All purpose news and politics thread part VI: This Is Not The Time For Posing

[Tami]

VIDEO: Sarah Ferguson interviews Sidney Powell [Australia ABC News]

It's bizzare and kinda amusing in a twisted sort of way.

[Tami]

The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election

A weird thing happened right after the Nov. 3 election: nothing.

The nation was braced for chaos. Liberal groups had vowed to take to the streets, planning hundreds of protests across the country. Right-wing militias were girding for battle. In a poll before Election Day, 75% of Americans voiced concern about violence.

Instead, an eerie quiet descended. As President Trump refused to concede, the response was not mass action but crickets. When media organizations called the race for Joe Biden on Nov. 7, jubilation broke out instead, as people thronged cities across the U.S. to celebrate the democratic process that resulted in Trump’s ouster.

There was a conspiracy unfolding behind the scenes, one that both curtailed the protests and coordinated the resistance from CEOs. Both surprises were the result of an informal alliance between left-wing activists and business titans. The pact was formalized in a terse, little-noticed joint statement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO published on Election Day. Both sides would come to see it as a sort of implicit bargain–inspired by the summer’s massive, sometimes destructive racial-justice protests–in which the forces of labor came together with the forces of capital to keep the peace and oppose Trump’s assault on democracy.

The handshake between business and labor was just one component of a vast, cross-partisan campaign to protect the election–an extraordinary shadow effort dedicated not to winning the vote but to ensuring it would be free and fair, credible and uncorrupted. For more than a year, a loosely organized coalition of operatives scrambled to shore up America’s institutions as they came under simultaneous attack from a remorseless pandemic and an autocratically inclined President. Though much of this activity took place on the left, it was separate from the Biden campaign and crossed ideological lines, with crucial contributions by nonpartisan and conservative actors. The scenario the shadow campaigners were desperate to stop was not a Trump victory. It was an election so calamitous that no result could be discerned at all, a failure of the central act of democratic self-governance that has been a hallmark of America since its founding.

[Tendrin]

Just a reminder of what the 'no critical race theory' crap is really about.

https://twitter.com/fawfulfan/status...18255295279112

[4saken1]

Just a reminder of what the 'no critical race theory' crap is really about.

https://twitter.com/fawfulfan/status...18255295279112

The irony is palpable.

[4saken1]

GOP Congressman Says He Wants to Bust Out Jan. 6 ‘Political Prisoners’

I imagine one of the first acts of the next Republican President will be to pardon any of them that are still incarcerated.

[Tami]

Corporate America launches massive lobbying blitz to kill key parts of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion economic plan

A torrent of political groups representing some of the country’s most influential corporations — including ExxonMobil, Pfizer, and the Walt Disney Company — is laying the groundwork for a massive lobbying blitz to stop Congress from enacting significant swaths of President Biden’s $3.5 trillion economic agenda.

The emerging opposition appears to be vast, spanning drug manufacturers, big banks, tech titans, major retailers and oil-and-gas giants. In recent weeks, top Washington organizations representing these and other industries have started strategizing behind the scenes, seeking to battle back key elements in Democrats proposed overhaul to federal health care, education and safety net programs.

Among the most active is the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which is in the early stages of putting together an economywide coalition to coordinate the fight against the still-forming economic package, including its significant price tag, policy scope and potential for tax increases.

In a sign of the obstacles Democrats already face, the U.S. Chamber last week took a firm stand against reconciliation, promising to do “do everything we can” to prevent Congress from adopting the package in full. The group’s president and chief executive, Suzanne Clark, issued the statement hours after the House adopted the $3.5 trillion budget that enabled Democrats to begin crafting tax and spending provisions — an approach, she said, that would “halt America’s fragile economic recovery.”

The Chamber’s opposition marked a major shift in ton from earlier this summer, when the business lobby locked arms with Democrats to help advance another centerpiece of Biden’s economic agenda. The group threw its full weight behind a bipartisan Senate package to improve the nation’s roads, bridges, pipes, ports and Internet connections, arguing the roughly $1 trillion in fixes were long overdue.

