Mediaboss Marketing

U.S. senators left Washington this week without taking action on another round of legislation to respond to the continuing COVID-19 crisis. Why has this proven so difficult? Like many other issues to face Congress in recent years, it has a lot to do with divisions among Republicans.

Recent weeks have seen two hallmarks of Majority Leader Mitch McConnells (R-Ky.) approach to legislating, especially during the Trump era: trying to use a deadlinereal or manufacturedto force favorable action, and in the words of the Washington Posts Robert Costa, letting [White House] players new and old try to take the lead in talks. Then when things fall apart, he talks to the president and gives him the 11th hour options. The problem is, however, that sometimes, both strategies have failedoccasionally spectacularly. In late 2018, for example, after weeks of efforts by the White House to secure funding for a border wall, the McConnell-led Senate tried to avoid a shutdown by adopting a short-term spending bill that would have kept the government open. But when a group of House Republicansled in part by now-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows (R-N.C.)convinced the president to hold out for a measure that contained money for the wall, the federal government ended up partially shut down for a record 35 days.

This approachwhich, again, requires delay if it is to be successfulhas been deployed in pursuit of McConnells underlying goal: to preserve the Republicans Senate majority in 2020. In the current circumstances, however, it is unclear that there is agreement among his rank-and-file colleagues about what kind of policy response achieves that goalor whether one is even necessary. There are six seats held by Republicans that Democrats have a reasonable possibility of winning in Novemberin Arizona, Colorado, Iowa, Maine, Montana, and North Carolinaas compared to just one, in Alabama, that Democrats expect to lose to Republicans. Recent polling of six swing states that include two of these (Arizona and North Carolina) finds popular support for additional direct payments to individuals, funds for state and local governments, and extending the $600-per-week in enhanced unemployment benefits.

But there is a substantial bloc within the Senate GOP conference who does not support those policies, even if they would help their most vulnerable colleagues electorally. Some of these opponents may actually believe, despite economic evidence to the contrary, that continuing to provide enhanced unemployment insurance benefits disincentivizes people to return to work. But more importantly, the anti-deficit rhetoric that many are using to describe their opposition suggests some number of the Republicans may be preparing for a potential Biden presidency in which obstruction of new spending, especially that benefits disadvantaged communities, is framed as fiscal restraint.

Negotiations have been made more complicated by what the White House has chosen to prioritize in negotiations. In particular, some White House priorities, like a payroll tax cut and funding for a new FBI building in downtown Washington, are not shared by Republicans in the Senate. Others, like a tax deduction for business meals, have Senate champions, but are not related to the more substantive issues at stake. While these kinds of smaller issues can be key material for trades in negotiations, focusing on them at the expense of the larger core provisions can make it more difficult to reach an ultimate deal. In addition, the White House has alternately indicated it is and is not willing to move forward without the so-called liability shield for businesses, which McConnell has referred to as his red line in the negotiations. There are certainly times in congressional bargaining where one participant will insist that something is non-negotiable merely to avoid blame for it getting rejected down the road. But, usually, members of the same political party are on the same side of those fights.

The White House been represented in the negotiations by Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin. Mnuchin has bargained with Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi successfully in the past, including over a deal to raise the debt limit and statutory spending caps in 2019. Meadows, on the other hand, has a history as a House member of advocating actions that hurt Republicans chances of keeping the majority. In 2017, for example, Meadows was one of the chief architects of an amendment to the GOPs Obamacare repeal bill that weakened protections for people with pre-existing conditionsa provision on which many Democrats successfully ran against Republicans in the 2018 midterms.

Whether Congress and the White House can manage to revive the enhanced unemployment benefits and otherwise advocate additional, much-needed federal aid remains to be seen. But the well-being of millions of Americans depends on it.

