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Senator Susan Collins, here applauding Trump during his State of the Union address on February 4, absurdly claimed after the Senates acquittal of him that Trump had learned from his impeachment and that he will be much more cautious in the future. (Drew Angerer / Getty Images)

Trumps attacks on the federal judiciary are the domestic Signal this week. Freed from all accountability by the Senate, the realtors inner autocrat is on full display, with a pressure campaign on the Justice Department to back off on its sentencing recommendations for his convicted friend Roger Stone, and with an extraordinary flurry of tweets personally attacking the judge in Stones case.Ad Policy

Trumps actions got so extreme that, amazingly, even Attorney General Barr finally had enough. On Thursday evening, in an extraordinary exchange, Barr, who has done more than anyone else to protect and enable this lawless presidency, said that Trumps tweets were making it impossible for him to do his job. Trump wasnt humbled. By Friday, he was on the attack once again, claiming that he had the legal right to interfere in federal criminal cases.

For Senator Susan Collins, who absurdly claimed that Trump had learned his lesson after being impeached by the House, and for the other moderate Republicans who voted to acquit, this week has been a nightmare. Sure, they can dismiss it as simply more Trumpian Noise, but when the attorney general of the United States personally undermines his own career prosecutors to do a solid for the president, thats far more serious than mere chatter.

And theres no indication things will get better anytime soon. To the contrary, between now and November we are likely to see Trump fully unleashed.More Signal:Noise

We are heading into election season led by a president consumed with personal vendettas and convinced that he is surrounded by conspirators. Paranoid and narcissistic, he is firing anyone who stands in his way, demanding ever more craven demonstrations of loyalty from his courtiers. In Tennessee, legislators are debating a resolution to declare CNN and The Washington Post fake news because of their critical coverage of Trump.

Trump himself attacks the press on a daily basis, spending the wee hours of the morning tweeting insults and ignoring major developments that require his attention.

That would be bad enough in normal times. But these arent normal times.Current Issue

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The threat of a coronavirus pandemic highlights the vital importance of properly funding public health initiatives and bringing primary health care access to as many Americans as possible. But theres no one left in the Trump inner circle willing to question the defunding of Medicaid, the Centers for Disease Control, the National Institutes of Health; of international efforts to monitor and track diseases; of foreign aid and international relief efforts.

For three years, former CDC officials have warned that the agency is catastrophically underfunded and not prepared to handle a public health emergency. They have been ignoredas have scientists working on climate change, pollution impacts, workplace contaminants, and so on. In Trumpland, only short-term profits matter, so the countrys long-term strategic planning in these areas has taken a series of grievous hits.

Meanwhile, Turkeya NATO member that could invoke Article V of NATOs charter were it to come under attackis in a direct shooting match with Syrian forces inside Syria. The risk of a clash with Russia, which is supporting the Syrian government, is growing by the day.

These are truly perilous times. The rule of law is being corroded; public health is endangered; the international situation grows ever more chaotic.

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Republicans Have Made It Clear They Will Let Trump Become a Dictator. Will We? - The Nation

Eric Trump, the son of Donald Trump, said the president will win reelection by a landslide, partly because of what he calls miscalculations by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.

If you want to talk about the gift that keeps on giving, thats Nancy Pelosi, Eric Trump said late Thursday night at the Dallas County Republican Partys Reagan Day Dinner.

Trump said that from the start of the impeachment of the president pushed by Pelosi and Democrats, his fathers campaign raised $117 million dollars, much of it from 1.4 million new donors.

President Trump was acquitted by the Republican-controlled Senate on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

I want to thank Nancy Pelosi on behalf of the entire Trump family. Keep doing it, Trump said. We are huge fans of yours. You will get my father reelected.

Eric Trump was the keynote speaker at the Dallas County Republicans annual fundraising dinner. On hand was Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, a key figure in President Trumps reelection campaign, and former Texas governor and former Energy Secretary Rick Perry.

