Categories
campaigns Rule: Cite The Basis Rule: Cover The Topic Rule: False Choice Rule: Focus Issues Not Politics Rule: Mischaracterization Rule: Mountain Out of Molehill Rule: Sin of Omission

Election 2020 (& General) Pet Peeves

The third Democratic debate is coming up, so it’s a good time to weigh in on some of my long-standing campaign and political news coverage pet peeves, many of which have been driving me crazy for years.  (Apologies for not precisely citing the basis for each one–calling myself out, shame on me!)

“When you’re ‘explaining’, you’re losing.”
This refers to politicians who are correcting or clarifying a position or statement of theirs, usually after it has come under attack from an opponent, or the press.  

News Hour, July 8, 2019 – Politics Monday (video)

Amy Walter (News Hour) invoked it in July when assessing Joe Biden’s explanation of his own comments about working with segregationists to get bills passed, and his ensuing clash with Kamala Harris over busing policy in the first Democratic debate.  Walter referred to the phrase as a “classic line in politics”.  It’s definitely not the first time I’ve heard it.  Certainly, excessive ‘splainin’ by a candidate can take on a pleading quality and grow old quickly–a case of ‘methinks thou dost protest too much’–especially if the explanation is unconvincing.  But the critique can come too quickly or, as in this case, after the media itself has been hammering on the issue, forcing more response by ‘keeping it alive in the news cycle’ which is unfair.  In fierce elections, where attacks are the weapon of choice and the media has a habit of capitalizing on them, how is a candidate supposed to respond? By letting the mischaracterization or inaccuracy go unchallenged?  Methinks not.  Media: Focus on clarifying the issue involved, and let us decide who’s right.  I’m calling this a Mountain Out of a Molehill.  (For more on Kamala & Joe, see my [intlink id=”2248″ type=”post”]previous blog[/intlink].)

“No overarching message.”
I last heard this one from David Brooks (also News Hour).  It is yet another overworked trope of the punditry and concerns a candidate’s lack of concision or ‘branding’ in their messaging on what they stand for.  As above, it is primarily about campaign style, so does not, technically, break the Focus on Issues, Not Politics Rule since it is okay to comment on politics.  But given the media’s predominant ‘cover-the-horse-race’ DNA, I think we’re justified in at least paring down some of the (what seems like incessant) drivel.  Sure, messaging is important, but, for the amount of play this gets, not at the expense of content.  We are long past the point of needing to reduce the many massive, and massively complex, issues we face, to pithy soundbites.  Let’s trade that for a deeper examination of things that really matter.  That is the only way we will be able to shape policy to improve our lives.  I’m calling this out as an OverSimplification and Mountain Out of Molehill.

“message hardened” & “window closed”
Both of these were used in reference to the Special Prosecutor Investigation on Russian interference in the 2016 election, and possible Trump connections to it.  The first phrase was offered as the reason for concluding that there is no recourse to Attorney General William Barr’s pronouncement that Robert Mueller “found no wrongdoing on the part of Trump” in his (Mueller’s) report on the investigation, despite substantial evidence (in the report) to the contrary and multiple, available paths for pursuing that evidence, because Barr’s “message had hardened [in the public’s mind]” and, so, continuing would not be politically viable.  That assessment was repeated by many news outlets as laid out in Margaret Sullivan’s Washington Post piece, which critiqued it. 

The second phrase was used by Bill Maher on his political satire show, Real Time.  Maher, though not a journalist, echoed the oft-used sentiment by others when he said: ~“Mueller failed to be decisive, so the window closed [on getting the true findings of the report].”

This particular type of False Choice really sticks in my craw because it clearly prioritizes a veneer of ‘political viability’ of the issue (unsupportive polls) over its’ underlying substance and importance–in this case, getting to the bottom of potential serious wrongdoing via real, existing legal paths.  The result?  A press short-circuiting the Democratic process, de facto anointing itself as the ultimate arbiter of the decision, rather than the public!

This continues the insidious trend of slowly, incrementally stripping the electorate of their power, ‘dumbing them down’, by sending a message that there is nothing they can do, when, in fact, there is (several congressional & other investigations continue).  It is particularly confounding coming from a press and punditry that relentlessly exposes Trump’s (and others’) lies, digging the public out from under them, only to heap misleading notions like these back on.  Arrgh–have we gone mad?  Call Outs: False Choice (decide quickly, or opportunity is gone) and Focus on Issues, Not Politics.