Go here to see the original:
Why Senate Republicans and the White House cant agree on badly-needed COVID aid - Brookings Institution

Now youre about to see everything. I have been a Democrat from the time I played hooky at school at age 6 to volunteer for Hubert Humphreys 1968 Presidential campaign. I have been a delegate to the last three Democratic National Conventions and served on the National Platform Committee at the 2016 DNC. I currently serve as Deputy Vice Chair of the New Jersey Democratic State Committee.

But somehow Im about to give heartfelt political advice to New Jersey Republicans.

Consider this column is to be a self-styled strand of The Lincoln Project. Surely you know The Lincoln Project. Its the national PAC of establishment Republicans who, having retained their brains and integrity, are repulsed by Donald Trump and are working for Joe Bidens victory. If youre a Democrat as I am, you watch The Lincoln Projects scorched-earth commercials with amazement mixed with envy.

For the good of the country, The Lincoln Party has put partisanship aside. For the good of New Jersey, I will do the same to present this invaluable tip to the Republican leaders among you. It is this:

Stop acting as if you have lost your minds.

Exhibit A is the Republican leader in New Jersey whom I usually consider to be one of the more rational Republicans remaining in the United States: Assembly Minority Leader Jon Bramnick (R-Westfield). I adore Jon. Smart, empathetic and funny, hell probably contact me with a warm hello after his reads this critical column.

Remember when Lindsey Graham, before repositioning himself from Trump critic to sycophant to preempt a primary challenge among South Carolina Republicans, said theres something wrong with you if you dont like Joe Biden personally? Same with Jon Bramnick. Hes New Jersey Republican version of Uncle Joe.

But somethings gotten into Jon. Its called COVID-19 politically and not medically, thank God and it has made him go haywire. Gone is public servant with the DNA of the old-time moderate New Jersey Republicanism of Ray Bateman, Tom Kean Sr. and Christie Whitman. Its not that Jon has always been moderate in his voting; its more in his temperament.

When I ran Garden State Equality and lobbied him on marriage equality, Jon made clear he was personally for it and found the arguments of marriage equality opponents to be ridiculous. He also said he would not vote our way because he felt he could not not as a leader of an anti-marriage equality Republican caucus, at least as it was then. At the same time, he gave me helpful insights into colleagues that didnt need to much straining to read the between the lines.

These days, Jons views on COVID-19 echo the Trumpism of Americas basket of deplorable Governors: Ron DeSantis of Florida, Brian Kemp of Georgia and Greg Abbott of Texas. Those three gubernatorial dolts ignored the scientific evidence and pandemic trends right before their very eyes in fact, before all our eyes by reopening their states prematurely in the name of economic growth. Now their states are paying the price with thousands of lives collectively lost that didnt need to be lost.

As those of us with half a brain had anticipated, the red states are shutting down all over again. The temporary uptick in employment will soon give way to an economic tailspin equal to, or worse than, what we saw at the outset of the pandemic a lose-lose for all.

Nationally, Trump Republicans are scurrying to revise their bravado. Mitch McConnell and Foxs Sean Hannity have suddenly found the true religion of wearing masks. Their Governors are slowing down or reversing their reopenings outright. They are eating cardinal-red crow.

But not Jon Bramnick.

This week, Jon assailed Governor Murphy for delaying the opening of indoor restaurants, insisted the Governor should have simply discouraged patrons from dining inside.

Jon, on what planet are you living? Under Governor Murphy, New Jersey has ranked among the handful of states with a downward trend in COVID-19 cases as most the country trends dramatically up. Last week, the number of cases across the United States reached 55,000 in a single day more than all the cases in the first two weeks of the epidemic.

In red states that opened too early, Americans telling the mere suggestion of social distancing to go to hell. Patrons are packing reopened venues like sardines. Youd have to be blind not to see the news coverage. Can you imagine the dangers to New Jersey during this 4th of July weekend?

Of course I believe Americans should have the freedom to be stupid. I dont believe Americans should have the freedom to be homicidally stupid. Freedom of Assembly is not an E-ZPass to the road of murder.

