Friday News: GOP “Tax Lies Show the Rot Runs Deep”; Jimmy Kimmel vs. Roy Moore; “Do Not Let Tom Cotton Anywhere Near the CIA”

by Lowell

Here are a few national and Virginia news headlines, political and otherwise, for Friday, December 1.

• Senate GOP leaders scramble to save tax bill after deficit snag (After this, anyone who believes the GOP is the party of “fiscal conservatism,” cutting the deficit/debt, etc. is just plain stupid.)
• Wonkblog: Why it’s such a big deal the bill would add $1 trillion to debt
• Republicans rewriting tax bill — with fight pushed into Friday
• Krugman: Republicans’ Tax Lies Show the Rot Runs Deep
• President Trump is now a troll (“And by retweeting hate, he endangers us all.”)
• Apparently Republicans want to kick the middle class in the face (“The tax bill isn’t even about helping the rich anymore. It’s about hurting the poor.”)
• Trump tells confidants that a government shutdown might be good for him politically (WTF?)
• Trump Is Cracking Up (“Trump, an untethered maniac, sits atop it, flicking a lighter that Republicans in Congress could take away, but won’t. If everything goes up in flames, we can’t say we weren’t warned.”)
• This is getting worse (“The president is not being crazy like a fox.” Nope, he’s just plain crazy.)
• Tillerson’s fall could turn State into a hawk’s nest (“Mike Pompeo speaks with the tough, confident voice that Trump wants to project.”)
• Maybe Trump knows his base better than we do (“And people are more motivated by cultural, social, tribal issues than their wallets.” BINGO – it is NOT “economic anxiety” at work here.)
• Kate Steinle trial: Garcia Zarate acquitted in San Francisco pier killing (Speaking of “cultural, social, tribal issues” – how about illegal immigration?)
• Officials: Trump might declare Jerusalem the Israeli capital (Why?)
• We’ll take Pompeo over Tillerson, frustrated diplomats say (“Even skeptics of the hawkish CIA director say they would welcome a change — and a solid Trump ally — at the helm of their beleaguered department.” That shows you how bad things are.)
• State department denies Rex Tillerson is being replaced as Trump reveals little
• Do Not Let Tom Cotton Anywhere Near the CIA (“The senator is an extreme ideologue with the exact wrong temperament for the job.” Agreed, this guy is a nutjob.)
• What Tom Cotton Would Mean for the CIA (“It’s a terrifying, dangerous prospect.”)
• GOP’s dark victory: Tax plan is the end product of their war on Obama (“Republicans’ ‘starve the beast’ strategy — blow up the deficit and blame the Democrats — pays off big time”)
• Conservative Megadonor Robert Mercer Funded Project Veritas (Who’s more evil, the Kochs or the Mercer family?)
• The Republican Tax Bill Would Gut Affordable Housing in America (This bill is a horror show in every way. Anyone who votes for it MUST be ousted from office at the next possible opportunity.)
• Official Analysis Finds Republicans Are Completely Wrong About Their Tax Bill Paying for Itself(“The Senate tax bill is expected to add $1 trillion to the deficit over 10 years.”)
• Top GOP Senators Join Long List of People Trump Pressured to End the Russia Probe (All the more reason to continue it.)
• John McCain Caps Political Career by Declaring Himself a Fraud (He almost always has been, such as when he picked Sarah Palin as his running mate.)
• Trump Appears to Be Firing Tillerson Via Public Shaming
• How Rex Tillerson Wrecked the State Department
• Tucker Carlson defends racist Britain First Twitter account retweeted by Trump (I’ve always despised Tucker Carlson.)
• Twitter is paralysed by Trump’s tweeting (“Recently Twitter has pledged to crack down on hate speech, and, more importantly, promised to be more transparent about how it goes about moderating its increasingly volatile space…Despite its new transparency pledge, it refused to offer an explanation, or give any indication – even off the record – as to its reasoning for keeping [Britain First’s/Trump’s] tweets online.”)
• Trump’s newest Clinton email conspiracy theory, explained (“Why the president is tweeting about Obama-appointed watchdog Charles McCullough.”)
• NBC’s shifting statements on Lauer draw scrutiny (“After saying there were no complaints over 20 years, the network later stressed no complaints to ‘current management.'” This network may not be as bad as Fox in terms of sexual harassment, but it’s very bad nonetheless.)
• Exploring the radical roots of Roy Moore’s theocratic Christianity (“Former judge is aligned with Christian Reconstruction, a radical ideology that wants to end secular government” The Christian version of the Taliban, basically.)
• Racism, fundamentalism, fear and propaganda: An insider explains why rural, white Christian America will never change (“I’ve had hundreds of discussions with rural white Americans and whenever I present them any information that contradicts their entrenched beliefs, no matter how sound, how unquestionable, how obvious, they WILL NOT even entertain the possibility it might be true. Their refusal is a result of the nature of their fundamentalist belief system and the fact I’m the enemy because I’m an educated liberal.”)
• The Freitas Gambit (“Even should Freitas win the nomination in a fight with Corey A. Stewart, chairman of the Prince William County Board of Supervisors, and possibly E.W. Jackson, assemble a seasoned team that knows how to run an effective statewide effort, raise the money needed to finance that effort and weather the coming storm facing all Republicans running everywhere in 2018, his odds of defeating Kaine are very slim.”)
• Four Democrats from Virginia and Maryland call on Rep. John Conyers to resign
• The lesson Alabama Democrats must learn from Virginia’s election (“The takeaway message flashes like a blinking, neon sign: black votes matter. But it takes work to earn those votes. Candidates can’t just show up at a black church or tout their histories and expect to harvest votes. No, they need to put some work into crafting policies and messages that will resonate in black communities.”)
• Northam puts economy, education on priority list for next year (Medicaid expansion needs to be high on the list, along with major ethics reform and energy/environmental initiatives.)
• Govenor-elect Ralph Northam pledges bipartisanship in first legislative session (Yes, the Roanoke Times misspelled “Governor” as “Govenor” – copy editors, anyone?)
• Editorial: Still an issue: mental health funding in Virginia
• Schapiro: House Republicans depict themselves as victims (“House Republicans, who, for nearly two decades, happily were aggressors, suddenly are casting themselves as the wounded party.” Hahahahaha.)
• Northam wants state economic development efforts ‘under one tent’ as chamber readies blueprint for growth
• Loupassi, who previously conceded to Adams, files for recount in Richmond-area House race
• Critics highlight Atlantic Coast Pipeline’s environmental justice impact
• Mother of slain UVa student Hannah Graham testifies as Virginia crime commission considers expanding DNA database
• Judge denies motion in case that pitted two local commonwealth’s attorneys against each other
• Richmond councilwoman defends proposal to aid businesses on GRTC Pulse bus route
• High confidence that major dose of wintry weather is coming to D.C. late next week
• Mainly sunny, tranquil days ahead. Less breezy after today, too.