All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!(Part II)

[Tendrin]

Well Beto's future was being the face of the party in Texas and trying to turn the state blue. As a national figure he's not really that compelling, and may in fact do some real damage because he sort of represents that persistent pipe dream for moderate Democrats that we can fix all of our problems by simply "bringing America together" in some vague manner instead of directly confronting entrenched interests.

Dude suggested we should stack the supreme court but, yeah, sure.

Beto is way to the right of what I'll be voting for in a democratic primary but I'm saying dismissing him as a Trite White Obama is probably a mistake.

[Tendrin]

... and in some comics adjacent political news...

https://twitter.com/marthagimbel/sta...ntsmemo.com%2F

The Economic Report of the President has revealed that the quality of interns at CEA is much better than it was when I was there....we never got cool ones like Steve Rogers, Bruce Wayne, Peter Parker, Aunt May, and John Cleese

[aja_christopher]

"Bernie Sanders hires Beto O'Rourke critic as top aide in 2020 race"

"U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday said he is hiring a well-known liberal journalist with a history of sharply criticizing other Democratic presidential candidates, including Beto O'Rourke.

Sanders’ campaign said it is bringing in David Sirota, whose work has appeared in The Guardian and Newsweek, among other outlets, as a senior adviser and speechwriter.

The move could stoke tensions within the Democratic field since Sirota has previously targeted O'Rourke, the former U.S. congressman from Texas who entered the presidential race last week, and other rivals. Sirota on Twitter and in published articles has accused O’Rourke of siding with President Donald Trump and Republicans while a member of the House of Representatives, as well as being overly friendly with the oil and gas industry.

Sirota’s criticism of O’Rourke in December drew a warning from Neera Tanden, a top ally of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and president of the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank.

"A supporter of Bernie Sanders attacking a Democrat," Tanden tweeted. "This is seriously dangerous. We know Trump is in the White House and attacking Dems is doing Trump's bidding."

https://news.yahoo.com/bernie-sander...192135766.html

[worstblogever]

The expression goes, "Republicans fall in line, Democrats fall in love."

Well, Beto's the kind of candidate who's going to get a look, because he just seems like a genuinely earnest and fun young guy. Democratic voters are, by in large, younger than their counterparts, and tend to gravitate towards younger, charismatic candidates. It's happened since Kennedy. It didn't change with Carter, or Clinton, and it didn't change with Obama.

This being said, I'm still looking at Kamala Harris as my fave right now, because she just seems infinitely more badass. I'm still liking Beto, though.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2015, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" ran a profile of Rex Duncan, a former member of the Oklahoma House of Representatives. It wasn’t enough for us that Duncan was hard to the right on abortion rights, and gun rights, or that he supported strict Voter ID laws to combat the statistically non-existent problem of in-person voter fraud that bothered us. It wasn’t even the fact that Duncan sponsored bills to nullify federal law, whether it was the Affordable Care Act, or firearms laws. It wasn’t even that he voted to make English the official language of Oklahoma, and that given precedent, that’s patently unconstitutional. No, it was more of the fact that he was the sponsor of HJR 1056, Oklahoma’s attempt to place a ban upon Sharia Law or International Law in Courts that really struck us as being silly. Even more so when he accused the African-American judge who overturned it of “going out of her way to side with minorities and make up a reason for it”. Duncan left the Oklahoma state legislature in 2010 and has yet to make good on a promise to return to politics that we know of.

On this date in 2016, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of Glen Bradley, a former one-term member of the North Carolina House of Representatives who after cutting his teeth in North Carolina politics by working on the 2008 Ron Paul campaign for president (which will explain a lot of where Bradley got his ideas), got elected in (what else?) the Tea Party Wave of 2010, quickly becoming allies with CSGOPOTD alumni Larry Pittman, and the two frequently began to back the ideas of the other. Glen Bradley would come up with ideas like having North Carolina develop its own currency and co-sponsored North Carolina's attempt to nullify the Affordable Care Act. By September of 2011, Bradley was already getting a reputation for being "out there", like when he gave a speech warning that gay marriage will increase the divorce rate and perpetuate the cycle of poverty. In 2012, things got more interesting regarding Glen Bradley. He set himself up to run for the upper chamber, and his campaign website listed him as a "founding member of the Oath Keepers", and Stuart Rhodes, the leader of the anti-government group, came to Raleigh, North Carolina to meet with Bradley, publicly, to talk about his desire to nullify the National Defense Authorization Act. Bradley's increasing paranoia started to become a distraction to even the simplest legislation on the floor of the North Carolina House before much longer. In June 2012, a simple discussion over extending the local Food Advisory Council's mandate for another three years was enough to get Bradley to start rambling about the United Nations' Agenda 21 Treaty being behind the move, and that any talk of "sustainability" was actually coded talk to help "lull the public into complacency". Bradley's attempt to make the jump to the North Carolina State Senate saw him get crushed in the GOP Primary for that seat, finishing third with 13.8% of the vote. He since has also failed to get elected to the Vice-Chair of the North Carolina Republican Party, he has mercifully faded from relevance.

