All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Kusanagi]

If it were that simple, Republicans would’ve jettisoned Trump after the Mueller Report came out, but it’s not. I’ve maintained for months now that Trump’s base are more loyal to him than to the GOP while Pence doesn’t move the needle with that cult even a little bit, and Republicans know it. Bottom line: If they lose Trump, they lose his base, and without that rabid support, they lose any chance at winning the election.

I think if Republicans had a hand in the removal of Trump this would be absolutely true. However if Trump keeled over due to a medical issue I think they'd be fine with his base as they were 'loyal', now I'm not sure Pence could pull the turnout Trump had but I think they'd have a chance.

[Astral Disaster]

White Evangelicals Are Terrified That Liberals Want to Extinguish Their Rights

Ridiculous that evangelicals are that concerned with atheists when it's only 3% of the US population, though I'm sure right wing media plays up recent surveys indicating 20% are "religiously unaffiliated" and claim they're all atheists, which is far from factual. I guarantee the vast majority of so-called "nones" would refer to themselves as "spiritual" or "searching", with most of those skewed to the Judeo-Christian side, a lot of them tend to be younger and likely to become more religious as they age.

[Gray Lensman]

But the Republicans are completely full of **** on those issues that you say you agree with them. They say they're for smaller government, but that really only applies to getting rid of regulations so that their corporate masters can get richer. When it comes to social issues like abortion or gay marriage, suddenly they want the government to expand its authority.

It's easier to maintain that mentality in New York - the Democratic party there is pretty corrupt, and since they are the ones in power it is much more noticeable. Sheldon Silver used to run the state Assembly in a similar manner to how Moscow Mitch runs the Senate, even holding up disaster aid to spite Republican voters, and more recently the centrist 'Independent Democratic Caucus' that sided with Republicans often was a tool of Andrew Cuomo. Living in the Not New York City part of the state is a crappy prospect when the governor is a Cuomo, at least it was when I lived there.

[Malvolio]

president trump is increasingly isolated

Two things about this article:

1. Each headline seems to be the contradictory: People Close to Trump Say No One is Close to Trump.

2. It seems that many Republicans want to announce that they're no longer on Trump's side, but not one of them wants to be the first to do it. They all want to wait until someone else says it and then they can chime in and say, "Yeah, me too. I never liked him."

[Tami]

Two things about this article:

1. Each headline seems to be the contradictory: People Close to Trump Say No One is Close to Trump.

2. It seems that many Republicans want to announce that they're no longer on Trump's side, but not one of them wants to be the first to do it. They all want to wait until someone else says it and then they can chime in and say, "Yeah, me too. I never liked him."

Tied in with the discussion on Lying, the Biggest Lies being told by most of these Republicans are the ones they use to suck up to, or defend Trump.

[worstblogever]

On this date in 2014, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" ran a profile of Don Balfour, who was at the time, the longest sitting Georgia State Senator, riding high after making a fortune as an executive for the Waffle House chain of restaurants. That run came to an end in 2014, when he was defeated in the GOP primary for his state senate seat, partially because he was under indictment for 18 counts of falsifying expense reports. It wasn’t his first indictment, and Balfour claimed the crime was accidental, and was allowed to simply repay money to the state and resume his position in state government, rather than get any jail time. He’s not exactly going to be missed, considering before he left office, he supported a 20 week ban on abortion, drug-testing welfare recipients (which always is a failed conservative policy), and actually drafted legislation to make it illegal to picket against a corporation, which is about an obvious violation of a right to assembly as you’ll ever see.