To make matters worse, Bramnick is introducing legislation to force state legislature to meet in person during COVID-19 instead of by Zoom, as most workplaces now do. Thats a recipe for disaster I take personally. My second mom, Senate Majority Leader Loretta Weinberg, is 85. Shes at high risk for COVID. But Lorettas being Loretta, indefatigably devoted to serving the public and as vigorous as ever, she went to Trenton this week. Thats when I turned the tables and became her Jewish mother, scolding her out of love.

Jon, you are in the throes of cognitive political dissonance. For whatever reasons, you dont see that Trumps support has sunk to the point of no return and is now eroding even his Make America Great Again base. But there never was much of his base anyway in New Jersey. Meanwhile, prominent New Jersey Republicans, normally more sane than Trump, continue to host, sponsor or attend fundraisers for him. It baffles the mind.

What New Jersey Republicans ought to be doing is what Minnesota Republicans did years ago to appeal to moderates: They changed the official name of the state party to Independent Republican and didnt give a damn what the national party thought. Today Minnesota Republicans, though having jettisoned the independent part of their name, are at rough parity in power with the states legendary Democratic Party, the DFL.

This much we know: Assuming Governor Murphy doesnt wind up in the Biden cabinet, he will win reelection next year in a landslide, deservedly so. But theres more at stake for New Jersey Republicans the state partys long-term viability. On the national political scene, New Jersey is cobalt blue in Presidential elections and U.S. Senate races, with a 10 to 2 Democratic advantage in our House delegation. Democrats have also mastered control of the state legislature. In gubernatorial elections, however, New Jersey remains stubbornly purple.

But if Republican leaders, including a decent man in Jon Bramnick, keep acting as if they have lost their minds and should be Republicans for Mississippi, New Jersey voters will obliterate their state party into extinction.

And it will be too late to Make the Whigs Great Again.

http://www.stevengoldstein.com

(Visited 932 times, 88 visits today)

Follow this link:
NJ Republicans, You're in the Throes of Cognitive Political Dissonance - InsiderNJ

That's why it's perhaps surprising that Republican voters and lawmakers have been disagreeing with Trump quite a bit lately.

This follows what happened in North Carolina a little more than a week ago. Trump (and Trump chief of staff Mark Meadows) endorsed Lynda Bennett, but she didn't come close to winning. Instead, it was political newcomer Madison Cawthorn who earned the Republican nomination.

Any of these losses on their own wouldn't be noteworthy, and none of the winning candidates were anti-Trump. Still, it's quite unusual for an incumbent president to support three primary losers in about a three-week period. Just being pro-Trump is not enough to survive.

If nothing else, these defeats show a President who is perhaps not as in touch with his constituents as we might have believed.

Republican lawmakers, too, have shown a willingness to buck Trump a number of times over the past few weeks.

These rebukes of the President should not be seen as campaign-altering events for 2020. Trump still enjoys a lot of support from Republicans in and out of Washington.

For a President who will need to squeeze every bit possible out of the Republican base, any defections are damaging. There seems to be more of a willingness for Republicans to do that lately.

Read this article:
Trump's on a losing streak with Republicans - CNN

A Kansas newspaper whose publisher is a county Republican chairman posted a cartoon on its Facebook page likening an order from the states governor requiring people to wear masks in public to the round-up and murder of millions of Jews during the Holocaust.

The cartoon on the Anderson County Reviews Facebook page depicts Democratic governor Laura Kelly wearing a mask with a Jewish Star of David on it, next to people being loaded on to train cars. Its caption is: Lockdown Laura says: Put on your mask ... and step on to the cattle car.

The newspaper posted the cartoon on Friday, the day Kellys mask order took effect. It drew several hundred comments, many strongly critical.

Publisher Dane Hicks, who is also Anderson countys Republican party chairman, said he would answer questions once he could reach a computer. His newspaper is based in the county seat of Garnett, about 65 miles south-west of Kansas City. It has a circulation of about 2,100, according to the Kansas Press Association.

