Quick Takes (v67): He Wants to Be The Gov?

Today was a day of celebration in my neck of the woods.

President Biden came to town, along with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, and Governor Kathy Hochul.

They were all here, along with Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon, business and labor organizations, education folks, and other community leaders and invited guests, who joined Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra to celebrate the chip company's long-term, $100B investment in Onondaga County that will bring some 40,000 jobs to the area over the next two decades. 

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R- Crime Stoppers Fan Club) the guy who wants to be governor of our state, was in Syracuse to talk about crime (what else?) and was asked about the Micron project. Here's what he had to say about it.

I think the Micron deal tells you a story of where the business climate is right now in this state. See in other states, they have businesses coming to the state because of low taxes, the regulatory environment, state agencies are run with a very pro-business approach. The business climates in other states are so much better, businesses just move to the state. There’s no way to get Micron to come to New York for low taxes. There’s no way to get Micron to come to New York because of the great regulatory environment. They’re not coming here because the state agencies are run by this great pro-business culture. They’re not coming here because we have one of the best business climates in the country. 

You have to look at why they’re coming here, how we got here, what it took to get them here, because the fact that we’ve reached the point where we essentially have to bribe businesses to come to New York with billions of dollars of tax breaks, who won’t come here otherwise, I think highlights this state is heading in the wrong direction. Because we want other businesses to come to New York. 

And on what will happen if he's elected, he added

We’ll work with Micron. We’ll do whatever we can to improve the business climate in this state, but as far as bringing other businesses to this state, we really have to get much smarter with our mindset.

Perhaps Rep. Zeldin should get his head out of the daily NYC crime reports (he tweets them regularly), and pay attention to what's required to secure deals like this. The truth is, they don't just fall from the sky and land in someone's lap. It's not like the opening of a hot dog stand, for Pete's sake. 

If you don't believe me, listen to the people in central Texas, who fought long and hard for the Micron deal. 

LOCKHART, Texas — On Tuesday, Micron Technology announced a new investment worth up to $100 billion in Central New York. The company had forced a bargaining battle between Clay, New York, and Lockhart, Texas.

"It was billions in tax savings, both ad valorem and sales tax. It was billions in our rates for electric and water, so all of those combined made the billions of dollars," Caldwell County Judge Hoppy Haden said. "The art of dealmaking is knowing when to, you know, say, 'That's my best offer. It's my best and final.'" 

Haden led the team offering the multibillion-dollar incentive package for the Lockhart area. 

I guess we should be happy Zeldin will "work with Micron" if he's elected, but I can't help wondering what would have happened had he been the governor already. Would we be welcoming the company to New York, or would we be waving goodbye to the Micron opportunity as it passed us by on the way to Texas? (Speaking of waving goodbye to opportunity, here's what Rep. Zeldin had to say when NYC lost the Amazon HQ2 project to Virginia.)

As governor, would he have collaborated with everyone - folks from both sides of the aisle - to ensure passage of the legislation that helped bring this deal to NY? Who knows - but there is one thing we do know. 

He didn't vote for it. 

Sunday School 10/23/22

For your Sunday School, I started in the Fox News Sunday classroom, where host Shannon Bream chatted with Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX) about immigration and more.

Bream mentioned Cuellar's many conversations with the Biden administration on immigration, and asked if he thought the border is secure. Cuellar, who was born and raised in Laredo and represents the city today, was clear. With nearly 5M people crossing illegally in two years, between those we've apprehended and "the getaways,"

No... it's not secured... I started telling the transition team in December of 2020, this is what's going to be happening. You all have to be ready... we can be compassionate at the border, but you've got to enforce the law. And if you don't return people, then this is what you're going to have.

He also provided a great football analogy about immigration.

... look, we can spend all the defense on the one-yard line called the US/Mexico border, but if we don't go to their 20- yard line, work with Guatemala, work with Mexico and - and get them engaged so they can stop those folks from coming in, then they're just going to be at our doorsteps...

And how does he respond to his opponent's accusation that he "can't point to anything concrete" he's done about immigration? After noting she's not from the district, he said he "works very well with her husband" who's a Border Patrol Chief in Del Rio. He's also announcing a new, $165M Border Patrol checkpoint in Laredo. And, he said,

...by the way, Shannon, if you want to stop drugs, drugs are coming in -- over 90% of their drugs come in through ports of entry. So, we've got to support the men and women in green and the men and women in blue also.

Bream asked if Cuellar "had any regrets" about voting for the American Rescue Plan. He said deficit spending under Biden is less than under the Trump administration, but added we need to control "one of the biggest drivers," oil and gas, which supports 40,000 jobs in his district. He said he helped pass "the ban on oil exports" which created more US jobs, and he wants more drilling here.

Bream wondered if there's a place for him with the Ds; some have suggested his policy positions align more closely with the Rs. Cuellar said "surely, I'm a Democrat. I'm a conservative Democrat. I work in a very bipartisan way." And, he continued, 

And I think every party has the extreme. We have the extreme left. We have the extreme right. But some of us are not sent up to Washington to go make political statements. We're sent to Washington to do the hard job, and that is govern... I think there is definitely room for a conservative, moderate Democrat like myself.

Bream's last question was about the FBI raid at his home several months ago, which his opponent has been mentioning on the campaign trail. Cuellar said he is not the target of the investigation, and he's going to keep focusing on the election, and he said this about his opponent.

What I want to know is what she wants to do? You know, she's focusing on negative attacks. And I think people are sick and tired of the negative attacks. What they want to see is, this is a market of ideas. This is what I want to do. This is what she wants to do. Let the people decide. 

Hear, hear to that. 

In Case You Missed It (v112)

I'm chuckling this morning doing my 'week in review' post - it feels like I missed last week! Only two posts escaped my head, although I had the best of intentions.

 If I had to pin it down, I'd say my ADD and my Maine Coons and our other cats got the best of me after vacation. (As I write this, I've got a MC on my lap, and another on my desk, her head resting against my laptop and her feathery white fur covering the tab, caps lock and shift keys, so this could be fun.)

Anyway - two it was, and here they are. For your Sunday School I focused on a couple of US Senate races - Colorado, where Joe O'Dea (R) and incumbent Michael Bennet (D)  are battling it out, and Utah, where Evan McMullin is mounting an independent bid to oust incumbent Mike Lee (R).  And, it was purely coincidence that Utah and Colorado were the states were I spent my vacation...

First up? Dana Bash in the State of the Union classroom with the candidates for the Colorado seat. O'Dea was pushing a 'tough on crime' message, although the specific message would have made more sense if he was running for a state office, not the US Senate. 

