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When last we checked in on Donald Trumps vow to drain the swamp, we learned that he has adopted a plan for his businesses that will do nothing to eliminate the possibility of conflicts of interest or even corruption. Meanwhile, its becoming clearer and clearer that congressional GOP leaders have no intention to exercise meaningful oversight when it comes to those conflicts, which is putting us on a journey into uncharted territory, where the possibilities for conflicts and corruption are staggering.

Is there anything that principled individual Members of Congress in either party who want such oversight can do about this? Can individual Democrats or Republicans take steps to compel more oversight, if GOP leaders refuse to exercise it?

It turns out there are some things that individualMemberscan do. And it isnt that crazy to imagine that they might make some kind of difference.

One interesting idea was suggested to me by Richard Painter, the former chief ethics lawyer for George W. Bush. He pointed out that Republican Senators who are willing to buck Trump can refuse to support a piece of legislation that Trump and GOP leaders want or try to block it procedurally in order to force Trump to be more transparent about business holdings that might be impacted by that legislation.

As an example, Painter suggests, if Trump and Republicans are pushing legislation to weaken oversight on Wall Street or big banks, any individual GOP Senator or a handful of them could presumably refuse to support that legislation unless Trump supplies a full list of all the ways in which it might impact his holdings.

Painter notes that any one of these Senators could say, Im not doing anything to change the status quo unless I know how much debt Trump or his companies have to the banking industry, who they owe it to, and how much.

Remember, individual Senators have a lot of power and can wreak havoc procedurally if they so choose. And there are some GOP Senators who appear willing to buck Trump, such as John McCain, Lindsey Graham, and conservative Ben Sasse, among others.

Or take health care. Painter points out that a GOP Senator could try to block any legislation impacting health care until Trump provides a list of any relationships his companies have to insurance companies or to any affected industries in health care. Or, Painter notes, a GOP Senator could try to hold up any initiative involving a foreign country a trade deal or some sort of change in foreign policy until it is disclosed how much money Trumps companies have invested in that country, and where.

Obviously Trump could refuse to cooperate. But the resulting standoff would draw media attention, which would focus public attention on the possibility that Trump has potential conflicts around the initiative in question, which in turn might make it less comfortable for Trump to stick to his posture and harder for GOP leaders to continue refusing to provide serious oversight. The point is, individual Senatorscan find ways to make waves, if they want to.

What about Democrats? I contacted law professor Laurence Tribe, who has argued that under his current arrangement Trump will be in violation of the Emoluments Clause, and asked him what Democrats in Congress can do, if anything, to prod Republican leaders to exercise real oversight. Tribe emailed that their options are limited, but not nonexistent:

They can cajole and pressure and bargain and refuse to cooperate with Republicans on issues where the votes of the Democrats are needed. But there is no legal mechanism they can use to compel the congressional Republicans to perform their proper oversight role. Among the things Democrats can pressure Republicans to do, with uncertain success of course, is to share subpoena power with them on one or more joint investigative/oversight committees. They can certainly try to introduce impeachment resolutions despite their minority status in the House.

And those of them in the House and/or the Senate who have significant constituencies of their own can use their bully pulpits, although of course nobody in either House has a megaphone comparable to the one President Trump will have access to.

That isnt too encouraging. But Democrats are going to have to try to use such tactics to kick up as much noise as they can.

One can imagine a scenario developing in which a handful of Democratic and Republican senators team up to try to hold up legislation until Trump provides a full accounting of how that legislation might impact his companies. The press loves stories about bipartisan gangs of Senators, and this kind of tactic could get some attention.And by the way, if the press uncovers new and increasingly grisly conflicts that draw more public attention to Trumps continued flouting of our norms, individual Senators or small groups of them might suddenly find themselves more inclined to make additional trouble for him.

Make no mistake: There is cause for serious pessimism about Trumps conflicts and what they mean for the country. The vast reach of Trumps global business holdings, and the degree to which they remain ensconced in secrecy, combine to create a potential for conflicts, as well as huge hurdles to tracking those conflicts, that put us in truly uncharted territory. GOP leaders have no apparent intention to do anything about this. But that in turn may end up forcing principled public officials to find innovative ways of trying to change that. And its not preposterously far-fetched to imagine that they might eventually bear some fruit.

