The last I heard Ryan hadn’t agreed to even take up the issue and the Freedom Caucus is only willing to discuss cost sharing reimbursements as part of a “soft landing” to full repeal - which Collins and Murkowski oppose, among others. So I fully expect they are willing to bet only Collins and Corker defect and pass…

Yeah, but they still aren’t giving her an actual commitment on the risk payments or other things she sold her vote for that aren’t in this bill the first time around.

That and recognizing how the GOP has “razor-thin margins” in the later tweet were both red flags someone has taken the dotard’s phone again.

Yes, what a bold act of courage for Richard Shelby (for example) to not actively vote for Moore and instead pick a name out of a hat. Nope - they can get blamed by the GOP for Moore losing (much as Dems blame Stein voters as helping bring down Clinton in Wisconsin), but they get zero credit for Jones winning in my…

Also don’t discount the GOP pointing to the newly re-enfranchised felons who were able to vote because of tireless efforts by grassroots groups as rendering the result illegitimate. Just like the GOP has in the last 6 months gone after the CBO, the Joint Committee on Taxation, the FBI and basically every other…

And 77% of white men - Mr.Harriot’s “men are trash” article never seemed so appropriate. I am deeply, deeply ashamed of my demographic cohort - I know it’s Alabama, but it isn’t like we are that much better nationally. Between that, our significant over representation as domestic abusers, pedophiles, rapists, serial…

Very true - it was a pathology report that led to a prescription within the party leadership for a “minority friendly” version of the GOP’s core message (as it was then understood - limited government (for businesses), lower taxes (for the wealthy) and free trade being the cornerstones - rather than any real change on…

The GOP actually did that in 2012 - the “autopsy” of Romney’s failure basically said they had to play to women and minorities, among other groups to survive long term. I mean look at this TPM article on the findings - do immigration reform, listen to minorities, reach out to gay people, open the party to other…

Not in 2005 he wasn’t - a lot of people thought he’d run someday, but very few were thinking 2008. Here’s a typical take in 05: Time on Obama running in 2012 or 2016. To his credit Obama maximized the keynote in a way almost no one before or since has (Bill Clinton thought he obliterated his career with the 88…

In my experience (former lawyer, current professor) the conversation among academics is pretty context specific. My students seem to love it when I find myself swearing a little or get right up to the line and stop myself, but that is a card you can only rarely play and it stops well short of the worst words. With…

There are multiple class actions. At the same time, I wouldn’t be certain on the argument the lax approval is sexist. Heart stents - especially drug coated stents, but now the non-coated too - have been massively over-prescribed, resulted in major complications and in the drug coated cases really didn’t do much for…

Well if he admitted the truth - he has no fucking control and no way to stop the horse - he just wouldn’t look strong and manly, would he?

C’mon, Pestilence is the only answer for that question - he’s sure been a plague to every rational being on this planet.

Given that the GOP seems to have decided its official position is that the FBI is full of Trump haters (laughable but predictable) I have no confidence in this and even less in the ability to get a conviction so long as juries include even one right wing radio listener (and sadly, most of them are very willing to…

Lots of people have called Booker an opportunist for a number of reasons (his ties to Wall Street being the biggest one, but not the only one - all the way back to his mayor of Newark days people have claimed he’s an opportunist). I wouldn’t worry about the Dem top of the field in 2020 - JFK, Carter, Clinton and Obama…

My late Latvian grandmother apparently thought the Nazis were the good guys (the Commies did kill her husband while she was pregnant with a 2 year old at home, though) and she was less racist than this.

It will depend on whether they want to claim the denials are official conduct and hence exempt on a Nixonian executive immunity basis (DOJ or WHC would make those arguments) or if he wants to do run of the mill defamation defense (I sort of doubt he will).

The White House Counsel is the President’s legal adviser in his/her official capacity (separate from DOJ). But the President doesn’t have attorney client privilege with the WHC the way they would with a private attorney (executive privilege can apply, but again that’s for official action). So typically the President…

Self-medicating is my guess - that and the fact that being in high profile cases (even or especially where your client is an out of control trainwreck) is often seen as good for the firm/lawyer in the long run.

We all know Corey is running for 2020 already (and I know he’s problematic but so is anyone else the Dems will put up). Merkley has never struck me as being that ambitious (I met him a few years ago when he was trying to educate people in Portland about options for extending Social Security’s viability and similar…