Common Sense or lack of it Cartoons

Republican health bill still a mystery before planned vote

The Senate will move forward with a key vote this week on a Republican health bill but it's a mystery what exactly they will be voting on.

It is not yet known whether the legislation will seek to replace President Obama's health care law or simply repeal it.

Sen. John Thune of South Dakota said Sunday that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell will make a decision soon on which bill to bring up for a vote, depending on ongoing discussions with GOP senators. Thune sought to cast this week's initial vote as important but mostly procedural, allowing senators to begin debate and propose amendments.
But he acknowledged senators should be able to know beforehand what bill they will be considering.
Both versions encountered opposition from enough GOP senators to doom the effort, but McConnell, R-Ky., is making a last-gasp attempt this week after Trump insisted that senators not leave town for the August recess without sending him some kind of health overhaul bill to sign.
Some senators told The Wall Street Journal that McConnell told them that they would find out before any vote if they will be asked to repeal and replace.
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., who called the bill a “porkfest” in an interview said that the current legislation will not work.
“I think it keeps the fundamental flaw of ObamaCare, the death spiral will continue and we’re going to subsidize it,” Paul, the Kentucky Republican, told Maria Bartiromo on “Sunday Morning Futures.”
McConnell, was making a last-gasp effort to resuscitate the legislation, cannot afford to lose any more than two Republican votes, The Journal reported.
President Trump tweeted on Sunday, "If Republicans don't Repeal and Replace the disastrous ObamaCare, the repercussions will be far greater than any of them understand!"
Trump has had a complicated relationship with the Republican Party, but GOP lawmakers have continued to be generally supportive of the president, even as his approval ratings slip.
“There’s less money from the government going to poor people, but there’s more money from the government going to rich people who run insurance companies,” Paul explained. “I think when voters find out that Republicans gave billions of dollars to rich insurance companies and took money away from poor people getting Medicaid, I think that’s a disaster.”
Still, at least two Republican senators Sunday appeared to reaffirm their intention to vote against the procedural motion if it involved the latest version of the GOP's repeal-and-replace bill.
Moderate Sen. Susan Collins of Maine said she continued to have concerns about reductions to Medicaid and criticized the Republican process, saying lawmakers were being unfairly kept in the dark. Under McConnell's plan, 22 million more people would become uninsured by 2026, many of them Medicaid recipients. She wants to hold public hearings and work with Democrats.

Gregg Jarrett: Donald Trump Jr. did not violate campaign laws -- Pelosi and others are wrong

The law is common sense. Yet, it is created by lawmakers who seem to be lacking any sense at all.  Many of them do not understand their own laws.    

Nancy Pelosi recently proved this point. The House Minority Leader held a news conference, surrounded by like-minded Democrats, during which she declared that Donald Trump Jr. had broken campaign laws when he met with a Russian lawyer during last year’s presidential campaign to obtain negative information on the Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.  Here is what Pelosi said:

