All Purpose News and Politics Thread Part IV: The Center Cannot Hold

[Tendrin]

Oh, look. A Republican demanding 'civility'. Hahahahahaha.

[numberthirty]

So...

Ask yourself what other candidate this sort of thing is happening to -

- https://twitter.com/gregbrown/status...61915563028482

I totally get that not everyone is going to be for the same nominee. That said, don't kid yourself about what it actually going on here.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Rep. Ilhan Omar Gets Hero’s Welcome As Supporters Greet Her After Trump Attacks

“We have your back,” some of her supporters shouted in Minnesota as others chanted, “Welcome home!” I'm sure Ronnie the Racist won't like that. To which I say....GOOD!

**********

Trump Tries To Distance Himself From Racist ‘Send Her Back’ Chant He Inspired

At a rally Wednesday, supporters of the president responded to his rhetoric about Rep. Ilhan Omar by telling her to go back to the country she emigrated from. Too late, Donnie! The cat's out of the bag! Be a man and own up to your hideous racism. Meanwhile, in a wholly predictable move....

**********

GOP Sticks With Trump Following ‘Send Her Back’ Chant

Even an obviously racist refrain couldn’t dislodge Republican fealty to Trump. Show of hands if you're surprised. Like I've said, Republicans are either fearful of opposing Trump, or they're all in with his racism. Big time profiles in courage. Meanwhile, in more serious matters....

**********

House Democrats Call For Increased Security After ‘Send Her Back’ Chants At Trump Rally

“These are dangerous times,” Rep. Al Green said after Trump rallygoers targeted Rep. Ilhan Omar. I don't blame Dems one bit for being concerned. Too many nutbags out there who praise Trump and would be willing to go headhunting to support him.

**********

New Hampshire Lawmaker: ‘Owning Slaves Doesn’t Make You Racist’

GOP state Rep. Werner Horn told HuffPost that human beings have always owned other human beings, and “it’s never been about race.” Oh, WBEEEEEEEEEE....!

**********

Which Side Are House Democrats On?

When President Donald Trump tweeted a video of Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) spliced among images of the Twin Towers collapsing, everybody knew the deal. Trump has one political play ― aggravated racism ― and he had decided to make Omar, a Somali refugee who came to the United States as a child, the public focal point of his hate.

Trump is going to do horrible racist stuff. It’s what he does. And while there are a lot of black and brown Democrats in Congress, Trump picked on Omar because Democratic leadership had spent much of the previous two months trying to figure out the correct way to dump on her.

Omar had offended Jewish members of the caucus with comments about Israel that were legitimately insensitive, but not exactly a national crisis. When House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) surprised her caucus by telling them they would be voting on a resolution that condemned Omar by name, uproar ensued. Why were Democrats singling out one of their own over some stray tweets when the president was putting brown children in cages, ranting about immigrants from “shithole countries” and standing up for the “fine people” who marched with Nazis in Charlottesville? Was the man running the executive branch of the most powerful nation on earth the problem, or a random House freshman?

Democrats eventually split the baby, voting to condemn anti-Semitism and Islamophobia (phew!) ― but Pelosi had exposed a weak spot. Seeing the caucus divided over Omar, Trump attacked. She was deluged with death threats, and Democrats didn’t know what to do.

Somehow neither Pelosi nor her caucus learned anything from this debacle. They’re still complaining about Omar, and whining to the press about how they don’t really want to have to vote against the awful things the most powerful man on the planet does.

For all the praise Pelosi had gotten for how she handled Trump back in December over the shutdown, now SHE'S being played, punked and pantsed by the Orange Menace after Omar and 'The Squad' got her panties in a bunch because they won't play by her rules. In case Pelosi hasn't figured it out yet, we've got a fucking madman in the Oval Office speeding the country towards fascism, this is NO time to be genteel, Pelosi needs to embrace those progressives, support them and go after Trump.