Campaign strategy: Attack Trump or focus on issues?
This question, posed by The New York Times on 2020 Democratic campaign strategy, is yet another familiar False Choice the press routinely offers up in their parlor game of ‘horse race’ politics. Suggesting the candidates must choose one strategy or the other, but not both, is an OverSimplification.  To be fair, the article uses the question as a ‘jumping off point’ to examine Trump’s divisive racial rhetoric, and how (or whether) it plays in primary vs. general election Democratic strategies, plus, it is answered by strategists and candidates who say: ‘do both’.  (Yea!)  Certainly, Trump’s rhetoric, its affect and importance, are well understood at this point and merit covering. But, again, not at the expense of issues, which continue to get short shrift in our ever increasingly complex world.  I’m just really tired of this emphasis, but we’re going to be seeing a lot more of it, I’m afraid.  Call Outs: False Choice, OverSimplification and Focus on Issues, Not Politics.

Exclusive MSNBC coverage of SC Democratic Convention
The South Carolina Democratic Party granted exclusive rights for video coverage of their June convention to MSNBC over the protestations of 5 other major networks, according to the AP.  The reason given: the candidates would get equal time since their full speeches would be aired.  More than 150 journalists were also credentialed, but–whoa! Is this legal?  It doesn’t seem like it should be.  Call Outs: MSNBC, in the name of journalistic integrity and fairness, you should have refused the offer of exclusive rights and allowed the other networks to Cover the Topic of the SC Democratic convention, along with yourself.

 

Categories
education Presidential debates race Rule: Correct Inaccuracies Rule: Focus Issues Not Politics Rule: Mischaracterization Rule: Sin of Omission Uncategorized

“Explosive Conflicts”–Kamala & Joe

The media coverage of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris’s first debate clash, and the events preceding and following it, offers a lesson (still unlearned!) on the kind of error-compounding pileups that can jettison common sense, and hijack meaningful debate.

First Democratic Debate: Biden & Harris on bussing

The first problem came with the press’s over-focus on Joe Biden’s reference to Strom Thurmond in his statement that he (Biden) ~“worked with segregationists to get bills passed,” while missing his overall point, the need for compromise in legislating.  While Biden should have anticipated the reaction he would get to the racially charged name of Thurmond (a segregationist and Biden’s friend) and could have expressed himself better, the press’s emphasis on the backlash, instead of Biden’s main point of the importance of ‘working across the aisle’, even if it’s with extreme political opposites, is a fundamental Mischaracterization of his meaning. The attendant irony in this—the press’s ignoring Biden’s use of “segregationists” as a way to drive home his point, instead, oxygenizing the explosive racial aspect—cannot be explained away with Biden and Thurmond’s friendship since their differences on civil rights (and Biden’s lengthy pro-civil rights record) were well established. (Read these Washington Examiner and The Atlantic articles for a fuller, more nuanced picture.)

That furor then sparked the debate conflict when Kamala Harris, who was bussed as a child, confronted Biden on his busing record, declaring how hurtful people like Strom Thurman were to her and people of color.  Biden defended his civil rights record and clarified his position on busing as favoring local jurisdiction over it, rather than federal, to which Harris responded that it is the failure of states to integrate public schools that necessitates policy at the federal level.

Given the appalling disparities that still exist today, prioritizing education policy in debates is monumentally important. But instead of drilling down on that topic (or validating their respective positions on bussing), much of the media, for several days, not only highlighted the fireworks of the clash over its substance, but did so to an extent that largely ignored the other candidates, breaking the Focus on Issues, Not Politics Rule on two counts.

Finally, a week later an AP article came out with new shadings of both candidates positions on busing. “Kamala Harris clarified her position on federally mandated school busing, saying it’s only necessary in cases where local governments are actively opposing integration,” the article said. It went on to add: “Biden said he was in favor of voluntary busing but opposed federally mandated busing. During the 1970s and ’80s, however, Biden actively worked against busing efforts and was an outspoken critic of the tactic. But Harris muddied the waters Wednesday when she told reporters she too did not support federally mandated busing and supported it only as an option for local governments.” 

So… Biden and Harris’s positions on bussing were not that far apart, it seems. Media: let’s try to catch these Sins of Omission and Correct Inaccuracies a little sooner, okay?

Follow up articles:

Biden (Associated Press – AP):  In early July while visiting South Carolina, Joe Biden apologized for his segregationist comments and defended his overall civil rights record.

