J.D. Vance is a fake, a phony, and fraud (hat tip to the late Bob Grant) and more than anything, a poseur. However, he's a poseur who may become the next US Senator from, as Rachel Maddow would patronizingly put it, "the great state of Ohio." Credit for this catch goes to a Washington Post reporter.
JD Vance - and many conservatives like him - believe that Americans who don’t have children don’t have a stake in the country’s future … https://t.co/RJabslEbN5
Responding to Scott, one tweeter noted "And to think, he is bought and paid for and brought to you
by a gay, childless Silicon Valley billionaire. Wonder if he got prior approval
from his owner before sending this out."
Vance probably could get approval from ruthless libertarian right-wing multi-billionaire Peter Thiel for anything that would help the Yale law school graduate and self-styled populist get to the Senate. Thiel once boasted at a GOP convention "I am proud to be a Republican," as if identifying with the Party of Trump was a badge of honor. That was immediately after boasting "I am proud to be gay," as if it were a choice.
Because that's how it is for a large chunk of Republicans- gay or straight is a choice while to have a child should not be optional. J.D. Vance is alright with childless parents, unless they want to have a say in their country's future. It's not only race now, but also family status determining whether the individual is a first-class or second-class citizen.
This rhetoric is so hurtful to so many people, including my
friend who just had her 3rd miscarriage in a year. Whether you're childless by
choice or by chance your life still matters, no matter what J.D. Vance says.
Periodically, Vance's ideological brothers and sisters, who won't admit global warming is real because they are "not scientists," will confidently declare that life begins at conception. However, when a serious conservative with a legitimate chance at becoming a United States senator suggests that childless couples don't deserve the right to vote, it becomes clearer that it's not about abortion. It's about forced-birth: bear a child or bear the consequences.
"Hillary Clinton" trended on Twitter
Wednesday morning in the wake of the victory of Cuyahoga County Commissioner
and county Democratic party chief Shantel Brown over Nina Turner in the special election
primary to represent the people of Ohio's 10th Congressional District. Tweets
included
One of the things the left needs to learn is that
Democrats...like Democrats. We don't hate Joe Biden. We don't hate Hillary
Clinton. You will never get to a majority of your party by attacking your
allies. And if you want to form a new third party, I mean, good luck.
f you let Nina’s loss make you abandon trying to get
progressives elected, you’re doing exactly what Hillary Clinton would want.
Just remember that
a lot of people are gonna treat the election in #oh11 as a
referendum on Bernie and socialism or whatever, but thats wrong. the election
is about whether or not hillary clinton has enough sway to determine a primary
anymore
Hillary Clinton supported Shontel Brown Bernie Sanders supported Nina Turner.
Revenge is a dish best served by Hillary Clinton
Hillary Clinton endorsed Shontel EARLY AF. Before MANY
others. This is her proxy win.
Hillary Clinton no doubt harbored a sense of satisfaction Wednesday after the candidate she endorsed defeated the candidate who initially
endorsed Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2016, switched
to Sanders, then refused to endorse the Democratic nominee against Donald Trump
in the general election. She has a right to this emotion, especially because,
if Shontel Brown had lost, Clinton haters, left and right, would have crowed.
But make no mistake about it. This election wasn't about
Clinton, or Clinton v. Sanders, or even Joe Biden, whom Brown declared her
fealty toward while she campaigned.
Megastar Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and two-time presidential
candidate and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders, enthusiastic supporters of Turner, were heavily invested in the race. However, on July 26 we learned
So, too, is Rep. Jim Clyburn (D-SC), the powerful House
majority whip who will be campaigning for Shontel Brown, a Democratic Party establishment
favorite and a Cuyahoga County party chair, before voters head to the polls on
August 3. The South Carolina congressman, 81, endorsed Brown in late June,
upping the ante of an election that is largely split along generational as well
as ideological lines.
Brown had been trailing Turner before Clyburn backed her.
“When I first got the frantic call, they told me she was polling at about 15,
20%,” the South Carolina congressman said in an interview with Jewish Insider
on Friday. “If it means anything,” he recalled concluding, “it means I need to
up my involvement, and so I think that’s why I did.”
Since then, Brown has been gaining momentum, with additional
support from outside independent expenditures as well new endorsements from
pro-Israel Democrats in Congress. Earlier this month, the influential political
arm of the Congressional Black Caucus threw its support behind Brown, who, like
Turner, is Black.
“I was pleased that they did,” Clyburn, who is a member of
the CBC, remarked, while adding that he had no involvement in the endorsement
process because he does not sit on the PAC’s board. “I didn’t play a role in
it.”
The Congressional Black Caucus as an organization played a crucial role, whether or not Clyburn had a hand in its endorsement of Brown.
But
Either way, Clyburn’s high-profile endorsement seems to have
opened up a plausible path to victory for his preferred candidate in the final
weeks of the race. A mid-July survey commissioned by Democratic Majority for
Israel, which is backing Brown, put the Democratic congressional hopeful at 36%
among likely voters, just five points behind Turner. An independent poll from
early July, conducted by TargetPoint Consulting, had both candidates tied at
33%.