[Tendrin]

**********

New Hampshire Lawmaker: ‘Owning Slaves Doesn’t Make You Racist’

GOP state Rep. Werner Horn told HuffPost that human beings have always owned other human beings, and “it’s never been about race.” Oh, WBEEEEEEEEEE....!

Poor WBE. The ass cancer really is gonna get him.

[Malvolio]

What the hell happened to THAT Lindsey Graham from 2016?

There must be a greenhouse in Trump Tower where they grew the pods to replace the GOP senators and congressmen.

"You're next! You're next!"

[Malvolio]

Oh, look. A Republican demanding 'civility'. Hahahahahaha.

Like I said, that "civility" argument is old and tired and we're not going to listen to that noise any more. Maybe CNN will go along with it, but the rest of us won't.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Trump Called a 'Liar' for Disavowing 'Send Her Back' Chant: President's Throwing 'His Own Supporters Under the Bus'

Following an onslaught of outrage, President Donald Trump on Thursday disavowed the "send her back" chant that broke out the previous night among supporters at his North Carolina rally after he launched a vicious attack on progressive Democratic Congresswoman Ilhan Omar — and Twitter was not buying it.

"Lie," George Conway, husband to top White House aide Kellyanne Conway and a frequent critic of the president, tweeted succinctly.

"Trump said he disavows 'send her back' chant last night about Rep. Ilhan Omar. 'I was not happy with it. I disagree with it,' he said. He was the first person to suggest she 'go back' in a Sunday tweet," Washington Post White House reporter Josh Dawsey noted.

"Of course Trump was happy with it," Bill Kristol, conservative commentator and director of Defending Democracy Together, tweeted. "He failed to reprimand the crowd. He said nothing after or this morning. Now there's a reaction against it, so he's trying to throw his supporters under the bus and distance himself (a bit). This too is part of the tool kit of the demagogue."

[InformationGeek]

Holy s**t, what the f**king f**k was that?!

Unreal:

-Nadia Murad: “They [ISIS] Killed my mom, my six brothers”
-Donald Trump: “Where are they now?”
-Murad: “They Killed them..they are in the mass graves in Sinjar”
[Trump nods...]

[aja_christopher]

"Trump has transformed the party of Lincoln into a racist, nationalist movement that divides and destroys. And silent Republicans are letting him do it."

"For 10 years I enthusiastically carried the Republican banner: as an activist, as the congressional nominee from New Hampshire’s 2nd District, as a two-term chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, and as a member of the Republican National Committee’s Executive Committee under the leadership of Reince Priebus. I spent those years extolling the virtues of the party of Lincoln, articulating those values that I believe make America the greatest nation on earth: freedom, equality and unlimited opportunity.

Republicans, I daily declared, were best positioned to preserve and expand those foundational American principles.

My heart breaks as I sit here today in the final moments of a slow, three-year realization that the party of Lincoln is nearly dead, consumed by the ugly, destructive conduct of a dishonest, corrupt man who wears the stolen badge of Republicanism, transforming a once-great party into a racist nationalist movement that uses hate and fear to divide and destroy.

Trump uses racism to get power

Last week, the president of this great nation attacked four, constitutionally elected women of color using some of his most hateful, divisive language yet, telling these American citizens to “go back” to the countries they came from.

Just as they did after Trump’s racist equivalence in the wake of the Charlottesville attacks, white nationalists across the country cheered the president’s Twitter assault on the four congresswomen. Prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer called Trump talk and no action but congratulated him on being able to “win back” a sizable portion of what he called the deluded alt-right with a single tweet.

On Wednesday evening, at a Trump 2020 campaign rally, the president again attacked these congresswomen and reveled in the crowd’s vile chant of “Send her back! Send her back!” He stood on the stage looking every bit the vainglorious narcissist that he is.

This president is engaging in the worst kind of racism. That is, he is using racist language in an attempt to enrage the masses and convince one American that another American is their enemy simply because they are different, and he is doing so to advance a political agenda and personal power.

