All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Rosa Luxemburg]

No mention of Democrats, nor races or age ranges. Short and sweet, this list is meaningless.

...You think Republican donated 10s of millions of dollars more to Democratic candidates than Trump?

[WestPhillyPunisher]

House Republicans want to call whistleblower to testify in public impeachment hearings



This is just disgusting honestly. They all know damn well that the account has been repeatedly corroborated. They are willing to drag this person in the mud. Risk his/her career and tarnish their reputation to the 40 percent of America that will go along with the conspiracies. All for vengeance. Everything he/she said has been corroborated by other witnesses THEY KNOW ABOUT. They heard the testimony they saw the documents. They know damn well what happened and why.

The only reason to drag this person through the mud is to vindictive and trash them in public as a sign for anyone else thinking of coming forward. The complete disregard for the rule of law or the necessity of allowing avenues for people to report these things the right way. All to kiss trump's ass and put on a show that Fox news and the alt right media can crow and spin more conspiracy theories about. This behavior is the very reason a lot of people are saying #votebluenomatterwho there seems to be no bottom for GOP under trump.

Schiff should just tell Jordan and the rest of the GOP to politely **** off, explaining that there are laws in place to protect whistleblowers from the sort of bullshit Republicans want to publicly subject this person to. Yeah, this is nothing more than a revenge play for the GOP so they can get their pound of flesh from this person who dared to call Trump to task for the shady and yes, possibly impeachable things he had done.

[Malvolio]

On this date in 2014, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled former Arizona Congressman J.D. Hayworth, who was elected back in the 1994 "Red Wave" election and after six terms, was booted by voters in 2006 for having ties to Jack Abramoff. After an unsuccessful bid to unseat Senator John McCain in the 2010 Tea Party wave by running to his right while enflaming anti-immigrant fears in the Grand Canyon State. Hayworth actually proved dumb enough to try to challenge John McCain's lack of support on "enchanced interrogation" techniques on prisoners taken in the War on Terror, somehow forgetting how McCain has quite a personal view of torture. After losing after a long, ugly campaign where he expressed some support for the Birther movement and even compared gay marriage to beastiality, Hayworth continued to parlay his former career as a conservative radio talk show host into a gig working for Newsmax, a news channel that leans so far to the right, it makes Fox News look like NPR. While Hayworth remains an utter nutter, and hosts some of the most radical members of the GOP on Newsmax to propagandize their message, he has not held or run for office for several years now.


It was in 2015, 2016, 2017, and in 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day posted profiles of the U.S. House Representative from Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, Martha Roby, the current U.S. House Representative for Alabama's 2nd Congressional District. Roby was once interviewed about the “redistribution of wealth” in the United States, she came out hard against the concept, until the reporter asked then how she could supports farm subsidies and aid for banks, and THEN Roby angrily called the interview a “trap” before storming out less than a minute later with her press secretary demanding the recording to prevent it from being aired. Roby has also gotten on board more than one outrage train the GOP have launched, whether it was taking to the floor of the House to give a speech about the controversy surrounding the “sting” videos of Planned Parenthood and arguing that “these aren’t specimens, they’re babies” or sitting on the Benghazi Select Committee to grill Hillary Clinton by asking whether she was “home alone” on the night of the attacks on the diplomatic compound in Benghazi. Hillary, in true alpha female form, laughed at her, before answering “no”. Roby tried following up with a “I don’t see what’s so funny” to not look like a dope, but that's an uphill battle for her, frankly. Roby also has participated in your typical GOP obstructionist voting record pattern, including votes against equal pay for women, LGBT rights, debt ceiling increases, keeping the government open (and trying to keep it shut at the end of the 2013 Government Shutdown), and even Hurricane Sandy relief funding.

In the current session of Congress, Martha Roby continues to vote along party lines almost every time:

• January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Roby voted against HR 648, because he was gleeully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
• February 28th, 2019: Roby votes against HR 1112, a bill which would have required universal background checks on all firearm purchases, and close the gun show loophole.
• March 14th, 2019: Rep. Roby votes against HJR 46, which sane members of Congress voted for to reject Donald Trump’s “national emergency” regarding the U.S. border and his attempts to reallocate funds for a border wall without Congressional approval.
• April 4th, 2019: Martha Roby is one of 158 Republicans who choose to vote against the re-authorization of the Violence Against Women Act, 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 17th, 2019: Roby votes against The Equality Act, which would have prevented discrimination towards Americans based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
• June 4th, 2019: Rep. Roby votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
• July 16th, 2019: Martha Roby votes against a resolution to condemn Donald Trump for his racist statements that four people of color in Congress should “go back where they came from”.