Other corporate interests are training their sights on Democrats’ plans to pay for the reconciliation bill through tax increases on businesses. Biden has proposed to raise rates to 28 percent from 21 percent, along with a slew of additional changes targeting profits earned overseas. The move has spawned outrage from companies that had spent significant sums four years ago to secure more favorable tax rules under President Donald Trump.

The list of opponents includes the RATE Coalition, a group who currently counts support from Capital One, Disney, FedEx, Lowe’s and Lockheed Martin. Over the next few months, the group is preparing a seven-figure digital advertising campaign to oppose Democrats’ plans and highlight businesses that might be hurt in the process, according to a person with knowledge of the effort, who requested anonymity to describe the planning.

[Jack Dracula]

Corporate America launches massive lobbying blitz to kill key parts of Democrats’ $3.5 trillion economic plan

Biden Administration: “We want to rebuild and improve the US infrastructure and enable economic growth.”

American Corporations: “Hooray! Great idea! We’re going to make more profit!”

Biden Administration:”We want you to help pay for it.”

American Corporations: “What? That’s a terrible idea! We have to stop this!”

[worstblogever]

Some breaking news from the L.A. Times regarding potential grift from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on behalf of his in-laws:

A company owned by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy’s in-laws won more than $7 million in no-bid and other federal contracts at U.S. military installations and other government properties in California based on a dubious claim of Native American identity by McCarthy’s brother-in-law, a Times investigation has found.

The prime contracts, awarded through a federal program designed to help disadvantaged minorities, were mostly for construction projects at the Naval Air Weapons Station China Lake in McCarthy’s Bakersfield-based district, and the Naval Air Station Lemoore in nearby Kings County.

Vortex Construction, whose principal owner is William Wages, the brother of McCarthy’s wife, Judy, received a total of $7.6 million in no-bid and other prime federal contracts since 2000, The Times found.

Tribal leaders in the area are disputing McCarthy's in-laws alleged Native American ancestry.

On Twitter, from Michael Harriot:

I’m sure @GOPLeader
had nothing to do with his in-laws lying about their whiteness to win $7.6 million in no-bid contracts at a naval base in his district that just happened to get earmarks he created

It’s just funny, considering how much he hates “gov’t handouts”

Remember, we're talking about the same party OUTRAGED about Elizabeth Warren believing she had heritage, without benefits... what might they say about McCarthy's in-laws having him create a loophole so they could swipe $7 million in taxpayer dollars?

[Jack Dracula]

Some breaking news from the L.A. Times regarding potential grift from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on behalf of his in-laws:



Tribal leaders in the area are disputing McCarthy's in-laws alleged Native American ancestry.

On Twitter, from Michael Harriot:




Remember, we're talking about the same party OUTRAGED about Elizabeth Warren believing she had heritage, without benefits... what might they say about McCarthy's in-laws having him create a loophole so they could swipe $7 million in taxpayer dollars?

I predict a deafening silence.

[worstblogever]

I predict a deafening silence.

Maybe. I could see someone like Jim Jordan maybe turning on him in an effort to take his place and try to set himself up to become the next Speaker.

[Mister Mets]

Some breaking news from the L.A. Times regarding potential grift from House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy on behalf of his in-laws:



Tribal leaders in the area are disputing McCarthy's in-laws alleged Native American ancestry.

On Twitter, from Michael Harriot:




Remember, we're talking about the same party OUTRAGED about Elizabeth Warren believing she had heritage, without benefits... what might they say about McCarthy's in-laws having him create a loophole so they could swipe $7 million in taxpayer dollars?

This isn't breaking news. The article is from 2018.

I suspect it popped up again on Twitter because there was a discussion about the unusual circumstances under which McCarthy decide not to follow Boehner as Speaker a few years back.

Politicians are not responsible for the actions of their siblings' spouses, but an investigator can look into if there's any evidence McCarthy advised his brother in law to do anything illegal in 1998, when he was a congressional staffer.

