Republican Party

Third time turned out to be unlucky after all.

Earlier today, Sen. Susan Collins said that she has serious concerns about the latest GOP bill to repeal and replace ObamaCare as Republicans prepare to vote on the legislation next week, adding that she was "leaning against the bill... I’m just trying to do what I believe is the right thing for the people of Maine."  And with Collins voicing against the bill, it meant that GOP leadership would be left with no room for error if they want to get their last-ditch ObamaCare repeal bill through the Senate next week.

Update from Bloomberg: McCain still on the fence:

• MCCAIN SAYS NOT SUPPORTIVE AT THIS TIME OF GRAHAM-CASSIDY BILL
• MCCAIN: WILL DISCUSS GRAHAM-CASSIDY HEALTH BILL W/COLLEAGUES

McCain sounds very much like a no on TrumpCare, calls for markups, amendments, debate in scrum. "I'm not supportive of the bill yet."

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_Vox) September 18, 2017

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The ongoing ETF insanity, which as of the end of August saw Vanguard fund inflows of $1.6 billion every day (or $100 million every single hour) has now boldly crossed over into the political arena, with the upcoming launch of the "MAGA" ETF, which hopes to "make America great again" by investing exclusively in companies that support the Republican Party, and Trump of course.

Authored by Patrick Buchanan via Buchanan.org,

Wednesday morning, Nov. 9, 2016, Republicans awoke to learn they had won the lottery. Donald Trump had won the presidency by carrying Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania. All three states had gone Democratic in the last six presidential elections.

The GOP had won both houses of Congress. Party control of governorships and state legislatures rivaled the halcyon years of the 1920s.

Authored by David Stockman via The Daily Reckoning,

Approximately two months before the election on September 10th I locked down the final draft of my book, Trumped!

In the opening sentence I ventured the following opinion, which was most certainly not in the mainstream at the time:

FIRST THERE WERE 17. THEN LITTLE MARCO, LOW ENERGY JEB AND LYIN’ Ted were gone. At length, there was one. And now there is even a chance he may become President.