ANALYSIS/OPINION:
As a conservative, the mere thought of the now-socialist Democrats capturing control of Congress gives me a migraine. Republicans on the Hill can put some of the blame on the president but much is theirs too.
Democrats and the press have painted Donald Trump as illegitimate, irredeemably corrupt and pursuing an inherently evil agenda — anti-poor, anti-women, anti-whatever works.
It would be tough enough to overcome the Access Hollywood tape, entanglements with Stormy Daniels and other past transgressions by leading an exemplary presidential life but he hasn’t. Inauthentic denials, irrational outbursts on Twitter and stubborn behavior do not offer the impression of a high achiever repenting past debauchery.
He consistently confuses strong evidence of Russian efforts to influence U.S. elections with accusations that his campaign colluded with the Kremlin. The first is clearly true but the second likely not — if special counsel Robert Mueller has something on him, we’d know it by now. By conflating those issues, he fails to demonstrate the acumen and rhetorical skills necessary to fulfill his presidential duties.
By permitting the Koch Brothers and Walmart to block Ways and Means Chairman Brady’s plan to apply the corporate tax to imports and rebate it on exports, he denied the Treasury of $120 billion in annual revenues. Those could have been used to lower marginal rates enough to avoid sticking middle-class families with higher income taxes now that state and local tax deductions are capped.
Republican congressmen from California and other high SALT states now face a tougher time defending their seats. With the Democrats needing to pick up only 23 to win the House, those districts could prove the difference.
The botched separation of minor children from adult immigrants charged with illegal entry — and President Trump’s insistence on a border wall even though supporters
