Tag: Congress

The 5 M’s for Describing Why Congress Is Broken

The following article by David Hawkings was posted on the Roll Call website July 26, 2018:

Remembering the root causes of Hill dysfunction will surely be easier than correcting them

Explaining what ails Capitol Hill can be distilled to five elements: money, maps, media, mingling and masochism, Hawkings writes. Credit: Bill Clark, CQ Roll Call file photo

Thirty years covering Congress leave me totally convinced the institution is more badly broken today than at any other point in my career, which means getting asked time and again to enumerate the causes for the deepening dysfunction.

Proposing how to cure the place of its metastasizing polarization and partisanship is up to the politicians who work there. But decoding what ails Capitol Hill is the central work of today’s congressional correspondent. And after plumbing the topic with hundreds of people in recent years — senators and House members, staffers and think tankers, lobbyists and advocates — I have reduced what’s a pretty complex diagnosis to five elements.

And they can be readily remembered, using this alliterative mnemonic:  Money, maps, media, mingling and masochism.

From the Start, Trump Has Muddied a Clear Message: Putin Interfered

The following article by David E. Sanger and Matthew Rosenberg was posted on the New York Times website July 18, 2018:

President Trump was shown clear evidence on Jan. 6, 2017, that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had ordered cyberattacks to sway the 2016 election. But his statements since have suggested other explanations.Published OnJuly 19, 2018CreditImage by Sam Hodgson for The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Two weeks before his inauguration, Donald J. Trump was shown highly classified intelligence indicating that President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia had personally ordered complex cyberattacks to sway the 2016 American election.

The evidence included texts and emails from Russian military officers and information gleaned from a top-secret source close to Mr. Putin, who had described to the C.I.A. how the Kremlin decided to execute its campaign of hacking and disinformation.

Mr. Trump sounded grudgingly convinced, according to several people who attended the intelligence briefing. But ever since, Mr. Trump has tried to cloud the very clear findings that he received on Jan. 6, 2017, which his own intelligence leaders have unanimously endorsed.

View the complete article here.

Analysis: Congress Mere Passenger in Trump Foreign Policy Express

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website July 16, 2018:

Despite condemnation across the aisle, few efforts under way to alter path

Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., responds to President Donald Trump’s meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday. Credit: Sarah Silbiger, CQ Roll Call

President Donald Trump just concluded a European foreign policy swing that resembled a runaway car, and Congress is merely a passenger with seemingly no intention, at least from those setting the agenda, of taking the wheel.

Germany is “totally controlled” by Russia. The European Union is “a foe.” And when asked Monday if he thinks Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin ran an effort to interfere in the last U.S. presidential election, Trump responded: “I don’t see any reason why it would be.”

The final comment capped a remarkable trip by the president that saw him attack and criticize allies and give Putin the benefit of the doubt even as his own intelligence community leaders — and members of Congress across the aisle — agree Moscow meddled in the 2016 U.S. election and is poised to do so again in November’s congressional races.

View the complete article on the Roll Call website here.

Trump says he’ll spare Chinese telecom firm ZTE from collapse, defying lawmakers

The following article by Damian Paletta was posted on the Washington Post website May 25, 2018:

President Trump, right, chats with Chinese leader Xi Jinping during a welcome ceremony at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Credit: Andy Wong, AP

President Trump said late Friday he had allowed embattled Chinese telecommunications giant ZTE Corp. to remain open despite fierce bipartisan opposition on Capitol Hill, defying lawmakers who have warned that the huge technology company should be severely punished for breaking U.S. law.

Trump said on Twitter he was allowing it to “reopen with high level security guarantees, change of management and board,” a requirement that it must purchase U.S. parts, and a $1.3 billion fine.

Sensing such a move, top Democrats and at least one Republican on Friday said the White House’s decision was tantamount to a bailout of a large Chinese company with little benefit for the United States. Continue reading “Trump says he’ll spare Chinese telecom firm ZTE from collapse, defying lawmakers”

Hill Frets Over Trump Pattern of Promising Big, Then Backtracking

The following article by John T. Bennett was posted on the Roll Call website May 24, 2018:

‘In the end, it can mean absolutely nothing,’ says a Republican strategist

Credit: AFP/Getty Images

Rep. Peter T. King — in true New Yorker fashion — used his hands to hammer home his point as he walked through the Cannon Tunnel. As he talked about President Donald Trump’s style, he raised one hand, pushing higher an imaginary bar.

