thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--'People will sit at home': Sanders supporters threaten to boycott vote if Democrats pick a centrist

DES MOINES , Iowa — Bernie Sanders supporters in Iowa are warning that a lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden could bring the same result the nomination of another milquetoast Democrat did four years ago : electing Donald Trump .
Sanders backers fret the socialist Vermont senator , 78 , is being consistently ignored and underestimated by Beltway insiders and a Washington-based press corps — the same bunch , in their view , who failed to predict Trump 's 2016 White House win and were sure Hillary Clinton , who beat Sanders for the Democratic nomination , would easily prevail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a socialist who has been in Congress since 1991 , is n't getting his due though he 's proven to have staying power in public opinion and fundraising , even after suffering a heart attack last October .
As of last week , ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucuses on Feb. 3 , raising a record figure of $ 34.5 million in the final financial quarter of 2019 for a total of $ 96 million .
Nominating a career center-left candidate such as Biden , the former vice president and 36-year Delaware senator , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grassroots , Sanders backers contend .
Joe Jackelen , 35 , backed Sanders in the 2016 primary and wrote him in on the ballot that fall because he didn ’ t like what Clinton “ stood for.
” He said he only regretted that decision “ to a degree , ” despite it helping give rise to Trump , who beat Clinton in Iowa 51 % to 42 % .
Jackelen , an IT professional from Ames , said Biden ’ s refusal to call billionaires “ the enemy ” was one reason @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the left-wing vote .
“ When I look at some of these other candidates out there , I can see them just sucking any enthusiasm from any undecided voters .
So anyone who might have been for Bernie won ’ t vote for Biden , or any of the others out there , ” Jackelen told the Washington Examiner after a Sanders town hall in Newton .
“ I think that people will sit at home because they see establishment Democrats that don ’ t really care .
The only thing that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ re not Trump .
That is not going to drive enough people out that will get a win over Trump , ” he said .
Kay Pence , 65 , said she 's unconcerned about the `` Red Scare '' stigma attached to socialists such as Sanders .
Yet , she believed many Iowans were still “ discouraged ” about politics because they “ didn ’ t see a lot of hope and change ” after President Barack Obama ’ s inauguration in 2009 , she said .
“ A lot of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” the retiree from Eldridge said after a Sanders rally in Davenport .
The recalcitrance of Sanders supporters coincides with his team ’ s decision to break a nonaggression pact with ideological ally Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren , crafting campaign strategy around understood holes in her candidacy .
The pair then clashed over Warren ’ s claims Sanders questioned whether a woman could win the White House .
Sanders .
Her confrontation with him and this week ’ s Iowa debate caused pro-Sanders and unaffiliated Twitter trolls and bots to push the # @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
1 in the United States .
For Jon Reinish , managing director of political consulting firm SKDKnickerbocker , “ the extreme devotion combined with extreme toxicity of his diehard supporters ” had perpetuated the perception that Sanders and his fans “ kneecapped the Democrat in the general election , ” particularly in Michigan , Pennsylvania , and Wisconsin .
History seemed to be repeating itself , he said .
Reinish , however , warned about the role social media was having in “ sowing this division among Democrats ” and “ exacerbating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ Bernie or bust ’ movement does exist out there , but there needs to be far greater scrutiny into how much of this is actually real and how much is absolutely being played into , ” he continued .
The Democratic National Committee started promoting post-primary unity last November , one year out from Election Day , when the field of hopefuls converged on Des Moines for the Liberty and Justice Celebration , an Iowa Democratic Party fundraiser .
At the time , Sanders donated to the state party but hosted a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ event .
Meanwhile , with the vast majority of Democrats preoccupied with the issue of electability , likely caucusgoers at a Pete Buttigieg town hall in Des Moines said they hoped the party would come together to defeat Trump .
“ Bernie ’ s had his chance four years ago .
He ’ s 78 ; he had a heart attack .
Come on .
His electability is not there .
His demographic is the 20-something age group , right ?
Who are the ones who get out and vote or go caucus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ asked the Washington Examiner .
Crowder , a Des Moines insurance analyst , chalked up the chatter as a tactic “ to make Bernie more appealing.
” “ ‘ If Bernie doesn ’ t get the nomination , well , I ’ m not going to vote.
’ How did that work for you last time ?
We ’ ve got to stop letting 70-year-old white men rule the presidency , and the Senate , and the House .
It ’ s time to usher in that new era we ’ ve been @ @ @ @ @ @ @

DES MOINES, Iowa — Bernie Sanders supporters are warning that a lack of enthusiasm for Joe Biden could bring about the same result that nominating another establishment Democrat did four years ago: electing Donald Trump.
Sanders backers fret the socialist Vermont senator, 78, is being consistently ignored and underestimated by Beltway insiders and a Washington-based press corps — the same bunch, in their view, who failed to predict Trump's 2016 White House win and were sure Hillary Clinton, who beat Sanders for the Democratic nomination, would easily prevail.
They're particularly steamed Sanders, a socialist who has been in Congress since 1991, isn't getting his due though he's proven to have staying power in public opinion and fundraising, even after suffering a heart attack last October . As of last week, he leads a tight four-horse race in Iowa ahead of the first-in-the-nation caucuses on Feb. 3, raising a record figure of $34.5 million in the final financial quarter of 2019 for a total of $96 million.
Nominating a career center-left candidate such as Biden, the former vice president and 36-year Delaware senator, would dampen enthusiasm by the liberal populist grassroots, Sanders backers contend.
Joe Jackelen, 35, backed Sanders in the 2016 primary and wrote him in on the ballot that fall because he didn’t like what Clinton “stood for.” He said he only regretted that decision “to a degree,” despite it helping give rise to Trump, who beat Clinton in Iowa 51% to 42%.
Jackelen, an IT professional from Ames, said Biden’s refusal to call billionaires “the enemy” was one reason his potential nomination in 2020 could suppress the left-wing vote.
“When I look at some of these other candidates out there, I can see them just sucking any enthusiasm from any undecided voters. So anyone who might have been for Bernie won’t vote for Biden, or any of the others out there,” Jackelen told the Washington Examiner after a Sanders town hall in Newton.
“I think that people will sit at home because they see establishment Democrats that don’t really care. The only thing that they bring to the table is that they’re not Trump. That is not going to drive enough people out that will get a win over Trump,” he said.
Kay Pence, 65, said she's unconcerned about the "Red Scare" stigma attached to socialists such as Sanders. Yet, she believed many Iowans were still “discouraged” about politics because they “didn’t see a lot of hope and change” after President Barack Obama’s inauguration in 2009, she said.
“A lot of people are backing away from voting,” the retiree from Eldridge said after a Sanders rally in Davenport.
The recalcitrance of Sanders supporters coincides with his team’s decision to break a nonaggression pact with ideological ally , Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, crafting campaign strategy around understood holes in her candidacy. The pair then clashed over Warren’s claims Sanders questioned whether a woman could win the White House. Sanders denies her allegations . Her confrontation with him during and after this week’s Iowa debate caused pro-Sanders and unaffiliated Twitter trolls and bots to push the #NeverWarren and #WarrenIsASnake hashtags to No. 1 in the United States.
For Jon Reinish, managing director of political consulting firm SKDKnickerbocker, “the extreme devotion combined with extreme toxicity of his diehard supporters” had perpetuated the perception that Sanders and his fans “kneecapped the Democrat in the general election,” particularly in Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. History seemed to be repeating itself, he said.
Reinish, however, warned about the role social media was having in “sowing this division among Democrats” and “exacerbating these wedges.”
“Yes, that ‘Bernie or bust’ movement does exist out there, but there needs to be far greater scrutiny into how much of this is actually real and how much is absolutely being played into,” he continued.
The Democratic National Committee started promoting post-primary unity last November, one year out from Election Day, when the field of hopefuls converged on Des Moines for the Liberty and Justice Celebration, an Iowa Democratic Party fundraiser. At the time, Sanders donated to the state party but hosted a competing watch party close to the main event.
Meanwhile, with the vast majority of Democrats preoccupied with the issue of electability, likely caucusgoers at a Pete Buttigieg town hall in Des Moines said they hoped the party would come together to defeat Trump.
“Bernie’s had his chance four years ago. He’s 78; he had a heart attack. Come on. His electability is not there. His demographic is the 20-something age group, right? Who are the ones who get out and vote or go caucus?” Bryan Crowder, 51, asked the Washington Examiner.
Crowder, a Des Moines insurance analyst, chalked up the chatter as a tactic “to make Bernie more appealing.”
“‘If Bernie doesn’t get the nomination, well, I’m not going to vote.’ How did that work for you last time? We’ve got to stop letting 70-year-old white men rule the presidency, and the Senate, and the House. It’s time to usher in that new era we’ve been talking about,” he said.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--Make momma get a job?

Make momma get a job?

