Chad’s Morning Brief: Mitch McConnell Has Big Plans for the Future and Donald Trump has Inspired the Rich!
Here are some of the issues that will be discussed on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show.
McConnell Has Plans! For 2017
According to POLITICO, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has big plans for Republicans. However, those big plans must wait until at least 2017.
To hear the Senate majority leader tell it, Republicans have a real chance to achieve a wish-list of conservative action items — but most of it will have to wait until 2017, when a Republican president takes office.
Until then, the Kentucky Republican is intent on steering the GOP away from a politically disastrous government shutdown this month and to avoid the kinds of headlines that could damage his party’s chances of winning the Oval Office, not to mention his own prospects of remaining majority leader beyond next year. Reversing President Barack Obama's Iran deal, stopping his executive orders on labor and climate policy ... even serious entitlement reform will be within reach if Republicans can hold onto the Senate and take the White House next year, McConnell said.
“This is a critical election, in my view, about whether we want to continue to go down this European path, or whether we want to recapture the growth rates and the greatness we’ve had most of our history,” McConnell told POLITICO during an extensive interview in his Capitol office overlooking the National Mall. Until 2017, Republicans are “going to make what progress we can for the country in spite of this far-left administration with which, frankly, most of my members and myself have very little in common.”
Nine months after claiming his long-sought prize of Republican majority leader, the cagey Senate leader is entering what could be a decisive three-month stretch with lots of headaches: Defusing the conflict over Planned Parenthood and government funding, figuring out a long-term deal on infrastructure, raising the debt ceiling and managing four Republican colleagues running for president with their own priorities — all while dealing with the Senate’s filibuster rules and languid pace.
But he also enjoys advantages his House counterpart John Boehner can only wish for — starting with a Republican conference that, with the notable exception of Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), almost uniformly has his back. McConnell appears to have sufficient support to beat back Cruz’s plans to force a government-shutdown showdown over Planned Parenthood funding, no matter what insults the Texan hurls.
While Mitch McConnell can't push his full agenda while President Obama is in office, he could do more. While POLITICO mentions that McConnell has overwhelming support in the Senate, I'd argue that he and many of the lawmakers don't have overwhelming support of the voters.
Voters want to see Republicans fight and they want lawmakers to challenge the President and other Democrats. So far, we aren't seeing that. Republicans were rewarded for showing fight in the shutdown of 2013. Now, they are running scared.
Trump Inspires the Rich!
Could Mark Cuban, owner of the Dallas Mavericks, run for office one day? Thanks to Donald Trump, he may according to POLITICO.
Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is so impressed with Donald Trump’s success that he is now considering running for office himself.
“I love the fact that he has changed the game. … The idea of imperfect candidates with forceful ideas opens the door for a lot of people that would not have previously run,” said Cuban, cautioning that if he were to follow Trump’s example, “My positions would be far different.”
Cuban — who in the past has feuded with his fellow rebel billionaire — is hosting a Monday mega-rally for Trump at his Dallas arena. The Republican frontrunner called to ask about using the venue and Cuban saw the opportunity to strike a deal. “Our arena is amazing and his checks will clear,” explained the Mavericks owner.
Cuban is not the only famous, and famously, rich guy moved to reevaluate his view that the only people to succeed in public service are second-rate hacks who are full of baloney. Inspired by seeing one of their own do it, a slew of flamboyant moguls are giving politics a second look.
“Why would having government experience be a plus for a presidential candidate?” asked one-time multi-millionaire software pioneer John McAfee. The former fugitive from authorities in Belize who was arrested on DUI charges in Tennessee last month is now running for president. “I’d rather have a Trump, or I’d rather have a man on the street who has no knowledge of government.”
Unlike hip-hop mogul Kanye West, who may or may not have been sincere when he announced at the MTV Video Music Awards that he would seek the White House in 2020, McAfee is unambiguously serious about his campaign. He filed the papers for a third-party presidential bid with the FEC on Tuesday.
Could Cuban serve in the Trump administration? Cuban says it's not likely.
Cuban — who is not now planning to run for any specific office — said he believes top American executives and entrepreneurs could “absolutely” hold their own in government and politics.
He is less impressed with the country’s top politicians. “Would I hire any of the other candidates? Maybe Marco Rubio,” Cuban said.
Cuban added it’s “too early to tell,” whether Trump could succeed at governing. He said he would be open to serving in a Trump administration “if he promises to do exactly what I tell him to do. ... Otherwise, it's highly unlikely.”
I think the thing that would stop most of these billionaires from running would be having to open up their books. It may not stop everyone, but many would say no thanks.
Still, it would be entertaining to see Cuban run for something.
Must Read Links:
These and many more topics coming up on today’s edition of The Chad Hasty Show. Tune in mornings 8:30-11am on News/Talk 790 KFYO, streaming online at kfyo.com, and now on your iPhone and Android device with the radioPup App. All guest interviews can be heard on our KFYO YouTube page after the show and online at kfyo.com.
More From News/Talk 95.1 & 790 KFYO