Harris (San Jose Mercury News):  During the second debate, 4 attacks on Harris’s record as California Attorney General were made, 3 of which were partially or largely inaccurate or unfair to her.  In 2 cases—arguing (unsuccessfully) against early release of prisoners to use them for fighting fires; failing to inform defense attorneys of possible evidence contamination—Harris was not told of unilateral actions by her staff, but took responsibility (as their boss) later.  In another case—putting 1,500 people in jail for marijuana—the vast majority of those were prosecuted by DA’s at the county level.  In the 4th case—stymieing death row appeals (2)—Harris corrected herself.

Categories
carbon emissions climate change Rule: Ask The Question Rule: Cover The Topic solutions

5 Years Later: ABC, CBS & NBC Climate Solutions Reporting Still Dismal

Maybe Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old climate activist who gained attention with her “school strike for climate” outside Swedish parliament last year, will finally be the one to sound the alarm on the rocketing rate of climate change, and the dire need and diminishing window for action on it. The ‘big 3’ broadcast networks, ABC, CBS & NBC, certainly aren’t doing it.

www.spiked-online.com

Thunberg, fearless and becoming ever more prominent, unabashedly rebuked ~200 attendees at the COP24 Climate Conference in Poland last December for their subpar record on global warming. 

“You say you love your children above all else, and yet you are stealing their future in front of their very eyes. You only talk about moving forward with the same bad ideas that got us into this mess, even when the only sensible thing to do is pull the emergency brake. You are not mature enough to tell it like it is,” she said.

At Davos this year she told billionaire entrepreneurs and global leaders:  ~“According to the IPCC, we are less than 12 years away from not being able to undo our mistakes. Adults keep saying: ‘We owe it to the young people to give them hope.’ But I don’t want your hope. I want you to panic. I want you to feel the fear I feel every day. And then I want you to act as if the house is on fire, because it is.” 

Davos speech: speaking truth to power (watch it!)

Even with all the media attention she is getting, it hasn’t done the broadcast network’s nightly news viewers any good, there’s been nary a mention of her on their newscasts—sadly unsurprising, given the pittance of climate reporting by them, in general. “On climate change, we have failed, … and the media has failed to create broad public awareness,” she admonished them.

Five years ago, I took a look at the big 3’s reporting on global warming solutions on those news shows for the preceding 5 years. It wasn’t good. From July 2009 – July 2014, searching TV News Archive I found 0 reports on “taxing carbon” and “carbon sequestration”, and 1 report (CBS) on “cap and trade”.  Within a smaller 1.5 year window (2013 – July 2014), and searching more general terms (“carbon emissions”, “greenhouse gases”, “global warming” & “climate change”), I got 4-6 hits of any substance, for each of the 3 networks.

Now, 5 years later, assessing their record again for the 5 years prior, it is little improved. Aside from “Paris Climate Agreement”, the number of news segments for all other ‘climate solution’ search terms, combined, maxed out at 6 for CBS (only 1 in-depth), with 3 each for ABC (all minor refs), and NBC (2 in-depth).  (See [intlink id=”2099″ type=”page” anchor=”Clim_Sol_Data_2014-19″]Climate Solutions Data[/intlink], and Search Terms List & TV News Archive Notes, below.) 

In their coverage of the “Paris Climate Agreement”, the networks followed expected patterns, each with clusters of reports around the 2015 PCA negotiations & signing (terms, adequacy) and 2017 Trump pullout (jobs, fallout out from leaders & CEO’s) events, with a smattering of PCA references throughout the period, each varying from the others in number and degree.  For in-depth reports, the tally was: ABC–1, NBC–2, CBS–4, with a mix of climate-related stories linked in, such as: coal vs. renewables jobs (ABC & NBC), Norway’s climate success with subsidies and incentives (CBS), Glacier National Park’s diminished 26 out of 150 glaciers remaining (NBC), and the cost of extreme weather (CBS). 

Good, where it was, but not all that one would hope for. 

Actually, rather abysmal given the acceleration of shocking reports on the environment that seem to come flying at us, almost nonstop, from print media.  From recent readings of 84o F arctic temps, and 415 parts/million carbon levels (the highest in human history, and rising, with ~1,300 tons of carbon dioxide/second spewing into the air from fossil fuels, which still comprise 81% of the world’s energy use), to the staggering implications of the 25-years long and, until recently, underestimated by 60%(!) warming of oceans (90% of trapped atmospheric energy is absorbed–8 times the annual global energy consumption), to the “18 of the 19 warmest years on record occurring since 2000” stat–the hits just keep on coming.