[SUPERECWFAN1]

Thanks Babyblob, this isn't is larger than any political party. This is about a core belief of our nation, never leaving another behind. Yes there have been times when it's been impossible because we've been under attack forced to retreat...but this isn't that. So worried about their fate...how they must feel.

I hate to break this to you. But we have left soldiers behind at times in War zones. In fact there are still nearly 1600 US Military and civilian personnel still not accounted for from Vietnam War. And this is 40+ years later ! Its sad for sure and many don't get recovered from it or found.

Yes the tag line in films and more is WE NEVER LEAVE ANOTHER BEHIND ...but at times sadly it doesn't happen and we can likely bring up World Wars that lost people never found or recovered.

It sucks for sure. Its not good , but its part of our real history.

[Mister Mets]

I hate to break this to you. But we have left soldiers behind at times in War zones. In fact there are still nearly 1600 US Military and civilian personnel still not accounted for from Vietnam War. And this is 40+ years later ! Its sad for sure and many don't get recovered from it or found.

Yes the tag line in films and more is WE NEVER LEAVE ANOTHER BEHIND ...but at times sadly it doesn't happen and we can likely bring up World Wars that lost people never found or recovered.

It sucks for sure. Its not good , but its part of our real history.

There's a difference between live Americans and deceased soldiers whose remains were never found.

There were some conspiracy theories of live prisoners remaining in Vietnam after the war ended but a Senate committee led by John McCain and John Kerry in 1991-1993 found no credible evidence of this, despite Rambo: First Blood Part 2 suggesting otherwise.

https://irp.fas.org/congress/1993_rpt/pow-exec.html

[worstblogever]

On this date, in both 2014, as well as in 2015, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiled Steve Wiles, an anti-gay candidate for North Carolina State Senate in 2014 who just so happened to have once worked as a drag queen named Mona Sinclair at a gay bar. Once the media got wind of that little detail, the amount of hypocrisy assured that he would be a laughingstock on the left, and a pariah on the right. Wiles optimistically stayed in the race through the primary, perhaps hoping his distant past wouldn’t come back to haunt him, but he finished third, over sixteen points off the winner, Joyce Krawiec. He has since only intermittently appeared on social media, making no mention of politics whatsoever.

In both 2016, 2017, 2018, as well as 2019, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” presented our original profile of the now U.S. House Representative for Florida’s 26th Congressional District, Carlos Curbelo, who was barely elected in 2014 with 51% of the vote in the 2014 elections over Democratic incumbent Joe Garcia. And while in his very short time in the limelight, Curbelo has been dogged by ethics complaints. In July of 2015, he suggested that Donald Trump was not sincere in his pursuit of the GOP nomination for president, but was actually “a phantom candidate recruited by the left to create this entire political circus”. Other than Curbelo’s wacky conspiracy theory about Trump, we have to report out the time that Curbelo, a grown man, decided to hop onto one of those Hoverboards around Christmas of 2015, and wrecked himself before he checked himself, earning a broken arm in the process. Carlos Curbelo knew he was going to have a hard time hanging on for a third term in office with a predicted Blue Wave headed his way in 2018 and started trying to improve his chances by arguing with Rep. Justin Amash of Michigan, arguing that he was the first Republican in Congress to discuss impeaching Donald Trump. Mind you, he still might believe he’s a secret Democrat sent to sabotage the GOP, especially because Curbelo runs a political PAC that supports immigration reform and impotently criticized the Trump administration’s family separation policy (which is a pretty low bar to clear). Again, the devil’s in the details, as Curbelo’s PAC has repeatedly given money to Republican candidates who, shock of shocks, take his money and then oppose immigration anyway, because it’s all a bunch of grift with the GOP these days. That “moderate” posture didn’t due Carlos Curbelo much good in 2018 when he faced off with Ecuadorian immigrant Debbie Murcasel-Powell, who sent him packing with only 49% of the vote to show for it.

