Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
September 24, 2020
The Biden Blowout Scenario
Make it so! 
https://politicalwire.com/2020/09/24/the-biden-blowout-scenario/
The Biden Blowout Scenario
September 24, 2020 at 7:39 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
Jim VandeHei: “Polls show the path for Biden is quite plausible: He is winning in Wisconsin, Michigan and Pennsylvania, and essentially even in Florida — all Trump states in 2016.”
“And remember: Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million last time to a much more unpopular Democrat, Hillary Clinton.”
“Biden, thanks in part to changing demographics, is running close or better in red states Texas, Georgia, Arizona, Iowa and North Carolina.”
“And remember: Trump lost the popular vote by 3 million last time to a much more unpopular Democrat, Hillary Clinton.”
“Biden, thanks in part to changing demographics, is running close or better in red states Texas, Georgia, Arizona, Iowa and North Carolina.”
September 24, 2020
Posted on Wed, Sep 23rd, 2020 by Alan Ryland
Republican Massachusetts Governor Slams Senate’s Attempts to Confirm SCOTUS Nominee While Delaying
Virus Relief
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) rebuked the Senate’s attempts to confirm a nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court in remarks earlier today. Baker says the Senate should “allow the American people to cast their ballots” first, joining a chorus of voices who say a confirmation should be decided by the winner of November’s general election.
The efforts by the Republican-controlled Senate to hastily confirm a nominee, Baker said, is “100 percent ends-justify-the-means, classic Washington behavior.”
Democrats have railed against what they’ve said is the Republican hypocrisy of rushing to appoint a new Supreme Court justice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already announced that he would like to bring President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Senate floor for a confirmation hearing and a vote. In 2016, McConnell infamously denied Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, a hearing, arguing that it would be inappropriate for a president to appoint a new justice during an election year.
Baker noted that Democrats have amended their position from 2016: “The Democrats all said it was incredibly important to move forward to put in a person on the bench, right?” he said. “And the Republicans all said, ‘No, that’s a really bad idea.’ Four years later, only because the circumstances have changed, Republicans say, ‘We need to move forward, it’s a critical issue for the country,’ and the Democrats say, ‘No, we should wait until after the election.’”
Rep. MA Governor Slams Senate's Attempts to Confirm SCOTUS Nominee While Delaying Virus Relief
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/09/23/republican-massachusetts-governor-slams-senates-attempts-to-confirm-scotus-nominee-while-delaying-virus-relief.htmlPosted on Wed, Sep 23rd, 2020 by Alan Ryland
Republican Massachusetts Governor Slams Senate’s Attempts to Confirm SCOTUS Nominee While Delaying
Virus Relief
Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker (R) rebuked the Senate’s attempts to confirm a nominee to replace the late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the Supreme Court in remarks earlier today. Baker says the Senate should “allow the American people to cast their ballots” first, joining a chorus of voices who say a confirmation should be decided by the winner of November’s general election.
The efforts by the Republican-controlled Senate to hastily confirm a nominee, Baker said, is “100 percent ends-justify-the-means, classic Washington behavior.”
“It’s a big part of why most people in this country think Washington is a problem, period,” he added, before criticizing the federal government for not approving further COVID-19 economic relief.
“I sit here as the governor of the commonwealth of Mass., where we have basically been playing this hand around COVID as best we can, with a really uneven, inconsistent response from the federal government, who has far more tools in their toolbox than any state’s ever going to have to manage their way through this,” Baker said.
He added: “And they are now going to wrap themselves up in a conversation about the Supreme Court, which is important, but nobody looks good with respect to how they’ve chosen to position themselves over the course of the last four years on this issue at a point time when what I would really like to see them focus on is the pandemic — which has killed 200,000 people in the United States of America so far, and continues to wreak havoc on our economy and our communities across not just the commonwealth but across the country. So yeah, I’d like to see them focus on the pandemic.”
“I sit here as the governor of the commonwealth of Mass., where we have basically been playing this hand around COVID as best we can, with a really uneven, inconsistent response from the federal government, who has far more tools in their toolbox than any state’s ever going to have to manage their way through this,” Baker said.
He added: “And they are now going to wrap themselves up in a conversation about the Supreme Court, which is important, but nobody looks good with respect to how they’ve chosen to position themselves over the course of the last four years on this issue at a point time when what I would really like to see them focus on is the pandemic — which has killed 200,000 people in the United States of America so far, and continues to wreak havoc on our economy and our communities across not just the commonwealth but across the country. So yeah, I’d like to see them focus on the pandemic.”
Democrats have railed against what they’ve said is the Republican hypocrisy of rushing to appoint a new Supreme Court justice. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has already announced that he would like to bring President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Senate floor for a confirmation hearing and a vote. In 2016, McConnell infamously denied Merrick Garland, former President Barack Obama’s nominee for the Supreme Court, a hearing, arguing that it would be inappropriate for a president to appoint a new justice during an election year.