Against that steady drumbeat of bad news, a parade of equally unrelenting climate policy reversals continues to issue forth from the Trump Administration, adding insult to injury, as in some hideously demented comic parody, run amok. The latest reversals include: rolling back of emissions rules for coal plants, relaxation of automobile mileage standards, and the easing of rules for oil and gas leaks, to name a few. The New York Times just reported a tally of 49 rollbacks, completed, with 34 more in progress, for a total of 83.

I have pledged to keep this site bias and snark free, but the above scenario couldn’t help but conjure up another standoff in nature I recently encountered while hiking.

 Turkeys vs. deer; looks like the turkeys are winning.

In January of this year, the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (HR 763) was introduced in the House. The bipartisan bill (D-58, R-1) is geared to “reduce greenhouse gas emissions with a steadily rising fee on fossil fuels” and is backed by 3,500 U.S. economists, including Nobel laureates, former presidential advisers and Federal Reserve chairs. ~“A carbon tax offers the most cost-effective way to reduce carbon emissions at the scale and speed necessary, and will harness the marketplace to steer us toward a low-carbon future,” they declared in a joint statement. In his Op-Ed reporting this, Jonathan Marshall, of Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL), touts the benefits of the bill–90% emissions reduction by 2050, creation of ~2.1M jobs, GDP growth (citing Sweden’s 60%), and even cost-compensation in the form of monthly dividends to the public.

Monthly dividends to the public.  What a deal!  Now, if we could only get the TV news media to report on it. Thus far, it has turned up on just CSPAN, and FOX News (in a 5-minute discussion with Mark Reynolds of CCL; see Featured Video, bottom, Home page).

Will shaming the major networks to report on climate solutions make any difference, even if they do relent?

The NYT’s David Leonhardt gives his view on why promoting climate solutions using technical terms (e.g. “carbon tax”) instead of human benefit terms (e.g. “cleaner energy”, “better health”) fails, citing examples and outcomes for each approach. The ‘human connection’, and anecdotes of its political benefits have become ubiquitous to the point of broad acceptance in recent years and, for sure, there is merit to it. But couching issues strictly in human terms falls short and can never preclude the need for straight-up, dispassionate and accurate information, consistently delivered. To argue so is a false choice and one that subordinates rational thinking, a distinguishing characteristic of humans, to emotion–a devolutionary proposition, to be sure.

Fortunately for us, an unnecessary one, as well. For just as people aspire to make a human connection and ‘do the right thing morally’, so do they seek edification through knowledge. They just don’t like having ‘answers’ and ‘solutions’ rammed down their throat. It is because of this distinction that I believe in the goal of ATD–the widespread dissemination, across the board, of a higher level of reporting, directed, in part, by the public themselves. Further, I would say, putting tools in the hands of people to direct their own edification is the human connection. It empowers them by increasing their personal stake in Democracy, and fosters engagement, both with the media and their fellow citizens.

Since my last 5-year survey, both the broadcast and cable networks’ nightly news viewerships have grown to 23.75M (average, ABC, CBS & NBC, combined) and 4.76M (average, CNN, MSNBC & FOX News, combined), respectively. (See PEW 2016 data.)  Though cable’s viewership grew faster than the broadcast networks’, the networks still get, on average, ~5 times more eyeballs than cable, per night.  When you consider that elections are won or lost by margins that are far smaller than the networks nightly viewership (9.5M for Obama in 2008, the biggest win going back 8 elections, vs. 23.75M network viewership), the case can be made that broadcast network reporting could have significant impact on voters (though causality cannot be proven, either way; nor is this an apples to apples comparison).

For myself, my bias and snark breach and the fact that I identify as Democrat, notwithstanding, I simply see the world as one that is governed by the real-life forces that govern it, and not by ideology. So, I just simply always want to know what the facts of issues are. All of them. And all of the time. And if we all come into better and more regular possession of those facts, we can launch our debates from an even playing field and, then, really begin to solve problems.

Here are my Rule break calls for the media.

  • ABC, CBS & NBC:  Cover the Topic of carbon tax–it’s time!

