940 posts tagged with USpolitics.
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Golden Years
The Broken Promise of Retirement. "If the US does nothing to fix its retirement system, 2.6 million formerly middle-class workers will be plunged into poverty by 2022." [more inside]
Stop your messing around
I’ve never run for office before. My father wasn’t governor.
Chris Jones is a physicist and a nuclear engineer. He’s also just announced he’s running for Governor of Arkansas. This is his campaign ad: It’s about time.
Getting Reconciled to It
While a bipartisan group of Senators is trying to reach agreement on a budget package, progressive Democrats in Congress are signalling opposition to the likely outlines of such a deal, and White House officials have now told House Democrats to prepare to go it alone on infrastructure. Senate Majority Leader Charles Schumer also announced that Wednesday he will begin the process known as reconciliation, to allow Senate passage with simple majority votes.
Pro-Trump group seeks to divide Democrats by posing as leftists
"Vote against corporate interests and greedy politicians. Vote against the two party system. VOTE for our future and our children's future. Vote Jo Crain to represent Missouri in the U. S. Senate!" America Progress Now ran Facebook ads promoting Green party candidates during the 2018 US midterm elections. Who is America Progress Now? Turns out that it doesn't really exist: the ads were actually run by Rally Forge, a digital marketing firm closely linked to the pro-Trump Turning Point USA. The Guardian: Rightwing firm posed as leftist group on Facebook to divide Democrats.
How to thwart the next American tyrant.
In this series, the Globe editorial board outlines the key presidential reforms that would prevent a future authoritarian president — perhaps a more competent one than Trump — from abusing their power and subverting our democracy. Just because President Biden has restored a semblance of normalcy to the White House, Americans should not be lulled into inaction. Our government survived a scrape with authoritarian corruption. Next time, we might not be so lucky. [more inside]
US Senate vs. China
U.S. Senate approves sprawling $250 billion bill to curtail China’s economic and military ambitions.. (WaPo) as Joe Biden shows ‘more continuity than expected’ from Donald Trump policy on China. (SCMP) [more inside]
They are going to refuse to certify Democratic wins.
They tried to overturn the 2020 election. Now they want to run the next one. @kenvogel: "At least four Republicans who sought to undercut or overturn the 2020 presidential election are launching campaigns to become the top election official in key states that could decide control of Congress in 2022 — & who wins the White House in 2024." (via) [more inside]
Iowa Democrat Launches Senate Run
A farmer from Crawford County with a family history of winning as a Democrat in rural Western Iowa announced his campaign for the U.S. Senate seat held by Chuck Grassley today. Dave Muhlbauer, a recent county supervisor and fifth-generation family farmer, kicked off his bid with a video that sought to redefine to Iowa voters what a rural Democrat looks like.
It can't be that easy: group behind voter suppression laws
From Ari Berman and Nick Surgey in Mother Jones, a leaked video and investigation into Heritage Action and US voter suppression laws. In a private meeting last month with big-money donors, the head of a top conservative group boasted that her outfit had crafted the new voter suppression law in Georgia and was doing the same with similar bills for Republican state legislators across the country. “In some cases, we actually draft them for them,” she said, “or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.” [more inside]
‘Rationals’ vs. ‘radicals’:
More than 100 Republican former officials to seek reforms, threaten new party "More than 100 influential Republicans plan to release a call for reforms within the GOP alongside a threat to form a new party if change isn't forthcoming, a person familiar with the effort said." [more inside]
Their brand is cruelty
Out of power in Washington, Republicans pursue hard-right agenda across the country - "In Florida, Oklahoma and Iowa, Republican legislators passed bills granting immunity to drivers who hit protesters, part of a wave of Republican-led legislation aimed at cracking down on public protests of the kind that followed the police killing of George Floyd. Across the country, a bevy of states have passed bills preventing transgender athletes from playing high school sports." (previously) [more inside]
Start The Steal
Gaetzgate Smoking Gun Uncovered
The Daily Beast has obtained a confession letter that Joel Greenberg wrote after asking Roger Stone to help him obtain a pardon.
“My lawyers that I fired, know the whole story about MG’s involvement,” Greenberg wrote to Stone on Dec. 21. “They know he paid me to pay the girls and that he and I both had sex with the girl who was underage.”[more inside]
Is the presidency a license to kill?
