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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 7 months

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

SEP 22, 2023

The Senate has confirmed three top defense leaders. Last night it confirmed Air Force General Charles Q. Brown Jr. to replace Army General Mark A. Milley as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff when he retires at the end of the month. Today, it confirmed General Randy A. George as Army chief of staff and General Eric M. Smith as Marine Corps commandant.

The Senate filled the positions at the top of our military by working around the hold extremist senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has put on more than 300 military promotions, allegedly because he objects to the government’s policy of providing leave and travel allowance for service members who have to travel to obtain abortions.

Jennifer Rubin of the Washington Post focused on the House Republicans today, though, when she wrote: “The GOP completely gone off its rocker—incapable of passing House spending, ranting and raving at AG, cooking up ludicrous and baseless impeachment, unable to greet Zelensky with joint session. This is not normal. This is egregious. You'd think the reporting would reflect it.”

Indeed, the House Republicans remain unable even to agree to talk about funding the government, let alone actually passing the appropriations bills Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) agreed to four months ago. Today, right-wing extremists in the House blocked a procedural vote over a Pentagon funding bill, keeping what is normally an easily passed bipartisan bill from even reaching the floor for debate. McCarthy acknowledged to reporters that he is frustrated. “This is a whole new concept of individuals who just want to burn the whole place down. It doesn’t work.”

The extremists do indeed appear unconcerned about the effects of their refusal to fund the government, and since they have the five or six votes they need to sink the measures McCarthy wants to pass with only Republican votes, this handful of representatives are the ones deciding whether the government will shut down.

McCarthy could pass clean funding bills through the House whenever he wishes, but he refuses. To do so would mean working with Democrats, and that would spark a vote to throw him out of the speakership. And so, rather than keep the members in Washington, D.C., to work on the appropriations bills over the weekend, McCarthy recognized he did not have the votes he needs and sent them home.

The extremists are bolstered by former president Donald Trump, who posted on his social media platform today that the Republicans in Congress “can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government…. This is also the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots. They failed on the debt limit, but they must not fail now. Use the power of the purse and defend the Country!”

Experts say shutting down the government would not, in fact, end the former president’s legal troubles, but he is actually doing more than that here: he is trying to assert dominance over the country. As Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) said: “Let’s be clear about what the former president is saying here. House Republicans should shut down the government unless the prosecutions against him are shut down. He would deny paychecks to millions of working families & devastate the US economy, all in the service of himself.”

Extremist leader Representative Matt Gaetz (R-FL) responded to Trump’s statement with his own: “Trump Opposes the Continuing Resolution” to fund the government,” he wrote. “Hold the line.” Ron Filipkowski of MeidasTouch noted: “House Republicans refuse to fund the government to protect Donald Trump.”

Trump’s accusation that President Biden is weaponizing the Justice Department against him and others who tried to overturn the results of the 2020 election is the opposite of what has really happened. Not only has Biden stayed scrupulously out of the Justice Department’s business—leaving in place the Trump-appointed leader of the investigation into Biden’s son Hunter, for example—but also we received more proof yesterday that it was Trump, not Biden, who weaponized the Justice Department against his enemies.

Nora Dennehy, who abruptly resigned from former special counsel John Durham’s investigation into the origins of the FBI’s investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election, explained in her confirmation hearing to Connecticut’s state supreme court yesterday that she quit because Trump’s Department of Justice was tainted by politics. Before joining the probe, she said, “I had been taught and spent my entire career at [the] Department of Justice conducting any investigation in an objective and apolitical manner.”

But Trump and his loyalists expected Durham’s investigation to prove that there was a “deep state” conspiracy against him, and then–attorney general William Barr seemed to be working to support that fantasy, even though there was no evidence of it (as shown by the fact the investigation ultimately fizzled). Barr was, she thought, violating DOJ guidelines in his public comments about the investigation and in his consideration of releasing an interim report before the 2020 election.

“I simply couldn’t be part of it,” Dannehy said. “So I resigned.”

The resistance of the extremists to McCarthy’s leadership is spilling over into foreign affairs as well. Today, Ukraine president Volodymyr Zelensky was in Washington, D.C., where he met with President Biden at the White House and with leaders at the Pentagon, and spoke to a closed-door session for the Senate. But he did not speak to the House of Representatives. While McCarthy met with him privately, the speaker maintained that “we just didn’t have time” for him to address the House.

As part of their demands, House extremists want to cut funding for Ukraine’s defense. This would, of course, work to strengthen Russian president Vladimir Putin’s hand in his war against Ukraine. Earlier this month, former Central Intelligence Agency director John Brennan told MSNBC that it is “absolutely essential” to Putin that Trump win back the White House in 2024. “I think it is Putin's main lifeline in order to find some way to salvage what has been a debacle in Ukraine for him," Brennan said. "If Trump is able to return to the White House...Putin could have a like-minded individual that he can work with, detrimental to U.S. interests certainly and detrimental to Western interests overall.” The intelligence community assesses that Putin worked to help Trump in the 2016 and 2020 elections, and is pushing pro-Russia and anti-Ukraine propaganda now.

Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III assured Zelensky that the U.S. will continue to support Ukraine and work with allies and partners to make sure it has the weapons it needs. Lara Seligman of Politico reported today that the Pentagon will continue to fund Ukraine operations even if there is a government shutdown. Military activities deemed crucial to national security can be exempted from being shuttered during a government shutdown.

And finally, 92-year-old Rupert Murdoch announced today that he will be stepping down as chair of his media empire, including both Fox Corporation, which includes the Fox News Channel (FNC), and News Corporation, which owns the Wall Street Journal and the New York Post, among other newspapers. In 1996 the Australian-born mogul launched the Fox News Channel with media specialist Roger Ailes, who had packaged Republican presidential nominee Richard Nixon in 1968 by presenting him to audiences in highly scripted television appearances.

The Fox News Channel initially presented news from a conservative viewpoint, but over time its opinion shows, delivered as if they were news, came to dominate the channel. Those shows presented a simple narrative in which Americans—overwhelmingly white and rural—wanted the government to leave them alone but “socialists” who wanted social welfare programs demanded their tax dollars. Isolated in the fantasy world of FNC, its viewers became such fanatic adherents to right-wing politics that FNC wholeheartedly trumpeted Trump’s Big Lie after he lost the 2020 presidential election because viewers turned away from FNC when some of its personalities acknowledged that Biden had won..

Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters for America, said today that “Murdoch created a uniquely destructive force in American democracy and public life, one that ushered in an era of division where racist and post-truth politics thrive.” Margaret Sullivan, formerly the Washington Post’s media critic, wrote in The Guardian that FNC was “a shameless propaganda outfit, reaping massive profits even as it attacked core democratic values such as tolerance, truth and fair elections.” Murdoch, she wrote, wreaked “untold havoc on American democracy.”

Murdoch sees it differently. In his resignation letter, he attacked “bureaucracies” who wanted to “silence those who would question their provenance and purpose” and “elites” who “have open contempt for those who are not members of their rarefied class.” “Most of the media is in cahoots with those elites, peddling political narratives rather than pursuing the truth,” he wrote.

Forbes estimates that their media empire has enabled Murdoch and his family to amass a fortune of more than $17 billion.

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters From An American #Heather Cox Richardson #political #Media Matters #corrupt GOP #anti-democratic GOP #Big Lie #government shutdown

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mariacallous · 5 months

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Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville of Alabama on Tuesday released the bulk of his holds for Senate votes to confirm military promotions, allowing for the quick confirmation of hundreds of nominees.

The Senate confirmed hundreds of top military nominations by voice vote on Tuesday evening, hours after Tuberville announced his decision. He told his colleagues in a closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill that he would release the promotions for three-star nominees and below, the vast majority of the nominees.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer took to the floor to celebrate the confirmations, and to attack Tuberville’s hold as an “unsuccessful and risky strategy” that caused significant harm to military readiness, service members and their families.

“Today, hundreds – hundreds – of military families across the country can breathe a sigh of relief,” Schumer said. “The Senate has now unanimously confirmed hundreds of military confirmations that were held up for 10 months by a single person, the senator from Alabama. Thank God, these military officers will now get the military promotions that they so rightfully earned.”

The move comes after Tuberville faced bipartisan pressure to cease his blanket hold on military promotions over a Defense Department reproductive rights policy. Tuberville’s hold started in March and delayed the confirmations of more than 450 top military nominees.

Tuberville made the announcement during a Senate lunch that he was backing off the military holds with the exception of fewer than a dozen four-star promotions. He said it was important that Republicans be united and not vote for a rules changes that would have allowed Schumer, a Democrat from New York, to bring up nominees en bloc.

After almost a year of holding up the promotions of military nominees in opposition to the military’s reproductive rights policy, Tuberville said he has no regrets after he released hundreds of holds without getting anything in return.

“We saw some success. We didn’t get as much out of it as we wanted,” Tuberville said.

Tuberville added, “The only opportunity you got to get people on the left up here to listen to you in the minority is to put a hold on something. I think we opened their eyes a little bit. We didn’t get the win that we wanted. We still got a bad policy.”

Asked what his message was to military families who have been affected by his holds, Tuberville responded, “Thank you for your service.”

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said that he was “glad” most of them will be confirmed soon.

“I’m glad this has come to the end. I agree with his concerns about the Pentagon policy of using taxpayer dollars to fund travel for abortions, but I think the blanket hold approach is really punishing people who had nothing to do with that,” he told CNN.

“When you have a policy dispute with any Cabinet within an administration, just don’t suck the military into it. Go after the civilians who did it,” Graham added.

Democratic Sen. Mark Kelly of Arizona sent a brief statement on Tuberville’s decision.

“About damn time,” read Kelly’s entire statement.

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 1 year

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Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has reintroduced legislation to make daylight saving time permanent across the country, which he says would end the "antiquated practice" of changing clocks twice a year.

“This ritual of changing time twice a year is stupid. Locking the clock has overwhelming bipartisan and popular support. This Congress, I hope that we can finally get this done," Rubio said in a statement Thursday.

The bill, called the Sunshine Protection Act, passed the Senate last year by unanimous consent, meaning no Senators opposed it. But it stalled in the House and expired at the end of the last session of Congress.

If it is enacted, daylight saving time, which begins in March and ends in November, would become permanent year-round in the U.S.

American Samoa, most of Arizona, Guam, Hawaii, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands do not observe daylight saving time and would not be required to under the legislation.

Several senators in both parties co-sponsored the original bill, including James Lankford, R-Okla., Ron Wyden, D-Ore., Cindy Hyde-Smith, R-Miss., Rick Scott, R-Fla., Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Ed Markey, D-Mass.

“Alabamians have overwhelmingly expressed their support for the Sunshine Protection Act, and I promised them I’d continue pushing to do away with the outdated practice of adjusting our clocks twice a year," Tuberville said in a statement shared by Rubio's office. "It’s time for America to move forward and stop falling back. Congress should listen to the people and make Daylight Saving Time permanent."

Markey said: “It’s past time for Congress to broaden its horizons and finally make daylight saving time permanent. With the Sunshine Protection Act, we can shine a light on the darkest days of the year and deliver more sun, more smiles, and brighter skies.”

Rep. Vern Buchanan, R-Fla., has introduced companion legislation in the House.

“There are enormous health and economic benefits to making daylight saving time permanent," Buchanan said in a statement. "Florida lawmakers have already voted to make daylight saving time permanent in my home state and Congress should pass the Sunshine Protection Act to move Florida and the rest of the country to year-round daylight saving time.”

The U.S. first adopted daylight saving time in 1918 to save oil and electricity during World War I. But now, it isn’t associated with energy savings.

A 2011 study found that it cost Indiana households an extra $9 million per year in electricity bills because they spent more on heating and cooling, even though people used lights less often.

“The real reason for why this policy came to be and we first started using it was because of energy, and right now it’s a completely open question about whether or not it saves energy,” said Matthew Kotchen, an economics professor at Yale University who conducted the research.

The country most recently experimented with permanent daylight saving in 1974, but that ended less than a year later, after eight Florida children died in traffic accidents attributed to the change.

“Every time it’s been tried in places, they often repeal it soon after,” Kotchen said.