Dallas County Republicans have suffered steep losses here since Democrats took control of countywide politics in 2006. Trump didnt speak about the local Republican Partys predicament, but instead assured them that President Trump would get reelected, as well as most of the candidates that were in the room.

He said the president would run a better funded campaign than in 2016 and win states that he narrowly lost like Minnesota and New Hampshire. And he predicted his father would again win Texas.

Democrats are hoping to win their first statewide race since 1994.

Were going to win Texas by a larger margin than we won before, he said.

He took a swipe at Democrats and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a frontrunner in the Democratic presidential primary.

People talk about socialism, he said. Honestly, you should use the word communism.

Among other things, Eric Trump touted the low unemployment rate, the rising stock market and the appointment of conservative judges under his fathers watch.

Were going to keep America great, he said.

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Eric Trump tells Dallas County Republicans that his father will win reelection by landslide - The Dallas Morning News

Senate Republican sources expect President TrumpDonald John TrumpTrump declares war on hardworking Americans with new budget request Avenatti found guilty in Nike extortion trial First, we'll neuter all the judges MORE to withdraw his nomination of Judy Shelton to serve on the Federal Reserve Board following bipartisan resistance on Capitol Hill.

The White House has not made a final decision, since Trump would first need to sign off on the reversal, but Republican sources say it would be desirable for her to withdraw from consideration and that her nomination is trending in that direction.

Shes being pulled, said a Republican senator.

SenateGOP aides have indicated to colleagues privately that they expect Shelton to withdraw, according to one Senate aide familiar with the discussions.

If Shelton pulls out, she would would be Trump's third Fednominee derailed by Senate Republican opposition, and the fifth overall, counting informal picks as well.

GOP senators previously quashed Trump's selections of entrepreneur Herman CainHerman CainThe Hill's Morning Report AG Barr, GOP senators try to rein Trump in Republicans expect Trump to withdraw controversial Fed nominee On The Money: Fed chief warns Congress on deficits | Trump blames Powell after Dow dips slightly | Trump withdraws nomination of former US attorney for Treasury post MORE and conservative commentatorStephen MooreStephen MooreThe Hill's Morning Report AG Barr, GOP senators try to rein Trump in Republicans expect Trump to withdraw controversial Fed nominee On The Money: Fed chief warns Congress on deficits | Trump blames Powell after Dow dips slightly | Trump withdraws nomination of former US attorney for Treasury post MORE for the Fed in 2019 before the president could formally nominate them.

The White House press office on Thursday afternoon, however, pushed back on talk that Sheltons nomination is doomed.

The nomination of Judy Shelton and Christopher Waller are not being pulled. Both were in front of the Banking Committee today and the White House expects both to be confirmed by the Senate to the Federal Reserve, the White House said in a statement.

Trump has also tapped Christopher Waller, the research director of the St. Louis Fed, to serve as a Fed board member.

Shelton has taken bipartisan criticism over a 2009 op-ed in which she urged the United States to return to the gold standard, a policy that was abandoned by President Nixon in the early 1970s.

Her biggest backers for the Fed post are Trump and National Economic Council Director Larry KudlowLawrence (Larry) Alan KudlowMORE. But beyond Trump and Kudlow, her support within the administration is thin, according to a Senate aide briefed on the nomination.

Kudlow was also astrong supporter for Moores nomination, which the White House withdrew last year after hitting robust GOP resistance on Capitol Hill.

Shelton, a former Trump campaign adviser, was nominated to the Fed in January after the president first announced his intent to appoint her in July.

Senate Republicans on the Banking Committee were not impressed with her performance at a confirmation hearing Thursday morning, which senators said would be an important test for her nomination.

Lawmakers from both parties criticized her at the hearing for supporting the gold standard, reversing her views on interest rates after Trump's election and defending the president's attacks on the Fed and its chairman, Jerome Powell.

I don't claim to be in the mainstream of economists, Shelton said in her defense.

She vowed to strengthen the discussion and work closelywith the Fed's leaders.

