Elizabeth Warren’s 2020 presidential run ‘will be the end of her’: A.B. Stoddard

U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren has her eyes set on the 2020 presidential race, but the controversy surrounding her claims of Native American ancestry may have cost her political future, RealClearPolitics associate editor A.B. Stoddard argued Monday night on the "Special Report" All-Star panel.
On Monday morning, Warren announced she was forming an exploratory committee in preparation of what will likely be a presidential run in 2020. The Massachusetts Democrat is the third member of her party to declare such ambitions -- following former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julián Castro and U.S. Rep. John Delaney of Maryland.
In October, Warren released the findings of a DNA test that show that she may be 1/1,024th Native American, in a bid to quiet her critics. She had been accused of claiming she had Native American heritage to advance her career, something President Trump has repeatedly suggested.
Stoddard, who appeared with the Federalist senior editor Mollie Hemingway and Washington Examiner editorial director Hugo Gurdon, expressed that Warren’s deflection from the ancestry controversy isn’t good enough since it was “truly a debacle.”
“It showed what her political judgment is really like. And it’s one thing to just be on the Senate floor or the campaign trail in 2016, have a national network of support, have a good message. It’s another to make a huge blunder, sort of taking Trump’s bait ... but yeah, she has a bad story on this issue,” Stoddard told the panel. “She brings the video out in late October, two weeks before the midterms, steps on the Democrats’ message. It’s completely selfish and sort of self-absorbed and tone-deaf, and then she gets dissed by the Cherokee Nation. It was a disaster and Democrats were furious. And they believe that it was a fatal blow.”

“She brings the video out in late October, two weeks before the midterms, steps on the Democrats’ message. ... It was a disaster and Democrats were furious. And they believe that it was a fatal blow.”
— A.B. Stoddard, RealClearPolitics associate editor

“Instead of sort of just stepping aside and using what she has, which is some national support and kind of being a kingmaker, she’s gonna step into this race and it’s gonna be the end of her,” Stoddard continued. “It’s a wide-open race and I expect that this primary run to really go into late spring of 2020, so a year-and-a-half of a Democratic Party freak-out. They are very divided, but Elizabeth Warren, even after 2016 I’m going to deposit is not going to be the nominee. Look at the polling, no one is excited about her.”
Hemingway agreed with Stoddard, calling Warren’s rollout of her DNA results was “horrifically done.” She also drew attention to Warren’s “vibe,” which she described as a “hectoring middle school principal” and suggested that her policies would be “more challenging” for the senator since a general election candidate tends to be more moderate.
Meanwhile, Gurdon asserted that President Trump wasn’t going to “get his wish” in running against Warren in 2020 since many already see her as “yesterday’s woman.”
“The fact is that the party has already moved to adopt most of her positions. She doesn’t stand out and there are younger guns in the field,” Gurdon said. “Her announcement today was pretty drab, it was very formulaic. She, you know, emphasized her roots in Oklahoma and her links to the military and the middle class. And it was just ho-hum kind of -- I just think that she’s already yesterday’s woman. There will be somebody else who gets the nomination.”

