The South Carolina Republican was once a vehement Trump critic. Now, he’s one of the president’s most ardent supporters.
Tag: politics
🎧 “The Daily”: The Rise of Right-Wing Extremism, and How U.S. Law Enforcement Ignored It | New York Times
In an atmosphere of seeming indifference on the part of U.S. law enforcement, a dangerous movement has grown and metastasized.
It’s tremendously painful that the optics of right wing extremism in the Obama administration was used as a means of allowing the alt-right, white supremacists, and neo-Nazis to rise unfettered in the United States. This is worse when one thinks of the death and destruction they have caused in relation to the obscene amounts of money that have been thrown at decreasing international terrorism within our borders.
👓 The Weekly Standard, a conservative magazine critical of Trump, to shutter after 23 years | CNN
The Weekly Standard, the magazine that espouses traditional conservatism and which has remained deeply critical of President Donald Trump, will shutter after 23 years, its owner Clarity Media Group announced Friday morning. The magazine will publish its final issue on December 17.
Alas there goes the last bit of logic to the center of the old party. Trump’s transformation of the Republican Party is almost complete.
👓 Red state, blue state | Science News
Resizing geographic areas by population gives more accurate view of 2012 election.
🎧 The Daily: Deployed in the U.S., Just Waiting for the Caravan | The New York Times
The midterm elections are over, and President Trump’s talk of the migrant caravan has dwindled. But thousands of troops sent to the southwest border are still there.
At nearly every turn, President Trump’s own generals tried to persuade him not to deploy active-duty troops to the United States border with Mexico. So what are 5,000 troops doing there?
On today’s episode:
Helene Cooper, who covers the Pentagon for The New York Times.
Background reading:
Here’s what life is like for the soldiers deployed to the southwest borderon a mission that is expected to last until Dec. 15.
Since Election Day, President Trump has tweeted about the caravanexactly once.
The president has seemed to relish the spectacle of being commander in chief, but top Defense Department officials say he has struggled with the role.
He’s seriously deployed troops for a political reason and they’re going to be drawn down before the reason they’re supposed to be there happens?!
This is just the height of stupidity and government waste. Government institutions keep being eroded by Trumps ineptitude and fear-mongering. This is money and deployment help that would have been far better spent in Puerto Rico for the hurricane.
📑 How to Talk to People, According to Terry Gross | New York Times
Politicians, she believes, “owe us an answer,” and so she, in her own very Terry Gross way will “keep asking and re-asking and asking, and maybe I’ll ask it in separate ways, and maybe I’ll point out that they haven’t yet answered the question.” ❧
📑 How to Talk to People, According to Terry Gross | New York Times
“Well, I don’t think it is in my self-interest to tutor people on how to dodge a question,” Ms. Gross said. But, when pressed — perhaps regretting the previous advice she gave to this interviewer about how to get people to answer questions they don’t want to answer (“keep asking”) — she suggests using honesty. Say, “I don’t want to answer that,” or, if that’s too blunt, hedge with a statement like, “I’m having a difficult time thinking of a specific answer to that.” Going the martyr route with something like, “I’m afraid by answering that I’m going to hurt somebody’s feelings and I don’t want to do that,” is another option. ❧
👓 How the GOP Gave Up on Porn | Politico
Once, the fight against pornography was the beating heart of the American culture war. Now porn is a ballooning industry—and maybe a harmful one—with no real opponents. What happened?
🎧 The Daily: An Unexpected Upset in Florida | New York Times
After a surprise outcome in the primary, the Florida governor’s race is shaping up to be a litmus test for 2020.
🎧 The Daily: Nancy Pelosi’s Dilemma | New York Times
Under fire from both parties, the longtime House Democratic leader faces an uncertain political future.
👓 Two Charts Show Trump’s Job Gains Are Just A Continuation From Obama’s Presidency | Forbes
When you look at the numbers (and graphs) the gains in employment under President Trump are essentially a continuation from President Obama‘s last six years in office.
🎧 The Daily: Paul Ryan’s Exit Interview | New York Times
As speaker of the House, the Republican lawmaker should be at the peak of his powers. Instead, he’s walking away.
🎧 The Rise of Michael Avenatti | The Daily | New York Times
The lawyer’s self-sure ways and penchant for media spectacle have led some to characterize him as the anti-Trump.
🎧 The Daily: The Democrats’ Comeback Plan | New York Times
The party’s seemingly narrow strategy for the 2018 midterm elections belies its big hopes for the future.
🎧 The Daily: The Battle for Missouri, Part 1: The Anti-Abortion Democrat | New York Times
As the Democratic Party struggles to establish its identity in Missouri, the issue of abortion has taken center stage.