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

[worstblogever]

On this date in both 2015, and [URL="https://republicinsanity.tumblr.com/post/143056283618/milton-wolf-2016-update"]2016[/URL “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” posted a profile of Milton Wolf, a man who was somehow a legitimate Tea Party challenger to Senator Pat Roberts of Kansas in the 2014 mid-term elections, which is amazing considering he's President Obama's second cousin. Mind you, blood is not thicker than water between the POTUS and Wolf, who publicly lambasted the Affordable Care Act, compared Obama to King George III of England, said the USDA were hoarding assault rifles in some sort of sinister plot they were going to carry out, tried to gin up support by perpetuating the right-wing myth of "Obama phones" and claims as a result he was vindictively audited by the IRS for being too critical of the president. Wolf had a highly radical agenda as a candidate, wanting to repeal the 17th Amendment of the Constitution, abolish the IRS, close off our borders, and completely ban abortion. While he did come within surprising striking distance of Pat Roberts at the polls, he came up short after being caught trying to pander to gun enthusiasts by buying a lifetime membership to the NRA and a semi-automatic rifle (but sending the dealer a thank you note for helping get him into the "big black scary gun community"), and more importantly, having it revealed by the Roberts campaign that he had the nasty habit of, at his day job as a radiologist, leaking X-Rays from patients on social media where he'd make jokes about their injuries. Wolf was rumored to be considering a challenge in 2016 to Sen. Jerry Moran (he ambushed Moran at a town hall), or perhaps making an attempt at taking the U.S. House seat of Kevin Yoder, but instead, chose to sit things out.

On this date in 2017, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled Gia Arnold, a former Tea Party candidate for New York State Senate, who tried using that momentum to get elected in 2014, probably about four years later than if it actually would have been a benefit to her. Making matters difficult was that the 24-year-old Arnold, who was hell bent on getting New York’s assault weapons ban overturned, and was running almost solely on that issue. This, not long after the Newtown Massacre, and a wave of gun violence across the country, mind you, and in a blue state where people are fine with gun control. Her efforts were hampered when she managed to have it leak to the public that she had an extramarital affair in April of 2014 (while campaigning), dropped out of the race after confessing to infidelity, but then after a few days she changed her mind and jumping back in. She claimed people in her district took no issue with her affair, and were begging her to stay in the race. She may have been exaggerating, because she got crushed by over fifty points in the GOP Primary for that seat. In and of itself, that is a strange series of events. But then the saga of Gia Arnold got weirder. About a year and a half after her campaign fizzled, she made headlines again for a decidedly different reason… Arnold and her 18-year-old boyfriend got arrested near the U.S./Canada border near Niagra Falls in February of 2016 with a whole arsenal of assault weapons in her car. A spokesman for her again railed against New York’s assault weapon ban, and claimed the duo was stopped because her boyfriend was racially profiled, which is about the only time we’ve ever heard a Republican admit law enforcement would do such a thing. Arnold was indicted in July of 2016, and eventually sentenced to five years of probation (rather generous). That criminal history makes her an unlikely candidate to win office.

On this date in 2018, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled former Oregon State Senator Jeff Kruse, who had hung around the Oregon state legislature overall since 1996. While Kruse spent his last few years in office voting to try and stop Oregon Democrats from doing sensible things like attempt to ban gay conversion therapy on minors, or raise the minimum wage, he also sponsored SB 215, a bill created to allow state high schools to continue the practice of using Native American themed mascots, because he cares that much about being able to project racist iconography at indigenous people. But how Kruse truly earned a CSGOPOTD profile was because he had a long history of sexually harassing women around the capitol, repeatedly groping, touching, and giving unwanted hugs to women over his decades long tenure. Since he’s now left office in shame, we’ll retire 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 745-40, since this was established in July 2014.)


Cliff Rosenberger
Welcome to the 745th original “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where today we’ll be discussing Cliff Rosenberger, a former House Speaker of the Ohio House of Representatives who served in office as a state legislator from 2010-2018. Rosenberger rose to the role of Speaker by his third term in office in 2015, becoming the youngest person ever to hold that position before an abrupt end to his career sent shockwaves through Buckeye State politics.

