How close is Donald J. Trump to the Russians?

 "Russians make up a pretty disproportionate cross-section of a lot of our assets. We see a lot of money pouring in from Russia."  -- Donald J Trump, Jr.



Pres. Obama says there were  communications between the Trump campaign and the Russians. The Russians also said that.


Today, Tuesday 12/13/16, Trump nominated a new cabinet position: Secretary of State. It goes to Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon (oil) which has recently been making huge deals with what country to drill on their soil?



During the presidential campaign it became known that there was a Trump Organization computer server connected to the Internet and it had regularly communicated with someone in Russia. It was quietly turned off and nobody was able to prove who was listening in Russia.



Just how connected to the Russians is Donald J. Trump?



One of Donald J. Trump's advisors and campaign manager was Paul Manafort. He had to leave the campaign when it was discovered he had lobbied for Russian interests in Ukraine. Similarly Carter Page has tied together Russian interests and Donald J. Trump.



How have Republicans in Washington handled the Trump and Russia story?



A lot of the electors (who cast the actual votes which decide the presidency) are concerned about the ties between Donald J. Trump and Russia.



Some Republicans who are not Trump fans are concerned too.



And Donald J. Trump himself? What does he think about all this?



How far does the Russian interference in US elections go? Is it only the presidential race? The New York Times is reporting that some Congressional races were also hacked!

Here is another article on the Congressional hacking. Sorry about the title.



What do the Russians have to say for themselves?

Follow the Money - 2016 Presidential Campaign Edition

I'm certain there are many things about the money in a modern presidential campaign which isn't apparent, but this article caught my eye since it relates to Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway, two of Donald Trump's closest advisors.

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/09/thiel-backed-pac-may-have-made-illegal-payments-bannon-company.html

The FEC should look at this issue quickly, before the inauguration.

Re: Exclusive: Garry Kasparov Says ‘It’s a Fact Russia Helped Trump’ | Playboy

On Garri Kasparov's Playboy interview

Kasparov, "known for his brusque charisma and flashes of mordant wit, brought his fierce intellect, intense presence and forceful style"

This nicely summarizes Kasparov. I've never heard of anyone else described as having a "brusque charisma". Heh.

"The whole story of the rise of Donald Trump is extraordinary. Putin believes that if you're strong enough and if your opponent is not responding, you can go as far as you want. "

That sounds like Trump. Just how tight are they?

"Now, President Barack Obama is very much reaping the harvest of his weak foreign policy because Russia  tried to demonstrate its political might by attacking the very foundation of American democracy."

Our foreign policy isn't weak, but it appears that way. Perhaps the easiest explanation for it is our huge debt, a leftover from Republican governance. Another explanation for the approach, which hasn't been articulated very well yet, is that we seek to let strong power have influence in their own regions, to allow their personalities to be exhibited without wars and to let each solve their region's problems if they can. Our role is more limited, to assistance. Combine these two things (debt and a more limited role for America) and you get the current policy. It is deliberate and not from weakness. Putin just can't comprehend that we would choose such a policy because it is so foreign to him.

One issue with such a policy is that the other powers of the world aren't used to this kind of thing and haven't quickly adjusted to it. Is Europe in good working order? Is Russia capable of playing business instead of war? Is China capable of handling problems outside their border (see N. Korea)? America will have to be the world's

policeman for some time, but maybe just a little less so.

I would also remind Kasparov (if he were reading this) that whatever intervention was made in America's political system, it wasn't military. It was just sneaky KGB crap which wouldn't have had any legs if the Republicans and our media weren't also such crap.

Why haven't the Democrats responded more forcefully? Aside from fixing our systems,

which Ms. Stein's recount efforts hopes to reveal, Congress could act, but Republicans

control too many levers of power. Let Kasparov tell the Republicans what to do and

let's see how frustrated he gets. Anyway, the American voters knew what was happening

and they could easily have decided differently. We got what we got despite them knowing

what was happening (maybe not the specifics, but enough).

"Hillary Clinton was prematurely talking about cabinet positions. She virtually ignored Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin. She could have had Bernie Sanders, Joe Biden and Elizabeth Warren campaigning there [until the end]."

To give the Clinton campaign a bit of credit, there were few if any pollsters anywhere saying those states were going 'red'. I think the Trump campaign spotted it first, but after the Comey statements it was just too late to change the trend.

Until the serious voting in Florida showed how close the race there was going to be the Clinton campaign had been trying to win more senate seats. I agree with GK that early talk about governing was not good, but I don't know how much of that there really was. It's very hard to remain cautious and keep in mind that the FBI director might break all the rules and destroy everything. That's a rare, if unheard of thing.

I'm still looking for the investigation of the FBI agents who leaked information and forced Comey's hand. /sarcasm


"Clinton was wrong. She was the wrong candidate. She was the candidate of the status quo, with too much baggage from the past. The fact that she lost to Donald Trump shows how weak she was as a candidate. "

I agree she wasn't ideal, but she got 2.7 million more votes than Trump. That's not "weak".

