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

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

He may not win the nomination, but ultimately I think the ideas are more important than the man. The third way failed in 2016, why would it succeed in 2020? To me, Bernie becoming the nominee is not as important as a general movement to move the Overton window to the left. Centrism has failed, because the center has drifted too much to the right, that being a centrist now means you give a bunch of ground to the right, the Republicans have become a far-right party, can centrism keep that in check? If you have another third-way centrist, ultimately things will get worse, even if you beat Trump, the third way can never beat Trumpism, because Trumpism arose due to its failures, third-way centerism will just give us another Trump in short order.

This. If it wasn't for Bernie in 2016 you wouldn't see Warren and Harris going as bold as they have been with their policies.

[InformationGeek]

Trump met with the CEO of Twitter. Topic? Well, what do you think?

Trump complained about his follower count in White House meeting with Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Trump met with the CEO of Twitter. Topic? Well, what do you think?

Nice to know Adolf Twitler has more important things to worry about than say, the “national emergency” at the border.

[worstblogever]

An Iowa state legislator has dumped the GOP to join the Democratic Party... cites Trump as the reason.

[Tami]

8 Democratic Presidential Candidates To Speak At TSU Wednesday

Texas Southern University will host nearly half the field of declared Democratic candidates for president at an event tomorrow.

Eight candidates – Senator Cory Booker, former HUD Secretary Julián Castro, Representative Tulsi Gabbard, Senator Kamala Harris, Senator Amy Klobuchar, former Representative Beto O’Rourke, Senator Bernie Sanders and Senator Elizabeth Warren – will participate in the She the People Presidential Forum. The event is billed as “the first-ever Presidential candidate forum focused on women of color.”

“Women of color are the most progressive voters in the country,” said Aimee Allison, president of She the People. “And we’re interested in a whole wide range of social, economic and racial justice issues, and so we’ll be exploring those with the candidates.”

Amber Goodwin is executive director of the Community Justice Action Fund and member of She the People’s Texas host committee.

[Mister Mets]

8 Democratic Presidential Candidates To Speak At TSU Wednesday

There's speculation this event caused Biden to delay his announcement by one day.

Biden avoids the potentially awkward optics of jumping into the race on the same day as a “She the People” forum in Texas focused on women of color.

[numberthirty]

On the poll that folks were using to take potshots at Sanders a couple of days ago, the Daily Kos comments were a little too priceless...

From "Shawn Olsen": Forbes putting spin on this to attack Bernie. The same poll indicated 40% of Harris and Booker supporters would vote for Trump over Elizabeth Warren, but you don't hear him screaming about that.

From "Integritty Yes, it’s RW click-bait, but seems to be tolerated at DK if punching left.

The actual sample size isn’t “pretty small” as the FPer’s article states, it is minute.

Total Sanders-voting people who said they’d vote Trump:

17 people (over Kamala), 19 people (over Beto), 22 people (over Pete), 27 people (over Warren).

Hell, FIVE Sanders-voting people said they’d vote Trump OVER BERNIE.

Those totals are too tiny. Means nothing. But clickbait! CLICKBAIT!

From "Igualdad": No, the poll does not contain the direct question, “Would you vote for Trump if Bernie is not the nominee?”

Extrapolated assumptions are being drawn which is not a scientifically sound practice.

From "Aunt Martha": I downloaded the Excel file. 356 respondents said they were going to vote in the Democratic primary. Of those, 103 said Sanders is the candidate that they are most likely to support.

So the gnashing of teeth here is not over a “pretty small” sample, to quote the diarist, it’s teeny tiny. Seems to me that this is just another opportunity for those who are already anti-Sanders to demonstrate once again that they are anti-Sanders.

From "Novenator": The extrapolation of data is bunk. According to that,50% of Klobuchar’s supporters would vote for Trump over Warren, and 100% of Hickenlooper’s! Even 12% of Warren’s own would vote for Trump over her. It’s classic twisting of data, and designed to smear Bernie as all the articles about him demonstrate.

[Tami]

There's speculation this event caused Biden to delay his announcement by one day.

Rachel Maddow mention this as well, though only as a possibility not something actually confirmed. It is logical for Biden to delay as it would be a very bad way for him to start his campaign if he didn't.

[worstblogever]

Reuters now has Trump polling at 37% Approval.

This is only after a redacted Mueller Report by Trump Toady Bill Barr dropped, that was still quite damning.

How low is he gonna go? Can he dip into the mid to low 30s like Bush43 did? Will he hit the 29 after Hurricane Katrina?

Or will rank and file Republicans prevent it from getting that low, enjoying his racism so much that they'll overlook all the treason done with Russians? Starting to look like the appeal's wearing off, though.

