The Health 202: Republicans kill Obamacare’s controversial “death panel”

Interpretation of the news based on evidence, including data, as well as anticipating how events might unfold based on past events The government was officially shutdown for a few hours overnight, as Congress struggled to pass a massive spending bill. Now Congress has killed a part of Obamacare that never even got to live except in the realm of political theater.

Government Heads For Shutdown, Thanks To Rand Paul

Even with Nancy Pelosi's epic 8-hour Speech on Stilettos yesterday, it seemed as though we would get a vote out of the way in the Senate and the House would be a close, but done deal. Except now Rand Paul is on the Senate floor yammering about liberty and blocking the Senate vote.

What happened to the Democrats’ ‘Better Deal?’ Check the spending bill.

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer leaves a closed-door meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell at the Capitol in Washington on Feb. 6 as they work on a plan to keep the government open for six more weeks. Eight months after Democrats began to release their "Better Deal" agenda, they're on the cusp of passing some of it into law - by tucking it into this week's must-pass spending bill.

I think you make yourself a victim almost every single day

This is a good piece by Adam Serwer. And what he's saying about the FBI is true of all of institutions, especially the media: Republicans, insulated from the potential backlash by the very "law and order" voters who put them in office, are willing to attack the FBI publicly as a covert political tool of Democrats in a way that the opposition party simply is not.

CIA Director: Nunes ‘Abused’ His Power on Committee

The former director of the Central Intelligence Agency on Sunday blasted a Republican memo alleging abuses of power by the FBI and the Justice Department. John Brennan accused Rep. Devin Nunes , the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, of selectively releasing information to accuse law enforcement officials of improperly obtaining a warrant to monitor the communications of a former Trump campaign adviser.

How to Think About Judicial Behavior

To follow up on Paul's post below, since political science models have played a role in advancing the strongest versions of legal realism, it's worth explaining what a more realistic version of legal realism looks like. One way I like to explain it is borrowed from Michael Klarman's superb book From Jim Crow to Civil Rights .

The Nunes memo perfectly lined up with what Hannity has been hyping for weeks prior to its release

Almost a month before Republicans on the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence chose to publicly release what was a classified and partisan memo written by intelligence committee Chairman Devin Nunes alleging Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act abuses by the FBI and Department of Justice , Fox host Sean Hannity appeared to have advanced knowledge of some of the claims laid out in the Nunes memo. Almost a month prior to the memo's public release, Hannity was hyping "shocking information a that will show systemic FISA abuse" and bragged that the media will "be forced to cover this story."

Let’s Be Honest: It’s President Hannity And Doocy

One of the things of which Donald Trump reassured his supporters during his campaign rallies was that he--by virtue of being high profile and rich--knew all the best people, so that he could get things done that weren't being addressed by all those Washington insiders. Even without Michael Wolff's book, it's been increasingly apparent that Donald Trump was more heavily influenced by what he was watching on Fox News than actual intelligence coming in from the multitudes of intelligence agencies available to the president.

Unhinged Trump 2020 Adviser Refuses To Give Obama Credit For Black…

Bruce Levell, an adviser to Donald Trump's 2020 campaign, told MSNBC on Sunday that President Barack Obama should not get credit for jobs created during his administration because Trump is the real "Yes We Can" president. During an interview with Levell, MSNBC host Alex Witt noted that Trump has recently taken credit for record-low black unemployment, a trend which started under Obama.

‘Alice In Wonderland’: Jennifer Granholm Shuts Down Santorum For…

Conservative CNN contributor Rick Santorum got shot down on a CNN panel on Sunday after he asserted that there was a conspiracy between President Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and the FBI to take down Donald Trump. During an panel discussion on CNN's State of the Union , host Jake Tapper asked Santorum if he agreed with Donald Trump Jr. that the controversial GOP memo smearing the FBI's Russia was "sweet revenge" for Trump supporters.

GOP Adviser: There Are NO Circumstances In Which GOP House Impeaches Trump

I don't know about you, but I spent much of the month of December 2016 in a near constant panic attack. Because after reeling from an election that didn't go at all the way the polls predicted, it became patently obvious how tenuous and how optimistic our Founding Fathers were when they tasked " checks and balances " of the Executive Branch to Congress.