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

[worstblogever]

In 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and in 2019, that we published "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" profiles of the U.S. House Representative from Montana’s At-Large Congressional District, Greg Gianforte, who after several big losses in trying to become the next Governor of Montana. Having started Christian ministries that have bankrolled millions of dollars toward the construction of a the 20,000 square foot Dinosaur and Fossil Museum in Glendive, Montana, that asserts to its patrons that the Earth is only 6,000 years old, and there’s no way the skeletal remains of dinosaurs on display are millions of years old, as scientific carbon-dating technology would have you believe. No, the curators assure people passing through that the fossils are but 4,300 years old (which would mean dinosaurs roamed the Earth around the time of the pharoahs) and that there’s no proof of evolution, whatsoever.

Okay, maybe trying to willfully spread ignorance of science when you’re motivated by your faith on that subject doesn’t seem like it would be the most harmful thing, even in this day and age… it’s not like Greg Gianforte’s deeply held faiths are motivating him into any stupid policy decisions? Well, actually… he and his wife apparently lobbied the city of Bozeman, Montana to try and pass a city ordinance based on Indiana’s “religious freedom” laws that made it legal for Christians businesses to discriminate against the LGBTQ community. Gianforte is apparently dedicated enough to opposing LGBTQ rights that he also bankrolled the legal defense of Colorado baker Jack Phillips of Masterpiece Cakes, who wanted to refuse service to gay patrons (Phillips lost, of course), and further applauds Phillips for not opening his bakery on Halloween because “Christians should not promote Halloween”. If these bizarre policy calls based on his faith weren’t already troubling, there’s Greg Gianforte’s opinion on Social Security… we shouldn’t have it because he thinks “the concept of retirement is not biblical”, citing the fact that Noah built the Ark at the totally believable age of 600. Gianforte made a last ditch effort to beat Steve Bullock in the 2016 governor’s race by trying to gin up fears over Syrian refugees, and lying and claiming Bullock had been restricting gun rights (while he had actually EXPANDED gun rights in Montana as governor.) Gianforte got absolutely trounced by Bullock in their debate, showing little understanding of the law in many instances, and providing only tired and cliche Republican talking points devoid of facts. Gianforte, however, maintained support of Donald Trump even after he boasted about getting away with sexually assaulting women… which would pay off later.

Because, just when we thought we had our last entry about Gianforte… Congressman Ryan Zinke was picked to be a member of Donald Trump’s Cabinet of Horrors, opening up a spot in Congress in a special election race that wouldn’t you know it, Gianforte would run for. And even though Montana still leans extremely to the right, and the Democratic candidate, Rob Quist, had some sketchy details in his background, it was nip and tuck as the last few days to that special election in Montana, with Donald Trump endorsing Gianforte, because he tolerated Trump’s sexual assault in the build up to the previous election. And… then things got weird. Weird even for a guy who thinks Jesus was fending of T-Rexes. You see, on the eve of the election, Greg Gianforte lost his goddamned mind, picked up a reporter from the Guardian, Ben Jacobs , body-slammed him and screamed at him.

This is normally unacceptable behavior for a politician, and more fitting for how a heel WWE wrestler would resolve being confronted with questions they don’t like. Well, Gianforte was charged with assault, pleaded guilty to avoid jail time that would make him a rather ineffective Congressman, and then spent most of his few months in office dodging a court’s order that he still would need to take a mug shot. Spoiler Alert: He still had to get a mug shot.

• February 14th, 2018: Gianforte celebrates Valentine’s Day by blurting out as many conspiracy theories as he can in an interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo to try to cast doubt on the Mueller investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, and the Trump campaign’s possible collusion with them.
• January 23rd, 2019: Rep. Gianforte voted against HR 648, because he was gleeully enjoying the longest government shutdown in history.
• February 28th, 2019: Greg Gianforte 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. Gianforte 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: Greg Gianforte 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: Gianforte votes against The Equality Act, which would have prevented discrimination towards Americans based on their gender identity or sexual orientation.
• June 4th, 2019: Rep. Gianforte votes against the Dreamers Act, because he’s too xenophobic and partisan to care about immigration reform.
• July 16th, 2019: Greg Gianforte can’t be bothered to vote 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”.
• December 3rd, 2019: Rep. Gianforte votes against a resolution to disallow Russia from re-entering the G7 and makes it the G8 until it leaves Ukraine.
• December 18th, 2019: Gianforte ignores his Congressional duty to hold a president who has been proven to commit high crimes and misdemeanors accountable and votes against the impeachment of Donald Trump.
• May 15th, 2020: Gianforte votes against the HEROES Act, to further support the healthcare industry and citizens affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Only a term and a half into his Congressional career, Greg Gianforte is opting to again take another crack at running for Governor of Montana in 2020. Montanans will decide in about twelve days if having the chief executive of your state with a criminal record for going in might be a bad idea or not… as investigators are also looking into whether or not Gianforte’s fanatical dumb ass committed insider trading while a member of the House, trying to profit off of the Covid-19 pandemic. Which, considering he has that inside information, you’d think he would follow the recommendations of health experts and wear a mask and not attend large gatherings of people, like when he showed up at a local concert on October 3rd to lead the audience in the Pledge of Allegiance… and then be surprised when there was a Covid-19 spike traced back to the event.

