I was no fan of Bill First (R-TN) when he was in the Senate (1995-2006), especially not while he served as Senate Majority Leader from 2003 until he retired, living up to a self-imposed term limits pledge. After he left the Senate, he said he would have voted for the Affordable Care Act and has urged Republicans to stop trying to repeal it.
In an exclusive for The American Conservative, U.S. Senator Rand Paul, a Republican from Kentucky, writes that a new Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) to be put before Congress soon is “deeply flawed” and an abdication of its responsibility under the Constitution to declare war. What would President Trump and his handlers do with these new war powers?
A new authorization for the use of military force proposed by Democratic and Republican senators would further entrench the United States in endless war. It would also streamline the ability of President Donald Trump and future presidents to expand the “war on terrorism” to additional countries and broaden a list of “associated forces” that are “co-belligerents” of al-Qaida, the Taliban, or the Islamic State.
In Pennsylvania an ungerrymandered congressional map spelled doom and gloom for the GOP. That's why, at least in part, Charlie Dent, Ryan Costello, Bill Shuster and Pat Meehan all announced early retirements and why Brian Fitzpatrick, Rothfus and Mike Kelly still may (or wish they did). The PVIs of these districts changed significantly enough to drive these Republicans out of office.
The rock-solid set of principles the Democratic Party once stood for has weakened... a lot. Thank Bill Clinton and his transactional politics for a lot of that. Choice doesn't matter, nor does marriage equality, unions, the legitimate aspirations of working families. The DCCC is out recruiting NRA allies.
We warned you all along not to count on rot-gut conservatives like Jeff Flake (R-AZ) and Bob Corker (R-TN) to stand up to Trump in any real way. Name calling is cheap; but when it comes to what really matters, they’re both full-fledged Trumpists.
-by NoahWhat is the price for integrity? Can you sell something you never had? Bob Corker isn't the first $enator, of any party, to sell his vote while selling out his constituents, and we know he won't be the last. But what Corker has just done is a glaring, prime example of how things get done in Washington, all too often to our detriment as individuals and as a country. Corker's action even has its own name: The Corker Kickback. It seems that Corker has not only put his party before his country but put himself first as well.
My congressman, Adam Schiff, was a conservative state legislator who got elected in 2000 because voters wanted revenge for the role the incumbent, James Rogan, played in the Clinton impeachment. Schiff entered Congress, joined the Blue Dogs and started voting like a Republican. After his district shredded some Republican neighborhoods and added some of the bluest areas of L.A.
Last year, Trump beat Hillary 60.7% to 34.7% in Tennessee, a very solid win. Hillary won just 3 counties of the state's 95. She won Shelby Co., the state's most populous by a wide margin-- 206,640 (62.3%) to 114,948 (34.6%) and nearby Haywood Co.-- 3,704 (54.3%) to 3,020 (44.2%). Hillary also kicked Trump's ass in Tennessee's second most populous county, Davidson, which includes Nashville.
Like Senator Bob Corker (R-TN), Rep. Charlie Dent (R-PA) is retiring from Congress. Easy enough for them to warn the country about the unmitigated disaster unfolding in real time in the Oval Office. Republicans running in 2018 are too scared to. Dent spoke with Katie Tur on MSNBC Monday: "We’ve had a lot of these 'the emperor has no clothes' moments and I’m glad that Sen. Corker has brought voice to this. We are concerned.
