Republican Turncoat Cartoons

John McCain saving Obamacare is proof that the system is broken

In the dead of night, Republican senators unveiled and voted on the Health Care Freedom Act, the so-called “skinny repeal” bill that was anything but skinny. On Thursday night, the CBO released a score of the HCFA based on details of the bill that had been held in secret by garbage rat king Mitch McConnell until mere hours before the vote. The CBO’s estimate showed that 15 million people would have been thrown off their insurance next year, and 16 million by 2026. Premiums in the individual marketplace would have gone up by 20 percent.
Ultimately, early Friday morning, John McCain, Lisa Murkowski, and Susan Collins voted the bill down, which crashed and burned in a 49-to-51 vote. The suspense all came from McCain, who wouldn’t tell reporters what he had decided, telling them instead to “watch the show.” If any one of those senators had changed their mind, repeal would have gone through, with Mike Pence casting the tie-breaking vote.
While HCFA was ultimately defeated, it’s hard to overstate how broken this entire process has become. Republicans were voting on a bill that they explicitly stated was so terrible that they did not want to see it actually go into effect. Paul Ryan had to promise that the bill would go to conference committee and that the House would negotiate with the Senate to reach a compromise to improve the bill. But Ryan’s commitments were ambiguous, and it sure looked like the House was gearing up to pass a straight-up “skinny” repeal. If McCain had caved, Republican leaders would have been able to present the “skinny” bill as a fait accompli.
From the beginning, McConnell did everything he could to make the process as opaque and undemocratic as possible—to the public, to Democrats, even to his own caucus. He knew that secrecy was the only way he would have even the slightest chance of getting his monster through the system. In an incredible moment on the floor last night that illustrated just how fast McConnell was trying to jam this bill through, Senator Patty Murray tried to interrupt Senator Mike Enzi to ask more questions about the bill, which had only been made public an hour earlier. Enzi replied that her time would probably be better spent in reading the bill.

Democrat pile-on: Hundreds of challengers already filing to take on Republicans

Democrats are entering the 2018 congressional races in record numbers, largely motivated by the Trump “resistance” movement they hope will extend into next year.

An analysis of the Federal Election Commission’s six-month report for midterm candidates shows 209 Democratic challengers with at least $5,000 raised -- by far the biggest batch of challengers for any year dating back to 2003, according to statistics kept by the Campaign Finance Institute.

The July 15 FEC summary also shows 105 of 241 House Republican incumbents so far have a Democratic challenger with such a war chest.
Out-of-power Democrats have crowed for months about the prospect of voter dissatisfaction with President Trump and congressional Republicans spawning a 2018 wave election in their favor.
“I think a lot of it is inspiration meets opportunity,” Mac Zilber, a California-based Democratic political consultant, said of the large Democratic field.
“It’s Donald Trump first and foremost. But they’re also being driven by a lot of donors and activists out there. And frankly, some people were a little more complacent under Obama. They’re finally taking that step.”
New York Democratic Rep. Joe Crowley recently said the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has more than 350 candidates lined up for next year’s races, in which his party would need to win 24 more House seats to take control of the chamber.
“No district is off the table,” said DCCC Chairman Rep. Ben Ray Lujan.
To be sure, historical trends for the party that doesn’t control the White House suggest an opportunity for Democrats to make big gains in next year’s midterms. Beyond Trump’s record-low approval rating, pulled down by the Russia meddling-collusion probes, Capitol Hill Republicans continue to struggle to pass an ObamaCare overhaul bill as promised during the 2016 campaign.
However, Democrats face several big challenges – old and new.
The party still appears split between establishment voters like those who voted for Hillary Clinton in last year’s presidential race and the progressive wing that backed democratic socialist Sen. Bernie Sanders. In addition, Republicans continue to out-fundraise Democrats. And Democrats’ massive candidate field raises questions about whether the party’s political infrastructure might be over-extended – and whether overcrowded primary races could leave the winners bruised going into November 2018.
The anti-Trump campaign platform also has failed so far to help Democrats pick off Republican-held seats in four special House elections this year.
REPUBLICANS DISMISS DEMS' 'BETTER DEAL'
Eyeing a reset, Washington Democrats on Monday officially rebranded their party and message -- promising “a better deal” for voters with better-paying jobs and other economic opportunities.
“They don’t have a message, and that became clear this week when they took tips from Papa John’s,” said Jesse Hunt, press secretary for the National Republican Congressional Committee, referring to criticism that the “better deal” slogan mimics that of the pizza chain.
Zilber, a partner in J&Z Strategies, downplayed the notion that Democratic candidates will uniformly attack Trump.
“One of the great things about primaries is that they are natural experiments to see which message wins out,” he said.
Zilber also argued that different messages will appeal to different voters, including those in Orange County, Calif., a historically conservative area with an increasingly diversified population that in 2016 voted for Clinton, marking the first time they picked a Democrat.
Among the party’s biggest GOP targets are California Rep. Dana Rohrabacher, elected to Congress nearly three decades ago and whose 48th Congressional District has four Democratic candidates, and Virginia Rep. Barbara Comstock. Her 10^th district has eight Democratic candidates, according to the most recent FEC records.
Hunt argued Wednesday that Democrats’ preferred candidate to deny Comstock a second term is Jennifer Wexton, who trails three other Democrats in the race in fundraising and who had her picture taken with House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., when Democrats announced their “better deal” plan in Comstock’s district.
“You’ll see that photo again,” Hunt said.
Michael Malbin, of the Washington-based Campaign Finance Institute and who analyzed the FEC data, says Democrats are putting themselves in a strong position to take advantage of a wave, if there is one.
“But winning the first inning is not the same as winning the ninth," he recently wrote in a blog for the nonpartisan Brookings Institution.
The average cost of winning a 2016 House race was $1.3 million, according to OpenSecrets.org.
The special House election this year for the open seat of former GOP Rep. Tom Price cost an estimated total $55 million, a record amount.

