WaPo:
IRS says many who prepaid property taxes may still face cap on deductions
The announcement stoked confusion surrounding one of the most controversial elements of the tax law — a $10,000 cap on deductions for state and local taxes that will disproportionately affect higher-tax, Democratic-leaning states. It also offered a glimpse of the kind of hiccups that could arise in coming weeks as the IRS releases guidance on other facets of the bill, the largest overhaul of federal tax law in three decades…
Critics said the last-minute confusion underscored the haste with which Republicans passed their tax bill, completed in record time for such a far-reaching piece of legislation.
Shripal Shah/USA Today:
Only in Washington can people argue that doing something the public hates is better than not doing it. But that's where we are with the post-game analysis of the tax fight, where a historically unpopular president teamed up with a historically unpopular Republican Congress to pass a historically unpopular bill that further rigs the economy for the rich at everyone else's expense.
Anyone who thinks this bill will improve the Republican Party’s electoral prospects is ignoring history and common sense. In reality, 2018 just went from bad to worse for the GOP thanks to Paul Ryan, Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump.
Should you pay your property taxes (or whatever State And Local Taxes you can) early so you can deduct it next year? Can you? Is your municipality open before New Year? Can you get good advice now?
This is just a sample of real world consequences to what the GOP did. They own it. Good luck, and turn the lights out when you leave.
Politico:
Tax law creates confusion and uproar in city halls across America
Just a week after it was signed, the tax overhaul is already triggering a swift backlash from puzzled taxpayers and officials.
“What the federal government did and the timing of their actions was, in our view, cruel and unusual,” said Steve Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties. “They passed this tax bill at a time of year when government is very much in transition to the next fiscal year. There was great confusion this week.”
Jack Peterson, a lobbyist at the National Association of Counties, said he’s fielded questions from county officials nationwide this week about what the full gamut of federal tax changes could mean for them, with the preponderance of prepayment inquiries coming from officials in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Maryland.
“Any changes certainly take time and effort to properly implement and fairly implement,” he said.
Margaret Sullivan/WaPo:
Polls show Americans distrust the media. But talk to them, and it’s a very different story.
By the end of my journey, I had interviewed 35 people and chatted with dozens of others. I found very little of what I feared most. And I discovered that some stereotypes about the way heartland Americans view the media don’t quite hold up.
Good Digby piece:
Cas Mudde/Guardian:
‘Trumpism’ is ingrained in white America. When he goes, it will remain
However, for years surveys have shown that strong authoritarian, nativist and populist positions command pluralities, if not majorities, among Republican supporters. Positions on crime, immigration and Islam have hardened rather than weakened, while conspiracy theories that were at the fringes of the militia movement in the 1990s are now widespread.
The shift has been encouraged by generations of Republican politicians: remember Ronald Reagan’s use of the term “welfare queens”, and Newt Gingrich calling sharia law “a mortal threat to the survival of freedom in America”?
What the increasingly forgotten rise of the Tea Party indicated several years before was simply confirmed by the rise of Trump: the Republican establishment had radicalised its base to such an extent that it was no longer representative of its views. Trump didn’t hijack the Republican party, he provided the base with a real representative again. But just as the Koch brothers didn’t control the Tea Party, Trump doesn’t control “Trumpism”. He is merely the current voice of the radicalised base.
G Elliott Morris:
The Best Books About U.S. Politics That I Read in 2017
Asymmetric Politics: Ideological Republicans and Group Interest Democrats
The main selling point of this book, like the one above, is that it provides extraordinary insights into our crazy political times. As I often quip on Twitter, "partisanship is a hell of a drug." This book provides some context about what partisanship, and what membership in political parties means to Americans. The authors, political scientists Matt Grossman and David A. Hopkins, go through the history of the two major political parties and investigate what makes Democratic voters and coalitions different from those across the aisle. In their view, the Democratic Party is oriented towards providing policy-based, concrete benefits for Americans, while the Republican Party is consumed by its conservative ideology.