Who knew the aim of socialism was putting more mothers into cubicles ?
The Democratic debate on Jan. 14 showed a political class that believes mothers should be out growing the GDP rather than at home raising their children .
Mothers in the United States do n't agree .
`` You do universal child care , and you 've got a lot of mommas who can go to work , '' Elizabeth Warren said in the Iowa debate .
Warren was speaking from her own experience .
She almost had to quit her first university teaching job to raise her @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of my daughter 's generation get knocked off the track and do n't get back on . ''
That is , many women never get a chance to be a professor , a senator , or a bank regulator because they sacrificed a career for motherhood .
Where Warren was able to leave her children with Aunt Bea , she says other women should turn over childrearing to Uncle Sam .
Warren said the federal government should `` cover child care for all of our children and provide universal pre-K for every 3-year-old @ @ @ @ @ @ @ That 's an investment in our babies , '' she says of her effort to get more mothers to ditch diapers for the desk .
That may be Warren 's preference , but it 's not the preference of the average mother .
About 50 million women have children at home under 18 , and at least half of those mothers do not want a full-time job , surveys show .
A clear majority of women with children under 18 would `` prefer a homemaker role '' to `` working outside the home @ @ @ @ @ @ @ found .
Most working mothers would prefer to be homemakers , and only 37 % of women not in paid employment wish they were working mothers , this Gallup poll found .
Other data show similar results .
A Pew Research Center poll from 2019 found a little more love for the grind among mothers but still not the single-minded desire for a paycheck that Warren imagines .
In the Pew study , 51 % of mothers said `` it would be best for them personally '' to be working full-time , while @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and 19 % said they 'd rather stay at home ( `` not work for pay at all , '' was the precise poll wording ) .
Here 's another way to slice the Pew numbers : More mothers in America work full time but would rather not ( about 4.5 million ) than there are mothers who do n't work for pay but wish they had a full-time job ( about 3.5 million ) .
Millions of mothers want to stay at home more than they currently do .
Our political class @ @

Who knew the aim of socialism was putting more mothers into cubicles? The Democratic debate on Jan. 14 showed a political class that believes mothers should be out growing the GDP rather than at home raising their children. Mothers in the United States don't agree.
"You do universal child care, and you've got a lot of mommas who can go to work," Elizabeth Warren said in the Iowa debate.
Warren was speaking from her own experience. She almost had to quit her first university teaching job to raise her children. She lamented "how many of my daughter's generation get knocked off the track and don't get back on." That is, many women never get a chance to be a professor, a senator, or a bank regulator because they sacrificed a career for motherhood.
Where Warren was able to leave her children with Aunt Bea, she says other women should turn over childrearing to Uncle Sam. Warren said the federal government should "cover child care for all of our children and provide universal pre-K for every 3-year-old and 4-year-old in America."
"That's an investment in our babies," she says of her effort to get more mothers to ditch diapers for the desk.
That may be Warren's preference, but it's not the preference of the average mother.
About 50 million women have children at home under 18, and at least half of those mothers do not want a full-time job, surveys show.
A clear majority of women with children under 18 would "prefer a homemaker role" to "working outside the home," a Gallup survey in 2015 found. Most working mothers would prefer to be homemakers, and only 37% of women not in paid employment wish they were working mothers, this Gallup poll found.
Other data show similar results. A Pew Research Center poll from 2019 found a little more love for the grind among mothers but still not the single-minded desire for a paycheck that Warren imagines. In the Pew study, 51% of mothers said "it would be best for them personally" to be working full-time, while 30% said part-time was ideal, and 19% said they'd rather stay at home ("not work for pay at all," was the precise poll wording).
Here's another way to slice the Pew numbers: More mothers in America work full time but would rather not (about 4.5 million) than there are mothers who don't work for pay but wish they had a full-time job (about 3.5 million).
Millions of mothers want to stay at home more than they currently do. Our political class disapproves.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--Now you have to listen to Tom Steyer

Now you have to listen to Tom Steyer

NASHUA , New Hampshire — “ I get that it ’ s ironic .
It ’ s ironic to me , too , ” billionaire Tom Steyer insists to a crowd of about 200 gathered in a small church .
The irony is obvious : Steyer is simultaneously pushing for sweeping campaign finance reform while defending a decade of his own deep-pocketed investments in political advocacy for climate change .
“ We live in the world , ” he adds .
“ Not in the world we dream of .
We live in the world we ’ re in.
” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of a series of complicated paradoxes .
Among them , Steyer is a former hedge fund manager-turned-environmental activist who , when he launched his presidential candidacy last July , billed himself as an optimistic populist .
This new face seemed improbable , considering Steyer spent millions in the past two years climate-mongering and attempting to oust President Trump via impeachment .
With little grassroots support and only his advisers begging him to run , Steyer ’ s chances seemed slim .
It didn ’ t help that he dresses more like a character @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that same African belt , an obvious rotation of threadbare blazers , and a closet full of nearly identical tartan ties that look like they came off the clearance rack at Jos .
A .
Bank .
So , he ’ s taken heat for all of it .
After all , what populist essentially buys his way onto the debate stage ?
Only a spendthrift billionaire .
What kind of person would spend two years collecting names of people who want to impeach the president and then use that list to launch @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opportunist .
And what kind of weirdo ( billionaire or not ) would wear the same red , tartan tie pretty much every day ?
Only a Tom Steyer .
And it ’ s only a Tom Steyer who could mount such a colorful campaign to amplify the underlying paradox of his entire political career .
He has bound together the seemingly contradictory issues of environmentalism and campaign finance reform in a beautifully cynical embrace that both serves his personal interests and , if his presence in the January debate is any measure @ @ @ @ @ @ @ public .
Steyer ’ s pitch works like this : On the one hand , he is a strident opponent of the Supreme Court ’ s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision , which gives wide latitude to nonprofit corporations and labor unions to advocate directly in political elections .
Steyer calls that arrangement “ undemocratic , ” “ unfair , ” and a whole host of other “ un ” s .
If he had his way , corporations and special interest groups wouldn ’ t have any say in politics .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ direct democracy.
” But he ’ s willing to make an exception for corporations on his other focus issue : climate change .
How convenient , then , that Steyer ’ s own network of advocacy groups , centered on his flagship organization NextGen America , specializes in promoting Democratic candidates who place combating climate change , along with a raft of other liberal policies , at the top of their agendas .
“ I ’ m 100 % behind the idea of people having an equal access to thought , but @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t live in a society where someone like me felt like they had to spend so much time , energy , and money to reform democracy , ” Steyer said in New Hampshire while he justified NextGen ’ s aggressive drives to get out the liberal vote in recent congressional elections .
And , Steyer was quick to add , with an issue as important as the climate , his investments are necessary for human survival .
There is no time , he said , to wait around for uncommitted officials @ @ @ @ @ @ @ structures .
“ We don ’ t have a choice , ” Steyer said .
“ Literally , it ’ s an emergency .
Our house is on fire .
And so , we literally don ’ t have time to convince a bunch of legislatures.
” Maybe so .
Or maybe Steyer is just frustrated with his past results .
He ’ s been playing the advocacy game full-time since 2012 with limited success .
The year 2020 marks a shift in strategy .
Since the candidates Steyer funded over the years @ @ @ @ @ @ @ think he has no choice but to run for president and do it all himself .
“ We can ’ t get any of the progressive policies we want until we take back the government of the United States , ” he told the crowd .
Steyer sees himself as a savior to America — and of his own investments .
If it ’ s convenient that Steyer believes in excusing his push for campaign finance reform on account of climate change , then it ’ s doubly convenient that his former hedge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ still manages a big chunk of Steyer ’ s roughly $ 1.6 billion fortune ) , stands to profit from the nation ’ s investment in green energy .
Steyer first saw political opportunity during the rise of Barack Obama .
In the 2008 election , he raked in millions for Obama after it became clear Hillary Clinton wasn ’ t going to win the nomination .
By September , Steyer was one of Obama ’ s biggest fundraisers , pulling in $ 7.8 million at one event , the largest single-night haul @ @ @ @ @ @ @ won in November , rumors began flying that Steyer , who at the time was steering Farallon through the global financial crisis , was being considered for treasury secretary .
Obama passed , but the missed opportunity whetted Steyer ’ s appetite for politics .
“ They should have listened to my brother , ” said Steyer ’ s brother , Jim , when Obama picked Timothy Geithner for the Treasury instead .
“ He ’ s smarter and richer than they are .
It ’ s that simple .
Obama did not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will rue the day that he failed to recognize it.
” In the early 2010s , Tom Steyer began proving his talent .
Former Clinton adviser John Podesta invited him to join the board of the Center for American Progress after the 2008 election .
This led to more involvement in dark money operations , and , after a snowshoeing trip , Podesta convinced the Steyers to organize Next Generation Climate ( which later became NextGen America ) .
Steyer also had recently begun giving money to fight ballot initiatives in California , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reduced state-mandated cuts in greenhouse gases .
Steyer dumped $ 5 million into defeating it .
It was his first big victory .
When discussing NextGen in 2011 , Steyer promised that the group would be a “ fiercely ” independent voice in public policy debates , aimed at winning more battles such as Prop 23 .
The next year , Steyer went on the offensive and dumped $ 29.6 million into supporting California Proposition 39 , which would close a “ corporate loophole ” that allowed multistate corporations to pay taxes out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but critics said that his cash-heavy involvement had , in effect , defeated the anti-corporate spirit of the ballot measure .
These early successes encouraged Steyer to go national .
So in 2013 , he retired from Farallon to become , in his words , “ a professional pain in the ass.
” First on the docket : Steyer picked a fight over Keystone XL , a pipeline that would connect oil sands in Alberta to oil refineries on the Gulf Coast .
Proponents of the pipeline said it would make the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that its pathway through the Nebraska Sandhills , as well as the strip-mining methods used to extract it from the Canadian sands , posed serious environmental concerns .
The fight over Keystone occupied a good chunk of national attention through much of Obama ’ s second term .
Most of that is thanks to the efforts of Steyer .
In addition to the millions of dollars dumped into stopping Keystone , Steyer petitioned Obama personally to intervene at a 2013 fundraiser in his home , where he led a group of 15 friends @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Keystone .
Obama was diplomatic , but he didn ’ t give ground either way .
Later that night , he publicly addressed Steyer ’ s concerns , pointing out that the worries of a San Francisco billionaire were not necessarily the concerns of the average voter .
“ The politics of this are tough , ” Obama said .
“ Because if you haven ’ t seen a raise in a decade ; if your house is still $ 25,000 , $ 30,000 underwater ; if you ’ re just happy that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ job that is powered by cheap energy ; if every time you go to fill up your old car because you can ’ t afford to buy a new one , and you certainly can ’ t afford to buy a Prius , you ’ re spending 40 bucks that you don ’ t have , which means that you may not be able to save for retirement … you may be concerned about the temperature of the planet , but it ’ s probably not rising to your No .
1 concern.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ make it people ’ s No .
1 concern .
He spoke at a February 2013 climate rally in Washington about Keystone and nearly chained himself to the fence outside the White House alongside activist and climate writer Bill McKibben .
His brother , Jim , talked him out of it .
Steyer then filmed a series of commercials railing against the pipeline that were strikingly similar in tone to his more recent impeachment commercials .
Shortly before the Keystone controversy , Steyer ’ s name started circulating as a possible replacement for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for Steyer to the administration , calling him a “ fabulous ” choice and saying that he had “ the right skill set , the understanding and attitude to lead an energy transformation in this country.
” But as people gave him a second look , what they found was suspicious .
Despite speaking out so fervently against Keystone , in the early 2000s , Steyer had heavily invested in the company that was attempting to build the pipeline .
And though NextGen dealt almost exclusively with climate change activism , Farallon invested @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wealth in fossil fuels .
Critics accused him of cronyism .
Steyer said he would divest from the energy companies and focus on investing only in green energy henceforth .
But divestment created a new potential problem .
If Steyer was investing in green energy and using his political action committee to advocate for green energy , then didn ’ t he stand to gain financially from his activism ?
How would that make him any better than the corporations he so often accused of “ buying ” the government ?
Steyer never @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Obama did eventually reject Keystone , he passed on Steyer for energy secretary .
But by 2014 , Steyer had proven he didn ’ t need to be inside the government to get what he wanted .
He got into congressional politics instead , essentially buying the election of Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey ( who later became the first co-sponsor of the Green New Deal ) in a 2013 special election .
The same year , he intervened in the gubernatorial campaign of Terry McAuliffe in Virginia , using NextGen to raise money @ @ @ @ @ @ @ candidates promised to make the environment one of their top concerns .
Of course , it hasn ’ t been all wins .
Although Steyer was the largest single donor on environmental issues in 2014 , he only won three out of the seven races in which he invested a total of $ 67 million .
Steyer only achieved middling success in 2016 and 2018 , with the latter election hampered by his push for impeachment .
His side projects haven ’ t fared much better .
Need to Impeach , which he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the first out the gate on organizing the impeachment effort against Trump , but it lost steam when Steyer jumped in the race over the summer .
Trump , though , wasn ’ t ever his primary target anyway .
The real problem , for Steyer , is that Obama wasn ’ t liberal enough .
Even at the New Hampshire town hall , he offered a subtle critique of Obama ’ s climate policies .
“ The president does have the power to move things unilaterally , ” he said in reference @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s exactly what Obama was doing .
He was just doing it really slowly .
He was trying to change the rules of how we were going to generate energy around the country.
” That wasn ’ t what Steyer wanted .
He has pledged time and again to be more aggressive should he become president .
“ I ’ ll declare a state of emergency on Day One , ” he said ( and reiterated in the January debate ) .
“ I will not wait for Congress .
I will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to start making changes .
I will do it from an environmental justice standpoint , and I will make it the No .
1 priority for us.
” A unilateral push for a pet project : That ’ s essentially what all the other billionaires in this race aim to do .
But Steyer isn ’ t quite like the others .
He ’ s not a personality like Trump , who drifted into politics on a whim and woke up president .
And he ’ s not a martyr like former New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ only wants to preserve Clintonism .
And , despite the opinions of his critics , Steyer is not another woke capitalist like former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz , whose flirtations with running for president stemmed more from a general discomfort with his party than from any political horse sense .
Steyer is his own sort of paradox .
And as he rushes into 2020 , his dual push for the environment and campaign finance reform have him all tangled up in himself .
The situation is very much like the 1995 gala for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ where Steyer offered to raise money in a novel way : by swallowing the live goldfish swimming in the table centerpieces .
$ 1,000 a pop .
“ Delicious , ” he said afterward , no doubt grimacing at the irony of killing one little fish to save all the big ones .

