As White House Dysfunction Becomes More Apparent, Trump's Approval Sags

This week's embodiment of corrupt Trumpist dysfunction-- rodeo clown Ryan Zinke

Miss all those polls that we got to read every couple of days in the run-up to the elections? (Did any of them predict a net 40 seats flipping?) A couple of new ones came out today. The one I thought the most worthwhile though was from NBC and the Wall Street Journal.

Generally speaking, fewer people (33%) believe the country is headed in the right direction and more (56%) say it's headed in the wrong direction. Trump's job approval is also down to it's lowest point since last spring-- 43% approve and 54% disapprove. In terms of "feelings" towards Trump... 24% very positive, 13% somewhat positive, 11% neutral, 9% somewhat negative and a whopping 43% very negative. His "very negative" numbers have been in the 40s and 50s since October, 2015 when only 39% of Americans felt that way about him. When asked who do you want to see take the lead role in setting policy for the country- Trump, Republicans in Congress, or Democrats in Congress? Trump was at his lowest point since they began asking in when he first occupied the White House in January, 2017 (when 28% wanted him to take the leading role). It is now just 19% Trump, 21% Republicans in Congress and 48% Democrats in Congress, the highest ever for Democrats in Congress. When registered voters were asked who they would vote for in 2020:

• Definitely Trump- 23%
• Probably Trump- 15%
• Probably the Democrat- 13%
• Definitely the Democrat- 39%

Asked in House Dems should investigate Trump, 55% said yes and 43% said No. More feelings:

• Republican Party: 32% positive, 42% negative
• Democratic Party: 39% positive, 37% negative
• Michelle Obama: 60% postive, 22% negative
• Nancy Pelosi: 28% positive, 41% negative (this is before she kicked Trump's ass in the Oval Office last week)
• China: 10% postive, 46% negative
• Saudi Arabia: 6% positive, 59% negative

• Russia: 6% positive, 58% negative
• FBI- 51% positive, 17% negative
• Robert Mueller: 30% postive, 23% negative

And... speaking of Russia, the FBI and Mueller, here are some relevant questions they asked on the topic of Putin-Gate. Asked in they agree with the statement "Donald Trump has been honest and truthful when it comes to the investigation into Russian interference with the 2016 presidential election and related matters," 34% agreed and 62% disagreed (51% strongly).

Another question: "Based on what you have been seen, read, or heard about Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller’s investigation, has it given you more doubts about Donald Trump's presidency or not?" 50% said more doubts and 44% said no doubts. 34% of respondents said the investigation should end and 45% said it should continue.


Trump Regime-- A Culture Of Corruption Far Beyond Swamps

The Swamp by Nancy Ohanian

Yesterday, House Democrats put out the details of HR-1, their first bill in the new Congress, a sweeping anti-corruption bill aimed at showing they want to stamp out the influence of money in politics and guaranteeing that all American citizens really do have the right to vote. Most Americans-- by a huge majority and regardless of party-- want Congress to pass legislation that will get the influence of money out of politics. Trump would never sign any such anti-corruption bill even if Schumer-- probably not a fan either-- were to somehow persuade McConnell to allow it to be voted on by the Senate. But by making anti-corruption appear to be a real-- their No. 1-- priority, House Dems stick a thumb in the eye of Republicans, although it will be interesting to see how equally corrupt New Dems try to water the legislation down.

Elizabeth Warren’s Senate anti-corruption bill was introduced in the House by John Sarbanes (D-MD) and Pramila Jayapal (D-WA). Sarbanes and Pelosi introduced the new details of the Democratic package yesterday. The bill itself should be ready by January 3, the first day of the new session. These are the 3 main planks:

Campaign finance

• Public financing of campaigns
• Passing David Cicilline’s DISCLOSE Act, which requires Super PACs to make their donors public.
• Passing the Honest Ads Act, which forces Facebook and Twitter to disclose the source of money of political ads on their platforms.

Ethics

• Requiring presidents to disclose tax returns.
• Stopping members of Congress from using taxpayer money to settle sexual harassment cases or buy first-class plane tickets.
• Giving the Office of Government Ethics the power to do more oversight and enforcement and put in stricter lobbying registration requirements.
• Create a new ethical code for the US Supreme Court, ensuring all branches of government are impacted by the new law.

Voting rights

• Creating new national automatic voter registration that asks voters to opt out, rather than opt in. Early voting and online voting would also be promoted.
• Restoring the Voting Rights Act and ending partisan gerrymandering in federal elections.
• Beefing up elections security, including requiring the Director of National Intelligence to do regular checks on foreign threats.

Ironically, just as Pelosi and Sarbanes were introducing the details of HR-1, the Washington Post was publishing an OpEd, Trump’s inner circle has always been a cesspool, by Republican columnist Michael Gerson, a neo-con and former Bush administration official. Writing of longtime Trump crony and advisor, Roger Stone, Gerson noted that he “has raised the I’m-a-mendacious-windbag defense— essentially claiming that he is a serial liar who inflated his own contacts and influence to get attention. This has a level of credibility. He is, in fact, a mendacious windbag. But the argument ‘Believe me now, I have always been an inveterate liar’ has practical, as well as logical, limitations.”

