Virtual Caucuses?

In at least three states - Alaska, Iowa and Nevada - Democrats hold caucuses rather than primaries in order to choose a Presidential candidate.

Merriam-webster defines a caucus as a closed meeting of a group of persons belonging to the same political party or faction intended to select candidates or to decide on policy.  Until this past Thursday,
Dems in those states hoped to make their caucuses more accessible by making them, in part at least, virtual - that is, phone, email, or web-based.  The idea was that the several hours, or even days, that in-person caucusing can require causes some folks who might otherwise participate not to do so.  Ironically, the hope arose in part because the Democratic National Committee mandated that states that hold caucuses instead of primaries offer voters a way to participate that doesn't require them to show up at sites scattered across the state.

That was before experts brought in by the DNC were able to hack into a conference call among the committee, the Iowa Democratic Party and Nevada Democratic Party . Understandably, that raised concerns about using teleconferencing as a means of providing virtual caucuses.

At the time of this writing, the Iowa Democratic Party vowed to retain its position as the first caucus or primary in the nation.  Whether they'll be able to do that in virtual fashion remains to be seen.

Flipping Five in the Senate

At this moment, Democrats' chances of retaking the Senate seem primo.

Susan Collins  (R - Maine) has lost 17 points in approval polls since last spring.
Cory Gardner  (R - Colorado) lags 13 points behind his likely Democratic opponent John Huckenlooper
Johnny Isakson  (R - Georgia) announced he was retiring before the end of his current term.
Former astronaut Mark Kelly leads incumbent Martha McSally  (R - Arizona) by 46 %  to 41 %.
David Perdue (R - Georgia)  leads well-known Democrat Stacy Abrams by only 2 %.

If Donald Trump is defeated  we'd only need to regain three seats in the Senate.  With a Democrat in the White House, and one can assume therefore also at Number One Observatory Circle, any ties in votes in the upper chamber could be broken in favor of us good guys.  In such circumstances, three more Senate seats would suffice.

Absent that, and even assuming that the Isakson seat  remains Republican, unseating Collins, Gardner, McSally, and Perdue, given their respective approval ratings, seems eminently doable.

Despicable Doesn't Even Begin to Cover It

To quote Rolling Stone:

In August alone, the Trump administration laid out plans to make it more difficult for legal immigrants to use social services, eliminate limits on how long families can be detained at the border, and stop providing flu vaccines to migrants held in border detention facilities  The administration was proud enough of these efforts to announce them publicly, but there was one move so despicable that they apparently felt it would be best to roll it out quietly.

On August 7th, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) ... eliminated a medical deferred action program that allowed severely ill undocumented immigrants and their families to remain in the United States to receive potentially lifesaving treatment. The decision to axe the policy was not announced publicly. Instead, families with pending applications were notified through letters from immigration officials informing them they have 33 days to leave the country or risk facing deportation.

Despicable and ugly don't do it justice.  33 freakin' days?   Donald Trump, Stephen Miller, and anyone else involved in this horrific decision just bought themselves some really bad karma.   

Breaking the Law to Build His Wall

To cite the venerable blog Talking Points Memo, Donald Trump wants his border wall very badly.  He wants it so much that he's willing to pardon members of his administration if they break the law to get the job done by Election Day

 Among laws and regulations that might be broken:

• competitive bids for, and awarding, government contracts to, the lowest bidder
• seizure of privately held property only after adequate adjudication
• diverting funds already allocated to FEMA for disaster relief to help fund his wall
• diverting Pentagon funds to the wall

In addition to all of these being illegal, at least for anyone who accepts and respects the idea that no one is above the law, they also make Mr. Trump a prime candidate for impeachment.

Yet Another Reason to Vote for Democrats

From 2008 to 2018, the National Rifle Association decimated the number of A ratings it  gave to Congressional Democrats, and more than doubled As handed out to Republicans .

Let's shed more light on those grades.  The NRA uses A ratings to indicate support for gun rights and opposition to restrictions;  F ratings, on the other hand, mean just the opposite; an F is a vote of censure.. After assigning grades, the NRA then publicizes those scores to its members, who in turn use them to guide their votes. In addition, A-rated candidates often receive endorsements, and the campaign support that can result.  In 2008, 67 A-rated Democrats - about 25% of the Democratic caucus in the House - had been elected.  That same year, there were also 13 Democrats with B ratings, meaning the N.R.A. considered them generally pro-gun.

But what a difference a decade makes.  In 2008, in a House and Senate controlled by Democrats, that party got a 52.1% A rating, and a 33.8% F rating from the NRA.  In 2018, we're faced with a mirror image.  Republicans got a 52.5% A rating, and a 43.5% F rating.  Add to all this the fact that in 2018, total contributions from the NRA to federal candidates were almost entirely to Republicans.  Specifically, the GOP got 97% of the NRA's $699,750.00, and Democrats got only 3%.

Here's a play-by-play.

There He Goes Again

As the G7 meeting in France wrapped up today, Donald Trump held a press conference.  During it, he put out a dozen statements.   Trump continues to bat 1000; none of these are true.

1. The first lady has gotten to know Kim Jong Un
2. We gave Iran $150 Billion
3. Iran deal is about to expire
4. Trade deficit with European Union over $180 Billion a year
5. Trade deficit with China $500 billion for many years
6. Revenue in the billions from tariffs on China
7. U. S. became number one energy producer in the world during Trump administration
8.  [Trump is] an environmentalist.
9.  [Trump ] own[s] great property in the UK.
10. In a combination of loss and opportunity, probably it'll cost [Trump] anywhere from 3 to 5 billion to be president.
11. Russia was suspended from the G8 because of Barack Obama's personal embarrassment about being "outsmarted" by Vladimir Putin's annexation of Crimea.
12. Many high-level calls between China and Treasury Secretary Minuchin regarding trade dealings with China

A Ticket From Hell

Former Congressman and all-around reprobate Joe Walsh announced this morning that he plans a challenge to Donald Trump in the 2020 Republican primary.

Walsh has almost as little experience in government as does Mr. Trump, having served only one term in the House of Representatives.   While there or shortly after, Walsh racked up a record of scurrilous behavior that even Trump might envy.  For instance, during his campaign for an Illinois Senate seat, Walsh mocked his opponent Tammy Duckworth, an Iraq War veteran and double amputee.

Way to stay classy, Republican Party.  But from the point of view of Democrats, it's a plus.  Any internecine warfare among the far right (Walsh was one of the original Tea Party) helps Democrats, and the country.