Baker noted that Democrats have amended their position from 2016: “The Democrats all said it was incredibly important to move forward to put in a person on the bench, right?” he said. “And the Republicans all said, ‘No, that’s a really bad idea.’ Four years later, only because the circumstances have changed, Republicans say, ‘We need to move forward, it’s a critical issue for the country,’ and the Democrats say, ‘No, we should wait until after the election.’”
September 23, 2020
Hoyer: House should vote on COVID aid — with or without a bipartisan deal
By Mike Lillis - 09/23/20 01:31 PM EDT
The second-ranking House Democrat is amplifying calls for the lower chamber to vote on a multi-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill in the coming days — even absent a deal with the White House.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the House majority leader, said he's hoping for an 11th-hour bipartisan deal on another round of emergency stimulus — something that can pass through the Republican-controlled Senate and win President Trump's signature.
But the sides remain far apart on the size and scope of the next package. And if no agreement emerges, Hoyer wants Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to stage a vote on a Democratic proposal — something in the range of $2.2 trillion — before the House leaves Washington for the last stretch of the campaign.
That strategy would not only increase the pressure on Senate GOP leaders to address the widespread health and economic devastation caused by the deadly pandemic, Hoyer said. It would also help Democrats — particularly vulnerable moderates in tough races — boost their case that Republicans have failed to respond to the ongoing crisis at the expense of constituents.
Hoyer's comments arrive as a growing number of Democrats — centrist and liberals alike — are urging party leaders to seal a deal with the White House on a stimulus deal that they can carry back to voters ahead of the Nov. 3 elections. Individual lawmakers are all over the board, however, when it comes to a specific strategy.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/517819-hoyer-house-should-vote-on-covid-aid-bipartisan-deal-or-none
Hoyer: House should vote on COVID aid -- with or without a bipartisan deal
Hoyer: House should vote on COVID aid — with or without a bipartisan deal
By Mike Lillis - 09/23/20 01:31 PM EDT
The second-ranking House Democrat is amplifying calls for the lower chamber to vote on a multi-trillion-dollar coronavirus relief bill in the coming days — even absent a deal with the White House.
Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the House majority leader, said he's hoping for an 11th-hour bipartisan deal on another round of emergency stimulus — something that can pass through the Republican-controlled Senate and win President Trump's signature.
But the sides remain far apart on the size and scope of the next package. And if no agreement emerges, Hoyer wants Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to stage a vote on a Democratic proposal — something in the range of $2.2 trillion — before the House leaves Washington for the last stretch of the campaign.
That strategy would not only increase the pressure on Senate GOP leaders to address the widespread health and economic devastation caused by the deadly pandemic, Hoyer said. It would also help Democrats — particularly vulnerable moderates in tough races — boost their case that Republicans have failed to respond to the ongoing crisis at the expense of constituents.
"There may not be any agreement; there may not be an ability to put a bill together in that timeframe. But I have been urging for some weeks that we do an alternative response to the Senate," Hoyer said on a press call.
"Not because I think we ought to negotiate with ourselves," he added. "But ... the Speaker has set the amount of resources that we're prepared to deal with. And I think we ought to put that into legislation and ... give it to the Senate. The Senate will do with it what they will, but I hope they will pass it and send it to the president and he'll sign it."
"Not because I think we ought to negotiate with ourselves," he added. "But ... the Speaker has set the amount of resources that we're prepared to deal with. And I think we ought to put that into legislation and ... give it to the Senate. The Senate will do with it what they will, but I hope they will pass it and send it to the president and he'll sign it."
Hoyer's comments arrive as a growing number of Democrats — centrist and liberals alike — are urging party leaders to seal a deal with the White House on a stimulus deal that they can carry back to voters ahead of the Nov. 3 elections. Individual lawmakers are all over the board, however, when it comes to a specific strategy.
more...
https://thehill.com/homenews/house/517819-hoyer-house-should-vote-on-covid-aid-bipartisan-deal-or-none
September 23, 2020
National Politics
Impending SCOTUS Fight Could Split the Trump Coalition
David Wasserman
September 19, 2020
In the hours since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's passing, several analysts have speculated the new, colossal Supreme Court fight will help President Trump by rallying traditional GOP voters behind him and shifting the focus of 2020 from the mismanagement of COVID-19 to a more straightforward partisan cage match.
That's possible, but given the likelihood of the court to take a sharp right turn, a pre-election Supreme Court fight carries much bigger risks for Trump than the Brett Kavanaugh brawl in 2018.
Namely, there's potential for the Roe v. Wade/abortion issue and the Affordable Care Act to drive a wedge in Trump's coalition. In 2016, much of his support came from voters who disliked Hillary Clinton, liked Trump's rhetoric on trade and immigration, but consider themselves pro-choice — especially non —evangelcial, blue-collar women. And, these voters remain up for grabs in 2020.
snip//
The populist message Republicans should be most scared of probably goes something like: "In 2016, Trump promised to drain the swamp. Instead, he became the swamp: he let Mitch McConnell and stock-dumping, ultra-far right GOP senators write his entire domestic agenda." But today, few ads by Biden or Democratic outside groups have attempted to make this link.