He said Dems in his state are ignoring the laws on the books, that we "need more cops on the street" and to "make sure we're enforcing the laws we have." And, specifically on red flag laws, like the one in Colorado that's focused on mental health? 

Sheriffs tell him it doesn't work, "it puts them at risk. They're not happy with that law," and it needs to be rewritten.

...We need to do more with mental health here to get these people off the street. But we have hundreds of laws on the books. We need to enforce them.  We need more cops on our street right now. If you talk to Chief Pazen here of the city and county of Denver -- he's the chief of police -- he will tell you he's short 250 officers. That's because Democrats across the state of Colorado have defunded, demoralized the police. And we need to do better.

Bash followed up, noting that Colorado's approved 146 applications to take guns away from dangerous people in two years, and asked if that didn't make his state safer.

He said no, citing stats saying it's the "the third worst state for violent crime in the United States," and "they just deemed Denver as one of the most unsafe cities in the nation." He said they have record crime everywhere, cashless bail issues, and again, the laws on the books need to be enforced.

I wish, as I do every Sunday, that the interviews were more about getting questions answered than about getting questions asked.  

Meanwhile, down the hall in the MTP classroom, What's-his-name talked with McMullin. His opponent has said that voting for the independent is "a vote for the Democrats to keep their majority," and W-H-N wondered if that was correct. McMullin said no.

... look, I'm building a coalition of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and members of third parties to better represent Utah and to help lead our country forward. And I'm not going to Washington to join a party or to caucus or to play the party power game. I'm going to represent our coalition. 

... He said he'll maintain his independence, and that would help Utah and give it "an added value of influence." After blasting Lee ("He sits on his hands until it's time to vote no and then he goes and complains about our country on cable news."), he said he thinks we've seen

... that the senators in the chamber who are willing to act with greater independence, serving their constituents, standing up to party bosses, standing up to extremist factions and special interest groups, they have the most influence in the chamber. They're more influential, I think, even than the party bosses. And I want that for Utah. 

I wonder what would happen if we had more unaffiliated members of Congress? 

For your Extra Credit, I spent time with the pundit panels in the MTP and This Week classrooms. Starting with MTP, Amy Walter said the Dems

have known that the crime issue was a challenge for them" from the beginning, and she said "they've been playing defense on this for quite some time.

Maria Teresa Kumar said that "one of the conversations we're not having is that this is an opportunity for the Democrats to own police enforcement... all of a sudden, these Republicans and Republican leadership flipped on it, and said it was an FBI sting job. That is not the party of law enforcement. And if anything, it's undermining a really basic institution." Pat McCrory said he was "shocked the Democrats aren't bringing up guns," but said on "everyday crime, the Democrats are on their heels. And they deserve to be on their heels."

On abortion, 

Daniels said it "was always going to happen" that the Rs would be all over the place on abortion, creating "kind of this hodgepodge of different ideas of what voters might want to hear at that time... People can just pick and choose whatever they want, even within the issue themselves." Walter said how important the issue is depends on where the voter is. "...if you're in a state with abortion restrictions -- you are much more motivated than if you're in a state that doesn't." So, in reliably blue states, it's not that big an issue.

And in George's This Week classroom, the gang talked January 6th and election deniers running for office. 

Donna Brazile said even if Trump shows up to answer his subpoena from the January 6th Committee, he won't say anything. But she wishes he would tell his story, he should be willing to - but he won't, because "he doesn't have the truth on his side." Julie Pace agreed when George said polls aren't showing a bump for Dems as a result of the hearings, and that the Ds aren't pressing this issue. Rather, "Democrats are scrambling to try to figure out how they can form an economic message." 

Maggie Haberman said the election deniers is "the story that is actually not getting a ton of attention" given the crush of information that's out there, and that secretaries of state elected this cycle will be the ones to impact 2024, as they'll be deciding whether to certify the results. 

Chris Christie and Brazile got into it a little bit on the Committee

Chris Christie said the January 6th Committee "was resigned to having a credibility problem because of the membership of the committee and the way that was done." He also said "there's nobody there to argue the other side," to which George said "But there's - there's no other side..." Brazile agreed. Christie said "I think you can question a lot of these witnesses who came up, and test their credibility." 

Brazile pushed back pretty hard, wondering if Christie wanted to test the credibility of Bill Barr, the people who were advising Trump in the Oval, or "of the cops who got their heads smashed in - is that who you're going to test?"

 In the end, they didn't come to blows. Christie said his point was some people are remembering things now that they had no recollection of earlier - which is likely true, but also not uncommon. I mean, just look t the Republican Party. Half of them don't remember what they said, even when they see themselves saying it on television...

So - there you have it: last week's posts, in a nutshell. We'll see how I do this week...

Sunday School 10/16/22: Extra Credit

Your Sunday School lesson covered a couple of key US Senate races; for your Extra Credit, I'm going to see how much punditry I can fit into a single post. We'll start with George and the gang in ABC's This Week classroom: Chris Christie, Donna Brazile (both of ABC News), Julie Pace (AP), and Maggie Haberman (NY Times).

The FPOTUS loomed over part of the conversation. There's the whistleblower report saying he pressured at least one person to give Melania shares in Trump Social. Haberman called that "staggering" and "very hard to explain away," and she cautioned us not to forget about this investigation. 

And what about the person close to Trump allegedly being told to move documents at Mar-a-Lago - after Trump was subpoenaed? George said "that's obstruction." Christie said when it comes to charging a former president, "you can't treat it any differently than any other case, but you have to know that it's going to be 'bang, right between the eyes.' If not, you don't bring a case.

Brazile said even if Trump shows up to answer his subpoena from the January 6th Committee, he won't say anything. But she wishes he would tell his story, he should be willing to - but he won't, because "he doesn't have the truth on his side." Pace agreed when George said polls aren't showing a bump for Dems as a result of the hearings, and that the Ds aren't pressing this issue. Rather, "Democrats are scrambling to try to figure out how they can form an economic message." 

Haberman said the election deniers is "the story that is actually not getting a ton of attention" given the crush of information that's out there, and that secretaries of state elected this cycle will be the ones to impact 2024, as they'll be deciding whether to certify the results. 

Christie said the January 6th Committee "was resigned to having a credibility problem because of the membership of the committee and the way that was done." He also said "there's nobody there to argue the other side," to which George said "But there's - there's no other side..." Brazile agreed. Christie said "I think you can question a lot of these witnesses who came up, and test their credibility." 

