geek tragedy
geek tragedy's JournalDoes the party need to move right culturally to win more elections?
Swing voters in this country are not fiscal conservatives/social liberals. They're the opposite--social conservatives (especially on race and immigration) who are open to more liberal economic efforts.
https://www.voterstudygroup.org/reports/2016-elections/political-divisions-in-2016-and-beyond
People assumed that we had won the culture wars going into the 2016 elections. It's pretty clear that we didn't.
Tr*mpism thrives in cultural polarization and political tribalism defined by identity.
How do we defuse that? The fashionable answer in some parts is to embrace economic populism, but how many Tr*mp voters would a socially liberal win over with single payer and free college(which would get demonized as a --you can guess it--free stuff for disfavored minorities and immigrants, and for snooty urban elites, respectively).
Seems pretty clear that some stuff--the call-out culture, privilege-shaming etc are going to have to be repudiated, since we'll need to be at pains to show that the party 'respects' those voters. But, will that be enough? I guess it was for Obama.
Jeff Sessions has lawyered up
http://www.nationallawjournal.com/id=1202790695886/Chuck-Cooper-Confirms-Hes-AG-Jeff-Sessions-Lawyer********************Charles Cooper, the well-known Republican lawyer, wasn't simply in attendance at U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions' congressional hearing one week ago to support his friend. Cooper is Sessions' personal lawyer, he confirmed in an email Tuesday.
Cooper didn't provide additional details on the nature of the representation—including whether it extends to the criminal inquiry into Trump campaign affiliates' involvement with Russia.
Peter Carr, a spokesperson for the Justice Department's investigation, declined to comment because the probe is ongoing. Spokespeople for Sessions didn't immediately respond to requests Tuesday.
Cooper's involvement isn't that surprising given his public appearance with Sessions on Capitol Hill. Lawyers typically consult counsel before testifying, so that they can prepare adequately.
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Jared's in much deeper sh!t than a lot of people realize.
http://www.cbsnews.com/news/report-jared-kushner-could-choose-a-new-lawyer-to-represent-him-in-russia-probe/******************************************
Notes about Abbe Lowell:
1) He not she.
2) People hire Lowell under one set of circumstances--they're worried not about avoiding an indictment but rather in avoiding a conviction at trial.
Besides Menendez and Abramoff, he also represented John Edwards and was the Democrats' head counsel during Clinton's impeachment trial.
This is not a guy who's brought in to work something out with the DOJ.
American Gestapo (ICE) tries to deport trafficking victims
Seriously, ICE agents are exceeded in wanton thuggishness only by the CBP.
https://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20170617/kew-gardens/queens-criminal-courthouse-ice-agents-legal-aid
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ICE agents were inside the courthouse looking for a young woman from China who was charged for working illegally as a masseuse, according to WNYC.
She was being tried in human trafficking court, which aims to provide alternative sentences to possible sex workers — who are often victims of sex trafficking or other crimes, according to court officials.
Lawyers from Legal Aid protected the woman from ICE agents by asking the judge for bail so she could leave the courthouse, according to WNYC.
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No immigrant, regardless of legal status, should ever be cooperating with federal law enforcement under the Trump regime. The federal government has declared war on immigrants.
Report: Republican Congressman who talked to Hodgkinson in parking lot was on his "hit list"
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/congressional-baseball-gunman-had-list-gop-lawmakers-names-n773571?cid=sm_npd_nn_tw_ma*****************************
The shooter who opened fire on a Republican congressional baseball practice on Wednesday had a list of several Republican representatives in his pocket, according to officials briefed on the FBI investigation.
The gunman, James T. Hodgkinson, was shot by police and later died of his wounds. House Majority Whip Steve Scalise and three other people were wounded in the attack. Scalise remained in critical condition on Friday although his condition has improved, doctors said.
The officials said investigators don’t know what the list of names means, but members of Congress have been briefed.
Eyewitness Rep. Ron DeSantis, confirmed this photo of James Hodgkinson, suspect in the shootings at a Republican baseball game in Alexandria, Virginia. via Facebook .
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Hodgkinson asked about which party's players were on the field.
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/14/rep-jeff-duncan-ron-desantis-shooter-targeted-republicans/102847970/
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Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-S.C., told Fox News that he and Rep. Ron DeSantis of Florida were leaving their regular Republican baseball practice together around 7:05 a.m. when the man, later identified as James T. Hodgkinson of Illinois, approached them.
Duncan, who plays infield for the GOP team, said the man asked him who was playing. When the congressman responded it was Republican members of the congressional baseball team, the man left while the congressmen got in their car.
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Wingnuts are human too, I can't imagine the mix of emotions (guilt, survivor's remorse, relief at not being shot, etc) that Duncan must be experiencing.
Just to be clear, the a-hole terrorist who shot Scalise and others does not share Bernie's values.
Not even close.
Bernie is dedicated to non-violence and to letting all voices be heard, even those with whom he disagrees.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/volokh-conspiracy/wp/2017/04/23/bernie-sanders-defends-ann-coulters-right-to-speak/?utm_term=.9c1e79f5b3e1
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“I don’t like this. I don’t like it,” Sanders told The Huffington Post after speaking at a rally . . . “Obviously Ann Coulter’s outrageous ― to my mind, off the wall. But you know, people have a right to give their two cents-worth, give a speech, without fear of violence and intimidation.” . . .
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The guy who shot Scalise was a Bernie-or-Buster, voted for Jill Stein
Facebook profile is full of anti-Trump stuff, some pretty harsh anti-DNC and anti-Hillary stuff too.
https://m.facebook.com/jthodgkinson
https://www.facebook.com/james.hodgkinson.568
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/2017/live-updates/public-safety/updates-shooting-at-congressional-baseball-practice-in-virginia/shooter-named-as-james-t-hodgkinson/
AP sources: Trump tells senators House health bill 'mean'
Source: ABC News
President Donald Trump told Republican senators Tuesday that the House-passed health care bill is "mean" and urged them to craft a version that is "more generous," congressional sources said.
The president's comments, at a White House lunch with 15 GOP senators, came as Senate Republican leaders' attempts to write their own health care package have been slowed by disagreements between their party's conservative and moderates.
Trump's remarks were a surprising critique of a Republican-written House measure whose passage he lobbied for and praised. At a Rose Garden ceremony minutes after the bill's narrow House passage, Trump called it "a great plan."
His comments also seemed to undercut efforts by Senate conservatives to include restrictions in their chamber's bill, such as cutting the Medicaid health care program for the poor and limiting the services insurers must cover. Moderate GOP senators have been pushing to ease those efforts.
Read more: http://abcnews.go.com/Health/wireStory/ap-sources-trump-tells-senators-house-health-bill-48015512
Mark it down: June 21 is when the Republicans start really ditching Tr*mp
That is, assuming Jon Ossoff wins the special election in GA06.
If that happens, it's a sure sign that Tr*mp is electoral poison to downticket Republicans, especially in suburban areas where the white voters tend to be better educated.
Once they perceive that their political interests are diverging from his, look out.
Kathy Griffin and Bill Maher say offensive stuff in order to get attention for themselves.
This seems like an obvious point, but their entire schtick is to offend people and go beyond what's considered appropriate.
They've gotten rich doing so, despite their lack of other talents. (Griffin was a wannabe Joan Rivers who's now a wannabe Amy Schumer).
They are victims of no one but themselves when they go so far as to find themselves criticized on all sides because the attention they sought is not positive.
They're not worth defending.
Is the scalp-taking ugly and unseemly? Of course.
But, we do it all the time. If those are the rules we're gonna live by, then professional trolls on the nominal left are going to have to deal with it.
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