On this date in 2015, Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day profiled Monica Wehby, a physician from Oregon who ran for U.S. Senate against Democrat Jeff Merkley in 2014, and seemed promising for the GOP until she was interviewed by the Willamette Week, who assessed that she "fumbled her way through" their interview, and "waffled endlessly" on several topics. They noted she was "all over the map" on the Affordable Care Act and gave "befuddling answers that were at times disingenuous”, and that concern only grew worse when she skipped her televised GOP Primary debate in May 2014, claiming that her schedule was “packed solid” and later skipped a debate against Merkley in the general election in October 2016. When she finally did get in a debate, she gave a meek answer in her opposition to increasing the minimum wage during the greatest period of income inequality in the United States in a century… in one of the bluest states in the union. She also got hit with reports of a mother being charged for abusing her children by forcing them to undergo a series of medically unnecessary medical procedures, and in at least 10 instances, the unsound procedures were performed by Dr. Wehby. Her campaign’s statement about it was to say little or nothing because HIPAA laws prevented them from doing so (which is pretty convenient).Right on the heels of that bombshell were police reports that were unsurfaced that showed Wehby had been accused of repeatedly stalking both her ex-husband, and an ex-boyfriend, entering his home without permission and harassing his employees in 2007, 2009, and 2013. Then, Buzzfeed ran a report after noticing that Monica Wehby’s website featured an entire policy on an issue that was plagiarized straight from Karl Rove’s Crossroads GPS website, word for word, and When asked for comment by reporters, Wehby claimed to be “too busy performing brain surgery on sick children to respond, sorry.” What followed only made it worse… she later replaced that policy with a new one… which was also plagiarized, verbatim from the website of her own primary opponent, Jason Conger. The worst part? The policy in question was Monica Wehby’s policies on healthcare. She was still a doctor, and her entire credibility of her campaign was based on that one issue, that she lifted all her ideas from whoever she could, rather than have an original thought on the subject. Further analysis of her website showed her economic policies were a combination of information lifted from the websites of Ohio Senator Rob Portman, and California Congressional Nominee Gary DeLong. Her website also featured a quote in a section on the 2nd Amendment attributed to Thomas Jefferson, “When the government fears the people there is liberty, when the people fear their government there is tyranny” that historians note Thomas Jefferson is never known to have said or written, anywhere. She has started a SUPERPac, and claims she will not longer seek office.

On this date in 2016, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled Tim Kelly, a former member of the Minneosta House of Representatives who was a big “defender of the sanctity of marriage”, who also once tried sneaking a transphobic bathroom policy into the state budget in May 2015. That’s why it was incredibly hypocritical for Tim Kelly to have been caught half naked in a car at a park by a Minnesota park ranger having an affair with a fellow Republican legislator, Tara Mack, in September of 2015. His defense was a desperate and sad claim they were not caught in flagrante, but were actually just “exchanging documents” in the car. While half naked. For trying to stuff a few papers into Mack’s “inbox”. im Kelly was forced to resign from his spot on the… wait for it… Minnesota House of Representatives ETHICS COMMITTEE. He opted to retire at the end of 2016 after the scandal.

