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In It to Win It

In It to Win It's Journal
In It to Win It's Journal
January 20, 2019

It's about 2020

We’ve been saying this for two years now but here we go...

Trump is a useful idiot to the Republicans. They are willing to take Trump’s impulsiveness as long as they get their legislation and their judges. This is about power. They would have an indecisive and impulsive Trump that they can trick into doing anything than a qualified Democrat that will disagree with them on everything.

The government is shutdown now because they know if Trump gets a funding bill that does not include a wall, he will sign it because they know Trump has thin skin; he doesn’t want to be blamed; he will cave to the pressure.

Everything surrounding funding the government is not about a wall (at least for Congressional Republicans). It’s about 2020. Mitch McConnell is thinking about 2020. They are thinking about how Trump can get re-elected in 2020 and how to run their own campaigns alongside Trump’s.

They know if a funding bill without the wall funding hits the Senate floor, it will pass. They know if a funding bill goes to Trump without wall funding, he will cave to pressure and sign it. They backed themselves into this corner. They, while having a majority in both chambers of Congress, chose to keep pushing the wall discussion back. If they truly wanted funding for a wall over the last two years, there was nothing stopping them.

Trump has been played by his own party and I truly don’t think he knows that he has.

January 15, 2019

Opposing Trump is making Nancy Pelosi more popular



The shutdown has begun to take its toll on President Trump’s poll numbers. The president’s approval rating in Rasmussen’s Daily Tracking Poll fell to its lowest level in nearly a year on Monday.

Nate Silver also noted the shutdown’s adverse effects on Trump’s approval rating. As he tweeted this past weekend:

Yet while Trump’s numbers are falling, Nancy Pelosi’s are rising. The first graph below shows that Pelosi’s favorability rating has increased by eight percentage points since Election Day in Civiqs’s tracking polls.


https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2019/01/15/opposing-trump-is-making-nancy-pelosi-more-popular/?utm_term=.ee6b93f08d7f
January 10, 2019

Texas landowners prepare wall fight; Trump to visit border

HIDALGO, Texas (AP) — As President Donald Trump travels to the border in Texas to make the case for his $5.7 billion wall, landowner Eloisa Cavazos says she knows firsthand how the project will play out if the White House gets its way.

The federal government has started surveying land along the border in Texas and announced plans to start construction next month. Rather than surrender their land, some property owners are digging in, vowing to reject buyout offers and preparing to fight the administration in court.


“You could give me a trillion dollars and I wouldn’t take it,” said Cavazos, whose land sits along the Rio Grande, the river separating the U.S. and Mexico in Texas. “It’s not about money.”


https://www.apnews.com/0b3d63c524214bbdbfb58ce8f61589f0
January 10, 2019

Democrats Introduce Bill To Shield Unpaid Federal Workers From Lenders And Landlords

WASHINGTON ― Democrats on Wednesday introduced legislation that would give relief to furloughed federal workers who are unable to pay rent or repay loans as a result of the ongoing government shutdown.


https://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/government-shutdown-creditors-landlords-workers_us_5c367351e4b045f676889f7b
January 4, 2019

Dear Florida legislators: No one cares what you think about Amendment 4. Enact it. Commentary

Florida legislators have a clear track record when it comes to doing what voters tell them.

They don’t.

You passed the “education lottery.”

They turned the funding into a shell game and left Florida schools among the worst funded in America.

You passed Fair Districts.

They spent more than $10 million of your taxes on lawyers, trying to fight your will.

You passed an environmental amendment.

They ignored you again — and then acted surprised when toxic green algae choked the state’s waterways.

You passed a medical marijuana amendment.

Yet two years later, you have a better chance of scoring a dime bag at any local high school than a chronic-pain sufferer has of getting smokable weed at a legitimate pharmacy.

Basically, Florida legislators follow orders about as well as a pet rock.


https://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/taking-names-scott-maxwell/os-ne-amendment-4-florida-felons-voting-scott-maxwell-20181210-story.html
December 31, 2018

John Kelly Confirms He Was Lying All Along



In the interview, Kelly said he hopes his tenure will be judged not by what Trump did but by what Kelly prevented him from doing — not exactly a ringing endorsement of his former boss. It’s clear that by blaming others for the administration’s blunders, Kelly is trying to protect his legacy and reputation. But after serving and defending Trump, it’s probably too late for that.


https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/kelly-exit-interview-773739/
December 25, 2018

Ron DeSantis meets -- and defies -- expectations in forming Florida's government



-snip-
So far his appointments have favored experienced bureaucrats from a range of political ideologies — surprising critics that expected DeSantis' embrace of President Donald Trump to translate into appointments of loyal supporters with missions to destroy the agencies they lead.

For now, two Democrats — state Rep. Jared Moskowitz and longtime public official Jim Zingale — count themselves as part of DeSantis' new administration, alongside a former Trump White House communications director and many other Republican lawmakers and insiders.
-snip-


https://www.tampabay.com/florida-politics/buzz/2018/12/24/ron-desantis-meets-and-defies-expectations-in-forming-floridas-government/
December 21, 2018

FLORIDA: Leon elections supervisor, others throughout state, to start registering ex-felons



Unless a judge orders otherwise, Leon County Supervisor of Elections Mark Earley will begin to register formerly convicted non-violent felons on Jan. 8, the day the Voting Restoration Amendment goes into effect.

"It's clear" that the amendment automatically goes into effect on that day, Earley told the Tallahassee Democrat, even though that view stands in opposition to what Gov.-elect Ron DeSantis has said about waiting for the Legislature to approve enacting legislation for the amendment.


https://www.tallahassee.com/story/news/2018/12/20/leon-elections-supervisor-register-felons-florida-voting-rights-amendment-4/2374033002/
December 20, 2018

Dear Beto, Andrew, and Stacey--Run Again



Truly transforming this country requires more than winning the White House. While Beto O’Rourke, Andrew Gillum, and Stacey Abrams would all be amazing presidential candidates—and probably excellent presidents—they are each uniquely suited to advance the larger cause of political transformation by running again for the offices they just recently sought and fell short of attaining.

https://www.thenation.com/article/beto-orourke-andrew-gillum-stacey-abrams-run-again/

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