Let’s first cover his voting record and general statements… Rosenberger openly criticized Barack Obama’s brilliant initiative to have two years of paid college tuition for American students, would sponsor extreme anti-Choice legislation like fetal heartbeat bills, had an A rating from the NRA because he’d even vote for firearm laws as extreme as legalizing silencers, and voted to try and block Syrian refugees from being resettled in United States.

Nobody seemed to know why it was that Rosenberger suddenly resigned in April of 2018, but in August of 2018, it was confirmed that Rosenberger under FBI invetigation for bribery and extortion with several lobbyists. The Bureau’s findings also seemed to indicate Rosenberger was using his office to allow himself to be sent on vacations around the globe on taxpayer dime, to the tune of $40,000 in 2018 alone, and spent 111 days of the 2017 calendar out of the state, including a trip to London where he tried to crash the set of Star Wars: The Force Awakens (really). In effect, Rosenberger was just getting ahead of a forthcoming scandal, and hoping it wouldn’t harm the Ohio GOP’s chances in the 2018 elections.

This guy saw himself as a future president, and if you needed any more proof, there’s the fact that he had a doctored painting by Andy Thomas (known for his bats*** takes on Republican politics as is) where he had himself painted in at a card game being played by former Republican presidents.

It looks like now, though, that Cliff Rosenberger will only be playing solitaire, since he obviously was so good at playing himself.

[Kusanagi]

Christian terrorists murdered Lyra McKee, a promising young investigative journalist, in Northern Ireland.


Anyone else think this will only get worse post Brexit?

If the GFA isn't kept things will only spiral.

[InformationGeek]

Here you go WBE. A double header in one story for Jim Jordan and Mark Meadows' future updates.

.@ChrisCuomo: It matters that Trump asked WH lawyer to fire Mueller!

JIM JORDAN: But he didn't do it

CUOMO: If I ask you to punch Meadows & you don't, the request is still wrong

MEADOWS: But it's not a crime unless he assaults me!

C: So that's the standard? Not being a felon?

These guys know nothing about the law. Personally, I would have asked them if they thought soliciting a prostitute was a crime.

[BeastieRunner]

Beastie's Cartoons of the Week

[jetengine]

Christian terrorists murdered Lyra McKee, a promising young investigative journalist, in Northern Ireland.


Anyone else think this will only get worse post Brexit?

For fucks sake....

"We hate the English, go away"

"Fair enough" *leaves*

*immediately does **** that requires British intervention*

"Are you fucking kidding me !"

[Iron Maiden]

Trump's idea of cooperation with Mueller and his team's questions only extends to the point of saying he doesn't recall...27 times. And from looking over the answers, I think it's most likely they were ghost written or done with a lot of input from his lawyers.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Mueller didn't charge Trump — but his report is a brutal indictment

President Donald Trump has evaded criminal charges — but special counsel Robert Mueller’s report is a brutal indictment of his campaign and his presidency.

The first volume of the two-part, 448-page report details how Trump and his allies solicited, encouraged, accepted and benefited from the assistance provided by America's most storied foreign adversary as part of a multi-front assault on American democracy.

The other lays out comprehensive evidence that the president may have obstructed justice through what Mueller described as a "pattern of conduct" that included firing FBI Director Jim Comey, trying to remove Mueller, publicly praising and condemning witnesses, and seeking to limit the scope of the probe.

Taken in sum, Mueller's findings reveal three years of actions by Trump and his subordinates that critics say rattle the very foundations of the American system of governance, from the sacrosanct nature of democratic elections to the idea that no man, not even the president, is above the law.

The story, in even its most sympathetic telling, is one of a president who used nearly every power vested in his office and his persona — including hiring and firing, the bully pulpit, party loyalty, private intimidation, and disinformation — to cover up ties between his campaign and Russia so that he could spare himself the public humiliation of having won an election that wasn't entirely on the level.

[Malvolio]

Republicans On Mueller Report: Time To Put On Blinders And Support Trump

They won’t even acknowledge the report’s damning conclusion that the president may have obstructed justice. "Time to put on blinders"? Hell, Republicans have been doing that since Trump won the nomination three years ago.