NASHUA, New Hampshire — “I get that it’s ironic. It’s ironic to me, too,” billionaire Tom Steyer insists to a crowd of about 200 gathered in a small church. The irony is obvious: Steyer is simultaneously pushing for sweeping campaign finance reform while defending a decade of his own deep-pocketed investments in political advocacy for climate change.
“We live in the world,” he adds. “Not in the world we dream of. We live in the world we’re in.”
For Steyer, that world is composed of a series of complicated paradoxes. Among them, Steyer is a former hedge fund manager-turned-environmental activist who, when he launched his presidential candidacy last July, billed himself as an optimistic populist. This new face seemed improbable, considering Steyer spent millions in the past two years climate-mongering and attempting to oust President Trump via impeachment.
With little grassroots support and only his advisers begging him to run, Steyer’s chances seemed slim. It didn’t help that he dresses more like a character actor than a president, still wearing that same African belt, an obvious rotation of threadbare blazers, and a closet full of nearly identical tartan ties that look like they came off the clearance rack at Jos. A. Bank.
So, he’s taken heat for all of it. After all, what populist essentially buys his way onto the debate stage? Only a spendthrift billionaire. What kind of person would spend two years collecting names of people who want to impeach the president and then use that list to launch his own campaign? Only a hypocritical opportunist. And what kind of weirdo (billionaire or not) would wear the same red, tartan tie pretty much every day? Only a Tom Steyer.
And it’s only a Tom Steyer who could mount such a colorful campaign to amplify the underlying paradox of his entire political career. He has bound together the seemingly contradictory issues of environmentalism and campaign finance reform in a beautifully cynical embrace that both serves his personal interests and, if his presence in the January debate is any measure, actually appeals to some of the public.
Steyer’s pitch works like this: On the one hand, he is a strident opponent of the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United v. FEC decision, which gives wide latitude to nonprofit corporations and labor unions to advocate directly in political elections. Steyer calls that arrangement “undemocratic,” “unfair,” and a whole host of other “un”s. If he had his way, corporations and special interest groups wouldn’t have any say in politics. The people would decide important matters through “direct democracy.” But he’s willing to make an exception for corporations on his other focus issue: climate change.
How convenient, then, that Steyer’s own network of advocacy groups, centered on his flagship organization NextGen America, specializes in promoting Democratic candidates who place combating climate change, along with a raft of other liberal policies, at the top of their agendas.
“I’m 100% behind the idea of people having an equal access to thought, but more than that, I wish I didn’t live in a society where someone like me felt like they had to spend so much time, energy, and money to reform democracy,” Steyer said in New Hampshire while he justified NextGen’s aggressive drives to get out the liberal vote in recent congressional elections.
And, Steyer was quick to add, with an issue as important as the climate, his investments are necessary for human survival. There is no time, he said, to wait around for uncommitted officials to make democratic reforms within the existing structures.
“We don’t have a choice,” Steyer said. “Literally, it’s an emergency. Our house is on fire. And so, we literally don’t have time to convince a bunch of legislatures.”
Maybe so. Or maybe Steyer is just frustrated with his past results. He’s been playing the advocacy game full-time since 2012 with limited success. The year 2020 marks a shift in strategy. Since the candidates Steyer funded over the years have failed him, he seems to think he has no choice but to run for president and do it all himself.
“We can’t get any of the progressive policies we want until we take back the government of the United States,” he told the crowd.
Steyer sees himself as a savior to America — and of his own investments. If it’s convenient that Steyer believes in excusing his push for campaign finance reform on account of climate change, then it’s doubly convenient that his former hedge fund, Farallon Capital Management (which still manages a big chunk of Steyer’s roughly $1.6 billion fortune), stands to profit from the nation’s investment in green energy.
Steyer first saw political opportunity during the rise of Barack Obama. In the 2008 election, he raked in millions for Obama after it became clear Hillary Clinton wasn’t going to win the nomination. By September, Steyer was one of Obama’s biggest fundraisers, pulling in $7.8 million at one event, the largest single-night haul of the Obama campaign.
When Obama won in November, rumors began flying that Steyer, who at the time was steering Farallon through the global financial crisis, was being considered for treasury secretary. Obama passed, but the missed opportunity whetted Steyer’s appetite for politics.
“They should have listened to my brother,” said Steyer’s brother, Jim, when Obama picked Timothy Geithner for the Treasury instead. “He’s smarter and richer than they are. It’s that simple. Obama did not recognize Tom’s talent. He will rue the day that he failed to recognize it.”
In the early 2010s, Tom Steyer began proving his talent. Former Clinton adviser John Podesta invited him to join the board of the Center for American Progress after the 2008 election. This led to more involvement in dark money operations, and, after a snowshoeing trip, Podesta convinced the Steyers to organize Next Generation Climate (which later became NextGen America).
Steyer also had recently begun giving money to fight ballot initiatives in California, notably Proposition 23, which would have reduced state-mandated cuts in greenhouse gases. Steyer dumped $5 million into defeating it. It was his first big victory. When discussing NextGen in 2011, Steyer promised that the group would be a “fiercely” independent voice in public policy debates, aimed at winning more battles such as Prop 23.
The next year, Steyer went on the offensive and dumped $29.6 million into supporting California Proposition 39, which would close a “corporate loophole” that allowed multistate corporations to pay taxes out of state. Steyer won the battle, but critics said that his cash-heavy involvement had, in effect, defeated the anti-corporate spirit of the ballot measure.
These early successes encouraged Steyer to go national. So in 2013, he retired from Farallon to become, in his words, “a professional pain in the ass.” First on the docket: Steyer picked a fight over Keystone XL, a pipeline that would connect oil sands in Alberta to oil refineries on the Gulf Coast. Proponents of the pipeline said it would make the U.S. more energy independent. Critics noted that its pathway through the Nebraska Sandhills, as well as the strip-mining methods used to extract it from the Canadian sands, posed serious environmental concerns.
The fight over Keystone occupied a good chunk of national attention through much of Obama’s second term. Most of that is thanks to the efforts of Steyer. In addition to the millions of dollars dumped into stopping Keystone, Steyer petitioned Obama personally to intervene at a 2013 fundraiser in his home, where he led a group of 15 friends to “hammer” the president on Keystone.
Obama was diplomatic, but he didn’t give ground either way. Later that night, he publicly addressed Steyer’s concerns, pointing out that the worries of a San Francisco billionaire were not necessarily the concerns of the average voter.
“The politics of this are tough,” Obama said. “Because if you haven’t seen a raise in a decade; if your house is still $25,000, $30,000 underwater; if you’re just happy that you’ve still got that factory job that is powered by cheap energy; if every time you go to fill up your old car because you can’t afford to buy a new one, and you certainly can’t afford to buy a Prius, you’re spending 40 bucks that you don’t have, which means that you may not be able to save for retirement … you may be concerned about the temperature of the planet, but it’s probably not rising to your No. 1 concern.”
So, Steyer set out to make it people’s No. 1 concern. He spoke at a February 2013 climate rally in Washington about Keystone and nearly chained himself to the fence outside the White House alongside activist and climate writer Bill McKibben. His brother, Jim, talked him out of it. Steyer then filmed a series of commercials railing against the pipeline that were strikingly similar in tone to his more recent impeachment commercials.
Shortly before the Keystone controversy, Steyer’s name started circulating as a possible replacement for the secretary of energy. Podesta vouched for Steyer to the administration, calling him a “fabulous” choice and saying that he had “the right skill set, the understanding and attitude to lead an energy transformation in this country.”
But as people gave him a second look, what they found was suspicious. Despite speaking out so fervently against Keystone, in the early 2000s, Steyer had heavily invested in the company that was attempting to build the pipeline. And though NextGen dealt almost exclusively with climate change activism, Farallon invested a great portion of Steyer’s wealth in fossil fuels.
Critics accused him of cronyism. Steyer said he would divest from the energy companies and focus on investing only in green energy henceforth.
But divestment created a new potential problem. If Steyer was investing in green energy and using his political action committee to advocate for green energy, then didn’t he stand to gain financially from his activism? How would that make him any better than the corporations he so often accused of “buying” the government?
Steyer never had to answer those questions. Although Obama did eventually reject Keystone, he passed on Steyer for energy secretary.
But by 2014, Steyer had proven he didn’t need to be inside the government to get what he wanted. He got into congressional politics instead, essentially buying the election of Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey (who later became the first co-sponsor of the Green New Deal) in a 2013 special election. The same year, he intervened in the gubernatorial campaign of Terry McAuliffe in Virginia, using NextGen to raise money and get out the vote. Both candidates promised to make the environment one of their top concerns.
Of course, it hasn’t been all wins. Although Steyer was the largest single donor on environmental issues in 2014, he only won three out of the seven races in which he invested a total of $67 million. Steyer only achieved middling success in 2016 and 2018, with the latter election hampered by his push for impeachment.
His side projects haven’t fared much better. Need to Impeach, which he launched in 2017, may have been the first out the gate on organizing the impeachment effort against Trump, but it lost steam when Steyer jumped in the race over the summer.
Trump, though, wasn’t ever his primary target anyway. The real problem, for Steyer, is that Obama wasn’t liberal enough. Even at the New Hampshire town hall, he offered a subtle critique of Obama’s climate policies.
“The president does have the power to move things unilaterally,” he said in reference to addressing the climate. “That’s exactly what Obama was doing. He was just doing it really slowly. He was trying to change the rules of how we were going to generate energy around the country.”
That wasn’t what Steyer wanted. He has pledged time and again to be more aggressive should he become president.
“I’ll declare a state of emergency on Day One,” he said (and reiterated in the January debate). “I will not wait for Congress. I will use the emergency powers of the presidency to start making changes. I will do it from an environmental justice standpoint, and I will make it the No. 1 priority for us.”
A unilateral push for a pet project: That’s essentially what all the other billionaires in this race aim to do. But Steyer isn’t quite like the others. He’s not a personality like Trump, who drifted into politics on a whim and woke up president. And he’s not a martyr like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who only wants to preserve Clintonism. And, despite the opinions of his critics, Steyer is not another woke capitalist like former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz, whose flirtations with running for president stemmed more from a general discomfort with his party than from any political horse sense.
Steyer is his own sort of paradox. And as he rushes into 2020, his dual push for the environment and campaign finance reform have him all tangled up in himself.
The situation is very much like the 1995 gala for San Francisco’s Discovery Museum, where Steyer offered to raise money in a novel way: by swallowing the live goldfish swimming in the table centerpieces. $1,000 a pop.
“Delicious,” he said afterward, no doubt grimacing at the irony of killing one little fish to save all the big ones.
Nic Rowan writes from Washington, D.C.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--Biden predicts ‘NATO will end in the next four years’ if Trump reelected

