HUFFPOST HILL - Election To Be Determined By Turnout, Relative Hotness Of Women

Ed Rendell said most women are ugly and won't vote for Donald Trump, which we rate half-true. The House Appropriations Committee voted against making Congressional Research Service reports publicly available, because if members of Congress aren't going to read these reports, then why should the American public? And people reacted to Donald Trump's list of Supreme Court picks like it was something real and tangible rather than just another shock of yellow hair flapping in a helicopter breeze, soon to disappear under a hat that says Make America Great Again. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Wednesday, May 18th, 2016:

POLITICIANS PLAY POLITICS WITH TERRIBLE ILLNESS - Laura Barron-Lopez and Michael McAuliff: "Senate Democrats tried and failed Wednesday to expedite emergency funds to combat the Zika virus, stymied by Republicans who objected and tried to extract cuts to Obamacare as a condition for their agreement. Using procedural tactics, Democrats tried to force two votes by unanimous consent: one to approve the $1.9 billion sought by the Obama administration, and another requesting to speed up passage of a $1.1 billion measure that senators backed Tuesday. ... After Reid’s request to push through the president’s full $1.9 billion was unsuccessful, Murray took a shot, calling for a vote on the $1.1 billion Zika deal she’d helped craft with Republicans, but as a standalone. ... But Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas) objected, and instead asked her to modify her request in a way that Republicans might prefer. 'Would the senator modify her request to include my language... which has the exact same funding levels... but includes a pay-for using the prevention fund in the Affordable Care Act?' Cornyn said, referring a part of Obamacare that aims to boost public health through preventive means, but that Republicans often target as a slush fund." [HuffPost]

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