’ve been around this year for ObamaCare repeal efforts, right? Riiiiiiight.”
—————————
Looks like? They do.
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Be careful sharing the memes of those who seem to share your political views, or reacting with outrage to the memes of those who seem to oppose your political views. Those who post such memes may have other motives entirely than those that appear on the surface: https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2017/nov/14/how-a-russian-troll-soldier-stirred-anger-after-the-westminster-attack?CMP=fb_gu
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When it comes to politics, the value of outrage is becoming overrated; and it’s exhausting. Many of us are too worn down to be outraged at every available opportunity any more—though opportunities continue to abound. That’s one reason a good solid argument is so appealing. It dispenses with much of the extraneous emotional churn and focuses on the issue at hand. ;–)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Moore really needs a nickname. I hate to admit that the choice is obvious. A politician who is profoundly ignorant, relentlessly demagogic and a sexual predator. He is “Southern Trump”.
https://www.google.com/amp/www.nydailynews.com/amp/news/politics/ala-woman-claims-roy-moore-grabbed-buttocks-married-article-1.3635703
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This is why Douthat makes the big bucks.
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Probably not going to happen unless someone writes a book and puts his name in every paragraph.
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Debra, An article about what your man Tom Cotten has been up to.
LikeLiked by 1 person
We figured this out a couple of weeks ago.
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This is in reference to the poll that showed that some evangelicals supported Moore even more after the allegations.
“It needs to be said—a host of people are letting their disgust towards evangelicals frame their interpretation of the fallout from allegations against Moore and they are simply treating the information unfairly.
Rather than seeing the most logical (Occam’s Razor), they are drawn to the most disgusting (a hermeneutic of disgust).
Even Nate Silver opined on the interpretation, explaining, “For most voters, “more likely to support after allegations” means “I’m a Moore supporter & don’t believe the allegations” and not “I approve of the conduct the allegations allege.”
It has to be pretty unfair and pretty widespread when Nate Silver notices and comments on the perception of evangelicals. . .
Fairness matters, and it’s lacking here.”
http://www.christianitytoday.com/edstetzer/2017/november/your-disgust-for-roy-moores-evangelicals-may-say-more-about.html?utm_source=ctdirect-html&utm_medium=Newsletter&utm_term=9474712&utm_content=548416776&utm_campaign=email
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@8:09 ….or, we could always cut our military spending. We spend more than the rest of the top 8 or 10 combined, and is about a quarter of our budget if I’m remembering correctly.
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Ricky, @7:53 Regarding Cotton, I’m not ditching Trump for anyone else just yet. Still, it is good to see that there are some other options for the future. It remains to be seen just how serious those others are. It will take a thick skin to be the one at the helm when there is still strong support in high places for the worst aspects of globalism.
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