On this date in 2017, as well as 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where today we’ll be discussing Georgia State Senator Josh McKoon, the man pictured above who you might suspect was voted, “Most Likely to be Unable to Find a Comb” in his high school yearbook. McKoon has been in the Georgia State Senate since… you guessed it, the 2010 Tea Party Wave, was allowed to run for a second term in 2012 unopposed, and has only faced two primary challenges since taking office, although one of those back in 2014 was from a guy accused of stealing money from a state park by exploiting his position as the head of a charitable non-profit (suffice to say, he wasn’t a good candidate). Anyway, we’re going to discuss Josh McKoon because of his fanatical obsession with trying to use his “religious freedom” to target every law passed at the federal level, or even state level that he doesn’t like with “religious freedom” bills. Back in February of 2014, it seemed like a long shot idea for McKoon to start seguing from bills meant to “protect Christmas” to start using the same principles to try eliminating the Affordable Care Act by attacking any coverage of contraceptives that the health insurance mandates might cause. Big surprise, throughout 2015 and 2016, he also was using “religious freedom” laws to attempt to make transphobic bathroom bills state law, alienating him from GOP allies who didn’t want to repeat the same sorts of disastrous outcomes that Indiana and North Carolina had seen while attempting to pass such legislation, like tourism boycotts that would cripple the state economy. Heck, the number of film studios who film on location in Atlanta that would walk away? The numbers could be astronomical. Which is far from the only obviously unconstitutional legislation that McKoon has sponsored through the past few years. Remember how Roy Moore got his ass handed to him in court over his obsession with putting up monuments of the Ten Commandments? Well, McKoon sponsored a bill to do the same thing in Georgia’s state capitol. Remember how every time we discuss the GOP’s obsession with drug testing welfare recipients, we point out it’s a failed policy that doesn’t actually catch anyone on welfare using drugs, and it only exists to shame poor people until courts step in and overturn them as violations of the Fourth Amendment? Well, guess who doesn’t? Josh Mckoon, that’s who. Remember how Arizona got the Supreme Court to slap them down in 1999 for trying to make English the state’s official language? McKoon apparently doesn’t, because he sponsored a bill to do that in Georgia, arguing that it was “discriminatory” to English speakers to ever consider communicating people in other languages (Hint: That’s another example where he doesn’t understand how discrimination works). These bills don’t always serve a purpose, either, it just seems like McKoon wants the “religious freedom” to be a d*** to minorities. He wanted to be able to suspend the driver’s licenses of women protected by DACA, even if they were immigrant women battered by their husbands protected by the law. He up and decided one day that Muslim women in Georgia who wear burqas should be forced to take them off for their driver’s license photos (and THAT isn’t a violation of THEIR religious freedom in his mind). At least he’s consistent enough in his hatred of immigrants that he’d vote for HB 87, Georgia’s self-inflicted wound of an immigration bill back in 2011, that led to millions of dollars of crops left in fields to rot. Maybe it’s not that his “religious freedom” is in jeopardy, maybe it’s just that this guy is a total ***hole. And the rest of the Republican caucus in the Georgia state legislature caught on, and started removing him from leadership positions, the whole while McKoon insisting that his actions weren’t just a gimmick to rile up the conservative base to run in a statewide election, but based on his own views on faith. McKoon opted to not run for re-election to the Georgia State Senate as his opposition in the state legislature grew and instead, chose to make a run to be the Georgia Secretary of StateHe finished third in the GOP Primary in that race, and is now mercifully out of office. We’ll set aside his profile at this time, and profile a different wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 816-40, since this was established in July 2014.)

[worstblogever]

Kyle Koehler

Welcome to what is the 816th original profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where we’ll be discussing Kyle Koehler, a member of the Ohio House of Representatives who was first elected to office in 2014. We started to see Koehler’s name pop up back in 2015 as Ohio Republicans began a mad quest to close down every Planned Parenthood in the state, and taking a fraudulent video created by the Center for Medical Progress (a fanatical anti-choice group) as factual, and wanted to close down any facility that performed an abortion and donated fetal tissue for research. The state launched an expensive witch hunt that found not a single witch, and when the investigation came back finding no proof of wrongdoing, let alone anything as shocking as what the video purported, Koehler didn’t flinch, sponsored a bill to require women who have an abortion to bury or cremate the remains, and didn’t dial back the rhetoric when explaining his decision:

“Whether they are selling body parts or simply tossing them into landfills doesn’t matter to me anymore.”

We’re also a bit puzzled about Koehler’s feud with pro-gun advocate and provocateur Chris Dorr… which is supposed to be centered on Koehler not being “tough enough” on guns… and when given a survey to indicate his absolute or not-quite-absolute-how-dare-you support for the 2nd Amendment, Koehler had the level-headed response to film himself shooting up the survey on a gun range.

We’ll finish up by noting that in Koehler’s voting record, he has repeatedly sponsored legislation to allow for prayer in public schools supported extreme anti-choice legislation as ludicrous as fetal heartbeat bills, but remains hypocritically “pro-life” because he also voted against a bill that would protect people with certain mental illnesses from being executed for capitol offenses, and he cares so much about “life” that he wanted to block the state from taking in Syrian refugees.

We’re not certain if under the current gerrymandered map that was set in Ohio in 2012 that Kyle Koehler can be booted from office… but we definitely can tell he isn’t someone that we would be comfortable learning was seeking higher office.

[SquirrelMan]

All you're doing, Mets, is a poor job of explaining why you follow a party 99% percent horrible. Like if they kept a veneer of respectability like say the Tory party does then we might be able to say "Well you're just being duped" but they're pretty open about how horrible they are and have been for the last 5 years.

