U.S. Senate

Trump unshackled, declares war on the GOP

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EddieMunsterAfter Donald Trump’s disastrous debate performance on Sunday night, the next day the GOP’s alleged boy genius, Ayn Rand fanboy Paul Ryan, “the zombie-eyed granny starver from the state of Wisconsin,” told his GOP Caucus that “i’m done with ‘The Donald,’ I’m going to focus on protecting our GOP majorities,” a self-interested act of trying to preserve his title of Speaker of the House. Paul Ryan Turns Focus From Donald Trump to House Races, Roiling G.O.P.:

House Speaker Paul Ryan dealt a hammer blow to Donald J. Trump’s presidential candidacy on Monday, dashing any remaining semblance of Republican unity and inviting fierce backlash from his own caucus by announcing that he would no longer defend Mr. Trump.

Mr. Ryan’s stance drew an immediate rebuke from Mr. Trump, who posted on Twitter that Mr. Ryan should focus on governing “and not waste his time on fighting Republican nominee.”

Mr. Ryan informed Republican lawmakers on a morning conference call that he would never again campaign for Mr. Trump and would dedicate himself instead to defending the party’s majority in Congress, according to five lawmakers who participated in the call and spoke on the condition of anonymity.

Effectively conceding defeat for his party in the presidential race, Mr. Ryan said his most urgent task was ensuring that Hillary Clinton did not take the helm with Democratic control of the House and Senate, two lawmakers said.

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McCain demonstrated why he is unfit for office in debate (Fact Check)

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Senator John McCain demonstrated in his debate with Representative Ann Kirkpatrick last night why he should not be returned to the Senate. Video of Senate Debate.

mccain-kirkpatrickThe first question from the moderators was about congressional gridlock: “Why do you want to return?” Similarly, the second question was about “How will you work across the aisle to make sure policy is passed and we stay out of stalemates?”

McCain said he has “been recognized as one of the foremost leaders in Congress.” Maybe by the Sunday morning bobbleheads on the Sunday talk shows (“If it’s Sunday, it’s John McCain“). The Beltway media villagers are McCain’s political base.”The number of times that Senator McCain hasn’t just been wrong, but deadly wrong, on matters of our security is nearly impossible to count.” The Media and John McCain: How Someone Always Wrong Is Always on TV. Many others have similarly written about how often John McCain has been wrong on almost every major policy decision in his 33 years in Washington.

McCain continued with his hackneyed claim that he is a “maverick,” and that he will continue to be a “maverick” in opposing his own party at times. The last time McCain ran for reelection in 2010, when he wasn’t saying Just complete the dang fence, he was saying that I’m not a maverick. “”I never considered myself a maverick,” McCain told Newsweek.” McCain’s ultimate maverick move, denial.

Neither Ann Kirkpatrick nor the moderators were prepared with facts to challenge McCain with his response.

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GOP Political Cowardice

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So our boy Johnny finally came around to disavowing his endorsement of Donald Trump, only when he calculated that it might now be safe to do so. Courage!  Sen. John McCain withdraws support from Donald Trump:

McCain-TrumpSen. John McCain on Saturday formally withdrew his support of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, whose presidential campaign was wilting in an unprecedented crisis related to his past use of vulgar terms about women and other misogynistic comments.

“I have wanted to support the candidate our party nominated. He was not my choice, but as a past nominee, I thought it important I respect the fact that Donald Trump won a majority of the delegates by the rules our party set,” McCain said in a lengthy written statement. “I thought I owed his supporters that deference.

“But Donald Trump’s behavior this week, concluding with the disclosure of his demeaning comments about women and his boasts about sexual assaults, make it impossible to continue to offer even conditional support for his candidacy. (McCain’s wife) Cindy, with her strong background in human rights and respect for women fully agrees with me in this.”

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McCain said he and his wife will not vote for the celebrity billionaire Trump or former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, the Democratic nominee, but instead will “write in the name of some good conservative Republican who is qualified to be president.”

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John McCain was Donald Trump before Donald Trump

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Republican leaders have condemned Donald Trump for his comments caught on a tape released to the media on Friday, but they are still standing by the GOP nominee. Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell Reject Donald Trump’s Words, Over and Over, but Not His Candidacy:

The two top Republicans in Congress — Senator Mitch McConnell, the majority leader, and Speaker Paul D. Ryan — have repeatedly condemned statements by Donald J. Trump, but they have not joined the dozens of leaders in their party who have said they will not vote for him.

On Thursday, another 30 former GOP leaders, including former Tucson Rep. Jim Kolbe, signed a letter saying they cannot vote for Donald Trump because he “makes a mockery” of their principles.  30 Former GOP lawmakers sign anti-Trump letter.

McCain-TrumpBut what about Senator John McCain, who has endorsed Donald Trump and consistently reaffirmed his endorsement after each and every outrageous statement made by Donald Trump over the course of this campaign?

John McCain released a statement yesterday hours after the Trump tape became news:

“There are no excuses for Donald Trump’s offensive and demeaning comments. No woman should ever be victimized by this kind of inappropriate behavior. He alone bears the burden of his conduct and alone should suffer the consequences.”

Once again, McCain wants to have it both ways: condemn Trump’s comments to get praise from his McMedia base, but not disavow his endorsement of Trump or repudiate him as the GOP nominee, because he needs Trump’s deplorable base of voters for reelection.

Will Trump suffer the consequences for his crude comments about women? Maybe not. John McCain never suffered the consequences for his own crude comments about women.

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SCOTUS: First Monday in October

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The unprecedented Senate Tea-Publican “blockade” of President Obama’s nomination of Judge Merrick Garland to fill the vacancy created by the death of Justice Antonin Scalia will not be resolved before Election Day. Supreme Court vacancy watch Day 229: Mitch McConnell’s abject failure as a civil servant:

It’s Friday, September 30, and Day 229 since Justice Antonin Scalia died and Mitch McConnell decided no nominee would get any Senate attention: No meetings, no hearings, no votes. It’s also Day 198 since Merrick Garland was nominated by President Obama to fill that vacancy.

SupremesSansScalia

It’s now day 231, and the Washington Post reports on the start of the Supreme Court’s new term. Supreme Court to begin new term short-handed as its ideological balance hinges on fall vote:

The Supreme Court’s new term begins Monday with the focus not on the court’s docket but on the court itself and a future that will be defined by the presidential election.

For the first time in decades, there will be only eight justices, not nine, to begin the new term. Also absent are the kind of big-ticket cases — involving immigration reform, affirmative action, abortion, same-sex marriage and the Affordable Care Act — that in recent years have catapulted the Supreme Court to the fore of American civic life.

Instead, the short-handed court has assembled a docket of more-modest cases — albeit ones that touch on contemporary controversies such as the role of race in criminal justice and politics, free speech and perhaps the treatment of transgender students.

Of far greater consequence is the fate of the court’s ideological balance. And on that question, the court finds itself like the rest of the country: waiting to see what happens on Nov. 8.

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