All purpose news and politics thread part v: The quickening

[Tendrin]

I've said the same thing about third parties. You can't just prop up a Gary Johnson or Jill Stein every four years and then whine when they inevitably fail. A third party has to be built from the ground up.

I keep asking people where the equivalent of Townsend Plan groups are agitating for Single Payer Healthcare are and just... getting silence in turn, or something about electing Bernie.

[Lord Falcon]

Let me guess, You want us to vote for your guy correct?

Of course I want you to vote for my guy. But I don't have a guy for you to vote for anymore! Pete Buttigieg is gone for this cycle, and I am salty at every Bernie Bro who went onto every his videos and downvoted him and posted comments with nothing but the aim to tear him down, without regard for truth or any semblence of objectivity. But Pete is gone now, so I have no guy in the race for you to fucking vote for, Tazarai.

To be fair, that certain subsection of Bernie's supporters' tactics are not what sank Pete. But at least I'm lucid enough to understand that, and I'm not even a citizen!

For the most part I see productivity and pragmatism on one candidate's supporters side and childish tantrums and delusion on the other. This is partly because Bernie has an infamously vocal core of supporters, but the sad truth of the matter as far as I can see it is that Bernie got as fair a shake as he could expect and some folks are trying to drown out every avenue with massive exaggerations and taking up Trump's own decisions for him. One candidate's supporters are rigid to the point of idiocy when they should know better, and it's not Biden's. Bernie's core supporters are engaged and should fucking know better. And no amount of questioning of my motivations will change the validity of my reasoning.

[Steel Inquisitor]

A little bit of both most likely. In North Carolina just this last primary. The House GOP was able to shut down many polling sites in Minority areas, especially among black and hispanic populations. They don't consider NC First nations people as human, so they have ZERO polling stations. The Lumbee tribes nation here fought to get some and didn't.

That you know but when it comes to the GOP blocking progress legislation in congress you blame the Democrats for it.

[numberthirty]

Or maybe going after Hunter Biden is the Wile E. Coyote plan in this situation.

How many of the ancient white Republican men and women in Congress you think have kids, nieces, nephews who are very average at best and only got where they are due to nepotism? That's before we even get into Bill Barr's kids. Going after Hunter makes ALL of those young (and not so young) adults fair game.

On what is in blue...

Accounting for that what Biden did when it came to going for bat to credit card companies while his son was getting a check from those companies looks a whole lot like what in instance of actual corruption would to Jane/Joe Public, it's nothing like any plan I ever saw Mr. Coyote attempt.

On what is in green...

Far as I can tell, you are the only one who is talking in those terms. The article in that link surely does not say that anything like that is the plan. Which makes perfect sense. There's no way they are going to go after Congress when it would likely result in both Republican and Democratic members coming under scrutiny. It would be the same as the sexual harassment protections that Congress had. The only way it would be addressed is if they have no way out of doing so.

Otherwise? Democrats will be fine with it as long as they can take advantage of it as well.

[worstblogever]

In 2015, in 2016, and in 2017, “Crazy Stupid Republican of the Day” published profiles of former Nevada Congressman Cresent Hardy, who in spite of having a mustache that makes you wonder if he ties fair maidens to railroad tracks, won office in the 2014 elections by about 3500 votes. But unsettling factors about Cresent Hardy are not limited to his facial hair, because he also advocates for a "flat" tax, is opposed to teaching any contraception during sex education, and thinks any and all background checks on firearms purchases are unconstitutional via the 2nd Amendment. Hardy also voted against ENDA, and explained that his motivation for doing so was because it was a new "segregation" law. His perplexing use of adjectives is not limited to only votes, though, as he has described the normally left-leaning district he represents as a "welfare district" or "minority district", as well. Many remember how politically disastrous it was for Mitt Romney to say that 47% of the country were "takers" in the 2012 elections, but believe it or not, Cresent Hardy has gone on record to say that Romney was only wrong because the real percentage is "bigger". And finally, we will end our summary of Rep. Hardy's original profile by reminding everyone that on two occasions, he vocally supported tax scofflaw and noted racist Cliven Bundy during his standoff with the Bureau of Land Management. In June 2015, while speaking before a town hall, Rep. Hardy bragged to the crowd that his kids would never be "a drain on society" like disabled people. After having a heart attack in August 2016 that limited his ability to campaign, Cresent Hardy was defeated in the 2016 elections by Ruben Kihuen, and upon learning Kihuen would be a one-and-done Congressman, Hardy has announced he will attempt to win back his seat representing Nevada’s 4th Congressional District in 2018. However, with Blue Wave momentum likely making it even more of a challenge for him to overcome his 4 point defeat in 2016, it seems unlikely he will find his way back to Washington.

