COLLECTIVE MADNESS


“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."

Thursday, October 05, 2017

Bring Out the Long Knives

Politico: Pence Chief of Staff ‘Echoes’ Steve Bannon — ‘Purge’ GOP Leaders Working to Defeat Trump

Brendon Thorne, Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Washington, D.C.140

Chief of Staff to the Vice President Nick Ayers channeled former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon during a Tuesday morning Republican National Committee event with wealthy donors as he called for a “purge” of GOP leaders who are working against President Donald Trump’s agenda, according to Politico.

Ayers petitioned the donors at the meeting in Washington, D.C. to stop donating and form a coalition of donors to essentially issue an ultimatum to Republican leadership: get President Donald Trump’s agenda through by December 31 or “we’re going out, we’re recruiting opponents, we’re maxing out to their campaigns, and we’re funding super PACs to defeat all of you.”

The comments come just one week after grassroots-backed Judge Roy Moore beat out Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s handpicked candidate Luther Strange for the U.S. Senate seat vacated earlier this year by now U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Millions upon millions of dollars flooded into the Alabama race for Strange, but could not overcome Moore, who won the runoff election with only $1-2 million in financial support.
The Politico piece went on with more of Ayers’ Tuesday morning statements:
The approach has echoes of right-wing firebrand and former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon’s preferred methods. Bannon has repeatedly railed against congressional leaders and accused them of being the main stumbling block to Trump’s agenda. And he has taken his show on the road, speaking out against incumbent Republicans.
Ayers told the donor group on Tuesday, regarding support for Trump, “Just imagine the possibilities of what can happen if our entire party unifies behind him? If — and this sounds crass — we can purge the handful of people who continue to work to defeat him.”

Ayers listed long-made Republican promises to repeal Obamacare and pass tax cuts as the items Congress needs to pass by years’ end or face serious consequences. He said that if these Trump Administration legislative priorities are passed, then Republicans can hold a “governing majority for a very long time.”
Despite volumes of meetings between White House and Republican congressional leadership and Republican majorities in both the House and Senate, Congress has yet to pass the repeal of Obamacare that Republicans have promised for almost ten years. The American Health Care Act, a bill designed to roll back portions of Obamacare, did manage to pass in the House of Representatives, but did so only after many meetings with and personal calls from President Trump to legislators. Vice President Pence, formerly a member of Congress himself, was a very regular presence on Capitol Hill, meeting with legislators to get a bill passed in the House.
Voting on the AHCA was repeatedly delayed as House Speaker Paul Ryan’s leadership was called into question. During a White House event immediately following House passage of the AHCA, Speaker Ryan noted the massive White House involvement in getting the legislation passed. At the same event Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows credited the President, who “wouldn’t give up.”
An attempt to pass a separate version of Obamacare repeal in the Senate ultimately failed with the “no” votes of Republican Senators Lisa Murkowski, Susan Collins, and John McCain. McCain huddled with Democrats and made his enthusiastic thumbs down no vote on a “skinny repeal” bill that would have allowed the House and Senate to go to conference on repealing Obamacare. McCain has long promisedArizona constituents that he would vote to repeal Obamacare. In September a last-ditch effort in the Senate to make changes to Obamacare, under reconciliation with the Graham-Cassidy bill, failed to even go to a vote, as it lacked the votes needed to pass.

Congress has also yet to produce a bill on major tax reform for public view. Trump Administration officials have repeatedly promised tax reform before the end of 2017. The Trump Administration and Republican congressional leadership have released framework details for tax reform, and promises continue from Republican congressional leadership that a bill will pass by years’ end.

“We’re on track to get shellacked next year,” Ayers said on Tuesday, regarding the 2018 elections. He was clear to put the responsibility for that on congressional Republican leadership’s inability to pass major legislation and not on President Trump and Vice President Pence.