#us politics #nbc news #news #us senate #us house of representatives #2023 #sen. marco rubio #daylight saving time #Sunshine Protection Act #sen. James Lankford #sen. Ron Wyden #sen. Cindy Hyde-Smith #sen. Rick Scott #sen. tommy tuberville #sen. ed markey #Rep. Vern Buchanan #Matthew Kotchen

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bllsbailey · 20 days

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Senate Dems Might Seek to Dismiss or Table Mayorkas Charges

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has been mum about how the chamber will handle the impeachment trial of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, but multiple media outlets are reporting that Democrats plan to quickly dismiss the charges before any trial commences.

Democrats have several options at their disposal to short-circuit a trial, including tabling the charges or dismissing them, which they need only a simple majority to do.

But Senate Republicans persuaded House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., to delay until Monday the delivery of the articles of impeachment to the Senate to buy more time to pressure Democrats to hold a trial, the Washington Examiner reported Tuesday. The articles were scheduled to be delivered Wednesday.

Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Mich., the chamber's No. 3 Democrat, said Tuesday the Senate majority is going to treat Mayorkas' impeachment "with the seriousness it deserves."

"It's completely political. It's not serious," she said, according to Politico. "We will do what we have to do, and we'll work with Republicans to dispose of it, as quickly and appropriately as we can. We'll see how it goes. But we will do what is necessary and legal and appropriate. And dispose of it as soon as possible."

Mayorkas is the 22nd government official, and second Cabinet member, to be impeached. The House approved two articles of impeachment over his handling of the crisis at the southern border: willful and systemic refusal to comply with the law; and breach of public trust.

The Senate has held a trial in all but one case of impeachment. In 1873, U.S. District Court Judge Mark Delahay of Kansas, appointed by Abraham Lincoln, was impeached on charges of being intoxicated on the bench. But Delahay resigned before the House drew up articles of impeachment, so no trial was held.

"The Senate has never in its history tabled an impeachment. Never," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said in a news release. "In the more than 200 years that this body has existed, the House of Representatives has impeached an official 21 times, and we have never once tabled the impeachment. Not once.

"Now, Sen. Schumer may also try to dismiss these charges instead of tabling them, but that's never been done before either. If the Senate dismisses these charges without a trial, it will be the first time in the Senate's long history that it has dismissed impeachment charges against an official it has jurisdiction over without that official first resigning — and that's a fact."

Sen. Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., also has called for Schumer to hold a "full and fair" impeachment trial.

"Secretary Mayorkas has intentionally failed to secure the border in the three years since his swearing in," Tuberville said in a news release obtained by Newsmax. "I will be voting to hold Secretary Mayorkas accountable. … I expect Senate Democrats will try to table the articles of impeachment and sweep Biden's border bloodbath under the rug.

"Every Democrat in the House already voted to save Mayorkas' job, effectively endorsing the crisis at the border. How many more Americans have to die before the Democratic Party takes seriously the drugs, human traffickers, murderers, and terrorists flooding across the border?"

Newsmax reached out to Schumer for comment.

Michael Katz ✉

Michael Katz is a Newsmax reporter with more than 30 years of experience reporting and editing on news, culture, and politics.

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reddancer1 · 7 months

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Heather Cox Richardson

September 19, 2023 (Tuesday)

House Republicans appear to be barreling toward a government shutdown, unable to agree even to debate a bill to fund the military. That rejection made Republican leadership pull from the floor a continuing resolution to fund the government into October. Extremist members simply refuse to agree to any bill that doesn’t cave to their demands. And, as NBC News reporters note, “The House [Republican] chaos is worse than it may appear.” The bills over which they are currently fighting cannot possibly pass the Senate. Government funding ends on September 30.

And so a small minority of extremists are threatening to shut down our government. Such a shutdown would have global as well as domestic repercussions: the Pentagon warned that a government shutdown would disrupt U.S. military aid to Ukraine, including training for military forces. Hamstringing our ability to help Ukraine stand against Russia, refusing to fund the Pentagon, and Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville’s hold on military promotions that has left more than 300 top military positions vacant all undermine our national security. This is an astonishing position for Republicans, who used to pride themselves on their support for the military.

That such a small number of extremists can shut down our country speaks to the power of voting. Four days ago, Vice President Kamala Harris kicked off a month-long tour of college campuses to mobilize younger voters to “fight for our freedoms.” Today is National Voter Registration Day, and in Reading, Pennsylvania, she noted that young people have spent their whole lives in the climate crisis, have seen the Supreme Court stop recognizing the constitutional right to abortion, and have spent their earlier years practicing active shooter drills. They are now stepping up to lead the country toward solutions.

Harris told a cheering, overflow audience at the Reading Area Community College that voting “determines whether the person who is holding elected office is going to fight for your freedoms and rights or not. Whether that be the freedom that you should have to just be free from attack, free from hate, free from gun violence, free from bias, free to love who you love and be open about it, free to have access to the ballot box without people obstructing your ability to exercise your civic right to vote, in terms of who will be the people holding elected office and leading your country.”

The political power of young voters will be important in determining the outcome of the 2024 elections. In Pennsylvania today, Democratic governor Josh Shapiro announced automatic voter registration when people are getting or renewing a driver’s license. The governor tweeted: “We got traffic moving on I-95 in just 12 days. We delivered universal free breakfast for 1.7 million students. And today, we implemented automatic voter registration. There’s more to do, but we’re getting stuff done in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.”

In Congress today, the Democrats, led by Representative Terri Sewell (D-AL) reintroduced the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, which passed the House in 2021 but was stopped by a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

This measure would restore and modernize the 1965 Voting Rights Act after the Supreme Court’s 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision gutted it. Until that decision, Congress had regularly reauthorized the Voting Rights Act on a bipartisan basis, but as soon as the decision was handed down, Republican-dominated state legislatures passed voter suppression laws, gerrymandered their states, and closed polling sites, measures that made it more difficult for Black Americans, many of whom backed Democrats, to vote. In the decade since the decision, Sewell noted, at least 29 states have passed a total of almost 100 laws restricting voting.