That’s probably a lot of the reason why the race is a virtual dead heat between Greg Gianforte and his Democratic opponent, the highly experienced Greg Cooney. We’re hoping that Montanans continue to trust a Democrat in their governor’s mansion rather than an anti-science rage monster.

[Robotman]

Trump did better than the first debate, but that’s not difficult as the first one was one of the worst debate performances ever. I thought Biden did really well. He got flustered a bit towards the end but overall I thought he had a very strong showing.

Trump needed a grand slam and for Biden to completely **** the bed. That didn’t happen. Though I’m sure his cult members will say it was the greatest oratory display of all time. Wait, that’s too big of a word. More like, “Trump speak good!” Anywho, I don’t think this changed anyone’s mind one way or another. A push is a victory for Biden.

Kristen Welker was terrible and she let Trump walk all over her.

[numberthirty]

Trump did better than the first debate, but that’s not difficult as the first one was one of the worst debate performances ever. I thought Biden did really well. He got flustered a bit towards the end but overall I thought he had a very strong showing.

Trump needed a grand slam and for Biden to completely **** the bed. That didn’t happen. Though I’m sure his cult members will say it was the greatest oratory display of all time. Wait, that’s too big of a word. More like, “Trump speak good!” Anywho, I don’t think this changed anyone’s mind one way or another. A push is a victory for Biden.

Kristen Welker was terrible and she let Trump walk all over her.

That cannot be the case.

I did not see Bluto say anything about if it was over or not.

[worstblogever]

Trump did better than the first debate, but that’s not difficult as the first one was one of the worst debate performances ever. I thought Biden did really well. He got flustered a bit towards the end but overall I thought he had a very strong showing.

Trump needed a grand slam and for Biden to completely **** the bed. That didn’t happen. Though I’m sure his cult members will say it was the greatest oratory display of all time. Wait, that’s too big of a word. More like, “Trump speak good!” Anywho, I don’t think this changed anyone’s mind one way or another. A push is a victory for Biden.

Kristen Welker was terrible and she let Trump walk all over her.

Biden did better than a push. Multiple polls on the debate are coming out that give it to Biden by double digits.

[The Chou Lives]

That cannot be the case.

I did not see Bluto say anything about if it was over or not.

The MAGA cultists on YouTube are still praising their God Emperor ( it’s what they do.)

And yeah Trump is a monster, his GOP party are monsters. They split apart families and kept the kids ( despite you know Qannon. Guess they only care about American kids.)

They are so brazen now because they are being this harsh to “ scare people away from coming here.”

And the truth is some of these families will never unite, they cake here seeking shelter from a bad spot ( meaning mom or sad is in the home land, in prison or murdered) and well yeah.

Hell in Red states like South Carolina and Arizona, the Child morality rates are pretty damn high on a national level. ( Eapecialy western coast Native American reserves, know due to a in law uncle who is Native American. Hell I have 3 tribes in my veins and when I think of anti immigrants. I wish to kick the bad white devils on a boat back to fucking Europe. How about Eastern Europe to deal with the real commies. Only the bad ones of course.)


But yeah they seem to have a hard on for kids. Hell Trump admitted he pretty much got his youngest son exposed to Covid.

Last note for now: Trump is of course full of shot. His mother with a immigrant from Scotland, so not us born ciziten. Only was due to marrying dad.

Also he gets his racism from his dad. He was really shitty to people of color living in his homes. ( Hell Woody Guthrie, guy who inspired Bob Dylan wrote shut about Trumps dad and how bad he was.)

Well like father like son I guess.

Edit: The environment thing was clearly Biden too. Trump does not know about carbon emissions. And bragging about the money the families working near his plants due to amount of money they make.

Great your policy helps make cash. But what about their health?!

You claimed you wanted clean air and water, that’s bull **** once again. As sure these workers/families may get cash, but they are dying from a **** ton of cancer and the living area is turning toxic.

America has gone up in carbon and the water is 23% more toxic.

He is like a Captain Pkanet villain in regards to climate change.