Joe Biden predicted at a Houston fundraiser North Atlantic Treaty Organization will collapse if President Trump wins reelection in November .
`` If a Democrat , God forbid , does n't win the next election , NATO will end in the next four years , '' the former vice president said Thursday evening in Texas , about NATO , which guarantees mutual military support for the 29 participating countries .
Biden , 78 , later boasted about his relationships with foreign governments , claiming that he has `` met every single world leader in the last 45 years . ''
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ me since we got out of office than you can imagine , '' he said .
Biden also fretted about Trump 's decision to kill Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani earlier this month , saying the two nations are now at risk of a full-blown conflict .
`` We 're at the brink of a war with Iran .
I 've said this before .
What worries me most about Trump is , the more the walls close in on him , the more erratic he 's going to become , '' @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it .
... Folks , we got to turn this around quickly .
He still has another nine or 10 months , God knows what can happen . ''
Biden has made restoring America 's alliances a cornerstone of his third White House run , attacking the president over what he calls reckless foreign policy decisions that stir global instability .
`` I truly believe that there will be no NATO .
Our alliances will be completely fractured , '' Biden said at a fundraiser in November .
`` They 're already being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first term in November 2016 , Biden claimed as vice president that he had to `` reassure '' NATO countries that the future president 's rhetoric should not be taken seriously .
Biden said that the leaders of Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania asked him to address the citizens of their country and say the United States would support them in a war with Russia .
`` Either he is actually devoid of any intellectual content when he 's saying this , or he 's completely dangerous , '' Biden said at @ @ @

Joe Biden predicted at a Houston fundraiser North Atlantic Treaty Organization will collapse if President Trump wins reelection in November.
"If a Democrat, God forbid, doesn't win the next election, NATO will end in the next four years," the former vice president said Thursday evening in Texas, about NATO, which guarantees mutual military support for the 29 participating countries.
Biden, 78, later boasted about his relationships with foreign governments, claiming that he has "met every single world leader in the last 45 years."
"I have more world leaders contacting me since we got out of office than you can imagine," he said.
Biden also fretted about Trump's decision to kill Iranian Quds Force commander Qassem Soleimani earlier this month, saying the two nations are now at risk of a full-blown conflict.
"We're at the brink of a war with Iran. I've said this before. What worries me most about Trump is, the more the walls close in on him, the more erratic he's going to become," he said. "And I predicted it. ... Folks, we got to turn this around quickly. He still has another nine or 10 months, God knows what can happen."
Biden has made restoring America's alliances a cornerstone of his third White House run, attacking the president over what he calls reckless foreign policy decisions that stir global instability.
"I truly believe that there will be no NATO. Our alliances will be completely fractured," Biden said at a fundraiser in November. "They're already being hurt."
Before Trump won his first term in November 2016, Biden claimed as vice president that he had to "reassure" NATO countries that the future president's rhetoric should not be taken seriously. Biden said that the leaders of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania asked him to address the citizens of their country and say the United States would support them in a war with Russia.
"Either he is actually devoid of any intellectual content when he's saying this, or he's completely dangerous," Biden said at the time.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-16--Liz Cheney Senate bid cancellation clears path for Cynthia Lummis in Wyoming

Rep. Liz Cheney ’ s decision to skip a 2020 Senate bid opens the way for former Rep. Cynthia Lummis to succeed Republican Mike Enzi when the Wyoming senator retires at year ’ s end .
All eyes were on Cheney , 53 , after Enzi announced he would not seek reelection .
The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney , the No .
3 ranking House Republican , and a rising star in the party , she spent several months mulling a Senate bid .
In running for reelection to her at-large congressional seat instead , Cheney avoids @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Lummis , 65 , who preceded her in the House and launched her Senate campaign last summer .
“ Congressman Cheney has been a great spokeswoman and leader for the Republican Party in D.C. , ” Lummis said Thursday in a statement .
“ I ’ m running for the U.S. Senate to advance President Trump ’ s pro-America , pro-energy , pro-agriculture , pro-Wyoming agenda.
” Wyoming is reliably Republican , delivering more than 67 % of the vote to Trump in 2016 .
The state last elected a Democrat to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ glide to victory in November .
Her presumed ascension was warmly greeted by Republican insiders in Washington , including among elements of the party establishment and the conservative activist wing .
[ Read more : Pete Buttigieg praises Liz Cheney as a 'Republican of conscience ' ] The calm was 180 degrees from the disappointment Republicans expressed over Secretary of State Mike Pompeo ’ s decision to forgo a Kansas Senate bid .
Lummis “ is a proven fighter against the Washington establishment , and we will spend millions to support her candidacy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , ” said David McIntosh , who leads the Club for Growth , a conservative advocacy group .
“ Senate Republicans are interested in adding to their growing number of strong female leaders , ” added a GOP strategist with establishment ties .
“ Rep .
Lummis is someone who would no doubt contribute immediately .
”

Rep. Liz Cheney’s decision to skip a 2020 Senate bid opens the way for former Rep. Cynthia Lummis to succeed Republican Mike Enzi when the Wyoming senator retires at year’s end.
All eyes were on Cheney, 53, after Enzi announced he would not seek reelection. The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, the No. 3 ranking House Republican, and a rising star in the party, she spent several months mulling a Senate bid. In running for reelection to her at-large congressional seat instead, Cheney avoids a potentially brutal and uncertain primary against Lummis, 65, who preceded her in the House and launched her Senate campaign last summer.
“Congressman Cheney has been a great spokeswoman and leader for the Republican Party in D.C.,” Lummis said Thursday in a statement. “I’m running for the U.S. Senate to advance President Trump’s pro-America, pro-energy, pro-agriculture, pro-Wyoming agenda.”
Wyoming is reliably Republican, delivering more than 67% of the vote to Trump in 2016. The state last elected a Democrat to the Senate in 1970, and Lummis should glide to victory in November. Her presumed ascension was warmly greeted by Republican insiders in Washington, including among elements of the party establishment and the conservative activist wing.
[Read more: Pete Buttigieg praises Liz Cheney as a 'Republican of conscience']
The calm was 180 degrees from the disappointment Republicans expressed over Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s decision to forgo a Kansas Senate bid.
Lummis “is a proven fighter against the Washington establishment, and we will spend millions to support her candidacy to become the next senator from Wyoming,” said David McIntosh, who leads the Club for Growth, a conservative advocacy group.
“Senate Republicans are interested in adding to their growing number of strong female leaders,” added a GOP strategist with establishment ties. “Rep. Lummis is someone who would no doubt contribute immediately.”