Brazile pushed back pretty hard, wondering if Christie wanted to test the credibility of Bill Barr, the people who were advising Trump in the Oval, or "of the cops who got their heads smashed in - is that who you're going to test?" Christie said no, but he also mentioned there are people with "convenient memories" about things now, who didn't have them before. The bigger issue is, Trump's not on the ballot, so it's hard to make the 2022 election about him, or about January 6th.

With three weeks to go, Brazile said "Democrats must understand in the closing weeks they have to put freedom on the ballot... and they have to challenge the assumption that they're afraid to run on their record." Christie said the Rs should be talking about high prices, crime, fentanyl overdoses due to the open border... "if they talk about anything else they're nuts." And while some races are close, he thinks the Rs will have a 15-seat margin in the House.

Pace says the Dems should be worried about Georgia, both the Warnock/Walker Race, and Brian Kemp's expanding lead against Stacey Abrams. And, she said, Kevin McCarthy "has a battle for the speakership on his hands," and while he's "trying to make this case" for his return as Speaker, "the margin, how far he can push it out, that's the crucial metric here."

In the MTP classroom, What's-His-Name and his panel - Amy Walter (Cook Political Report), Eugene Daniels (Politico), former NC Gov. Pat McCrory (NBC), and María Teresa Kumar (NBC) - talked about the midterms, and crime. Walter said the Dems "have known that the crime issue was a challenge for them" from the beginning, and she said "they've been playing defense on this for quite some time."

Kumar said that "one of the conversations we're not having is that this is an opportunity for the Democrats to own police enforcement... all of a sudden, these Republicans and Republican leadership flipped on it, and said it was an FBI sting job. That is not the party of law enforcement. And if anything, it's undermining a really basic institution." McCrory said he was "shocked the Democrats aren't bringing up guns," but said on "everyday crime, the Democrats are on their heels. And they deserve to be on their heels."

Moving on, Daniels said it "was always going to happen" that the Rs would be all over the place on abortion, creating "kind of this hodgepodge of different ideas of what voters might want to hear at that time... People can just pick and choose whatever they want, even within the issue themselves." Walter said how important the issue is depends on where the voter is. "...if you're in a state with abortion restrictions -- you are much more motivated than if you're in a state that doesn't." So, in reliably blue states, it's not that big an issue.

The panel also touched on the FPOTUS; Walter noted "he would like the 2022 election to continue to be about him," while Rs want it to not be about him. And she said the January 6th Committee hearing last week "didn't generate the kind of headlines and the kind of wall-to-wall coverage" people might have wanted. And saying he'd be subpoenaed was nothing like it would have been had they said "we believe he should be indicted." Daniels said it's just too much chaos for the Rs, but they can't say it out loud and risk offending his core supporters.

McCrory said "the Democrats are running away from Biden in this election, too... Democrats don't want Biden or Harris either, and Republicans frankly don't want Trump. And they're the ones trying to consume the TV time." 

Kumar thinks that "with Biden, his challenge is that he hasn't been able to communicate to the American people what he's done. I mean, we can say that the difference between Donald Trump and the difference with Biden is, Biden is a policy president. So, he has – he's going to make fundamental changes for a generation." 

She compared that with Trump, saying "his consequence is not policy. It's his legacy of undermining elections. And it's not just him, it’s not him, but he actually has a cadre of individuals right now seeking office that are election deniers. And that legacy is far more dangerous for a modern-day president than any other thing because it believes in undermining our democracy."

Ain't that the truth. 

See you around campus.

Sunday School 10/16/22

Here's a look at a couple of the Senate races at play in November. First up? Dana Bash in the State of the Union classroom with the candidates for the Colorado seat, Joe O'Dea (R) and incumbent Michael Bennet (D).

O'Dea was up first; he was asked what he'd do about inflation if he gets elected. Mostly, "we have got to get our energy policy back on track" and that means "getting the permitting out of the way" 

so we can go back to work here in Colorado and flood the market with increased supply. It'll cause the price to come down. Inflation will go away. That's how you do it.

Bash didn't follow up on that, or on data showing that the Biden administration is approving 96% of the lease permits it receives, or about approved leases not going into production. Instead, she moved on to guns, asking if O'Dea thought any new gun laws were needed. 

He said Dems in his state are ignoring the laws on the books, that we "need more cops on the street" and to "make sure we're enforcing the laws we have." And, specifically on red flag laws, like the one in Colorado that's focused on mental health? Sheriffs tell him it doesn't work, "it puts them at risk. They're not happy with that law," and it needs to be rewritten.

...We need to do more with mental health here to get these people off the street. But we have hundreds of laws on the books. We need to enforce them. We need more cops on our street right now. If you talk to Chief Pazen here of the city and county of Denver -- he's the chief of police -- he will tell you he's short 250 officers. That's because Democrats across the state of Colorado have defunded, demoralized the police. And we need to do better.

Bash followed up, noting that Colorado's approved 146 applications to take guns away from dangerous people in two years, and asked if that didn't make his state safer.

He said no, citing stats saying it's the "the third worst state for violent crime in the United States," and "they just deemed Denver as one of the most unsafe cities in the nation." He said they have record crime everywhere, cashless bail issues, and again, the laws on the books need to be enforced.

Moving on, O'Dea said January 6th was "a black eye on the country" and that Trump "should have done more" to "keep the violence" away from the Capitol. Anyone who was violent needs to be held accountable. Trump should not run again, he said, and he'll "actively campaign" against him and will make sure the Rs have viable choices.

And finally, on abortion, he believes "for the first five months, that decision should be between a woman and her doctor. After that, for rape, incest, life of the mother, medical necessity, I believe that decision should also be between a woman and her doctor."  He says his position "is where most of America is."  

Bash started her interview with Sen. Bennet asking why the Inflation Reduction Act isn't reducing inflation. Bennet pointed out that some pieces "are going to take a while to put into place." He also explained that it's "a global problem," something other Dems forget to do. He blamed oil prices that skyrocketed during the recovery and Putin's invasion of Ukraine. 

Bash interrupted him to note that the media's favorite economist, former Dem Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, said that spending Bennet voted for, "particularly $1.9 trillion for the American Rescue Plan" is making inflation worse. Like other Dems who are paying attention, Bennet noted that other economists disagreed. And, he said, the ARP 

kept 30,000 Coloradans from being evicted... it has funded law enforcement all over the state, mental health services that we desperately need. It cut childhood poverty in half last year because of a bill that I wrote. I'm concerned that the Federal Reserve kept their interest rates at zero for too long and that their quantitative easing was too aggressive. But that's looking in the rearview mirror.

