* Erick Erickson has never had any love lost for Donald Trump. But take a look at this little tidbit he got from a “senior Republican Congressman.”
You could hear the frustration in his voice. “He [Trump] just can’t shut up…. And we go home and everybody blames us for what’s going on. I don’t think the people on TV understand that most people still hate us more than him, but he’s making it even harder. We may be the turd in the field, but he’s the worm in the turd.”
I’ll let you pause to ponder that expression for a minute.
Here’s the big thing though. With all the frustration the congressman says there are no grounds to impeach the President. The consensus, even among senior Democrats, is that impeachment cannot be done just because the President is an idiot or a sympathizer of white supremacists. There must be a crime and right now there is no sign. “I hate to say it, but some of us would really like Mueller to find something we can use,” he said. I asked if he was one of those and all he said was “maybe.”
And this is from a guy who publicly tries to defend the President.
On that last bit about Mueller, just sayin…
* Corporate CEO’s, military brass, and some Republicans have all made statements condemning what Trump said during his press conference about the events in Charlottesville. Now some big names in the non-profit world are stepping up to the plate to join them.
The Salvation Army, the American Red Cross and Susan G. Komen on Friday joined a growing exodus of organizations canceling plans to hold fundraising events at the Mar-a-Lago Club in Palm Beach, deepening the financial impact to President Trump’s private business amid furor over his comments on Charlottesville.
The major exits now mean seven of the club’s biggest event customers have abandoned it in a matter of hours, likely costing the Trump business hundreds of thousands of dollars in lost revenue or more.
* Some people are making the ridiculous argument that the removal of confederate monuments erases history. Let’s get clear about something:
Removing monuments to slavery does not erase history.
You know what actually did erase history for millions of people?
SLAVERY.
— Mikel Jollett (@Mikel_Jollett) August 18, 2017
* Kelsey Snell says that Republicans are getting worried.
President Trump’s increasing alienation from fellow Republicans and the business community is further imperiling the party’s top priority for the remainder of the year: cutting taxes and simplifying the byzantine tax code.
* What Congressional Republicans seem to be forgetting is that before they get to cutting taxes, they have a bigger fish to fry. I believe that the folks at Goldman Sachs are being overly optimistic about it.
“Presidential approval continues to decline, and is the lowest for any first-term president in his first year in office,” economist Alec Phillips wrote in a note to clients Friday. “Low approval ratings raise legislative risks. In the near term, we believe there is a 50% chance of a brief government shutdown, as the president seeks to solidify support among his base by embracing more controversial positions.”
And let’s not even talk about the fact that they’re also going to have to figure out how to raise the debt ceiling. There’s no telling what the Republican brand is going to look like after all that is over—and how that will affect their plan for tax cuts.
* Finally, let’s close this insane week with a little beauty from Lizz Wright. She has managed to add some soul to an oldie-but-goodie that carries just the message we need right now.