On this date in 2018, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled Sean Donahue, a failed candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives for Pennsylvania’s 11th Congressional District. While you would think it would be harder for the GOP to get someone who’s more bigoted than Barletta on the ballot, somehow they managed. Because among Donahue’s writings online, you can read his musings about how he thinks that The U.S. was created for Americans who chose to worship God through Christianity. that freedom of religion is for all forms of Christianity but no other religion, certainly not Islam, voodoo or Satanic worship, that Black Lives Matter and Antifa are organizations that are looking to create an armed insurgency, that if we do not control immigration from South and Central America, whites will become a racial minority, that because there is a Congressional Black Caucus, there is a need for a Congressional White Caucus, that universities are supposedly opening “safe spaces” where no whites are allowed. He also expressed his desire to see the U.S. modify civil rights laws to take away “the American dream from Muslims, non-Christians and foreigners”, shared paranoid ramblings about how if the United States does not control immigration from South and Central America, Whites will ultimately become the racial minority in the United States, and predicting that they won’t be treated well, because minorities are never treated well. Oh, and he also made more anti-Semitic statements than you could even begin to count. Donahue was also previously convicted of making violent threats to the Luzerne County District Attorney, as well as several other county employees (and was on probation while running for Congress). Donahue obviously didn’t win in the midst of the Blue Wave, so we’ll go ahead and set aside his profile at this time to take a look at a different kooky Republican on this date instead.

On this date in 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profile, where we discussed Rick Saccone, a former member of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives, and two-time loser in attempts to run for Congress. Saccone’s background is almost immediately terrifying, as he was not just a consultant to those who worked at the Abu Ghraib prison when folks were tormenting and torturing Iraqi detainees, (and no, he had no regrets, as in his own book he defended waterboarding) but it’s also alarming that Saccone’s opinions are informed by known fraud and supposed historian David Barton. Which probably would explain why as a state legislator, Saccone continually would submit legislation to challenge the separation of church and state, including his need to force public schools to display “In God We Trust” inside, and that he sponsored legislation to declare 2012 “The Year of the Bible” in Pennsylvania. Oh, and on gun rights? Saccone once criticized Chuck E. Cheese because the pizza chain placed restrictions on customers to not bring guns into their establishments. Because it’s important to pack heat to defend yourself from potential attackers and open fire if anyone should accost you among all the children playing skee ball. Rick Saccone originally won office back in the 2010 Tea Party Wave by only 151 votes, and was re-elected in 2012 by a whopping 0.4% of the vote. Once he made his attempt at getting elected to Congress in the 2018 special election for Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District against Conor Lamb, he ended up on the opposite side of a narrow contest, losing to Lamb by 755 votes. Saccone then tried running for Pennsylvania’s 14th Congressional District a few months later, but lost to Guy Reschenthaler, getting only 44% of the vote there. With two losses in such a short period of time, it seems unclear what Saccone’s political future might be. As such, we’ll retire his profile at this time and profile a different wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 844-40, since this was established in July 2014.)


Aaron Bernstine

Welcome to what is the 844th original profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, where we’ll be discussing Aaron Bernstine, who has served in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives in District 10 since 2016, and in 2018, did not even face a Democratic challenger. He became infamous in his first year in office when about a week after the events in Charlottesville, he claimed he had someone sneak on his cattle ranch to vandalize it, and responded by posting a video of himself receiving tactical firearms training in how to operate automatic firearms. Four weeks later, with Charlottesville still on everyone’s mind, Bernstine posted a screed on Twitter defending his supposed First Amendment right to run over civil protesters should they be in front of his car. Which, y’know, is how Heather Heyer died, when some racist ***hole ran her over.

In subsequent tweets, Bernstine continued to call protesters “thugs” and “snowflakes” and vowed he “won’t be assaulted in the name of ‘free speech.'”

Why yes, his politics seem to be that he’s just an ***hole. But don’t just base that opinion on those two incidents, because his voting record already shows that as well, including how he co-sponsored a bill to require a funeral for aborted remains, his sponsorship of a bill to empower school security officers to arrest children, and his vote to allow domestic abusers to keep their firearms even after an order of protection is filed.