Sewell represents Selma, Alabama, where civil rights activist and, later, Georgia representative John R. Lewis was beaten by law enforcement officers when he crossed the Edmund Pettus Bridge with other civil rights activists marching for the right to vote. She noted, “Generations of Americans—many in my hometown of Selma, Alabama—marched, fought, and even died for the equal right of all Americans to vote. But today, their legacy and our very democracy are under attack as MAGA extremists target voters with new laws to restrict voting access. Ten years after the Supreme Court gutted the Voting Rights Act of 1965, the fight for voting rights has never been more urgent.”

The reason for voter suppression was made clear again today when, in a pattern that has continued since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade last year, no longer recognizing the constitutional right to abortion, Democrats won two elections. In New Hampshire, Democrat Hal Rafter flipped a state House seat formerly held by a Republican. And in Pennsylvania, Democrat Lindsay Powell won a special election in Pittsburgh, enabling Democrats to hold control of the Pennsylvania House

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cksmart-world · 7 months

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SMART BOMB

The Completely Unnecessary News Analysis

By Christopher Smart

September 19, 2023

“REAL HOUSEWIFE,” REAL ADULTERY — OMG!

Call it news you can use, Wilson. Monica Garcia, the new cast member on “Real Housewives of Salt Lake City,” had an adulterous affair with her brother-in-law. We would never lie about a thing like that. You can read all about it in The Salt Lake Tribune, where Smart Bomb's old pal Scott Pierce keeps a close eye on the Real Housewives. People have a thirst for this stuff, Wilson, because it's titillating and piques prurient interests without — here's the best part — any risk. And, of course, it's great click bait. But we digress, the reality TV show needed a new cast member after Real Housewife Jen Shah was sentenced to six and half years in the big house for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. You're right, Wilson, you have to wonder whether Jen Shah was a housewife or just a huckster in heels. And what does this say to little girls who see these women cheating and, well, cheating. What if Mattel created Real Housewife dolls? Look out, Barbie! NEWS FLASH — This just in: Jen Shah has bonded in federal prison with Elizabeth Holmes, the one-time Theranos CEO who got 11 years for duping investors in a billion dollar blood-testing hoax. It's like “Orange is the New Black,” only for real — life imitating art, imitating life, imitating weird B.S. on TV. Is this a great country, or what.

THE FEW, THE PROUD, THE “WOKE” MARINES

Alright now Wilson, this is serious. The U.S. Marines are “woke.” And that ain't all — the Navy is “woke” and the Army is “woke,” too. No word on the Air Force or Coast Guard yet but it's not looking good. Alabama Sen. Tommy Tuberville got wind that sailors were reading poetry on an aircraft carrier. Poetry, for god's sake. Next thing you know Marines will be reading Shakespeare — from the halls of Montezuma to the shores of Stratford-upon-avon. Holy Hamlet. No wonder Tuberville is holding up all those military promotions. “Biden is building a woke Army,” he hissed. Right now, they're probably making the basic training grounds on Paris Island into the Globe Theater. What's next, funny hats and shirts with puffy sleeves. OK, that might be a slight exaggeration, but the writing is one the wall. In a recent congressional hearing, Republican congressmen took issue with military brass and their efforts on inclusion and diversity and wondered aloud about “pronoun training,” for drill instructors to be sensitive to non-binary recruits: “Excuse me sergeant, but I demand you call me 'they.'” Actually, there is no “pronoun training” and the military is about as woke as John Wayne. The Republicans doth protest too much. It's much ado about nothing.

TOP 10 REASONS MITT ROMNEY IS LEAVING THE SENATE

10 – The Capital Cafeteria discontinued lime Jell-O.

9 – Mike Lee is a dick and says we're not a democracy.

8 – Brando wannabes, Sen. Josh Hawley and Sen. J.D. Vance, make him puke.

7 – Nebraska Sen. Chuck Grassley's breath. Is he dead or alive.

6 – That slut Ted Cruz, who thinks his beard makes him look like a cool cat.

5 – The Capital Cafeteria's pan-seared Atlantic Salmon tastes like cat food.

4 – Mitch McConnell couldn't vote for impeachment because he didn't have the cojones.

3 – The slime on the Senate men's room doorknobs where Lindsey Graham has been.

2 – He's tired of being the sucker who takes one for the team.

1 – And the top reason Mitt Romney is leaving the Senate: Republicans.

Post script — That's going to do it for another splendiferous week here at Smart Bomb where we keep track of impeachments so you don't have to. This is as good a time as any to impeach Hunter Biden, er, uh, oops, make that President Joe Biden because — according to a handful of right-wing Congress members — he deserves it. Payback is a bitch. Democrats should have thought about that when they impeached then-President Donald Trump in December 2019 for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress after he pushed Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky to dig up dirt on then-presidential rival Joe Biden in exchange for $400 million in military aid that had already been approved by Congress. He was acquitted in the Senate 53-47. Then those damned Democrats impeached Trump again on the ticky-tac charge of “incitement of insurrection” for the attack on the Capital. The Senate voted 53-47 to convict, falling short of the needed two-thirds majority. Now it's Joe's turn even though there is no evidence tying him to Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine. Hunter has been indicted on tax evasion and three gun charges. Impeach the bastard! And while we're at it we might as well impeach his father — on principle alone. Then, let's go after the First Lady.

Poor Jen Shah and Elizabeth Holmes — they're just rotting away in prison, Wilson. Luckily they've found each other and can exchange notes on how to — and how not to — rip people off. They've done the crime and now they've got to do the time. So wake up the band and let's crank one up for those ladies of the big house:

Breaking rocks in the hot sun I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the law won I needed money because I had none I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the law won I miss my baby and I feel so sad I guess my race is run Well, she's the best girl that I ever had I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the law won Robbing people with a six gun I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the law won I miss my baby and I miss my fun! I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the law won I miss my baby and I feel so sad I guess my race is run Well, she's the best girl that I ever had I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the I fought the law and the law won I fought the law and the law won

(I Fought the Law — Sonny Curtis, popularized by the Bobby Fuller Four)

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msclaritea · 9 months

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Senate Democrat: Tuberville ‘prepared to burn the military down’ with promotions blockade | The Hill

"Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) on Tuesday accused Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) of being “prepared to burn the military down” with his hold on hundreds of military promotions over the Pentagon’s abortion policy.