Here is one fact beyond dispute. Look at the men whom Trump has traditionally surrounded himself with: Stone, Corsi, Paul Manafort, Cohen. These are some of the least reputable people in American politics. Trump’s inner circle has always been a cesspool.

And there is a reason for this-- a reason Trump has traditionally employed unethical people to serve his purposes. It is because he has unethical jobs for them to do, involving schemes to remove political threats and gain electoral advantage. And there is every reason to believe that Trump has fully participated in such schemes.

Hours later, a pissing match broke out between Raúl Grijalva, the next chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, and one of these corrupt Trumpists, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Zinke flipped out when he read Grijalva’s USAToday OdEd, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke must resign. His multiple scandals show he's unfit to serve. “Ryan Zinke,” he began, so no would miss the point, “needs to resign immediately as Secretary of the Interior. I take no pleasure in calling for this step, and I have resisted it even as questions have grown about Mr. Zinke’s ethical and managerial failings. Unfortunately, his conduct in office and President Donald Trump’s neglect in setting ethical standards for his own cabinet have made it unavoidable. While the secretary continues to project confidence, questions have grown since the election about his future plans, and the White House reportedly fears that he would be unable to withstand scrutiny on Capitol Hill. Those fears are justified. Mr. Zinke has never even tried to offer an explanation for the sheer scope of his well-documented scandals.

This silence is insulting to the American people, and given the Nov. 6 election results it is unsustainable. Continuing in office as though nothing has changed only shows how little Mr. Zinke has learned over the past year and a half. He holds his job as a public trust, not as a stepping stone to his further personal ambitions. He has abused that trust and damaged the Interior Department in the process. The least he can do is step down and give his successor a chance to begin reversing that damage.

Zinke is embroiled in scandals and nepotism

It’s worth recounting how far that abuse went on Republicans’ watch. As has been widely reported, an Interior Department inspector general investigation of Mr. Zinke-- one of at least 17 publicly known formal probes of either him or his department since he took office-- was recently referred to the Justice Department.The referral centers on a land development project called 95 Karrow in Mr. Zinke’s hometown of Whitefish, Mont., involving David Lesar, the chairman of oil contractor Halliburton; his son John; and a Montana property developer named Casey Malmquist. The proposal would increase the value of land controlled by Mr. Zinke’s family.

I am the ranking member of the House Natural Resources Committee, which oversees the Interior Department, and earlier this year I asked my staff to look into this relationship. They discovered that Mr. Zinke met with all three men on Aug. 3, 2017, in his office, then led them on a private tour of the Lincoln Memorial. Mr. Zinke's public calendar does not include the attendees of the meeting or of the Lincoln tour-- we know about this only because Mr. Zinke’s scheduler mentioned it to him in a personal email.

When three of us on the committee publicized that finding in our call for an investigation of 95 Karrow, we had no idea where the facts would lead. The important thing to us was that Mr. Zinke not be allowed to treat his office as a source of personal enrichment. The fact that the Justice Department was alerted is Mr. Zinke’s fault, not the fault of the media or anyone else his office has chosen to blame.

While a referral to Justice should not be taken lightly, the case against Mr. Zinke ultimately rests on much more fundamental grounds. Beyond his personal foibles, he has overseen the degradation of his department’s senior work force in the name of enforcing “loyalty” to himself and the Trump administration; announced his intention to cut thousands of permanent positions; prompted mass resignations from a nonpartisan National Park Service advisory board by refusing to meet with members; and tied his own employees and aides in knots to make himself and his wife more financially comfortable.

These are not the hallmarks of an effective leader. We would hardly look the other way at the mayor of a small town, let alone a cabinet secretary, who faced unending ethical questions, formal investigations and substantiated claims of attempted nepotism.

His policy direction at Interior is equally unfortunate. He has overseen the dumbing down of science, often with a partisan edge. On his watch, rather than advancing their agencies’ multiple-use mission for public lands, many on staff spend their days relaxing environmental and permitting standards for fossil fuel companies. They are forced to remove mentions of humans’ climate change impacts from official reports.

They are instructed, above all, to make President Donald Trump’s “energy dominance” agenda the sole guiding principle of environmental policy, regardless of the consequences. That's even though the giveaways it entails are so extreme that a spokeswoman for the pro-industry Western Energy Alliance once said they exceeded even her funders’ wildest expectations.

Zinke scrutiny will only intensify if I'm chairman

As ranking member, I have sent dozens of unanswered letters seeking information about Interior Department policies and Mr. Zinke’s conduct. Should I chair the committee in January, as I hope to do, those questions will only intensify as part of my and my colleagues’ legitimate oversight duties. If Mr. Zinke stays, stonewalling in the belief that a cabinet secretary answers only to Trump would be a mistake.

