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Republicans Tag

House Republicans desperately want to reform taxes, but so far the only plan they have developed has gained no leverage. That's because border adjustment makes up a majority of the plan, which few, including top retailers, want anything to do with. The border adjustment is a tariff. It adds a tax on imports, which will inevitably raise prices on consumers. Common sense economics: A business must make a profit in order to supply goods and services. It cannot do that without money. In order to make money when a tax is added or raised, the business must raise the price on its goods in order to make that profit.

House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) and Rep. Pete King (R-NY) laid out the details on the legislative agenda for the House for the next 100 days when they appeared on AM 790 in New York:
"We're going to be going full steam to move forward with the Trump agenda to make America great again," Rep. Pete King (R-L.I.) said on John Catsimatidis' "Cats Roundtable" radio program on AM 970 in New York. "Basically Donald Trump has said it's not only a change in president or change of party, it's really a whole change of philosophy. And it's a whole new movement basically to give power back to the people," he said. "And it's going to be more assertive as far as America is concerned. It's no doubt he is determined, and he didn't back down at all … It's definitely a new era in American history."

In recent years, Republicans won a majority of governor elections, growing to 31 states. Even blue states like Massachusetts which don't often vote Republican for president, will sometimes hand the role of governor to the GOP. As far as 2016 goes, Republicans don't have much to worry about. The Washington Post reports:
Republicans still have a shot at a record number of governors’ mansions, but Democrats aren’t going without a fight Republicans have a chance to build on their majorities and win a record number of governors' seats in 2016. Democrats are doing everything they can to stop them.

For months now, "smart" people on the left and the right have claimed that Donald Trump would destroy the Republican Party's chances of holding onto the Senate. It's now looking as though those predictions were premature. Mike DeBonis of the Washington Post:
Democratic hopes of winning Senate fade as Trump proves less toxic for Republicans Democrats are now facing a tougher road to capturing the Senate majority as the presidential race tightens and Donald Trump is not proving to be the dramatic drag on down-ballot candidates that Republicans once feared.

As we reported recently, the College Republicans at Cornell University were stripped of their credentials by the New York Federation of College Republicans for endorsing Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson. The group is now fighting to be reinstated. The Cornell Daily Sun reports:
Cornell Republicans Fight Expulsion, Enlist Attorney in Appeal to National Committee The Cornell College Republicans filed an administrative appeal with the College Republican National Committee today demanding to be immediately reinstated to the New York Federation of College Republicans.

The College Republicans at Cornell University have endorsed the Libertarian Party candidate, Gary Johnson. They announced their support for Johnson in a post on Facebook:
Dear Members and Alumni, The Cornell Republicans, as the official representatives of the Republican Party at Cornell, are dedicated to promoting limited government and individual freedom. But our organization does not solely represent the Republican Party. Our first responsibility is to our members: libertarians, moderates, neoconservatives, and everyone in between. We value our ideological diversity and welcome differing perspectives.

Carly Fiorina is no longer running for president, but it looks like she already has another job in mind. Many people are speculating that she will throw her hat into the ring to replace Reince Priebus as chair of the RNC. Time reports:
Carly Fiorina Plotting Bid to Chair Republican National Committee Former HP CEO and 2016 presidential contender Carly Fiorina is actively laying the groundwork for a bid to be the next chair of the Republican National Committee, according to state GOP officials who have followed her plans.

This story is a perfect example of why everyone hates Congress. The senate tried to pass a bill funding research and prevention of the Zika Virus. Democrats blocked it and fully intend to blame the GOP for any spread of the virus. Politico reports:
Democrats block Zika funding bill, blame GOP Congress is poised for an epic failure in its efforts to combat Zika before lawmakers leave Washington for a seven-week vacation — and it could come back to bite Republicans at the ballot box if there’s an outbreak of the mosquito-borne virus in the United States this summer.

As he has repeatedly stated, Obama is confident that a Democrat will win the White House in November, and now Harry Reid is expressing that he is "fairly certain" that Democrats will take back the Senate this year. The Hill reports:
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said on Sunday that he thinks his party will win back the majority in the Senate this year. During a radio interview with John Catsimatidis, Reid detailed the Democratic efforts against several vulnerable GOP senators up for reelection this year.
Considering that Democrats need win only five Senate seats (they currently have 46 seats, including the two Independents who caucus with them) to accomplish this goal and given the disarray on the right, Reid's prediction seems far less laughable than it would have only a year ago. The Hill continues:
“We only need four [seats] to take the majority,” he said. “With the numbers I’ve given you, it’s going to be a fairly certain thing that we can do that.”

One of the most fascinating aspects of the Republican side of the 2016 election has been the sharp divide among conservatives over Donald Trump. People tend to fall into one of three camps; love him, hate him or will support him if he's the nominee. On one side, you've got multiple conservative writers and thinkers who insist Trump isn't a conservative at all, as we saw with the special edition of National Review. On the other side, you have people like Sean Hannity of FOX News, Jim Hoft of the Gateway Pundit and John Nolte of Breitbart, all conservatives who appear enthusiastic about Trump's rise.

Just four years ago, the Democrats were calling the GOP the party of old white people. Today, Democrats are running two old white people while the Republican candidates have been extremely diverse. Despite this new reality, Hillary Clinton is clinging to accusations of racism against Republicans, in this case because there is opposition to letting Obama choose Justice Scalia's successor. The Washington Post reports:
Clinton: ‘Racial language,’ ‘bigotry’ part of Republican Supreme Court delay Days after Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia died suddenly in Texas, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has fused two of the most controversial issues of the 2016 campaign — the debate over who should choose Scalia’s successor, and race.

Anyone who a year ago picked Donald Trump and Ted Cruz to be the two leading Republican candidates heading into the Iowa Caucuses either (i) is a liar, or (ii) should invest heavily in the lottery because they are beyond lucky. Certainly, the powers that be in the Republican Party were not expecting it. Here's what a Fox News poll looked like in January 2015: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/interactive/2015/01/29/fox-news-poll-voters-believe-romney-clinton-remain-top-picks-for-2016-believe/ The pollster didn't even bother to ask about Trump. And Cruz was in low single digits. Now Trump is on top in the national polls and Cruz is in second place. In Iowa, three polls released today show Cruz leading, a dead heat, and Trump leading.

Given the atmosphere of deep political division that has widened and deepened during Obama's presidency and the clear dissatisfaction among Republican primary voters, Gallup's latest poll on party identification makes sense. According to Gallup, the percentage of people who identify with either the Democrat or Republican party is "nearing historic" lows.
In 2015, for the fifth consecutive year, at least four in 10 U.S. adults identified as political independents. The 42% identifying as independents in 2015 was down slightly from the record 43% in 2014. This elevated percentage of political independents leaves Democratic (29%) and Republican (26%) identification at or near recent low points, with the modest Democratic advantage roughly where it has been over the past five years.
Despite knowing better, I am sometimes surprised by how very few Americans actually identify as Democrat.  It seems that they dominate the news and the culture, so it's easy to forget that they make up such an insignificant portion of the electorate.   I'm never surprised that Republicans make up an even more insignificant portion.