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-16--'Bullshit': Pete Buttigieg confronts McKinsey criticism

Pete Buttigieg pushed back on suggestions that his work at consulting firm McKinsey & Company was related to illegal schemes and mass layoffs .
`` The proposition that I ’ ve been on front lines of corporate price fixing is bullshit , '' Buttigieg , 37 , said in an interview published Thursday .
`` I worked for a consulting company that had a client that may have been involved in fixing or was apparently in a scandal .
I was not aware of the Canadian bread pricing scandal until last night . ''
The Democratic presidential candidate and former @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at McKinsey from 2007 to 2010 .
Due to a nondisclosure agreement , Buttigieg was barred from releasing the names of the clients he worked for at McKinsey until the company lifted the restriction in December .
Among his clients was the Canadian Loblaw ’ s grocery store chain , which in 2017 admitted to participating in a 14-year scheme to fix prices in order to increase the cost of packaged bread .
Buttigieg said that he did not analyze the price of bread in any detail .
`` Basically the way my @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 50,000 items that they sold and I was creating and then crunching a database , '' he explained .
Loblaw 's said in December that Buttigieg played no role in the price-fixing operation .
[ Read more : Buttigieg campaign workers get new union contract ] Buttigieg 's use of a curse word was a departure from his normally well-mannered and calm exterior demeanor .
When pressed on whether he really embodies anger that many young people feel about the state of the country , he pushed back .
`` While I may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sense of anger or frustration or injustice , '' he said , `` I would not be doing any of this if I were not propelled by a level of passion . ''
Buttigieg also distanced himself from that his McKinsey work for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in 2007 .
Years after Buttigieg 's work , the company increased rates and , in 2009 , laid off 1,000 employees .
`` I had nothing to do with premiums , prices , fees or anything like that , '' Buttigieg said .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ at was overhead .
There ’ s no way to know the relationship between analysis I did in 2007 and decisions they made in 2009 , but certainly our focus was making sure that cost was under control there . ''
Buttigieg scrutinized the company 's choices of clients since he left .
`` There seems to be a problem there with assessing what they want to be associated with , '' he said , mentioning McKinsey 's work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that recommended cutting spending on food and medical care @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Arabia , during which the company analyzed public opinion on the regime 's policies .

Pete Buttigieg pushed back on suggestions that his work at consulting firm McKinsey & Company was related to illegal schemes and mass layoffs.
"The proposition that I’ve been on front lines of corporate price fixing is bullshit," Buttigieg, 37, said in an interview published Thursday. "I worked for a consulting company that had a client that may have been involved in fixing or was apparently in a scandal. I was not aware of the Canadian bread pricing scandal until last night."
The Democratic presidential candidate and former South Bend, Indiana, mayor worked at McKinsey from 2007 to 2010. Due to a nondisclosure agreement, Buttigieg was barred from releasing the names of the clients he worked for at McKinsey until the company lifted the restriction in December.
Among his clients was the Canadian Loblaw’s grocery store chain, which in 2017 admitted to participating in a 14-year scheme to fix prices in order to increase the cost of packaged bread.
Buttigieg said that he did not analyze the price of bread in any detail. "Basically the way my job worked was, they have about 50,000 items that they sold and I was creating and then crunching a database," he explained.
Loblaw's said in December that Buttigieg played no role in the price-fixing operation.
[Read more: Buttigieg campaign workers get new union contract]
Though he may not be as emotive as some of his Democratic rivals, @PeteButtigieg shows the editorial board a flash of the passion that he says propels his campaign. See more this Sunday on a special 2020 endorsement episode of @TheWeekly. Full transcript: https://t.co/ooUhuoRBV9 pic.twitter.com/6qXKtgA0WF — New York Times Opinion (@nytopinion) January 16, 2020
Buttigieg's use of a curse word was a departure from his normally well-mannered and calm exterior demeanor. When pressed on whether he really embodies anger that many young people feel about the state of the country, he pushed back.
"While I may not be as emotive sometimes about my sense of anger or frustration or injustice," he said, "I would not be doing any of this if I were not propelled by a level of passion."
Buttigieg also distanced himself from that his McKinsey work for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan in 2007. Years after Buttigieg's work, the company increased rates and, in 2009, laid off 1,000 employees.
"I had nothing to do with premiums, prices, fees or anything like that," Buttigieg said. "Mostly what my team was looking at was overhead. There’s no way to know the relationship between analysis I did in 2007 and decisions they made in 2009, but certainly our focus was making sure that cost was under control there."
Buttigieg scrutinized the company's choices of clients since he left.
"There seems to be a problem there with assessing what they want to be associated with," he said, mentioning McKinsey's work with Immigration and Customs Enforcement that recommended cutting spending on food and medical care for detained migrants, and with Saudia Arabia, during which the company analyzed public opinion on the regime's policies.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-16--Biden poised to benefit from ugly 'liar' fight between Warren and Sanders

IOWA CITY , Iowa — The fight between Sens .
Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren stands to turn off Iowa Democrats long averse to negativity in politics , offering a fresh chance for rival 2020 Democrats to nab some of their support .
The Sanders campaign , in particular , is concerned the spat over a more than year-old conversation about the viability of a female presidential candidate could dampen support on both sides .
At this point , former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend , Indiana , Mayor Pete Buttigieg figure to be the biggest beneficiaries @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Warren for weeks over his past work at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and his ritzy campaign fundraisers , has announced an aggressive campaign schedule through the central and western part of the state .
Meanwhile , Biden 's team believes the potential collapse of a unified progressive front against its candidate is exactly what it predicted and the key to an ultimate primary victory .
Those close to Biden have told the Washington Examiner that they never viewed Buttigieg as a threat but maintained concerns about placing below Warren or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe is doing very well .
Warren and Sanders bickering the way they are explains why neither one of them should go against Donald Trump in November .
He 's got a shot of winning Iowa now , '' said Dick Harpootlian , a South Carolina Democratic former party chair and Biden campaign confidante .
`` Warren and Sanders are obviously bickering like two kids in the back seat of a car while the parents are up front .
Iowans don ’ t like the negativitity .
It ’ s a sign of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when you ’ re going against the most annoying person in the country . ''
Because the race in Iowa remains so close , any potential shift in voters could make a dramatic change at the end .
A RealClearPolitics average of recent polls shows a virtual tie between Sanders and Biden at 20.7 % and 20.3 % support , respectively .
In third is Buttigieg at 18.7 % and Warren at 16 % .
Democratic strategists in Iowa have maintained that the race remains wide open , citing a record-number of undecided @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of negative campaigning , voters on the fence could wind up backing more moderately center-left and measured candidates such as Buttigieg or Biden .
`` People are really conflicted , and now we ’ re really down to four .
Twenty percent of Iowans started at almost certainly supporting Joe Biden .
So the rest of us want an alternative , but many are unsure if those alternatives can win a general election , so do I just go with Joe Biden .
Or do I look at the alternatives ? ''
said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I think this fighting benefits Buttigieg , '' Turner said .
`` The difference between all four of them is about two percentage points right now .
And there will be some people from Warren 's camp who say , 'Oh , this fighting is a lot , I 'm going with someone else . '
I think there ’ s a smaller percentage of people on Bernie 's team saying , 'Maybe I ’ ll give that Pete guy a listen . '
''

IOWA CITY, Iowa — The fight between Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren stands to turn off Iowa Democrats long averse to negativity in politics, offering a fresh chance for rival 2020 Democrats to nab some of their support.
The Sanders campaign, in particular, is concerned the spat over a more than year-old conversation about the viability of a female presidential candidate could dampen support on both sides.
At this point, former Vice President Joe Biden and former South Bend, Indiana, Mayor Pete Buttigieg figure to be the biggest beneficiaries. Buttigieg, who had been feuding with Warren for weeks over his past work at the consulting firm McKinsey & Co. and his ritzy campaign fundraisers, has announced an aggressive campaign schedule through the central and western part of the state.
Meanwhile, Biden's team believes the potential collapse of a unified progressive front against its candidate is exactly what it predicted and the key to an ultimate primary victory. Those close to Biden have told the Washington Examiner that they never viewed Buttigieg as a threat but maintained concerns about placing below Warren or Sanders in Iowa.
"I think Joe is doing very well. Warren and Sanders bickering the way they are explains why neither one of them should go against Donald Trump in November. He's got a shot of winning Iowa now," said Dick Harpootlian, a South Carolina Democratic former party chair and Biden campaign confidante. "Warren and Sanders are obviously bickering like two kids in the back seat of a car while the parents are up front. Iowans don’t like the negativitity. It’s a sign of immaturity and inability to control your emotions when you’re going against the most annoying person in the country."
Because the race in Iowa remains so close, any potential shift in voters could make a dramatic change at the end. A RealClearPolitics average of recent polls shows a virtual tie between Sanders and Biden at 20.7% and 20.3% support, respectively. In third is Buttigieg at 18.7% and Warren at 16%.
Democratic strategists in Iowa have maintained that the race remains wide open, citing a record-number of undecided voters. Given Iowans' historical distaste of negative campaigning, voters on the fence could wind up backing more moderately center-left and measured candidates such as Buttigieg or Biden.
"People are really conflicted, and now we’re really down to four. Twenty percent of Iowans started at almost certainly supporting Joe Biden. So the rest of us want an alternative, but many are unsure if those alternatives can win a general election, so do I just go with Joe Biden. Or do I look at the alternatives?" said Iowa political strategist Andrew Turner.
"I think this fighting benefits Buttigieg," Turner said. "The difference between all four of them is about two percentage points right now. And there will be some people from Warren's camp who say, 'Oh, this fighting is a lot, I'm going with someone else.' I think there’s a smaller percentage of people on Bernie's team saying, 'Maybe I’ll give that Pete guy a listen.'"