Murphy told reporters at the Capitol that he is hoping Senate Republicans will work with Democrats after the August recess to come up with a “creative solution” to pass a batch of military promotions en bloc in an attempt to bypass Tuberville’s hold, which entered its fifth month Tuesday.

“I think everybody’s been hoping that Sen. Tuberville would back down, and I think we have to come to the conclusion that that is not happening and that he is prepared to burn the military down,” Murphy said after gaveling the Senate in and out during Tuesday’s pro forma session. “Maybe Republicans were hopeful that leading up to the August break he would relent. He didn’t, and we now have to adjust our strategy.”

Senate Republicans were unable to strike a deal with the Alabama senator to break the hold prior to the August recess, which has virtually ensured that the hold will stretch until early September at least. In the meantime, nearly 300 military holds remain, including for Senate-confirmed officers to lead the Army and the Marine Corps.

That list will grow larger by the end of September, when the highest-profile vacancy would come up: Gen. Mark Milley must lawfully depart as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr. is in line to replace him.

Murphy called on Senate Republicans to discuss a “very targeted, temporary change in process” that would allow lawmakers to pass a batch of military promotions en bloc, though he noted he has not discussed this idea with Senate Democratic leaders. He also dismissed any possibility of Democrats moving to confirm promotions individually due to the amount of floor time it would take to do so, and he echoed the Democratic leadership argument that the issue needs to be dealt with by top Republicans.

“I understand Republicans are not going to go for a permanent change in the rules, but I just think we have to start thinking creatively about breaking this logjam,” said Murphy, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. “There is no world in which we can use floor time for these nominations. It’s logistically impossible to do these nominations through regular order.”

“Maybe when we get back in September there will be some openness to creative solutions. Tuberville is not going to back down. He thinks he’s become a celebrity folk hero in the fringe right,” Murphy continued. “He’s having the time of his life. If you want the military to function, you’re going to have to find a creative way to get around this guy because it doesn’t feel like he’s backing down..."

Tommy Tuberville is an insurrectionist, traitor to the country and currently, his and the Fascist GOP actions are helping the Chinese government, who keep launching attacks against us. Tuberville and the GOP are straight up behaving like Chinese allies.

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timomaraus · 10 months

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July 12, 2023

CNN Domino's shares soar after striking a surprise delivery deal (Editor's Note: Turns out they're going to start delivering real pizzas now!)

CNN Director says 'Wonka' movie will answer 'all the questions you never had' (Editor's Note: I don't know. I never had a lot of questions.)

Washington Post Americans turning to 'buy now, pay later' apps to buy groceries (Editor's Note: Perhaps this will spur a new dieting fad: Buy now, eat later.)

Washington Post A beginner's guide to camping (Editor's Note: For me, that means beginning at the check-in desk of a nice hotel.)

Washington Post Why you shouldn't fear a little sugar in savory cooking (Editor's Note: Personally, I don't fear a little sugar in any cooking.)

Washington Post How do you calm a rattlesnake? Give it a friend, scientists say. (Editor's Note: Oh, so now "science" wants you to toss your friend to the rattlesnake? How is that even ethical?)

CNN How often should you poop? The answer may not be what you think (Editor's Note: CNN, I think you're getting just a little too familiar here, know what I mean?)

CNN The tastiest hotels around the world (Editor's Note: If you're looking to eat a hotel, this is the story for you.)

CNN Giuliani and election fraud promoters didn't vet claims, new court documents show (Editor's Note: This is shocking, shocking news. Next thing I know, you'll be telling me there's gambling in Casablanca. (You can just leave my winnings on the table over there.))

CNN Sen. Tuberville overestimates number of abortions military women would seek out under new DOD policies, researchers say (Editor's Note: What Tommy Tuberville has most over-estimated are his qualifications to be a United States Senator. But he is one anyway, and we're the worse for it.)

Seattle Times Rep. Santos compares himself to Rosa Parks for refusal to sit in back of Congress (Editor's Note: Chutzpah, thy personification is George Santos.)

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omfgtrump · 3 years

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Impeachement: The sequel

There is always prison. Even Mitch McConnell is banking on it. We will get to his Emmy winning performance at the impeachment trial in short order. But before we do, let’s take a look at the trial.

The house managers did a great job, but I believe they posed the wrong question. Instead of focusing on “inciting an insurrection,” which The Don was guilty of, they should have impeached him with these words from the constitution: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic…”

Their case would have been simpler and made it more difficult for the Republicans to reject. (Though it probably wouldn’t have changed the end result.)

They could have presented it in a few minutes. In fact, for simplicity’s sake, they could have just presented one thing to support their case:

When The Don knew that the vice president had been whisked away (from his phone call with Tommy Tuberville), and was watching in real time the chanting of “hang Mike Pence, the gallows for a hanging erected before his own eyes, what did the president do?

He incited them more with this tweet:

“Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!”

Senators, look into your hearts and Mike Pence’s eyes in the photo on the screen and think: Can I vote to acquit the man who cravenly urged a mob on to kill his vice president?

Yes? Wow. Mikey, Mikey, is your life that cheap? After all the genuflecting at the feet of The Don, you became a traitor just like the rest of them and your fellow Republicans didn’t seem to care. If you were actually hung, would that have been enough to break the spell he has over your party? Would they still have acquitted him on a technicality?

Let’s try again.

Ok, Law and Order Party. Please turn your attention to the photo of slain police officer, Brian Sicknick and say out loud: “Blue Lives Matter.” In your hearts, can you vote to acquit?

Yes? So now repeat after me: “Blue Lives don’t matter. Blue Lives don’t mater.”

If you wanted to hammer the nail further you mention that the Don watched it all on TV with glee.

When implored by Ivanka, Chris Christie and others to intervene, to say something to put an end to the madness, he ignored them and probably asked for more ketchup for his burger and another Coke.

When Mayor Muriel Bowser of Washington made a formal request for assistance in a phone call with the Army secretary, Ryan D. McCarthy. At 1:49 p.m., as the Capitol Police asked Pentagon officials for help from the National Guard, Mr. Trump tweeted a video of his incendiary rally speech.