Such scrutiny will extend to his successor, who should not be encouraged by Mr. Zinke’s example. Doing whatever you like and then leaving office a half-step ahead of a formal investigation is not public service, especially if you end up working for an industry you formerly regulated. The election results were about clean government as much as any particular policy choice, and the next Interior secretary will be watched as closely as the one before.

The American people need an Interior Department focused on addressing climate change, enhancing public recreation, protecting endangered species and upholding the sovereign rights of Native American communities. These are not matters of personal preference-- they are enshrined in law and supported by voters. The department needs someone accountable at the helm who believes in this mission.

Mr. Zinke is not that person. Federal agencies cannot function without credible leadership, and he offers none. He needs to resign.

Zinke responded like a righteously indignant pre-teen-- so, basically, like Trump-- with a nasty and personal tweet, demonizing Grijalva:

Trump's Congressional Warriors-- Untouchable?

Trump has the worst and most incompetent cabinet of any American president. And the most corrupt. By far. The fish rots from the head, right? And his supporters in Congress! What a bunch! We've talked a lot about Devin Nunes here... but there are others just as bad. Kyle Cheney did a little round up for Politico readers Monday. Short version: Matt Gaetz (FL), Ron DeSantis (FL), Jim Jordan (OH) and Mark Meadows (NC). DeSantis is running for governor of Florida in November-- more on that below-- and the 3 others don't have serious challenges for re-election. Here's are 4 with the PVIs of their districts and the percentage of votes Hillary got in each:

• Gaetz (FL-01) R+22 (28.2%)
• DeSantis (FL-06) R+7 (39.9%)
• Jordan (OH-04) R+14 (30.7%)
• Meadows (NC-11) R+14 (34.0%)

Trump calls them his "warriors": a band of four House Republicans defending Trump with a relentless counterattack against the Justice Department’s Russia investigation that thrills the president even as it unsettles some House GOP colleagues who think they’re going too far.

This crew of hard-charging conservatives, whom Trump singled out by name in late April, have emerged as some of Washington’s most prominent Republicans, enjoying direct lines to the Trump White House and flights on Air Force One.

"Look, we have some absolute warriors," Trump told Fox News on April 26 when asked about his relationship with Congress, name-checking "Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows and Matt Gaetz and [Ron] DeSantis.”

Their emergence underscores a reality of the Trump era: power and prominence on Capitol Hill these days often flow not to the most senior lawmakers but to Republicans who display allegiance to a president who prizes loyalty. None of the four holds a powerful committee chairmanship, but they have something just as important: regular airtime on Fox News. And their pressure campaign against the Justice Department and FBI has put Mueller’s boss, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein on the defensive.

The scorched-earth approach by the relatively junior members-- only Jordan has served more than three terms-- is in some ways reminiscent of the way a young GOP congressman named Newt Gingrich, joined by a group of back bench House colleagues, shocked Washington in the mid-1980s with their theatrical attacks on Democratic leaders.

It has similarly enraged liberals today, who say that Trump’s “warriors” care only about protecting the president-- and may even be conspiring with him to create a pretext for firing Rosenstein.

On Thursday, the left-leaning public watchdog group Democracy21 accused Meadows and Jordan of “colluding to obstruct and potentially give Trump control over” Mueller’s probe. Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) the top Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, says they are “trying to sabotage” Mueller, and “want to force a confrontation with the Deputy Attorney General.”

It all helps explain why Gaetz, a 35-year-old freshman from Florida, routinely gets calls from the president, including critiques of his Fox News appearances, and has flown at least twice on Air Force One. In a November House floor speech, Gaetz called on Mueller to resign, warning of the “risk of a coup d'état in this country if we allow an unaccountable person with no oversight to undermine the duly-elected president of the United States.”

The 39-year-old DeSantis, who last week called for criminal investigations of former FBI director James Comey and his former deputy Andrew McCabe, won Trump’s early endorsement in Florida’s contested GOP primary for governor. He has also proposed cutting off funding for Mueller’s investigation.

Meadows, 58, a North Carolinian who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, speaks with Trump on a regular basis and has been floated as a potential successor for the beleaguered White House chief of staff, John Kelly.

He and Jordan, who is vice chairman of the Freedom Caucus, have led the charge against Rod Rosenstein, against whom they have drafted articles of impeachment in response to what they call Rosenstein’s unacceptable delays in turning over documents related both to Mueller’s investigation-- as well as the 2016 FBI probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email server, which they suspect should have resulted in criminal action against Clinton. The two men even visited the Justice Department last month for a tense face-to-face meeting in which they demanded a faster response to their document requests.

...Jordan, a 54-year-old fifth-term congressman from Ohio who has been particularly loyal to Trump-- he drew national attention last month for telling CNN he has never heard the president lie-- said he believes the Justice Department is biased against the president and has lost sight of the principle of “equal treatment under the law."... The four House Republicans have taken the lead on Russia in the weeks since the House Intelligence Committee, chaired by the Trump-friendly Rep. Devin Nunes, wrapped up its probe into Russian election interference, which featured aggressive GOP questioning of the Justice Department.