Martha Roby barely won the GOP Primary for her seat in 2018, requiring a run-off election to hang onto her seat in the House representing Alabama’s 2nd Congressional District, the second straight election cycle where she got a scare. That inherent risk of losing her seat, as well as Republicans reacting to the reality that they’re unlikely to be in control of the House for at least a decade seems to have given her enough of a reason to push the “eject” button, and retire at the end of her current term in office in a year. This will most likely be the last time we profiler her, and at this time, we would like to also extend our finest of “good riddance” send-offs to her.

I think we can sing this song to a lot of Republicans over the next two years.

[Gray Lensman]

Schiff should just tell Jordan and the rest of the GOP to politely **** off, explaining that there are laws in place to protect whistleblowers from the sort of bullshit Republicans want to publicly subject this person to. Yeah, this is nothing more than a revenge play for the GOP so they can get their pound of flesh from this person who dared to call Trump to task for the shady and yes, possibly impeachable things he had done.

Strip Jordan of his ability to participate for the day if he tries. "Nevertheless, he persisted" or something like that.

[Kirby101]

...You think Republican donated 10s of millions of dollars more to Democratic candidates than Trump?

Your chart says nothing about how women who voted for Trump voted this week. Your chart only shows the gender difference in Democratic donors. What is the gender difference in GOP donors? How has that changed since 2016. When you have those stats, then you can make an inference.

[PwrdOn]

To believe that white women will suddenly turn on Trump en masse and deliver the 2020 election for the Democrats is the height of wishful thinking. While it might be comforting to think that all women are these fiery freedom fighters just yearning to be free from the yoke of male oppression, that vision simply doesn't square with reality. American women, particularly whites, are just as likely to be at the forefront of traditionalist and repressive social movements as they are to be radical feminists. Prohibition was largely driven by women's organizations, and indeed was strongly aligned with the suffragette movement, and all of those Confederate statues were largely erected around the turn of the century through the lobbying efforts of wealthy southern socialites. And of course, who can forget Phyllis Schlafly.

And it's not as if these women are completely oblivious or accepting of their subordinate status in modern society. It's just that most of them recognize that while they are disadvantaged relative to white men, they are still extraordinarily privileged relative to just about anyone else, and on balance they would probably lose much of their socioeconomic status in a more egalitarian world. Expecting them to vote against their own interests for the sake of intersectional unity or whatever is just unrealistic.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

To believe that white women will suddenly turn on Trump en masse and deliver the 2020 election for the Democrats is the height of wishful thinking. While it might be comforting to think that all women are these fiery freedom fighters just yearning to be free from the yoke of male oppression, that vision simply doesn't square with reality. American women, particularly whites, are just as likely to be at the forefront of traditionalist and repressive social movements as they are to be radical feminists. Prohibition was largely driven by women's organizations, and indeed was strongly aligned with the suffragette movement, and all of those Confederate statues were largely erected around the turn of the century through the lobbying efforts of wealthy southern socialites. And of course, who can forget Phyllis Schlafly.

And it's not as if these women are completely oblivious or accepting of their subordinate status in modern society. It's just that most of them recognize that while they are disadvantaged relative to white men, they are still extraordinarily privileged relative to just about anyone else, and on balance they would probably lose much of their socioeconomic status in a more egalitarian world. Expecting them to vote against their own interests for the sake of intersectional unity or whatever is just unrealistic.

In essence, these short sighted harridans are saying they'd rather be beneath white men on the societal ladder than on par with other races.

[Celgress]

In essence, these short sighted harridans are saying they'd rather be beneath white men on the societal ladder than on par with other races.

It's human nature. No group who has power (relative to other groups) will typically want to relinquish that power to be equal.

[Tami]

Trump boasts that his landmark law is freeing these inmates. His Justice Department wants them to stay in prison.

The five former inmates assembled on the White House stage weren’t scheduled to speak, but President Trump couldn’t help himself. “Where’s Gregory? Greg?” he said. “Come on, get up here!”

From behind the president, Gregory Allen saluted and then made his way to the microphone. “Two months ago I was in a prison cell, and I’m in the White House,” declared Allen, a Florida resident who had been freed under Trump’s signature criminal justice legislation. “That’s continuing to make America great again!”

The gathering in April was a triumphant celebration of the First Step Act, the most sweeping overhaul of the federal criminal justice system in a generation. Since its passage nearly a year ago, the law has led to the release of more than 3,000 inmates — including Allen, who was convicted of cocaine trafficking in 2001.

The Justice Department, though, had never wanted to let Allen out of prison. In fact, even as he and Trump shared a joyous embrace on television, federal prosecutors were trying to persuade a judge to put Allen back behind bars.

“DOJ is pushing against the will of the people, the will of Congress, the will of the president,” said Holly Harris, a conservative activist and leader of the Justice Action Network, who worked with Congress and the White House to pass the law.