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--Martha McSally selling 'liberal hack' shirts to fundraise off confrontation with CNN reporter

Sen. Martha McSally ’ s campaign has begun selling “ liberal hack ” T-shirts a day after she used the term to dismiss a question from a CNN reporter .
The Arizona Republican , who is facing a tough election battle against retired astronaut and U.S. Navy Capt .
Mark Kelly , began selling the shirts from the domain www.liberalhack.com , a website that redirects to a fundraising page asking for at least $ 35 to receive the shirt .
The T-shirt features the phrase , “ You ’ re a liberal hack , buddy , ” in blue and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the same thing McSally , 53 , told CNN reporter Manu Raju on Thursday when he attempted to ask her a question about President Trump ’ s impeachment .
“ Martha 's in the Senate to fight for all Arizonans not to play games with the left-wing media , ” the donation page said .
McSally was appointed to replace Sen. John Kyl , who retired after replacing the late Sen. John McCain .
She is vying to beat Kelly , the husband of former Democratic Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords .
Kelly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ announced that he was running for her seat .
CNN 's public relations team said McSally ’ s remark was “ extremely unbecoming for a U.S. senator to sink to this level and treat a member of the press this way for simply doing his job.
” Using a T-shirt to fundraise off viral moments is not a new tactic .
During her failed bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination , Sen. Kamala Harris of California sold a shirt featuring a picture of her as a child after a debate confrontation over @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sold another T-shirt with the phrase , “ Dude got ta go , ” a refrain she used on the campaign trail about Trump .

Sen. Martha McSally’s campaign has begun selling “liberal hack” T-shirts a day after she used the term to dismiss a question from a CNN reporter.
The Arizona Republican, who is facing a tough election battle against retired astronaut and U.S. Navy Capt. Mark Kelly, began selling the shirts from the domain www.liberalhack.com, a website that redirects to a fundraising page asking for at least $35 to receive the shirt.
The T-shirt features the phrase, “You’re a liberal hack, buddy,” in blue and gold lettering across the front. That is the same thing McSally, 53, told CNN reporter Manu Raju on Thursday when he attempted to ask her a question about President Trump’s impeachment.
(www.liberalhack.com)
“Martha's in the Senate to fight for all Arizonans not to play games with the left-wing media,” the donation page said.
McSally was appointed to replace Sen. John Kyl, who retired after replacing the late Sen. John McCain. She is vying to beat Kelly, the husband of former Democratic Arizona Rep. Gabby Giffords. Kelly has outpaced McSally in fundraising since he announced that he was running for her seat.
CNN's public relations team said McSally’s remark was “extremely unbecoming for a U.S. senator to sink to this level and treat a member of the press this way for simply doing his job.”
Using a T-shirt to fundraise off viral moments is not a new tactic. During her failed bid for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination, Sen. Kamala Harris of California sold a shirt featuring a picture of her as a child after a debate confrontation over race with Joe Biden. She also sold another T-shirt with the phrase, “Dude gotta go,” a refrain she used on the campaign trail about Trump.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--New impeachment lawyer Alan Dershowitz predicted Trump will block Bolton testimony

The newest member of President Trump ’ s impeachment defense team predicted earlier this week that former national security adviser John Bolton wo n't be allowed to testify in the upcoming Senate trial but that the anonymous whistleblower could .
The 81-year-old Harvard law professor emeritus sketched out a possible impeachment strategy in a conversation with the Washington Examiner earlier this week , before he joined Trump 's defense effort .
Dershowitz , the author of The Case Against Impeaching Trump , became the newest member of Trump 's legal team along with former independent counsels Ken Starr and Robert @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow , whom Dershowitz heaped praise on earlier in the week .
Dershowitz told the Washington Examiner , “ The preferred option is for the Senate preliminarily to ask the question whether the articles of impeachment allege an impeachable offense ” and compared that to a motion to dismiss in a criminal case .
The two articles of impeachment passed by the House charge the president with soliciting Ukraine 's help to interfere in the 2020 election while withholding military aid and with obstructing the congressional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that the two articles of impeachment do not charge constitutionally permissible impeachable offenses , ” Dershowitz said , arguing dismissing the case would “ eliminate the dangerous precedent of allowing presidents to be impeached for nonimpeachable offenses.
” But , if that doesn ’ t happen and new witnesses are sought after each side presents its arguments , Dershowitz said the call could backfire on Democrats .
Dershowitz said Republicans would fare much better than Democrats at getting the witnesses they might want because Trump could assert executive privilege to block Bolton ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ secure the 51 votes needed to subpoena witnesses .
“ If that happens and , for example , the Democrats call John Bolton , and John Bolton runs over to the Capitol enthusiastic — ‘ I want to testify !
It ’ s my dream !
Please let me testify !
’ — he ’ s still not going to be able to testify because the president will invoke executive privilege , and , I think , on that issue , he will win , ” Dershowitz said .
“ What could be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ security adviser and the president in the Oval Office ?
” While “ no one can stop Bolton from holding a press conference , ” he said , he predicted the courts would side with Trump ’ s assertion of executive privilege .
“ The Republicans would be more likely to prevail on executive privilege than the Democrats would , ” he said .
“ For example , if Hunter Biden were called , there ’ d be no privilege there .
He would have to testify .
Even Joe Biden might have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his conversations in the Ukraine that he talked about and described — so he would ’ ve waived any privilege .
So , if there were a trial , the Republicans would end up having more important witnesses testify than the Democrats would.
” Dershowitz said any hypothetical White House effort to call the anonymous Ukraine whistleblower whose complaint sparked the Democrat-led impeachment process would be difficult .
“ I think the courts might very well side with the whistleblower under the statute and say his identity could not be revealed .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ without his identity being revealed , ” said Dershowitz .
“ There are ways of calling the whistleblower without his identity being exposed . ''
The defense lawyer , who has represented celebrity clients including Mike Tyson , Patty Hearst , and O.J .
Simpson , is sure to be a controversial choice , especially thanks to his longtime friendship with and representation of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein .
Dershowitz helped secure a sweetheart deal for the jet-setting financier in 2008 and visited Epstein ’ s mansions in New York , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ island in the Caribbean , and allegedly had sex with Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre while she was underage .
Dershowitz has denied Giuffre 's accusation , and the two have sued each other .
“ I did absolutely nothing wrong , ” Dershowitz previously told the Washington Examiner .
“ I was his lawyer and did nothing wrong in connection with Epstein .
”

The newest member of President Trump’s impeachment defense team predicted earlier this week that former national security adviser John Bolton won't be allowed to testify in the upcoming Senate trial but that the anonymous whistleblower could.
The 81-year-old Harvard law professor emeritus sketched out a possible impeachment strategy in a conversation with the Washington Examiner earlier this week, before he joined Trump's defense effort. Dershowitz, the author of The Case Against Impeaching Trump, became the newest member of Trump's legal team along with former independent counsels Ken Starr and Robert Ray on Friday, joining White House counsel Pat Cipollone and Trump lawyer Jay Sekulow, whom Dershowitz heaped praise on earlier in the week.
Dershowitz told the Washington Examiner, “The preferred option is for the Senate preliminarily to ask the question whether the articles of impeachment allege an impeachable offense” and compared that to a motion to dismiss in a criminal case.
The two articles of impeachment passed by the House charge the president with soliciting Ukraine's help to interfere in the 2020 election while withholding military aid and with obstructing the congressional investigation.
“I believe very strongly that the two articles of impeachment do not charge constitutionally permissible impeachable offenses,” Dershowitz said, arguing dismissing the case would “eliminate the dangerous precedent of allowing presidents to be impeached for nonimpeachable offenses.”
But, if that doesn’t happen and new witnesses are sought after each side presents its arguments, Dershowitz said the call could backfire on Democrats.
Dershowitz said Republicans would fare much better than Democrats at getting the witnesses they might want because Trump could assert executive privilege to block Bolton’s testimony, even if Senate Democrats secure the 51 votes needed to subpoena witnesses.
“If that happens and, for example, the Democrats call John Bolton, and John Bolton runs over to the Capitol enthusiastic — ‘I want to testify! It’s my dream! Please let me testify!’ — he’s still not going to be able to testify because the president will invoke executive privilege, and, I think, on that issue, he will win,” Dershowitz said. “What could be more privileged than conversations between the national security adviser and the president in the Oval Office?”
While “no one can stop Bolton from holding a press conference,” he said, he predicted the courts would side with Trump’s assertion of executive privilege.
“The Republicans would be more likely to prevail on executive privilege than the Democrats would,” he said. “For example, if Hunter Biden were called, there’d be no privilege there. He would have to testify. Even Joe Biden might have to testify, if it were about his conversations in the Ukraine that he talked about and described — so he would’ve waived any privilege. So, if there were a trial, the Republicans would end up having more important witnesses testify than the Democrats would.”
Dershowitz said any hypothetical White House effort to call the anonymous Ukraine whistleblower whose complaint sparked the Democrat-led impeachment process would be difficult.
“I think the courts might very well side with the whistleblower under the statute and say his identity could not be revealed. But maybe he’d have to testify without his identity being revealed,” said Dershowitz. “There are ways of calling the whistleblower without his identity being exposed."
The defense lawyer, who has represented celebrity clients including Mike Tyson, Patty Hearst, and O.J. Simpson, is sure to be a controversial choice, especially thanks to his longtime friendship with and representation of deceased convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Dershowitz helped secure a sweetheart deal for the jet-setting financier in 2008 and visited Epstein’s mansions in New York, Palm Beach, and stayed on his island in the Caribbean, and allegedly had sex with Epstein victim Virginia Roberts Giuffre while she was underage. Dershowitz has denied Giuffre's accusation, and the two have sued each other.
“I did absolutely nothing wrong,” Dershowitz previously told the Washington Examiner. “I was his lawyer and did nothing wrong in connection with Epstein.”


