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On this date one year ago today, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” published its [URL="https://www.wane.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2019/09/11-Jim-Banks.jpg"]first profile of the U.S. House Representative from Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District, [SIZE=4]Jim Banks[/SIZE][/URL], who was [URL="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvd84q/an-incredibly-upsetting-list-of-all-the-new-republican-congress-members"]first elected back in 2016[/URL], when we entered the darkest timeline. Prior to that, he entered the political arena in the Tea Party Wave back in 2010, served six years in the Indiana State Senate, and in his time in Hoosier State politics, he voted against the Medicaid Expansion, [URL="https://votesmart.org/bill/14525/37953/116801/requires-drug-testing-for-tanf-applicants#.XxuW5OdlBPZ"]co-sponsored a bill to drug test welfare recipients[/URL], [URL="https://votesmart.org/bill/13162/34688/116801/repealing-medicaid-funding-for-planned-parenthood#.WG6Q57YrLSA"]another bill to defund Planned Parenthood in Indiana[/URL], and helped pass [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/us/federal-judge-blocks-indiana-abortion-law.html?_r=0"]an anti-choice bill extreme enough that it required women to bury or cremate fetal remains[/URL] that was quickly overturned by the courts. He is also [URL="http://www.theindychannel.com/news/politics/national-group-pushes-indiana-right-to-work-law"]a tool of ALEC[/URL], having been their errand boy to bring forth right-to-work legislation.
[URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Partisan_Voting_Index"]Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District has a +18 Republican lean in the Cook Partisan Voting Index[/URL], tied for the most conservative district in what is a decidedly red state. That helped Jim Banks coast to victory in the 2020 elections with [URL="https://ballotpedia.org/Jim_Banks_(Indiana)"]68% of the vote[/URL]. He has continued to prove himself an extremist in votes for the past two years:
[LIST] [*]December 18th, 2019: Banks ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/116-2019/h695"]votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump[/URL].[*]January 10th, 2020: Shortly after Congresswoman Ilhan Omar mentions in an interview that she still has PTSD from her time as a child refugee from Somalia… [URL="https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/1/10/21059025/ilhan-omar-ptsd-jim-banks-refugee-somalia"]Jim Banks comes along to minimize her suffering, and try to pretend that she’s not being honest about her condition, and that her remarks were “offensive to our nation’s veterans”[/URL].[*]May 15th, 2020: Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/116-2020/h109"]votes against the HEROES Act[/URL], to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. [*]December 10th, 2020: Banks [URL="https://www.yahoo.com/news/here-are-the-republican-members-of-congress-who-signed-on-to-the-suit-to-throw-out-the-votes-in-four-states-195834720.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGFpbHlrb3MuY29tL3N0b3JpZXMvMjAyMC8xMi8xMS8yMDAxNDA0Ly10aGVzZS1hcmUtdGhlLTEyMC1yZXB1YmxpY2Fucy13aG8tc2lnbmVkLW9uLXRvLWVuZC1EZW1vY3JhY3k&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHf2xXnX_PozdR_Z9-Rr0TfgB0NyxAnrVNbpO04Nbn8f13IKCAEwCAynm_PDf4WpHxGw77r7MAEHnEs-MlMDBrWb2L1aW1PIVu-RTEnpbO6Mu4nkvo0K41QS0FJ1w3OH1gWnwbG6ZoOoB6zVdY7GYxeTO86ZDch6McP_GHV9WawP"]signs his name to an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, begging them to overturn the results of the 2020 election[/URL]. The same election that he won re-election in. [*]January 6th, 2021: Jim Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h11"]votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election[/URL], a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup. [*]January 13th, 2021: Rep. Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h17"]votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump[/URL], because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers. [*]February 4th, 2021: Jim Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h25"]votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments[/URL], because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted reJims and conspiracy theories she’s spread online (probably because she’s a kindred spirit). [*]February 25th, 2021: Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h39"]votes against HR 5[/URL], the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans. [*]March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h51"]votes against HR 1[/URL], a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box. [*]March 3rd, 2021: Jim Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h60"]votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021[/URL]. [*]March 10th, 2021: Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h72"]votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021[/URL], because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic. [*]March 17th, 2021: Rep. Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h86"]votes against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act[/URL], likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).[*]May 19th, 2021: Jim Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h154"]votes against HR 3233[/URL], the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack. [*]May 20th, 2021: Banks is [URL="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/politics/republicans-voted-no-asian-hate-crime-bill/index.html"]one of 63 Republicans who vote against the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act[/URL].[/LIST]
[URL="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1391388897108713472?s=20"]As late as May 9th, Jim Banks was still on Fox News and questioning whether or not Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election (BIDEN F***ING DID) and defending his decision to vote against certifying the election results[/URL]. That probably had a lot to do with [URL="https://twitter.com/RepJimBanks/status/1417270635735228416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1417270635735228416%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FRepJimBanks2Fstatus2F1417270635735228416widget%3DTweet"]why House Minority Leader and craven s***heel Kevin McCarthy appointed Banks to be on the commission to investigate the January 6th attack on the Capitol[/URL] that is equivalent to naming the Riddler to be on a select panel to investigate rising crime rates in Gotham City, and why [URL="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/21/1018850848/pelosi-rejects-2-gop-nominees-for-the-jan-6-panel-citing-integrity-of-the-probe"]he was summarily rejected by Nancy Pelosi[/URL] like Giannis Antetokounmpo swatting away a layup.
Jim Banks is still licking his wounds over that, and will likely be fundraising on his “victimhood” that he’s not allowed so sabotage any investigation into 1/6 from within as [URL="https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/564723-jim-banks-pelosi-is-responsible-for-breakdown-of-security-at"]he goes on conservative media venues to try and claim that somehow, the lack of security was Pelosi’s fault[/URL] (even through the Capitol Police are not under her command).
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[URL="https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2021/07/26/ciattarelli-calls-for-expanded-vaccine-exemptions-parental-rights-ombudsman-1388990"]Ciattarelli calls for expanded vaccine exemptions, ‘parental rights’ ombudsman[/URL]
[QUOTE]Ciattarelli made headlines recently for telling supporters that he would roll back a New Jersey law that mandates teaching about the societal contributions of LGBTQ people while also saying “we’re not teaching sodomy in 6th grade.” He later said he was referring to unrelated curriculum requirements that require students to have been taught about vaginal, anal and oral sex by eighth grade.
Ciattarelli during his campaign has hit on some conservative themes in addition to his statements on vaccines and curriculum. For instance, he has called for loosening the state's strict gun control laws and increasing restrictions on abortion. [/QUOTE]
[URL="https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/njdsc-jack-ciattarelli-continues-mislead-voters-**********trump-base-stop-steal-rally/"]NJDSC: Jack Ciattarelli Continues to Mislead Voters After Catering to Trump Base at “Stop the Steal” Rally[/URL]
[QUOTE]ack Ciattarelli Continues to Mislead Voters After Catering to Trump Base at “Stop the Steal” Rally
TRENTON — A new interview with New Jersey Monthly Magazine highlights Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli’s latest attempt to mislead voters about his association with right-wing extremism that incited an insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6. When asked about his attendance at a Bedminster “Stop the Steal” rally Ciattarelli stated:
“That turned into something else after I was there. It was never advertised to me as a Stop the Steal rally.”
A flyer for the rally, which was attended by extremist groups, including Three Percenters, Proud Boys, and Oath Keepers, prominently features a photo of Ciattarelli as a guest speaker. Jack simply can’t make up his mind on whether it’s more important to cater to the fringe elements of the GOP base or to be honest with New Jerseyans.