On this date in 2020, “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day” profiled George Buck, a candidate for the U.S. House of Representative for Florida’s 13th Congressional District in both 2018 and in 2020. In the former matchup, he was blown out by former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist. So in 2020, with several new challengers coming to the fore in the GOP primary, we wanted to cement his status with GOP voters by, oh, y’know… sending out a fundraising letter where he was calling for sitting Congresswomen Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, Ayanna Pressley, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to be hanged as traitors. Specifically, he also went full conspiracy theorist and claimed Rep. Omar was a “Qatari asset”.If you weren’t clear just based off of that this man is a raging bigot, he called for a Constitutional amendment barring immigrants from running for Congress, which, surprise, would have excluded one of his primary opponents from running against him. Buck’s extremism was enough to cause House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and other GOP leaders to pull all financial support from his campaign, yet he still ended up finishing third in the GOP Primary in 2020 with a full 25% of the vote. As he hopefully will NEVER reach office, we will set aside his profile at this time, however, to cover another wacky Republican today instead. (Current crazy/stupid scoreboard, is now 1018-50, since this was established in July 2014.


Jessi Melton

Welcome to what is the 1018th original profile here at “Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day”, where we’ll be profiling Jessi Melton, who was a 2020 candidate for U.S. House of Representatives in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District. She was also one of the latest examples we have of people in the center of the Venn diagram of “2020 GOP Congressional candidate” and “Qanon conspiracy theory supporter”, but she was a bit more dedicated to it than just posting hashtags or the motto. Melton On February 13, 2020, Melton appeared on the YouTube channel of InTheMatrixxx, a major Qanon account whose entire channel was devoted to the conspiracy theory (now banned from that platform, obviously, but it’s still a podcast). Melton promoted that appearance on her Twitter account, mentioning the “Q movement.” During the show, Melton was asked if she “knew about Q”, and she answered, “I mean, I know you’re kind of just similar to me. I mean, you call it like you see it. And a lot of that are supposed to be things we don’t speak of.” Melton praised the channel as a “pro-republic show” that was getting “awareness out there,” and talked openly about welcoming the hosts at one of her fundraisers. In June 2020, Melton followed up on that idea, having one of the hosts at an event of hers showing a photo of them together on her Twitter account, writing, “Thanks for coming my friend.”

Jessi Melton lost in the GOP Primary in Florida’s 22nd Congressional District, losing to James Pruden by about 1900 votes but pulling down 30% overall. She did not, shall we say, “come back to reality” once her political aspirations were thwarted, getting flagged by Twitter by posting false information about Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez in June 2020, and later in the month tried posting anti-mask propaganda, lying and claiming that wearing masks causes “fungal infections and pneumonia”.

She also had a habit of posting violent suggestions on her Twitter page, like advising people to own AR-15s for “shooting looters” (ah, non-judicial executions, always a great suggestion) and gave out parenting tips like giving kids “a proper ass whoopin’.”

Then the press really started scrutinizing her, and found out she had a felony DWI arrest, posted support for notorious anti-Semitic actor Mel Gibson and calling one of his Jewish co-stars an “oven dogger” (a Holocaust reference), and that endorsements she was touting from both the Republican Jewish Coalition and Gov. Ron DeSantis were non-existent.

Mercifully, Melton melted down enough that she has now been banned from Twitter, and hopefully that eliminates any chance of her every being elected.
 

[SUPERECWFAN1]

There's a difference between live Americans and deceased soldiers whose remains were never found.

There were some conspiracy theories of live prisoners remaining in Vietnam after the war ended but a Senate committee led by John McCain and John Kerry in 1991-1993 found no credible evidence of this, despite Rambo: First Blood Part 2 suggesting otherwise.

https://irp.fas.org/congress/1993_rpt/pow-exec.html

I do know that during the 1950s in Korean War a soldier did cross over to North Korea and lived his life there. So I know its doubtful given that report. But we saw it then and its possible.

But this isn't just dead Mets. Its the missing etc. Those who either died or sadly held. I give credit to Kerry and McCain but the point is...a lot never come home.

Either dead , missing or conspiracy theory living there.