Asked to rate Sheltons performance Thursday, Sen. Richard ShelbyRichard Craig ShelbyOn The Money: Republicans expect Trump to pull controversial Fed nominee | Inside Judy Shelton's confirmation hearing | Trump extends emergency declaration at border Republicans expect Trump to withdraw controversial Fed nominee Pentagon transferring .8 billion to border wall MORE (R-Ala.), a senior member of the Banking Committee, replied tersely: She performed.

I have a lot of concerns, especially even after the hearing. Im thinking about it, talking to some of my colleagues, he said.

Shelby said Sheltons unorthodox views on economic and monetary policy are among his primary concerns.

Im not satisfied that shes mainstream at the moment, he said. Id like to support her. Id like to support the presidents nominees. I havent always done that. I think the Fed should be independent and we should have mainstream people on there, and I dont think shes a mainstream economist, Shelby told reporters.

Shelby, however, declined to say how he would vote or speculate on what would happen to Sheltons nomination.

Asked when the nominee might receive a confirmation vote, Shelby said, I dont know.

Republicans control 15 seats on the Banking Committee, while Democrats control 13.

If two GOP lawmakers vote against Shelton,her nomination will be defeated in committee.

So far, Shelby and Sen. Pat ToomeyPatrick (Pat) Joseph ToomeyNSA improperly collected US phone records in October, new documents show Overnight Defense: Pick for South Korean envoy splits with Trump on nuclear threat | McCain blasts move to suspend Korean military exercises | White House defends Trump salute of North Korean general WH backpedals on Trump's 'due process' remark on guns MORE (R-Pa.) have raised serious concerns with her nomination. A third member of the panel, Sen. John KennedyJohn Neely KennedyMORE (R-La.), is undecided.

Toomey on Thursday warned that Sheltons advocacy for cutting interest rates to prevent the dollar from strengthening any further, which could hurt exports, is a risky strategy.

Thats a very, very dangerous path to go down. This beggar-thy-neighbor mutual currency devaluation is not in our interest, and it is not in the mandate of the Fed to pursue it, Toomey said.

Other Republican senators even lawmakers not on the Banking Committee have raised concerns about Sheltons views.

I share Sen. Shelbys concern, said Sen. Pat RobertsCharles (Pat) Patrick RobertsRepublicans expect Trump to withdraw controversial Fed nominee Celebrating and expanding upon five years of the ABLE Act The Hill's 12:30 Report: Decision day in Iowa MORE (Kan.), when asked about the prospect of returning to the gold standard.

Shelby on Wednesday said returning to the gold standard is kind of like the barter system.

Hard to get out of a recession with that, he said. Not enough gold in the world. Our [gross domestic product] GDP is worth so much more than gold.

In addition to derailing Cain and Moore before they could be nominated, Senate Republicans spiked two of Trumps other Fed nominees.

Republican lawmakers did not advance the 2017 nomination of former Carnegie Mellon economics professor Marvin Goodfriend after he faced intense scrutinyduring his confirmation hearing.

His nomination expired in 2018 and was not renewed by Trump before Goodfriend died of cancer in December 2019.

Republican senators also rejected Trump's choice of former Fed research director Nellie Liang, a Democrat who was integral to the post-crisis bank regulatory regime often criticized by Republicans.

Moore told The Hill in an interview that nominees who have unorthodox economic views face an uphill battle to win Senate confirmation.

"There is a bias at the Fed against anyone who thinks out of the box. I find that to be so troubling," he said."Whether you agree or disagree with Judys position, its healthy to have people that dont just toe the orthodox line on monetary policy."

Trump announced in May that he would not follow through on his intention to put Moore on the Fed after it became clear he did not have enough votes to win confirmation.

Moore was criticized for writing that it would be dangerous for women to earn more than men, among other controversial statements.

Jordain Carney and Brett Samuels contributed.

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Republicans expect Trump to withdraw controversial Fed nominee | TheHill - The Hill

PFLUGERVILLE, Texas (AP) Its normal to target new voters ahead of Super Tuesday. Think volunteers holding clipboards at street festivals, malls or outside grocery stores. Democrats in Texas have made it a perennial focus, hoping they can end decades of losses by rousing more voters to the polls.