Dems aim to bring big-government programs to floor vote with 2019 House takeover

Expect to hear the words “free,” “guaranteed” and “for all” a whole lot more in the new year as Democrats prepare an arsenal of big-government bills that could actually see a floor vote once they take control of the House.
Come January, proposals like “Medicare for all” and a host of other generous-but-costly welfare programs that were little more than talking points in recent years could have a shot at passing a chamber of Congress.
“There are dozens of measures like this that have been languishing with Republicans at the helm for years, and I expect to see many of them finally come to the floor under Democratic leadership,” Rep. Bonnie Watson Coleman, D-N.J., told Fox News.
With the GOP’s expanded majority in the Senate, it’s unlikely these measures would make it to President Trump’s desk. But their consideration on the House side would mark a first step in formally considering major government expansions – concerning everything from education to health care – that Democrats increasingly favor. And with “Medicare for all” and similar proposals amounting to litmus tests for modern progressives, roll-call votes on any of these issues would reveal just how broad their support is.
At the same time, floor votes putting Democrats on record for multi-trillion-dollar policies could embolden Republicans working to recover from their midterm losses.
House GOP Leader Kevin McCarthy, shortly before the November elections, told Breitbart News Daily that Democrats are moving “toward clear socialism,” and suggested Republicans need to make the case for “unleashing the great powers of liberty and freedom.”
Some of the Democratic Party’s agenda, likely to be spearheaded by Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi, was spelled out in their “A Better Deal” campaign platform. The set of proposals claims nearly every item could be paid for by rolling back the Trump tax cuts. The most liberal bills have emerged from the Congressional Progressive Caucus.
This, however, does not include “Medicare for all,” which according to one estimate could cost nearly $33 trillion over 10 years.
And “Medicare for all” is just one component of the much broader “Green New Deal” platform being pushed by progressives like Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez – which also calls for a tuition-free and federally funded education system, guaranteed jobs with an emphasis on “green” jobs, and more.
The Daily Caller reported that more than 40 Democratic lawmakers back the plan – though it’s unclear whether the plan would ever be translated into a bill, let alone come to a vote.
Still, Democratic members, while in the minority, sponsored individual bills calling for “college for all,” “debt-free college,” “child care for all,” and a “jobs guarantee” during the last two years, which could now be voted on along with climate legislation, pro-labor union bills and attempts to roll back the tax reform bill that passed in late 2017.
“The American people picked Democrats in November because they were tired of watching Republicans ignore working families and pass laws lining the pockets of big corporations, millionaires and billionaires,” Watson Coleman said.
Watson Coleman introduced the Federal Jobs Guarantee Development Act in 2018, and said she expects the bill to reach a vote in 2019. Under the bill, the Labor Department would establish job-guarantee test sites in 15 high-unemployment areas across the country. The federal government would match those seeking employment with jobs in understaffed fields.
Watson Coleman argued that the measure would build “economic security for working families and grows our country’s middle class while placing workers in industries with real need.”
There is one area of “A Better Deal” that could see bipartisan cooperation and support from President Trump -- a $1 trillion infrastructure package.
“A Better Deal” also calls for spending $50 billion to increase public school teacher pay, and another $50 billion for school infrastructure.
Rep. Bobby Scott, D-Va., likely the incoming chairman of the Education and Workforce Committee, also introduced a “Worker’s Freedom to Negotiate Act” that bans state laws that allow employees to opt not to join a union and pay union dues. Currently, 28 states have some form of a “right-to-work” law.
The Democratic campaign plan also calls for spending $40 billion on “universal high speed Internet.” A similar bill was promoted by Rep. Cheri Bustos, D-Ill., who pushed to expand Internet into rural areas.
Rep. David Cicilline, D-R.I., has been a leading advocate of the Child Care for Working Families Act, a concept promoted in the party’s campaign plan. The legislation would ensure that no family under 150 percent of a state’s median income pays more than 7 percent of their income for child care. The legislation also would establish a federal-state partnership to provide child care from birth through age 13.
Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., said he anticipates his Job Opportunities for All Act—with 22 Democratic co-sponsors—will make it to the floor in the new Congress.
The legislation, which Khanna, elected the first vice chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, has said fulfills part of President Franklin Roosevelt’s proposed “economic bill of rights,” would provide federal funding to put people to work immediately in both the public and the private sector.
“The Job Opportunities for All Act, H.R. 6485, will help create good paying private sector and public sector job opportunities for people in places left behind,” Khanna told Fox News. “I expect my bill, along with innovative thinking from my colleagues, to be considered as Democrats work to build a jobs agenda.”
Rep. Pramila Jayapal D-Wash., could play a prominent role in such legislative proposals. She is a co-chairwoman of the Medicare For All Caucus, which has nearly 80 members committed to a complete government-run health care system. She was also elected co-chairwoman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus set to have more than 90 members after the election.
Jayapal was also the sponsor of the College for All Act in 2017, which would eliminate tuition and fees at public colleges and universities for families earning up to $125,000, and make community college free for everyone. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., introduced the Senate version. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., the other progressive caucus co-chairman, introduced a similar bill, the Debt-Free College Act, which would provide more federal funding to states to alleviate student loan debt.

NBC's New Year's Eve show with Carson Daly, Chrissy Teigen, Leslie Jones has viewers crying 'complete disaster' and 'trainwreck'

Billboards welcome in the new year in New York's Times Square, Monday, Dec. 31, 2018. (Associated Press)

NBC's New Year's Eve show left many viewers appalled by a co-host and baffled by its last-second omission of the countdown clock.
During and after the broadcast, negative comments poured in on social media, with some calling the program a "complete disaster" and "trainwreck" for an evening of blunders.
"NBC this is the worst New Years Show ever!!!" wrote one user.
"NBC Is AWFUL!!!! What a horrible New Years program. They literally ruin everything they broadcast!" wrote another.
The show's lineup featured co-hosts Carson Daly, Chrissy Teigen, Leslie Jones, and Keith Urban. Criticism was particularly directed at Teigen, who devoted a segment to discussing "vaginal steaming."
"I'm embarrassed for America watching @chrissyteigen talk about vaginal steaming. Way to help me ring in the new year with family. Turning it to Fox now," wrote one user.
The program was also mocked for cutting away just minutes before midnight "to show local celebration at a hotel with maybe 12 in attendance," wrote a Twitter user.
And in yet another forgettable moment, Teigen's face was crushed by an umbrella after a failed attempt to hug guest Leslie Jones after the clock struck midnight.

Pelosi During Gov Shutdown Cartoons

OPM to furloughed workers: “barter” advice was a mistake due to error

OAN Newsroom
8:35 PM PT — Sunday, Dec. 30, 2018

The Office of Personnel Management apologizes after giving bizarre advice to furloughed workers.
The OPM told the Washington Post on Sunday in “inadvertently” sent a tweet last week suggesting workers “barter” with creditors during the government shutdown.
It claims it was a “Legacy Document from 2013 that was intended to provide a set of templates for workers.”
The federal government has been in a partial shutdown since Saturday, December 22nd.
The OPM says while most federal employees have yet to miss a paycheck, they recognize the fact furloughed employees are concerned about the financial implications of a shutdown.