[numberthirty]

This was certainly interesting.

https://www.charlotteobserver.com/ne...229277549.html

Bernie Sanders collects more cash from North Carolina than any other 2020 Democrat

[Robotman]

Reuters now has Trump polling at 37% Approval.

This is only after a redacted Mueller Report by Trump Toady Bill Barr dropped, that was still quite damning.

How low is he gonna go? Can he dip into the mid to low 30s like Bush43 did? Will he hit the 29 after Hurricane Katrina?

Or will rank and file Republicans prevent it from getting that low, enjoying his racism so much that they'll overlook all the treason done with Russians? Starting to look like the appeal's wearing off, though.

If the economy starts to collapse it may dip lower, but for now I just don’t see the cult like following he has with republicans wavering any further. Economic growth has slowed and is predicted to get worse by the end of the year, but the only way he gets near George W. Bush is if we start heading into another recession. I think his approval will tick back up into the 40s relatively soon. Trump and Fox News will just come up with another evil migrant caravan or some similar fear mongering scheme with racist overtones.

[Malvolio]

Trump met with the CEO of Twitter. Topic? Well, what do you think?

He really can't stand the fact that there are people who genuinely dislike him. Not because we resent his wealth, not because George Soros paid us off, not because we're part of the "Fake News" media, but because we just find his persona distasteful.

[wjowski]

This. If it wasn't for Bernie in 2016 you wouldn't see Warren and Harris going as bold as they have been with their policies.

Warren was building the CFPB and raking Wall Street bankers over the coals while Bernie was wandering around with his thumbs up his ass in Vermont.

She doesn't need his permission to be bold.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

He really can't stand the fact that there are people who genuinely dislike him. Not because we resent his wealth, not because George Soros paid us off, not because we're part of the "Fake News" media, but because we just find his persona distasteful.

The reason for Trump's meeting with Twiiter's CEO? It all boils down to this:

Obama followers: 106 million
Trump followers: 59.9 million

That's all you need to know.

====================

Trump Administration Looks To Defy Tax Disclosure Law

It will be up to courts to force the administration to comply with the law and allow the president’s tax returns to be released to Congress. For the umpteenth time, what is Trump hiding?

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UN Bows To U.S. Demands, Waters Down Resolution To Help Survivors Of Sexual Violence In War

A reference referring to the need for UN bodies and donors to give timely “sexual and reproductive health” assistance to survivors of sexual violence in conflict was cut. Word has it Mike Pence drove that train because he saw “sexual and reproductive health” as code for abortion which he, as a meddlesome, pro-life conservative despises.

**********

Twitter Users Stand Up To Trump After He Demands Journalists Kneel, Beg Forgiveness

The president launches a wild new tirade against the media. Caramel Caligula really needs to stop with that shit.

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The Good Ol’ Boys: 2 Years In, Trump Is Making Our Courts A Lot Less Diverse

His lifetime federal judges are almost entirely white, male ideologues. Did someone clone Mike Pence or what? Well, what did anyone expect? Trump, being a racist, misogynist xenophobe was bound to fixate on white, male ideologues to stack the courts.

**********

United Airlines Agent Accused Of Calling Black Customer A ‘Monkey’ Faces Charge

The Houston employee is headed for trial on one misdemeanor count of disorderly conduct. Now, we have "Flying While Black".

[worstblogever]

In 2015, in 2016, and in 2017, “Crazy Stupid Republican of the Day” published profiles of Randy Forbes, the U.S. House Representative for Virginia’s 4th Congressional District and the founder of the Republican Prayer Caucus shortly after taking office back in 2001. We noted that Forbes’ religious fervor is problematic, especially because he’s a big ally of David Barton, the exposed fraud who posits an alternative history of the United States where our Founding Fathers created the country as a Christian nation. Forbes is always quick to waste Congress’ time on meaningless resolution to reaffirm the national motto as “In God We Trust”, and when the American Humanist Association sent letters to members of Congress asking them to honor the separation of church and state guaranteed in our Constitution back in 2012, Forbes declared it a violation of HIS 1st Amendment rights that they would even ask, and that they were trying to censor how he talks about his faith. As you might expect from a modern Republican, Forbes’ Christian faith seems to be greatly diminished whenever bills come up regarding helping the sick or poor, like Jesus actually talked about, but he certainly is a zealot when it social issues like abortion or gay rights are up for discussion, trying to deny both whenever possible. On the latter, Forbes argued against the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, was one of the first Republicans in 2004 to talk about a Constitutional amendment for a same sex marriage ban, and insisted on getting in the last word on the floor of the House to argue against ENDA, so that gays could continue to be discriminated against in the workplace. In October of 2015 when he spoke at a prayer rally at his home church in Chesapeke, Virginia, and he told the gathered throng about a massive conspiracy under way where funding was being funneled to systematically aim at “killing and destroying faith in America”. That of course, isn’t the only conspiracy theory he’ll beat to death, as even after four years over hearings over Benghazi hearings, Rep. Forbes was still campaigning on the “scandal”, and posting a survey on social media to his constituents if more taxpayer dollars needed to be spent investigating the non-story. In the 2016 elections, Forbes took a crack at challenging fellow GOP Congressman Scott Taylor over in Virginia’s 2nd District. Taylor won out with 53% of the vote, and as such, Randy Forbes was left without a place in Congress for the first time in 16 years. Frankly, we’re wondering what took so long.