And, in this moment of hate, when we most need Americans to come together and reject this abhorrent behavior from a president, Republicans in Congress stand largely silent.

At a time when Republicans should be rising up against the revolting rhetoric of this loathsome man, only a bare few have spoken. Rep. Will Hurd of Texas called the attacks “racist and xenophobic” and Ohio Rep. Michael Turner said the president “should apologize.”

But too many Republicans in Congress have made an erroneous calculation that they must stand with Trump — or at least, stand in silence as the president goes off on one racist rant after another — in order to unify the party and increase their chances of electoral success in 2020. In fact, this weak-willed approach will have exactly the opposite effect.

By refusing to speak the truth about this president, Republicans are allowing his hateful rhetoric to define our party for generations to come.

Trump is a cancer on America

By defending Trump's efforts to ban immigrants by their faith, place children in cages, target elected women for being minorities, obstruct justice and play with dictators, congressional Republicans make it impossible to argue for good Republican ideas.

By silently turning their heads and looking the other way as an American president feeds the spread of racism in America, they doom our nation to a dark future where such ugliness seeps back into mainstream acceptance.

By pretending that they can ignore the president and bear no burden for the destruction he causes, Republicans in Congress reveal their own ignorance.

This presidency is a cancer on our republic. Elected Republicans in Congress have a greater responsibility than anyone else to stop its spread, and yet, they stand mute."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opini...mn/1767510001/

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Holy s**t, what the f**king f**k was that?!

What was that? Trump being Trump, what else?

[aja_christopher]

"Summer swelter: Earth just had its hottest June on record"

"Last month was the Earth's hottest June ever recorded, federal climate scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Thursday.

It beat out 2016 for the hottest June with records going back to 1880.

The warmth was most pronounced in Europe, where a record-shattering heat wave baked much of the continent for several days at the end of the month. France set its all-time heat record of 114.6 degrees, while dozens of other June heat records were set in Spain, Germany and Switzerland, NOAA said. Austria had its warmest June since records there began in 1767 when Mozart was an 11-year-old child prodigy.

In addition to Europe, record warm temperatures during June 2019 were present across parts of Asia, Africa, and South America. No land or ocean areas had record cold June temperatures, NOAA said. Berkeley Earth lead scientist Robert Rohde estimated 41 countries may have set their record warmest June, including Bangladesh, Hungary, Iraq, Nicaragua, the Philippines and Turkey, the Weather Channel reported.

Overall, last month, the planet was about 1.71 degrees warmer than an average June. Earth's average temperature in June is 59.9 degrees.

June 2019 also marked the 414th consecutive month that the planet's temperature was warmer-than-average, NOAA said. That dates back to 1984, during the first Reagan Administration."



"Oregon Republicans walk out of legislative session to avoid climate change vote"

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/...th/1767109001/

[jetengine]

Holy s**t, what the f**king f**k was that?!

Thats Prince Phillip level bad and he doesnt pretend to be a genius.

[Robotman]

"Trump has transformed the party of Lincoln into a racist, nationalist movement that divides and destroys. And silent Republicans are letting him do it."

"For 10 years I enthusiastically carried the Republican banner: as an activist, as the congressional nominee from New Hampshire’s 2nd District, as a two-term chairman of the New Hampshire Republican Party, and as a member of the Republican National Committee’s Executive Committee under the leadership of Reince Priebus. I spent those years extolling the virtues of the party of Lincoln, articulating those values that I believe make America the greatest nation on earth: freedom, equality and unlimited opportunity.

Republicans, I daily declared, were best positioned to preserve and expand those foundational American principles.

My heart breaks as I sit here today in the final moments of a slow, three-year realization that the party of Lincoln is nearly dead, consumed by the ugly, destructive conduct of a dishonest, corrupt man who wears the stolen badge of Republicanism, transforming a once-great party into a racist nationalist movement that uses hate and fear to divide and destroy.