“Despite the threat of yet another credible plot against the U.S. government, Jack Ciattarelli has still not given a credible answer to New Jersey voters about why he attended a ‘Stop the Steal’ rally because the truth is he went to support the lie-filled conspiracies that Trump used to inflame his supporters,” said Murphy for Governor Spokesman Jerrel Harvey. “It’s abundantly clear that Jack Ciattarelli has no interest in telling the truth, which is why he would rather cater to the Trump base than come clean with voters. New Jerseyans know what the Christie-Trump agenda looks like, and they won’t go back.”
[/QUOTE]
As a Murphy supporter, its' good to know what we are up against.
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[QUOTE=Tami;5661560][URL="https://www.politico.com/states/new-jersey/story/2021/07/26/ciattarelli-calls-for-expanded-vaccine-exemptions-parental-rights-ombudsman-1388990"]Ciattarelli calls for expanded vaccine exemptions, ‘parental rights’ ombudsman[/URL]
[URL="https://www.insidernj.com/press-release/njdsc-jack-ciattarelli-continues-mislead-voters-**********trump-base-stop-steal-rally/"]NJDSC: Jack Ciattarelli Continues to Mislead Voters After Catering to Trump Base at “Stop the Steal” Rally[/URL]
As a Murphy supporter, its' good to know what we are up against.[/QUOTE]
Offhand, I'd say this Ciattarelli asshat cares more about kissing up to Trumpanzees than coming clean to New Jerseyeans about the part he played on 1/6. That's not going to get him very far.
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[QUOTE=WestPhillyPunisher;5661676]Offhand, I'd say this Ciattarelli asshat cares more about kissing up to Trumpanzees than coming clean to New Jerseyeans about the part he played on 1/6. That's not going to get him very far.[/QUOTE]
New Jerseyians have a bad habit of choosing as many bad governors (Chris Christie, for example) as good ones. Here is hoping that this time we make the right choice. Murphy isn't perfect, but he's a damn sight better than Ciattarelli.
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[QUOTE=Tami;5661698]New Jerseyians have a bad habit of choosing as many bad governors (Chris Christie, for example) as good ones. Here is hoping that this time we make the right choice. Murphy isn't perfect, but he's a damn sight better than Ciattarelli.[/QUOTE]
I never understood what New Jerseyeans saw in Christie who was a thin-skinned blowhard and a crook.
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[QUOTE=WestPhillyPunisher;5661746]I never understood what New Jerseyeans saw in Christie who was a thin-skinned blowhard and a crook.[/QUOTE]
Neither did I. I wasn't involved with politics at that time, so I never had an inside track as to why people voted as they did. I think it was mostly money and the NJ Curse that Most Governors only serve one term, especially Democratic Governors.
Christie broke that curse, here is hoping that Murphy also breaks the curse.
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[QUOTE=Tami;5661767]Neither did I. I wasn't involved with politics at that time, so I never had an inside track as to why people voted as they did. I think it was mostly money and the NJ Curse that Most Governors only serve one term, especially Democratic Governors.
Christie broke that curse, here is hoping that Murphy also breaks the curse.[/QUOTE]
Murphy was one of the most proactive governors during the height of the virus a year ago. Here in Philly, our all-news radio station (KYW) covered his daily COVID pressers and his leadership was out there for all to see and hear. I hope Murphy gets a second term, and that Democratic governors in all blue states continue staying the course and putting the people ahead of their party, unlike Qpublicans with Trump.
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[QUOTE=Tami;5661533]The answer to ignorance is knowledge. Knowledge is not that hard to find, if you are smart enough to do so. I would not give him a pat on the hand for being too obtuse and obsessive to neglect checking the facts and doing proper research.[/QUOTE]
I used to believe that too. Now it's clear that this isn't the case. You find facts that contradict your narrative, "find" alternative facts. Reality doesn't line up with them? Question that reality. For a buck you can find "experts", including medical and legal professionals (have to resist urge to put quotation marks around every other word, but it's hard when words don't mean exactly what they used to anymore) who will back up anything you are saying. And con artists seeing an angle and a buck to be made will flock to these folks looking for an alternate narrative as "holy men" (see, dang it) will flock to a congregation (arguably not much difference, looking for power and a buck). There's no percentage or comfort in accepting reality, and when enough folk are shucking off the constraints of reality it becomes easier and easier for folk to do it, and drift further and further from that baseline.