The senator said we can fix things by bringing supply chains back to the US, and "by making sure we are benefitting from the Inflation Reduction Act" by being the leader transitioning away from fossil fuels over the next 25 years. He thinks we're perfectly positioned to do that, and he thinks "that's an amazing place for us to be."

Bash turned to an ad run by a Dem group to help boost O'Dea's primary opponent "because they thought he would be easier" for Bennet to beat - and she wondered how Bennet would paint O'Dea as a "far-right Republican." Bennet said O'Dea does that by himself: he would have voted for all of Trump's SCOTUS picks; he opposes codifying abortion rights; he voted for a ballot issue that banned all abortions; and he doesn't think Trump bears any responsibility for the insurrection. 

Bash asked if it was a "mistake for fellow Democrats to prop him up as" Bennet's opponent. Bennet said we need to reform the campaign finance system, noting he's "got a racist billionaire who's funding a super PAC" that's supporting O'Dea - from Wyoming. 

That's not helping voters in Colorado. But I want, Dana, you to know and I want your viewers to know how out of touch he is with Colorado... not just on the abortion issue, but the idea that he would not support any additional gun laws, including a law Mitch McConnell voted for in the U.S. Senate. He thinks that our red flag law in Colorado after Columbine, after Aurora, is -- is out of touch.

Meanwhile, down the hall in the MTP classroom, What's-his-name talked with Evan McMullin, the Independent running against Republican incumbent Sen. Mike Lee. Notably, the other Utah senator, Mitt Romney, hasn't endorsed Lee. What's-his-name wondered if McMullen had spoken to Romney; McMullen said he hasn't, and said he respects and appreciates Romney's decision to sit this one out.

Lee has said a vote for McMullin is "a vote for the Democrats to keep their majority," and W-H-N wondered if that was correct. McMullin said no.

... look, I'm building a coalition of Republicans, Democrats, Independents, and members of third parties to better represent Utah and to help lead our country forward. And I'm not going to Washington to join a party or to caucus or to play the party power game. I'm going to represent our coalition. 

If he serves all six years, he wouldn't join either party's caucus? He said he'll maintain his independence, and that would help Utah and give it "an added value of influence." After blasting Lee ("He sits on his hands until it's time to vote no and then he goes and complains about our country on cable news."), he said he thinks we've seen

... that the senators in the chamber who are willing to act with greater independence, serving their constituents, standing up to party bosses, standing up to extremist factions and special interest groups, they have the most influence in the chamber. They're more influential, I think, even than the party bosses. And I want that for Utah. 

W-H-N asked about McMullen tweeting in January 2021 that "Not only should Mitch McConnell never be majority leader again, he shouldn't be minority leader either. It's time for something new." He said he wouldn't be involved in choosing the leadership, because it's up to the parties to make that decision.

Next, he was asked whether he would have voted for the Inflation Reduction Act. There were things in it he liked, and some that he didn't like, and he would not have voted for it "as written." He thought it didn't do enough about inflation in the short term, and thinks more needs to be done on that front.

...we need leaders and need a Senate who is going to focus on actually delivering more results to lower inflation. I did like the fact that it started to allow Medicare to negotiate on prescription drugs. We pay far more for prescription drugs than we need to in America...

McMullin favored Roe being overturned, but he's expressed concern that extreme laws were being created since that happened; most of the bills that have surfaced since the decision have been designed to make a political point, and that the extreme positions are "tearing the country apart." 

...we've got to stand up to those extremes. But more importantly, we've got to find a more constructive way forward. And that's about making contraception more available, doing more to support women, children, and families, and improving education on this matter. And that's where I'll focus my time.

Of the three candidates we heard from, I prefer McMullin's approach. We do need more people who are there to represent us, not just to stand with their party or protect their own longevity. 

See you around campus.

In Case You Missed It (v111)

There's something about vacations, and being away, and not reading the news every day, isn't there?

We were gone last week, riding planes, trains, Ubers, buses, shuttle vans, and even a Hummer, traveling from Syracuse to Las Vegas to Arizona to Utah to Colorado and back home. The week started and ended with 3AM wake-up calls; they were the good kind of   and they were good ones, getting us up and ready for the next phase of our trip. 

That kind of wakeup is nothing like those that hit my phone, with (ahem) "breaking news" about the weather in a state I've never even visited, or about some politician here or elsewhere pretending to have a new idea, or spewing an old one, or attacking their opponent, or a president proclaiming a success and the media trying to prove their chops by attaching a "... things are still horrible..." comment at the beginning or end of every paragraph, or a former president shrieking on social media in flaming caps and enough exclamation points to poke holes in the atmosphere.

I didn't miss the latter, and I'm glad today didn't include the former. It was nice to sleep in with our cats, who missed us as much as we missed them, after a week of about 1% news and 99% exploring the American southwest: the Grand Canyon; the fake canyons created by Las Vegas hotels; the desert between Vegas and Moab by plane, and outside Moab, where our unforgettable Hummer ride happened; Arches National Park, and a climb from the desert to the mountains, across the Continental Divide, and down into Denver by train.

It was on that last leg of the trip that I saw a political sign unrelated to a local race; those were everywhere, and there were seemingly hundreds of ads on television too, when we were trying catch up on baseball scores and get the next day's weather forecast; that part felt just like home. The national sign was about President Biden; it was near the entrance to the driveway of a house in the middle of the Colorado nowhere. It had a bunch of issues on it, and boxes where I guess you'd check whether he was doing well or failing; I couldn't see the whole sign,  but I'd guess it was a 'red' sign not a 'blue' one.

I was honestly surprised by the lack of Trump/MAGA signs; I see more around here in Central New York. Maybe it's because everyone knows where folks stand out there, or because no one wants anyone to know where they stand (the 'shy Trump voters' we hear about)? I'm not sure why, but it was interesting, and not the least unpleasant.

I hope you all had a great week.  It would be fun to see what everyone thought was the most important thing, the most interesting thing, the funniest thing, or just something I missed. If you're up for sharing, drop a note in the comments.

I'll be back later with your Sunday School - most likely 'tomorrow' later.  Talk to you then.

In Case You Missed it (v110)

There was a lot of focus on Florida in the blog, with Hurricane Ian, and three elected Florida Men who have been in the news recently. Here's your recap of last week's posts, in case you missed anything.

Your Sunday School lesson recapped multiple interviews with Florida Man Sen. Rick Scott. Here's a snippet from his stop in the Meet the Press remote classroom, where he was asked 

if "things like mobile manufactured housing should even be legal" in Florida anymore. In part, he said they have to look at building codes after every event, to make sure it doesn't happen again. 

