Day: July 24, 2018

September forecast: possible government shutdown over Trump’s border wall

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Martin Longman at the Political Animal blog brings up a topic no one is currently talking about, but should rightly be concerned about. Will the Government Shut Down in October?

Stan Collender, who is one of the best analysts on the congressional budgeting process, has put up a doomsday clock at his blog. It says that the Republicans have 69 days left before the government shuts down again, but the real number is less than half of that when you take into account weekends, vacations, and days when no votes are scheduled.

Or as the POLITICO Playbook correctly pointed out this morning, 14 legislative days until the government shuts down:

IT MIGHT PUT YOUR MIND at ease that August recess is around the corner, but Congress has 14 legislative days before the government shuts down Sept. 30. Yes, just 14 legislative days — including today — in session to pass a bill to keep the government open.

If you talk to top Republicans privately, they’ll brush it off, and say that there is no way PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP will want a confrontation roughly a month before the election in order to get money for his border wall. A down payment to continue to build the wall will be enough to keep Trump happy, some top Republicans say.

Can they be so certain?

IT DOESN’T TAKE MUCH IMAGINATION to see the president unhappy with a small pot of money for his signature wall. If the right goes crazy, saying Congress isn’t backing the president’s top immigration proposal, the president might get riled up. Remember: last time the president threatened to veto a spending bill his own staff had a hand in negotiating. Republicans will also be on the brink of electing new congressional leaders, which adds another complication into the mix. There isn’t much room for error, as you can see. And the president and his advisers believe that his immigration policy is a net positive for Republicans across the country.

OF COURSE, the uncomfortable reality for Republicans is that they will almost certainly need Democratic votes to get a government-funding bill across the finish line. And there are a healthy number of Democrats who don’t want Trump to have any money for his border wall.

MOST LIKELY at this point: Congress will try to use September to pass a stop-gap measure to fund government until the end of 2018.

“Stan Collender puts the odds of a October 1st shutdown at 60 percent.” Collender clearly has little confidence in this miserable do-nothing GOP Congress and an increasingly erratic and unpredictable president.

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GOP is a Cancerous Entity that is Reactionary, Undemocratic, and Xenophobic

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It has come to this. Today’s America (and Arizona)  is the result of 40 years of conservative southern strategizing, negotiating Faustian bargains with segregationist Democrats and the evangelical community. It is the result of dog whistle ads like the “Willie Horton” ad in 1988, obstructing two Democratic administrations on issues like infrastructure, healthcare, raising wages, and immigration that the people wanted. It is the result of gerrymandering congressional districts that give them majorities when the Democrats win the national vote, and embracing underhanded tactics with domestic and (in the case of 2016) foreign sources that “stole” the election from the people’s choice for President.

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Bailouts are back! This time for GOP-voting farmers in red states hurt by ‘Trump Tariffs’ (bribery for votes) (Updated)

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It was just a decade ago that America’s financial system was in a meltdown and the economy headed into a free-fall.

The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) was a set of programs created and run by the U.S. Treasury to stabilize the country’s financial system, restore economic growth, and mitigate foreclosures in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. TARP was included in the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, which included the bailouts for large financial institutions, banks, and eventually Chrysler and GM automakers.

Even as the financial system was in a meltdown and the economy in a free-fall, a majority of Republicans in Congress voted against the TARP bailouts. 73 percent of House Democrats voted in favor of the bailouts, compared to 46 percent of Republicans. Despite prodding from Republican President Bush and Treasury Secretary Paulson, and House Minority Leader John Boehner’s emotional plea to put country first and vote yes, a majority—54 percent—of House Republicans still voted against the bailouts.

“Let it burn!”

In the Senate, strong majorities of both Democrats (80 percent) and Republicans (69 percent) voted for bailout passage, but with significantly greater Democratic support.

This was the actual birth of the so-called Tea Party movement. The grassroots conservatives who opposed the bailouts later comprised the early Tea Party movement.

Fast forward to today. The Tea Party got the president they wanted in 2016, an abrasive egomaniacal man-child demagogue who promised them a trade war with China.

The trade war that these yahoos voted for is now beginning to adversely impact Republican Party constituencies in red states, i.e., farmers  (agribusinesses). Farmers’ Anger at Trump Tariffs Puts Republican Candidates in a Bind:

As President Trump moves to fulfill one of the central promises of his campaign — to get tough on an ascendant China — he faces a potential rebellion from a core constituency: farmers and other agricultural producers who could suffer devastating losses in a trade war.

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Ads on BlogForArizona

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By Michael Bryan Pardon our dust, as they say. You will likely have noticed that there are some new ads on the blog. We have faced some significant expenses due to site updates, new security requirements, and a recent malware attack. To defray the costs of running and maintaining the site we need money. Some … Read more

Sun Link streetcar celebrating 4th anniversary on July 28

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Sun Link modern streetcar in downtown Tucson, courtesy of Donovan Dean Durband

SUN LINK CELEBRATES FOURTH ANNIVERSARY

Celebrate with free rides and concert series on the streetcar and in districts

TUCSON, Ariz. – “Sun Link invites the community to celebrate its fourth anniversary on Saturday, July 28th with free rides from 8 a.m. to 2 a.m. The free rides are sponsored by Main Gate Square and Rio Nuevo. Sun Link will also celebrate its anniversary with live performances onboard the streetcar. Live performances on the Sun Link streetcar include:

  • Nothing More – Performance begins at 2:00 p.m.
    • Board at the westbound stop on 6th Ave/Congress St.
  • Alien Atmosphere – Performance begins at 5:00 p.m.
    • Board at the Main Gate Square stop on Tyndall Ave/University Blvd.
  • Jimmy Carr & the Awkward Moments – Performance begins at 6:00 p.m.
    • Board at the Mercado San Agustín stop on Avenida del Convento/Congress
  • Brook Sample – Performance begins at 8:30 p.m.
    • Board at the Main Gate Square stop on Tyndall Ave/University Blvd.

Following their performances on the streetcar, Jimmy Carr & the Awkward Moments and Brook Sample will exit the streetcar at Tyndall Ave/University Blvd. and play free concerts at Gentle Ben’s.

Follow Sun Link on Twitter and Facebook for updates on the performances. To locate the streetcar that will host the performances, download the Tucson Streetcar Tracker app.

Spend the day enjoying more than 150 shops and 100 restaurants throughout five of Tucson’s most popular and unique districts: the University of Arizona, Main Gate Square, 4th Avenue, Downtown and Mercado San Agustín.

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