Jordan, Gaetz and DeSantis sit on the House Judiciary Committee, which has jurisdiction over the Justice Department. Meadows, Jordan and DeSantis are also on the House Oversight Committee, which has broad authority to question the executive branch and has probed the FBI's handling of the 2016 Clinton investigation and other decision-making by the bureau as the Trump-Russia probe was launched.

...Gaetz and his allies said they are stepping up the pressure now, for fear that Justice Department officials like Rosenstein are playing a long game, hoping that-- with midterm elections coming and Republicans lagging in the polls-- time is on their side.

"I worry that there may be some people at the Department of Justice and the FBI who think they can wait us out, who think that Democrats will retake the majority and that oversight will fizzle to a burnt ember," he said. "We’ve got to keep the fire going now.”

Gaetz has raised $597,891 and his Democratic opponent, Phil Ehr has raised $127,253. Jordan has raised $327,443 and his Democratic opponent, Janet Garrett has raised $57,510. And Meadows has raised $519,911 and his likeliest Democratic opponent, Scott Donaldson, has raised $47,853.

The most likely of the quarter to suffer at the hands of voters for his extremism is DeSantis, the far right candidate for Florida governor. It's an open seat and DeSantis has to first face a crowded primary including establishment Republican Adam Putnam. Most polls show Putnam beating DeSantis, even though Trump has endorsed DeSantis, as have Sheldon Adelson the Mercers and neo-fascists Sean Hannity, David Bossie, Foster Friess and Mark Levin. Every poll shows evert Democrat beating DeSantis. Blue America has endorsed Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum, easily the best of the Democratic field, and you can contribute to his very grassroots campaign at the ActBlue gubernatorial thermometer on the right.

Only The Best People

One of the billion or so lies from the Trumpanzee family was when Ivanka spoke at the Republican National Convention-- the one that insinuated that Trump isn't a racist and that claimed he hires the "best people"-- two whoppers. Watch; it's just 17 seconds. He's hired and fired more top people in the shortest amount of time than Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W, Bush and Barack Obama combined. Who's next? I know who it should be. And so does Lindsey Graham. At a press gaggle about the shutdown yesterday Graham said that "Every time we have a proposal it is only yanked back by staff members. As long as Stephen Miller is in charge of negotiating immigration, we're going nowhere... the White House staff, I think, is making it very difficult." Miller is a notorious racist-- and has been since high school-- and he has kept Trump from compromising on the DREAMers. He had a White House spokesperson send a warning shot over Graham's bow:

"As long as Senator Graham chooses to support legislation that sides with people in this country illegally and unlawfully instead of our own American citizens, we are going nowhere. He’s been an outlier for years."

Trump has been feuding on and off from months with Miller's mentor, Jeff Sessions. Many people think Trump will give him the ax next. But... two reports from Jonathan Swan in Axios yesterday indicate that "next" could mean either Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross or Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke. Trump seems to have lost confidence in Ross some time ago.

Ross’s efforts to wheel and deal with the Chinese have left the president unimpressed. Another problem: He keeps falling asleep in meetings.

Early in Trump’s presidency, Ross was his go-to negotiator, helming the administration’s trade talks with the Chinese. After a few months, though, Trump concluded he was doing a terrible job.

In a series of Oval Office meetings about six months into his presidency, Trump eviscerated Ross, telling him he’d screwed up, and badly.

“These trade deals, they’re terrible,” Trump said, according to a source in the room for one of the meetings. “Your understanding of trade is terrible. Your deals are no good. No good.”

Trump told Ross he didn’t trust him to negotiate anymore. Ross had tried in the early months of the administration, before Robert Lighthizer was confirmed as the U.S. Trade Representative, to take the lead on several crucial trade conversations. Once Lighthizer arrived there was a tussle for control over several issues. But after Ross botched-- in Trump's eyes-- his dealings with China, he decided Lighthizer would be the lead negotiator on all trade issues.

During this period, Trump humiliated Ross in front of his colleagues, per three sources, and questioned his intelligence and competence.

The Financial Times reported in August that Trump rejected a China steel deal that Ross thought he’d closed. But nobody has reported the extent of Trump’s castration of Ross. Trump has effectively taken his Commerce Secretary-- who he once called a “killer”-- off the playing field.

• One example: Ross made a deal to open the U.S. market to cooked Chinese chicken, in exchange for the Chinese opening their market to American beef. Ross told reporters it was a “herculean accomplishment,” and “more than has been done in the whole history of U.S.-China relations on trade,” per the AP.
• But Trump wasn’t impressed with this deal-- at all-- and told our sources he found Ross’s boasting to be laughable and ridiculous.

Ross’s propensity to doze off in meetings-- which senior Capitol Hill aides have noticed-- hasn’t helped.

