Tom Keane

The Week That Was: Revolting Republicans, Marauding Men And A Dubious Diplomat

It was the week when Republicans with nothing to lose broke with the president while those who had something to lose remained silent.

• So much for the big tent. GOP Sen. Bob Corker called Donald Trump “utterly untruthful” while another Republican senator, Jeff Flake, wrote an op-ed ripping into the president: “Nine months is more than enough for us to say, loudly and clearly: Enough.” A schism within the Republican party seems possible. So do Corker, Flake, McCain and others fed up with the president form a third-party, the “Real Republicans,” if you will? Or can they oust Trump from their midst? The answer to both questions seems to be no. Despite Trump’s disastrous overall polling (down to 38 percent approval), 83 percent of Republican voters still love him. Unless they want to join the Democratic Party, the renegades have no place to go.
• Another reason Republicans are sticking with Trump. With the House successfully passing the 2018 budget, only a simple majority is now needed to revamp the nation’s tax code. The GOP is salivating: The long-awaited reform is about to happen. On the other hand, that’s what they thought about Obamacare.
• Repealing but not replacing. Meanwhile, a California court refused a request to force Trump to make insurance subsidy payments under Obamacare, meaning the president can accomplish through the back door what he couldn’t get Congress to do through the front.
• The Weinstein-ification of America. The tsunami continued. A sexual misconduct scandal spread at Fidelity Investments (Fidelity, it turns out, is just the company name, not a corporate value). The presiding judge at the Belchertown District Court went on leave after accusations he pressured a court employee for oral sex. Journalist Mark Halperin apologized for five instances of unwanted touching while he was at ABC News. News emerged that Bill O’Reilly paid a stunning $32 million to settle a sex harassment claim. And saddest of all, the nation’s one-time model of personal rectitude — former president George H.W. Bush — felt compelled to apologize for his own actions. Twice. From a wheelchair. While in his 90s.
• The waters just got a lot muddier. After a year of Trump being mocked for making the outlandish claim that an FBI dossier on his Russian connections was just a Democratic campaign smear, it turns out that the dossier was, in fact, just a Democratic campaign smear. Do the Russia probes now boomerang on the party that started them?
• Weapon of violence. A child was killed by a pit bull in Lowell, sparking a debate that had echoes of the arguments over gun control. Local pols urged banning the dog breed altogether. The Massachusetts Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals countered that “there have been no studies that have shown that targeting a specific breed works to prevent dog bites.” Basically, it’s not bad dogs. It’s bad owners. Kind of like, guns don’t kill. People do.
• Foregone conclusion. The Boston chapter of the NAACP released a scathing report on mayor Marty Walsh’s first term. Two days later, the mayor faced challenger Tito Jackson in the first widely televised debate between the two. Does Jackson now have momentum? Nope. Unfortunately for him, the first debate was also the last. And with Walsh having received the endorsement of both the Globe and Herald, Jackson’s ability to overcome a polling deficit of 35 points looks impossible.
• Another good reason to work from home. The same poll showing Walsh with a huge lead also trumpeted a shocking statistic: 91 percent of wome think sexual harassment at work is a problem. The same poll found, however, that 81 percent of men feel the same way, making it look as if perhaps the gulf between Venus and Mars is really not that big. On the other hand, 39 percent of women said they had faced workplace harassment versus just about 10 percent of men. OK, so maybe the gulf is pretty big.
• Really thought we’d never hear from him again. And finally, New Zealand Ambassador Scott Brown got heat for his inaugural visit to Samoa where he called women “beautiful” and told them “they could make great waitresses.” Brown said he now understood the comments were “culturally” inappropriate. Culturally inappropriate? How about just inappropriate? And not just 6,000 miles away in Samoa but everywhere? And really, I have to ask: Is there any man reading this who actually makes it a practice of walking up to strange women and telling them they should be in the restaurant business?

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on October 27, 2017.

The Week That Was: Dead Soldiers Dissed, #Metoo Memes And Halloween Horrors

It was the week when Donald Trump muscled aside the Weinstein scandal with a few well-aimed insults at Gold Star parents.