An easy answer to that question might get me banned.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Trump Blasts ‘Crazy’ Pelosi After Calling For ‘Respect’ In His Christmas Message

We must “foster a culture of deeper understanding and respect, traits that exemplify the teachings of Christ,” Trump said before going off the rails again. Why am I not surprised? Trump no more believed the pablum he spewed about understanding and respect than I believe in the Easter Bunny.

**********

Lisa Murkowski Is ‘Disturbed’ By McConnell Coordination With Trump On Impeachment

Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski also said she remained undecided on how she would vote in the president’s Senate impeachment trial, according to KTUU. I'm gonna take a wild guess and say she'll follow the rest of the GOP herd and vote no.

**********

Michael Bloomberg Confirms He Used Prison Labor To Make 2020 Campaign Calls

After a report revealed his campaign exploited prison laborers to make calls on his behalf, Bloomberg said he’s no longer working with the company that hired them. Let's not kid ourselves, if he hadn't been caught redhanded, Bloomberg would still be using that company.

**********

The Army Of Prayer Warriors Fighting Trump’s Impeachment

As the Senate takes up his impeachment trial, white Christian evangelicals remain firmly in the president’s corner. Oh, yes, keep on supporting a man totally bereft of morals who singlehandedly broke most of the Ten Commandments. Talk about hypocrites!

**********

Rudy Giuliani Doubles Down On Anti-Semitic Attacks Against George Soros

President Trump’s lawyer said there are “better Jews” than the Holocaust-surviving philanthropist; he earlier said Soros was “hardly a Jew.” I missed hearing from Rantin' Rudy. Good to know he's still on top of his game as a raging lunatic.

[Tami]

1990s Manifesto outlining Russia’s plans is starting to come true

EVER wondered what Vladimir Putin is up to infiltrating the US elections? Surprisingly, there is an answer to that.

In 1997, a Russian political scientist named Aleksandr Dugin and a serving Russian General named Nikolai Klokotov sat down and wrote a text that would become the foundation of Russian geopolitical strategy over the next 20 years. It was called “Foundations of Geopolitics” and it was all about how Russia could reassert itself in the world.

Chillingly, the book now reads like a to-do list for Putin’s behaviour on the world stage.

Perhaps surprisingly, the document is not a secret. It has long been known to observers of Russian foreign policy, and has served as a text book among a generation of military strategists. But with the scandal over Russian influence in the US elections, growing by the day, it’s surprising how little coverage this important text has been given.

The book starts out by saying that the shrewd thing for Russia to do is to steer clear of direct military confrontation. Instead, the book counsels Russian leaders to favour political stealth. It emphasises the need for the infiltration of Western institutions, and the use of soft power to shape the world in Russia’s favour. Sound familiar yet? We haven’t even got to the good stuff.

The text then goes into a very specific list of to-dos, about Russia’s posture towards almost every nation on earth.

[Mister Mets]

If you were really always concerned about truth, you wouldn't support a party that you know lies on key issues, such as tax cuts, deficits and climate change.

Your second statement gets to the core of the issue: that you are willing to overlook "routine" Republican dishonesty as long as it serves your purposes.

Which -- again -- is exactly why individuals such as Trump prosper within said party.

I will note again that I'll back the current Democratic frontrunner for President over the Republican nominee. Unlike most of you guys, my voting habits have changed due to recent events. So I support the Republicans less than you, jetengine, WorstBlogever, Tami, Malvolio and Squirrel Man support the Democrats.

Note- I've named those people because they've commented on this specific question.

If anyone were concerned about truth, they wouldn't back Democrats either, given their failings in the category.

It shouldn't be surprising that I will generally back the party that has the policies that I believe will produce the best outcomes for the most people. Most people are going to do that. The argument is about whether they're right.

[Mister Mets]

I take no joy in saying this, but if Trump were removed from office via the impeachment process and Pence were to become the candidate, all he would need to say to win the election would be, "1. The economy is fine, and 2. I will tweet a lot less than Trump does."

This would depend heavily on how quietly Trump goes. If he's complaining about how the system's rigged, establishment Republicans are corrupt and his voters should go third party, that'll probably be enough to give Democrats the White House.

If he's quiet as Nixon in '76, President Pence probably wins Minnesota.