Max Boot/Foreign Policy:
2017 Was the Year I Learned About My White Privilege
I used to be a smart-alecky conservative who scoffed at “political correctness.” The Trump era has opened my eyes.
I used to take a reflexively pro-police view of arguments over alleged police misconduct, thinking that cops were getting a bum rap for doing a tough, dangerous job. I still have admiration for the vast majority of police officers, but there is no denying that some are guilty of mistreating the people they are supposed to serve. Not all the victims of police misconduct are minorities — witness a blonde Australian woman shot to death by a Minneapolis police officer after she called 911, or an unarmed white man shot to death by a Mesa, Arizona, officer while crawling down a hotel hallway — but a disproportionate share are.
The videos do not lie. One after another, we have seen the horrifying evidence on film of cops arresting, beating, even shooting black people who were doing absolutely nothing wrong or were stopped for trivial misconduct. For African-Americans, and in particular African-American men, infractions like jaywalking or speeding or selling cigarettes without tax stamps can incite corporal, or even capital, punishment without benefit of judge or jury. African-Americans have long talked about being stopped for “driving while black.” I am ashamed to admit I did not realize what a serious and common problem this was until the videotaped evidence emerged. The iPhone may well have done more to expose racism in modern-day America than the NAACP.
Ezra Klein/Vox, and a fascinating read:
The inside story of Doug Jones’s win in Alabama
[Joe Trippi] explains the Alabama win.
The key to us having a chance was to detribalize the politics of the state. If Alabama was reacting to the tribal politics of our times, there was no way for us to win. And in a weird way, the allegations created tribalism again. You either believe the charges or you don't believe the charges. Suddenly, we're back into Republicans who don't believe the charges; it's the media out to get Roy Moore. He's able to start tribalizing the race. Trump begins coming in with him. And every time that happened, Roy Moore would open a lead.
Evan Siegfried/Daily Beast on the Nazi in the GOP running against Paul Ryan:
CANCER ON THE GOP
Even Steve Bannon Is (Finally) Renouncing the Unhinged Racist Running Against Paul Ryan
Ryan Cooper/The Week with a great read:
The media is blinded by its obsession with rural white Trump voters
Trump does — or did — have unusual levels of blue collar support, but the actual bulk of Trump support is the same old professional, petty bourgeois, and ultra-wealthy capitalists who have been voting Republican for generations.
So where are the lavish profiles of Trump die-hards among Wall Street swindlers? The only coverage Trump's most powerful supporters by far get is short, straightforward stuff like this from The Financial Times.
And where are the lavish profiles of people (broke, white, or otherwise) who have soured on Trump? After all, his approval rating has fallen dramatically since taking office. A Morning Consult poll from October found double-digit drops in every state without exception. Trump undoubtedly retains the majority of his support that propelled him to a 30-point victory in Kentucky. But his approval rating in that state has fallen by 20 points. In the critical swing states of Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania — the heart of "Trump Country" — it has fallen by 17.9, 22.6, and 15.6 points respectively. Given the polling, there must be millions of people who have soured on Trump. These people swung the election — and may swing the next one. Surely they deserve at least equal billing with the die-hards.
Jennifer Rubin/WaPo:
Second, stop expecting Republicans in Congress to “do the right thing.” Too many spent too much time waiting for the moment when Republicans “would finally break with Trump.” There is no utterance, tweet, action, policy or financial chicanery likely to prompt action by Republicans. A devastating report from the special counsel? Don’t count on Republicans to take it seriously. Once you’ve made peace with that, you can focus on the real action: holding those Republicans accountable in the 2018 elections.
This is the story all two of you have been clamoring for:
The 14 year old blurs lines, of course. And it makes his interview with a 12 year old girl downright creepy. But pedophile was the word used by the political world, it’s already set in stone, and in any case the proper word is: disgraced.
Add it to your style sheet. “Disgraced Roy Moore” is the man’s name.