Republicans here, meanwhile, never really needed to bother but now thats changing as worries deepen about their grip on the state in 2020.

With their base not expanding and their margins of victory getting thinner, Texas Republicans have begun spending big on finding more conservatives to vote. And theyve taken a different approach to it ahead of the Texas primaries on March 3.

Hired canvassers to stand outside drivers license offices, pushing a petition on gun rights by asking, Do you have a moment to support the Second Amendment? People who stop are nudged to identify themselves as liberal or conservative. Finally, things cut to the chase: theyre offered the chance to sign up to vote.

But if a reporter arrives, they scram abruptly sweeping voter registration forms into boxes, taking down signs, and heading for their cars.

Were instructed to break down whenever press is here, says a man with Engage Texas, the political super PAC coordinating the effort, declining to explain why or provide his name.

The effort is another sign of the intense partisan struggle underway in a state thats been the GOPs largest and most important asset but also is key to Democrats hopes for future electoral dominance.

Despite the canvassers nothing-to-see-here retreat, many conservatives acknowledge that the ground seems to be shifting after a generation of lopsided victories on Election Day. Party activists are looking beyond just motivating registered voters who sometimes dont get to the polls. Theyre spending big, putting up more than $12 million so far, searching for those who arent on the rolls at all.

The GOPs electoral base, mostly aging and white, has delivered around 4.5 million votes in every presidential year since 2004, but that number has scarcely budged even as Texas population has boomed. In 2018, Democrats surpassed 4 million votes for the first time, and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz survived reelection by a mere 215,000 votes.

The sprawling metropolitan suburbs that have started turning purple have put Democrats in reach of flipping a handful of congressional districts and given them an outside chance at winning a majority in the Texas House. The GOP holds a 23-13 edge in the congressional delegation and are fighting to retain half a dozen districts it narrowly hung onto last cycle.

Sending out clipboard holders equipped with a line of questions that screens for likely Republicans shows a willingness to take up even the unglamorous grind of signing up new voters.

Were buying an insurance policy, said Steve Munisteri, a former White House adviser under President Donald Trump who now leads a separate campaign to turn up new Republican voters in Texas. I feel like we can go anywhere from losing by a smidgen to winning by a comfortable margin.

Democrats, who accuse Republicans of waging a decade-long campaign of voter suppression ranging from ID laws to shutting down polling locations, say the irony isnt lost on them.

If Im a Republican and my path ahead in Texas is in registering a lot of voters, Ive run out of other options, said Cliff Walker, deputy executive director of the Texas Democratic Party.

Walker would not say how much Democrats are spending, but the party says it will have 1,000 people on the ground this cycle to sign up new voters.

Texas enters Super Tuesday having surpassed 16 million voters for the first time, and voter registration in recent years has outpaced population growth. A core belief among many Democrats is that higher turnout generally favors their side but already in 2020, lower-than-expected attendance in the Iowa caucuses and a defeat in a Texas legislative special election are raising warning flags about enthusiasm.

Trump may have a cushion here in the presidential race after winning Texas by nine points in 2016, but there is still no other outfit in the country that compares to Engage Texas. It has raised nearly $12 million exclusively from major GOP donors and groups. Among them are Dallas-based Energy Transfer, whose CEO is billionaire Kelcy Warren, and Dallas oil tycoon Ray Hunt. Although it is not the first political action committee singularly dedicated to registering new voters, there appear to be few parallels on this scale.

Leaders of Engage Texas said unfair press coverage toward Republicans is why their employees packed up and left at two drivers license offices after being approached by an Associated Press reporter.

Republican-build efforts dont always get a fair shake. Theyre going to be a bit skeptical, said Chris Young, the executive director of Engage Texas.

Young, who was the field director for the Republican National Committee in 2016, would not provide data on how many voters his group has registered or his targets. But he said hundreds of paid staff were working largely around Texas big cities and booming suburbs.

