| | | | Rep. Trent Franks' absolutely bizarre resignation | | | Republican Rep. Trent Franks of Arizona announced Thursday night that he is resigning from Congress after being informed that the House Ethics Committee had opened an investigation into allegations of sexual harassment from two female former staffers. What did Franks do, you ask? According to his statement announcing his resignation: "Due to my familiarity and experience with the process of surrogacy, I clearly became insensitive as to how the discussion of such an intensely personal topic might affect others. I have recently learned that the Ethics Committee is reviewing an inquiry regarding my discussion of surrogacy with two previous female subordinates, making each feel uncomfortable. I deeply regret that my discussion of this option and process in the workplace caused distress." Um, what? So, here's how the Franks statement -- in meticulous detail -- casts how this whole thing came about:
1. He and his wife had problems conceiving and carrying a baby to term. (Franks notes in the statement his wife had three miscarriages.)
2. Eventually they found a woman to be a surrogate. That woman gave birth to twins.
3. He and his wife wanted more children. So did their kids. ("We continued to have a desire to have at least one additional sibling, for which our children had made repeated requests," writes Franks.)
4. He discussed the possibility of surrogacy with two women who worked for him.
Simple enough! Except not. It's not entirely clear -- at least to me -- whether Franks was talking about surrogacy with the two staffers or asking them to actually be surrogates for his wife and him. Neither is good. Regardless of the specifics, Franks' statement trying to explain himself is a mix of TMI and grasping attempts to rationalize his bizarre behavior -- flavored with just a pinch of media-bashing.
Later, he issued a statement announcing he will instead resign effective Friday, noting his "wife was admitted to the hospital in Washington, D.C., due to an ongoing ailment" last night. (The Franks saga is moving fast and you can read the latest here).
Franks' entire resignation statement is best understood as a guide on how not to resign from Congress. Like a bizarro "how to" guide. My guidance for future resigning members of Congress? Be brief. The end.
--Chris | | TRUMP'S LATEST POLLING WOES | | CNN's Greg Krieg and Ryan Struyk write:
Way back when, on the campaign trail, Trump famously described his core supporters as impervious to outside influence. Even his own bad behavior.
"I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody," he said in 2015, "and I wouldn't lose voters."
There was some truth in it. Trump loyalists are, well, pretty loyal. But a new poll from Pew this week shows signs his vaunted base could be fraying.Check out the chart (above). Each of the demographics listed represent key elements of Trump's coalition. And each shows a notable slide since he took office.
There's obviously plenty of time for Trump to rebound, but a depressed base could really hurt congressional Republicans next year. Democrats are poised to cast their ballots as a message against Trump. If Republican voters don't show up to push back, that wave might hit even harder than expected. | | | My friend recently told me about this "Hamilton" / "Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer" song: "Hamildolph" by a cappella group Eclipse 6. | | "You have to tend to this garden of democracy, otherwise things can fall apart fairly quickly. And we've seen societies where that happens."
-Former President Barack Obama at the Economic Club of Chicago | | | CNN's Dan Merica reported Friday afternoon: "Dina Powell, deputy national security adviser to President Donald Trump, plans to leave the White House after the President's first year in office, multiple senior administration officials confirm to CNN.
"Powell, the officials told CNN, is leaving the administration on good terms with the President, unlike other officials who have either resigned or been fired. She decided to leave the job after a year.
"Powell's departure could be the first of many to come. Officials have long expected that some Trump aides will leave the White House in January, a year after the President took office. It is traditional for administrations to experience a spate of departures after the first year in office, but Trump's year has been particularly bruising, leaving some officials preparing for more departures than usual."
Read more in Dan's full story here. | | | Photo credit: Saba Hamedy | | Saba went to a D.C. screening of the Netflix documentary "Saving Capitalism," which follows former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich (who wrote a book of the same name, published in 2015) as he travels around the United States to talk to a wide variety of Americans about the shift in the nation's economy. Director Jacob Kornbluth did a Q&A after the screening. Here are some highlights from the conversation: - On changing the documentary's theme after Trump won the election: The election results "changed every single frame of the film. ... When Trump won it was sort of both the worst thing that could happen to you as a filmmaker but also in some ways it was the most obvious thing that was going to happen. We were looking at all this footage and all this research of 50 years of rigging of economic system ... and the anger of people and how that was going to change the political system."
- On the film's target audience: "I mean, I think the simplest way to think about it is you make films primarily as a filmmaker because you want to reach as many people as possible ... you want to talk to your friends who are struggling with context for the day to day news cycle, that they have such emotionally charged reactions to."
- On reaction so far: "Honestly I didn't know when we were making it if it would impact people. But I think part of what makes a film like this work is even when we started making this before we knew who the president was going to be, we knew that this anti-establishment energy was coming, that the frustration with this system that wasn't working was going to blow over and reshape politics ... to see this all play out I think makes the movie more relevant in some ways more than we thought."
| | THE AIRPLANE WHERE IT HAPPENED | | Political debates can happen anywhere! Just ask Sen. Jeff Flake. From CNN's Daniella Diaz:
"While traveling Thursday on an airplane from Washington, GOP Sen. Jeff Flake debated a voter in a wide-ranging discussion about the GOP tax plan, the issue of Dreamers, the Affordable Care Act and the Children's Health Insurance Program.
Flake spoke for 11 minutes to a person who identified himself on his Twitter account as Ady Barkan of California, according to a tweet posted by his friend. Barkan explained his current situation, having been diagnosed with Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and how the tax bill would affect his health care to Flake.
The Arizona Republican voted to pass the Senate's GOP tax plan last week, and both chambers are in conference working to create a final version of the legislation to be voted on. Barkan said in a follow-up video that he was in Washington to protest the tax plan."
Read more in Daniella's story here. | | From Brenna: On the third day of GIFmas, 2017 gave to me, Biden's parting finger gun. Remember the Obama administration? Guys, it's been less than a year since Joe and Barack were bromancing it up.
And, while Obamacare was the signature policy to come out of the West Wing in those eight years, the Biden finger gun was the signature hand gesture, made most famous during the 2014 State of the Union address. This -- one of the final finger guns pulled on us during Biden's time as VP -- came during President Obama's farewell speech in January.
For his final (finger) gun show, Biden selected to perform a double point with a modest wink. Going out with a bang, Biden style.
Happy Friday! Remember to tell everyone you know to subscribe to The Point. | | We'd love to share our other newsletters with you. Follow this link for daily coverage of the world's top stories, savvy market insights, an insider's look into the media, and more. Our authors for The Point are Chris Cillizza and Saba Hamedy. Send your tips and thoughts via email to Chris or Saba. Follow on Twitter: Chris and Saba. | | | | | | |
Post a Comment