Reddit Politics Summary Thursday Dec 28th 17

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This is a digest of the top posts on reddit/r/politics over the last 24 hours.
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'Terrible numbers' for President Trump in new AP/NORC poll

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Trump administration sees record first-year staff turnover: report

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• "That’s unprecedented to me. The first year always seems to have some missteps on staffing, often because the skills that worked well running a campaign don’t always align with what it takes to run a government.

Poll: Half of Minnesotans don’t think Franken should go through with resignation

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• His approval rating is slightly higher among women, with 57 percent of women saying they approve of his job performance, compared with 37 percent who don't. The poll also finds that 53 percent of voters approve of the job Franken is doing in office, compared to 42 percent who don't approve.

Trump finally turns on the formerly ‘wonderful man’ Michael Flynn

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• Given the enormous exposure Flynn had and the numerous crimes he may have committed — regarding payments from Russia and Turkey; his failure to report money he received; possible lies told to investigators; and even his alleged role in an outlandish plot to kidnap exiled Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen from Pennsylvania and spirit him back to Turkey, for which Flynn and his son were supposedly to be paid as much as $15 million — he could have been looking at a significant stretch behind bars.
• Comey, Trump asked the then-FBI director to back off investigating Flynn; according to this report, Trump asked Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats to pressure Comey to lay off Flynn; Trump made a very public show of supporting Flynn and saying nice things about him, and scolded aides when they failed to do the same; and even sent Flynn personal messages of support, according to friends of Flynn’s.
• As I wrote a month ago, "If the White House suddenly changes how it talks about Flynn, disparaging him instead of saying what an admirable fellow he is, that’ll be a good indication of a change in Trump’s feelings." Well, now it’s happening. You can bet that in the next few days, the likes of Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Rush Limbaugh will unload on Flynn, casting him as a traitor to that highest of principles, that Trump must be protected at all costs.

Top Alabama election official: Jones will be certified winner of Senate race

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• When asked by CNN about the potential for widespread voter fraud in the election, Merrill said that his office has investigated more than 60 complaints so far but did not give the indication that he found anything significant.

Sessions Says to Courts: Go Ahead, Jail People Because They’re Poor

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• The Justice Department helped shine a light on the harms of fine and fees when it investigated Ferguson, Mo., three years ago after the killing of the teenager Michael Brown by a police officer.
• He issued arrest warrants for residents who fell behind on payments — including a 67-year-old woman who had been fined for a trash-removal violation — without inquiring whether they even had the ability to pay the exorbitant amounts.
• Texas, where the court system’s administrative director said the guidance "was very helpful and very well received by the judges across the state," issued new rules to prevent people from being jailed for their poverty.

Mueller's team to question former RNC officials on Russia

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• We were first to report in detail about the widespread concerns about the operation's performance; and WashPo and others reported on a recent tense meeting in the Oval Office that climaxed with Trump's former campaign manager Corey Lewandowski eviscerating Stepien.
• Why it matters: This deal is vital to Uber because of associated governance changes, and a big bet on transportation for SoftBank, which already has stakes in Uber rivals in other countries.
• Also, per Axios' Dan Primack: The tender offer, which is an open call to buy shares in the company, is a chance for early Uber employees to cash in after not being able to get any liquidity out of the privately-held company. In addition, many early executives — including former CEO Travis Kalanick — have departed in the past year after a series of corporate scandals, so they aren''t betting against themselves with this offer.

Why are all these Florida Republicans attacking Bob Mueller?

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Young Democrats should be leading the Party in 2018

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• On the evening of Tuesday, December 12th, I stood in the living room of my in-laws' house with a small group of friends watching CNN and celebrating a rare victory.
• Not only did Alabama Democrats score a decisive victory in a tough race, they gave democratic voters, lawmakers, and potential candidates a heavy dose of hope and motivation as we head into what is likely to be a historic midterm election. Volunteers from all over the state hit the streets, web, and phone lines, knocking on hundreds of thousands of doors, making over a million phone calls, and pumping pro-Jones content all throughout social media.
• And when field offices did start opening, he credits AYD for largely managing and executing the campaign's plan--something echoed by Beth Clayton, National Committeewoman and former VP for AYD.

Report: Mueller Probe Looking At RNC’s 2016 Digital Operations

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• In public interviews, representatives from social media companies have played coy when asked the question and merely have confirmed that they were handing all the relevant data to congressional investigators.
• Company CEO Alexander Nix reportedly offered to help Wikileaks founder Julian Assange organize the hacked Democratic emails the website had been publishing, but Assange has denied accepting Nix’s entreaty.