San Francisco journalist Paul W. Lovinger takes a hard look at the general failure of American presidents, since World War II, to get Congressional approval for military adventures including but not limited to Korea, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, Lebanon, Grenada, Afghanistan, Bosnia, Colombia, Haiti, Iraq, Somalia, Sudan and Syria. "While not king, [the President] has become a ruler with more war power than George III had." The power to declare war, Constitutionally vested solely in Congress, has effectively lost all meaning. "Do we elect a chief executive—or a chief executioner? No president is likely to maliciously shoot someone to death point-blank. That’s murder. But no president seems to mind ordering many people shot or bombed in a distant land. That’s war."
"Unconscionable"
Biden keeps Trump’s record-low cap on refugees — President Joe Biden on Friday stuck with his predecessor’s historically low cap of 15,000 refugees for this year and instead moved to accelerate admissions, triggering an outcry from resettlement agencies and even Biden allies that he was backpedaling on a key promise. [more inside]
'Political Misdirection and Rebranding Exercises'
Top Republicans Want to Rebrand GOP as Party of Working Class (slNPR, includes link to six-page memo from Rep. Jim Banks* (R-IN)) [more inside]
You could be a total moron and get elected.
Rep. Matt Gaetz & DOJ trafficking inquiry
Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz faces investigation over relationship with teen girl (USA Today, March 31, 2021) Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., said he is under investigation for his sexual conduct after a report Tuesday that the Department of Justice is looking into whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old girl, and he claimed the investigation is related to an effort to extort him. The New York Times reported that, according to three sources briefed on the issue, an inquiry seeks to uncover whether Gaetz violated sex trafficking laws by paying for a teen girl to travel with him. Charges have not been filed against the Florida congressman. [more inside]
John Moore: photographer at the borders
John Moore is a photographer, and Getty Images Special Correspondent. His work was nominated several times for World Press Photo Contest (2005, 2008, 2012) and in 2019 he won the World Press Photo of the Year. [more inside]
Could Trump Be The 1st U.S. President Charged With A Criminal Offense?
...but if Trump did commit crimes of some sort, even if they're kind of, you know, sort of ordinary business crimes, if he did, it's important that there not be a culture of impunity in this country, that there needs to be a message sent that there are consequences, no matter how rich and important you are, if you break the law, and that that message is more important almost than anything else when it comes to protecting democracy.Could Trump Be The 1st U.S. President Charged With A Criminal Offense? [more inside]
"This ‘tip line’ appears to have operated more like a garbage chute"
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asks Attorney General Merrick Garland to look into matters which precede Garland's tenure "but have evaded oversight" -- including Justice Brett Kavanaugh [more inside]
Maybe it was always going to be about the grift
Conceived as a full-time attack machine against Mr. Trump, the Lincoln Project’s public profile soared last year as its founders built a reputation as a creative yet ruthless band of veteran operators. They recruited like-minded colleagues, and their scathing videos brought adulation from the left and an aura of mischievous idealism for what they claimed was their mission: nothing less than to save democracy. They also hit upon a geyser of cash, discovering that biting attacks on a uniquely polarizing president could be as profitable in the loosely regulated world of political fund-raising as Mr. Trump’s populist bravado was for his own campaign. Then it all began to unravel.Inside the Lincoln Project’s Secrets, Side Deals and Scandals (New York Times) [more inside]
"Nevada's Democratic Party belongs to the socialists now."
Entire Staff of Nevada Democratic Party Quits After Democratic Socialist Slate Won Every Seat. While the departure of the staff was not unexpected with Alana Mounce being appointed to political director of the DNC, $450,000 was transferred from the party to help fund the 2022 election fight for Senator Catherine Cortez Masto.
Government is back: The first 50 days of the Biden-Harris administration
The administration is putting Congress to work: confirmations, COVID relief, and voting rights take shape halfway through the first 100 days. [more inside]
"Let me tell you this right now, Donald J. Trump ain't going anywhere."
The Conservative Political Action Conference, better known as CPAC, wraps up today with the first post-presidential speech from Donald Trump. [more inside]
the party of voter suppression
'5-Alarm Fire': Arizona Republicans Lead Nationwide GOP Push To Curb Voting Rights - "Arizona Republicans have launched a 'full-scale assault' on democracy, voting rights groups warned, pointing to the introduction of bills that would restrict ballot access and overhaul the state's election system in the wake of major GOP losses in 2020." [more inside]
Oh, this and that. You?
Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [D-NY-14] raised two million dollars in less than a day for Texas relief efforts. [more inside]
Well, They Blew Up the Chicken Man in [Jersey] Last Night
Lancet Report Shines Klieg Light on Health Harms of Trump Era
New report details devastating impact of the Trump administration's health-harming policies, calls for sweeping reforms; roughly 40% of the USA’s coronavirus deaths could have been prevented. [more inside]
Impeachment Trial Begins
"The Senate impeachment trial of former President Trump begins with arguments and a vote on the constitutionality of the trial. Opening arguments from the House impeachment managers and the former president’s defense team are expected to follow." Impeachment managers will seek to prove that his actions directly incited the insurrection. Charges related to the events of 1/6/21 are being filed against participants in the siege.
Tipping Is a Legacy of Slavery
Michelle Alexander on why the US should abolish the racist, sexist subminimum wage: "Before the pandemic, Black women who are tipped restaurant workers earned on average nearly $5 an hour less than their white male counterparts nationwide — largely because they are segregated into more casual restaurants in which they earn far less in tips than white men who more often work in fine dining, but also because of customer bias in tipping. With the pandemic, these inequities were exacerbated; nearly nine in 10 Black tipped workers reported that their tips decreased by half or more, compared to 78 percent of workers overall." (NYT/Archive.is) [more inside]
A vast middle-wing conspiracy
What a lot of people did (mostly left, but also some on the right) to make the election run smoothly and honestly. "There was a conspiracy unfolding behind the scenes, one that both curtailed the protests and coordinated the resistance from CEOs. Both surprises were the result of an informal alliance between left-wing activists and business titans. The pact was formalized in a terse, little-noticed joint statement of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and AFL-CIO published on Election Day. Both sides would come to see it as a sort of implicit bargain–inspired by the summer’s massive, sometimes destructive racial-justice protests–in which the forces of labor came together with the forces of capital to keep the peace and oppose Trump’s assault on democracy." [more inside]
The Cost of a Big Lie
Florida-based Smartmatic filed a defamation suit Thursday against Fox News, some of its better-known news employees and two attorneys close to Trump, Sidney Powell and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani. The lawsuit, which seeks $2.7 billion in damages, accuses them of executing a coordinated disinformation campaign aimed at convincing the public of rampant election fraud. Smartmatic’s suit follows a pair of similar complaints filed last month by Dominion against Giuliani and Powell, accusing both of spreading bogus claims for self-promotion and a shot at salvaging a second term for Trump. Fox News Faces $2.7 Billion Lawsuit Over Voting Machine Fraud Claims [Bloomberg] [more inside]
My story is one of many stories
The reason why I think it's important to share is because so many of the people who helped perpetrate and who take responsibility for what happened in the Capitol are trying to tell us all to move on. AOC on what happened in the Capitol. [Insta video]
77 Days: Trump’s Campaign to Subvert the Election
...Thursday the 12th was the day Mr. Trump’s flimsy, long-shot legal effort to reverse his loss turned into something else entirely — an extralegal campaign to subvert the election, rooted in a lie so convincing to some of his most devoted followers that it made the deadly Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol almost inevitable.77 Days: Trump’s Campaign to Subvert the Election [NYT]
...In coming days, a presidential transition like no other will be dissected when he stands trial in the Senate on an impeachment charge of “incitement of insurrection.” Yet his lie of an election stolen by corrupt and evil forces lives on in a divided America.
Will There Be a Trump Presidential Library? Don’t Count On It
Will There Be a Trump Presidential Library? Don’t Count On It (Politico): "It’s not because he doesn’t read books (presidential libraries aren’t that kind of library), and not because his presidency ended in a shocking insurrection at the U.S. Capitol fanned by Trump himself, resulting in a second impeachment. Other presidents have stepped down in borderline disgrace—Richard Nixon resigned; Herbert Hoover lost in a landslide, blamed for the Great Depression—and still got their libraries. Trump likely won’t even manage to build a private library, such as the one Nixon finally created for himself. Or the “center” for which Barack Obama has had great difficulty even breaking ground, which will lack a government presence, a research facility, or archives. Presidential libraries are complicated. And if you understand how they work—and how Trump himself works—it’s nearly impossible to imagine him actually pulling it off." Related: National Archives launches website for Trump Presidential Library (Politico); Trump to flee Washington and seek rehabilitation in a MAGA oasis: Florida (The Washington Post)
you will absolutely positively have to break up with actual white people
Tressie McMillan Cottom (sociologist, writer, UNC professor, and 2020 MacArthur Fellow; previously) on the glut of recent stories “about how the recent Presidential contest slash white supremacist insurrection slash Trump legacy has torn apart many families”: Breaking Up With White Supremacy Was Always The End Game. [more inside]
"I have chills"
As ye deal with my contemners so with you my grace shall deal—Julia Howe
161 years ago last month, convicted insurrectionist and incorrigible abolitionist John Brown (PDF) was put to death by the united Commonwealth of Virginia for masterminding his final attempt to ignite an American version of the Roman Republic's Servile Wars: the tactical raid on the United States Armory at Harper's Ferry, an intentional attack on the US Federal Government as a planned first step in unraveling a slave empire founded on notions of freedom. [more inside]
Money Pleeease!