[QUOTE=WestPhillyPunisher;5661746]I never understood what New Jerseyeans saw in Christie who was a thin-skinned blowhard and a crook.[/QUOTE]
He is a thin-skinned blowhard, like Trump. That's the appealing part to their bases, the blowhard/"tough-talking" bit. People want to think they're tough and want their leaders to project that as well, even if it's clearly not the case. And they're not willing to admit they've been had, so they tend to double down when confronted with the facts. See the above.
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[SIZE=1]In [URL="http://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/post/96872384203/steve-pearce"]2014[/URL], [URL="http://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/post/125749817383/steve-pearce-2015-update"]2015[/URL], [URL="https://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/post/148393392073/steve-pearce-2016-update"]2016[/URL], [URL="https://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/post/163749641103/steve-pearce-2017-update"]2017[/URL], [URL="https://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/post/176591920093/steve-pearce-2018-update"]2018[/URL], as well as [URL="https://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/post/186754679528/steve-pearce-2019-update"]2019[/URL], "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of [B]Steve Pearce[/B], the sitting U.S. House Representative from New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District, Pearce is the guy who advised furloughed workers during the 2013 Government Shutdown to just take out payday loans until the whole thing blew over, has written musings about how wives need to remember the importance of “submitting to their husbands”, and actually submitted a bill to drug test welfare recipients on the federal level, in spite of how horribly those programs fail at the state level. As well as, y’know, a pretty consistently terrible voting record. Oh, and back in 2011, Pearce told a group of Republicans at a conference that he thought the idea of men descending from apes was crazy, and thought it much more likely that they were descended from sheep. Pearce won re-election in the 2016 elections with 62% of the vote against Democrat Merrie Soules, thanks in part to the +5 lean New Mexico’s second has in favor of Republicans. In January of 2017, there was a bit of an uproar after several members of the GOP were moving to take funding away from the Office of Congressional Ethics, because at this point, the Republican Party isn’t even giving the pretense that they have any. And one of the people leading that charge was Rep. Steve Pearce, who actually defended the move, insisting that his third (yes THIRD) attempt to take away the funding for the OCE would not “gut” the organization, as was being reported. Other, more Democratic members of Congress pointed out that it would actually “kill” the OCE, because they weren’t mincing words. In his final term in Congress. Pearce missed more votes than any other member of the New Mexico delegation in Congress by far. Steve Pearce decided not to run for re-election to Congress in 2018, and has opted to instead run to be the next Governor of New Mexico at the age of 72. What really didn’t help his cause? Someone unearthed video of Steve Pearce speaking at a Republican event back in 2008 where he railed against same-sex marriage, warning that it might lead to “polymorphism” (whatever that means) and that liberal politicians then “can marry everybody in California with AIDS”. If that doesn’t sound homophobic enough, Pearce continued grousing over the idea that healthcare funding might in any way go towards patients being treated for AIDS. Not surprisingly, he only pulled down 43% of the vote against Michelle Lujan-Grisham, and now has shunted off to be the ancient chair of the New Mexico GOP.[/SIZE]
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On this date one year ago, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” had [URL="https://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/post/625470636324732928/ronny-jackson"]its first profile [SIZE=4]Ronny Jackson[/SIZE][/URL], the former White House Physician and Navy rear admiral and now the U.S. House Representative from Texas’ 13th Congressional District. We feel the need to remind everyone that this would be the same Ronny Jackson who gave a glowing review of Donald Trump’s health after Trump took office, even though he is visibly overweight, [URL="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/335424-trump-rode-golf-cart-while-g7-leaders-walked-through-siciliy"]refuses to walk anywhere that he can’t ride on a golf cart[/URL], allegedly [URL="https://www.*********.com/news/1489526447375/the-adderall-rumors-are-back-is-donald-trump-on-drugs-amphetamines-cant-explain-trump-or-america"]snorts crushed up Adderall to focus[/URL], can’t [URL="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wuD69ZkTpC0"]hold up a glass of water with one hand[/URL], eats nothing but hamberders and KFC, and himself [URL="https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/484496-trump-doctor-hid-cauliflower-in-mashed-potatoes-to-improve-diet"]had a plan to trick Trump into eating cauliflower by the cooks at the White House who mix it in with mashed potatoes[/URL]. To say nothing of his administration of a test of Trump’s mental faculties and coming out to [URL="https://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2018/01/the-president-can-draw-a-clock/550610/"]act like he was the pinnacle of intelligence because he successfully identified a camel[/URL].