Bernie Sanders staffers seek to address ‘predatory culture’ during 2016 campaign: report

FILE 2018, photo, Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., speaks about his new book, 'Where We Go From Here: Two Years in the Resistance' in Washington. (AP)

More than two dozen people who worked on Bernie Sanders’ 2016 campaign have called for a meeting with the senator and his top aides — saying there’s been talk in recent weeks about a “predatory culture” that developed while he was running.
The former staff members sent Sanders and his principal campaign committee a letter, which was published online Sunday by POLITICO, citing an “untenable and dangerous dynamic” that they hope to “pre-empt” in the “upcoming presidential cycle.”
The men and women requested a meeting in person “to discuss the issue of sexual violence and harassment” — but didn’t describe any specific incidents or accusations.
“In recent weeks there has been an ongoing conversation on social media, in texts, and in person, about the untenable and dangerous dynamic that developed during our campaign,” their letter says. “We the undersigned request a meeting with Senator Sanders and his leadership team … for the purpose of planning to mitigate the issue in the upcoming presidential cycle — both in the primary and potential general election campaigns for 2019 and 2020.”
Specifically, the staffers said they hope to establish “a follow-up plan for implementing concrete sexual harassment policies and procedures.”
“It is critically important that Senator Sanders attend this meeting to understand the full scope of the issue from 2016 and how the campaign plans to move forward,” their letter continues.
Some of the signers told POLITICO that they hope the proposed meeting wouldn’t bolster the longstanding “Bernie Bro” argument, but instead serve as a leading example of what campaigns should do in the wake of the #MeToo movement.
“This letter is just a start,” explained one organizer. “We are addressing what happened on the Bernie campaign but as people that work in this space we see that all campaigns are extremely dangerous to women and marginalized people and we are attempting to fix that.”
The signers who spoke to POLITICO insisted that their call for action wasn’t just about Sanders, but the senator’s campaign committee welcomed it anyway.
“We thank the signers of the letter for their willingness to engage in this incredibly important discussion,” they said in response. “We always welcome hearing the experiences and views of our former staff. We also value their right to come to us in a private way so their confidences and privacy are respected. And we will honor this principle with respect to this private letter.”

Texas AG ‘eager’ to defend court’s Obamacare ruling after judge issues stay

Ken Paxton, Texas' Republican attorney general considered the architect of the lawsuit to defeat Obamacare, said on Sunday that his office is "eager to defend" last month’s federal judge's ruling that declared the 2010 law unconstitutional.
Judge Reed O’Connor's Dec. 14 ruling is being challenged by 16 states. He said that the states are "unlikely to succeed" in court.
The Federal District Court in Fort Worth on Sunday issued a final judgment and granted a stay of the ruling. O’Connor reportedly said that the ruling should not go into full effect since many Americans would "face great uncertainty" during the appeal process.
Paxton said in the statement that the stay will give states a chance to develop plans "to address the health care needs of their residents for the day the ruling is ultimately upheld."
O'Connor, who was appointed by President George W. Bush, ruled that last year's tax cut bill knocked the constitutional foundation from under Obamacare by eliminating a penalty for not having coverage. The rest of the law cannot be separated from that provision and is therefore invalid, he wrote.
The New York Times reported that O’Connor—at the time of his original ruling—did not issue an injunction, so individuals were still able to sign up for the coverage.
Currently, about 10 million have subsidized private insurance through the health law's insurance markets, while an estimated 12 million low-income people are covered through its Medicaid expansion.
The White House said last month that it expects the ruling to be appealed to the Supreme Court. The five justices who upheld the health law in 2012 in the first major case -- Chief Justice John Roberts and the court's four liberals -- are all still serving.

Trump points to 'wall' built around Obama's DC home during fight for border wall funding

President Donald Trump signing criminal just reform legislation in the Oval Office of the White House, in Washington.  (AP)
President Trump pointed to the wall former President Obama built around his Washington D.C., home as a reason Congress should fund his barrier on the southern border.
“President and Mrs. Obama built/has a ten foot Wall around their D.C. mansion/compound. I agree, totally necessary for their safety and security. The U.S. needs the same thing, slightly larger version!,” Trump tweeted on Sunday afternoon.
The former president and his wife, Michelle, bought the 8,200-square-foot mansion for $8.1 million in 2017, according to reports.
The house is in the Kalorama section of Washington, an exclusive enclave for diplomats, lobbyists and politicians, including Trump’s daughter Ivanka and her husband Jared, as well as Amazon founder and CEO Jeff Bezos.
The Obamas bought the house after leasing it when Obama left office in 2016.
They made a number of renovations to the property at the time, including the wall.
Trump has been battling with congressional Democrats over funding for his wall on the southern border.
The president wants $5 billion for the barrier, but Democrats are offering only $1.6 billion for border security — and nothing for a wall.
The stalemate led to a partial government shutdown.