Attorney General William Barr distributed his summary letter on the Special Counsel's investigation in which no collusion on the part of the Trump campaign with the Russian government. The letter also said that while no recommendation on the issue of obstruction of justice has been given, the president has not be exonerated. You can read the full letter here.
To that end, of course President Trump would crow about complete exoneration of any wrongdoing and then go on to seek vengeance against his political opponents, namely Congress Adam Schiff (D-CA), chair of the House Intelligence Committee. During a rally in Michigan this week, Donald Trump called Mr. Schiff a pencil neck (really?) and said that sick people tried to defraud the people with bullshit. Seriously presidential, do you think? Did anyone really think that the president wouldn't seek revenge against his critics?
Republicans, namely Congressmen Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) have called for Mr. Schiff's resignation from the committee. Frankly, this is laughable considering that Mr. Nunes actively worked with the administration to derail the investigation and Mr. McCarthy cynically and famously said that the Benghazi investigation into Hillary Clinton was drawn out to damage her campaign (not to find the facts). On top of that, to further the poor reputation of the U.S. Senate as a functioning body politic, Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is angling to start an investigation of the investigators.
The bottom line is that the full report should be released so that the American people can decide for themselves if what the president and his campaign may have done rises to the level of illegality or at the very least unethical behavior. Not to mention that there is still a counter-intelligence investigation going on and we have no idea what will come from that.
The woman on the Chicago subway that Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) spoke about had it right. We (the American people) paid for it so we should be able to see it.
More importantly, after Mr. Barr released his 4-page letter, the president pivoted to healthcare joining a lawsuit brought by 20 states attorneys general that the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare) should be nullified because it is unconstitutional, the result of which would be taking away health insurance for 20 million Americans. The president said that the Republican party would become know as the 'party of healthcare.' As Peggy Noonan said, quoting an administration official, there was too much good news this week so the president dove in again on healthcare. NBC's Hallie Jackson explained that there was disagreement among administration officials, specifically on the part of Vice President Mike Pence who did not necessarily disagree with the policy objective but the tactics meaning that the Republicans do not have an alternative plan together so there is nothing to replace the current law. Hence, twenty million people losing their health insurance is a political loser for the administration.
Let's face it, the president isn't concerned that the Republicans in Congress don't have a replacement plan ready to go; he wants to force their hand. He's also not concerned about the prospect of so many people losing coverage. His sole motivation since the beginning of his presidency is to undo every policy achievement or decision made by Barack Obama, to erase it all. Whether it be the Iran Nuclear deal or the Paris Climate Accord or concerns about North Korea's nuclear program or the Affordable Care Act, President Trump is going in the completely opposite direction, for the sake of going in the opposite direction regardless of the consequences and repercussions. That's what it is all about.
That aside, Senator Tom Barrasso said he has been working on a healthcare plan since he came to the Senate. That was in 2008. We still don't have a plan on the table from him. He's had 11 years to come up with something and we still don't know what it is. Of course, he can easily point out what he doesn't want, but we can all do that. He explained that Democrats want Medicare for all, a complete government take over of healthcare, which he thinks is not a good idea. Fair enough, but where is your plan? Medicare for all might not be the answer but what could/should be put in place as part of the Affordable Care Act is a public option. When the law was originally being debated back in 2008, the public option (read: Medicare option) was put on the table but the Republicans raised hell about how it was government dictating your healthcare and socialism and all the other rhetoric arguments. But what they really knew was that the public writ large would eventually migrate to the public option putting insurance companies out of control of the system and thus losing profit.
Are there fixes that are needed for the ACA, absolutely. As Senator Durbin explained, prescription drug prices right now are through the roof and indefensible. Something needs to be done on this issue immediately; it should be a congressional priority. The American people are being held hostage by drug companies. They have us addicted to their opioids, which once addicted you can't afford so people turn to crime for more lethal alternatives. Life-saving drugs like insulin or others have American families financially burdened way beyond their capacity. That's what is really criminal.
Panel: Hallie Jackson, NBC; Peggy Noonan, The Wall Street Journal; Cornell Belcher, Democratic Strategist; Rich Lowry, The National Review
One more thing...
This allegation against fmr. Vice President Joe Biden is certainly disconcerting and really all too easy to believe. Mr. Biden has always been a 'touchy feely' person to the point where it has always made women feel uncomfortable. In response, here is Mr. Biden's statement:
"In my many years on the campaign trail and in public life, I have offered countless handshakes, hugs, expressions of affection, support and comfort. And not once - never - did I believe I acted inappropriately. If it is suggested I did so, I will listen respectfully. But it was never my intention."
What's problematic is that Mr. Biden says "... never - did I believe I acted inappropriately..." It can also suggest that he never really considered how the other person felt.
So now two things for Mr. Biden. First and foremost, he needs to respond to this directly and publicly, not through a statement. Second, he needs to stop flirting with us and either declare that he's running or not. End the speculation.
The Fallout
Total Exoneration
No Collusion
Total Vindication
Pencil-neck Adam Schiff
Dick Durbin
John Barrasso
Repeal and Replace
The Party of Healthcare
2020 campaign
Hickenlooper
Hallie Jackson
Cornell Belcher
Rich Lowry
Peggy Noonan
31% unsure the Mueller
43% approve
stable but weak
Defending Obamacare -
Total vindication - Pence
defrauding the public with bullshit
schiff - calls for him to resign from the committee
the have to be accountable
Lock them up
the entire ACA should be
John Barrasso - release the full report
for transparency -
throw mueller under the bus - dems are...
it does not exonerate him...
counter-intelligence investigation is on-going
behavior as presidency?
public is asked is 2020
he has been falsely accused
no fault on the part of the president - doing business with russia
president of the us is the law? no man is above the right
invesigating the investigators... lindsey is leading to that
healthcare - complete gov. takeover for healthcare
president joined the lawsuit...
not imminent
failed to keep its promises -
a plan - 12 years
a plan since I joined the senate
dick durbin...
mueller - tuesday deadline - not going to meet it
should dems move on - should be a complete disclosure
we paid for the inquiry, we should see it...
should focus on the counter-intelligence aspect
can't imagine lindsey reclusing himself from any investigation
DHS growing humanitarian crisis...
massive migration crisis right now
cutting off aid to these countries will not solve the problem
precription prices are through the roof and indefensible
Biden behavior...
done treasonous things - will certainly looked at
sick people
revenge path
push on healthcare - too much good news - peggy
disagreement on the tactics - not the policy - pence - hallie
full revenge mode - no surprised
genuinely angry -
the process went off the rails - rich
investigate the investigators
cornell - this stinks...
no transparency - put it out there.. cornell
19% of independents
polling data to russia - that's colluding... cornell
healthcare law - that's what we'll be debating...
cudgel - hallie used by the president
rich - nancy pelosi - typical republican posing as a populist...
Hickenlooper - a dem moderate
complexities at the border - a form of kidnapping
I don't like any labels -
a crisis of division -
issue of abortion - fetal heartbeat bills
woman's right to take care of her own healthcare
accusation against biden - disqualifying...
an inflection point - women have the courage to come forward
very disconcerting...
the political reeducation of Joe Biden
the good news is you know what you're going to get, the bad news is that you know what you're going get.
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