Ross entered the administration as one of Trump’s favorites, poised to be a power player. Trump has known Ross since the bankruptcy tycoon helped keep him financially afloat in the early 1990s. Trump was proud that Ross-- this billionaire Wall Street legend-- wanted to work for him.

“Wilbur is so famous on Wall Street he only needs one name,” Trump said in an early meeting with White House visitors, according to a source in the room. “You don’t even need to say his last name; you just say Wilbur and they know who you’re talking about.”

... [S]ources close to Trump say he’ll never again trust the 80-year-old to be his “killer” negotiator. The recent Forbes article-- revealing that Ross vastly exaggerated his net worth-- did not help his internal standing.

“Wilbur’s been sucking up for months, trying to get back in the president’s good graces,” said a source close to Trump.

Moments late Swan posted a similar story about Zinke, this one about Trump's displeasure about Zinke "going rogue."

Two weeks ago, Zinke made an announcement that surprised the White House (and over Twitter, no less, after telling reporters at the Tallahassee airport): the waters around Florida would be exempt from his agency’s offshore oil and gas leasing program. Zinke’s announcement came shortly after he met with the state’s Republican governor, Rick Scott.

Trump has made clear to Zinke that he’s angry about this move, according to two sources with direct knowledge. Zinke's decision is both legally and politically dangerous for the Trump administration. Zinke did not coordinate with anybody, and gave the White House no forewarning of his controversial action.

...Environmental groups and attorneys general from other coastal states will likely use the move to justify suing the federal government, arguing it was arbitrary and capricious to remove Florida but not other coastal states.

Zinke’s move is targeting the waters with the richest oil and gas resources: the Eastern Gulf of Mexico next to Florida. This undercuts Trump’s energy dominance agenda. For that reason, former officials of the agency predict the department will try to find a way to include at least portions of it in the final plan.

...Multiple sources tell me it would be a massive stretch to say this incident has ruined Zinke's relationship with Trump. There's nothing irreparable here, though the incident has damaged Zinke's standing in the administration.

Or maybe it will be Kelly who's the next to be headed for the busy exit. According to Vanity Fair, Ivanka is already looking for a new chief of staff for her insane father. Gabriel Sherman reported yesterday that Trump said "I’ve got another nut job here who thinks he's running things."

Sherman reported that "Trump’s anger at Kelly’s immigration comments is the latest flare-up in a relationship that has been deteriorating for months. A four-star marine general, Kelly was never going to be an easy fit in a West Wing with a Lord of the Flies office culture. Staffers have bristled at Kelly’s rectitude, nicknaming him 'the Church Lady,' a former official said... Trump has increasingly been chafing at the media narrative that he needs Kelly to instill discipline on his freewheeling management style. 'The more Kelly plays up that he’s being the adult in the room-- that it’s basically combat duty and he’s serving the country-- that kind of thing drives Trump nuts,' a Republican close to the White House said. In recent days, Trump has fumed to friends that Kelly acts like he’s running the government while Trump tweets and watches television."

White House Shakeup-- Who's Next? by Nancy Ohanian

Will Ryan Zinke Be The First Trump Cabinet Member Impeached?

Each of the executive departments has its own inspector general whose job is to keep the department from breaking any laws or straying too far into blatant corruption. And, believe me, with the Teapot Dome scandal on 1921-- which saw Interior Secretary Albert Fall imprisoned for taking bribes (first Cabinet member ever to go to jail for misconduct in office)-- always hanging over the head of the Interior Department, there has always-- at least post-Teapot Dome-- been a very active office of the inspector general there. It acts as an auditor of the department's operations, ensuring they're operating in compliance with generally established policies, as well as looking out for the possibility of misconduct, waste, fraud, theft, or certain types of criminal activity by individuals or groups related to the agency.

It probably won't surprise you to know that Señor Trumpanzee hasn't been especially diligent about appointing inspectors general. The Interior Department doesn't have one. Right now the office is headed by Mary Kendall, the Deputy Inspector General. She was an attorney at the EPA for much of her career and was appointed Deputy Inspector General at the Department of the Interior in 1999. Trumpanzee hasn't bothered to fire her yet despite her sterling and fierce reputation for honesty and integrity. Trump appointed a crooked political hack, Ryan Zinke, as the Secretary of the Interior and, predictably, he's already gotten himself into trouble-- attempting to pressure Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowsky and Dan Sullivan to vote for TrumpCare.

"Pressure?" Oh, yes. Zinc threatened to cut off significant funding to the state of Alaska if they didn't fall in line. Sullivan, who did vote for TrumpCare, informed the media. Murkowsky told Zinke and Trumpet go to hell and voted against it, killing the bill. Frank Pallone and Raul Grijalva, ranking members, respectively of the House Energy and Commerce Committee and the House Natural Resources Committee requested that Kendell investigate Zinke's threats. Here's the letter she sent in response, confirming the investigation is under way:

Care2.com reported last week that "The Department of the Interior is heavily involved in the decision-making process for activities like granting oil and gas permits, reviewing mineral rights and using other natural resources on both federal and tribal lands. In Alaska, a state that relies heavily on resource extraction, a good relationship with the department is critical-- failure to gain approval from Interior could snarl major projects, including those bringing key jobs and other economic growth to remote communities... Zinke suggested that the state might come to regret the decision, in a veiled threat."