We’re going to continue to monitor Aaron Bernstine’s activities going forward, because after only four years on the political scene in Pennsylvania, he seems determined to make headlines for all the worst reasons.

[aja_christopher]

Well Bloombergs out, lol. Or else you'd have been disappointed. Fuck that guy.
Also, fuck Democrats for taking the money from a racist, bigoted, authoritarian, who was a Republican two minutes ago. Another reason I'll never give them money, they can use Bloombergs.

"Bloomberg gives $2 million to register black voters in key states"

"Fresh off his departure from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has poured $2 million into efforts to boost turnout by African-American voters in eight key states, an indication of his intention to continue bankrolling Democratic causes ahead of November's elections.

"Voter suppression efforts across the country have been a barely disguised effort to keep Black Americans and other Democratic-leaning voters from the polls," Bloomberg said in a statement on Monday. "I've always believed we need to make it easier for all citizens to register and vote, not harder."

The $2 million donation, as first reported by The Washington Post, will go to the group Collective Future. A Bloomberg aide said the former mayor signed off on the donation before he exited the race following Super Tuesday last week, and the funds were transferred to the group on Friday. The donation has been in the works for six weeks, the aide said.

Collective Future is the nonprofit arm of The Collective PAC, whose mission is to "fix the challenge of African American underrepresentation in elected seats of power throughout our nation."

Collective Future said in a release that the funds will be used to partner with civic groups and hire field organizers to boost voter registrations in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin, with the goal of registering 500,000 black voters.

"There is a critical need for Black voter engagement across the country in the 2020 election and beyond and we are deeply grateful to Mike Bloomberg for his partnership and dedication to this critical cause," Quentin James, president of The Collective, said in a statement. "His significant financial contribution will propel our work to historic levels and we are hopeful that this game-changing investment will be supported and replicated by those who embrace the need to advance the Black community."

After his disappointing showing on Super Tuesday, Bloomberg endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden and vowed to utilize his vast fortune to support his candidacy. The former mayor built a massive campaign apparatus during his brief three-month campaign, and planned to retain staffers in key swing states to aid in Biden's election effort.

Bloomberg, who is worth an estimated $56.1 billion, has doled out billions of dollars to support causes and candidates to further his political agenda over the years, including hundreds of millions to back Democratic candidates in congressional races in 2018. He spent upwards of $570 million on advertising alone during his campaign before dropping out last Wednesday.

"I entered the race for president to defeat Donald Trump. And today, I am leaving the race for the same reason, to defeat Donald Trump," he said when he announced he was dropping out. "Because staying in would make it more difficult to achieve that goal."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bloomberg...040210805.html

[WestPhillyPunisher]

If progressives fear Joe Biden will lose badly to Donald Trump if he secures the nomination, or ushers in the end of democracy as we know it should he win the election in November, then they'd better get off their asses, mobilize like there's no tomorrow and vote for Bernie Sanders today, and the rest of the primary season. Nothing more complicated than that. If they don't, as was seemingly the case back on Super Tuesday, then they'll have no one to blame but themselves if Sanders ends up losing.

[numberthirty]

"Bloomberg gives $2 million to register black voters in key states"

"Fresh off his departure from the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg has poured $2 million into efforts to boost turnout by African-American voters in eight key states, an indication of his intention to continue bankrolling Democratic causes ahead of November's elections.

"Voter suppression efforts across the country have been a barely disguised effort to keep Black Americans and other Democratic-leaning voters from the polls," Bloomberg said in a statement on Monday. "I've always believed we need to make it easier for all citizens to register and vote, not harder."

The $2 million donation, as first reported by The Washington Post, will go to the group Collective Future. A Bloomberg aide said the former mayor signed off on the donation before he exited the race following Super Tuesday last week, and the funds were transferred to the group on Friday. The donation has been in the works for six weeks, the aide said.

Collective Future is the nonprofit arm of The Collective PAC, whose mission is to "fix the challenge of African American underrepresentation in elected seats of power throughout our nation."

Collective Future said in a release that the funds will be used to partner with civic groups and hire field organizers to boost voter registrations in Alabama, Georgia, Florida, Michigan, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Wisconsin, with the goal of registering 500,000 black voters.