Ronny Jackson expects us to believe THAT guy is in perfect health, and not to believe our own lying eyes.
But then again, we’re talking about the same Ronny Jackson who throughout his tenure as White House Physician, who [URL="https://www.newsweek.com/ronny-jackson-candy-man-drugs-899985"]nicknamed “The Candyman” because of his willingness to sign off on any and all prescriptions for staffers[/URL], allegedly walking down the aisle of Air Force One at points to hand out pills to all the passengers. [URL="https://www.npr.org/2018/04/25/605596983/ronny-jackson-accused-of-drinking-on-duty"]Oh, and he was also allegedly drunk. A lot[/URL]. Per one account, he was so intoxicated on one occasion during the Obama administration that aides could not wake him, had at least [URL="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/25/ronny-jackson-crashed-car-while-drunk-and-mishandled-drugs-document-shows"]one accident attributed to driving while drunk[/URL], and that [URL="https://www.wonkette.com/va-nominee-dr-ronny-jackson-grabs-two-beers-pops-airplane-door-slides-away-into-history"]he has an explosive temper that creates a toxic work environment for his subordinates[/URL].
These rumors… well, we can’t call them “rumors” anymore as [URL="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/politics/ronny-jackson-dod-inspector-general-report/index.html"]a Pentagon investigation confirmed these things were actually happening[/URL]… the obvious shortcomings in Ronny Jackson’s character are why it was believed that after Donald Trump decided to reward Jackson for speaking in such over-the-top glowing terms about his health with a nomination to run the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (even though Jackson has never worked in public health, whatsoever, and is highly unqualified), that Ronny Jackson [URL="https://www.wonkette.com/trumps-former-doctor-running-for-congress-tells-texas-district-its-just-big-for-its-age"]backed off his own nomination[/URL]. Which made sense, considering the votes to confirm him weren’t there.
And… think about that. The Senate confirmed Betsy DeVos to be Secretary of Education on a tiebreaker vote… but they didn’t think Ronny Jackson had a prayer of getting nominated and being able to do the job.