[drwho]

I really am looking forward to the Republican hearings coming over hunter biden and the emails. I want them to be treated just like trump was treated by the Russian hoax. Also think it's funny how some are saying conservatives are in another reality. Democrats are too far gone. No such thing as uniting a nation when half the people want different things. Also think calling trump voters racist is offensive.

[JackDaw]

Kristen Welker was terrible and she let Trump walk all over her.

Not seen it but BBC report that she did really well.

[JCAll]

People not suggesting alternatives isn't the cause of this administration planning and implementing a heartlessly cruel policy. The administration has stated on record that the plan was purposely devised to be cruel.
An alternative bipartisan plan was submitted to Trump back in 2016. He rejected it in favor of this ongoing national disgrace we've had for the last four years.

"Listen, I know people have a problem with our controversial 'Throwing Puppies into a Big Ditch Filled with Fire' Policy, but what alternatives are you offering?"

"You could stop. You could stop doing that. That's the alternative."

[numberthirty]

...

Kristen Welker was terrible and she let Trump walk all over her.

Not seen it but BBC report that she did really well.

On the one hand, she didn't let it turn into "I Know You Are, But What Am I?..."

On the other hand, she could have channeled a little bit of Martin and it would not have hurt anyone...

[Robotman]

Biden did better than a push. Multiple polls on the debate are coming out that give it to Biden by double digits.

I just meant a push in the sense that it shouldn’t have major repercussions on the outcome of the election. Undecided voters probably won’t get some huge revelation from this debate. I personally think Biden won. Just on the topic of health care, Biden laid out an actual agenda while Trump said what he’s been saying for 4 years, “we have a beautiful plan in the works. It’s gonna be great.”

[numberthirty]

I just meant a push in the sense that it shouldn’t have major repercussions on the outcome of the election. Undecided voters probably won’t get some huge revelation from this debate. I personally think Biden won. Just on the topic of health care, Biden laid out an actual agenda while Trump said what he’s been saying for 4 years, “we have a beautiful plan in the works. It’s gonna be great.”

While anything could happen, I tend to agree there.

[Iron Maiden]

I just meant a push in the sense that it shouldn’t have major repercussions on the outcome of the election. Undecided voters probably won’t get some huge revelation from this debate. I personally think Biden won. Just on the topic of health care, Biden laid out an actual agenda while Trump said what he’s been saying for 4 years, “we have a beautiful plan in the works. It’s gonna be great.”

Trump never has any plans to lay out in his rally speeches or in these debates. His zombie followers are too brainwashed to realize that. One thing I wish Biden were stronger on in his replies is how Mitch McConnell has been sitting on another aid package in the Senate since May. And the reason Obama admin didn't accomplish as much as they could have was the GOP made a surge and gained a majority in Congress in his second term. Biden didn't state that strongly enough I think.

[Iron Maiden]

Kristen Welker was terrible and she let Trump walk all over her.

Have to disagree. It's hard to cut someone off like Trump who just keeps talking over you but she definitely had a better control of things than Chris Wallace. Trump didn't eat up time with his rants. But maybe because someone in Trump's camp was able to get him to realize his obnoxiousness didn't help in the first debate.

[worstblogever]

I just meant a push in the sense that it shouldn’t have major repercussions on the outcome of the election. Undecided voters probably won’t get some huge revelation from this debate. I personally think Biden won. Just on the topic of health care, Biden laid out an actual agenda while Trump said what he’s been saying for 4 years, “we have a beautiful plan in the works. It’s gonna be great.”

Ah, I see.

Yeah, there aren't a lot of undecideds out there to nab.

Trump's more likely to get election day voters than Biden has had luck with early voters. And had Trump not cleared the incredibly low bar of "better than last time", I think they might have thrown the towel in on him and not shown up to vote for him.

Which, for Trump, I believe it's a lost cause at this point with eleven days to go. But if his voters stay home and don't bother? That would have been a killing blow to a lot of GOP Senate candidates and other Republicans down ballot.

[kidfresh512]

Trump never has any plans to lay out in his rally speeches or in these debates. His zombie followers are too brainwashed to realize that. One thing I wish Biden were stronger on in his replies is how Mitch McConnell has been sitting on another aid package in the Senate since May. And the reason Obama admin didn't accomplish as much as they could have was the GOP made a surge and gained a majority in Congress in his second term. Biden didn't state that strongly enough I think.

I agree with this. Biden could have helped the Senate campaigns a bit here getting digs in more clearly and strongly that trump literally flip flopped on no more aid at all, well ok some aid. To undercutting Mnuchin during the negotiations. He actually could have gotten trump to undercut him again on stage possibly. Hammer home the GOP under Mitch moves like lightning for a judge appointment but they didn't do anything more on aid till they saw the polls everywhere not favoring them on Covid response