Sullivan and Murkowski both evidently received calls from Zinke with warnings about the state’s energy future, though they didn’t go into lengthy detail.

In addition to concerns about pending and future projects, the state is also worried about potential Interior Department appointments for people from Alaska. The positions can represent important jobs, as well as opportunities to help shape federal land use policy. And being shut out of these opportunities would leave the state at a disadvantage.

The Department of the Interior’s Inspector General’s Office just announced that it will be looking into reports of the threat. Internal investigations of this nature are important for the integrity of federal agencies.

If their investigation turns up evidence to support the concerns raised by people on both sides of the aisle, it would certainly cast a negative light on the Department of the Interior’s ethics. Many federal agencies are in a position to have tremendous influence over the social and economic well-being of individual states, and evidence of threats to states over individual votes is very troubling.

It could also raise some questions about whether ethically questionable activities could govern which projects are and aren’t approved at the agency.

While the Department of the Interior hasn’t responded to questions for comment, Zinke seems eager to smooth over rumor. He even posted a photograph of himself drinking beer with Senator Murkowski, calling them “friends,” as the news about the threats broke.

Murkowski’s office has also remained fairly tight-lipped about what happened during the call, playing down some of the allegations surrounding what Zinke said and how seriously she and her fellow senator took it.

Murkowski, notably, is quite popular in Alaska, and the concern driving her vote was with the speed of the legislation, not necessarily the content. The senator said she wasn’t pleased at how quickly it was moving, as the high speed left little time for thoughtfully considered hearings and opportunities to discuss the full ramifications of the legislation. Murkowski was also concerned by reports from her constituents, who worried that the Republican bill as presented might make it difficult to afford health care.

Señor Trumpanzee Has Jewish Grandchildren And He Probably Doesn't Want To Encourage Anti-Semitism... Probably

There are 4 Jews among the House freshmen, Jamie Raskin (D-MD), Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Brad Schneider (D-IL) and two who left, Alan Grayson (D-FL) and Steve Israel (D-NY). That means the 115th Congress will have 21 Jews in the House (20 Democrats and one Republican) and, with Barbara Boxer's retirement, 9 in the Senate. The most Jewish district in America (37.6% of the population) is NY-10 which takes in parts of Manhattan and Brooklyn and is represented by Jerry Nadler. Over the weekend, Nadler spoke out about Trump's bizarre nomination of right-wing extremist David Friedman to be ambassador to Israel.

Nadler's statement emphasized that the nomination "underscores, yet again, the extremist agenda of Donald Trump and his administration. This is an appointment with dangerous consequences for both the United States and Israel, not only with respect to the prospect of an eventual negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians, but also with respect to the relationship between our two countries, and more generally, to regional stability.

"Mr. Friedman’s views and comments about a two-state solution are not only a total break from decades of American and Israeli policy, but are fundamentally out-of-step with the views of the majority of American Jews. Support for a two-state solution is not only official U.S. policy, it is also the official Israeli policy when it comes to a negotiated settlement with the Palestinians. Breaking from this position undermines the longstanding diplomatic alignment between our two countries, and magnifies the risk to Israel’s long-term safety and security by increasing dangerous regional instability. Moreover, the overwhelming majority of American Jews, along with most American Jewish organizations across the spectrum-- from AIPAC to J-Street-- all support a two-state solution.  "Mr. Friedman’s appointment is even more disturbing given his hateful rhetoric in describing, for example, some supporters of a two-state solution as “worse than kapos.” Using Nazi imagery, such as the term kapo-- a reference to Jews who cooperated and/or assisted the Nazis during the Holocaust-- when referring to Jews or Israel today, no matter the circumstance, is broadly deemed to be anti-Semitic and should be condemned in the same way it would be if someone who was not Jewish were to use it.

"Mr. Friedman’s extreme views and use of such hateful language is an insult to the majority of American Jews.

"With the appointment of David Friedman, Donald Trump has continued the divisive politics that were regularly on display during his campaign. As another in a series of extremists to be appointed to top positions within the Administration, Mr. Friedman’s radical hardline positions place him far outside the mainstream of both American and Israeli policy and of American Jewry. His appointment is not only offensive to both American and Israeli Jews, it again signals the intent of Donald Trump and the Republicans who support him to align with extreme right-wing positions. Mr. Friedman’s views break with one of the fundamental building blocks of U.S. and Israeli policy, jeopardizing the U.S.-Israel relationship going forward."

Two of the Jews in Congress, Steve Cohen and John Yarmuth, represent districts with tiny Jewish populations, respectively Memphis and Louisville. Yarmuth posted a similar comment on his Facebook page: "Trump’s appointment of David Friedman as U.S. Ambassador to Israel is totally out of step with longstanding, bipartisan US foreign policy. At a challenging and precarious time in the Middle East, catering to right-wing inflammatory views that will unnecessarily strain our relationships in the region is extremely dangerous. We should be working toward a two-state solution, with both Jews and Palestinians living alongside each other in peace and security."