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Republicans will not rein in Trump corruption. Can anything be done about this? Yes! - Washington Post (blog)

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Fear Spurs Support for Health Law as Republicans Work to Repeal It New York Times Thousands of people showed up on Sunday in Warren, Mich., to hear Senator Bernie Sanders, independent of Vermont, denounce Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. Rallies were held across the country over the weekend. Credit Robin ... Topping Obamacare may be harder than Republicans thinkWashington Post (blog) Republicans, Trump Set for Clash Over Health CareNBCNews.com Exhale: Republicans Aren't Going To Let Obamacare's Insurance Markets CollapseForbes Huffington Post -CNNMoney -Anniston Star -Washington Post all 1,836 news articles »

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Fear Spurs Support for Health Law as Republicans Work to Repeal It - New York Times

The Republicans (French: Les Rpublicains; LR) is a centre-right political party in France. The party was formed on 30 May 2015 by renaming the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP) party, which had been founded in 2002 under the leadership of former President of France Jacques Chirac.[7][8] The party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France along with the centre-left Socialist Party (PS). The Republicans are a member of the European People's Party,[9]Centrist Democrat International,[10] and International Democrat Union.[11]

After the election in November 2014 of Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France from 2007 to 2012, as president of the Union for a Popular Movement (UMP), Sarkozy put forward a request to the party's general committee to change its name to "The Republicans" (Les Rpublicains) and alter the statutes of the party. With the name already chosen, vice-president of the UMP Nathalie Kosciusko-Morizet presented Sarkozy and the party's political bureau the proposed new statutes. The proposed statutes provided for, among others, the election of the presidents of the departmental federations by direct democracy, the end of the political currents and consulting members on election nominations.[12]

Critics of Sarkozy claimed it was "illegal" for him to name the party "Republicans" because every French person is a republican if they support the values and ideals of the French Republic that emanated from the French Revolution, and as such the term is above party politics.[13] The new name was adopted by the party bureau on 5 May 2015 and approved by the party membership on 28 May by an online "yes" vote of 83.3% on a 45.7% turnout after a court ruling in favour of Sarkozy.[14] The new party statutes were adopted by 96.3% of voters and the composition of the new political bureau by 94.8%.[citation needed]

The change to the name "The Republicans" was confirmed at the party's founding congress on 30 May 2015 at the Paris Event Centre in Paris, attended by 10,000 activists.[15]Angela Merkel, chairwoman of the conservative CDU, sent a congratulatory message to the congress. The Republicans thus became the legal successor of the UMP and the leading centre-right party in France.[16]

The organisation has been declared in the prfecture de Sane-et-Loire on 9 April 2015.[17] According to the statement of this declaration, its aim is to "promote ideas of the right and centre, open to every people who wish to be member and debate in the spirit of a political party with republican ideas in France or outside France".[citation needed] This party foundation was published in the Journal officiel de la Rpublique franaise on 25 April 2015.[18]

On 3 July 2016, Sarkozy announced that he would resign as leader that year in order to compete to be the right-wing candidate in the 2017 presidential election.[19]

On 27 November 2016, Francois Fillon, the former Prime Minister of France, becomes the presidential nominee of the party in 2017 presidential election.

Notes:1,2,3 and4.Numbers denote party affiliations, 1 is for parties linked to The Republicans, formerly the Union for a Popular Movement, 2 is for parties linked to the Socialist Party's Presidential majority.

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The Republicans (France) - Wikipedia

Some Republicans are cautioning against repealing the Affordable Care Act too quickly and urging the party take the foot off the accelerator. The reason: there's no plan on how to replace what they roll back. And while GOP lawmakers are eager to please their base with headlines of Obamacare's repeal, they don't want to be blamed for leaving people without health insurance and chaos in the healthcare market.

Sen. John McCain told reporters Tuesday that he supports taking a slower approach to repealing the law, saying he is "always worried about something that took a long time in the making and we've got to concentrate our efforts to making sure that we do it right so that nobody's left out."

