August 28, 2018

Republicans and the Russell Building

Would you buy a used Senate office building from this man?

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I’m curious about something. A few hours after John McCain’s death, Sen. Chuck Schumer proposed renaming the Russell Building after McCain. Am I the only person in the world who assumed this was a political trap on Schumer’s part? Because that’s exactly what came immediately to my mind. He knew perfectly well that (a) Trump hated McCain, (b) the rest of the Republican Party didn’t like McCain all that much, especially after his surprise vote to kill Obamacare repeal, but (c) refusing to rename the building—particularly when it was a chance to take down the name of a famous Democratic racist—would be politically embarrassing.

I dunno. Maybe I’m wrong. Schumer and McCain became friendly during their work on the Gang of 8 immigration plan in 2013, but they weren’t buddy-buddy, were they? This has a strong aroma of political calculation to me, but maybe it was a completely sincere gesture of respect. Any other opinions out there?

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We just wrapped up a shorter-than-normal, urgent-as-ever fundraising drive and we came up about $45,000 short of our $300,000 goal.

That means we're going to have upwards of $350,000, maybe more, to raise in online donations between now and June 30, when our fiscal year ends and we have to get to break-even. And even though there's zero cushion to miss the mark, we won't be all that in your face about our fundraising again until June.

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