All-purpose news and politics thread: Two Steps Beyond!

[Mister Mets]

Minnesota Democratic primary politics is fascinating.

Lori Swanson, the sitting attorney general failed to get the endorsement of the DFL, who also backed a state representative over a US representative for Governor.

ROCHESTER – Minnesota DFLers endorsed attorney and progressive activist Matt Pelikan for attorney general on Saturday after incumbent Lori Swanson unexpectedly dropped her bid for party backing.

Swanson left the DFL convention hall soon after. Spokesman Ben Wogsland later said she was “evaluating all of her options,” which could include running in the August primary. He noted that Swanson first won the attorney general seat in 2006 without the party’s endorsement.

Swanson narrowly led Pelikan with 52 percent support after the first round of balloting for the endorsement, but failed to reach the 60 percent needed to clinch it. She then dropped out.

Pelikan in his nomination speech went after Swanson, highlighting his progressive values and saying his top priorities would be “guns, drugs and antitrust.”

“A progressive leader does not have an A+ rating from the NRA,” Pelikan said, referring to Swanson’s 2010 endorsement by the National Rifle Association.

Swanson did not speak to the crowd before balloting, instead deferring to supporters. One, former Attorney General Mike Hatch, said Pelikan is not ready for the job.

“That was a shocker,” said Joe Kunkel, a retired political science professor and delegate from North Mankato who supported Swanson. He said it was a mistake for Swanson to not even speak to the crowd. “Maybe she wasn’t organized enough,” he said.

DFL Chairman Ken Martin called the outcome “surprising” but said the party would get behind all endorsed candidates.

Pelikan is an attorney in private practice in Minneapolis; his campaign received little attention since intraparty challenges to an incumbent are usually long shots. Still, Swanson has in the past faced public criticism from several prominent labor unions influential in DFL politics.

“Thank you for believing in a politics of hope, not fear,” Pelikan said after securing the endorsement.

Swanson decided to run for Governor, with a retiring congressman as her candidate for Lieutenant Governor.

Swanson announced Monday she will seek the DFL nomination for governor, along with running mate U.S. Rep. Rick Nolan. Nolan had previously announced he was retiring from Congress.

Swanson lost the party endorsement for a fourth term as attorney general at Saturday's Democratic State convention to newcomer Matt Pelikan. She dropped out of the race following a close first round of balloting.

Democrats endorsed state Rep. Erin Murphy and her running mate state Rep. Erin Maye Quade for governor. In addition to Swanson, U.S. Rep. Tim Walz has also filed to challenge Murphy in the August primary with running mate Peggy Flanagan.

"I am going to make one pledge and that's a pledge to the people of Minnesota to put their interests first," Swanson said. "We're not running against Tim or Erin. We're running for Minnesota, and we're running based on what we can offer to the people of Minnesota using the expertise we both have."

"Our goal is to put an end to the partisan divides and division and gridlock, and to offer Minnesota a problem-solvers administration," Nolan added.

Congressman Keith Ellison, the Vice-Chair of the DNC, is rumored to announce tomorrow that he'll run for Attorney General.

Rep. Keith Ellison (D-Minn.) is expected to make a last-minute entry into the race for Minnesota attorney general on Tuesday, according to two people familiar with his plans.

“I will make a decision tomorrow because it’s the filling deadline,” Ellison said, not disputing that he is likely to enter the election.

Ellison has been in Congress since 2007, and served as deputy chair of the Democratic National Committee since last year, as a leader of the Bernie Sanders wing of the party. But he’s been chafing for months at both roles: being in the minority in Congress and being subsumed to DNC Chairman Tom Perez, who beat him for the top job.

Ellison had looked at jumping into the AG race earlier in the year but passed on it after incumbent Lori Swanson skipped her own expected run for governor and seemed set to run for re-election. But then came a weekend of drama at the Minnesota Democrat-Farmer-Laborer convention: Swanson didn’t get a majority of support for reelection and jumped into the governor’s race on Monday.

All eyes quickly turned to Ellison. Beyond the reasons making him want to leave Washington are the reasons drawing him to the job: attorneys general have taken on major significance within the Democratic resistance to the Trump administration, and Ellison is eager to be a leader in that fight.

llison would also be seizing on the vacuum left by the sudden resignation of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman last month. Most Democratic attorneys general believe that with his political savvy and following, Ellison would very quickly vault to the front of the pack, alongside other active AGs like Massachusetts’ Maura Healey , Washington’s Bob Ferguson, Pennsylvania’s Josh Shapiro, North Carolina’s Josh Stein, and California’s Xavier Becerra. New Jersey‘s recently-installed Attorney General Gurbir Grewal is eager to take on a prominent role, too.

Ellison had been expected to file his paperwork by Monday afternoon but did not. He was deep in discussions about it through the day on Monday.

Sources familiar with the race expect that he’ll face a crowded primary, with up to five candidates running. But Ellison would enter with much higher name ID than any of the others, in addition to a network of supporters and donors that would likely be able to swamp other contenders.