Meanwhile, there aren't many Jews in Montana at all-- maybe 6,000 people and 7 synagogues in Billings, Bozeman (2), Butte, Great Falls, Kalispell and Missoula. Trump won a huge victory in Montana, beating Hillary 279,240 (56.2%) to 177,709 (35.7%). Of the state's 56 counties, Trump won 50, although Hillary won Missoula, Butte and Bozeman. Whitefish is a small town, around 6,500 people, in Flathead County. That's Trump country. He beat Hillary in the county 65-28%. We mentioned Whitefish Saturday when we reported that Trumpist Nazi Richard Spencer was thinking about running for Congress. Although he lives in the DC suburbs, his mother lives in Whitefish. And now other Nazis are stirring up anti-Semitism in Whitefish.

One of the few newspapers anywhere in the country to endorse Trump, the neo-Nazi Daily Stormer has called on their people to "take action" against Jews in Whitefish, mostly because Spencer's mother, apparently also a Nazi, has a failing real estate business, normal people preferring to avid doing business with her.

The story claims the "vicious, evil race" has harmed the Whitefish business of Richard Spencer's mother. It quotes a story from the British newspaper Daily Mail that said Sherry Spencer "said she is being forced to sell a building she owns in the small town because residents are rebelling against her son."

...The Daily Stormer website has a tab called "Jewish Problem." It asks for donations from readers with a plea: "These bastards are always at our throats."

...Some of those targeted by Thursday's post are involved in Love Lives Here, a group that fights discrimination-- racial, ethnic, religious and gender-- in the Flathead. It was founded in 2009 in response to screenings of pro-Hitler films by a white separatist group called Kalispell Pioneer Little Europe. Daily Stormer calls Love Lives Here a "Jew terrorist group."

The Daily Stormer refers to Jews as a "vicious, evil race of hate-filled psychopaths" and "a people without shame" and winks at its supporters, "reminding" them not to be violent, while including names, photos, phone numbers, email addresses of Jews. Another prominent supporter of both Trump and Spencer, KKK leader David Duke, is backing the call to action against Montana Jews.

And, as long as we're talking about Montana and Nazis... how close is Ryan Zinke with his state's crackpot racist contingent? Too close, but just right for Steve Bannon, who helped get Cathy McMorris Rodgers iced for Zinke.

This is an integral part of Trumpism. I'm sure he'd like to make Jews feel-- like feudal European kings and later Russian czars did-- that they need to come to him for protection against his rabid followers. It's the flip side of the outrageous David Friedman nomination, which George W. Bush's ambassador to Israel, Daniel Kurtzer, wrote is hazardous to peace and "a serious mistake that should be rectified" in Saturday's NY Times. "[H]e is unsuitable to represent America in one of the most high-pressure diplomatic positions in the world. This call to withdraw Mr. Friedman’s name also reflects a sober assessment of the damage that could be caused to American interests and to Mr. Trump’s presidency by the reckless words for which Mr. Friedman is already known."

Mr. Friedman is unqualified for the position, but more important, he holds extreme views on the very issues that he will need to manage as a diplomat. Mr. Friedman would be representing not the American people but a small, extreme minority of Americans who have in mind the interests of a small, extreme minority in Israel.

Mr. Friedman has been publicly arguing that Israel has a right to build settlements and annex parts of the West Bank. He believes that the United States should recognize Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and move the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. He considers pro-peace groups such as J Street the equivalent of the Jewish kapos who collaborated with the Nazis at concentration camps.

His appointment suggests that Mr. Trump is comfortable with these positions, which is extremely perilous and unwise. If Mr. Trump does not agree with Mr. Friedman, but has appointed him because of personal ties and loyalty, then it is clear that Mr. Trump either does not know or does not care that the Friedman appointment could severely damage the United States and his administration.

Through his other appointments thus far, Mr. Trump has made it clear that he wants to take American policy in an abruptly new direction. In the Middle East, especially in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Mr. Trump’s approach is a prescription for trouble and the loss of American credibility.

The consequences of acting upon Mr. Friedman’s public suggestions are clearly dangerous. Moving the American Embassy to Jerusalem-- not a pressing issue for most Israelis-- will inspire riots across the Islamic world. The United States will rightly be accused of violating the very advice we have given to others to avoid taking unilateral actions on inflammatory issues.

Supporting Israeli settlement expansion will bring a quick death to the dream of a two-state solution, the only solution to this conflict to which a majority of Israelis and Palestinians both have subscribed. The demise of the two-state solution will please right-wing Israelis and their right-wing American supporters such as Mr. Friedman. But would that be in the interests of the United States and the Trump administration?