Bannon, who has returned as executive chairman of Breitbart News, backed Moore in the Alabama U.S. Senate race, as did high profile Republicans including former Alaska Governor and 2008 vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, former Trump Administration deputy assistant to the President Sebastian Gorka, and current Trump Administration Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Ben Carson, to name a few. President Trump backed Moore’s opponent Strange, but later, at a rally for McConnell-backed Strange, stated that he may have made a mistake and pledged to campaign “like hell” for Moore in the general election if Moore won. After Moore won, Trump congratulated him and re-affirmed his pledge to campaign for Moore against the Democrat in the general election.
Follow Michelle Moons on Twitter @MichelleDiana 

11 comments:

  1. American Trapshooting Association? Yes, but also the ATF.

    Sorry bout that, I have been on the trucking side of things this week and had ATA on the brain.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If the ATF had the authority to regulate the bumb stocks during the Obama Admin, but chose not to. As has been reported,

      Mr Trump could easily reverse that decision, and regulate bump stocks with existing law

      Seems to me.

      Delete
  2. The story does ptaise Mr Trump for getting the AHCA passed out of the House. It does not mention that Mr Trump later derided the legislation as being "Mean".

    As for the propsed "Tax Reform", what has been offered as a proposal is not what was promised by Mr Trump, just days ago.

    .

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Will those "Old School" Republicans, those that do not support the trillions in new debt demanded by the Trump Agenda be targeted by the "New GOP"?

      Delete

  3. Rep. Tim Murphy (R-Pa.) will resign later this month following a report this week suggesting that he urged a woman with whom he was having an affair to have an abortion.

    Murphy had originally announced Wednesday night that he would not seek reelection and serve out the rest of his term through 2018.

    But he will now resign from the House effective Oct. 21, rather than linger for more than a year following the scandal.


    ReplyDelete
  4. ISIS in Iraq still not 'wiped out' but it's getting closer -

    US congratulates Iraqi forces for routing ISIS
    by Jamie McIntyre | Oct 5, 2017, 10:07 AM

    Iraq delivers another blow to Islamic State

    The top U.S. military commander in Iraq has congratulated Iraqi forces for their "swift and decisive victory" in liberating Hawija, the last major bastion of Islamic State control in Iraq.

    "Today's victory demonstrates we are stronger together, and this Coalition remains committed to supporting our partners in the tough fight ahead as we continue our mission to defeat ISIS," said Lt. Gen. Paul Funk in a statement.

    The battle for Hawija lasted 14 days, and ended Thursday with the reported surrender of more than 1,000 dispirited ISIS fighters.

    The fall of Hawija leaves ISIS in control of only a small sliver of desert in Iraq's Anbar province, a roughly 60-mile corridor from Rawah to Al Qaim, near the Syrian border.

    "Iraqi Security Forces have taken Hawija city, but there are still areas to the east that must be cleared," U.S. military spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon told the Washington Examiner in an email. "We expect there to be more fighting in the days ahead before calling the end to Hawija operations."

    The Iraqi forces conducting operations in Western Anbar province and have already secured the towns of Anah, Rayhanah, and Akashat.

    "I expect that the remaining ISIS fighters will continue to be pushed east until they run into the Kurdish Defensive Line and are killed or captured," Dillon said. "We saw the same in the operations for Tal Afar."....

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/us-congratulates-iraqi-forces-for-routing-isis/article/2636606

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tillerson, Mattis, Mnuchin forge 'suicide pact' in the event Trump wants one of them gone: Report
    by Melissa Quinn | Oct 4, 2017, 4:34 PM

    http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/tillerson-mattis-mnuchin-forge-suicide-pact-in-the-event-trump-wants-one-of-them-gone-report/article/2636550

    ReplyDelete
  6. "Trump’s agenda."??

    Really? He's got one??

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. He's got one but he can't get the Rinos to vote for it.

      But relax.

      A purge is in the works.

      Then you will be happy.

      Delete
    2. Solve this problem for the world, Ash -

      VIDEO

      https://www.wsj.com/articles/north-korea-decoders-offer-dire-warnings-about-nuclear-program-1507195803

      Delete
  7. Facebook Inc. cut references to Russia from a public report in April about manipulation of its platform around the presidential election because of concerns among the company’s lawyers and members of its policy team, according to people familiar with the matter.

    ...

    Rather, it concluded that “malicious actors” engaged in influence campaigns during the U.S. presidential election but said it couldn’t determine who was responsible. The extent of Facebook’s understanding at the time of Russian influence is unclear.

    ReplyDelete