A relatively young prominent Congressman considering a bid for state attorney general wouldn't be a sign of confidence in the Democratic party's ability to take the US House.

[Mister Mets]

What did Obama say or do that 'exacerbated racism' in the USA? You never answered that question.

The Dowd column wasn't about race relations under Obama. I view it as irrelevant to Santorum's comments, which were about race relations under Obama.

In the discussion, Santorum said that Obama typically took the anti-police side.

“Every time there was a controversy with someone of color involved, he took the side, many times, against the police,” Santorum said. “He did it over and over and over again. President Obama was to many people out there someone who could’ve brought this country together.”

This was a policy disagreement with Obama on his actions, rather than an expression of the idea that Obama being the first black President somehow hurt racial relations.

[numberthirty]

Man, it's getting to the point where they should just send Manafort to Gitmo to try to save him from himself.

Edit: Also worth noting that Rudy's prior "MVP" work looks like pee wee football compared to what he is doing now. You go, Rudy.

[Michael Watkins]

In the discussion, Santorum said that Obama typically took the anti-police side.



This was a policy disagreement with Obama on his actions, rather than an expression of the idea that Obama being the first black President somehow hurt racial relations.

it is until you explore the subtext. why does he think that Obama taking the side of the police would improve race relations?

[Kevinroc]

In the discussion, Santorum said that Obama typically took the anti-police side.



This was a policy disagreement with Obama on his actions, rather than an expression of the idea that Obama being the first black President somehow hurt racial relations.

“Every time there was a controversy with someone of color involved, he took the side, many times, against the police,” Santorum said. “He did it over and over and over again. President Obama was to many people out there someone who could’ve brought this country together.”

Notice that Santorum isn't providing actual examples of what he means. According to what you yourself quoted, Santorum merely said "he (Obama) took the side, many times, against the police."

What does that mean, exactly?

See, it's disguised to LOOK like a policy disagreement. But underneath the surface it is coded language meant to scare white people.

[JCAll]

He did lie about it afterwards, so there is stuff that he should apologize to her for.

His supporters also said nasty things about her.

At the time, it was seen as a standard affair. There wasn't as much focus on the power dynamics as there is now.

I'm not sure what a "standard" affair is. Would it have been if politics hadn't gotten involved?

By the end of the whole sordid mess, she was practically being paraded down the streets to discredit Clinton by his opponents in congress...while being called a lying witch fit to be burned at the stake by his supporters. She got torn apart by congress way worse than by Bill, who basically just kept his head down and denied everything...poorly...

Maybe that's why I assumed there was no hard feelings between them. They never spoke to eachother, and rarely spoke about eachother. Perhaps I've mistaken a lack of association for acceptance. I'm sure Bill does owe her an apology, the whole business was shitty.

I have no idea how this ended up back in the news cycle though. I need to look up what she's been doing recently.

[JCAll]

it is until you explore the subtext. why does he think that Obama taking the side of the police would improve race relations?

Does that circle around to the old "Condemning our racism justifies our racism thing"?

I mean, a black man can't call out cops for shooting unarmed black children. That just PROVES that black people are out to get them.

[numberthirty]

I have no idea how this ended up back in the news cycle though. I need to look up what she's been doing recently.

Because someone asked him if he thought he owed her an apology in an interview he did on Monday.

His answer was essentially "Everyone knows I was a victim."

I'm not sure what a "standard" affair is. Would it have been if politics hadn't gotten involved?

For one thing, someone in a more "Standard" affair doesn't suffer the consequences Ms. Lewinsky has. Nothing about what she went through was "Standard".

[KNIGHT OF THE LAKE]

I'm not sure what a "standard" affair is. Would it have been if politics hadn't gotten involved?

By the end of the whole sordid mess, she was practically being paraded down the streets to discredit Clinton by his opponents in congress...while being called a lying witch fit to be burned at the stake by his supporters. She got torn apart by congress way worse than by Bill, who basically just kept his head down and denied everything...poorly...

Maybe that's why I assumed there was no hard feelings between them. They never spoke to eachother, and rarely spoke about eachother. Perhaps I've mistaken a lack of association for acceptance. I'm sure Bill does owe her an apology, the whole business was shitty.

I have no idea how this ended up back in the news cycle though. I need to look up what she's been doing recently.

A standard affair is Bill Clinton cheats on wife with some random woman he met. The President of the United States having an affair with his 23 year old fresh out of college intern is something else.

I really think of the reaction of some college graduate interned at the White House this summer and Trump got caught hooking up with her.

Bill got a pass for something a CEO at any major company would lose their job over. Like Bob Igor and Bill Gates are stepping down if it comes out that they are sleeping with an intern. And yeah on multiple occasions she said she felt it was an abuse of power, that Bill mislead her about the nature of the rekationship, and that she was hung out to dry and made into a villain.

And to be totally honest, Bill Clinton really doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to relationships with women.

