The Political Page, T+270 -- We Won't See This Story On ABC News

NFL: I see the NFL commissioner is taking questions; I turned the television set off that was in the other room; not listening. I honestly do not understand why the NFL didn't simply do the easy thing: just quit playing the national anthem; and quit with the patriotic opening. Simply have the teams warm up; go into their locker rooms before the game starts (as they currently do); and then have them come out and immediately go to the coin toss and start the game. As it is right now, ESPN no longer shows the patriotic opening (they cut to a commercial) and the only ones still seeing the patriotic opening are the fans in the stands, which are increasingly more empty. And based on the booing from those in the stands, they don't want to see the patriotic opening as it is now any more than the rest of us do.

More layoffs: Time Inc., data points:

• 200 people to get the ax -- half come from the editorial ranks
• yesterday, market topped 23,000 for the first time 
• yesterday, Time shares plunge 3.4%

Crazy like a fox. The Republican National Committee raised more than $100 million in the first nine months of 2017, marking the first time it has raised that much, that fast, in a non-presidential election year.

From McClatchy DC. Data points:

• fund-raising sets a record
• more than $100 million in the first nine months of 2017
• first time that much raised that fast in a non-presidential election year
• record-breaking fundraising can be largely attributed to a flurry of small-dollar donors responding to fundraising appeals by the first Republican president in eight years
• the numbers give Republicans a huge cash advantage over Democrats as they head into new campaign season
• could be most expensive midterm field program in history
• Republicans have raised almost twice as much as the Democrats
• Republicans have nearly seven times as much money in the bank
• Trump collected a record-setting $239 million from donor who contributed $@00 or less during this2016 campaign
• so far this year, almost 60% -- more than $44 million -- has come from small donations; more than 98% of those who gave to the RNC were small-dollar donors

Probably something else we won't see on network television today:

I would suggest a noose, but that might be construed as politically incorrect. Bill Cosby is starting to look like a Boy Scout.

Read more here: http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/article179293446.html#storylink=