Friday News: White Working Class “About to Be Betrayed” by Trump; Government “of, by and for corporate America”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, December 2.

• Trump’s complex stock portfolio is rife with potential conflicts (He needs to divest completely or Congress needs to step in. Or even better, the Electoral College.)
• Krugman: Seduced and Betrayed by Donald Trump (“Yes, the white working class is about to be betrayed…Trump’s most enthusiastic supporters will be among the biggest losers…if and when the reality that workers are losing ground starts to sink in, I worry that the Trumpists will do what authoritarian governments often do to change the subject away from poor performance: go find an enemy.”)
• Trump’s Breezy Calls to Leaders Leave Diplomats Stunned (“The president-elect’s unfiltered exchanges prompted the White House to urge him to seek the State Department’s expertise in his encounters with foreign leaders.” Very dangerous.)
• Don’t reward companies like Carrier with tax cuts — or punish them with taxes (“Trump’s intervention does not make for a sustainable manufacturing industry.” Nope, that is most definitely NOT a model we can use, just a “one-off” so Trump can claim a “victory” – which it really isn’t.)
• Trump’s Carrier deal is right out of Putin’s playbook (“Look at Russia to see the economic consequences of ruling by whim, not law.”)
• With Populist Anger Rising, Italy May Be Next Domino (“With a critical national referendum on Sunday, Europe’s populist wave is now threatening to plunge Italy into a political crisis. Young Italian voters have been swept up by many of the same forces that led to ‘Brexit’ and the election of Donald J. Trump.”)
• Trump will helm a government of, by and for corporate America (“Trump’s Cabinet is looking increasingly like a team of plutocrats.” Yep, you REALLY showed ’em, Trump voters!)
• Bernie Sanders: Carrier just showed corporations how to beat Donald Trump (It’s called “extortion,” also “taxpayer-funded corporate welfare.” “Art of the BAD deal” by Trump!)
• Shouting match erupts between Trump and Clinton aides at post-election Harvard event (Not even sure why the Clinton folks showed up to that.)
• Democrats need to focus on the gut, not the head (Democrats also need to tell compelling stories, have a powerful narrative – you know, the way humans have communicated since…well, forever.
• Britain has no idea what to do next, and that’s dangerous (“In the general chaos, the loudest, clearest and most convincing voices are the most radical.”)
• Trump picks retired Marine Gen. James Mattis for secretary of defense (The first non-horrendous pick so far?)
• Campaign operatives blast Jeff Zucker over CNN coverage at Harvard event (Zucker’s definitely one of the worst people in the corporate media, and that’s saying a lot!)
• The Carrier deal shows a big problem with Trump’s approach to the presidency
• Green Party candidate Jill Stein got more votes than Trump’s victory margin in 3 key states
• House lawmakers passed the biggest health reform bill since the Affordable Care Act
• 
  Trump promised he’d make Carrier ‘pay a damn tax.’ Instead he’s doing the exact opposite. (“Candidate Trump talked tough. President-elect Trump isn’t following through.”)
• Breitbart’s Climate Science Misinformation Embraced By GOP-Led House Science Committee (This is totally demented.)
• The House Science Committee’s tweets are an embarrassment to science (Orwellian – the “Science Committee” is really the “ANTI-Science Committee.”)
• So much for sticking it to the fat cats: Donald Trump’s Treasury nominee embodies the worst of predatory finance (“Steve Mnuchin’s record as a ruthless foreclosure vulture puts the lie to any notion of ‘populist’ Donald Trump”)
• The Myth of the Rust Belt Revolt (“Donald Trump didn’t flip working-class white voters. Hillary Clinton lost them.”)
• GOP’s Medicare plans run into wall in the Senate (“Top Republicans express reluctance to push forward on partially privatizing health care for seniors.” What, they don’t want to commit political suicide by going along with Ayn Rand-worshipping Paul “Lyin'” Ryan? LOL)
• Veterans groups fear Trump will ‘burn down’ VA (Perhaps you guys should have thought about that, oh, a couple months ago and endorsed Hillary Clinton???)
• Here’s how to save Obamacare (“Turns out the Democrats have a pretty big ace up their sleeve.”)
• Trump’s Chaos Theory: A Single Tweet Causes Jobs To Return (“The president-elect is basking in Carrier’s decision to keep 1,000 workers in the U.S., but his economic plan will actually punish the ones who remain.”)
• Pollsters Probably Didn’t Talk To Enough White Voters Without College Degrees
• Kaine’s cure for election defeat: Diving back into work
• Tim Kaine: ‘We have to be at the table’ if there’s a recount
• Tim Kaine pressures Senate colleagues, Trump for authorized war against Islamic State
• Editorial: Cuba is an economic opportunity for Virginia
• PolitiFact Va.: McAuliffe keeps promise on tough clinic regulations
• Sen. Stanley giving ‘serious consideration’ to run for attorney general
• Stanley: Not your “law-and-order” AG candidate
• Tipping hat to Trump, Republican Reeves kicks off bid for Va. lieutenant governor
• Two Democrats vie for state Senate District 22
• Bryce Reeves makes it official
• Curbing regional politics, boosting workforce called key to combating Virginia’s disparities
• Saslaw says coal jobs are not coming back; Stanley says Medicaid expansion is dead (“Senate leaders from Fairfax County and Franklin County discuss the new political reality during VPA Day at the Capital, held at the Richmond Times-Dispatch.”)
• Report says Metro knew of potential track danger ahead of July derailment
• Battle over Metro’s plan to slash hours
• What Metro needs to get ‘back to good’ (“The transit agency’s boss, Paul Wiedefeld, has a plan. It’ll be a long haul.”)
• With no grand plans on the horizon, Richmond mayoral candidates enjoy return to private life
• Southside celebrates groundbreaking of second Dominion natural gas plant (“Celebrates?” Uhhhh…why?)
• Alexandria facing ‘enormous challenges’ in infrastructure needs, manager warns
• Virginia Board of Education member resigns after vulgar tweets surface (Those tweets are truly appalling.)
• Virginia-Pilot editorial: Failure to plan ties Suffolk in knots
• Breezy with near-normal temperatures, and no real weather headaches through the weekend