Morning Reading

Here are some good reads to start off your Friday (as always, please take the link to the full article):

Dave Roberts at Vox has a deep dive into the right wing's "tribal epistemology" -- seeing only what is good for the "tribe" as true:

Epistemology is the branch of philosophy having to do with how we know things and what it means for something to be true or false, accurate or inaccurate. (Episteme, or ἐπιστήμη, is ancient Greek for knowledge/science/understanding.) 

The US is experiencing a deep epistemic breach, a split not just in what we value or want, but in who we trust, how we come to know things, and what we believe we know — what we believe exists, is true, has happened and is happening. 

The primary source of this breach, to make a long story short, is the US conservative movement’s rejection of the mainstream institutions devoted to gathering and disseminating knowledge (journalism, science, the academy) — the ones society has appointed as referees in matters of factual dispute. 

In their place, the right has created its own parallel set of institutions, most notably its own media ecosystem.  (our emphasis)

Steve M. at No More Mister Nice Blog nails what Democrats should be talking about to voters:

I keep hearing that Democrats should either talk about economic issues or pitch their message to the emerging, more-diverse electorate -- but I don't understand why this has to be an either/or choice. Democrats who can't figure out how to do both should get the hell out of big-league politics, in favor of people who can walk and chew gum at the same time. Note that the voters surveyed were young and diverse -- and they responded well to an economic message. Enough Midwestern whites responded well to a message about a diverse America in 2008 and 2012 to elect Barack Obama twice. So find a way to get both messages out. 

But please, please, please: Make the point that the Republican Party is the problem. The Republican Party has contempt for you if you're non-white or LGBT or if you're unemployed or need health care for a child with chronic illness or live downstream from a chemical plant. The key to changing America is not electing Republicans. [snip] 

Democrats: Be proud of who you are, speak up for yourselves, and talk about what Republicans have done over the past few decades and how their extremism hurts ordinary people. The problem is the Republican Party, stupid.  (our emphasis)

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) outlines two big lies Republicans are using to sell their tax cuts for corporations and the rich:

It’s hard to sell a plan that imposes new taxes on millions of working families while shoveling money to big banks, multinational corporations and wealthy foreign investors. That’s why Republicans are pushing two big lies about their plan instead. 

The first big lie is that the plan will “supercharge” economic growth, creating a rising tide that would lift all boats. Despite Republicans’ wild claims, independent analysts agree: The corporate tax cut at the center of the Republican plan will have a negligible or even a negative impact on economic growth.    

The second big lie is that corporations will pass along their tax giveaways to workers in the form of higher wages. When multinational companies got a huge tax break under President George W. Bush, corporate profits shot up and shareholders grabbed nearly all the gains. When the United Kingdom cut its corporate tax rate by 11 percent, wages went down. Republicans know the facts aren’t with them, which is why Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin tried to bury Treasury’s own report showing that wealthy shareholders would be the overwhelming beneficiaries of a massive corporate tax giveaway. 

The corporate tax cuts will go directly into the pockets of shareholders, not workers;  and, down the road a bit, the Republicans will try to pay for the tax giveaway through cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security.  But they can be stopped (see Steve M., above).