"There is a critical need for Black voter engagement across the country in the 2020 election and beyond and we are deeply grateful to Mike Bloomberg for his partnership and dedication to this critical cause," Quentin James, president of The Collective, said in a statement. "His significant financial contribution will propel our work to historic levels and we are hopeful that this game-changing investment will be supported and replicated by those who embrace the need to advance the Black community."

After his disappointing showing on Super Tuesday, Bloomberg endorsed former Vice President Joe Biden and vowed to utilize his vast fortune to support his candidacy. The former mayor built a massive campaign apparatus during his brief three-month campaign, and planned to retain staffers in key swing states to aid in Biden's election effort.

Bloomberg, who is worth an estimated $56.1 billion, has doled out billions of dollars to support causes and candidates to further his political agenda over the years, including hundreds of millions to back Democratic candidates in congressional races in 2018. He spent upwards of $570 million on advertising alone during his campaign before dropping out last Wednesday.

"I entered the race for president to defeat Donald Trump. And today, I am leaving the race for the same reason, to defeat Donald Trump," he said when he announced he was dropping out. "Because staying in would make it more difficult to achieve that goal."

https://www.yahoo.com/news/bloomberg...040210805.html

Here's what is so painfully obvious that it warrants being pointed out here...

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/26/u...donations.html

Michael Bloomberg Has Used His Fortune to Help Republicans, Too

The former mayor of New York poured in $11.7 million to help re-elect the Republican incumbent, Senator Pat Toomey, who had led an effort, albeit unsuccessful, to expand background checks for gun purchasers, a top priority of Mr. Bloomberg’s.

Mr. Toomey won by less than two percentage points, handing a key victory to the Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell: The Republicans held on to control of the chamber by two seats. At the time, it was the most expensive Senate race the country had ever seen, and Mr. Bloomberg’s money was one of the largest influxes of outside influence.

A review of Mr. Bloomberg’s giving shows that he has not only backed Republicans in competitive and pivotal races like Mr. Toomey’s, but that he has also sunk money into Republican primaries on behalf of McConnell allies. They include Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina — Mr. Bloomberg helped Mr. Graham in 2014 by giving $250,000 to a PAC supporting him — and the late Senator Thad Cochran of Mississippi, who in 2014 fought off a Tea Party insurgent by just a few thousand votes and had $250,000 in support from Mr. Bloomberg.

Almost twelve million that kept the Senate in Republican hands versus two million going into registering minority voters...

That math ain't all that hard to do.

Second...

The guy just blew through an amount of money right around "Idiotic..." on a Presidential run that went nowhere. Take a half a minute to think about what he spent to do so. Take another half a minute to realize that he could have just put the money he burned through directly into the hands of lower middle class/poor minority families all over this country.

[Mecegirl]

If progressives fear Joe Biden will lose badly to Donald Trump if he secures the nomination, or ushers in the end of democracy as we know it should he win the election in November, then they'd better get off their asses, mobilize like there's no tomorrow and vote for Bernie Sanders today, and the rest of the primary season. Nothing more complicated than that. If they don't, as was seemingly the case back on Super Tuesday, then they'll have no one to blame but themselves if Sanders ends up losing.

I've already seen comments on Reddit that it would be the best thing for the progressive movement if Biden looses. I do hope those people are bots. Infact I'm just gonna start calling people out the next time I see that sort of talk.

[jetengine]

As a guy outside looking in....

If you want Bernie as the nominee, vote for him. If he loses then vote for Biden. Because Bidens sure as hell more progressive then Trump, and if you dont vote your just giving it to him, which is gonna harm more people. And at the end of the day hurting more people isnt exactly progressive now is it ?

[worstblogever]

If progressives fear Joe Biden will lose badly to Donald Trump if he secures the nomination, or ushers in the end of democracy as we know it should he win the election in November, then they'd better get off their asses, mobilize like there's no tomorrow and vote for Bernie Sanders today, and the rest of the primary season. Nothing more complicated than that. If they don't, as was seemingly the case back on Super Tuesday, then they'll have no one to blame but themselves if Sanders ends up losing.

I don't know why more progressives don't see that it's highly possible to get Biden to come to the left. He has on a number of issues, including same sex marriage.

If it's him versus Trump, obviously vote Biden. And then keep the pressure on him to make sure he's a progressive president. Keep the pressure on Chuck Schumer to get rid of the filibuster and promote a progressive agenda. And keep the House doing what they're doing.

Because that was what didn't happen in 2009-2010. The high turnout of voters there to vote for Obama stayed home in the next mid-terms, and a thousand progressive dreams went right down the toilet with them. Had they turned out that year, and the House not flipped... well, this country would be very different right now.