Clyburn, who is credited with clinching the nomination for
President Joe Biden in last year’s presidential primaries, expressed optimism
that his endorsement of Brown would have a similar impact. “I hope so,” he told
JI. “I also hope that people know that she is a good person who would make a great
congressperson.”
Casual fans know LeBron James, among the half dozen greatest
non-centers to have played in the National Basketball Association, as
"King James." For better or worse: move over, LeBron. There is a new
King James in town, this one hailing from South Carolina.
I wrote that message in a private channel. I did not expect it to be published. But it was still a mistake. I apologize. It was arrogant and idiotic. A swarm of Russian trolls was accusing me of failure, and I responded in a most unprofessional way. Explanation, not excuse. https://t.co/OGxdGrcaed
"Still a mistake;" "arrogant and idiotic;" "responded in a most unprofessional way;" "explanation, not excuse." That has all the elements of a genuine apology- I made a mistake, I was wrong to do it and there was no excuse. That's the way it's done.
Matthew Yglesias comments on SARS-CoV-19 and Hayes Brown on
voter suppression. Can you guess the two things the messages have in common?
(One is very obvious.).
Yes except for his vocal anti-vaccine posturing, DeSantis has been pro-vaccination.
Had he stuck to pro-vaccination rather than done the vocal anti-vaccine posturing, lives could have been saved.
Until we get rid of that or find a way to really shame these
Republican senators who are so against the idea of expanding voting rights into
voting for such a bill, then I don't see how you can out-organize the other two
parts. You can't out-organize gerrymandering; you can't out-organize someone
who can say "nope, we just tipped the results of the vote.
There’s no way to out-organize an assault on voting rights. “The Democrats are looking at this too narrowly,” says @HayesBrown. Time to remove the filibuster or “find a way to really shame” the opposition.😖 #Velshipic.twitter.com/azpTiXW9tU
They're both right. Yglesias recognizes that
DeSantis would have saved lives if he had stayed the course on vaccination. And
Brown realizes that eliminating the filibuster is crucial to protecting the
right to vote. Simply ginning up the Democratic vote to try to compensate for voter suppression (which may have saved Joe Biden's presidential bid) is
insufficient.
But they both make the same, understandable and common,
error of Democrats/liberals and centrists.
Brown states "... or find a way to really shame these
Republican senators...." Similarly, Yglesias remarks "hope it was
worth it to him."
Does Yglesias really hope it is "worth it" to DeSantis? Of course not. He wants the Florida governor to feel bad about it.
That's not going to happen- or at least it won't happen
unless the anti-vaccination posture backfires politically on DeSantis. He will not feel guilt or shame and those GOP
senators will not be shamed into expanding voting rights.
Once and probably future Virginia governor about his opponent:
Glenn Youngkin sees no issue attending an “election integrity” rally that even some Republicans are calling a “conspiracy-palooza.”
By attending this event, he is helping conspiracy theorists attack our democracy. He has no shame.
Shame and guilt or feeling bad is not how they roll. Republican members of Congress
enthusiastically followed Donald Trump throughout the latter's presidency. They
saw him in Helsinki siding with a former KGB agent against our nation's
intelligence services, try to pressure a foreign government to dig up dirt on
an American politician, work hand-in-hand with a deadly coronavirus, and
encourage insurrectionists intending to murder the Vice-President and possibly
themselves.
It was all fine with them, the end game the establishment of
one-party rule and evisceration of democracy. Democrats or liberals can plead
"you should be ashamed" or "I hope you're happy with
yourselves" and they will not change. It's who they are.
On Friday's Real Time with Bill Maher, the host read- and
condemned- several tweets from conservatives vehemently criticizing Simon Biles
for backing away from the Olympics. (We mustn't say "quit.")
Enthusiastically agreeing, Virgin Islands Delegate for the House of
Representatives, Democrat Stacey Plaskett, remarked (at 1:48 of the video) "my response to that is they can kiss my overworked black woman ass."
It's unclear what the Biles overblown controversy has to do
specifically with Piskett's ass, but
some individuals cannot resist the temptation to be vulgar on national
television. It's unclear also what this
has to do with race, given that there has been no indication that the
overheated reaction to Biles' decision is related to race.
More interesting, however, is that the audience,
understandably supportive of Biles, lustily applauded, probably (and hopefully) in the
belief that Plaskett at that moment was supporting Biles.
Note that Biles, a House manager in the second impeachment
of President Trump, did not say that the gymnast should have said "they
can kiss my overworked black woman ass." Instead, she admonished "they can
kiss my overworked black woman ass."
The delegate was not referring to the Olympian, but to herself as possessing an "overworked
black ass."
Perhaps Plaskett was not suggesting that she's overworked
because she's black or female. She certainly wasn't lamenting the plight of blue collar
workers in the Virgin Islands who have to retire early because of the enormous
strain of their labor. Nor was she thinking of the mother holding down two jobs
while raising young children. Nor was she speaking of the retail employee in a tedious job, maybe working evenings and weekends earning minimum wage, nor
the college student holding down a job while accumulating debt it may take a
lifetime to pay back.
