Thursday News: “First They Came For…”; “Skinny”=Stupid; Yep, Eric Can’tor Was as Slick/Slimy as We Thought He Was

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Thursday, July 27.

• Right-wing media and hate groups applaud Trump for banning transgender people from serving in the US armed forces
• Donald Trump’s Assault on Jeff Sessions (“The president’s attacks are too much even for some of his staunchest defenders.”)
• Allies Warn Trump of Conservative Revolt Unless He Backs Off Sessions (They don’t care about severely harming the country, but don’t you dare touch the far-right nut in the Attorney General’s office!)
• Trump ponders a recess appointment to replace Attorney General Sessions (Will THIS finally wake up Congressional Republicans to put patriotism over party? Yeah…I doubt it too.)
• Inside Trump’s snap decision to ban transgender troops (“A congressional fight over sex reassignment surgery threatened funding for his border wall.” Ugh.)
• ‘It’s inexplicable’: GOP senators try to warn Trump against going after Sessions (All talk – any action?)
• The norms of government are collapsing before our eyes (“The leaders of the Republican Party are silent in the face of the dangers the president poses.”)
• Welcome to the United States of Anarchy (“Stuff happens, but nothing gets done.”)
• Trump’s dishonest betrayal of America’s transgender troops (“The president tweets a sudden, backward policy change that shuts transgender people out of military service.”)
• The hefty downsides of the ‘skinny’ health-care proposal (“Republicans who oppose denying health care to millions of Americans should take a stand against it.”)
• Why ‘Skinny’ Obamacare Repeal Is a Terrible Idea (The mandates are in there for good reason, as conservatives used to know when they came up with the idea!)
• Blow: ‘First They Came For …’
• White House adviser clashes with Mnuchin over tax plan
• Kenneth Starr: Mr. President, please cut it out
• Killing Obamacare Softly (“The Trump administration and a Republican Congress haven’t been able to repeal the Affordable Care Act, but they are doing their best to destroy it.”)
• Health Bill Repeal Rejection Lays Bare G.O.P. Divide
• AP Analysis: GOP disunity painfully clear in Senate debate
• Dems asked CBO to score rumored “skinny repeal”: It would leave 16 million more uninsured
• Justice Department brief argues against protections for LGBTQ workers (Now THIS is the Jeff Sessions right wingers looove.)
• Trump’s Transgender Ban Will Weaken the Military (“America’s armed services are already struggling to attract young recruits. The president just made their job harder.”)
• The “Skinny Repeal” Ruse (“A vote for this narrow repeal bill could end up just being a vote for Trumpcare.”)
• Gather ‘Round for the ‘Skinny Repeal’ Charade
• Government by Absurdity Takes Many Forms (“Watching tens of millions of Americans lose their healthcare in slow motion.”)
• Scaramucci still stands to profit from SkyBridge from the White House (As always, just imagine how Republicans would be reacting if this were in the Hillary Clinton administration.)
• Trump’s attacks stun Republican senators (Really? Stunned? Are they terminally naive about Trump?)
• Bare bones repeal plan gains steam in Senate (“The Blue Cross Blue Shield Association on Wednesday warned of “steep premiums increases and diminished choices” if the mandate were repealed. ‘A system that allows people to purchase coverage only when they need it drives up costs for everyone,’ the group said.”)
• Cantor comes clean, admits he didn’t believe his own ACA rhetoric (Smarmy, slimy, cynical…choose your adjective to describe Eric Can’tor.)
• Eric Cantor: “If You’ve Got That Anger Working for You, You’re Gonna Let It Be” (As horrible as Dave Brat is, this type of thing reminds me why I’m glad to see Eric Can’tor out of Congress.)
• House Tells Senate to Fix Their Awful Health Bill, Then Rejects Their Solution (“House Freedom Caucus chairman Mark Meadows agreed that ‘skinny repeal’ would be ‘dead on arrival’ in the House, but he said he understands it’s ‘just a vehicle’ for a conference.”)
• Scaramucci Appears to Accuse Priebus of Felony Leaking, Calls for FBI Investigation
• Will John McCain Save Obamacare – and Himself? (“The Arizona senator has enjoyed bipartisan respect and even reverence. How he will be remembered may depend on what he does should a bill to repeal Obamacare come to a final vote.”)
• Virginia advocacy groups, political leaders respond to Trump’s ban on transgender people in military
• Republican Congressman Dave Brat defends embattled attorney general
• Virginians need more health care — and less grandstanding by Gov. Terry McAuliffe (And how, pray tell, is McAuliffe supposed to do things like expand Medicaid – which he tried VERY hard to do – when the Republicans who control our General ASSembly won’t go along???)
• As Northam coasts, Gillespie grinds on
• Votes by GOP Reps. Comstock, Taylor on transgender issue reflect political landscape (“The two lawmakers came to different decisions on the ‘Hartzel amendment,’ which would have blocked funding for transgender medical care.”)
• Transgender Va. candidate on Trump’s military ban: ‘Height of hypocrisy’
• A school named after a Confederate may be three letters away from compromise (“In Virginia, school leaders will vote on renaming J.E.B. Stuart High to Stuart High.”)
• Editorial: Charlottesville braces for an invasion of the knuckle-draggers
• Most of Hampton Road’s congressional delegation oppose Trump’s transgender ban (“Rep. Rob Wittman, who is a senior member of the House Armed Services Committee, said he wouldn’t comment until hearing more about how the ban would be implemented.” Profile in cowardice.)
• As Senate debates healthcare, Chesapeake schools chief warns about impact of Medicaid cuts
• Chipotle receives follow-up subpoena, probing details of Virginia norovirus outbreak
• Increased humidity today; heavy rain threatens Friday into Saturday