October 12, 2018 11:17 AM UTC

Get More Smarter on Friday (October 12)

• 6 Comments
• by: Colorado Pols

One week from today, you might have already voted. For now, it’s time to Get More Smarter. If you think we missed something important, please include the link in the comments below (here’s a good example). If you are more of a visual learner, check out The Get More Smarter Show.

TOP OF MIND TODAY…

► According to a new Washington Post/ABC News poll, most Americans do not think Brett Kavanaugh should have been confirmed to the Supreme Court:

More Americans disapprove of Brett M. Kavanaugh’s confirmation to the Supreme Court than approve, and a narrow majority says congressional investigation of the new justice should not end with his elevation to the court, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll…

…It also suggests the tumultuous battle over his nomination could harm the court’s reputation as the nonpartisan branch of government.

The survey, conducted during Kavanaugh’s first week on the bench, shows that 43 percent of Americans believe the court’s rulings will be more politically motivated with President Trump’s second nominee on the court, compared to 10 percent who said they will be less political. To 39 percent of the public, Kavanaugh’s presence will make no difference in the degree of partisanship.

► The stock market is falling. As the New York Times reports, President Trump is pointing fingers at everybody else.

President Trump responded to falling stock prices on Thursday by continuing to throw rocks at the Federal Reserve, which he has described as “crazy,” “loco,” “going wild” and “out of control” for slowly raising interest rates against the backdrop of a booming economy.

No other modern president has publicly attacked the Fed with such venom or frequency. Indeed, some scholars said the only close historical parallel was with President Andrew Jackson, who campaigned successfully in the 1830s to close the Fed’s predecessor, the Second Bank of the United States.

Mr. Trump’s pointed remarks reflect the high political stakes less than a month before midterm elections that have been cast by his political opponents as a referendum on his presidency. Mr. Trump has been riding the economy hard, bragging about job creation, tax cuts and reduced federal regulation, and claiming credit for the rise of the stock market. Now that the market has lost 5 percent of its value in the last week, Mr. Trump is insisting someone else is to blame.

► The Trump administration claims that changing the next U.S. Census is not a political maneuver designed to help Republicans. As Philip Bump reports for the Washington Post, this argument doesn’t hold much water:

What the Kobach email reveals, though, is that the political effects of asking the question on immigration were part of the calculus on deciding whether to include it — in case there was any question in that regard. There’s an existing problem in counting noncitizen immigrants in the census, and experts argue that including the question will itself drive down response rates to the survey.

Including the question, in other words, will itself help meet Kobach’s goal of getting undocumented immigrants out of population totals (to whatever extent they’re already included) even without anyone actually answering it.

Oh, you mean those conversations about citizenship questions.

Get even more smarter after the jump…

IN CASE YOU ARE STANDING NEAR A WATER COOLER…

► Senator Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) would never tell a lie. Jesse Paul links to Colorado Pols but misses the point for The Colorado Sun:

There have been unsubstantiated allegations on social media and beyond that Gardner fabricated the story about the beheading video being sent to his wife.

“I would never make up threats,” he told The Sun. “I would never make up threats against my family. I hope the people who believe that never tell that to my wife.”

We did not write that Gardner fabricated this story. We wrote that Gardner has not earned the benefit of the doubt on anything because of his documented history of not telling the truth. It wouldn’t be difficult for Gardner to provide proof here.

This article falsely claims @coloradopols alleged Gardner made the threats up. The Pols post pointed out Gardner’s well documented history of making false statements, which CO media such as @coloradosun routinely accept at face value, but did not allege he made this up. https://t.co/yJ7QyTjQFy

— Shuckabee (@bmenezes) October 12, 2018

Speaking of Gardner and his problem with telling the truth, here is another example of why everything he says should be taken with a grain of salt.

► President Trump has called into Fox News THREE TIMES this week, as Brian Stelter writes for CNN:

His first Fox phoner this month was on Jeanine Pirro‘s show last Saturday. Then he called into Shannon Bream‘s newscast on Wednesday night. When he woke up on Thursday morning, he called in again, this time to “Fox & Friends.” The chat went on for 46 minutes. “Go run the country,” Steve Doocy said as he attempted to wrap it up.

Indeed.

► Georgia’s Republican Secretary of State is under fire for making it more difficult for people to register to vote. He also happens to be running for Governor.

► Aurora Sentinel editor Dave Perry weighs in on the scandal surrounding State Rep. Jovan Melton (D-Aurora) with some poignant thoughts:

Republicans smelling political blood in the fiasco are hypocritical in excoriating Melton and Dem leaders on this case when they act the exact same way. Colorado GOP gubernatorial candidate Walker Stapleton was arrested in 1999 for drunken driving and was accused of hit-and-run. The DUI charges stuck, and the hit-and-run charges were dropped. Republicans have long said it’s no big deal, and that Stapleton should be judged on how he was convicted, not how he was accused. Drunken driving is one thing. Hit-and-run is something altogether different…

…Melton should, however, absolutely resign — because he hid his criminal record from voters. That’s the unforgivable transgression Melton committed and is a fire-able offense under the current rule of law — the unwritten law of political ethics.

Melton knew his criminal past would be a deal breaker with voters, so he decided to remain silent about it, hoping what happened this week never would.

I never cease to marvel over what people think they can get away with as public officials and keep hidden. This is one of those cases.

► Texas Democrat Beto O’Rourke, who is challenging incumbent Republican Sen. Ted Cruz, raised $38.1 million in the third quarter of 2018 — a new record for fundraising by a U.S. Senate candidate.

► Yet another sign that Congressman Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) is in deep trouble.

► Jason Dunn has finally been confirmed as Colorado’s U.S. Attorney.

► Remember the 2013 recall elections in Colorado over gun safety legislation? Those arguments are being flipped upside-down in 2018.

► Senator Cory Gardner (R-Yuma) says the U.S. Senate is working just fine!