Thursday Reads

Obituary of the Day:  Julian Castro's presidential campaign, of voter neglect.  I once thought him a possibility for Biden's running mate, but I don't think this now.  I am more thinking about Amy Klobuchar being on the final ticket with Biden.

link

At one point, Castro, the only Latino in the race, was one of two Texans who were seeking the Democratic presidential nomination. Former U.S. Rep. Beto O'Rourke dropped out of the race in November.

The former U.S. Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Castro ran on a progressive platform, advocating for policies such as universal pre-K and immigration reform. Castro clashed with O'Rourke during the first Democratic debate in June over the issue of decriminalizing cases where people cross the U.S.-Mexico border without permission. Castro said O'Rourke was focusing too heavily on asylum-seekers without discussing broader protections for migrants who weren't seeking asylum, and suggested he had not done his "homework" on the issue.

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No, the "Johnson Amendment" regarding tax exemptions and political participation by non-profits has NOT been repealed.  Trump has told yet another lie:

Trump has falsely claimed that he "got rid of" the amendment by executive order. Although he did direct the Treasury Department to be lenient in their enforcement of the law, he lacks the constitutional authority to repeal the legislation by executive order.

"It would be hard to imagine a more overt and flagrant violation of ethics and the IRS code than this planned rally," said Gaylor in a press release. "But perhaps it is not surprising, given the president's incessant and untrue mantra that the Johnson Amendment has been repealed."

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The truth about the Johnson Amendment:

Trump told Robertson that he had "gotten rid of the Johnson Amendment."

But that’s misleading. Trump cannot get "rid of" a law because a president does not have that constitutional authority. Trump needs Congress to take action; he even referenced that process when he added to his statement, "now we are going to go try to get rid of it permanently in Congress." (A bill on this topic introduced by Rep. Steve Scalise, R-La., is in the Ways and Means Committee.)

We asked the White House for more information on Trump’s comments but did not get a response.

What Trump has done is sign an executive order that tells the Treasury Department to be lenient in its enforcement of current law against religious organizations.

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Trump is not the shoo-in his supporters think he is for re-election.
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