Tuesday, February 7, 2017

BloggeRhythms

While much is being made of possible disarray, disruption and squabbling within the Trump administration, the truth of the matter is quite different in reality. Particularly because as each day goes by, evidence mounts that while Trump is doing fine, many in both major political party's are being exposed as one’s deserving to be drained from the swamp.     

An example can be found in the case of several Republican leaders who consistently stall, delay or question cabinet nominees or legislative change suggestions. In their cases, it turns out that it might not be Trump's agenda that’s the stumbling block at all, but their own affiliations and allegiances.    

Matthew Boyle headlined his column @breitbart.com today: “Records: Soros Fund Execs Funded Paul Ryan, Marco Rubio, Jeb Bush, John McCain, John Kasich, Lindsey Graham in 2016”

According to the article, employees of a Soros hedge fund donated tens of thousands of dollars to top Republicans who fought against Trump in 2016 as evidenced by records compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics show.

$36,800 went into the coffers of the mentioned GOP candidates, not including Super PACs or campaign committees, “which saw tens of thousands of dollars more.” Aside from millions poured into Democratic groups, causes, and candidates, “it is significant that Soros executives are making a play inside the GOP.”

Mr. Boyle suggests that it’s perhaps even more significant that the type of Republicans they aim to prop up are “pro-amnesty, pro-open borders on trade, and generally speaking anti-Trump.” And that: “A pattern emerges when looking at the policies of the Republicans that these Soros Fund Management executives support financially.”

Soros Fund Management, a former hedge fund that serves now as an investment management firm founded by Soros in 1969 has risen to become one of the most profitable in the industry. Heavily involved in backing political candidates, the biggest recipient of Soros-connected cash in the GOP “was none other than House Speaker Paul Ryan, who repeatedly attempted to undermine Trump over the course of the election.”

“According to the records available online, the Soros firm’s workers gave $10,800 to Ryan. 

Included in that are two separate May 2, 2016, donations from David Rogers, a then-employee of Soros Fund Management who lives in New York City. Rogers left the Soros Fund Management firm right around that time.”

David Rogers and Joshua Donfeld, two portfolio managers at Soros’s family office, are leaving the firm over disagreements with its new chief investment officer about the direction of global markets. However, another “two separate donations to Ryan came from Donfeld, both on May 2, 2016 and totaling $2,700 each. In total, that adds up to $10,800—between both Rogers and Donfeld, who were working for Soros Fund Management at the time—that they gave to Paul Ryan.”

Ryan, though, wasn’t the only anti-Trump Republican who received cash from Soros Fund 

Lindsey Graham received $3,500 from the firm’s employees, according to the Center for Responsive Politics data. That includes a $1,500 donation from Soros Fund Management executive Scott Bessent who has since left the firm to work at a different hedge fund, but “oversaw George Soros’s $30 billion fortune for the last four years” 

Two other $1,000 donations to Graham came from came from Alexander Cohen, an executive with Soros Fund Management. 

Marco Rubio, John Kasich and Jeb Bush also received $2,700 each from employees of the Soros firm. 

Rubio’s donation came from Los Angeles-based Donfeld. Kasich’s came from Bessent, and Bush’s came from David Murphy of Soros Fund Management, a current “portfolio manager” at the firm. 

“Anti-Trump” John McCain got $2,500 from an executive at the Soros firm as did John Boehner who received $2,600. 

“McCain’s $2,500 this cycle came from Donfeld of Soros Fund Management on Sept. 23, 2015. In previous cycles, McCain has taken cash directly from George Soros himself—a $1,000 donation on June 2, 1999—and from others with the firm, including a $1,000 donation from Bessent on March 13, 2000, a $2,300 donation from Soros Fund Management’s Michael Au on Dec. 27, 2007, a $1,000 donation from Duncan Hennes of Soros Fund Management on March 13, 2000, and a $2,300 donation from Soros Fund Management’s Joshua Berkowitz on Jan. 15, 2008.”. 

And then, in keeping with the recent trend among reader responses, 8,485 comments had been posted by 11 AM this morning, virtually all of them in support of Trump. 
 
Along the same lines of rationales for Republican lawmakers to oppose Trump’s agenda, Colin Woodard a Staff Writer @pressherald.com wrote back on January 31 that “Maine’s U.S. Sen. Susan Collins said Tuesday she has concerns about President Trump’s nominee for education secretary, Betsy DeVos, and may not vote for her confirmation when it goes before the full Senate. 

As one of a handful of Republican’s opposing some aspects of Trump’s agenda, she expressed “opposition to his immigration order, his shakeup of the National Security Council and the omission of any mention of Jews in his Holocaust remembrance statement.” 

“Collins and fellow Republican Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, who also serves on the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, said they had reservations about DeVos and would not necessarily support her in the full confirmation vote. It was the first time any Republican senators have indicated they might oppose her.” 

Some research on the two this morning resulted in finding an item from February 2, 2017 by Jazz Shaw @hotair.com, who wrote: “So how did these two arrive at that decision? A bit of checking over at the Daily Caller quickly found that both of these senators have been in the good graces of the teachers unions for quite a while now. This is a bit of an aberration when compared to the vast majority of their GOP colleagues.
“Murkowski was endorsed by the Alaska chapter of the National Education Association (NEA) in her 2016 campaign for Senate. The group, which represents 12,000 members who work in Alaska’s public schools, praised Murkowski for her “consistent commitment to improving public education.”
“Collins, who has served in the Senate since 1997, received an “A” grade from the National Educators Association (NEA)in 2008. The “A” grade is the highest possible, according to the senator’s own press release. It is based on her voting record and “her co-sponsorship of legislation critical to NEA’s identified legislative priorities.” The “A” rating was also the result of “effective behind-the-scenes advocacy.”
Mr. Shaw continues: “Those endorsements and high ratings don’t come cheaply, either. The Free Beacon provides the details of the contributions made to both of them by the unions. This, again, is a rarity. You hardly ever see these unions giving any money to Republicans.
“Sens. Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska) and Susan Collins (R., Maine) have each benefited from contributions from the National Education Association. Collins received $2,000 from the union in 2002 and 2008, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. Murkowski, meanwhile, has received $23,500.
“The NEA represents 3 million members, making it the wealthiest and most influential union in the country. The NEA, along with other labor groups like the American Federation of Teachers, has waged a fierce campaign against DeVos, a billionaire philanthropist and school choice activist.”
Thus, as suggested at the start today, it seems apparent that Trump was absolutely correct in assuming that the swamp in D.C. badly needs draining. Because, leaders in both major party’s claim to have significant differences in what they deem important for the nation’s future. Yet, what always prevails are the goals and objectives of any and all that pay them.

And, as Trump surely knows full well by now, the best way to find out who stands in the way of his agenda fulfillment is to simply follow the money, like always.      
  
That’s it for today folks.

Adios

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