[Malvolio]

Well let's examine what Bill Clinton did that was wrong. 1. It was immoral. He cheated on his wife. So he owes Hillary an apology for that. 2. He showed poor judgment by getting oral sex in the Oval Office instead of say, renting a room. He owes the American people an apology for that. 3. It was unethical for him to have an affair with an employee, even if she was an unpaid intern. Ah, now we're getting somewhere. This is what he owes Lewinsky an apology for. Even if he never threatened to fire her, there's an implied relationship between a boss and employee that should preclude any sexual relationship.

[numberthirty]

Bill got a pass for something a CEO at any major company would lose their job over. Like Bob Igor and Bill Gates are stepping down if it comes out that they are sleeping with an intern. And yeah on multiple occasions she said she felt it was an abuse of power, that Bill mislead her about the nature of the rekationship, and that she was hung out to dry and made into a villain.

And to be totally honest, Bill Clinton really doesn’t deserve the benefit of the doubt when it comes to relationships with women.

At the very least, we are talking about a guy who was a fully grown adult and a young woman who seems to have had an affair with a teacher when she was in college.

While I'm not going to try to create some picture where she was completely innocent, one of the people in her relationship with Clinton cannot make a case that he had no view as to the bigger picture.

[Carabas]

In the discussion, Santorum said that Obama typically took the anti-police side.

That is what sane people do...

[worstblogever]

In 2015, 2016, and as well as 2017, "Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day" published profiles of Iowa State Senator Brad Zaun, a man with a record of stalking an ex-girlfriend, by banging on her windows to call her a slut, and a reputation for being so obnoxious that in spite of him winning the primary for Iowa’s 3rd Congressional District in the 2014 elections, the GOP used a rare technicality that he did not exceed the 35% threshold of votes, so they just gave the win to current Congressman David Young, who finished in fifth. Zaun believes life starts at conception, that climate change doesn’t exist, that gay couples shouldn’t marry, and somehow presents terrible math to claim the Affordable Care Act costs double what it actually does. Brad Zaun also turned heads when he defended his carrying a firearm into the Iowa state capitol, saying that he “didn’t want to end up like Gabby Giffords”, which is a really distasteful comparison (especially because Giffords wasn’t shot in a capitol building).

Just so far this year, Brad Zaun has voted for two separate fetal heartbeat bills, which would effectively ban abortion at six weeks, a time when most women don’t even yet realize they’re pregnant. That’s right, not once, but twice.

Zaun is not up for re-election until 2020.

[WestPhillyPunisher]

Trump Disinvites Philadelphia Eagles From White House Super Bowl Celebration

“They disagree with their President because he insists that they proudly stand for the National Anthem,” Trump tweeted about the Eagles players. I for one am proud of my Eagles who put principle over a shameless photo op for Dolt45. Good for them! Meanwhile....

**********

Philly Taunts ‘Fragile Egomaniac’ Trump Over Canceled Super Bowl Party

Most of the Eagles players weren’t going to attend anyway. To paraphrase a comment I saw on Twitter, Trump was the kid who invited 30 kids to his birthday party but cancelled like a spoiled brat when only 10 showed up. Fitting.

**********

Mueller Says Manafort Attempted To Tamper With Witnesses

The special counsel has asked for a judge to rescind or revise the former campaign chairman’s pretrial release. Regarding Manafort, to quote the esteemed Bugs Bunny....wotta maroon!

**********

Fox News Judicial Analyst Rips Trump’s Lawyers: ‘A Disgrace,’ ‘Harmful,’ ‘Sophomoric’

The former judge ruthlessly laid into the group of lawyers advising the president. Don't hold back, Andy! Tell us how you REALLY think!

**********

Fox News’ Shepard Smith Vents About ‘Frustrating’ Responses On Trump’s Actions

“This isn’t about politics at all.” It must be frustrating for Shep as one of the few lone dissenting voices in a wilderness of relentless 24/7 Trump slurping.

[Iron Maiden]

Cheating on a spouse? I certainly wouldn't.

I mean, usually after an affair, aren't you supposed to apologize to your wife, not your mistress?
If there is bad blood between the two, I'd hope they make peace at some point. But would perfectly understand neither ever seeing the other again.

I'm pretty sure Bill's penis has more to answer for that just his most famous exploit.

I don't think it ever cost Bill anything. It started a decades long media circus filled with screaming monkey's asses, but Bill basically went untouched. Assuming Hillary didn't have his balls mounted over the fireplace.

I wouldn't say that the Clintons were untouched. In parts of the interview I saw it's brought up they were $16 million in debt when they left the WH. I wouldn't say Bill came out untouched because we don't know how much it hurt to have his daughter know about all of this.


I think it's probably wise that he not have any more contact with Monica for the reason I have bolded. From the interviews and articles that she's written in Vanity Fair, I don't get the sense that she wants an apology. He did make a public apology so I think that's the most she can expect. I don't know if it would be a good idea for them to ever meet again. I think she really was in love and don't think she wants to cause any more harm to the family than she already has.