• Gruesome. In the first game of the season, Celtics forward Gordon Hayward broke his ankle, a devastating, season-ending — and perhaps career-damaging — injury. So what would Trump say: he “knew what he signed up for?”
• The not-so-honored dead. Speaking of which, it’s worth considering why Trump’s cavalier comment to a soldier’s widow was so wrongheaded. It wasn’t just that it was insensitive. It’s that it minimized the tragedy of a life lost out a sense that because a soldier was willing to take a risk, somehow he valued his own life less than do the rest of us. Isn’t the opposite true? Soldiers, police officers, firefighters and yes, even basketball players, knowingly take risks on behalf of us — whether it’s for our safety or even just our entertainment. As the Bible says, “greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” It’s a notion that seems lost on this president.
• Aftershocks. The Harvey Weinstein storm continued unabated, as millions of women (and some men) took to the tweets with #metoo. There then followed the inevitable essays pondering what’s wrong with men with the culprit being “masculinity” itself. Not really. The highest form of masculinity is to be a “gentleman” — to act honorably and courteously to others. Weinstein and those who sexually attack and harass are anything but gentlemen. Their behavior is grounded not in masculinity, but in that they never were real men in the first place.
• Staying home. Travel firm ForwardKeys has been talking for months about the so-called  “Trump slump,” saying the president’s travel bans have killed tourism. New data out seem to bolster their argument. I’m skeptical; this smacks of politically-motivated Trump-bashing. For one, the decline is just 1.4 percent from last year. Then too, other factors — such as the strong dollar — are also likely causes for the drop. One also has to wonder about claims that the drop in tourism means the U.S. is “losing billions.” The Dow this week hit a new high, cresting to over 23,000. As a whole, the economy is performing spectacularly — travel ban or not.
• Second term. The health of the economy raises questions about James Carville’s famous aphorism: “The economy, stupid.” Carville’s point was that elections turn on incomes and employment and that, when it comes to casting a vote, little else really matters. Does Trump’s oftentimes bizarre and divisive behavior upend that? Or does his campaign slogan become: “Sure, he’s nuts. But you’ve got a job.”
• Trump who? The president agreed to a bipartisan deal in the Senate to continue insurance subsidies under Obamacare and then a day later said he opposed the deal. You’d think D.C. pols would be feeling whip-sawed by the president’s constant flip-flopping, but at this point, they seem to expect it — and have discounted it. The House and Senate will figure something out on their own and then give it to the president for his signature. Rather than leading on healthcare, taxes or domestic policies, Trump has just become the final hurdle.
• Pick me! Pick me! Amazon-mania ratcheted up a notch, with cities and towns in New England putting together pitches to host the e-tailer’s second headquarters. New Hampshire’s proposal basically mocked Boston, saying the Granite State was free of the costly housing, traffic jams and unfriendly business climate of the Hub. Boston-boosters responded by basically agreeing, but saying Amazon could help solve those problems. Bad strategy, Boston. I don’t think you win a beauty contest by admitting you’re ugly but hoping for a makeover.
• Grade deflation. Students taking the re-designed MCAS tests performed far worse than under the old exam. It’s not that the new test is too hard. Rather, the old one was too easy. So now what? For years Massachusetts has been glorying in its reputation for having the nation’s highest-quality educational system. Are we really no better than Nevada? And most importantly, do we let Jeff Bezos know?
• Is Christmas “Green and Red Day?” And finally, a school in Walpole canceled Halloween and instead said it would celebrate “Black and Orange Day.” This is obviously silly, the kind of mindless political correctness that drives so many nuts. But black and orange? The two Halloween colors have their origins in death and fire. So rather than the kids dressing up in kitty-cat and superhero costumes, Walpole apparently now wants them to spend October 31 contemplating the end of days.

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on October 20, 2017.

The Week That Was: Hollywood Horrified, Trump On A Tear And Farrell Fired

It was the week when we were captivated by outrageous behavior from someone not named Donald Trump.