Anyway, Jackson still was willing to toady for Donald Trump, and rather than get a Cabinet post, instead opted to run for Congress in Texas’ 13th District, which the Cook Partisan Voting Index has listed as [URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Partisan_Voting_Index"]a +33 Republican lean on it[/URL]. After endorsing Donald Trump’s stupid idea for a border wall, he narrowly won the GOP nomination with [URL="https://ballotpedia.org/Ronny_Jackson"]55% of the vote[/URL], and coasted to victory to take his drunken, temperamental act to the Capitol, fitting in perfectly as a propagandist amateur drug dealer with a drinking problem among the GOP Caucus, as exhibited by his voting record already:
[LIST] [*]January 6th, 2021: Ronny Jackson [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h11"]votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election[/URL], a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup. [*]January 13th, 2021: Rep. Jackson [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h17"]votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump[/URL], because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers. [*]February 4th, 2021: Ronny Jackson [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h25"]votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments[/URL], because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted reRonnys and conspiracy theories she’s spread online (probably because she’s a kindred spirit). [*]February 25th, 2021: Jackson [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h39"]votes against HR 5[/URL], the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans. [*]March 2nd, 2021: [URL="https://www.cnn.com/2021/03/02/politics/ronny-jackson-dod-inspector-general-report/index.html"]A Pentagon report is released confirming allegations of alcohol abuse, sleeping pill abuse, over-medicating, bullying, and inappropriate sexual behavior by Ronny Jackson while he was serving has White House physician, including when he was on duty[/URL]. [*]March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Jackson [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h51"]votes against HR 1[/URL], a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box. [*]March 3rd, 2021: Ronny Jackson [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h60"]votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021[/URL]. [*]March 10th, 2021: Jackson [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h72"]votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021[/URL], because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic. [*]March 17th, 2021: Rep. Jackson [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h86"]votes against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act[/URL], likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives). [*]May 19th, 2021: Ronny Jackson [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h154"]votes against HR 3233[/URL], the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack. [*]May 20th, 2021: Jackson is one of 63 Republicans who [URL="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/politics/republicans-voted-no-asian-hate-crime-bill/index.html"]vote against the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act[/URL].[*]June 16th, 2021: Ronny Jackson is one of 14 Republicans who [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h170"]vote against celebrating Juneteenth as a federal holiday[/URL].[*]June 29th, 2021: Jackson is [URL="https://www.cnn.com/2021/07/02/politics/kfile-anthony-aguero-accompanied-members-of-congress-to-border/index.html"]one of 8 Republicans who travel to the U.S./Mexico border to do photo-ops to stir up anti-immigrant furor, but also appear on camera with Capitol insurrectionist Anthony Aguero[/URL], as if he wasn’t a part of an attack on Congress less than six months prior.[/LIST]
So it’s pretty telling to see what rare company much of the above shows Ronny Jackson finds himself in on a lot of these more extreme votes and moments… he’s becoming fast friends with some of the most rabid Trump supporters, and frankly, the white nationalist branch that’s taking over the GOP. Jackson has, predictably, taken his inebriated experience as former White House physician with him to the House, where now [URL="https://www.newsweek.com/ronny-jackson-ex-trump-doctor-says-biden-need-take-cognitive-test-something-going-1606738"]he's diagnosing President Biden from afar[/URL], and claiming that he needs a cognitive test (If only he could identify a camel from a picture to be hailed as stable).
He only narrowly won that GOP Primary in 2020, so it’s feasible that he could have someone without all the baggage of tabloid scandal attached to them end up knocking him off for his place in the House. We don’t know if that would be an improvement, given how loopy your average Republican is getting these days, in one of those “The Devil You Know” situations. In theory, it would be hard to do worse.
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[QUOTE=worstblogever;5661540][IMG]https://mediacloud.theweek.com/image/upload/s--X-WVjvBW--/f_auto,t_content-image-full-desktop@1/v1627482625/GettyImages-1330929689.jpg[/IMG]
On this date one year ago today, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” published its [URL="https://www.wane.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/21/2019/09/11-Jim-Banks.jpg"]first profile of the U.S. House Representative from Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District, [SIZE=4]Jim Banks[/SIZE][/URL], who was [URL="https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/qvd84q/an-incredibly-upsetting-list-of-all-the-new-republican-congress-members"]first elected back in 2016[/URL], when we entered the darkest timeline. Prior to that, he entered the political arena in the Tea Party Wave back in 2010, served six years in the Indiana State Senate, and in his time in Hoosier State politics, he voted against the Medicaid Expansion, [URL="https://votesmart.org/bill/14525/37953/116801/requires-drug-testing-for-tanf-applicants#.XxuW5OdlBPZ"]co-sponsored a bill to drug test welfare recipients[/URL], [URL="https://votesmart.org/bill/13162/34688/116801/repealing-medicaid-funding-for-planned-parenthood#.WG6Q57YrLSA"]another bill to defund Planned Parenthood in Indiana[/URL], and helped pass [URL="http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/01/us/federal-judge-blocks-indiana-abortion-law.html?_r=0"]an anti-choice bill extreme enough that it required women to bury or cremate fetal remains[/URL] that was quickly overturned by the courts. He is also [URL="http://www.theindychannel.com/news/politics/national-group-pushes-indiana-right-to-work-law"]a tool of ALEC[/URL], having been their errand boy to bring forth right-to-work legislation.
