What's happening while the focus is on the AHCA?

[The Blue Flower]

We already knew it would fail, so what is it distracting us from?

[Agschmid]

1. The fact that Trump may be the weakest President in recent history.

[briv1016]

2. Keystone XL was approved.

[emulatorloo]

3. "The committee probing the Russia scandal has erupted into open warfare"

It is getting even clearer that Nunes is desperate to protect Trump

Nunes and Schiff have had dueling press conferences today. Schiff is pissed.

The Plum Line Opinion
The committee probing the Russia scandal has erupted into open warfare
By Paul Waldman March 24 at 1:39 PM

https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/03/24/the-committee-probing-the-russia-scandal-has-erupted-into-open-warfare/

There’s a war breaking out in the House Intelligence Committee over the unfolding Russia scandal. And in a weird way, the evident desire of the chairman of that committee to protect President Trump may only be increasing Trump’s problems.

Today brought some new developments in the saga when Intel Committee Chair Devin Nunes and ranking Democrat Adam Schiff held dueling news conferences. Nunes took what appear to be new steps to shield the committee’s investigation — into Russian meddling and possible collusion between Russia and the Trump campaign — from public view, and Schiff issued some scalding criticism of Nunes that has really pushed hostilities to a higher level.

First, the background.

On Wednesday, Nunes made an extraordinary visit to the White House to brief the president on new information he said he’d received showing that intelligence agencies had, in the course of surveilling foreign targets, intercepted communications with some Trump associates. Stunningly, Nunes didn’t tell the other members of his committee about it, but instead rushed to inform the person who is himself, indirectly at least, the target of his committee’s investigation.

Trump had claimed, absurdly, that President Barack Obama tapped his phones, and after speaking to Trump, Nunes held a press conference to share his information, later saying that “I felt I had a duty and obligation to tell him because as you know he’s been taking a lot of heat in the news media,” as though helping Trump deal with bad news coverage was his responsibility. Trump then seized on Nunes’s information as quasi-vindication for his false claim.

[synergie]

4. Quite a few things.

Senate's violation of our privacy by allowing ISPs to sell search history without permission.

20+ teen girls in DC disappearing with an astonishingly short time, but they're not blonde so media, especially in DC isn't interested.

Neo-Nazis from Baltimore traveling to NYC so they could have maximum impact as they followed Daesh style attacks against African Americans. He stabbed a man with a sword, just before the duskier one did it the next morning. Also, he bore a striking resemblance to Ted Cruz.

The extent of interference by the Russians in this election season is becoming more and more clear, not just the right but the left as well.

Yet another GOPer (OK state level) that stated that rape and incest are acts of god, while defending yet more anti-choice legislation.

Texas trying to make it legal for a doctor to lie to patients and put his own political and religious beliefs over informing his patient if she's carrying a problem pregnancy. Some kickass women, dressed in Handmaid's Tale costumes to protest.


Lots of stories they're not covering at all.

[Iggo]

5. Comey sneaking in and out of the White House. (n/t)

[BumRushDaShow]

6. Debt ceiling needs to be resolved

along with the continuing resolution that the government is STILL operating under. But yesterday Shumer said that the Democrats would block Gorsuch and I think that may have been what lead to today's showdown.

But really - there are people following all of these other items as each one gets focus and others go to the background.