Wednesday, November 23, 2016

Jonathan Swan — Bannon set up Trump-Gabbard meeting

Donald Trump’s chief strategist Steve Bannon contacted Tulsi Gabbard to arrange Monday’s meeting with the president-elect, according to a source close to Bannon.
“He reached out to her, not vice versa,” the source told The Hill on Monday.Many in the media raised their eyebrows when the news broke that Trump was meeting at Trump Tower Monday morning with Hawaii’s Democratic congresswoman.
But for those who know Bannon best, there was no surprise at all.
Bannon, who hates the entrenched two-party system, has long admired Gabbard. She’s an Iraq War veteran with an independent streak. Bannon, a navy veteran, was drawn to her when she began publicly excoriating the Obama administration over its plan to defeat ISIS.
“He loves Tulsi Gabbard. Loves her,” a second source familiar with Bannon’s thinking told The Hill. “Wants to work with her on everything.”...
The Hill
Bannon set up Trump-Gabbard meeting
Jonathan Swan

Before anyone gets all excited about "bipartisanship"….
As we go into the long Thanksgiving weekend, shell-shocked by events surrounding the presidential transition getting more surreal by the day, it’s almost comforting to read a piece of news that sounds even slightly like familiar political activity. It’s the kind of thing that would have made for screaming headlines and much gnashing of teeth on the left just a few months ago, but now seems almost quaintly normal. I’m speaking of the news that Donald Trump’s transition team has outsourced much of the lower level government staffing to the ultra-conservative Heritage Foundation, which is in the hands of right wing extremist Jim DeMint. According to Politico:
Heritage is “absolutely the fulcrum, and essential to staffing the administration with people who reflect Trump’s commitments across the board,” said Marjorie Dannenfelser, head of Susan B. Anthony List, a prominent group that opposes abortion rights. “I can say it’s been a source of great confidence during the election to know that principled people were planning for a Trump administration.”
Salon
Is Donald Trump’s transition being outsourced to the Heritage Foundation? That’s not good news
Heather Digby Parton

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