Russia, China are North Korea's 'enablers,' Tillerson says

Rex Tillerson, U.S. secretary of state

U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson lashed out at Russia and China early Saturday, following North Korea’s second test launch of an intercontinental ballistic missile – and reports that Kim Jong Un’s regime was now capable of striking cities on the U.S. mainland.

Tillerson labeled the two U.S. rivals the “principal economic enablers” of North Korea’s weapons programs, and called on them to ramp up efforts to curb the growing nuclear threat from Pyongyang.

“All nations should take a strong public stance against North Korea by maintaining and strengthening U.N. sanctions to ensure North Korea will face consequences for its relentless pursuit of nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them,” Tillerson said.
China has reportedly pressed North Korea to abide by all relevant U.N. Security Council resolutions and cease any actions that could escalate tensions.
Meanwhile, President Trump condemned North Korea’s action as “reckless and dangerous,” and said the U.S. will take all “necessary steps” to protect itself and its allies.
Kim expressed “great satisfaction” following the ICBM test. The missile traveled 620 miles until landing in waters near Japan, according to Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency.
Analysts now believe Pyongyang’s weapons can hit U.S. cities such as Los Angeles or Chicago.
Tillerson said the U.S. wants a peaceful resolution to denuclearize North Korea, adding that Washington “will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea.”

The United States "will never accept a nuclear-armed North Korea."

The secretary of state was in contact with Japanese Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida. They planned to work closely with South Korea on a U.N. Security Council resolution to crack down on the rogue North, Japan’s Kyodo News Service reported Saturday.
Following North Korea’s ICBM launch, forces from the U.S. and its ally South Korea conducted joint military exercises in the region that included the launch of a barrage of missiles of their own.
South Korea has stepped up its military presence along the Korean Peninsula in recent weeks, and was considering deploying additional anti-missile systems. The recent ICBM test has also prompted South Korea to discuss with the U.S. increasing the warhead limit of their missiles from 1,100 pounds, to a ton.

Border Patrol Arrests 2 Men After Finding 5 Immigrants, Gun in SUV

A U.S. Customs and Border Patrol agent suits up for his night patrol along the international border between Mexico and the United States near San Diego, California. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)

OAN Newsroom
Two men are behind bars after trying to smuggle illegal immigrants and weapons from Mexico into the U.S.
Border patrol agents stopped the men early Thursday morning in eastern San Diego County.
After inspecting their SUV, officers found two other men lying down in the cargo area of the vehicle and three more sitting in the back seats.
Agents also found an AR-15 rifle with 19 rounds of ammunition.
The five additional passengers admitted they were in the country illegally.

China Steps-Up Presence at N. Korean Border

A soldier stands guard near a barbed wire fence on Hwanggumpyong Island located in the middle of the Yalu River, near the North Korean town of Sinuiju and the Chinese border city of Dandong. (Jacky Chen/Reuters)

OAN Newsroom
China is said to be fortifying its border with North Korea in response to heightened tensions in the region.
New measures reportedly include the creation of a border defense brigade along with 24 hour drone surveillance across the nearly 900 mile border.
The Chinese military has been going through substantial modernization efforts in recent years, but officials maintain the North Korea crisis should be resolved with diplomacy.
A recent Pentagon report concluded Pyongyang could develop a missile capable of reaching the U.S. by as early as next year.