Originally posted here:
Republicans Trying To Hang On To Texas | News Talk WBAP-AM - WBAP News/Talk

Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks during a rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, February 1, 2020. (Carlo Allegri/Reuters)The ideological party has become the coalitional party, and vice versa.

For most of my life, the rule of thumb was that the GOP was the ideological party and the Democratic Party was the coalitional party.

This always was an overgeneralization. Democrats had an ideological perspective, and Republicans had coalitional interests. But from the New Deal to around the end of the Bush years, it was generally true. I used to think it had to do with the superiority of conservative ideas, but Im coming around to the view that it has more to do with the way political power works.

There was obviously an ideological component to the New Deal and the Great Society. Stated plainly, the people at the helm of those projects believed in the power of the state or big government to steer the whole of the country in a positive direction. But if you look at the members of the FDR coalition, youll find a lot of diversity. There were intellectuals and populists, capitalists and socialists, racists and civil-rights leaders, isolationists and interventionists, corrupt party bosses and the reformers who hated them, poor farmers, urban union leaders, Southern conservatives, blacks, whites, Jews and immigrants, all swirling about, often battling to win the presidents favor. Thats what you get with majority parties a diverse coalition of interests, all trying to get their place at the trough.

As the saying goes in Washington, if youre not at the table, youre on the menu.

The GOP was a minority party for most of that time, and even when that started to change, it still usually thought like a minority party. By that I mean minority parties emphasize ideological cohesion and partisan unity. Always at a disadvantage, they tend to understand that if they dont stick together, sharing each others priorities and leveraging what strength they have, theyll get steamrolled by the majority.

It might seem paradoxical, but being in the minority makes arguments over principle more important. When you have little or nothing to trade, you argue about ideas. When you have stuff to trade taxpayer money, jobs, seats on commissions and committees ideological differences are easily papered over. Moreover, because majority parties in a democracy are by definition governing parties, theres less reason to get bogged down in debating questions about ideological nuances.

The least ideological politicians in American life have always been the heads of political machines, such as Boss Tweed of Tammany Hall or the mayors of cities such as Chicago. In such places, high-minded complaints about principles are easily assuaged with a construction contract or a monopoly on hot-dog concessions at the ballpark.

The GOP hasnt exactly figured out how to govern like a majority party, but under President Trump its behaving a lot more like an urban political machine, doling out goodies to members of its coalition with little concern for a coherent philosophic rationale. The role of ideological principles has been decidedly downgraded, as religious and economic conservatives get the stuff they want in terms of policies and jobs.

Meanwhile, the Democrats are behaving more and more like a minority party, putting ideological commitments ahead of coalitional interests. Bernie Sanders is the most obvious and important illustration of this. The de facto front-runner in the Democratic primaries, Sanders is like a left-wing Barry Goldwater the ideological icon who spearheaded the conservative takeover of the GOP in 1964, in part by losing to Lyndon B. Johnson in a landslide.

Sanders is a pure ideologue who sees no reason to compromise his brand of socialism for the sake of coalitional interests. He wants no help from the rich if the rich expect anything in return. He insists that pro-lifers have no place in his party, and he doesnt seem to care if things like fracking bans will cost the country jobs and his party votes.

My theory isnt neat and tidy because politics are never neat and tidy. Sanders thinks he has the majority on his side. He doesnt.

More broadly, Democrats dont see themselves as a minority party minority parties are often the last to realize they arent as popular as they think they are. Also, the desire to defeat Trump has a tendency to crowd out ideological arguments. Which is why Bernie, like every other Democrat, leads with the promise that he is the best candidate to defeat Trump.

And thats a shame, because Id love to see the billionaire-hating socialist and progressive billionaire capitalist Michael Bloomberg have an actual debate on their ideas. That debate may just have to wait until after Sanders fulfills his role as the woke Goldwater, truly making the Democrats a minority party by losing in 2020.

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Republicans and Democrats Have Reversed Their Roles - National Review