All news media: Ask the Questions: 

  • What are the methods and costs of putting a price on carbon? 
  • What are the methods and costs of removing carbon from the atmosphere? 
  • What is the cost of failing to meet the PCA goal of 1.5o temp raise? 

 

Oh, and thank you, Greta.

 


Search Terms List:

(Notes: Multiple permutations of search terms were used, as warranted. Also, the need for quotes is deceiving since ‘hits’ occurred if any of the main terms within quotes were found in a TV newscast, not just the full quote.)

  • “carbon tax”, ”tax on carbon”, ”taxing carbon”, ”price on carbon”, ”carbon surcharge”, ”price on emissions”, ”emissions tax”
  • “fossil fuels fee”, “fossil-fuels fee”, “fee on fossil fuels”
  • “Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act”
  • “H.R. 763”, “HR 763”, “HR-763”, “HR bill 763”
  • “Green New Deal”
  • “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change”, “IPCC”
  • “Paris Climate Agreement”
  • “United States Climate Alliance”
  • “U.S. Climate Alliance”
  • “Greta Thunberg”

 


TV News Archive Notes:

I noticed, anecdotally, the closed caption text that is used for searches has more gaps than it seemed to 5 years ago.  From experience, however, overall patterns emerge to tell the story and I believe there is value in this tool. See other [intlink id=”1347″ type=”page” anchor=”TVNewsArch_CCGaps”]TV News Archive Notes[/intlink] on my contact with archive.org on this subject.

 


Additional Links – Articles that give (what I consider to be) a ‘full’ picture of the topic, representing opposing opinions & data fairly.

Scientific American:  2019 U.S. Power-Sector Trends –> Rise in Emissions

New York Times:  EPA Finalizes Coal Rules Rollback

New York Times:  Problem with Carbon Tax

Bloomberg:  Half World’s Power from Wind, Solar by 2050

Categories
Rule: Focus Issues Not Politics

Craven Media: We Have Met The Enemy And He Is Us

There is a saying in the tech industry: garbage in, garbage out. It refers to computers and the fact that, because they cannot differentiate between ‘good’ and ‘bad’ input, simply process everything and produce commensurate results. In its description of the phrase, Wikipedia adds: “The principle applies to other fields as well.”

Yes… like our political system, perhaps?

Historically, the media has long favored covering ‘the horse race’ over actual issues in elections. It has been particularly pronounced this year, making Focus On Issues, Not Politics the biggest Rule break of the political season, by far.

On top of that, the disingenuousness of the media in their own acknowledgement of this failing—feigning shame with their mea culpas, while making excuses to continue doing the same thing—nominal cover in the past, is on especially high display this year.

Consider this Charlie Rose interview on the presidential election with Mark Halperin and John Heilemann, journalists and co-hosts of MSNBC’s With All Due Respect.

(no ad)

Craven Media: garbage in, garbage out

About 13 minutes in, Mark Halperin broaches the subject: (paraphrasing) ~”On our show, we asked the Trump campaign regularly: ‘We want to to do a segment on healthcare, or on tax cuts, or ISIS, could you give us an expert?’ They won’t give us anyone, and the Clinton campaign often doesn’t either. That problem from the candidates notwithstanding, the press has failed, we have everyday followed the drama that Trump and, to some extent, Clinton creates.”

Charlie Rose: ~”Why don’t you take, and we should do this too, take 10 minutes [to cover issues]?”

Mark Halperin: ~“We should, … it’s hard to do at the end [of a campaign]. … The problem is, he has almost no policies, and she has few specifics [in hers]. … It’s not an excuse, and I wish I could turn the clock back six months and do ten minutes on policy a show.”

John Heilemann adds: “Or even just ten minutes a week.”

So, you couldn’t cover issues for the past year because the candidates wouldn’t cooperate, and now it’s too late.

Really?

Nineteen minutes in, picking up on Halperin’s comment on why Trump’s 42 million followers are unconcerned about his temperament, Heilemann offers: ~“Many [of them], for 25 or 30 years, watched establishment politicians come in, promise to change things, and didn’t, and their life prospects got worse. … The core of Trump supporters are fed up with establishment politicians, the financial establishment and the media establishment, and say: ‘I’m willing to roll the dice on this guy. … He’ll throw a stick of dynamite in there.’ ”

Hmm. Candidates won’t supply experts, so the media can’t cover issues. Trump supporters are fed up with the establishment (media & other), so they want to blow it all up.

I think I see the problem, Messrs. H: We have met the enemy, and he is you!