Trump uses racism to get power

Last week, the president of this great nation attacked four, constitutionally elected women of color using some of his most hateful, divisive language yet, telling these American citizens to “go back” to the countries they came from.

Just as they did after Trump’s racist equivalence in the wake of the Charlottesville attacks, white nationalists across the country cheered the president’s Twitter assault on the four congresswomen. Prominent white nationalist Richard Spencer called Trump talk and no action but congratulated him on being able to “win back” a sizable portion of what he called the deluded alt-right with a single tweet.

On Wednesday evening, at a Trump 2020 campaign rally, the president again attacked these congresswomen and reveled in the crowd’s vile chant of “Send her back! Send her back!” He stood on the stage looking every bit the vainglorious narcissist that he is.

This president is engaging in the worst kind of racism. That is, he is using racist language in an attempt to enrage the masses and convince one American that another American is their enemy simply because they are different, and he is doing so to advance a political agenda and personal power.

And, in this moment of hate, when we most need Americans to come together and reject this abhorrent behavior from a president, Republicans in Congress stand largely silent.

At a time when Republicans should be rising up against the revolting rhetoric of this loathsome man, only a bare few have spoken. Rep. Will Hurd of Texas called the attacks “racist and xenophobic” and Ohio Rep. Michael Turner said the president “should apologize.”

But too many Republicans in Congress have made an erroneous calculation that they must stand with Trump — or at least, stand in silence as the president goes off on one racist rant after another — in order to unify the party and increase their chances of electoral success in 2020. In fact, this weak-willed approach will have exactly the opposite effect.

By refusing to speak the truth about this president, Republicans are allowing his hateful rhetoric to define our party for generations to come.

Trump is a cancer on America

By defending Trump's efforts to ban immigrants by their faith, place children in cages, target elected women for being minorities, obstruct justice and play with dictators, congressional Republicans make it impossible to argue for good Republican ideas.

By silently turning their heads and looking the other way as an American president feeds the spread of racism in America, they doom our nation to a dark future where such ugliness seeps back into mainstream acceptance.

By pretending that they can ignore the president and bear no burden for the destruction he causes, Republicans in Congress reveal their own ignorance.

This presidency is a cancer on our republic. Elected Republicans in Congress have a greater responsibility than anyone else to stop its spread, and yet, they stand mute."

https://www.usatoday.com/story/opini...mn/1767510001/

Republicans have been using racist dog whistles for decades. It’s ridiculous to act as if this is a new phenomenon. Trump is just more blatant about it. Maybe these long time republicans are just upset that he isn’t being subtle about it.

[Mister Mets]

Those folks you just brought up amount to a side mission.

The logic you are applying to the main mission may or may not be something that you have to apply to the side stuff. Doesn't even remotely have to by "It doesn't apply to 'Y', so it is obviously not something that applies to 'X'..." sort of a situation.

Having the time to take five or ten minutes here and there to give those folks the business doesn't really have much to do with that it just doesn't make much sense to deal with Harris when there are obviously more pressing threats on the "Election" front.

If he loses based on time lost to those folks you brought up, he was already a goner.

There is a strategy in going after the squad, in that it makes the Democratic party embrace figures who are typically on the extreme, and lacking in self-control. Jake Tapper summed it up based on conversations with Democratic members of Congress.

House Democrats appeared unified in their votes this week but I've spent the day talking to a bunch of them and many are extremely frustrated. All agree POTUS's tweets needed to be condemned; they spoke under condition of anonymity so they could be candid.

"The president won this one," said House Dem 1 of the Trump v Squad (AOC, Tlaib, Omar & Pressley) showdown. "What the president has done is politically brilliant. Pelosi was trying to marginalize these folks and the president has now identified the entire party with them."

Another issue: what are Dems focused on? Is it what will help the class of 2018 (largely more moderate than the Squad) get reelected?

Dem Rep 2: "The president's words and actions speak for themselves. We need to focus on the issues that got them here: jobs, health care instead of the issues the president brings up deliberately. Anything that takes away from bread and butter issues is playing into his hands."