• Making Trump look like a gentleman. The sexual misconduct allegations against Harvey Weinstein could be dismissed as another Hollywood scandal but for their pervasiveness and level of complicity. So far, dozens of women have come forward to say Weinstein touched, grabbed and/or assaulted them. (There are also a handful of rape allegations.) Worse, all of this was quid pro quo: Submit to me or your career is over. And apparently, everyone knew. It was a gag at the 2013 Oscars (“Congratulations, you five ladies no longer have to pretend to be attracted to Harvey Weinstein”). It made it into episodes of "Entourage" and "30 Rock." An industry that loves to tell stories about wrongdoing unmasked and conspiracies unraveled kept the evil in its midst hidden and protected — and joked about it.
• "Spotlight II"? So, does the Catholic Church now make a movie about Hollywood?
• A rose by any other name. The Weinstein Company is apparently debating changing its name. Debating? This is a no-brainer. “To weinstein” is now a verb meaning to aggressively sexually harass. If the company doesn’t implode (the most likely outcome), it needs to erase Harvey entirely, in the same way dictatorships airbrush out the images of the purged. Harvey who?
• Meanwhile, back in our nation’s capital. I almost felt sorry for Trump this week. Despite his best efforts, he couldn’t break through the Weinstein-driven fray. And Lord knows, he tried. He Twitter-feuded with GOP Sen. Bob Corker. His EPA rolled back the agency’s Clean Power Plan. He escalated further the likelihood of war with North Korea. He said he was smarter than on-the-ropes Secretary of State Rex Tillerson. Through executive action, he began to unravel Obamacare. And he took on the First Amendment, saying it was “disgusting the press is able to write whatever it wants to write.” OK, maybe I’m not feeling sorry for Trump. He did everything he wanted — and managed to do so under cover of Weinstein.
• Not-so-public servants. Grubb’s Pharmacy in D.C. said it filled prescriptions for Alzheimer’s disease for members of Congress. Aside from the shocking lack of ethics displayed by the appropriately named Grubb’s, there’s now a cottage industry in Washington trying to figure out who. Here’s the answer. Upon election, members take an oath of office to “well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office.” Those who’ve forgotten that obligation have the disease. I figure that’s at least a majority.
• Sugar Heaven. Cook County — which includes Chicago — repealed its penny-per-ounce tax on soft drinks. Health advocates upset about sugar in American diets were outraged. Too bad. This was nothing more than a tax under the disguise of health. For example, it applied to sugar-free sodas. And it didn’t apply to fruit juices, which can have more sugar per ounce than do soft drinks. On top of that, the tax was grossly regressive. Good riddance.
• What part of Boy Scouts don’t you understand? The Boy Scouts announced it will now accept girls, leading to predictable grumbling. It’s an overdue change. Why too can’t girls be “trustworthy, loyal, helpful, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverent?” Still, the ones who should be most incensed are the Girl Scouts. This looks a lot like a hostile takeover. When the Boy Scouts start selling cookies, you’ll know for sure.
• Gratitude. Red Sox manager John Farrell led the team to its second straight division title, so this week the team fired him.
• A tree falls in the forest; no one around. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh took on challenger Tito Jackson in a Wednesday debate that few saw since no local commercial TV stations even bothered to carry it. As far as Walsh is concerned, that’s just fine. Jackson, largely unknown, craves the oxygen of public exposure. It’s the only way he has a chance. And with Election Day just 25 days away, it increasingly looks like it’s a chance he’ll never get.
• The menopause that refreshes. And finally, New Hampshire’s Portsmouth Brewery released “Libeeration,” a beer aimed at menopausal women with an herbal concoction “believed to relieve symptoms like sleeplessness, hot flashes and mood swings.” Beer as medicine? Do older men get equal time? How about something aimed at improving potency? Oh yeah, that would be called: Not drinking beer at all.

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on October 13, 2017.

The Week That Was: Las Vegas Attack Reopens Gun Law Debate, Trump's Puerto Rico Trip Draws Criticism And More

It was the week when the White House said that now is not the time to talk about gun control because the time to talk about gun control is after we’ve forgotten about the last mass shooting at which point, umm, we’ll forget to talk about gun control.