Newt Gingrich, the former Republican House Speaker and a close ally of President-elect Donald Trump, told CNN that a big risk for Republicans is getting blamed for taking away people's health coverage.

"Number one thing (Republicans) have to avoid is putting themselves in a position where Democrats can frighten people -- that somehow, they won't have access to health care because of Republicans," Gingrich said.

Gingrich stressed that before Republicans send a bill repealing Obamacare to Trump's desk, the party must make real progress on a replacement plan. "They have to have bridges to give people a sense of comfort that they're not going to be abandoned," he said.

These initial hints of anxiety from Republicans foreshadow an internal GOP tug-of-war on Obamacare in the coming weeks.

For now, party leaders are leaning towards a repeal bill that includes a two- or three-year transition period that would offer a buffer -- a strategy that has been dubbed "repeal and delay."

But healthcare experts warn that even if the repeal doesn't go into effect right away, the uncertainty could lead to insurance companies fleeing the marketplace and potentially putting millions of people's coverage at risk.

In a clear effort to counter some of the early criticism, leaders of the conservative House Republican Study Committee plan to unveil legislation on Wednesday that they argue would both repeal and replace Obamacare.

The bill was previously introduced by GOP Rep. Phil Roe, a physician, and has not been endorsed by leadership. While it is unlikely to emerge as the main Obamacare repeal bill in the House, it marks an effort by conservatives to push back on the suggestion that the party has no replacement plan.

All of this comes as Democrats are pouncing on the opportunity to turn the tables on Republicans.

Lawmakers are planning a PR blitz throughout the month of January, accusing Republicans for possibly putting millions of Americans' health coverage in jeopardy.

Sen. Joe Manchin, a moderate Democrat from West Virginia, warned that repeal and delay approach would result in a "chaotic" scene.

"I'm just going to caution again, my friends: Don't repeal this unless there's a bipartisan group," Manchin said. "And if you don't have anything to replace it with, don't put repeal on the board."

"It's the old thing of going into a china shop -- you break it, you own it," Pelosi said.

Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein told CNN on Tuesday that she is in the process of crafting counter-messaging on Obamacare, along the lines of: "Look at what this is going to do to people."

"That's the important thing," she said. "How many people are going to lose their healthcare?"

CNN's Deirdre Walsh and Tal Kopan contributed to this report.

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Republicans already jittery about quick Obamacare repeal ...

Its a good time to take stock of the Republican Partys status. The year 2012 was a continuation of struggles among mainstream factions, tea party activists, special-interest groups and the entrenched elite. On the national stage, Mitt Romney emerged as the leader of the estimated 35 percent of Americans who identify as Republicans. Its important to understand who the Republican voters are, where they live, what they believe and how they relate to the rest of America.

Republicans love to talk about individual rights in the U.S. economy, and the pursuit of the American Dream. This is generally reflected in polls about their beliefs, and also in the way they live their lives. Republicans tend to live away from the East and West Coasts, predominantly in the South and Midwest. And, within those states, Republicans tend to live outside of concentrated urban areas. Republican affiliation in cities with populations over 500,000 is only 39 percent, compared with 52 percent in suburban areas and 59 percent in rural areas.

Suburban communities strongly lean Republican, and rural areas are almost exclusively Republican. Republicans are more likely to own their own home. Many of the areas hardest hit by the U.S. economys housing downturn are Republican strongholds, although that does not necessarily mean that Republican voters are being foreclosed against at a higher level than Democrats. Republicans have a strong emphasis on personal ownership, and home ownership is a major component of that ideal.

Part of the American Dream is having a spouse and children, and Republicans attain that aspect in large numbers. Sixty percent of married men vote Republican, along with 55 percent of married women. Additionally, 53 percent of families with children younger than 18 identify as Republican. This focus on traditional family values may explain in part why only 23 percent of gay, lesbian or bisexual individuals identify as Republican.