**********

The Ways William Barr Misled The Public About The Mueller Report

Instead of just releasing the special counsel’s findings, the U.S. attorney general spun the report to the benefit of President Trump. Just what Droopy Dog Barr was hired to do by Trump.

**********

Twitter Users Show Donald Trump Jr. Just How Dumb He Looks In Mueller Report

One Twitter user told the president’s son: “You were vindicated because they determined you were too stupid to know what’s going on.” The rotten apple didn't fall far from the Trump tree.

**********

U.S. Press Freedom Gets Labeled ‘Problematic’ For The First Time

The 2019 World Press Freedom Index downgraded the U.S. three spots to 48 out of 180 countries in terms of a free press. All thanks to Trump who hates the press for daring to do their job by criticizing him.

**********

Judge Rejects Anti-Vaxxer Lawsuit Against New York City’s Vaccine Mandate

A group of anonymous parents filed the lawsuit on Monday against local health officials over their new mandatory measles vaccination order. To that, I say....GOOD!

It's not necessarily the job of the press to criticize the President. It is the job of the press to dig for the facts. If the facts show that the President did something wrong, then it becomes the job of the press to criticize the President. It just so happens in Trump's case that he's done quite a bit of wrong stuff.

[Jack Dracula]

My second favorite part of the redacted Mueller Report are the sections with 3 character overages being dropped to the next line when mentioning names in alphabetical order, being blacked out.

Because that is not obviously Donald Trump, Jr.

I'd bet the other redacted name is Jared Kushner. The names would then be listed in alphabetical order according to the first letter of the last name.

[Mister Mets]

And it's not "your place" to tell me to tell others what to do, either.

And Obama did not "share his birth certificate" until people like Trump and other Republicans -- whom you echo -- kept making false accusations based on "inferences' and "suspicions" and overt racism and Islamophobia: again, you (like most Republicans) "echo" Trump in both your arguments and the misleading methodology of your "reasoning".

Regardless, all you seem to want to do is here dodge facts and attack "Democrats" (via "open borders" foolishness) without discussing the failings of your own party -- it's a transparent "framing" technique Mets, which is why nearly everyone is calling you out for it.

Like I've said before, let me know when your party stops trying to attack and minimize the rights of "minorities" -- until then, I can only "infer" that you both gladly and willingly support a party that is doing it's best to keep people like myself from being treated as equals in our society, something you refuse to address directly because you are too busy trying to defend a political party that thinks separating the families of "brown people" is a reasonable way to deal with people legally seeking asylum in our country.

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"Trump Blocks US From Appointing Anyone to UN Committee on Racism"

"A State Department official told Politico that the White House intervened to stop the expected renomination of a human rights lawyer selected by Barack Obama to the 18-member UN panel. As a result, the U.S. will not nominate anyone to the committee. Gay McDougall, who has served on the committee since 2015, was informed by State Department officials that she would be renominated before the White House abruptly scrapped the plan without providing an explanation, according to the report.

"McDougall, a human rights expert, told the outlet she intended to finish out her four-year term, which ends this fall.

“I regret that I’m not able to continue, and that was not of my choosing,” she said.

McDougall previously criticized Trump for emboldening racists in the United States around the world.

“Essentially, Trump’s many tweets and dismissive comments have given a green light to bigots around the country to attack their neighbors,” she said in 2016. “All of us who campaign for human rights have been shocked and angered by Trump’s derogatory messages regarding Muslims, Hispanics, women and people with disabilities. It is clear that his rhetoric has led directly to an increase in hate crimes in the US.

Now is the time for all those who believe in human rights to stand firm and fight for basic decency.”

The pullback from the international stage, particularly as a bulwark on issues of racism and human rights, comes after experts like McDougall warned that Trump’s rise would fuel similar movements that foment hate to gain power, as seen subsequently in countries like Israel, Italy, Spain and Brazil.

