Trump-free Friday politics roundup: Jan. 5
Voter fraud commission falls, a senator retires, and the Koreas are set to talk again in this week’s Trump-free politics roundup.
Voter fraud commission is no more
On Wednesday, the president abruptly disbanded a White House commission on voter fraud. Supporters of the commission, including Kansas secretary of state and commission vice chair Kris Kobach, still claim that there is “substantial” voter fraud to be found, and that the commission only crumbled under legal pressure. Never mind that the commission failed to uncover much evidence of said fraud.
Kobach and his associates have said that the panel was unable to do much work, considering the resistance it faced from multiple fronts. States were often highly reluctant to release voter information, including partial Social Security numbers that could have been used for actual identity fraud. Others also argued that the commission was a waste of time and money, particularly when it uncovered next to no real evidence.
What happens now? Likely, the president and others will continue to push for voter ID laws, which have a checkered and often discriminatory past. Kobach had also said that the work will continue in the Department of Homeland Security, though one wonders how it will fare in a large and undoubtedly very busy governmental body.
Manafort files lawsuit to hamper Russia investigation
To be a special counsel in the ongoing investigation into Russian electoral interference, you must have to possess a pretty strong spine. At the very least, you have to be able to stand up to the inevitable lawsuits as you get closer and closer to some very inconvenient discoveries.
The latest attempt to block Robert S. Mueller, the aforementioned counsel, comes from Paul Manafort. On Wednesday, Manafort sued Mueller and requested that the counsel’s reach be narrowed.
The content of the lawsuit claims that Mueller’s investigation has brought charges, but none that focus on the central matter: did Russia interfere with the 2016 presidential elections? That lays bare yet another concern: is Mueller simply being methodical, or are he and his team wasting time? Manafort has also sued the Department of Justice and deputy attorney general Rod Rosenstein. He claims that Rosenstein gave Mueller too much leeway to prosecute whatever crimes he comes across.
It is worth remembering Manafort’s recent legal troubles. He’s been indicted on money laundering charges and is currently under house arrest. However, those charges are related to his lobbying activities, and not the presidential campaign.
While this campaign is unlikely to succeed in a legal sense, it may serve to undermine Mueller’s credibility. In a political world where someone’s integrity can go from rock-solid to rotten in a moment, that could be serious.
North and South Korea start talking
For the first time in two years, the at-odds countries of South and North Korea are opening talks. The purported reason? The Olympics, of course.
This must be a bit of a relief for reunification proponents and nervous people alike. Though this isn’t exactly a step towards nuclear disarmament, it’s at least a step in the right direction. It’s a least partially likely that the coming Winter Olympics, held in South Korea, are part of the reason.
On New Year’s Day, Kim Jong-Un called for more peace between the nations and mentioned the North’s participation in the Olympic Games next month. Both sides agreed to talks after the U.S. President and South Korean President Moon Jae-in agreed not to host military drills during the Olympics. North Korea has long had a problem with those drills, which it interprets to be preparedness exercises for an invasion force.
Orrin Hatch to retire
Republican Senator Orrin Hatch has announced his impending retirement, despite White House pressure to run again in 2018. That leaves his Utah seat open to someone like Mitt Romney, two-time presidential nominee and noted critic of the president.
Tellingly, Romney changed his location on Twitter from Massachusetts to Utah shortly after Hatch’s announcement. That’s not a campaign announcement by any means, but it’s worth noting. If he did run, Romney would likely be the front-runner. Utahns are generally great fans of Mr. Romney; he won 73% of the vote there during the 2012 presidential race.
“Senator” Romney could be a significant swing vote in a Congress that is barely holding on to a Republican majority, at 51-49. No one should consider the Republican Romney to be an Obama-hugging liberal by any means, but such a situation could prove dramatic.
Well, at least Steve Bannon is having a bad week
At this point, we should all understand that the world works in often arbitrary and capricious ways. Still, sometimes the stars align and a well-known political blowhard shoots himself in the foot. Briefly, there is a sort of justice.
For a while there, it looked as if Steve Bannon was going to be a darling of the presidential administration. He was a top adviser in the White House, moreover one that was credited with helping the campaign make it via oftentimes extreme right-wing statements. Some wondered if Bannon was the power behind the throne, like Dick Cheney was during George W. Bush’s era.
Now, he’s “Sloppy Steve”, according to the president. Perhaps even worse than being pinned with an alliterative nickname is the fact that Bannon has alienated the Mercers. This family, lead by hedge fund investor Robert Mercer, is a powerful right-wing donor who helped fund the rise of the current presidential administration.
Bannon’s surprising statements
This is all more or less in response to Bannon’s comments in Fire and Fury: Inside the Trump White House, a rather unflattering account by Michael Wolff.
As quoted in Wolff’s book, Bannon remarks that the president’s son, along with son-in-law Jared Kushner and former campaign manager Paul Manafort, should not have met with Russian representatives in June 2016. He even implied that such actions were “unpatriotic” and “treasonous”.
“Going after the president’s son in an absolutely outrageous and unprecedented way is probably not the best way to curry favor with anybody,” said White House press secretary, Sarah Huckabee Sanders. While it may be an unpleasant feeling to agree with Sanders, she’s right. Bannon hardly seems to have made friends with his quoted remarks.
On Thursday, Rebekah Mercer, daughter of Robert Mercer, released a statement that says: “My family and I have not communicated with Steve Bannon in many months and have provided no financial support to his political agenda, nor do we support his recent actions and statements”.
However, in the same statement, Mercer did reaffirm her support for Breitbart News, the far-right news source still chaired by Bannon.
And, finally, your palate cleanser
Resolutions are something of a cheat. Sure, there’s no real harm in setting intentions and goals at the beginning of the year, but what’s stopping you from doing that whenever? Why not make changes throughout the year, whenever you see fit?
Anyway, now that we’re done with my “old man yells at cloud” moment, you might as well pick a resolution and run with it. So, why not try reading more?
No, it’s not impossible. Think of all that time you have in between things: when you’re traveling to work, on your lunch break, or even taking a bathroom break.
All of those spare minutes add up. Why not put them to better use than endlessly scrolling through Twitter and giving yourself a needless rage-induced heart attack? It certainly seems to work for Stephen King during down moments at Fenway Park.
Next: 20 female masters of science fiction to add to your reading list
Here are a few ways to actually get started on beefing up your reading accomplishments this year. The Harvard Business Review also has some good tips to jump start this habit.
Perhaps most importantly, this is a great reason to patronize your local library. In our current money-focused society, the free and open environment of a library is nothing short of miraculous.