[URL="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cook_Partisan_Voting_Index"]Indiana’s 3rd Congressional District has a +18 Republican lean in the Cook Partisan Voting Index[/URL], tied for the most conservative district in what is a decidedly red state. That helped Jim Banks coast to victory in the 2020 elections with [URL="https://ballotpedia.org/Jim_Banks_(Indiana)"]68% of the vote[/URL]. He has continued to prove himself an extremist in votes for the past two years:
[LIST] [*]December 18th, 2019: Banks ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/116-2019/h695"]votes against the first impeachment of Donald Trump[/URL].[*]January 10th, 2020: Shortly after Congresswoman Ilhan Omar mentions in an interview that she still has PTSD from her time as a child refugee from Somalia… [URL="https://www.vox.com/identities/2020/1/10/21059025/ilhan-omar-ptsd-jim-banks-refugee-somalia"]Jim Banks comes along to minimize her suffering, and try to pretend that she’s not being honest about her condition, and that her remarks were “offensive to our nation’s veterans”[/URL].[*]May 15th, 2020: Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/116-2020/h109"]votes against the HEROES Act[/URL], to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. [*]December 10th, 2020: Banks [URL="https://www.yahoo.com/news/here-are-the-republican-members-of-congress-who-signed-on-to-the-suit-to-throw-out-the-votes-in-four-states-195834720.html?guccounter=1&guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZGFpbHlrb3MuY29tL3N0b3JpZXMvMjAyMC8xMi8xMS8yMDAxNDA0Ly10aGVzZS1hcmUtdGhlLTEyMC1yZXB1YmxpY2Fucy13aG8tc2lnbmVkLW9uLXRvLWVuZC1EZW1vY3JhY3k&guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAHf2xXnX_PozdR_Z9-Rr0TfgB0NyxAnrVNbpO04Nbn8f13IKCAEwCAynm_PDf4WpHxGw77r7MAEHnEs-MlMDBrWb2L1aW1PIVu-RTEnpbO6Mu4nkvo0K41QS0FJ1w3OH1gWnwbG6ZoOoB6zVdY7GYxeTO86ZDch6McP_GHV9WawP"]signs his name to an amicus brief to the Supreme Court, begging them to overturn the results of the 2020 election[/URL]. The same election that he won re-election in. [*]January 6th, 2021: Jim Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h11"]votes for the objection to the electoral college’s votes in the 2020 election[/URL], a failure to send any sort of message that he wasn’t intimidated or sympathetic to those who attacked the Capitol to attempt a violent coup. [*]January 13th, 2021: Rep. Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h17"]votes against the second impeachment of Donald Trump[/URL], because the Republican Party no longer feels like they should be accountable for anything, including failed coups that result in the deaths of both their participants and police officers. [*]February 4th, 2021: Jim Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h25"]votes to keep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s committee assignments[/URL], because he wouldn’t want her to be accountable for all the bigoted reJims and conspiracy theories she’s spread online (probably because she’s a kindred spirit). [*]February 25th, 2021: Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h39"]votes against HR 5[/URL], the latest version of the Equality Act, that would provide workplace protections for LGBTQ Americans. [*]March 3rd, 2021: Rep. Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h51"]votes against HR 1[/URL], a bill created to prevent the corruption of money in politics, and protect voter access to the ballot box. [*]March 3rd, 2021: Jim Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h60"]votes against the George Floyd Justice in Policing Act of 2021[/URL]. [*]March 10th, 2021: Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h72"]votes against the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021[/URL], because he feels people deserve to die in poverty during a pandemic. [*]March 17th, 2021: Rep. Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h86"]votes against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act[/URL], likely because they feel the 2nd Amendment remaining absolute is more important than preventing people with a history of domestic abuse from owning a firearm (which statistics show, makes them more likely to use those firearms against women in their lives).[*]May 19th, 2021: Jim Banks [URL="https://www.govtrack.us/congress/votes/117-2021/h154"]votes against HR 3233[/URL], the creation of a commission to investigate the Capitol Attack. [*]May 20th, 2021: Banks is [URL="https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/20/politics/republicans-voted-no-asian-hate-crime-bill/index.html"]one of 63 Republicans who vote against the Covid-19 Hate Crimes Act[/URL].[/LIST]