At the same time, you know people that they want to live in Florida. They want to live in the Sunshine State. And, you know, the more expensive housing you have, it makes it difficult for people to live there. So, I guess it's a balance.

They also talked about insurance, and things they can to do encourage insurance companies to stay in the state.  

And on getting federal money for his state, something he and Rubio have requested, What's-his-name suggested there may be some in Congress who "don't want to support" the request, given DeSantis voted against Hurricane Sandy aid because it wasn't paid for by cuts somewhere else. Grab a fork and some croutons.

Scott's pretty good at spinning up a word salad (and he's not the only one, as you 'll see a bit later.) His meandering answer to Karl's question, and recaps from his other interviews, are in the post. 

For your Extra Credit, I recapped an interviews with FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell, and with another Florida Man, Sen. Marco Rubio. Speaking with Jon Karl in the This Week remote classroom, he talked about the damage caused by Hurricane Ian.

...So, this is a character-altering event. It will change the character and the nature of these communities. They’ll be rebuilt, but you can’t rebuild something that is slice of old Florida and bring it back. 

They also discussed disaster aid, and Rubio's votes to deny aid after Superstorm Sandy devastated New York, New Jersey, and other northeast states. 

And when Karl asked if he'd take the same stand on aid for Florida if Congress did their thing and added a bunch of unrelated stuff, Rubio said "it won't come to that," because he and Rick Scott won't ask for anything unrelated.

I mean, why would somebody add something from another state that’s not impacted by the storm? So, it shouldn’t come to that and I’m not -- you know, it shouldn’t come to that pork in the road because it’s unnecessary thing. It's our request. 

You can read my reaction to that in the post; let me know yours.

The third Florida Man, Gov. Ron DeSantis, was in my head when I was Wondering on Wednesday. I wasn't wondering about those white boots he wore; well, actually I was wondering about them, but not in the post. 

First and foremost, I'm wondering what the heck is wrong with the national media - not the crazies, the regular old media - who can't seem to stop asking each other if they notice how amazing it is that the president, a Democrat, is collaborating with the Republican governor of a storm-ravaged state, and how amazing it is that's happening, this close to the midterms and all the rest. 

I'm not kidding - it was a topic on NPR, and on ABC and CBS and NBC and probably all the other networks I didn't check in on. I'm wondering exactly what they were expecting to happen; was Gov. DeSantis going to swallow his pride and refuse to ask for help for residents of his state? Where was he going to get help, from Martha's Vineyard or something? 

It took me a bit, but I realized why it was such a big deal for the media; check out the post and see if you agree with me.

On Thursday, I circled back in a Sidebar to Sen. Scott's interview with Margaret Brennan in the Face the Nation remote classroom. She asked him to respond to nasty comments made by former president Donald Trump. Scott didn't really address Trump's comments; instead,

I'd also say that what Vice President Harris said yesterday that, or the day before yesterday that, you know if you, if you have a different skin color, you're going to get relief.   

Brennan pointed out that Harris didn't say what Scott said she did; he argued with her on that. I promised I'd get to the bottom of it, if i could figure out what was going on.

In the post, I relayed the full question Harris was asked by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, which was really about climate change, not about Hurricane Ian, although it did touch on the storm.

I know this will sound silly, but in the interest of clarity, I included the Veep's 750-ish word answer. As I said, Scott's not the only salad spinner in DC.  It's easy to see why folks on the right went off the rails on this: they wanted to go off the rails. 

I closed the post with some frustration, which I'm sure some of you will share.

And speaking of frustration, there was more of that in last week's TGIF, in a 'bad week' entry about how the agency fails to identify fake charities. I mean, they really fail to identify them; one man got approval for 76 charities if you can imagine that.

All of this was made possible by stripping down processes a few years ago, at a time of budget and staffing cuts. Which makes all the political handwringing about the Biden administration's funding additional IRS staff to backfill vacancies, provide customer service to taxpayers, and yes, to do the vetting that would prevent this kind of things all the more absurd. 

There you go - all caught up on last week's posts. I'm taking some time off, so there won't be much new content for you this week. 

See you when I get back.

TGIF 10/7/22

Here are your good week/bad week honorees for the week.

I've been a fan of the Boston Red Sox since I was a kid. There's a picture of Ted Williams and Carl Yastrzemski in our foyer - my husband's favorite player of all time, and mine. This wasn't a good year for us, but it was a good year for a couple of players

• Aaron Judge, of the hated New York Yankees, became the first player in the American League to hit 62 home runs in a single season. He beat fellow Yankee Roger Maris's record of 61, which lasted that many years. 
• And, over the National League, Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals, joined the 700-home run club, and finished the season with 704 in his career, fourth on the all-time list. Before the season started, Pujols said this would be his last year. As he got closer to the milestone, reporters pestered him on whether he'd really retire if he didn't make it. I'm glad he didn't need to worry about it at the end. 

Major news was breaking in my neck of the woods this week, as Micron announced intentions to build not one, not two, not three, but four chip fab plants in Onondaga County, in Central New York. (Yes, there are places in New York more specific than 'upstate'.) The 20-year, potentially $100B with a B project is the result of a local, regional, state, and federal collaboration, and has the opportunity to be transformative not just for us, but for the state and for the country.

President Biden made news this week when he announced pardons for people convicted of federal crimes for simple marijuana possession, and he's encouraging governors to do the same for folks convicted in their states. In addition, and perhaps more important that the pardons, he's directing his team to review how pot is classified under the law. Right now, it's in the same bucket as heroin, which is (and always has been) ridiculous.

Speaking of President Biden, his administration's getting a lot of letters asking for infrastructure money from House and Senate Republicans, including some who were big critics of the bills that include the funds. Notably, none of the letters mention the authors' criticism of the bills, or their votes against them.

None cite “socialism” or “radical spending.” No one included a paragraph about House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy calling the law “rushed and irresponsible,” or Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene calling the Republicans who voted for it “traitors.” Often, the letters signed by members of the House and Senate appeal using the same terms that they derided Democrats for using, from “economic growth” to “sustainability” benefits.

This is not uncommon, but it's fun - especially since some of these folks are running against the very spending they're so willing to bring home to their district.

And finally, let's close out the list with the abject failure of the IRS to monitor applications of charities for tax-exempt status. How bad is it? One man, a convicted criminal, got approval for 76 charities himself, often using the name of well-known organizations such as the United Way and the American Cancer Society. It's mind-boggling. 

