Donald Trump moves to remove any and all remaining constraints on his presidency:
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/03/btrtn-changing-of-guard-more-like.html

"But this week, we are seeing the beginnings of, not simply a changing of the guard rails, but a dismantling of them. Trump, apparently growing more confident in his role and his instincts, is ripping them out, replacing those who seek to control him with far more like-minded pals who, if anything, will urge him on. Tillerson may have been the worst Secretary of State in our history, but he was a moderating force on Trump, and now he is gone. McMaster is on the chopping block as well, apparently awaiting only a suitable replacement before he gets the boot, complete with a 4th star, a safe landing, and, unlike Tillerson, some semblance of a dignified departure. Tillerson has been replaced with CIA chief Mike Pompeo, who gets along with Trump, hates the Iraq deal, and is generally more hawkish than Tillerson. And the rumor mill has neocon John Bolton in line for McMaster’s job, which is far from comforting, as anyone who watched his blowhard performance at the U.N. may recall.

On the domestic side, Gary Cohn is gone, having lost a battle he thought he had won, the tariffs wars (which of course have huge international ramifications, with the threat of a trade war now in the air). Kelly is also on thin ice, for committing..."

Donald Trump moves to remove any and all remaining constraints on his presidency:
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/03/btrtn-changing-of-guard-more-like.html

BTRTN's prediction in another House special election, tomorrow's nailbiter in Pennsylvania's 18th district. Will Conor Lamb pull a Doug Jones and finally win one for the Dems in the House?
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/03/btrtn-pennsylvanias-18th-special.html

"Why are they are going to this much effort in a district that is so bright red that the Democrats did not even field a candidate in this same race in either 2014 or 2016? And why, for a district that will actually disappear once Pennsylvania’s new district map is in place – this coming November?

There is only one answer: desperation. They are utterly terrified of the implications of a Republican loss, a loss that would make GOP candidate Rick Saccone the proverbial canary in the mineshaft, whose early 2018 demise could very well mean an epic November disaster. If the GOP can’t win a district like this, how can they expect to win any of the 50+ elections that are “in play.” Indeed, by definition, such a loss would mean many, many more GOP seats could be up for grabs.

Let’s set the stage. GOP representative Tim Murphy was forced to resign last October, another scandal-laden politician who had an affair and urged his mistress to have an abortion. In the days before this messy business became public, Murphy, a poster child for pro-life Christian conservative politics, espoused his support of anti-abortion legislation..."

BTRTN's prediction in another House special election, tomorrow's nailbiter in Pennsylvania's 18th district. Will Conor Lamb pull a Doug Jones and finally win one for the Dems in the House?
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/03/btrtn-pennsylvanias-18th-special.html

BTRTN's prediction in another House special election, tomorrow's nailbiter in Pennsylvania's 18th district. Will Conor Lamb pull a Doug Jones and finally win one for the Dems in the House?
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/03/btrtn-pennsylvanias-18th-special.html

Tariffs and trysts and Cohns and Cohens dominate another typical Trump week...as his numbers drop.
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/03/btrtn-storm-and-grunge.html

"...you might have thought a five-alarm fire had broken out at the Chamber of Commerce with the reaction, as businessmen and staunch Republicans belched smoke about the negative impact such nativist moves would have on the U.S. economy. Why even meek Paul Ryan himself took the unusual step of opposing Trump on the tariffs, which was previously thought to be congenitally impossible. In fact, politicians in Washington finally agreed on something, universal condemnation of the proposed tariffs. About the only happy people were, predictably, the CEO’s of steel and aluminum companies…and perhaps a certain constituency in the steel-center Western Pennsylvania, where the 18th District just happens to be holding a hotly-contested special election on March 13 to replace disgraced Republican representative Tim Murphy (more on this race from BTRTN on Monday).

Trump lost Chief Economic Adviser Gary Cohn in the process, one of the few relatively stable domestic advisers in Trumpworld. Cohn had strenuously opposed the tariffs, and all but stood in front of a tank in Tiananmen Square to prevent them, but he lost that battle in the blink of an eye, to a fit of pique. Trump predicted that Cohn would “make another couple of hundred million and then he’s going to maybe come back {to work for Trump in the White House},” torturing English and logic in one fell swoop.

Then that low pressure system that has been annoying Team Trump exploded into the full Stormy Daniels..."

Tariffs and trysts and Cohns and Cohens dominate another typical Trump week...as his numbers drop.
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/03/btrtn-storm-and-grunge.html

A new level of absurdity in the White House, if that is possible...
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/03/btrtn-day-or-two-in-life-of-wild-wild.html

"You have all heard the astonishing Beatles’ classic, 'A Day in the Life,' many of you perhaps a thousand times. It seems as if every Beatles’ song broke new ground, and with that song, the two strange upward orchestral crescendos were the news. These glissandos (the technical term) – performed by a 40-piece orchestra in the EMI Studios in London, conducted by George Martin and Paul McCartney – go on and up for only 30 seconds each, but they seem far longer – endless, in fact. And as they build ever higher, the notes become more screechy, the discordance more raucous and yet the clashing instruments continue, until you begin to wonder if they will ever resolve. And then they do, with the last one crashing into a dramatic single, resounding piano chord that itself extends, ever less audibly, for over 40 seconds.

Donald Trump’s presidency at times feels oddly similar, with all the endless, raging, rising cacophony of that piece (though none of the artistry), apparently barreling toward some resolution but not, as yet, giving any sign as to when that might come and in what form. And until that resolution comes, there is every evidence that the din will escalate beyond human comprehension.

Consider just the last two days in the life of the Trump Administration..."

A new level of absurdity in the White House, if that is possible...
http://www.borntorunthenumbers.com/2018/03/btrtn-day-or-two-in-life-of-wild-wild.html