Wiretap: It’s one thing to stand up to Trump; it’s another to actually take him down

Trump’s critics can’t really hope that others will follow them into the fight for decency in the Republican Party, writes Ross Douthat in The New York Times, if they’re not ready to stand up and fight him themselves. Or as Ezra Klein puts it in Vox, Jeff Flake’s announced retirement just gives Trump another victory.

Bob Corker and Jeff Flake made their statements Tuesday. But many Republicans who met with Trump for a lunch date on tax policy came away wishing that the president had made his statement on what he actually wanted from a bill. Via The Washington Post.

There’s a reason why Trump is so comfortable taking on members of his own party. Clearly Trump believes he actually belongs to the Trump Party, and he may be right. Via Politico.

So maybe the Republicans aren’t so populist after all. The Senate, with Mike Pence breaking the tie, strikes down a new rule that would have allowed millions of Americans to join class-action lawsuits against financial institutions like Equifax and Wells Fargo. Via The New York Times.

From The National Review: Ben Shapiro writes that to understand how badly Trump mishandled his twitter feud with a Gold Star family, you have only to recall George W. Bush’s refusal to take issue with Cindy Sheehan.

Kathleen Parker: Why saying Sgt. La David Johnson’s name matters. For the same reason, each 9/11 anniversary, the names of the victims are read aloud. We hear them; we remember them; we honor them. Via The Washington Post.

If you’re looking for unity in America, you’re looking in the wrong place. If there’s one thing you should know about the partisan divide, it’s that people like it that way. Via The Atlantic.

The truth about the 401(k): There’s a real crisis for lower- and middle-class workers saving for retirement. And the 401(k), which works best for higher income earners, does almost nothing to help. Via The Atlantic.

Heather Digby Parton writes in Salon that the right wing has finally come up with an angle to go after those nasty, interfering Russians: They were actually on Clinton’s side.

Photo courtesy of Sen. Mark Warner, via Flickr: Creative Commons. Senator Mark Warner and Senator Bob Corker (R-TN) tape an interview for Bloomberg TV on a balcony outside the Russell Senate Office Building on March 17, 2010.
He has covered Dr. J, four presidential inaugurations, six national conventions and countless brain-numbing speeches in the New Hampshire and Iowa snow.