All of this was made possible by stripping down processes a few years ago, at a time of budget and staffing cuts. Which makes all the political handwringing about the Biden administration's funding additional IRS staff to backfill vacancies, provide customer service to taxpayers, and yes, to do the vetting that would prevent this kind of things all the more absurd. 

How was your week? Got any nominations for either of the lists? Drop a comment.

Sidebar: VP Harris and Equity

In this week's Sunday School, remarks made by Vice President Kamala Harris were brought up by Florida's Sen. Rick Scott. 

When asked by Margaret Brennan to respond to comments made by former president Donald Trump, Scott replied that people need to come together, and then he added, 

I'd also say that what Vice President Harris said yesterday that, or the day before yesterday that, you know if you, if you have a different skin color, you're going to get relief.   

Brennan said that wasn't what Harris said; Scott argued with her. I promised I'd have some details on it, once I was able to figure out what was going on.

Let's start with how the NY Post covered it.

Vice President Harris came in for a torrent of criticism after telling an audience that “communities of color” would be first in line for relief in the  devastating aftermath of Hurricane Ian.

“We have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity,” she said during a discussion with Priyanka Chopra at the Democratic National Committee’s Women’s Leadership Forum on Friday.

“If we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we need to take into account those disparities and do that work,” she added.

And, of course the Post included all the nasty comments, including that Harris was being racist. That type of thing was rife on social media, and in certain media circles, and, I'd add, with Republican officials like Rick Scott who decided to carefully misinterpret and then 'correct' her remarks. 

No, no, no. Wait, wait, Margaret. Margaret, let's make sure. FEMA has to be colorblind. FEMA has to provide support to everybody.

So, what did Harris really say? Let's start with the question she was asked by Priyanka Chopra Jonas, who was invited by the DNC's Women's Leadership Forum to have a 'fireside chat' with the VP. 

Can you talk a little bit about the relief efforts, obviously, of Hurricane Ian and what the administration has been doing to address the climate crisis in the states? 

But — and just a little follow up, because this is important to me: We consider the global implications of emissions, right? The poorest countries are affected the most. They contributed the least and are affected the most. So how should voters in the U.S. feel about the administration’s long-term goals when it comes to being an international influencer on this topic?

And here, in full, is Harris's answer, from the White House transcript. For the TL/DR crowd, I've added emphasis to what she said about Hurricane Ian. 

So, first of all, again, thanks to the leadership in this room, which were part of the propelling force in the 2020 election so that we could actually be in office — because one of the requests — dare I say, “demands” — of this group was, “Do something about the climate crisis.”  And so, we were able to be elected. Thank you, everyone here. 

And then have the — (applause) — but — and have, then, $370 billion in the Inflation Reduction Act dedicated to address the climate crisis — not only because it is a crisis, as it evident — as evidenced, as you have mentioned by Ian, by the wildfires happening in California, the floods, the hurricanes, but also because of America’s leadership and what it should be globally on this issue. And so that has happened, and it will propel a lot of good work.  

The crisis is real, and the clock is ticking. And the urgency with which we must act is without any question. 

And the way that we think of it and the way I think of it is both in terms of the human toll and — I know we are all thinking about the families in Florida, in Puerto Rico with Fiona — and what we need to do to help them in terms of an immediate response and aid, but also what we need to do to help restore communities and build communities back up in a way that they can be resilient — not to mention, adapt — to these extreme weather conditions, which are part of the future.  

No talk about FEMA money going to black folks and not to white folks? Nope - no mention of FEMA at all, in fact. 

Now, here's what she had to say about disparities, in response to the part of the question about climate change.

On the point that you made about disparities: You know, when I was — back when I was District Attorney of San Francisco — I was elected in 2003 — I started one of the first environmental justice units of any DA’s office in the country focused on this issue. And in particular on the disparities, as you have described rightly, which is that it is our lowest income communities and our communities of color that are most impacted by these extreme conditions and impacted by issues that are not of their own making. And so, when — 

Chopra Jonas interrupted here to say "and women." 

Absolutely. And so, we have to address this in a way that is about giving resources based on equity, understanding that we fight for equality, but we also need to fight for equity; understanding that not everyone starts out at the same place. And if we want people to be in an equal place, sometimes we have to take into account those disparities and do that work. (Applause.) 

But also, I will say, as a former prosecutor, part of this issue also has to be about enforcement and, where appropriate, making sure that the bad actors pay a price for what they do that is directly harming communities in terms of their health and wellbeing. 

So, when we think about policy then, there are many aspects to it, including something that the President and our administration and I are very excited about, which is the opportunity that moving towards a clean energy environment and industry — what it will do in terms of job creation and building up our economy.  It’s tremendous. (Applause.) 

So, there are many benefits to this work. 

And to your point about the global piece: Among the leaders that I have been meeting and convening — just recently, in fact — and now this was, I think, the third time — I convened the presidents and prime ministers of the Caribbean countries; there’s an organization called CARICOM. And I convened them just a couple weeks ago. And the consistent discussion we are having is exactly your point, which is: We are one of the greatest emitters in the world and the Caribbean countries, for example, are paying the biggest price. They are some of the lowest emitters, yet the erosion that they are experiencing to their island nations is profound. 

And when you combine that with the fact that nations like that — their biggest source for their GDP is tourism, and what the climate crisis and extreme weather conditions do in terms of then plummeting their incoming resources, not to mention what we are expecting all good nations to do to contribute to mitigation and adaptation.

So, there is still a lot of work to be done to recognize the equities. And I will say, for us, as the United States, to own responsibility for what we rightly — (applause) — should do to recognize these disparities and contribute in a way that is fair with the goal of equitable priorities.

Is Harris the only one who's been victimized by a soundbite? Of course not; it would be silly to think so. She won't be the last either. Heck, she probably won't be the last one this week.

The thing that's so frustrating? No one will be pushing back on folks like Rick Scott, or the NY Post, or anyone else for saying something that wasn't true - but there'll be more than enough people willing to 'report' on the fact that they said it. 

Wondering on Wednesday 10/5/22

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

What's on my wondering mind tonight? Let's dive in.

First and foremost, I'm wondering what the heck is wrong with the national media - not the crazies, the regular old media - who can't seem to stop asking each other if they notice how amazing it is that the president, a Democrat, is collaborating with the Republican governor of a storm-ravaged state, and how amazing it is that's happening, this close to the midterms and all the rest. 