Kelly, who is Catholic, issued a statement saying: Mr Hicks decision to publish antisemitic imagery is deeply offensive and he should remove it immediately.

Kansas Senate minority leader Anthony Hensley, a Democrat, called the cartoon appalling and disgusting and said anyone connected to its posting should be fired.

Rabbi Moti Rieber, executive director of Kansas Interfaith Action, said most if not all comparisons of current events to the Holocaust are odious and said it was incoherent to equate the masks order, an action designed to save lives, with mass murder.

Finally, he said, putting the Star of David on Kellys mask was antisemitic because it implies nefarious Jews are behind her actions.

This thing is like the trifecta of garbage, Rieber said, calling on Republican leaders to repudiate the cartoon and Hicks.

Some Republicans have criticized Kellys order for infringing on personal liberties, though Kansas law allows counties to opt out and Anderson county has done so.

The governor issued the order because of a resurgence in coronavirus cases that increased the states total to nearly 16,000 as of Friday, when Kansas finished its worst two-week rise since the pandemic began. The state has reported 277 Covid-19-related deaths.

The number of infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick.

State Republican chairman Mike Kuckelman was spending the Fourth of July in the Missouri Ozarks and did not immediately respond to a text seeking comment.

Hicks previously criticized Kelly in a blogpost for taking a one-size-fits-all approach to reopening what he called the states bureaucracy-hammered economy.

Kelly lifted statewide restrictions on businesses and public gatherings on 26 May, after weeks of criticism from the Republican-controlled state legislature. Some conservative lawmakers have accused her of being heavy handed and dictatorial.

Anderson county, with about 7,900 residents, is part of a conservative swath of eastern Kansas. Republicans outnumber Democrats two to one and Donald Trump carried it with nearly 73% of the vote in 2016.

The state health department has reported four coronavirus cases for Anderson county, all since 8 May. There have been no reported deaths there.

County commission chairman Jerry Howarter said of the more than 70 people who showed up to its meeting on the mask mandate on Friday, all but one opposed it. He said he had not seen the cartoon.

More:
Kansas paper published by Republican posts cartoon likening masks order to Holocaust - The Guardian

To the editor: Why might Republicans have abided weakening their party by ceding its control to President Trump? Its not just that he excels at manipulating the GOPs core constituency. (Sick of Trump? Blame our weak political parties, Opinion, June 30)

More important is Trumps unmatched ability to keep the Democrats befuddled and off-balance so much so as to preclude them from settling on a nominee until deep into the primaries, or even crafting a convincing campaign message.

Privately, most of my GOP friends readily concede that Trump is the antithesis of the capable, composed and prudent leader needed to guide our country to a sustainable future beyond the next election day. But while he so adroitly antagonizes and weakens the opposition party, Republicans will indulge him as the antidote to their own partys weaknesses.

Strange, since 2016 I havent heard anyone braying about American exceptionalism.

P. Jane Weil, Sacramento

..

To the editor: As a longtime reader, I pay particular attention to your conservative columnists and never miss one of Jonah Goldbergs columns. Recently, he unloaded a whopper that Vice President Hubert Humphrey obtained the 1968 Democratic nomination over Sen. Eugene McCarthy, despite the latters substantially better showing in the primaries, because the party mattered.

Methinks that in addition to failing to mention how limited the primary system was in 1968, Goldberg conveniently forgot about another event which abruptly ended in Los Angeles that year, one that made it clear a large swath of Democrats were hungry for an alternative to McCarthy.

Blaise Jackson, Escondido

..

To the editor: With all the unpresidential behavior, name-calling and worst of all, lack of competence for the job, I wonder if even very loyal Trump supports like Vice President Mike Pence, Atty. Gen. William Barr and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell are tired of lying and making excuses for him.

Matthew D. Kerster, Gardena

See the original post:
Trump freaks out Democrats. That's why Republicans love him - Los Angeles Times