Stacey Plaskett was thinking of herself, probably claiming
that she is working so hard as a member of the House of Representatives.
Ethics official, who himself sympathizes with Simone Biles, sees the
Washington, D.C. job differently:
Hey Congress, enjoy the vacay. Work is for jerks. Who cares if you failed to do your job for American familes by extending the eviction moratorum before skipping town. What matters is that you've got your shades and your sunblock. You're ready for Hot Congressional Rep. Summer.
They all begin vacation in a different location, for Plaskett at Studio 33 at Television City in Los Angeles. However, upon
further review: maybe I'm wrong and the V.I. cannot do better than Stacey
Plaskett. If she is only half as impressive and virtuous as she thinks she
is, the Virgin Islands is very well represented, indeed
Not comedian Noel Casler, who maintains Jared Kushner is
starting an investment firm because he intends to attract funds for another run
at the presidency by his father-in-law. Casler warns (beginning at 1:56 of his
"rant")
So if you think these guys are getting stopped, they're not.
I guarantee you they threw Tom Barrack to the wolves as a distraction just like
you'd throw a body off the back of a truck when you're being chased by the cops
or something. You know?
These guys are using human shields, they're continuing their
grift, and they're continuing to keep the channels open that allowed them to
become so powerful in the first place, and you gotta stop them.
Having worked on the set of The Apprentice, Casler
recognizes Trump's insatiable desire for wealth and power and willingness to use virtually any means to achieve unsavory ends. He is not joking about the deadly significance
of this moment in time. Similarly
Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Tex.) became the third member of
Congress to be arrested during nonviolent protests aimed at rallying support
for federal voting legislation that activists say are necessary to push back
against new restrictive state laws.
“We pass the Voting Rights Act because my people in Texas
are suffering, my people in Mississippi are suffering, my people in Georgia are
suffering,” Jackson Lee said shortly before Capitol Police officers prepared to
arrest her and six others who blocked the entrance to the Hart Senate Office
Building. “We are here to say that voting rights is a fundamental
constitutional right. … We will not be moved.”
Rep. Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) was arrested at the Hart Senate
Office Building last week. The week before, Rep. Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio),
chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus, was cuffed with zip ties and
briefly detained.
This realism and seriousness does not extend
to the Democratic street. In a poll from
The Associated Press/NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, "53% of Democrats say they are
pessimistic about U.S. politics generally " However, 60% were
"optimistic about the future of the Democratic Party" and only 14%
were pessimistic.
Yet, Democrats were optimistic because of passage of the pandemic response
package and widespread distribution of Covid-19 vaccines. Additionally, they
cited "displacing Trump's bombastic leadership style."
Unless he dies, Donald Trump isn't going anywhere. His Party will still be defending, supporting, and following the man who describes
himself as "the chosen one." His bombastic leadership style got him
elected once and Republicans appear poised to retake both chambers of Congress next year,
whereupon the GOP would be in a stronger position to reinforce those efforts to
rig elections in decisive states.
Joe Biden was able to take down Donald Trump- temporarily-
because of high turnout by a Democratic electorate motivated by the clear
and present danger it didn't recognize in 2016. The likes of Noel Casler and Representative Lee have a difficult task in rousing the left from its
stupor. If Democrats wait until the next presidential election year to
recognize the GOP's determination to tear down democracy, it may be too late.
I've no problem with a gymnast who owes us nothing walking away from a sporting event that doesn't affect us. I have a problem with a President, who owes us everything, walking away from voting rights without even trying because the fight seemed hard and he cares about potholes.
I had intended to say nothing about Simone Biles other than
roughly what Shaub did. She is not a villain and she is not a hero. She is
merely a great young athlete who did what she believed she had to do. The end.
But unlike Shaub, who understands Biles should not consume
our thoughts, some people cannot let go. Naveed Jamali, though possessing an admirable professional biography, fails to understand that Simone Biles' world is sports, not real life, and that
her actions affect only her teammates, her family, and herself.
I’m going to say the quiet part out loud: All of this is based on the fear that brown and black people will take white entitlement away. From 1/6 to Simone Biles, it’s all about race.
It must be comforting neither to think hard not to evaluate
news events in the context of their circumstances. Reducing all of them to race would save us the effort of considering anything objectively and allow us to stereotype and stigmatize individuals critical of Biles.
Sincere feelings and beliefs need not be suppressed in a misguided effort to avoid further alienating individuals we're convinced are insufficiently tolerant of blacks or other minorities. Canceling ourselves is not a worthy option.
It's simply that Jamali is flat-out wrong. It's not
"all about race." Some people form their opinions of other people or issues based upon race, an affliction affecting right, left, and center. Thankfully, they constitute a minority.
Individuals should be permitted their views about Biles
without a strong inference that they are racist. An individual who is racially
biased or hostile should be called out with the action or statement cited. However, people should be permitted their views about Simone Biles without an assumption that it is determined by race. Condemning as biased, prejudiced, or racist everyone on one side of an issue
is, well, plainly ignorant.