On this date in 2017, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled John Bradford, a former two-term member of the Kansas House of Representatives from 2013-2017 after winning office in 2012 by less than 200 votes. For a term, Bradford was reasonably unassuming in that role. And then he got a bit of notoriety for having a less than politically-savvy response to an e-mail from a constituent who was upset that Kansas Republicans were going to pass a bill that might force the ride service Uber to leave Kansas, and her blind husband used it frequently. You see, Bradford decided to answer, simply, "I received your email. I don't need it, so I am sending it back to you." A few months later, John Bradford was speaking before a group of school students touring the state capitol, where, unprompted, he went on a rant against gays and lesbians, and lamenting the "gay disease". It was shortly after John Bradford lost his seat in the 2016 elections that he took solace in the fact that President Obama was leaving office, taking to Facebook to celebrate by sharing racist memes about it that managed to feature both a caricature of the president, and or whatever reason, some offensive jokes about Mexicans. That's especially sad, because Bradford once voted to punish a colleague who called them racist for voting for policies that were, y'know, racist. Considering that during his time in office, he voted to ban all D&E abortions, voted for "religious freedom" laws to allow for the discrimination of LGBT citizens, and once sponsored legislation to attempt to nullify federal firearm laws, we're rather tickled to learn that he is now out of office. Let's hope that holds. Since he’s now out of office, we’ll set aside his CSGOPOTD profile at this time and go ahead and take a look at a different wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 662-25, since this was established in July 2014.)



It was one year ago today that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” first profiled the now-former U.S. Congressman from Iowa’s 1st Congressional District, Rod Blum, who was first elected in 2014 with only 51% of the vote, and in 2016, getting what might possibly be Blum’s high water mark when he got 53% against Democrat Monica Vernon. That seemed like it might be the best he would ever manage, because he’s in what’s decidedly swing-territory, and is currently catching hell from every direction from his constituents, whenever he’s tasked with actually facing them down in public.

The two biggest gaffes from Rod Blum came in May of 2017, while many members of the GOP were turning tail and running from town halls, Blum was still trying to meet the voters from his district face to face, and suffice to say, he did not come off as a savvy veteran politician. The first came in a local news interview where Blum responded to a perfectly reasonable question by flipping out, unhooking his mike, and storming away in front of a group of schoolchildren.

Q: “Well I think some would make the case that you represent all Iowans. The decisions that you make impact all Iowans, so shouldn't all Iowans have a voice at the table, or at least, have the option to?”

A: “Heh. I don't represent all Iowans. I represent my—the 1st District of Iowa. That'd be—that'd be like saying—shouldn't I be able to—you know I live in Dubuque—go vote in Iowa City during the election because I'd like to vote in that district instead."

Q: “Would you still take donations from a Republican in Iowa City?"

A: “Hah. I'm done. This is ridiculous. This is ridiculous. You're gonna sit here and just—just badger me.”

Only days later, Blum hosted a town hall and his constituents had a lot of thoughts about the GOP’s attempts to repeal the Affordable Care Act. And, this time, he cracked not under the pressure from one journalist, but a jeering, booing crowd. His performance was not much better, as he opted to draw the line at the way women can get an insurance plan that covers maternity leave. Because, THINK OF THE MEN!

“Get rid of some of these crazy regulations that Obamacare puts in, such as a 62-year-old male having to have pregnancy insurance.”

Now, Blum’s voting record was obviously along party lines, and he was thought as one of the most vulnerable members of the GOP House caucus in the 2018 elections including how in December of 2017, a poll of Iowa’s 1st showed that a generic Democrat would beat a generic Republican there by a whopping 18 points. Then, in March of 2018, the Des Moines Register published a story revealing that he failed to disclose he was the director of an internet company and that same company posts testimonials… from his own chief of staff. And worse yet, Blum’s firm, Tin Moon, was offering to change FDA warnings to obscure the dangers the products for sale might have for the public. Iowa’s 1st Congressional District actually leans 1% towards Democrats in the Cook Partisan Voting Index, and yeah, for those doing the election math, the formulas came out as “Blum is screwed”. The math was proven in November, as Abby Finkenauer defeated Rod Blum, who only pulled down a little less than 46% of the vote, and he left office under a cloud of ethics violations that make his return to Washington, D.C. any time soon highly unlikely.