Other House Democrats are conflicted about having to defend the Squad given things they've said and done. House Dems cited: talk of supporting challengers to incumbent Dems in primaries, AOC's use of the term "concentration camps," anti-Semitic comments by Tlaib & Omar.

This perceived selective outrage rankled some Dems.

"Everybody was completely outraged by what the president said," said House Dem 3, "and everybody thought it was appropriate to criticize him, but this was the *first* time the House has taken action to criticize him in any way, We couldn't even bring ourselves to have a resolution exclusively condemning anti-Semitism uttered by one of those members" -- Omar -- "but we leapt to their defense here."

A few House Dems noted that Omar and Tlaib just introduced a resolution affirming the right of Americans to boycott, perceived as an expression of support for the anti-Israel BDS (boycott, divest, and sanction) movement that most House Dems oppose.

"So we'll hear a tirade of attacks on Israel from the same group," said House Dem 3. "Hopefully they won't be anti Semitic."

House Dem 4 also brought up that bill coming "from someone with a history of anti-Semitism" -- Omar -- "So yeah it’s challenging."

House Dem 4 recalls that "less than 2 weeks ago when members of our caucus were trying to support funds for children at the border," the Squad was arguing that "we're pro-putting kids in cages, we're against human rights. So there’s frustration."

Others noted that this week the House Democratic Caucus stood by a group that is not perceived as standing by them.

"I can't tell you the number of Members who are angry and annoyed about them criticizing us," said House Dem 3.

OC, in particular "gives her chief of staff license to get candidates to run against her colleagues and to go after them on social media. It makes people's skin crawl," said House Dem 3.

House Dem 4 summed it up: "We were there for them; they should stop attacking us."

It doesn't help when Ilhan Omar's first big move after the party is united in her favor is to go forward a pro-BDS bill.

Notice that this hasn't really got much of a mention...

- https://www.miamiherald.com/news/nat...232779917.html

Yeah, that's pretty nasty. It's a big deal when there are tens of thousands of protestors. And the set-up is kinda nuts.

The anger at the government began last week after six former island government officials were indicted in federal court on charges of corruption, and a profane private group chat that Rosselló held with cabinet members and aides became public. On Saturday, when all 889 pages of the Telegram group chat were published, Puerto Ricans became enraged at the governor and his close allies, who had mocked political opponents, gay people, women and ordinary citizens.

It's a bad day for a politician when protestors have multiple angles to go after you.

How soon, and conveniently we forget. Here:

https://www.bet.com/news/politics/20...ty-racism.html

If we forget, it's because it didn't get a lot of coverage at the time.

But your specific claim is that Cruz "led a mob of Tea Party loons outside the gates of the White House to wave a Confederate flag at it while the first African American president sat inside" and that he instructed a preacher to give a message about Obama worshipping the Koran, not that this stuff happened during a veterans' rally he attended.

[worstblogever]

If we forget, it's because it didn't get a lot of coverage at the time.

But your specific claim is that Cruz "led a mob of Tea Party loons outside the gates of the White House to wave a Confederate flag at it while the first African American president sat inside" and that he instructed a preacher to give a message about Obama worshipping the Koran, not that this stuff happened during a veterans' rally he attended.

Are. You. F***ing. KIDDING ME?

It was on every American news broadcast. It was fodder for all the late night talk shows, including the Daily Show. We discussed how racist it made the Tea Party look on this forum.

Politico is hardly a left leaning bastion, and they ran the photo of the guy with the Confederate flag and labeled the story "Shutdown unleashes racism". And there were Tea Party members of Congress and Sarah Palin who all didn't want to act like the rally they planned at the World War II Memorial and marched over to the White House with wasn't their fault.

It's a new feature of Republicans, it seems. When really racist things happen, just develop selected amnesia so you don't have to be responsible for what your party actually did.

Incidentally, you might have caught that illness, Mets.