Vote. Keep voting. And keep pressuring the party you vote for to vote in your interests, or find another candidate to replace them with.

[aja_christopher]

As a guy outside looking in....

If you want Bernie as the nominee, vote for him. If he loses then vote for Biden. Because Bidens sure as hell more progressive then Trump, and if you dont vote your just giving it to him, which is gonna harm more people. And at the end of the day hurting more people isnt exactly progressive now is it ?

It's not about being progressive -- it's about sabotaging other Democratic candidates because Sanders doesn't appeal to black voters.

Democracy and progress only matter to them if their chosen candidate wins.

It's also about fulfilling the needs of the Republican party by doing their work for them and attempting to sabotage Biden in the general election.

-----
"Trump and GOP mount coordinated campaign to paint Biden as senile"

The president settles on a schoolyard strategy to take out his likely general election opponnent.

President Donald Trump stood before about 500 of the Republican Party’s biggest patrons at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday and raised a topic few in the audience expected: Joe Biden’s mental capacity.

Trump walked the donors through a list of Biden’s recent verbal stumbles, such as his recent declaration that he was running for Senate and his assertion that 150 million Americans had been killed by gun violence since 2007. Trump questioned whether the former vice president had the mental stamina to sustain the rigors of a general election campaign.

With Biden emerging as the likely Democratic nominee, Trump has launched a concerted, near-daily campaign to raise doubts about the 77-year-old’s mental acuity. The president has been bolstered by a conservative echo chamber flooding social media with video clips highlighting Biden’s gaffes.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/0...-senile-124797

[Gray Lensman]

I don't know why more progressives don't see that it's highly possible to get Biden to come to the left. He has on a number of issues, including same sex marriage.

If it's him versus Trump, obviously vote Biden. And then keep the pressure on him to make sure he's a progressive president. Keep the pressure on Chuck Schumer to get rid of the filibuster and promote a progressive agenda. And keep the House doing what they're doing.

Because that was what didn't happen in 2009-2010. The high turnout of voters there to vote for Obama stayed home in the next mid-terms, and a thousand progressive dreams went right down the toilet with them. Had they turned out that year, and the House not flipped... well, this country would be very different right now.

Vote. Keep voting. And keep pressuring the party you vote for to vote in your interests, or find another candidate to replace them with.

I think Schumer needs a primary too. Or at the very least to not be in charge if the Senate flips, he doesn't even come across as half the leader Pelosi does.

[numberthirty]

I think Schumer needs a primary too. Or at the very least to not be in charge if the Senate flips, he doesn't even come across as half the leader Pelosi does.

Separate but related...

I think that there is a case to start putting a younger generation of future holders of leadership positions into place.

While we're pretty openly discussing that Sanders/Biden are up there, there's not exactly the same discussion of Congressional leadership. Add in that one of those folks just recently passed, and it seems like you should be at least thinking about the issue.

[numberthirty]

It's not about being progressive -- it's about sabotaging other Democratic candidates because Sanders doesn't appeal to black voters.

Democracy and progress only matter to them if their chosen candidate wins.

It's also about fulfilling the needs of the Republican party by doing their work for them and attempting to sabotage Biden in the general election.

Sanders couldn't build a winning coalition because all his supporters know how to do is insult and trash other Democrats and the party in general.

-----
"Trump and GOP mount coordinated campaign to paint Biden as senile"

The president settles on a schoolyard strategy to take out his likely general election opponnent.

President Donald Trump stood before about 500 of the Republican Party’s biggest patrons at his Mar-a-Lago resort on Friday and raised a topic few in the audience expected: Joe Biden’s mental capacity.

Trump walked the donors through a list of Biden’s recent verbal stumbles, such as his recent declaration that he was running for Senate and his assertion that 150 million Americans had been killed by gun violence since 2007. Trump questioned whether the former vice president had the mental stamina to sustain the rigors of a general election campaign.

With Biden emerging as the likely Democratic nominee, Trump has launched a concerted, near-daily campaign to raise doubts about the 77-year-old’s mental acuity. The president has been bolstered by a conservative echo chamber flooding social media with video clips highlighting Biden’s gaffes.

https://www.politico.com/news/2020/0...-senile-124797

Bloomberg must be on the level, but anyone left of "Center Right..." has to be working to bring "Business As Usual..." Democrats down...