We seem to have given the political parties the means to have unilateral control of the US congress and to try to eliminate any external regulation …
Using the tax reform legislation:
“…
But there is a more straightforward reason why not a single Democrat backed the legislation: The GOP not only entirely excluded Democrats from the process of drafting the bills, but the party punished Democratic constituencies—from residents of high-tax states to graduate students—in the bills’ substance. The tax plans represent a political closed circle: bills written solely by Republicans and passed solely by Republican votes that shower their greatest benefits on Republican constituencies. Meanwhile, the biggest losers in the plans are the constituencies of the Democrats who universally opposed them. It’s not just redistribution: The tax bills are also grounded in retribution.
In that way, the tax debate offers the clearest measure of how powerfully the Republican Party in the Trump era is folding inward. Neither Trump nor GOP congressional leaders are even pretending to represent the entire country—or to consider perspectives beyond those of their core coalition. Instead the party has shown that as long as it can maintain internal unity over its direction, it will ignore objections from virtually any outside source—not just Democrats, but also independent experts, affected interest groups, and traditional allies abroad.
In a best-selling book published during the Reagan years, neoconservative cultural critic Allan Bloom lamented The Closing of the American Mind. The Trump era is crystallizing the closing of the Republican mind.
In several distinct ways, the party is now governing solely of, by, and for Red America.
Considering that it was elements within the FBI that pushed Comey to make his “but her emails” announcement on the eve of election, it’s pretty ripe of them to claim the Bureau was in her pocket the whole time.
Remember the purple band-aids at the Republican convention in 2004 because they believed the Swift Boat liars. Yet Sean Hannity went on a rant whenever anyone said they didn’t want McCain as president because somehow that was disrespect for all veterans.
Dtroutma over 6 years ago
Every regulatory, or oversight agency of the government is under attack, and they’re succeeding at a level never seen before.
superposition over 6 years ago
We seem to have given the political parties the means to have unilateral control of the US congress and to try to eliminate any external regulation …
Using the tax reform legislation:
“…
But there is a more straightforward reason why not a single Democrat backed the legislation: The GOP not only entirely excluded Democrats from the process of drafting the bills, but the party punished Democratic constituencies—from residents of high-tax states to graduate students—in the bills’ substance. The tax plans represent a political closed circle: bills written solely by Republicans and passed solely by Republican votes that shower their greatest benefits on Republican constituencies. Meanwhile, the biggest losers in the plans are the constituencies of the Democrats who universally opposed them. It’s not just redistribution: The tax bills are also grounded in retribution.
In that way, the tax debate offers the clearest measure of how powerfully the Republican Party in the Trump era is folding inward. Neither Trump nor GOP congressional leaders are even pretending to represent the entire country—or to consider perspectives beyond those of their core coalition. Instead the party has shown that as long as it can maintain internal unity over its direction, it will ignore objections from virtually any outside source—not just Democrats, but also independent experts, affected interest groups, and traditional allies abroad.
In a best-selling book published during the Reagan years, neoconservative cultural critic Allan Bloom lamented The Closing of the American Mind. The Trump era is crystallizing the closing of the Republican mind.
In several distinct ways, the party is now governing solely of, by, and for Red America.
… “
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/12/taxes-trump-congress/547706/
Ontman over 6 years ago
Trump’s not winning he’s whining.
Kip W over 6 years ago
Considering that it was elements within the FBI that pushed Comey to make his “but her emails” announcement on the eve of election, it’s pretty ripe of them to claim the Bureau was in her pocket the whole time.
Nantucket Premium Member over 6 years ago
Remember the purple band-aids at the Republican convention in 2004 because they believed the Swift Boat liars. Yet Sean Hannity went on a rant whenever anyone said they didn’t want McCain as president because somehow that was disrespect for all veterans.
Radish the wordsmith over 6 years ago
Republican weasels love their prejudicial hypocrisy.
Radish the wordsmith over 6 years ago
Trump wants to keep Confederate monuments and destroy real natural ones.
NeoconMan over 6 years ago
Obama was terrible in how he disrespected law enforcement over the Black Lives Matter issue. But it’s ok if we disrespect them when they go after us.