[URL="https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1391388897108713472?s=20"]As late as May 9th, Jim Banks was still on Fox News and questioning whether or not Joe Biden legitimately won the 2020 election (BIDEN F***ING DID) and defending his decision to vote against certifying the election results[/URL]. That probably had a lot to do with [URL="https://twitter.com/RepJimBanks/status/1417270635735228416?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1417270635735228416%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_c10&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpublish.twitter.com%2F%3Fquery%3Dhttps3A2F2Ftwitter.com2FRepJimBanks2Fstatus2F1417270635735228416widget%3DTweet"]why House Minority Leader and craven s***heel Kevin McCarthy appointed Banks to be on the commission to investigate the January 6th attack on the Capitol[/URL] that is equivalent to naming the Riddler to be on a select panel to investigate rising crime rates in Gotham City, and why [URL="https://www.npr.org/2021/07/21/1018850848/pelosi-rejects-2-gop-nominees-for-the-jan-6-panel-citing-integrity-of-the-probe"]he was summarily rejected by Nancy Pelosi[/URL] like Giannis Antetokounmpo swatting away a layup.
Jim Banks is still licking his wounds over that, and will likely be fundraising on his “victimhood” that he’s not allowed so sabotage any investigation into 1/6 from within as [URL="https://thehill.com/homenews/sunday-talk-shows/564723-jim-banks-pelosi-is-responsible-for-breakdown-of-security-at"]he goes on conservative media venues to try and claim that somehow, the lack of security was Pelosi’s fault[/URL] (even through the Capitol Police are not under her command).[/QUOTE]
I don't know which scum sucker from the Hoosier State is a bigger pox on the nation between Banks & Greg Pence, but I assure you both of them are on the express lane on the highway to hell.
Banks, as you cited, was a state politician that served as a hardline conservative in a state that votes Republican by default, meaning he didn't have to argue his case for re-election. His district guarantees him a position for life, which again, argues the need for legislative term limits, since any controversy will be dismissed as "the deep state" attacking him. It's not a surprise that people who coasted to office via the Tea Party have now cloistered to QAnon supporters or sympathizers, even if they don't believe in the theory. Whatever keeps them cushy, I guess.
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[URL="https://www.google.com/amp/s/abcnews.go.com/amp/US/ny-ag-probe-finds-cuomo-sexually-harassed-multiple/story%3fid=79240764"]BREAKING: Democratic New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo sexually harassed multiple women, an investigation by the state attorney general concludes.[/URL]
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NY AG announced that Gov Cuomo did sexually harass many women over the years, in violation of state and federal laws.
You know, you have to wonder if people like Andrew Cuomo ever stop and think before they talk or act? Why ruin your career and your life by doing something you know you shouldn't be doing, or at least you should know you shouldn't be doing?
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Andrew Cuomo should step down as governor effective immediately. He’s a disgrace to the party and has no right to hold public office any longer.
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It's a given that he should step down, and I sincerely doubt anyone on the left or right would disagree, because that's the correct thing for anyone of any political party to expect a politician to do.
New York does have a better apparatus for removing people from office than some states, it's likely to close in on him if he refuses to.