“He’s not afraid to take on challenges. He’s not afraid to go big,” the Republican congressman said of the president. “With him, there’s the ‘art of the deal.’ It’s give. It’s take. It’s forward. It’s backward. It’s sideways. But in the end, he typically goes forward.” Continue reading “Hill Frets Over Trump Pattern of Promising Big, Then Backtracking”

Members of Congress respond to more than money – sometimes

The following article by Jan Leighley, Professor, Department of Government, American University, was posted on the Conversation website February 9, 2018:

Demonstrators protest against U.S. President Donald Trump’s executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States, in front of the U.S embassy in Brussel, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2017. (AP Photo/Geert Vanden Wijngaert)

Does citizen activism really affect the actions of elected officials?

Despite the ubiquitous role of money in campaigns, elections and policymaking, some citizens clearly still believe in the power of protest.

In the month of December 2017 alone, an organization called The Crowd Counting Consortium “tallied 796 protests, demonstrations, strikes, marches, sit-ins and rallies,” some of them featuring thousands of people, across the country. Over the past year, the offices of many members of Congress and other elected officials have been jammed with constituents voicing their opinions on the Affordable Care Act, the immigration program called DACA, abortion and sexual harassment, among others. Continue reading “Members of Congress respond to more than money – sometimes”

Marching Into Political Combat

The following article by Kenneth Walsh was posted on the U.S. News and World Report website February 9, 2018:

President Trump’s kinder, gentler attitude lasted less than a week.

Credit: Evan Vucci/AP

President Donald Trump has marched back into political combat after a temporary truce. He is again picking fights and intensifying feuds with a variety of people he deems as adversaries. This is raising questions about whether he is making the divisions and bitterness in Washington worse as Congress attempts to find compromises on issues such as setting budget priorities, overhauling the immigration system and rebuilding roads, bridges and other parts of the U.S. infrastructure.

Trump’s latest targets include a key member of the House of Representatives whom he called a liar, congressional Democrats in general whom he blasted as “treasonous,” and pro football players who protest during the national anthem. Continue reading “Marching Into Political Combat”

The psychiatrist who briefed Congress on Trump’s mental state: this is “an emergency”

The following article by Eliza Barclay was posted on the Vox website January 6, 2018:

Credit: Soo Oh/Vox

The case for evaluating the president’s mental capacity — by force if necessary.

The longer Donald Trump is in office, the more he shocks and alarms us with his strange and extremely unpresidential behavior.

From the incoherent, fallacious interview he gave the New York Times on December 28 to Tuesday’s tweet about his “nuclear button” to his Saturday morning assertion that he is a “very stable genius,” the remarks keep getting more menacing, bizarre, and portentous of disaster. Continue reading “The psychiatrist who briefed Congress on Trump’s mental state: this is “an emergency””

Our November 15, 2017 Congressional Candidate Forum

We had a great turn out for our November 15 forum. Thanks to everyone who came out in the dark to hear from the candidates running for endorsement.  And, thanks to the candidates who came to talk to the people of CD3.

If you weren’t able to join us, SD33 DFL live streamed the event.  We’ve uploaded the video below:

 

Former Pentagon chiefs to Congress: If you’re serious about defense, don’t pass current GOP tax bill

The following article by Ed O’Keefe and Karoun Demirjian was posted on the Washington Post website November 15, 2017:

Former defense secretary Leon E. Panetta speaks during a discussion on countering violent extremism on Oct. 23 in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Three former secretaries of defense are warning lawmakers not to enact proposed Republican tax restructuring plans, arguing they will jeopardize future military spending.

Former defense secretaries Leon E. Panetta, Chuck Hagel and Ash Carter told senior congressional leaders in a letter Wednesday that because the tax plan is expected to increase the debt, passing it will probably mean future cuts to Pentagon budgets “for training, maintenance, force structure, flight missions, procurement and other key programs.”

“The result is the growing danger of a ‘hollowed out’ military force that lacks the ability to sustain the intensive deployment requirements of our global defense mission,” the secretaries wrote. They cited two recent accidents involving U.S. Navy destroyers that led to the deaths of 17 sailors as evidence that cuts in military spending can lead to a “lack of adequate training.” Continue reading “Former Pentagon chiefs to Congress: If you’re serious about defense, don’t pass current GOP tax bill”