• Breakdown. The president had a disaster tour this week. First up was Puerto Rico, where he threw paper towels to the gathered crowds, insulted residents’ work ethic, mocked its leaders and minimized the disaster since “only” 16 died. (The death toll has since more than doubled to 34.) Hurricane Maria wasn’t “a real catastrophe like Katrina,” Trump told a crowd. Then it was on to Las Vegas where his tone changed completely: he was empathetic, caring and presidential. Why the difference? Trump kept calling the U.S., “us” and Puerto Rico, “you.” Like many Americans, apparently, he doesn’t believe Puerto Ricans are real U.S. citizens.
• All the Wrong Reasons. In the wake of the slaughter in Las Vegas, it is reasonable to wonder why, exactly, any ordinary citizen needs 47 weapons with high-capacity magazines and armor-piercing bullets. I get that hunters want access to guns so they can, say, go deer hunting. That requires a rifle and perhaps a good scope. But what creatures in the woods require firepower sufficient to outfit a military unit?
• Make It Better. Despite this not being the time to talk about gun control, the NRA issued a statement on bump fire stocks — the devices that turn semi-automatics into automatics — that seemed to indicate it might finally give a little on gun control. Don’t believe it. The gun group urged the government to see if “these devices comply with federal law” and that they might need to be subject to some “additional regulations.” What additional regulations? There’s the rub. Here’s betting the NRA’s ultimate answer is: None.
• It’s Good to be King. In the battle between Trump and the NFL, the president won. Fewer players kneeled this week than last and owners, frantic not to alienate their fan base, searched for ways to tamp down the controversy. It’s a testament to the president’s power and media savvy, even when having a showdown with America’s biggest sport. You take on Trump at your peril.
• Even the Losers. Trump’s continued baiting of everyone from the NFL to his own cabinet members is a puzzle to the conventional political world. With an unfavorability gap (the difference between his unfavorable and his favorables) of 15 percent, shouldn’t he be trying to boost his popularity by reaching out to folks? Maybe, but such thinking misses the entire Trump worldview. This was a man who the day before the election had a much worse unfavorability gap — 21 percent — yet he still won. So as far as the president is concerned, he’s doing better today than ever, even though, by most policy measures, his administration has been a failure. The lesson: Provocation and divisiveness work.
• American Girl. Cambridge librarian Liz Phipps Soeiro is the left’s worse enemy. She’s the school librarian who last week rejected a gift of Dr. Seuss books from Melania Trump, claiming the books are “steeped in racist propaganda, caricatures, and harmful stereotypes” and specifically calling out "The Cat in the Hat." It then emerged that Soeiro herself, two years prior, had worn a Cat in the Hat costume to a classroom party. And let’s face it, if the gift had come from Michelle Obama — a fan of Dr. Seuss — the books would never have been sent back. Overwrought political correctness. Hypocrisy. Political double standards. This is the stuff that got Trump elected in the first place.
• Ain't Love Strange. I completely believed this was fake news but it looks to be real: The FDA demanded that a Concord bakery stop listing “love” as an ingredient in its bread. The letter is even posted on the agency’s website. Aargh. This is as knuckleheaded as the regulators who shut down kids’ lemonade stands because they don’t have a permit. Hey FDA! We’re not that stupid! When someone says they made their bread with “love” or baked their cookies with “care” we don’t actually think “love” and “care” are in our food. This is the kind of outrageous stuff Trump should be tweeting about. Where is the president when you need him? Oh yeah, busy mocking Puerto Ricans.
• Yer So Bad. Trump is getting berated for not calling the Las Vegas attacks terrorism, but on this one he’s right. Almost every definition of the word says it must be (per the federal government) “politically motivated violence.” As far as we know, shooter Stephen Paddock had no political agenda. On the other hands, one suspects that if Paddock hadn’t been a white man, the president would have been tweeting “terrorism” from day one.
• The Waiting. The Supreme Court on Monday began its new session and the agenda is full of momentous issues: gerrymandering, gays rights versus religious freedom, and cellphone privacy. Very exciting. And with Neil Gorsuch now in place, very frightening.
• Don’t Do Me Like That. And finally, the Boston City Council is trying to enact a rule that property owners must publicly notify the city every time they try to evict someone. Great. Now when I stiff my landlord, everyone will know.

This column was first published by Cognoscenti on October 6, 2017.