“Unscrupulous politicians worldwide will be studying Trump’s tactics and will see that scapegoating of the marginalized can provide short-term electoral gains,” McDougall warned in 2016.. “There is a clear and imminent risk towards minorities if governments do not take a stand against hate.”

https://truthout.org/articles/trump-...tee-on-racism/

Generally, the arguments between us aren't about facts but about conclusions.

I'll often go narrower, focusing on the specific facts, whereas you often go broader, focusing on the big picture, and skipping the details of a situation being discussed.

With the immigration argument, I'd be wrong on facts if I said anything untrue. I could be disproven if Keith Ellison's T-shirt didn't feature the phrase I said it did (or if there was another explanation), if he was publicly rebuked by the party, if he had not received the unanimous vote of the members of the Democratic National Committee to be its Vice Chair, if prominent Democrats expressed clear limiting principles on legal immigration, etc.

Uh, No. Jeez...

Since Mets posted this exact same nonsense, I'll just quote that sequence and then wrap up.





In summary...

Some fool being so deluded that they are not "Ruling Out" a future run does not constitute a "Rumor Of His Comeback..."

It is just some fool trippin' out loud. Not a rumor.

I think you 're being overly pedantic here, taking a narrow interpretation of a claim that there was speculation that a politician was planning a comeback after charges were dropped as being an endorsement of the comeback, or a considered analysis that it might be successful.

The recent photos have probably complicated things for him but in a world where Trump is President, and Bob Menendez kept his job despite a federal investigation, it's also difficult to say for sure that some kind of comeback would have been impossible for a person who did have talents as a politician.

I never said there was, only that we know "why" many Sanders's supporters "believed" the bots and that many of them still continue to attack the Democratic party, despite knowing that it does nothing to help the party as a whole.

And every time you bring up -- and continue to attack -- "Clinton" you only further prove my point.

There are two separate issues here. It's clearly a problem that should be corrected if Sanders supporters believe things that are untrue.

But if they say things that are true but unhelpful to the Democratic party, that's not a problem.

[worstblogever]

I'd bet the other redacted name is Jared Kushner. The names would then be listed in alphabetical order according to the first letter of the last name.

Methinks ChadH has cracked the code.

[aja_christopher]

Generally, the arguments between us aren't about facts but about conclusions.

I'll often go narrower, focusing on the specific facts, whereas you often go broader, focusing on the big picture, and skipping the details of a situation being discussed.

With the immigration argument, I'd be wrong on facts if I said anything untrue. I could be disproven if Keith Ellison's T-shirt didn't feature the phrase I said it did (or if there was another explanation), if he was publicly rebuked by the party, if he had not received the unanimous vote of the members of the Democratic National Committee to be its Vice Chair, if prominent Democrats expressed clear limiting principles on legal immigration, etc.

That's because it's your goal in the argument to "frame" things on your own terms -- like claiming that "inferred open borders based on a t-shirt" are more problematic and indicative of general party policy than separating "brown" families at the border (under the leadership of a lying, corrupt, racist, Islamophobic, homophobic, fiscally irresponsible Republican president) for legally seeking asylum in America.

It's a ridiculous way to "debate" an issue, Mets and I'm not going to waste my time doing so, especially when you won't even admit that your argument is misleading at best and racist fearmongering at worst.

Which -- as I continue to point out -- is par for course for your party.

[shooshoomanjoe]

Trump, his administration, his supporters and the Kremlin are the only ones that see the Mueller report in a positive light. The rest of the world sees how damning it is for this administration.

[aja_christopher]

There are two separate issues here. It's clearly a problem that should be corrected if Sanders supporters believe things that are untrue.

But if they say things that are true but unhelpful to the Democratic party, that's not a problem.

Of course, it's not a problem to you -- the divisiveness helps your party win the election.

Realistically speaking, if you were that concerned about honesty in politics, you wouldn't be a Republican.

In fact, you seem to be more concerned about a t-shirt than the recent confirmation that Russians interfered with our elections on behalf of your party.

When I say that you echo Trump, it's not an exaggeration.

[JCAll]

So apparently the ACLU is gearing up for war with armed vigilante groups patrolling the border for migrants, after they *checks notes* kidnapped hundreds of people and held them unlawfully at gunpoint and uploaded the videos to the internet.

Classy.