Mr. Friedman’s strategy of denigrating American civil society groups that support peace in the region will deepen the demonization of political opponents that marks our current political discourse. After his election, Mr. Trump suggested that he wanted to bridge divisions within our country. Mr. Friedman proudly announces that he wants to widen and deepen those divisions. Will Mr. Trump’s stated desire to heal or will Mr. Friedman’s divisive calls define the direction of the incoming administration?

In his first interview after the election, Mr. Trump told the the Wall Street Journal that he wanted to make the “ultimate deal” between Israel and the Palestinians and end “the war that never ends.” How could he believe that appointing Mr. Friedman, whose views are congruent with those of the extreme right in Israel, will make a peace deal easier? Does Mr. Trump not understand that the realization of any of the positions advocated by Mr. Friedman would drive the Palestinians (and the wider Arab world) away from the negotiating table?

Every action by the American ambassador to Israel is monitored closely and every word spoken by him dissected for hidden meaning. Mr. Trump’s predecessors always chose a representative in Tel Aviv who could possibly advance our interests or at least not hurt them by wild comments and inappropriate actions. Mr. Trump would be wise to follow the tradition of appointing an experienced professional as our ambassador to Israel. Mr. Friedman is not that person.

No, Montana Is NOT Irretrievably Lost To Democrats-- Not By A Long Shot

There was more blue in this gubernatorial map than in the presidential map

As we mentioned last night, flabby neo-Nazi Richard Spencer, is thinking about running for Congress-- the at-large seat Ryan Zinke will give up when the Senate confirms him as Donald Trump, Jr's Interior Secretary and animal-shooting pardner. Montana was one of the biggest of all the Trump states or, more likely, anti-Hillary states. He took 279,240 votes (56.5%) to her 177,709 (35.7%), The only states she did worse in were Wyoming (21.9%), West Virginia (26.5%), North Dakota (27.2%), Idaho (27.5%), Utah (27.5%), Oklahoma (28.9%), South Dakota (31.7%), Kentucky (32.7%), Arkansas (33.7%), Nebraska (33.7%), Alabama (34.4%) and Tennessee (34.7%)... some great company! She only won 6 of Montana's 56 counties, and only one-- practically unpopulated Glacier-- convincingly.

Four years previous, Montana took 8 counties and won 200,489 votes (42%) to Romney's 264,974 (55%). Steve Bullock was first elected governor that day as well and he did substantially better than Hillary or Obama. He won with 234,980 votes (49%) to Rick Hill's 226,555 (47%)-- and 12 counties. This year Bullock ran for re-election and won... with more votes than in 2012: 250,845 (50.2%) against a very rich but very certifiably insane Greg Gianforte, who walked away with 232,080 votes (46.4%). Trump's coattails, largely non-existent anywhere in the country, didn't do Pianoforte any good. In fact, Bullock won 2 counties that he lost in 2012: Lake and Park and upped his game in Missoula, Bozeman and Billings.

More Montanans voted to expand the state's medical marijuana law than voted for Bullock or for Trump. It passed 284,531 (57.6%) to 209,188 (42.4%). In fact, more people turned out to vote in the marijuana referendum than in the presidential race! I wonder if anyone is going to mention that to soon-to-be Attorney General Sessions.

So what about Zinke's soon-to-be former seat? If Herr Spencer is the candidate... well, can Montana Democrats get that lucky? But even if, as is likely, Spencer is defeated in a primary by a more garden variety Republican or chickens out entirely, Montana shouldn't be off-limits to a good Democrat. Although Tester has transmogrified into corporate shit, he first ran as a progressive and populist and beat a sitting senator. This time Zinke beat moderate Democrat Denise Juneau 285,358 (56.2%) to 205,919 (40.5%). Zinke won more votes than Trump and Juneau won more votes-- a lot more votes-- than Hillary. But Zinke had to spend big to win-- $5,824,421 to Juneau's $2,603,797. Although the DCCC didn't help at all, Pelosi's House Majority PAC spent $735,251 in Montana on Juneau's behalf.

Is it too much of a stretch to imagine that Trump screws up royally-- and fast-- and that Paul Ryan starts the process of taking away people's health insurance and threatening their Social Security and that Montana voters turn sour on Trump and the GOP-- and vote for a Democrat? It shouldn't be andmy first instinct is to say that it's worth an effort by a solid progressive... like Franke Wilmer. It's certainly worth remembering that in their primary, Montana picked Bernie over Hillary 51.5- 44.6% and that Bernie won 40 of the state's 56 counties. But to have any chance of winning that seat, the establishment and progressive wings of the Montana Democratic Party would have to get on the same page-- and with enough gusto to even be willing to write checks. The only candidate who could bring the party together and win the seat would be former Governor Brian Schweitzer. Montanans would love that. And if Schweitzer really wants to run against Trump in 2020...

Although Montana has a law allowing the governor to appoint an interim congressmember to fill a vacancy before a special election, Bullock has indicated he won't be doing that. (There will be no primaries in either party. County central committee members will select each party's nominee and there's likely to be a special election in May or June.)