I'm not kidding - it was a topic on NPR, and on ABC and CBS and NBC and probably all the other networks I didn't check in on. I'm wondering exactly what they were expecting to happen; was Gov. DeSantis going to swallow his pride and refuse to ask for help for residents of his state? Where was he going to get help, from Martha's Vineyard or something? And what about President Biden? Was he to pretend he didn't know a storm had hit? Was he to blindly ignore Americans in a disaster because their governor's a jerk?

It's embarrassing, and insulting, that they are so gaga over this natural, totally expected partnering at a time like this. And, speaking of embarrassing, I wonder how I missed what was happening. I was having a hard time with all of this until I remembered the most recent president was a total jerk who wouldn't work with people who didn't suck up to him, or with anyone who said anything bad about him, or who laughed at him for things like throwing paper towels to disaster victims. So, in that context, I guess I should give the gushers a break. 

Donald Trump, who spent years calling CNN 'fake news' and 'the enemy of the people,' has sued the network for defamation, and is seeking $475M in damages. I wonder if his lawyers filed it with a straight face, or how the folks at CNN could have received it with one. And I wonder how he even still has lawyers?

Former Congressman Newt Gingrich has said that serial liar Herschel Walker is the most important Senate candidate in the country. He has a deep commitment to Christ, Newt said, and lots of concussions. I can't help wondering about the connection between either of those and the United States Senate, or why Gingrich talked so glowingly about Walker's concussion (and PTSD) as being among his qualifications for the Senate.

And, I can't help wondering which senator will be assigned to babysit Walker, should he be elected. If I had to guess, I'd say it's gonna be Coach Tommy Tuberville. During his tenure as head coach at Auburn, he managed to have a 5-5 record against Georgia, the school Walker left to pursue his pro football career. They'll speak the same language, if nothing else.

Finally, I'm wondering, in the back of my mind, if this post was meant to be all about disasters, or if it just worked out that way.

What are you wondering about? 

Sunday School 10/2/22: Extra Credit

In your Sunday School, we heard from Rick Scott, one of Florida's two Republican senators. Today, we hear from Marco Rubio, the other one, and from FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell. Both made multiple appearances. 

We'll start with Criswell, who talked with Jon Karl in the This Week classroom. She described the situation in Florida using terms like "a lot of devastation," "significant damage," still homes under water," "active rescues," and "a long road to recovery."  She spent a day with Gov. Ron DeSantis, to hear his concerns, and the concerns of folks impacted by Hurricane Ian. And,

I committed to him that we would continue to bring in resources to meet the needs, not just for this response and the stabilization, but as we go into the recovery efforts... it was good to be able to see some of the damage and talk to the people directly while we were together so then he could let me know what kind of resources and assistance he might need.

Karl asked her about the death toll (NBC reported 87 deaths) and wondered if it had to do with the forecast being off, or because of delays in ordering evacuations. Criswell said the storm was "fairly unpredictable" in the days before landfall, adding 

Just 72 hours before landfall, the Fort Myers and Lee County area were not even in the cone of the hurricane. And as it continued to move south, the local officials immediately -- as soon as they knew that they were in that threat zone, made the decisions to evacuate and get people to safety.

There's some disagreement on that, as we learned from yesterday's conversations. She also said that FEMA had "pre-staged... search and rescue resources across the federal family" with state resources to mobilize immediately after the storm passed, and they're still working to account for everyone.

Efforts continue in Puerto Rico after Hurricane Fiona. Criswell noted that 90% of customers now have power, and other agencies are also going in to the island to "make sure that we continue to move forward in supporting all of those people that have been impacted by that, to include individuals that have had a lot of damage to their homes -- a lot of water damage this time as compared to previous hurricanes." 

Rubio was next. He described Hurricane Ian as without comparison in Florida storms, noting Fort Myers Beach "no longer exists" and Sanibel Island is "basically flattened."  Even the buildings still standing

have been damaged by water, probably uninhabitable and have to be razed. So, this is a character-altering event. It will change the character and the nature of these communities. They’ll be rebuilt, but you can’t rebuild something that is slice of old Florida and bring it back. 

Regarding Sanibel, he said the priority now is to identify the people who stayed but will have to leave eventually,

because there's no way to continue their life there. There’s no way to restore the power. There’s no economy there. At some point, they'll have to be moved. And, you know, as I said, that bridge will be rebuilt. That will take a very long time, a couple of years at least. And, obviously, you know, life in Sanibel is going to change in the interim.

He praised the federal response, saying it's been very positive from day one. It's not just FEMA; it's the Army Corps, the Coast Guard, the SBA, and other agencies that will be helping individuals who need assistance. And, speaking of assistance, Karl asked about his history of voting against Superstorm Sandy relief, which Rubio said included pork and other non-disaster related funding. He asked if Rubio would insist on a clean emergency funding bill for his own state. 

Rubio said he's supported other emergency relief bills for folks all over the country, and he's supported them without pay-fors. 

What I won't support is things that are not emergency relief. What we're going to ask for Florida is what we supported for every other state in the country that’s been affected by -- by natural disasters, and that is emergency relief designed to be spent immediately to help the people affected now...

That wasn't the case with the Sandy aid bill, he said; it included things that may weren't directly related to urgent disaster relief. And when Karl asked if he'd take the same stand on aid for Florida if Congress did their thing and added a bunch of unrelated stuff. Rubio said "it won't come to that," because he and Rick Scott won't ask for anything unrelated.

I mean, why would somebody add something from another state that’s not impacted by the storm? So, it shouldn’t come to that and I’m not -- you know, it shouldn’t come to that pork in the road because it’s unnecessary thing. It's our request. 

Remind me, how long has he been in the Senate? Honestly, it'll be fun to watch this play out if push comes to shove. 

Karl's last question was on Ukraine, and whether i's application for NATO membership should be expedited. Rubio's a no on that, and says the bigger issue is what Vladimir Putin will do next.

Putin...could very well attack some NATO distribution point, because that's who he's blaming. He’s blaming NATO, the U.S., our allies for supplying Ukraine with weaponry that’s allowed Ukraine to be so effective. So, I think we need to start thinking through, what’s the response going to be...

The concern is if NATO forces are hurt or killed in such an attack; Rubio said it's a decision for the alliance that could come sooner rather than later.

The senator also spoke with Dana Bash in the CNN State of the Union classroom. Switching from Hurricane Ian to Hurricane Fiona, she asked if thought Puerto Rico should become a state, "so that it can be more resilient in having infrastructure" for disasters. 

He said he has "long believed" that Puerto Ricans should be able to vote on statehood - they "certainly have a right to have that vote." He also  said he thinks Puerto Ricans serve in the military more, on a per capita basis, than "just about any community in the country."  