"I think Ronald Reagan put it most concisely when he said, "Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction.""

I suspect someone else put it most concisely and Reagan's speech writer just handed the quote to Reagan to read.

"We are responsible for reaffirming the values we cherish in the present and finding a path for them into the future, because they are always in danger of being brought back into oblivion. As the motto of Soviet dissidents went, "Do what you must, and so be it.""

I think today's Democrats, and particularly the politicians involved in the fight on a day-to-day basis realize this and are more keenly aware of the motto than most others. But, we always try to do more than just "what we must". We also try to do what is proper and just.

"Dictators who stay in power too long basically turn their countries into political deserts. And unfortunately animals or trees that can survive in deserts are the most rigid and not the nicest ones."

We see that kind of thing in America too, that's why there are protests on the streets and in Congress. It's too bad the media has fallen by the way-side and only sees money. Life in the political desert may be possible, but it's not the way most people are happy.

Infrastructure and Tax Reform, Round 2

If Republicans weren't so focused on campaigning they might get some real legislating done. If Trump weren't so self-congratulatory for things other people have done (see Pence, Indiana, Carrier) it would be easier to get things done and not have to hear him bloviating.

I think a nice legislative package of infrastructure spending and tax reform would be a nice present President Obama and Paul Ryan (with the rest of Congress assisting) could give the incoming president and America. It's up to Republicans to decide whether they want hot air or substance.

Tax Reform Plan for 2017

I get the feeling the Democrats and Republicans in Congress are close to agreeing to a tax reform plan.

Democrats and Republicans both are concerned about the deficit (and have therefore created the awkward sequester to reduce it). To that end the Democrats are willing to pay for infrastructure spending by taxing repatriation of offshore profits at a rate less than standard.

Republicans like the Ryan tax plan (which has much to recommend it), but the Republicans need to scale back its cost to something more like $300-450 billion over ten years. Right not it is estimated at costing much more.

I'd suggest that the line two of the post card should be more like 70% (instead of "1/2") and the top rate for high incomes shouldn't be so generous. But, however they may find to decrease its cost that would appear to be the last thing to achieve before it's a done deal.

If it can be achieved there could be a deal on paper and signed by the new president in January. It would be a nice New Year gift for many people.

What About FBI Director Comey?

It seems a Pres. Trump will put some ridiculous yahoo in as FBI Director. So, it may be time to chuck Director Comey and put in somebody else for a long term.

Director Comey, or perhaps forces beyond his control, did a great disservice to America and to Democrats in particular. He broke a long tradition (which existed for very good reasons) and it is clearly one of the reasons the election turned.

Perhaps someone else can hold the position and not displease Trump so much that he finds reason to dispose of them. We can hope.

The Democratic Party and a New Reality

As it has become more clear the Republicans have no real goal to govern and that they really want to use power in government to steal money, it is more crucial than ever that the Democrats should fight the political fight to regain power and focus a bit less on the governance. This is a sad turn of events, but it appears inevitable and necessary.


The Southern Strategy and the War on Drugs

Since the release of Nixon tapes which reveal the Southern strategy and the War on Drugs were devised only to suppress the African-American voters (who have tended to vote for Democrats) in America it is impossible to not see them as political prisoners and to release them. I would not advise releasing those who have been violent and dangerous, the drug traffickers, nor those who have dealt in addictive substances. I would however suggest that we must end the criminality of using marijuana for adults. This is a rather large percentage of our prison populations, so it is essentially a "small government" idea (the jails would empty by about a third and the number of jails and jailers would decrease). A key element related to this is that persons who have committed a felony may lose their right to vote. That must be eliminated. Once someone is released from prison or jail they should always return to society as whole as possible, including their right to vote.


Guns

Further, we should endeavor to allow cities to ban possession of guns of all kinds in public spaces if the citizens vote for that. Citizens would maintain their right to own and keep guns in private places. The senseless slaughter of people due to handguns is clearly a part of the Southern strategy which must end.


Money in Politics

On the more traditional political front we need to ensure all political contributions to campaigns or parties are made public. It isn't sound policy to allow secrecy when we now have foreign entities wishing to influence our elections. Similarly, we need to end the labeling of corporations as persons (with rights) and end their ability to give money to campaigns or parties. They should be limited to their economic and social activities.


Voter Suppression

We must end the other voter suppression techniques the Republicans have used to prevent people (of any kind) from voting. For our Democracy to work properly the people who are of age must be able to vote. This means ensuring there are sufficient polling places and voting machines and other resources for elections to be properly held.


This is the beginning of a list which might grow.

I write this not as a Liberal, but hopefully as a patriot who wants our Democracy to function properly.