DC Deciphered

A real cornucopia for you in this week’s round-up.  So much of the attention this week was focused on the incredible, growing Russia story that most of the other news got pushed to the back burner.  So here’s just a small sampling of what else happened this week:

1. Pew was out with a new poll on Thursday that has Trump’s job approval at 39% approve vs 56% disapprove, for a net approval of -17.  39% approval sounds bad, but it gets even worse when you consider that most presidents are still enjoying something of a honeymoon period at this point in their presidency.

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I’ve never shot a gun. I’ve never even held a gun.  And I have no desire or curiosity to ever do so.   Like many of you reading this (I’m guessing), I am very much in favor of implementing stricter gun control laws in the United States.   However, I’ve been very frustrated by the lack of nuance in the conversation around the Obama gun control rule which the House and Senate have just voted to overturn.  And this isn’t an isolated problem, this is a problem in our media environment and our culture in general.  Complex issues get boiled down to headlines and sound bites, making it impossible to discuss anything with any real seriousness or to consider any grey areas. Continue reading →

In a post a couple weeks, Outgunned, I talked about the Obama administration gun rule that the House had just voted to overturn and explained why Democrats would not be able to block it with a filibuster when it came up for a vote in the Senate.  Today, the Senate held that vote, and by a vote of 57-43 the measure to overturn the Obama rule passed.  Now all that’s needed to make it official is President Trump’s signature.

(The gun rule itself – which had been labeled a background check law or mental illness law as shorthand, when it passed the House – is a little more complicated than those headlines made it seem, so please read “the gun rule” section of Outgunned if you want a reminder of what this rule is about).  And, if you’re looking at that number of “yea” votes and wondering, the Democrats who voted to overturn the rule are:  Joe Donnelly, Joe Manchin, Jon Tester and Heidi Heitkamp, along with Independent Senator Angus King (who caucuses with the Democrats).

A few juicy notes to add to the Flynn/Russia story:

1. Tuesday’s post post was a rundown of how top Republicans in Congress (Republican leadership and Republicans who head the relevant committees) were responding when asked about launching investigations into the situation.  As of yesterday afternoon, it was not very positive. They were either outright opposed to the idea, or they deflected and changed the subject.  (There did however seem to be some movement in a positive direction from some other Republicans, such as Senators John McCain, Lindsey Graham & Roy Blunt, and Congressman Justin Amash in the House).

Today I wanted to update with this comment Senator Rand Paul made Tuesday evening. Here’s what he said about the prospect of Congress conducting an investigation into the Flynn situation:

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Republicans can look deep, deep down inside themselves and find some courage to hold Trump accountable now, or they can wait till it all comes crashing horribly down on them.  I wrote a couple posts last week in which I alluded to the fact that we should be paying attention not just to Trump but to the environment he’s operating in.  And that environment is one in which Republicans are allowing him free rein with absolutely no checks on his behavior. Continue reading →

It’s mea culpa time!  I messed up: In a recent post I warned that it’s vital that we not give Trump & his people any ammo in their war on the media by providing them with legitimate examples of their favorite accusation, “fake news.”  I ended that post with a plea to you guys – and to myself, because I’m bound to make mistakes too – to be cautious when we consume and share the news.  Well, guess what?  It’s not even a week later, and already I get a chance to make an example of myself!  I’m here to update a recent post, because I didn’t get it quite right the first time.  Plus, there have also been some new developments on the topic, including a new court ruling, so I have those for you as well.

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In this end-of-the week round-up: Gen. Flynn’s Russia connection, AG Session’s “vote fraud” obsession, Senate corruption gets an Alabama blessin’, and a dictionary gives us a trolling lesson, plus a bunch of other stories that don’t rhyme:

1. So it turns out that when Trump’s National Security Advisor Michael Flynn was having those secret phone calls with the Russian ambassador during the presidential transition period, they spoke about the U.S. sanctions against Russia.

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Remember, this is just a short term decision about whether to lift the temporary restraining order (TRO) that was issued by Federal District Judge James Robart in Seattle last Friday, which put Trump’s “travel ban” executive order on hold nationwide.  The long term argument over the constitutionality of the law is still to come.

Update:  The 9th Circuit has ruled unanimously against reinstating the travel ban (i.e. they ruled against Trump. Let the tweeting begin . . .).  The 9th Circuit is considered a liberal one, but one of the three judges on the case was appointed by George W. Bush and had seemed to be leaning toward the Trump DOJ’s argument during the hearing, so the unanimous ruling wasn’t necessarily expected.

Further Update:

Just before Christmas I wrote a post, Naughty or Nice, about a memory that had popped up for me on Facebook that morning, in which I had celebrated about progress breaking out in Washington.  The memory was from back in 2010, when Democrats controlled the Presidency, the House and the Senate but D.C. had been in gridlock for months due to the excessive use of the filibuster by Senate Republicans (something I’ve mentioned previously on the blog).  But, perhaps due to being filled with the Christmas spirit, at the end of that year the Senate was suddenly able to agree to pass a bunch of stuff.

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Don’t give them any ammo!!  Trump lies a lot.   We know that.  He lies so much I think he actually eventually convinces himself his lies are true.  But part of his strategy to convince us his lies are true is his attempt to discredit the media which calls him out on those lies.

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