It was one year ago today that “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” published its first profile of Mary Franson, who was first elected to the Minnesota House of Representatives in, yup, you guessed it, in the 2010 Tea Party Wave. Had we to sum her up in but a few words, we would sum it up with “off-brand Michele Bachmann”. Her voting record represents that, what with votes across the board for any anti-choice legislation, a vote for a transphobic bathroom ban, votes against same sex marriage, and votes against raising the minimum wage during the greatest period of income inequality in our nation in at least a century. It isn’t just a matter of Franson being homophobic like Bachmann, either, she’s fine with outright hating all sorts of people who disagree with her… Democrats, mass shooting survivors, the poor… in fact, the only quote we can find about her sticking up for another person is Roy Moore, who she sees as a victim and not a racist old pedophile (more on that in a moment). So brace yourselves, and get ready for the deranged roller coaster that is Mary Franson…

• March 2nd, 2012: Franson sits down for a delightful video recording where she compares people being allowed to receive food stamps to “feeding wild animals”.
  Delightful rhetoric, there.
• April 5th, 2012: It’s one thing to be a Republican who doesn’t care much for environmental protection. It’s a whole other thing to be Mary Franson, and to make the ridiculous statement that “Earth Day is a pagan holiday”.
• July 18th, 2012: Mary Franson apologized for her earlier remarks about people on food stamps being like “wild animals”. It must not have been a sincere apology, because on this date, she repeated the same statement.
• September 24th, 2012: With Minnesota about to vote to change the state constitution to legalize same sex marriage, Mary Franson loses her damned mind, and begins not only rambling about the consequences it would have on public education (?), but rambles on enough to say that “homosexuality is not normal behavior”.
• January 31st, 2013: Franson begins her second term in office with a bang, beginning to spout insane and disproven conspiracies about links between vaccines and autism.
• April 9th, 2014: In a hearing over a bill that would offer anti-bullying protections to LGBTQ youth in schools, Mary Franson declares it “fascism”. Because fascist regimes have such a wonderful track record of supporting LGBTQ youth, right?
• November 8th, 2017: The 2017 off-year election went very well for Democrats, and a lot of history was made around the country, including several transgender candidates reaching office. One of them was Danica Roem, who became the first transgender member of the Virginia state legislature. Well, Mary Franson couldn’t resist getting on Twitter to weigh in, saying, “A guy who thinks he’s a girl is still a guy with a mental health condition.” Transphobia at its finest, to be sure.
• December 18th, 2017: There’s paranoid, and then there’s Mary Franson. A group of school students for Alexandria Area High School reached out to her on Twitter, to get her to meet with them, and she refused, saying, “It’s not a legislator’s duty to meet with a proudly partisan Democrat group.” Yes, she admits she refuses to talk face to face with a Democrat, even if they’re still her constituent.
• December 19th, 2017: I gets even wilder, after she took heat for this stance, she tried claiming her reason for not meeting with the kids would be that they would “falsely” accuse her of sexual assault, just like people did to Roy Moore to sabotage his campaign for U.S. Senate in Alabama:
  

  “A man’s life was destroyed in AL. 40 years ago he met with minors alone and they recently accused him of horrendous actions. In the world of we must believe every sexual harassment claim, I would think my approach is beyond reasonable. All it takes is one perceived action and my life is destroyed. The life of my family is destroyed. That is a risk I will not take.”

  Oh yeah, she’s nuts.
• March 28th, 2018: Just when you think Mary Franson couldn’t get any more disgusting, she decided to attack the survivors of the mass shooting at Parkland High School, and compare them to the Hitler Youth. Her history is wrong, as Germany did not enact massive gun control, that’s a right-wing myth… but it’s revolting that she attacked the victims of a mass shooting so callously.

And yet, in spite of all that, Republicans felt no need to have anyone run against Mary in the primary for her seat in the state legislature, and because of the conservative make-up of that district, she still coasted to victory with 62% of the vote. The only bit of good news we have is that on Election Day, Franson released a video on Facebook Live where a gust of wind blew the campaign sign she was holding around so it spun and smacked her in the face. If seeing Mother Nature slap down this hatemonger makes you smile, you shouldn’t feel wrong about it.