When Kevin McCarthy, Minority Leader of the House, implored him to do something to calm things he said:

“Well, Kevin, I guess these people are more upset about the election than you are,” he said.

And to add a cherry on top they could have used The Don’s final words to the rioters:

“Go home. We love you. You’re very special.”

Say what? “We love you? You’re very special? Tell that to the family of officer Sicknick. Tell them how special these people were who were acting on your behalf and murdered this police officer and injured more than 100 others. BTW, have you even sent your condolences to the family? Do you even think about it for one minute?

And what about a second cherry-on-top from his last communication, five hours after the insurgency began?

“These are the things and events that happen when a sacred landslide election victory is so unceremoniously & viciously stripped away from great patriots who have been badly & unfairly treated for so long. Go home with love & in peace. Remember this day forever!”

The only thing missing from this was “all of you patriots are entitled to two free nights at Mar-a-Lago for a big reunion bash.”

But that’s the thing. The Don would never do that because he actually despises and has disdain for the very people he has built his brand on. They would desecrate his property. To him, like those in the military, these people are losers and lowlifes. They have been, and will continue to be, just a means to an end to his desire for adoration and power.

Now let’s circle back to the “Grim Reaper,” whose performance as a morally outraged politician was so extraordinary it made me wretch. He is nominated for a special Emmy for playing a politician pretending to give a shit when he couldn’t care less.

In a cynical display of ‘now you see it, now you don’t’, McConnell, who refused to call the Senate back into session to hold the trial while Mr. Trump was still in office, argued that he could not be convicted once he no longer was in office. In other words, once he made the decision to delay the trial until The Don was out of office, he had already created an escape hatch for himself and his cronies despite the fact that there was legal precedent for the trial.

After acquitting, McConnell went to the podium and delivered a blistering analysis of The Don’s actions.

“There’s no question — none — that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day. No question about it.”

“The leader of the free world cannot spend weeks thundering that shadowy forces are stealing our country and then feign surprise when people believe him and do reckless things.”

“Whatever reaction he says he meant to produce by that afternoon, we know he was watching the same live television as the rest of us. A mob was assaulting the Capitol in his name. These criminals were carrying his banners, hanging his flags and screaming their loyalty to him.”

He added: “He did not do his job. He did not take steps so federal law could be faithfully executed and order restored. No, instead, according to public reports, he watched television happily — happily — as the chaos unfolded.”

And then the great pivot:

“We have no power to convict and disqualify a former officeholder who is now a private citizen.”

Some are praising McConnell for blasting The Don even though he didn’t vote to convict. At lest he finally spoke the truth about The Don. To this I say: Fuck that noise!

McConnell is a spineless, immoral sleaze bag. The Don incited the riot and was derelict in his duty to protect, but you allowed him to promulgate the “Big Lie” (that he won the election) for so long, that he was able to stir his troops into believing that the election was stolen. So despite your political move to express outrage, you and your Republican cronies bare responsibility for the insurrection. You as their leader bare the most. You are a national disgrace and will be remembered as a man who colluded with a would be demagogue for four years. You fed the monster who became more and more bloated with his power. You allowed his behavior to go unchecked for political expediency and your intoxication with your own power. You have let our country down and contributed to the madness we lived through for four years. You are a coward. History will remember you for this and it won’t be fondly!

I end as I started: There is always prison.

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#IFTTT #WordPress #trump #politics #potus #capital hill #washington dc #white house #america #usa

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dreaminginthedeepsouth · 7 months

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LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

September 19, 2023

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

LETTERS FROM AN AMERICAN

HEATHER COX RICHARDSON

#Letters from an American #Heather Cox Richardson #House Republicans #Government Shutdown #corruption caucus #MAGA extremists #voter suppression #US Military

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ingridb1148 · 3 years

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republicans just unleashed the rabid racist police on immigrants.

i can see it now. Brown person gets pulled over for an illegal air freshener.

Cop: can i see your papers.

Brown person: i'm reaching in my glove compartment to get them.

Cop: bang bang. oh i was so scared he was reaching for a gun even though he told me exactly what the fuck he was doing. oh and my body cam wasn't working. please pity me because i'm a PUSSY ASS BITCH.

just another state sanctioned vehicle for murdering brown people and getting away with it.

#border crisis #politics #republicans suck #republicans #conservatives #trump cult #traitors #seditionists #republicans are domestic terrorists #republicans are terrorists #fuck republicans #republicans are evil #republicans are stupid #fuck conservatives

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dontmeantobepoliticalbut · 9 months

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It’s hot in Washington, and the unending standoff between Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-Ala.) is only adding to the heat.

On Tuesday, DOD spokesperson Sabrina Singh said there was no room for compromise with Coach on the dispute over the Pentagon’s policy to pay troops for travel to receive abortion and other reproductive services. “We’ve been very clear we don’t have anything to negotiate with here.”

Tuberville is equally immovable. His spokesperson, Steven Stafford, blasted a transcript of Singh’s remarks to reporters this morning, along with a dig at the Pentagon chief: “Secretary Austin could end the holds TODAY if he wanted to. But the Biden administration seems to think that illegally spending taxpayer dollars on abortion is more important than getting their senior military nominees confirmed.”

It’s true that Austin could end the policy put in place shortly after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. But it’s also true that Tuberville is singlehandedly preventing the speedy confirmation of senior military officers.

The blockade has now ensnared more than 300 general and flag officer nominees, including President Joe Biden’s picks for top officers in the Army, Navy and Marine Corps, who are all now performing those jobs on an acting basis. Adm. Lisa Franchetti, who could become the first Senate-confirmed woman to serve in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is currently leading the Navy.

It has turned into a full-blown crisis that no one NatSec Daily talked to can see ending soon.

The Senate left D.C. in July without resolving the issue, meaning none of the nominees will get on the job until Congress returns after Labor Day. Democratic leaders could hold one-off votes on certain high level nominees to get around Tuberville’s procedural hold. But they’ve largely rejected that approach, instead labeling it as a problem for GOP honchos to solve.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer blasted his Republican counterpart Mitch Mcconnell for not getting Tuberville to back down. “If one of my Democrats was doing this, I’d call him into my office and I’d say, you are going to stop doing this or you’re going to pay a price,” he said on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” today. “McConnell has not done this with Tuberville.”