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--'Ken Starr's a lunatic': Trump was scathing about his new impeachment lawyer

President Trump repeatedly denigrated Ken Starr , whom he appointed to his legal team Friday , during Starr 's time as an independent counsel investigating President Bill Clinton , calling him a `` freak , '' a `` lunatic , '' and a `` disaster . ''
''Starr 's a freak , '' Trump said in a 1999 interview with Maureen Dowd .
`` I bet he 's got something in his closet . ''
And in an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC , Trump said , `` I think Ken Starr 's a lunatic .
I really think @ @ @ @ @ @ @ '' Trump 's comment , in a transcript unearthed by CNN , came in response to a question of whether he thought Clinton should be impeached .
Starr 's Whitewater investigation of Clinton led to the second presidential impeachment in U.S. history .
He has since expressed regret over the handling of the Monica Lewinsky affair but disputed any notion of a vendetta against Clinton , calling such claims `` bogus , totally made up , and completely without foundation . ''
Trump , then a New York real estate mogul with vague @ @ @ @ @ @ @ assessment of Clinton 's dalliances .
`` He handled the Monica situation disgracefully , '' Trump said .
`` It 's sad because he would go down as a great president if he had not had this scandal .
People would have been more forgiving if he 'd had an affair with a really beautiful woman of sophistication . ''
`` Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were on a different level .
Now , Clinton ca n't get into golf clubs in Westchester .
A former president begging to get in a golf club @ @ @ @ @ @ @ years later , Trump weathered his own storm on the Hill when in September 2019 , House Democrats opened an investigation into payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and said they had enough evidence to name the president as a co-conspirator to longtime fixer Michael Cohen .
Cohen pleaded guilty one year earlier on campaign finance charges stemming from cash payments that he made to Daniels and to Playboy model Karen McDougal .
On October 18 , 1999 , Starr resigned in a letter to the three-judge federal appeals court that appoints independent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the independent counsel 's office .

President Trump repeatedly denigrated Ken Starr, whom he appointed to his legal team Friday, during Starr's time as an independent counsel investigating President Bill Clinton, calling him a "freak," a "lunatic," and a "disaster."
''Starr's a freak," Trump said in a 1999 interview with Maureen Dowd. "I bet he's got something in his closet.''
And in an interview with Matt Lauer of NBC, Trump said, "I think Ken Starr's a lunatic. I really think that Ken Starr is a disaster." Trump's comment, in a transcript unearthed by CNN, came in response to a question of whether he thought Clinton should be impeached.
Here's the video of Trump calling Starr, now defending him on his team, a lunatic in 1999. He also called him "a freak" and "wacko." pic.twitter.com/o3xArNVwp6 — andrew kaczynski🤔 (@KFILE) January 17, 2020
Starr's Whitewater investigation of Clinton led to the second presidential impeachment in U.S. history. He has since expressed regret over the handling of the Monica Lewinsky affair but disputed any notion of a vendetta against Clinton, calling such claims "bogus, totally made up, and completely without foundation."
Trump, then a New York real estate mogul with vague presidential ambitions, was frank in his assessment of Clinton's dalliances. "He handled the Monica situation disgracefully," Trump said. "It's sad because he would go down as a great president if he had not had this scandal. People would have been more forgiving if he'd had an affair with a really beautiful woman of sophistication."
"Kennedy and Marilyn Monroe were on a different level. Now, Clinton can't get into golf clubs in Westchester. A former president begging to get in a golf club. It's unthinkable.''
Twenty years later, Trump weathered his own storm on the Hill when in September 2019, House Democrats opened an investigation into payments to porn star Stormy Daniels and said they had enough evidence to name the president as a co-conspirator to longtime fixer Michael Cohen. Cohen pleaded guilty one year earlier on campaign finance charges stemming from cash payments that he made to Daniels and to Playboy model Karen McDougal.
On October 18, 1999, Starr resigned in a letter to the three-judge federal appeals court that appoints independent counsels, citing "intense politicization" of the independent counsel's office.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--Trump stokes backlash after poking fun at himself during visit with LSU football team

President Trump is receiving backlash after poking fun at himself during a White House visit with the newly crowned Louisiana State University football team .
“ So coach , if you ’ d like , we can take whoever wants to come to the Oval Office , we ’ ll take pictures behind the Resolute Desk , ” Trump said Friday .
“ It ’ s been there a long time .
Lot of presidents .
Some good , some not so good.
” “ But you got a good one now , ” he continued .
“ Even though @ @ @ @ @ @ @ son of a bitch .
Can you believe that ?
” The student-athletes and coaches in the room laughed at Trump ’ s lighthearted comment .
However , many people on Twitter didn ’ t respond positively to the joke .
Oliver Willis of the American Independent took the opportunity to correct the president .
“ Trump complains to the coach of the LSU Tigers that 'they 're trying to impeach the son of bitch . '
Trump has in fact *already* been impeached .
He now faces a Senate impeachment trial and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Luke Zaleski responded to the video on Twitter by saying , “ THEY DID IMPEACH THE SON OF A BITCH.
” CNN commentator Keith Boykin responded to the joke by complaining about the way President Barack Obama was treated during his time in office .
`` Trump to LSU football team : “ They ’ re trying to impeach the son of a bitch .
Can you believe that ?
” This is the man Trump-supporting white evangelicals claim was chosen by God .
Yet President Obama demeaned the office by wearing a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter .
The House sent the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate earlier this week , and the Senate trial is likely to begin next week .

President Trump is receiving backlash after poking fun at himself during a White House visit with the newly crowned Louisiana State University football team.
“So coach, if you’d like, we can take whoever wants to come to the Oval Office, we’ll take pictures behind the Resolute Desk,” Trump said Friday. “It’s been there a long time. Lot of presidents. Some good, some not so good.”
“But you got a good one now,” he continued. “Even though they’re trying to impeach the son of a bitch. Can you believe that?”
President Trump to @LSUfootball: "We'll take pictures behind the Resolute Desk, it's been there a long time. A lot of presidents, some good, some not so good. But you got a good one now -- even though they're trying to impeach the son of a bitch, can you believe that?" pic.twitter.com/4u0jbc4CdH — CSPAN (@cspan) January 17, 2020
The student-athletes and coaches in the room laughed at Trump’s lighthearted comment. However, many people on Twitter didn’t respond positively to the joke.
Oliver Willis of the American Independent took the opportunity to correct the president. “Trump complains to the coach of the LSU Tigers that 'they're trying to impeach the son of bitch.' Trump has in fact *already* been impeached. He now faces a Senate impeachment trial and possible removal from office.”
Trump complains to the coach of the LSU Tigers that "they're trying to impeach the son of a bitch." Trump has in fact *already* been impeached. He now faces a Senate impeachment trial and possible removal from office. pic.twitter.com/WqCjzD0l6S — Oliver Willis (@owillis) January 17, 2020
GQ writer Luke Zaleski responded to the video on Twitter by saying, “THEY DID IMPEACH THE SON OF A BITCH.”
THEY DID IMPEACH THE SON OF A BITCH https://t.co/nI9OWhrfVt — Luke Zaleski (@ZaleskiLuke) January 17, 2020
CNN commentator Keith Boykin responded to the joke by complaining about the way President Barack Obama was treated during his time in office. "Trump to LSU football team: “They’re trying to impeach the son of a bitch. Can you believe that?” This is the man Trump-supporting white evangelicals claim was chosen by God. Yet President Obama demeaned the office by wearing a tan suit," he posted on Twitter.
Trump to LSU football team: “They’re trying to impeach the son of a bitch. Can you believe that?”
This is the man Trump-supporting white evangelicals claim was chosen by God.
Yet President Obama demeaned the office by wearing a tan suit. pic.twitter.com/47qsfepJcf — Keith Boykin (@keithboykin) January 17, 2020
The House sent the articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate earlier this week, and the Senate trial is likely to begin next week.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--US ICE agents and Guatemalan police bus caravan members back to Honduras