Joe Biden, Welfare King "Joe Biden's presidency could be one in which the toxic ideological bias against a proper welfare state and active government dies an extremely deserved death. Free money is both good and fun!" [more inside]
Biden / Harris Inauguration
The inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris: Live camera feed from C-Span; live updates from CNN; NYT live updates; NYT live stream and analysis; The Guardian live updates; NPR coverage beginning at 11 a.m. EST; streaming beginning at 10:30 a.m. EST at bideninaugural.org. [more inside]
Toward a unified theory of the exurbs
The Republican Party’s most Pro-Trump members have been elected by higher income white homeowners in the fast-growing exurban fringe. They feel the social status traditionally associated with their identity as white Christians is being degraded and that left wing political movements pose a threat to their livelihoods and political power. [more inside]
A plan to rescue America - President-Elect Biden's Coronavirus response
Following on from two weeks of violent sedition, and the historic second impeachment of the current resident, Joe Biden yesterday laid out his administration's $1.9tn American Rescue Plan in a televised address.
Coverage links, and some others from prior megathread inside. [more inside]
William Pelley and the Silver Legion of America
The Wages of Sedition: Speaker Pelosi will impeach Trump a second time
The storming of the U.S. Capitol has resulted in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi setting a hard deadline for moving forward with a 2nd impeachment of Donald Trump. Meanwhile, many of the insurrectionists caught on film are now under arrest. And the GOP has shifted from attacking the election to asking for everyone to move on and embrace unity.
Corporate Censorship of a Would-Be Autocrat
After Trump's coup attempt, Twitter has finally kicked the president off rather than give him a stern time out. Apple has threatened to pull Parler from the App store, and Google has already followed through. Despite Trump actually being the government (with a press office), and all of these being private companies, should tech have so much power to censor communication? Does deplatforming work on a whole ideology rather than an individual? [more inside]
Mob breaches Capitol, spurring lockdown
U.S. Capitol is on lockdown as protesters clash with police and breach the building; D.C. mayor imposes curfew.
A Historic Senator for Georgia
With control of the US Senate and hanging in the balance, two runoff Senatorial elections in the US state of Georgia with major national consequences draw to a close this evening. With 97% of the vote tallies, Decision Desk HQ (Twitter) has called one of the races for Democrat Raphael Warnock. Warnock, the pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta, where Martin Luther King Jr. preached a gospel of social justice, will be the first Black Senator elected by Georgia. [more inside]
Bernie will be the Dem nominee, the GOP will retake the House
Everything we know remains wrong. Politico's Worst Predictions of 2020 is always an infuriatingly amusing read -- this year more so than ever.
Scott Adams, Gianno Caldwell, James Carville, Mick Mulvaney, Paul Begala, Richard Epstein, Maxine Waters, Fortune Magazine, Jesse Watters, Nancy Pelosi, Hugh Hewitt, BD Holly, Mike Pence, Elon Musk, Karl Rove, Adam Parkhomenko, Kayleigh McEnany, Jeanne Pirro, Rachel Maddow, Ted Cruz, Greg Locke, Angus King, Dr. Irwin Redlener, Bernie Sanders, Helmut Norpoth, Amy Siskind, Kristin B. Tate, Carl Beijer, Brad Parscale, Scott Walker, and of course, Donald f***ing Trump -- y'all need to retire your crystal balls.
Scott Adams, Gianno Caldwell, James Carville, Mick Mulvaney, Paul Begala, Richard Epstein, Maxine Waters, Fortune Magazine, Jesse Watters, Nancy Pelosi, Hugh Hewitt, BD Holly, Mike Pence, Elon Musk, Karl Rove, Adam Parkhomenko, Kayleigh McEnany, Jeanne Pirro, Rachel Maddow, Ted Cruz, Greg Locke, Angus King, Dr. Irwin Redlener, Bernie Sanders, Helmut Norpoth, Amy Siskind, Kristin B. Tate, Carl Beijer, Brad Parscale, Scott Walker, and of course, Donald f***ing Trump -- y'all need to retire your crystal balls.