Turning to Ukraine, Bash said the administration doesn't think there's any imminent threat of Putin using nuclear weapons, and she wondered if he sees things the same way. Rubio said he couldn't comment on what the administration folks are seeing, but

...I'm not saying the risk of him detonating a nuclear device as a demonstration is zero. I think, certainly, the risk is probably higher today than it was a month ago. 

And, did he think the Nord Stream pipeline leaks were sabotage?

I think logic and common sense will tell you that these things don't blow up on their own, especially in strategic and key points. Someone has to know where the vulnerabilities are. And someone has to have the capability to go down there and do it.

He doesn't think we have to look very far to find the likely suspects. 

And the only people in that region who have both the motive and the capability to have done it are Russian or Russian forces. So, I think, for me, it's not an intelligence matter at this point. It's a common sense matter.

And, finally, he thinks the recent deal with Venezuela to get seven Americans home was a bad deal. Rather, he said it encourages bad actors to "trump up some charges and arrest Americans..."

I think seven innocent American hostages in exchange for two convicted drug dealers who happen to be the nephews of Maduro is a huge win for Maduro and, unfortunately, puts Americans all over the world now in danger.

Feel free to chime in on any of this - you'll get extra Extra Credit for that!

See you around campus. 

Sunday School 10/2/22

For your Sunday School today, we've got multiple interviews with Florida's Republican Senator Rick Scott. The interviews covered much of the same ground, so I tried to move around with the topics. 

On MTP, What's-his-name asked Scott if "things like mobile manufactured housing should even be legal" in Florida anymore. In part, he said they have to look at building codes after every event, to make sure it doesn't happen again. 

At the same time, you know people that they want to live in Florida. They want to live in the Sunshine State. And, you know, the more expensive housing you have, it makes it difficult for people to live there. So I guess it's a balance.

They also talked about insurance, and the need for both stricter building codes, to encourage insurance companies to play in the state, and for eliminating fraud, which costs consumers money and disproportionately impacts the poor, and discourages companies from writing policies.

And on getting federal money for his state, something he and Rubio have requested, What's-his-name suggested there may be some in Congress who "don't want to support" the request, given DeSantis voted against Hurricane Sandy aid because it wasn't paid for by cuts somewhere else. Grab a fork and some croutons.

Well, I think what you have to do is you have to, you have to, you know, spend your money wisely, but you do need – I mean, the federal government is a partner in this. And I learned that as governor. The federal government is a major partner in helping families, helping businesses, helping governments get back to, get back to normal. But you don't want to waste money. As an example, I put a lot of effort into cracking down on the significant fraud in the debris pickup market and what happens after a hurricane. And I've been actually trying to get the bill passed since I've been up there – I've been up there almost four years – to fix that because there is abuse in this. But we do have to provide disaster aid. And whether that's for a hurricane, or whether that's for flooding, or whether that's for wildfires, we've got to do that. And, you know, I hope people will, you know, continue to support and I think we ought to be doing – we've got to come up with a way to do this where it's a longer-term strategy.

And, on the election, does he think the Rs will take back the Senate? Scott thinks they're at "52 seats, plus."

On CNN's State of the Union, Scott told Dana Bash this was probably the worst storm he's seen, given the widespread nature of the damage, even in areas far from the Gulf Coast where Ian made landfall in Lee County. Bash asked him about officials there who didn't issue evacuation orders until less than 24 hours before landfall, which was "an apparent violation of their own policies." She wondered if that was the case, and it the delay cost lives.

Scott talked generically about loss of life, and all lives mattering, and doing everything you can to make sure no lives are lost, and he made sure he didn't pin the tail on anyone's um, er, 'donkey', if you catch my drift. Ultimately, she got him to agree that "I think it's something we have to look at to see why" the evacuation order didn't happen according to the plan. Teeth pulled, or something.

In the Face the Nation classroom, Margaret Brennan talked about the hurricane, of course, and also noted the most recent, offensive remarks from the FPOTUS, who said that Sen. Mitch McConnell has a "DEATH WISH" and made racist modifications to McConnell's wife's name,', and from Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, who claimed that Democrats want Republicans dead and that they have "already started the killings." She asked Scott if he'd rebuke the comments, given he's a member of the leadership.

Scott said we've got to come together, and "I'd also say that what Vice President Harris said yesterday that, or the day before yesterday that, you know if you if you have a different skin color, you're going to get relief." Brennan said, "that's not what the vice president said. She talked about equity and the problem within FEMA. But I'm specifically talking about Marjorie Taylor Greene." (I'll have more on the Veep's comments in a Sidebar.)  

Here's the exchange that followed.

RS: No, no, no. Wait, wait, Margaret. Margaret, let's make sure. FEMA has to be colorblind. FEMA has to provide support to everybody. Now, I - here's what I here's what I'll tell you, I believe that we've got to do -- President Trump has talked about this unbelievable spending that's causing inflation hurting the poorest families. I grew up in a poor family. I watched how inflation hurt my mom. We've gotta watch how we spend this money. 

MB: I know sir. You're talking about substance, and I would love to talk to you about that. But what I quoted you as a phrase saying McConnell has a death wish. He said racist things about Elaine Chao. And then they have already started the killings. I mean, that's not a policy dispute, Senator, the language is what I'm talking about. Isn't that dangerous?

RS: I think we all have to figure out how do we start bringing people together and have a common goal to give every American the opportunity to get a great job, their kids to have an education, they believe they can be anything and make sure everybody lives in a safe committee. That's what I do every day. And I've tried to bring people together to do that. 

 It went on like that a little longer, Brennan focusing on divisive language, and Scott trying to explain Trump was talking about policy.

I believe that what I believe what the President Trump was talking about is the fact that we can't keep spending money. We are -- We're going to hurt our poorest families the most with this reckless Democrat spending and we cannot we got to stop it. We can't cave into their spending. 

On Trump calling Elaine Chao "Coco Chow," Scott waved that off by saying Trump likes to give people nicknames, and he "sure he has a nickname for me." I checked Trump's Twitter archive, and here's the worst thing he ever said about Scott. Perhaps there's a nickname in there somewhere? 

Governor Rick Scott of Florida did really poorly on television this morning. I hope he is O.K. (June 25, 2015).

I'll have interviews with Sen. Marco Rubio and FEMA administrator Deanne Criswell in your Extra Credit. 

See you around campus.  

Oh - one more thing - the Dems have not started killing the Rs, just so you know.