Harris noted that, before the law’s passage, then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions was a vocal critic of reducing prison sentences. His successor, William P. Barr, expressed similar reservations prior to his appointment.

But federal prosecutors are arguing in hundreds of cases that inmates who have applied for this type of relief are ineligible, according to a review of court records and interviews with defense attorneys. In at least half a dozen cases, prosecutors are seeking to reincarcerate offenders who have already been released under the First Step Act.

The department has told federal prosecutors that when determining whether to challenge an application for early release they should consider not the amount of crack an inmate was convicted of having or trafficking — but rather the amount that court records suggest they may have actually had, which is often much larger.

[Kirby101]

To believe that white women will suddenly turn on Trump en masse and deliver the 2020 election for the Democrats is the height of wishful thinking. While it might be comforting to think that all women are these fiery freedom fighters just yearning to be free from the yoke of male oppression, that vision simply doesn't square with reality. American women, particularly whites, are just as likely to be at the forefront of traditionalist and repressive social movements as they are to be radical feminists. Prohibition was largely driven by women's organizations, and indeed was strongly aligned with the suffragette movement, and all of those Confederate statues were largely erected around the turn of the century through the lobbying efforts of wealthy southern socialites. And of course, who can forget Phyllis Schlafly.

And it's not as if these women are completely oblivious or accepting of their subordinate status in modern society. It's just that most of them recognize that while they are disadvantaged relative to white men, they are still extraordinarily privileged relative to just about anyone else, and on balance they would probably lose much of their socioeconomic status in a more egalitarian world. Expecting them to vote against their own interests for the sake of intersectional unity or whatever is just unrealistic.

Not in masse, but Trump won the white woman vote in 2016 by 47% to 45% (the 52% has since been shown erroneous)
https://time.com/5422644/trump-white-women-2016/

So a swing of say 5%, which so far has been happening at a minimum in the last two years, would be enough to loose him the key States he needs for an electoral college win.

[Kirby101]

Trump Ordered To Pay $2 Million In Charity Ethics Lawsuit

A New York judge has ordered President Donald Trump to personally pay $2 million to settle the state attorney general’s civil lawsuit against his now-defunct charitable organization, The Donald J. Trump Foundation.
Her decision is not the outcome desired by the president, who declared in a tweet last year: “I won’t settle this case!”

The lawsuit, filed in June 2018 by then-state Attorney General Barbara Underwood, alleged that Trump and three of his children ― Ivanka Trump, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump ― repeatedly took advantage of the foundation’s tax-exempt status to fund their political and business interests.

I don't think he has the cash.

[Theleviathan]

Not in masse, but Trump won the white woman vote in 2016 by 47% to 45% (the 52% has since been shown erroneous)
https://time.com/5422644/trump-white-women-2016/

So a swing of say 5%, which so far has been happening at a minimum in the last two years, would be enough to loose him the key States he needs for an electoral college win.

And 2018 gave credibility to the hope that there can be a swing and women were a major part of that.

No one group is going to single-handedly swing the election, that's the truly wishful thinking. (Perpetrated obsessively by the "appeal to the youth!" crowds) The Dems messaging in 2020 needs to be able to pluck a few percentage points from a variety of groups with well tailored arguments.

[PwrdOn]

Not in masse, but Trump won the white woman vote in 2016 by 47% to 45% (the 52% has since been shown erroneous)
https://time.com/5422644/trump-white-women-2016/

So a swing of say 5%, which so far has been happening at a minimum in the last two years, would be enough to loose him the key States he needs for an electoral college win.

Maybe, but moderate white women are not a particularly low hanging fruit, because while they might agree with the left when it comes to women's issues, on just about everything else their views are basically in lockstep with those of moderate white men, so trying to pander to them would require making a ton of concessions to the detriment of many far more loyal Democratic voters.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Not in masse, but Trump won the white woman vote in 2016 by 47% to 45% (the 52% has since been shown erroneous)
https://time.com/5422644/trump-white-women-2016/

So a swing of say 5%, which so far has been happening at a minimum in the last two years, would be enough to loose him the key States he needs for an electoral college win.

How much of that came from distrust of Hillary Clinton, and how much came from women unwilling to, and I saw this quote more than once back in 2016, “vote with their you-know-what”? Again, short sightedness, maybe even self loathing.

[Kirby101]

Maybe, but moderate white women are not a particularly low hanging fruit, because while they might agree with the left when it comes to women's issues, on just about everything else their views are basically in lockstep with those of moderate white men, so trying to pander to them would require making a ton of concessions to the detriment of many far more loyal Democratic voters.

Well that is a larger issue. I just think Trump has shown himself to be a such a loathsome man that many of the independent women who voted for him will turn against him next year. It wasn't his base that got him elected, it was the swing independent voters.