There’s a big con job just over the horizon.  All of the elements are there.  The timing, the platform, the personalities, the discussion topics, etc., it’s a familiar script.  CTH would like to direct attention to this interview which took place last night on Laura Ingraham’s new Fox News show.  Listen carefully to three elements:
♦On Tax Reform – on one side of Rubio’s ‘full-throated‘ mouth he wants higher taxes on corporations 22% -vs- 20%. In the almost the same breath, inside the same argument, he says “it’s not their (the government’s) money”.   Try to reconcile that.
♦On DACA – [Remember, three months ago President Trump gave congress six months to fix DACA]  Rubio says the “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals” (DACA) program is not the “Dreamers”.  What? Yes it is. The childhood arrivals ARE the so-called ‘dreamers’.
♦However, much more importantly, listen to what is said on “chain migration“.  Ingraham asks if Rubio supports “chain migration”.   Rubio says no, then immediately says: “I’ve always agreed to limiting chain migration to immediate family members”. WHAT? That is chain migration.

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Resist we much.  Anticipating intransigence President Trump tweeted ahead of a meeting today with Minority Leaders Nancy Pelosi (House) and Chuck Schumer (Senate).

In response to the brutal truth, and attempting to save face against a backdrop of needed legislative positioning, Pelosi and Schumer announce their delicate sensibilities are hurt.

WASHINGTON – “Given that the President doesn’t see a deal between Democrats and the White House, we believe the best path forward is to continue negotiating with our Republican counterparts in Congress instead,” Pelosi and Schumer said in a joint statement.

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Representative Louis Gutierrez (D-IL) is a long-time Marxist in congress who is an open-border activist.  Representative Gutierrez has previously requested illegal aliens to cross the Southern U.S. border and target any border patrol official possible.
As a militant immigration activist Mr. Gutierrez has also supported MS-13 gang strikes in the U.S. and advocated for illegal aliens to register to vote to influence U.S. elections.  He generally keeps his most visible vitriol reserved for Spanish-speaking audiences.

Gutierrez surprised many people today with a report he will not seek reelection this year for his Chicago district. Gutierrez owns a home in Puerto Rico so there’s a possibility the opportunity for unaccountable federal recovery money flowing into PR might be too enticing to pass up. An opportunity exists to make millions from the inherent political corruption in the island.  Regardless, there’s also a financial lobbying angle available.

CHICAGO – Signaling the end to a quarter century career in Congress, Rep. Luis Gutierrez will announce Tuesday that he will not seek re-election, Democratic sources tell the Chicago Sun-Times.

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Make Sure You Watch The Video:

OMB Director Mick Mulvaney is covering as ‘Acting Director‘ for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) until a permanent replacement is nominated by President Trump.  As most people are aware the Democrats are apoplectic about their holy grail bureau being under oversight of Mr. Mulvaney.  As evidence of their angst they are supporting legal maneuvers to stop the Trump administration from carrying authority within the agency.
The Department of Justice, White House Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), agreed with President Trump’s authority to appoint an ‘acting director’.  The legal counsel within the CFPB also agreed that President Trump was well within his authority to appoint Mulvaney.   However, that didn’t stop bureau employee Leandra English from filing a weakly positioned lawsuit trying to stop Director Mulvaney.
A federal judge listened to the argument of CFPB employee Ms. English a few hours ago. Judge Tim Kelly did not make an immediate ruling.  Instead, the DOJ will file a response to the pleading later tonight and Judge Kelly said he’ll take a look and make a decision from there.
The CFPB is the product of far-left progressives, specifically Elizabeth Warren, initially setting up a financial control agency that operates without congressional oversight. The Bureau construct was challenged in court and ruled ‘unconstitutional’.  That’s the backdrop for this press conference today with Acting Director Mick Mulvaney.

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“Only one person who today showed up at work claiming to be director.”  “She wasn’t here.”   “In the ordinary world, if you don’t call, you don’t show, you don’t have a job the next day, but I’m not sure how it works here.”

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What’s this? …MORE winning?  …Sheesh.  Well, just add it to the pile in the corner over there, along with all the other winning we haven’t got around to yet.
The internal legal counsel for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has just agreed with the White House Office of Legal Counsel that President Trump has full authority to appoint OMB Director Mick Mulvaney as the acting head of the agency.
Oh noes, Princess Moonbat Feathers is gonna have a ‘splodey head in 3…. 2…. 1…

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The top lawyer for the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) has concluded that President Donald Trump has the authority to name its acting director, three sources familiar with the matter said on Sunday, rejecting an effort by her former boss at the agency to name his immediate successor.
The office of CFPB General Counsel Mary McLeod has prepared a memo concurring with the opinion of the U.S. Justice Department that Trump has the power to appoint his budget chief, Mick Mulvaney, as temporary leader of the federal watchdog agency, according to the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
One source said the memo would be sent to CFPB staff on Monday.