Financially, Republicans fare better than either Democrats or Independents, and tend to identify themselves as such. Republican candidates gain a significantly higher percentage of votes from individuals with incomes over $50,000 per year, and the advantage increases along with the income level, to a height of 63 percent of individuals earning $200,000 or more a year supporting Republicans. This level is the direct inverse of individuals earning less than $15,000 a year, who support Democrats at 63 percent and Republicans at only 36 percent.

Republicans also express a much higher level of satisfaction with their personal financial situation than either Democrats or Independents. Before the U.S. economys downturn, an all-time high of 81 percent of Republicans expressed satisfaction with their personal financial situation. That number dropped to 61 percent in 2009, but it is still significantly higher than the corresponding 52 percent of Independents and 49 percent of Democrats. A much larger proportion of Republicans than Democrats also identify themselves as haves versus have-nots.

Republicans have higher well-being than Democrats or Independents. A well-being survey looks at things like workplace perceptions, access to basic necessities and physical health. Interestingly, the one area Democrats outperformed Republicans in one such study was in life evaluation meaning that Democrats may be doing worse than Republicans in terms of well-being, but they arent bothered by it as much as Republicans.

On average, Republicans are more charitable financially and otherwise than either Democrats or Independents. Despite the perception that theyre stingy either because of personal wealth or policy positions that dont advocate for a government-backed public safety net numerous studies have found American Republicans to be among the most generous people on earth, and not just financially. Republicans also provide more volunteer hours and donate blood more frequently.

Labor unions have had a rough transition in the modern U.S. economy. Nationwide, unions have seen a significant decrease in their public support, although 64 percent of Americans still feel labor unions are necessary to protect the working person. Among Republicans, however, only 43 percent view labor unions as necessary to protect the working person, and 54 percent actively disagree. The U.S. economys downturn has served as a backdrop to this slump in support, as 62 percent of Republicans saw unions as necessary as recently as 2003. This compares with 61 percent of Independents and 82 percent of Democrats who view unions as necessary to protect the working person.

Educationally, there are two main blocs of Republican voters: white working-class voters and white people with undergraduate degrees.

White working-class voters are defined as white people who have received a high school diploma or have some college experience, but no degree. This group has fallen as a percentage of the overall vote by 15 percent between 1988 and 2008, but continuously votes Republican at a 20-point or more advantage.

For the past several decades, Republicans have also won a larger percentage of votes from white voters with undergraduate degrees, although this support has been eroding over the past few election cycles, from an impressive 20-point advantage in 1988 to a 4-point advantage in 2008.

This could be due to more women graduating from college, or a genuine shift in the voting behaviors of the millennial generation.

Older voters, on average, skew Republican. This advantage is partially offset by the Democratic slant of younger voters, although older voters are more likely to vote. The average Republican is 50, while the average Democrat is 47.

Republicans are predominantly white, with 87 percent of them identifying as non-Hispanic white. This percentage has remained steady for well over a decade long before the sizable increase in minority support that Democrats saw with the first African-American president.

African-Americans are the least likely minority group to vote Republican, regardless of income. Hispanic voters, however, who are the fastest growing minority group in the United States, often identify as Republican when they receive a higher income.

Republicans are often cast as a party that is becoming increasingly religious. This may or may not be true on a policy level, but it certainly does not translate into demographic data. Between 1987 and the late 1990s, Republicans and Democrats polled as equally religious. Democrats have seen a significant decrease in their level of religious participation, while Republican numbers have remained consistent. Any perception of increasing religion on the Republican side may actually be a miscast impression caused by Democrats decreasing level of religious conviction.

The Republican Party is almost exclusively Christian. GOP candidates earn 59 percent of all Protestant votes, 67 percent of all white Protestant votes, 52 percent of the Catholic vote and only 25 percent of the Jewish vote.

The Republican Party has some clear age, race and religious trends, but is a dynamic assortment of individuals from across the country. As a new presidential term begins, these are the people who will join together to create the partys future.

Bill Fay is a journalism veteran with a nearly four-decade career in reporting and writing for daily newspapers, magazines and public officials. His focus at Debt.org is on frugal living, veterans' finances, retirement and tax advice. Bill can be reached at bfay@debt.org.

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Economic Demographics of Republicans & Conservatives