[Tami]

This would depend heavily on how quietly Trump goes. If he's complaining about how the system's rigged, establishment Republicans are corrupt and his voters should go third party, that'll probably be enough to give Democrats the White House.

If he's quiet as Nixon in '76, President Pence probably wins Minnesota.

Thinking, let's say, hypothetically, the Senate removes Trump from office and Pence becomes President. Wouldn't it be too late for Pence to Qualify tor at least half of the Primaries? Even the President has to go through the process of getting on the ballot. Pence might not be able to get on any ballot, except perhaps the last few, and I know he doesn't stand a chance in NJ.

I don't think running as VP equates to running as President.

If my assumption is correct, where does that leave the Republicans in 2020?

[Mister Mets]

An analysis of Sanders voters suggests they made a significant impact in the 2016 general election, in Trump's favor (as well as contributing to the votes of Jill Stein and Gary Johnson.)

https://twitter.com/NormOrnstein/sta...77139992756224

Thinking, let's say, hypothetically, the Senate removes Trump from office and Pence becomes President. Wouldn't it be too late for Pence to Qualify tor at least half of the Primaries? Even the President has to go through the process of getting on the ballot. Pence might not be able to get on any ballot, except perhaps the last few, and I know he doesn't stand a chance in NJ.

I don't think running as VP equates to running as President.

If my assumption is correct, where does that leave the Republicans in 2020?

If the incumbent President drops out and it's too late for new candidates to qualify for ballots, the decision will be made in the convention. It's possible they'll go with someone else, but an incumbent President is heavily favored.

The Republican candidate will still be on the ballot in all 50 states in the general election.

The last time anything similar happened was 1968 when LBJ announced on March 31 that he would not run for another term, after losing some primaries to Eugene McCarthy and the entrance of Bobby Kennedy to the race. Vice President Hubert Humphrey became the nominee, despite not competing in primaries. He did have surrogates run as favorite sons in various states, with an understanding that a vote for that candidate was equivalent to a vote for Humphrey. So there might be an understanding that a vote for Trump is a vote for Pence.

When the "grab them by the pussy" tape came out, there was also a plan to have Trump drop out replaced by a Pence/ Condoleeza Rice ticket.

There is precedent for a ticket being changed after the convention. In 1972, Tom Eagleton was swapped out as the Democratic vice presidential nominee for Sargent Shriver after it turned out he had received electroshock therapy.

But if they're able to do that, they'll be able to put a new ticket on the ballot in November.

[aja_christopher]

If anyone were concerned about truth, they wouldn't back Democrats either, given their failings in the category.

It shouldn't be surprising that I will generally back the party that has the policies that I believe will produce the best outcomes for the most people. Most people are going to do that. The argument is about whether they're right.

You've shown absolutely no proof that Democrats are "routinely dishonest" like the Republican party -- again, just because you say it doesn't make it true.

In fact, all you are doing is further proving that Republicans have problems being honest by continuing to engage in said false equivalency without proof.

If your argument is that it's "right" to habitually lie about tax cuts, the deficit, social security, climate change, foreign interference in our elections, and separating children from their families like the Republicans do, then it's debatable that you even know the difference between what's wrong and what's right.

Lying about climate change "produces the best outcomes for the most people"? How so exactly?

Lying about minority voter suppression "produces the best outcomes for the most people"? How so exactly?

Lying about foreign interference in our elections "produces the best outcomes for the most people?" How so exactly?

How exactly did people's lives improve more under Republican policies that brought us the Iraq War and the Great Recession than under Obama who brought us out of said recession and led us to the longest period of economic growth in modern history, while also extending health care to millions of those who needed it?

Or is that just another lie told with no evidence to back it up?

I think you do know it's wrong to lie -- about the effects of the tax cuts, the importance of the deficit, about climate change being a "hoax", about Russian interference in our elections, about minority voter suppression, about how many children have been separated from their families at the border -- which is why you don't even attempt to address those issues in an objective manner.

You just deflect and then try to project onto the Democrats -- the standard Republican playbook.

With that in mind, I'll take your lack of any real defense of said actions as an admission that you know they are indefensible.