And on Monday, a typically reserved Senate Armed Services Chair Jack Reed (D-R.I.) ripped Tuberville for making “culture war plays” and treating long-uncontroversial promotions like “a partisan game.”

To paraphrase Thomas Hobbes, this fight is nasty and brutish, but it’s certainly not going to be short.

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herbertandlom · 3 years

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January 8, 2021 (Friday) More information continues to emerge about the events of Wednesday. They point to a broader conspiracy than it first appeared. Calls for Trump’s removal from office are growing. The Republican Party is tearing apart. Power in the nation is shifting almost by the minute. [Please note that information from the January 6 riot is changing almost hourly, and it is virtually certain that something I have written will be incorrect. I have tried to stay exactly on what we know to be facts, but those could change.] More footage from inside the attack on the Capitol is coming out and it is horrific. Blood on statues and feces spread through the building are vile; mob attacks on police officers are bone-chilling. Reuters photographer Jim Bourg, who was inside the building, told reporters he overheard three rioters in “Make America Great Again” caps plotting to find Vice President Mike Pence and hang him as a “traitor”; other insurrectionists were shouting the same. Pictures have emerged of one of the rioters in military gear carrying flex cuffs—handcuffs made of zip ties—suggesting he was planning to take prisoners. Two lawmakers have suggested the rioters knew how to find obscure offices. New scrutiny of Trump’s “Stop the Steal” rally before the attack shows Trump’s lawyer Rudy Giuliani, Representative Mo Brooks (R-AL), Don Jr., and Trump himself urging the crowd to go to the Capitol and fight. Trump warned that Pence was not doing what he needed to. Trump promised to lead them to the Capitol himself. There are also questions about law enforcement. While exactly what happened remains unclear, it has emerged that the Pentagon limited the Washington D.C. National Guard to managing traffic. D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser requested support before Trump’s rally, but the Department of Defense said that the National Guard could not have ammunition or riot gear, interact with protesters except in self-defense, or otherwise function in a protective capacity without the explicit permission of acting Secretary Christopher Miller, whom Trump put into office shortly after the election after firing Defense Secretary Mark Esper. When Capitol Police requested aid early Wednesday afternoon, the request was denied. Defense officials held back the National Guard for about three hours before sending it to support the Capitol Police. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, a Republican, tried repeatedly to send his state’s National Guard, but the Pentagon would not authorize it. Virginia’s National Guard was mobilized when House Speaker Nancy Pelosi called the governor, Ralph Northam, herself. Defense officials said they were sensitive to the criticism they received in June when federal troops cleared Lafayette Square of peaceful protesters so Trump could walk across it. But it sounds like there might be a personal angle: Bowser was harshly critical of Trump then, and it would be like him to take revenge on her by denying help when it was imperative. Refusing to stop the attack on the Capitol might have been more nefarious, though. A White House adviser told New York Magazine’s Washington correspondent Olivia Nuzzi that Trump was watching television coverage of the siege and was enthusiastic, although he didn’t like that the rioters looked “low class.” While the insurrectionists were in the Capitol, he tweeted: “Mike Pence didn’t have the courage to do what should have been done to protect our Country and our Constitution, giving States a chance to certify a corrected set of facts, not the fraudulent or inaccurate ones which they were asked to previously certify. USA demands the truth!” Even as lawmakers were under siege, both Trump and his lawyer Rudy Giuliani were making phone calls to brand-new Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) urging him to slow down the electoral count. After Trump on Wednesday night tweeted that there would be an “orderly” transition of power, on Thursday he began again to urge on his supporters. With the details and the potential depth of this event becoming clearer over the past two days—Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s wife, Virginia, tweeted her support, and state lawmakers as well as Republican attorneys general were actually involved—Americans are recoiling from how bad this attempted coup was… and how much worse it could have been. The crazed rioters were terrifyingly close to our elected representatives, all gathered together on that special day, and they were actively talking about harming the vice president. By Friday night, 57% of Americans told Reuters they wanted Trump removed from office immediately. Nearly 70% of Americans disapprove of Trump’s actions before the riot. Only 12% of Americans approved of the rioters; 79% of Americans described the rioters as “criminals” or “fools.” Five percent called them “patriots.” Pelosi tonight said that she hoped the president would resign, but if not, the House of Representatives will move forward with impeachment on Monday, as well as with legislation to enable Congress to remove Trump under the 25th Amendment. The most recent draft of the impeachment resolution has just one article: “incitement of insurrection.” As a privileged resolution, it can go directly to the House without committee approval. In the Senate, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) has no interest in further splitting the Republicans over another impeachment, or forcing them onto the record as either for or against it. Timing is on his side: the Senate is not in session for substantive business until January 19, so cannot act on an impeachment resolution without the approval of all senators. It can take up the resolution then, but more likely it will wait until Biden is sworn in, at which point the measure would be managed not by McConnell, but by the new House majority leader, Chuck Schumer (D-NY). A trial can indeed take place after Trump is no longer president, enabling Congress to make sure he can never again hold office. Whether or not the Senate would convict is unclear, but it’s not impossible. Senator Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), for one, is so furious she is talking of switching parties. “I want him out,” she says. Still, Trump supporters are now insisting that it would “further divide the country” to try to remove Trump now, and that we need to unify. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), who led the Senate effort to challenge Biden’s election, today tweeted that Biden was not working hard enough to “bring us together or promote healing” and that “vicious partisan rhetoric only tears our country apart.” Trump, meanwhile, has continued to agitate his followers, and today began to call for more resistance, while users on Parler, the new right-wing social media hangout, are talking of another, bigger attack on Washington. Tonight, Twitter banned Trump, stating: “we have permanently suspended the account due to the risk of further incitement of violence.” As evidence, it cited both his claim that his supporters would “have a GIANT VOICE long into the future,” and his tweet that he would not be going to Biden’s inauguration on January 20. Twitter says that Trump’s followers see these two new tweets as proof that the election was invalid and that the Inauguration is a good target, since he won’t be there. The Twitter moderators say that “plans for future armed protests have already begun proliferating on and off-Twitter, including a proposed secondary attack on the US Capitol and state capitol buildings on January 17, 2021.” Twitter also took down popular QAnon accounts, including those of Trump’s former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and his former lawyer Sidney Powell, who is having quite a bad day: the company that makes election machines, Dominion Voting Systems, announced it is suing her for defamation and asking $1.3 billion in damages. After taking down 7,000 QAnon accounts in July, Twitter continued by today taking down the account of the man who hosts the posts from “Q.” While Twitter officials might well be horrified by the insurrection, the ban is also a sign of a changing government. With the election of two Democratic senators from Georgia this week, the majority goes to the Democrats, and McConnell will no longer be Majority Leader, killing bills. Social media giants know regulation of some sort is around the corner, and they are trying to look compliant fast. When Twitter banned Trump, so did Reddit, and Facebook and Instagram already had. Google Play Store removed Parler, warning it to clean up its content moderation. Trump evidently couldn’t stand the Twitter ban, and tried at least five different accounts to get back onto the platform. He and his supporters are howling that he is being silenced by big tech, but of course he has an entire press corps he could use whenever he wished. Losing his access to Twitter simply cuts off his ability to drum up both support and money by lying to his supporters. Another platform that has dumped Trump is one of those that handled his emails. The San Francisco correspondent of the Financial Times, Dave Lee, noted that for more than 48 hours there had been no Trump emails: in the previous six days he sent out 33. This has been a horrific week. If it has a silver lining, it is that the lines are now clear between our democracy and its enemies. The election in Georgia, which swung the Senate away from the Republicans and opens up some avenues to slow down misinformation, is a momentous victory.