“This is a campaign violation: soliciting, coordinating, or accepting something of value --opposition research, documents, and information—from a foreign national. Plain and simple.”       
In truth, it is plain and simple that Pelosi is wrong. And so are many others who have joined the chorus of condemnation based on laws they have surely never read. Allow me to help them out.  
The Federal Election Commission is the independent regulatory agency which enforces campaign laws enacted by Congress.  On its government website, the FEC makes it clear that it is perfectly lawful for foreign nationals to be involved in American political campaigns:  
“Even though a foreign national cannot make campaign contributions, he or she can serve as an uncompensated volunteer for a campaign or political party”.
The Commission goes on to explain that foreigners are “allowed to attend campaign strategy meetings and events”. They are allowed to contribute ideas, information, and even advice. They are allowed to open their mouths and speak.
None of this is considered to be a donation or “anything of value” under the campaign statutes, as some Democrats and many in the media allege.  To the contrary, the Commission specifically states, “an individual may volunteer his or her personal services to a campaign without making a campaign contribution”. 
The same language is found in both the Federal Election Campaign Act (52 USC 30101 8-B) and the Code of Federal Regulations (100.74):
“The value of services provided by any individual who volunteers on behalf of a candidate or political committee is not a contribution.”
Why are foreigners on American soil allowed to volunteer their services and provide information to political campaigns in U.S. elections? The reason should be obvious –the Constitution.    
The First Amendment gives Americans the freedom to associate with whomever they want, including Russians. It gives people the freedom to exchange ideas and information , even with Russians. As long as the information is neither stolen nor classified, there is no crime. There is no civil wrong.  
We do not criminalize free speech and free association in America.  Yet, there is this false mentality that all Russians are boogeymen.  And talking to them is somehow a crime.  It is not.  The founders of our Constitution would be mortified at that notion.
One commentator recently said, “Donald Trump Jr. had an absolute duty to notify the FBI”. Why? Where is that law or duty written?  If it is not a crime to exchange information with a Russian, why should the FBI be notified? Why would FBI agents be interested in legal activity? Trust me, they are not. Even if a citizen learns of a crime, there is no affirmative duty imposed by law to report it to law enforcement.
Talking with a Russian and gathering information is not a crime.  Yet Pelosi and others allege that the president’s son may also be guilty of conspiracies to commit espionage and defraud the government.
As explained in an earlier column, the Trump Jr. meeting is not treason because we are not at war with Russia. It is not collusion in any criminal sense, because that only applies to anti-trust cases.  It is not conspiracy to defraud the government, because the statute requires deceit and dishonesty. And it is not a violation of election laws, because foreign nationals are specifically permitted to volunteer personal services and information to political campaigns.  As for espionage…seriously? What U.S. secrets or classified information is Pelosi talking about?  
Democrats and even some Republicans, like Gov. Chris Christie, are perpetuating the myth that laws must have been broken without ever knowing or studying the law. And many in the media are so ignorant of basic laws and oblivious to the Constitution, they are complicit in misinforming the public.
Rarely do we see a reporter or anchor ask a lawmaker the tough, challenging question, “What laws, specifically, have been broken? Can you identify a precise statute?” The answer would be a deafening silence.
Our Constitution was never intended to embody a political point of view. It was made for people of fundamentally differing views. Unfortunately, those in Washington who should know that… do not.  
And the media, which owes its existence to that esteemed document, seem to have forgotten its precious guarantees of freedom.

Schumer: If Trump fires Mueller it’ll cause ‘cataclysm’ in DC

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer predicted Sunday that a "cataclysm" could be triggered if President Trump fires Special Counsel Robert Mueller or pardons himself.

The high-ranking senator from New York made the comments on Sunday during an interview on ABC’s This Week despite Trump’s lawyers saying on the same program that pardons are not being discussed.

"It would be one of the greatest, greatest breaking of rule of law, of traditional democratic norms of what our democracy is about," Schumer said. "It would cause a cataclysm in Washington.''
A sitting president may have constitutional power to grant pardons but Trump’s legal team claims they have not discussed it with him.
"We're not researching the issue because the issue of pardons is not on the table,'' Jay Sekulow, one of Trump's personal attorneys, said on ABC. ”There's nothing to pardon from.''
The president and his inner circle are facing Congressional and FBI investigations for possible collusion with Russia in its interference with the 2016 presidential election. Mueller is also examining a broad range of transactions involving Trump's businesses as well as those of his associates, a person familiar with the probe said.
In a recent interview with The New York Times, Trump suggested that Mueller would be crossing a “red line” if he looked into the allegations. He also mentioned pardons in a series of tweets on Saturday.
The president also suggested on Twitter that Mueller and his legal team have conflicts of interest of their own, because of donations made to Democratic candidates.
Trump’s incoming White House Communications Director Anthony Scaramucci said on Fox News Sunday that the president brought up the issue of pardons in the Oval Office recently, but that he does not need to use it.
"There's nobody around him that has to be pardoned,'' Scaramucci said. “He was just making the statement about the power of pardons.''
Sekulow also said on Sunday that Trump's legal team is monitoring potential conflicts even though they have not made an issue with the deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein appointing Mueller after Attorney General Jeff Sessions recused himself from the investigation.
"We're going to be constantly evaluating that situation,'' Sekulow said on ABC. "And if an investigation were to arise and we thought that the conflict was relevant, we would raise it without question.''

VP Pence: President Trump Delivering Agenda at a ‘Historic Pace’

President Donald Trump and Vice President Mike Pence walk out with Defense Secretary Jim Mattis following Trump’s visit to the Pentagon, Thursday, July 20, 2017. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Vice President Mike Pence touts President Trump’s first few months in office, saying he’s delivering his agenda at a ‘historic pace.’
In a Fox News op-ed published Sunday, Pence claimed the president has taken bold action to restore prosperity, keep Americans safe and secure, and hold government accountable.
He added the President is just getting started and will continue to work with congress on health care reform, tax reform, and kick-starting the economy.
Additionally, Pence said serving under President Trump is the greatest privilege of his life.