Friday's Opinions: Down the conspiracy rabbit hole

Rex Tillerson is off to an agonizingly slow start; The lawless obstructionism of Beltway elites; The American Health Care Act is a good start; America must defend itself against the real national security menace; The GOP can no longer claim it believes in fiscal responsibility; The Republican health-care plan isn't about health care at all; The GOP health-care plan would quietly kill the Medicaid expansion. Here's how.; WikiLeaks doesn't raise doubts about who hacked the DNC. We still know it was Russia.; GOP hard-liners' Obamacare incoherence; The most powerful check on President Trump; Online dissidents expose the Russian prime minister's material empire; Scott Pruitt demonstrates what climate denial sounds like; Happy Hour Roundup; Fox News’s Shep Smith: ‘It’s too much lying and too much Russia and too much smoke’; Want to know what ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’ looks like? Look at Trump’s staffing.; Opposition to immigration is at odds with economic growth; Fox News’s John Roberts to media: ‘Stop whining’; Is Trump giving Putin a pass on a missile deployment?   Democracy Dies in Darkness       Jabin Botsford / The Washington Post   Charles Krauthammer Down the conspiracy rabbit hole Washington has worked itself into a frenzy over two different conjectures. Read more » Latest Columns   David Ignatius Rex Tillerson is off to an agonizingly slow start The secretary of state could be a voice for sound international strategy, but first he must cement his relationship with Mr. Trump. Read more »   Hugh Hewitt The lawless obstructionism of Beltway elites The Constitution isn't a restaurant menu. Read more »   Douglas Holtz-Eakin The American Health Care Act is a good start The House Republicans' health-care bill is an important step forward on better health-care policy. Read more »   Fareed Zakaria America must defend itself against the real national security menace While the Trump administration wastes time on its travel ban, cyberwarfare goes ignored. Read more »     Eugene Robinson The GOP can no longer claim it believes in fiscal responsibility The Republicans' health-care plan isn't about the budget. It's about punishing the poor. Read more »   ADVERTISEMENT     Catherine Rampell The Republican health-care plan isn't about health care at all It will provide hundreds of billions of dollars of tax cuts — and make it easier to make even more cuts later on. Read more »   Benjamin Sommers The GOP health-care plan would quietly kill the Medicaid expansion. Here's how. Republicans who want to preserve their Medicaid coverage should check the fine print. Read more »   Ben Buchanan WikiLeaks doesn't raise doubts about who hacked the DNC. We still know it was Russia. A closer look at UMBRAGE and its limits underscores the strength of the evidence in the DNC hack investigation.  Read more »   Avik Roy GOP hard-liners' Obamacare incoherence Rand Paul and others are fine with "Obamacare Lite" if it benefits older people who vote for them. Read more »   Editorial Cartoons Tom Toles Ann Telnaes Republicans’ Obamacare-light is so light people are seeing right through it Trump serves up another Muslim travel ban Very very sleight of hand. The president signed a new travel ban Monday after the original one from January was challenged by the courts.   ADVERTISEMENT   The Post’s View The most powerful check on President Trump Reality. By Editorial Board  •  Read more »   Online dissidents expose the Russian prime minister's material empire The truth about Dmitry Medvedev lives on the Internet. By Editorial Board  •  Read more »   Scott Pruitt demonstrates what climate denial sounds like The EPA chief flouts the responsibilities of his job. By Editorial Board  •  Read more »   Latest Blogs Happy Hour Roundup Our nightly wrap-up of news and opinion. By Paul Waldman  •  The Plum Line  •  Read more »   Fox News’s Shep Smith: ‘It’s too much lying and too much Russia and too much smoke’ Five 'lying' allegations in about 20 seconds. By Erik Wemple  •  Erik Wemple  •  Read more »   Want to know what ‘deconstruction of the administrative state’ looks like? Look at Trump’s staffing. Trump is failing to staff the government, and the effects could be disastrous. By Sarah Posner  •  The Plum Line  •  Read more »   Opposition to immigration is at odds with economic growth Why we need immigrants more than ever. By Jennifer Rubin  •  Right Turn  •  Read more »   Fox News’s John Roberts to media: ‘Stop whining’ Okay, so just what does that mean? By Erik Wemple  •  Erik Wemple  •  Read more »   Is Trump giving Putin a pass on a missile deployment? Trump could show he's no Putin patsy. By Jennifer Rubin  •  Right Turn  •  Read more »   Recommended for you   In Theory Emerging ideas and the arguments behind the news. Sign Up »         Share Opinions:       Twitter      Facebook Trouble reading? Click here to view in your browser. You received this email because you are signed up for Opinions. For additional free newsletters or to manage your newsletters, click here. We respect your privacy. If you believe that this email has been sent to you in error or you no longer wish to receive email from The Washington Post, click here. Contact us for help. ©2017 The Washington Post, 1301 K St NW, Washington DC 20071