Heather Cox Richardson https://www.facebook.com/heathercoxrichardson/posts/2563012823842768

#Heather Cox Richardson #important #trump #coup attempt #more information #stop the steal #jan 6 2021 #jan 6 insurrection #where we are #jan 8 2021 #twitter #long read

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reddancer1 · 7 months

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Heather Cox Richardson

September 21, 2023 (Thursday)

“I simply couldn’t be part of it,” Dannehy said. “So I resigned.”

Forbes estimates that their media empire has enabled Murdoch and his family to amass a fortune of more than $17 billion.

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helladirections · 3 years

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can u update me on the senate im very confused rn bevause different sites are showing diff numbers

(disclaimer) i am not a whole expert

Yes, absolutely.

I did a little bit of an explainer about this year’s Senate map here. Basically, Democrats needed to keep all their seats and flip 4 seats to reach a 51 majority. However, Doug Jones from Alabama, who narrowly won his special election last year because his opponent was a pedophile, predictably lost his seat.

Every election year, approximately 1/3 of the Senate is up for reelection (they serve 6 year terms). This year there were a total of 34 seats up, plus the special election in Georgia. Here is a list of every Senate race. North Carolina and Alaska haven’t technically been called, but the Republican has a giant advantage. The incumbent is on the left, and the winner is in bold.

Alabama: Doug Jones (D) v Tommy Tuberville (R) Alaska: Dan Sullivan (R) v Al Gross (D) Arizona: Martha McSally (R) v Mark Kelly (D) Arkansas: Tom Cotton (R) v [no D candidate] Colorado: Cory Gardner (R) v John Hickenlooper (D) Delaware: Chris Coons (D) v Lauren Witzke (R) Georgia: David Perdue (R) v Jon Ossoff (D) Georgia Special: Kelly Loeffler (R) v Raphael Warnock (D) Idaho: Jim Risch (R) v Paulette Jordan (D) Illinois: Dick Durbin (D) v Mark Curran (R) Iowa: Joni Ernst (R) v Theresa Greenfield (D) Kansas: Roger Marshall (R) v Barbara Bollier (D) Kentucky: Mitch McConnell (R) v Amy McGrath (D) Louisiana: Bill Cassidy (R) v Derrick Edwards (D) Maine: Susan Collins (R) v Sara Gideon (D) Massachusetts: Ed Markey (D) v Kevin O’Connor (R) Michigan: Gary Peters (D) v John James (R) Minnesota: Tina Smith (D) v Jason Lewis (R) Mississippi: Cindy Hyde-Smith (R) v Mike Espy (D) Montana: Steve Daines (R) v Steve Bullock (D) Nebraska: Ben Sasse (R) v Chris Janicek (D) New Hampshire: Jeanne Shaheen (D) v Corky Messner (R) New Jersey: Cory Booker (D) v Rik Mehta (R) New Mexico: Ben Ray Lujan (D) v Mark Ronchetti (R) North Carolina: Thom Tillis (R) v Cal Cunningham (D) Oklahoma: James Inhofe (R) v Abby Broyles (D) Oregon: Jeff Merkley (D) v Jo Rae Perkins (R) Rhode Island: Jack Reed (D) v Allen Waters (R) South Carolina: Lindsey Graham (R) v Jaime Harrison (D) South Dakota: Mike Rounds (R) v Daniel Ahlers (D) Tennessee: Bill Hagerty (R) v Marquita Bradshaw (D) Texas: John Cornyn (R) v MJ Hegar (D) Virginia: Mark Warner (D) v Daniel Gade (R) West Virginia: Shelley Moore-Capito (R) v Paula Jean Swearengin Wyoming: Cynthia Lummis (R) v Merav Ben-David (D)

As you can see, we only flipped 2 seats, and neither Georgia race was called. Georgia state law says that in order to win, the candidate has to ear over 50% of the vote, which none of them did due to third party candidates. Both Georgia races are going into runoffs which will take place on January 5.

That means right now, the senate power stands at 48-50. If both Dems win in Georgia in January, that put us at 50-50. If the Senate ties in a vote, the VP casts the tie-breaking vote.

This means that the Georgia races are VERY important. Without both of those seats, the Turtleman will continue to be in charge of the Senate and can stand in the way of a lot of things - any legislation he doesn’t like, any judge or cabinet nomination, literally anything. If we do win those two seats, then Kamala Harris gets to break any ties.

im a poli sci grad with a career in democratic politics. ask me things if you have questions

#election #Anon #beep

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