Mr. Halperin, if you report on the issues, the public will demand policy solutions from the candidates, forcing them to supply experts and position details to you …and us!

Mr. Heilemann, people have disdain for the media establishment because you don’t report facts or cover things that actually affect them.

grbg_in_out_jpeg

In short, Messrs. H: The more informed the public is, the more levers of knowledge they have to pull. And the more they pull those levers, the more responsive the candidates, and the less need for dynamite.

I identify as Democrat on this website, but this blog is about exhorting the media to report facts and cover issues without regard to ideology—indeed, do facts/issues even cohere to ideology?—so I call ‘em as I see ‘em, political affilation, notwithstanding. But Halperin and Heilemann, whose show is on Democratic leaning MSNBC, are far from the only ones failing here. The problem is pervasive in the extreme. This AP article cites 2 studies that show how little substance was covered in this election—1 of them says it’s the lowest amount in almost 3 decades.

Certainly Trump’s inciting rhetoric and (alleged) predatory behavior, and Hillary’s emails and political dualities merit coverage, but not to the exclusion of issues. With Heilemann’s acknowledgement of frustration with the media establishment, and Halperin’s defense of it’s practices (however sheepish), can we expect this to change? It certainly doesn’t look that way. This problem has been around forever and will not go away until we demand it, that is the reality. And if we don’t demand it, who then is really the ‘us’ of ‘the enemy’?

ATD Rule break: Focus On Issues, Not Politics!

Categories
business economy jobs Presidential debates Rule: Cite The Basis taxes

Presidential Debate 3: Jobs & Growth

Though I was shocked to realize that neither education nor healthcare—two giant issues—were chosen as topics for any of the 3 debates, in the end, it’s still ‘the economy, stupid’. Through all the diversions, and outrageous, unseemly and sad degradation of this election, that is still the take away for me.

hillary__trump_1

Whatever you think of the candidates, too many people really are suffering as the American Dream drifts further and further away, and that’s not going to change until we deal with our chronic reality of stagnant wages and low growth. That is why, though the official topics are Debt & Entitlements, Immigration, Economy, Supreme Court, Foreign Hot Spots and Fitness to be President, I am focussing on the Economy and Jobs for my debate Questions in this blog.

For Secretary Clinton:

On your website under An Economy That Works For Everyone, you say you will fight to pass a plan in the first 100 days to invest in infrastructure, manufacturing, research and technology, clean energy, and small businesses.
ATQ: Could you give one specific example of how you would invest in each of those categories? Also, in which of those areas will the most jobs be created?

Under Jobs & Wages, you write that you will: Advance our commitment to research and technology in order to create the industries and jobs of the future.
ATQ: What are the jobs of the future? What percentage of the unemployed could realistically be retrained for those jobs? Please Cite The Basis for your answers.

You also claim you will ensure caregiving and services jobs of the future are good-paying jobs.
ATQ: How will you ensure this when healthcare costs are running out of control? Again, Cite The Basis for answers.

Under Manufacturing, you plan to: Strengthen American manufacturing through a $10 billion investment in “Make it in America” partnerships that bring together workers and labor, business, universities, community colleges, and government at every level to harness the strength of manufacturing communities across America.
ATQ: How exactly will this work?

*                                *                                *

For Mr. Trump:

On the Economy page of your website, you list as the first item of your vision: Create a dynamic booming economy that will create 25 million new jobs over the next decade by sweeping reforms in tax, trade, energy and regulatory policies.
ATQ: Please apportion the 25 million jobs created to the four areas of reform you list, and Cite The Basis for each.

On your Fact Sheet link, you state: Every income group receives a tax cut under the Trump plan, with million more being removed from the income tax rolls and low-income Americans paying no income tax at all.
ATQ: How much will this grow the deficit? If you pay for these tax cuts, what government programs will you cut to do it, and by how much?

Under Regulation: Every year, over-regulation costs our economy $2 trillion dollars a year and reduces household wealth by almost $15,000 dollars.
ATQ: Please Cite The Basis of these figures, and identify the regulations with the worst impact and how you would reform them.

You have nothing on your website for small business, yet small businesses comprise 39% of GNP, 52% of all U.S. sales, and employ 54 million people (57.3% of private workforce).
ATQ: How would you foster small business growth, and please Cite The Basis to support your ideas?

They keep saying they want to talk about the issues. Let’s see if they do. What’s more, did they Cite The Basis?