DAILY BELLWETHER 11/14/2018 DEMOCRATS CONTINUE TO DIVIDE NATION WITH THEIR ANTICS

House Dems: Roll Out the Pork Barrel Funding House Democrats reportedly might resurrect a practice derisively known as "pork-barrel spending." In a letter to her Democratic colleagues, Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., the incoming chairwoman of the powerful Appropriations Committee, hinted earmarks — or "congressionally directed spending" — would be making a comeback in the Democratic-majority House, The Hill reported. The Democratic caucus should "review procedures and work with the Senate to determine the most effective way to carry out our constitutional responsibilities through congressionally directed spending," she wrote, The Hill reported. Republicans banned earmarks after they took back the majority in 2010, but now some GOP members want a ... Read More

Trump's 'Big Victory' Diminished as Dems Pick up More Wins The midterm elections didn’t deliver the shellacking Democrats suffered in 2010, but President Trump’s “big victory” is looking less impressive as the days wear on, with more House and Senate races slipping from the GOP’s grasp. Republican losses swelled to at least 35 House seats, and the total could reach 40 when the last of the too-close-to-call races are settled. Democrats also flipped a second Senate seat from red to blue Tuesday with Kyrsten Sinema named the winner in the Arizona race. The results solidify Democrats’ takeover of the House and keep the Republican Senate majority thin. Democrats also took over at least seven ... Read More

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Feds Close Investigation of Bernie Sanders' Wife Federal prosecutors in Vermont have closed their investigation into a college land deal involving the wife of U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders and decided not to charge her, a spokesman for the couple said Tuesday. Jane Sanders was informed by the U.S. attorney’s office that she would not be charged, Sanders spokesman Jeff Weaver said. Jane Sanders is grateful the investigation is over. “As she has said from the beginning, she has done nothing wrong and Jane is pleased that the matter has now come to a conclusion,” Weaver said in an email. ... Read More

Democrats Label Republicans 'Racist/Bigoted/Sexist' as Political Divide Intensifies Democrats can apparently tolerate anything except Republicans. A stunning 61 percent of Democrats labeled Republicans as “racist/bigoted/sexist” when asked which words they would use to describe the other party, while 31 percent of Republicans said the same thing about Democrats, according to an Axios poll released this week. Not that Republicans were particularly fond of the left. They preferred to dub Democrats “spiteful” (54 percent) and “ignorant” (49 percent), while 54 percent of Democrats said Republicans were ignorant and 44 percent called them spiteful. When it came to “evil,” there was a tie: 23 percent of Republicans used the word to describe Democrats, roughly the same share as ... Read More

McConnell, Schumer Re-elected as Senate Leaders Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell on Wednesday was re-elected majority leader of the Senate Republican conference, as Democrats voted to keep New York Sen. Chuck Schumer as their leader. Both were voted by acclamation, Fox News is told. McConnell was nominated by Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton, and seconded by Tennessee Sen-elect Marsha Blackburn. Among those voting in the GOP conference election were Florida Republican Gov. Rick Scott, who has declared victory in the state’s Senate race even though a recount is still going on. Across the Capitol, House Republicans are also voting Wednesday on its leadership, after losing the majority in ... Read More