[Tendrin]

"Bernie Sanders hires Beto O'Rourke critic as top aide in 2020 race"

"U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders on Tuesday said he is hiring a well-known liberal journalist with a history of sharply criticizing other Democratic presidential candidates, including Beto O'Rourke.

Sanders’ campaign said it is bringing in David Sirota, whose work has appeared in The Guardian and Newsweek, among other outlets, as a senior adviser and speechwriter.

The move could stoke tensions within the Democratic field since Sirota has previously targeted O'Rourke, the former U.S. congressman from Texas who entered the presidential race last week, and other rivals. Sirota on Twitter and in published articles has accused O’Rourke of siding with President Donald Trump and Republicans while a member of the House of Representatives, as well as being overly friendly with the oil and gas industry.

Sirota’s criticism of O’Rourke in December drew a warning from Neera Tanden, a top ally of former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and president of the Center for American Progress, a Democratic think tank.

"A supporter of Bernie Sanders attacking a Democrat," Tanden tweeted. "This is seriously dangerous. We know Trump is in the White House and attacking Dems is doing Trump's bidding."

https://news.yahoo.com/bernie-sander...192135766.html

He's apparently been speechwriting for Bernie while relentlessly criticizing other candidates. I'm /shocked/. :P Don't be surprised if Bernie's campaign is a scorched-earth anti-DNC campaign, with twice the 'rigged' accusations.

[Michael Watkins]

People are really keen to underestimate Beto. While I can't speak for how well he'll actually do in the primary given the crowded field, he's definitely got a future.

it's his past that's the issue. I don't know enough to be anti-Beto. but I feel like his eventual enemies do.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

He's apparently been speechwriting for Bernie while relentlessly criticizing other candidates. I'm /shocked/. :P Don't be surprised if Bernie's campaign is a scorched-earth anti-DNC campaign, with twice the 'rigged' accusations.

Which leads to the suspicion (founded or unfounded) that Sanders is nursing resentment over losing out on the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and is out to win this time by any means necessary, even if it means torching the party and everyone in it. Hardly a "progressive" thing to do, all things considered.

[Tendrin]

it's his past that's the issue. I don't know enough to be anti-Beto. but I feel like his eventual enemies do.

Dude's definitely been able to navigate the speedbumps of his... colorful past so far, but yeah. There's always the specter that 'more' might be out there.

[Tendrin]

Which leads to the suspicion (founded or unfounded) that Sanders is nursing resentment over losing out on the Democratic nomination to Hillary Clinton in 2016 and is out to win this time by any means necessary, even if it means torching the party and everyone in it. Hardly a "progressive" thing to do, all things considered.

Given the people he's hiring have done things like accuse John Lewis of all people of being willing to throw his cats under a bus for the sake of the DNC, I'd say it's more than a suspicion at this point.

[Jack Dracula]

I think it's safe to assume Romney would be pretty bad, just not as bad as Trump.

At this point it's safe to assume any viable Republican candidate would be an awful person.
It's more or less a requirement now.

[Jack Dracula]

Democrats need to ignore Trump (a Herculean task to be sure) and focus on issues, god knows there are plenty that can be discussed on the campaign trail. Branding themselves as the "anti-Trump" won't work, not on Republicans who's minds are already made up and will vote for Caramel Caligula regardless of what an assclown he's been the last three years, thing is, he's THEIR assclown, and that's good enough for them. Those voters are lost causes, it's the independents and undecideds Democrats have to reach with their message.

I don't think the Dems would have much trouble ignoring Trump, it's the media the we need to worry about.
His pandering to the worst elements of his base always gets plenty of air-time.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

At this point it's safe to assume any viable Republican candidate would be an awful person.
It's more or less a requirement now.

I doubt there's any GOP candidate who could be just as awful, if not worse than Trump. At this point, the lesser evil to Caramel Caligula would be....palatable.

I don't think the Dems would have much trouble ignoring Trump, it's the media the we need to worry about.
His pandering to the worst elements of his base always gets plenty of air-time.

No arguing that. Mango Mussolini owns the biggest bully pulpit on the planet, and he's not afraid to use it and abuse it. And the media, especially Faux News is complicit because he brings in ratings, and that's all they care about.

[ZombieHavoc]

All the comments online about how Beto's 6 million day one numbers came from a total of 5 donors, etc., is pretty funny to me now.

Beto O'Rourke's $6.1 million came from 128,000 donors, averaging $48 each
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/poli...s-averaging-47

[jetengine]

All the comments online about how Beto's 6 million day one numbers came from a total of 5 donors, etc., is pretty funny to me now.

Beto O'Rourke's $6.1 million came from 128,000 donors, averaging $48 each
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/poli...s-averaging-47

Does it matter where it came from ? Cash is cash.