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War is ugly.  Political war against the swamp, while accepting their one-sided rules of engagement, is exponential hell.  In order to gain victory, you have to be prepared to advance into the fire at all costs. Andrew Breitbart, Donald Trump and apparently Dinesh D’Souza understand this modern political truth.
In the final analysis this approach is the essential element of ‘Cold Anger’:

The Democrats and UniParty Republicans will cede no ground.  There is only one majority political ideology within Washington DC, and it is based on financial interest. Their rules of engagement are entirely self-serving.  They will fight against any entity, for any reason, on any issue, even reversing their own individual policy positions, if they view that entity as an existential risk to their power structure and decades-long financial constructs.
For those who live within the institutions, nothing is out-of-bounds; therefore, in order to defeat the systemic and institutional rot, we must fight as an insurgent opposition.
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CTH has been looking, unsuccessfully, for China SME’s who have insight on the DC lobbying angle by Chinese foreign nationals and the hidden story of how the Trump administration might be confronting that aspect.
Gordon Chang briefly touches on that note during a discussion segment on the overall outcome of President Trump’s 12-day visit to Asia.
Apparently, if Chang’s sources are accurate (likely they are), the notification by POTUS Trump toward Chairman Xi Jinping, of the lobbyist warning did take place [Video 02:25].

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The foreign influence lobbying is a critical element for us domestically in the larger geopolitical strategy.  Chinese nationals pay our congressional representatives millions of dollars to purchase U.S. foreign policy.  CTH is cautiously optimistic this is a key element of Robert Mueller.
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There’s an extensive back story to this issue: Part I, and Part II, and Part III

(President Trump Tweet Link)

The Director of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, Richard Cordray, has resigned. Senator Elizabeth Warren does not want President Trump to appoint an interim replacement.  President Trump has announced OMB Director Mick Mulvaney will be the “acting” head of the agency until he nominates a permanent replacement for senate confirmation. Senator Warren wants to take President Trump to court to stop him filling the interim position.
The U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), has provided legal guidance (full pdf outline of opinion below), and decided that President Trump clearly has the authority to appoint the acting Director.  Senator Elizabeth Warren is going bananas.
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The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) was the brainchild of Senator Elizabeth Warren as an outcome of the Dodd-Frank legislation. With the CFPB Pocahontas tried to set up the head of the agency, the Director, in a manner that that he/she would operate without oversight. Unfortunately, her dictatorial-fiat-design collapsed when challenged in court.  Backstory #1 – Backstory #2
A federal court found the CFPB Director position held too much power and deemed it unconstitutional. The court decision noted that giving the President power to fire the Director would fix the constitutional problem.
However, with the prior court ruling as a backdrop, a second issue for Warren surfaces as an outcome of the current CFPB Director, Richard Cordray, resigning and President Trump appointing an ‘interim’ head for the agency.
Senator Warren, apoplectic at the thought of CFPB critic Mick Mulvaney acting as head of the agency, wants the Deputy Director,  Leandra English, to become Acting Director and points to Warren’s legislative outline as evidence to support her demand. Except it doesn’t…. not even a little bit.

(WARREN LINK)

The language Pocahontas points to in the CFPB construct, points to the Deputy Director filling in during the “absence” or “unavailability” of the Director. The statute clearly does not provide a mechanism when the Director position is “Vacant”.
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LA radio anchor Leeann Tweeden said last week Senator Al Franken had put his tongue in her mouth.  Another woman, Lindsay Menz, said Monday that Franken had squeezed her buttocks in 2010 while posing for a photo.  Two more women alleged in a Huffington Post story published Wednesday that Senator Franken grabbed their butts during campaign events in 2007 and 2008.  Senator Al Franken “responds“:

“I’ve met tens of thousands of people and taken thousands of photographs, often in crowded and chaotic situations. I’m a warm person; I hug people. I’ve learned from recent stories that in some of those encounters, I crossed a line for some women – and I know that any number is too many. Some women have found my greetings or embraces for a hug or photo inappropriate, and I respect their feelings about that.”

“I’ve thought a lot in recent days about how that could happen, and recognize that I need to be much more careful and sensitive in these situations. I feel terribly that I’ve made some women feel badly and for that I am so sorry, and I want to make sure that never happens again. And let me say again to Minnesotans that I’m sorry for putting them through this and I’m committed to regaining their trust.”  ~ Senator Al Franken