A Central American migrant caravan traveling through Guatemala to the southern border of the United States was forced to return to Honduras in an effort that was funded and partially administered by the U.S. government , according to a report .
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Guatemala worked with national police to apprehend approximately 300 migrants in a group that left Honduras on foot earlier this week , the Associated Press reported Friday .
Guatemalan law enforcement said the U.S. paid for the three buses used to take the hundreds back to Honduras , signaling a new level @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the region .
The group of migrants was apprehended by ICE and Guatemalan police in the Guatemalan town of Cinchado , just miles from the Honduran border .
The group was told by Guatemalan officials at the site that they had to bring proper documents with them that were required to pass through the country .
ICE did not respond to a request for comment on its involvement .
Photos and videos shot by journalists tracking the group 's movement indicate it is composed of families with babies and young children , unaccompanied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ officials encountered a separate caravan of migrants estimated to be double the size of the other about 100 miles southwest of Cinchado on Thursday .
Guatemalan police informed the group they would send them back over the border river via ferry so that those who had not registered to travel through the country could do so before continuing north .
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Thursday he was not concerned about reports of a caravan of people moving to the southern border of the U.S .
He described it as being @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America and Mexico in 2018 and 2019 .
The group is significantly smaller than the 10,000 who made a similar trek in April 2019 and another in late 2018 , though other caravans had also started out small .
Wolf said systems were in place in Guatemala , Mexico , and at the U.S. border to block migrants , including those seeking asylum .
The Trump administration has been in talks with El Salvador , Guatemala , and Honduras over the past year to require asylum-seekers traveling through those countries to seek refuge @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has only entered an official agreement with Guatemala , which would mean those passing through from Honduras are supposed to apply for asylum in Guatemala instead of going on to Mexico or the U.S. [ Read more : Border Patrol on alert for suspected female terrorist being smuggled to US via southern border ]

A Central American migrant caravan traveling through Guatemala to the southern border of the United States was forced to return to Honduras in an effort that was funded and partially administered by the U.S. government, according to a report.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Guatemala worked with national police to apprehend approximately 300 migrants in a group that left Honduras on foot earlier this week, the Associated Press reported Friday. Guatemalan law enforcement said the U.S. paid for the three buses used to take the hundreds back to Honduras, signaling a new level of American involvement in blocking migration from the region.
The group of migrants was apprehended by ICE and Guatemalan police in the Guatemalan town of Cinchado, just miles from the Honduran border. The group was told by Guatemalan officials at the site that they had to bring proper documents with them that were required to pass through the country. ICE did not respond to a request for comment on its involvement.
The group of migrants was apprehended by ICE and Guatemalan police in the Guatemalan town of Cinchado, just miles from the Honduran border. Google Maps
Photos and videos shot by journalists tracking the group's movement indicate it is composed of families with babies and young children, unaccompanied teens, and single adults. Local officials encountered a separate caravan of migrants estimated to be double the size of the other about 100 miles southwest of Cinchado on Thursday. Guatemalan police informed the group they would send them back over the border river via ferry so that those who had not registered to travel through the country could do so before continuing north.
Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said Thursday he was not concerned about reports of a caravan of people moving to the southern border of the U.S. He described it as being smaller than previous caravans that traversed Central America and Mexico in 2018 and 2019. The group is significantly smaller than the 10,000 who made a similar trek in April 2019 and another in late 2018, though other caravans had also started out small.
Wolf said systems were in place in Guatemala, Mexico, and at the U.S. border to block migrants, including those seeking asylum. The Trump administration has been in talks with El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras over the past year to require asylum-seekers traveling through those countries to seek refuge there first. However, the U.S. has only entered an official agreement with Guatemala, which would mean those passing through from Honduras are supposed to apply for asylum in Guatemala instead of going on to Mexico or the U.S.
[Read more: Border Patrol on alert for suspected female terrorist being smuggled to US via southern border]


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--White House Weekly: Jan. 17, 2020

White House Weekly: Jan. 17, 2020

The House finally sent articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate , the United States and China sign the first phase of a trade deal , and the president and the first lady attend the College Football Championship .
Here 's everything that happened for the White House this week .
After almost a month of voting to impeach President Trump , the House voted to deliver two articles of impeachment to the Senate on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress .
On Wednesday , House Speaker Nancy Pelosi , who stonewalled for weeks , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ naming the House managers , including House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler .
The signing ceremony was widely criticized for the oddly giddy demeanor that Speaker Pelosi and her colleagues had in transmitting the articles over to the Senate , given how months before Pelosi said how sad impeachment is for the country .
`` This is a very sad time for our country .
This is no joy in this .
We must be somber , we must be prayerful , ” Pelosi said at an event in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on Wednesday , President Trump signed the first phase of a trade deal with China , signaling the beginning of the end of the escalating trade war between the United States and the people 's republic .
`` Together , we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economic justice and security .
Our negotiations were tough , honest , and respectful , leading to this breakthrough , ” Trump stated .
As the two sides continue to negotiate on the second phase , China agreed to purchase @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and services .
The White House also claimed the first phase of the deal addressed many of the disputes between Beijing and Washington , including financial services , currency manipulation , intellectual property rights , and forced transfers of technology .
On Thursday , the Senate passed Trump ’ s United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade in a bipartisan vote of 89-10 .
The USMCA , a vision of Trump ’ s campaign strategy to renegotiate America ’ s existing trade deals , will replace the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement ( better known @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by President Bill Clinton in 1994 .
Finally , on Monday , the president and first lady Melania Trump attended the College Football Championship in New Orleans between LSU and Clemson , where they walked out onto the field before kickoff and waved to the crowd before lining up for the national anthem .
LSU captured the title , defeating Clemson , 42-25 .
For these stories and more , go to washingtonexaminer.com .
Subscribe to the Washington Examiner YouTube channel .
Like us on Facebook , and follow us on Twitter and @ @

The House finally sent articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate, the United States and China sign the first phase of a trade deal, and the president and the first lady attend the College Football Championship. Here's everything that happened for the White House this week.
After almost a month of voting to impeach President Trump, the House voted to deliver two articles of impeachment to the Senate on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. On Wednesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who stonewalled for weeks, signed the impeachment articles and a resolution naming the House managers, including House Intelligence Chairman Adam Schiff and Judiciary Chairman Jerry Nadler.
The signing ceremony was widely criticized for the oddly giddy demeanor that Speaker Pelosi and her colleagues had in transmitting the articles over to the Senate, given how months before Pelosi said how sad impeachment is for the country.
"This is a very sad time for our country. This is no joy in this. We must be somber, we must be prayerful,” Pelosi said at an event in South Carolina in October 2019.
Also on Wednesday, President Trump signed the first phase of a trade deal with China, signaling the beginning of the end of the escalating trade war between the United States and the people's republic.
"Together, we are righting the wrongs of the past and delivering a future of economic justice and security. Our negotiations were tough, honest, and respectful, leading to this breakthrough,” Trump stated.
As the two sides continue to negotiate on the second phase, China agreed to purchase $200 billion worth of U.S. goods and services. The White House also claimed the first phase of the deal addressed many of the disputes between Beijing and Washington, including financial services, currency manipulation, intellectual property rights, and forced transfers of technology.
On Thursday, the Senate passed Trump’s United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement on trade in a bipartisan vote of 89-10. The USMCA, a vision of Trump’s campaign strategy to renegotiate America’s existing trade deals, will replace the North Atlantic Free Trade Agreement (better known as NAFTA) that was ushered in by President Bill Clinton in 1994.
Finally, on Monday, the president and first lady Melania Trump attended the College Football Championship in New Orleans between LSU and Clemson, where they walked out onto the field before kickoff and waved to the crowd before lining up for the national anthem. LSU captured the title, defeating Clemson, 42-25.
For these stories and more, go to washingtonexaminer.com. Subscribe to the Washington Examiner YouTube channel. Like us on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter and Instagram.


thewashingtonexaminer--2020-01-17--Former Jeb Bush aide on GOP senators and impeachment: 'They all know Trump is guilty'

A top aide of 2016 presidential candidate and former Florida Gov .
Jeb Bush claimed Republican senators believe President Trump is guilty ahead of his Senate impeachment trial .
`` They all know Trump is guilty , '' wrote the Bulwark 's Tim Miller in a Friday op-ed .
`` The only question is whether or not they can avoid admitting this , out loud , before they vote to acquit him .
Every action Republicans take in the coming days should be viewed through the lens of them casting about for a strategy that lets them avoid telling voters @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Republican Sen. Martha McSally 's `` liberal hack '' insult to CNN journalist Manu Raju , Miller claimed Republicans `` pretend that things are what they aren ’ t '' and are intent on using the impeachment battle as an opportunity to support the president blindly .
`` The question for Republican senators becomes how to balance their knowledge that the president is guilty , with the fact that they are deathly afraid of saying anything the White House might think is disloyal , '' Miller argued .
He added , `` Senate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ telling lies while running interference for Trump .
They have no — literally zero — political incentives to stop now .
Of course they ’ re going to choose Door Number Two , for as long as it ’ s practicable . ''
Miller has been a vocal leader of the anti-Trump movement and claimed `` Hillary would beat him from jail '' in a 2016 interview with Politico .
He previously worked as the communications director for Bush and as a spokesman for the Republican National Committee .

A top aide of 2016 presidential candidate and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush claimed Republican senators believe President Trump is guilty ahead of his Senate impeachment trial.
"They all know Trump is guilty," wrote the Bulwark's Tim Miller in a Friday op-ed. "The only question is whether or not they can avoid admitting this, out loud, before they vote to acquit him. Every action Republicans take in the coming days should be viewed through the lens of them casting about for a strategy that lets them avoid telling voters what they actually believe."
Highlighting Republican Sen. Martha McSally's "liberal hack" insult to CNN journalist Manu Raju, Miller claimed Republicans "pretend that things are what they aren’t" and are intent on using the impeachment battle as an opportunity to support the president blindly.
"The question for Republican senators becomes how to balance their knowledge that the president is guilty, with the fact that they are deathly afraid of saying anything the White House might think is disloyal," Miller argued.
He added, "Senate Republicans have spent three years getting comfortable telling lies while running interference for Trump. They have no — literally zero — political incentives to stop now. Of course they’re going to choose Door Number Two, for as long as it’s practicable."
Miller has been a vocal leader of the anti-Trump movement and claimed "Hillary would beat him from jail" in a 2016 interview with Politico. He previously worked as the communications director for Bush and as a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.