It's also not clear groups like the Lincoln Project, whose ads mainly feature over-the-top anti-Trump messaging that amounts to political porn for base Democrats and "Never Trump" Republicans, understand this type of swing voter.
The bottom line: the millions of Obama-to-Trump voters who will decide the 2020 election in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and elsewhere tend to tune out attacks on Trump as a divisive or bad person. But they've long despised McConnell, "establishment" Republicans and the religious right — and a SCOTUS fight gives Democrats an opportunity to rip Trump's coalition open.
Impending SCOTUS Fight Could Split the Trump Coalition
https://cookpolitical.com/node/5836National Politics
Impending SCOTUS Fight Could Split the Trump Coalition
David Wasserman
September 19, 2020
In the hours since Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's passing, several analysts have speculated the new, colossal Supreme Court fight will help President Trump by rallying traditional GOP voters behind him and shifting the focus of 2020 from the mismanagement of COVID-19 to a more straightforward partisan cage match.
That's possible, but given the likelihood of the court to take a sharp right turn, a pre-election Supreme Court fight carries much bigger risks for Trump than the Brett Kavanaugh brawl in 2018.
Namely, there's potential for the Roe v. Wade/abortion issue and the Affordable Care Act to drive a wedge in Trump's coalition. In 2016, much of his support came from voters who disliked Hillary Clinton, liked Trump's rhetoric on trade and immigration, but consider themselves pro-choice — especially non —evangelcial, blue-collar women. And, these voters remain up for grabs in 2020.
snip//
The populist message Republicans should be most scared of probably goes something like: "In 2016, Trump promised to drain the swamp. Instead, he became the swamp: he let Mitch McConnell and stock-dumping, ultra-far right GOP senators write his entire domestic agenda." But today, few ads by Biden or Democratic outside groups have attempted to make this link.
It's also not clear groups like the Lincoln Project, whose ads mainly feature over-the-top anti-Trump messaging that amounts to political porn for base Democrats and "Never Trump" Republicans, understand this type of swing voter.
The bottom line: the millions of Obama-to-Trump voters who will decide the 2020 election in Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin and elsewhere tend to tune out attacks on Trump as a divisive or bad person. But they've long despised McConnell, "establishment" Republicans and the religious right — and a SCOTUS fight gives Democrats an opportunity to rip Trump's coalition open.
September 23, 2020
Tammy Baldwin is going there with Redfield,
head of the CDC who fudged the CDC report in favor of the meat corporations. Reference Rachel last night.
And...msnbc cut away. 
The doctor blew her off when she asked if he'd change the report back to the original.
September 23, 2020
Eric Boehlert: The Ginsburg power grab--the press plays dumb about radical GOP
The Ginsburg power grab—the press plays dumb about radical GOP
Journalists in denial
Eric Boehlert
Watching Republican senators publicly and unapologetically contradict a stream of forceful declarations in 2016 about how under no circumstances should the Senate hold United States Supreme Court hearings during an election year, ought to finally convince the Beltway press that the GOP can no longer be trusted on any topic. A party that has detached itself from reality and now occupies a Trump-inspired alternative universe where facts don't matter, Republicans no longer deserve the media's professional respect.
Lied to relentlessly about all topics, reporters and producers should grasp that one of our two major political parties in this country will no longer engage in rational debate. Yet the press refuses to make that crucial acknowledgement.
Still clinging to the idea that the GOP is filled with honorable men, the press won’t tell the truth about today's radical Republican Party. The denial is driven by the fact the press won’t concede that the two parties are no longer mirror reflections of each other, occupying opposite sides of the political spectrum. Firmly committed to an outdated Both Sides approach to the news, the press realizes that if the GOP is identified as a radical outlier, news outlets then have to find an entirely different way to cover the news. They also understand that accurately labeling the GOP as an extremist vehicle will make them the targets of "liberal media bias" attacks.
Instead of being honest, the press has wasted four years pretending behind closed doors that leaders of the Republican Party are aghast at Trump's un-democratic and corrupt behavior. Assuring readers and viewers that Republicans "privately" remain deeply concerned, the press has done its best to normalize the party in the face of Trump's extremist tendencies.
more...
https://pressrun.media/p/the-ginsburg-power-grabhow-the-press
September 23, 2020
CIA Sending Less and Less Intelligence on Russia to Trump's Desk, Says Report
This is good, right? Don't want to cause mf45 to have a sad. 
https://www.thedailybeast.com/cia-sending-less-and-less-intelligence-on-russia-to-trumps-desk-says-report?ref=home
CIA Sending Less and Less Intelligence on Russia to Trump’s Desk, Says Report
IN THE DARK
Jamie Ross
Published Sep. 23, 2020 7:32AM ET
The CIA has made it more difficult for intelligence about Russia to reach the White House, Politico reports, and some officials are concerned that the information flow is being cut off to prevent President Donald Trump from erupting in fits of rage. Politico cited nine unnamed current and former CIA officials who claimed that Director Gina Haspel has become reluctant to send Russia-related intel reports to Trump’s desk. Four of them said the change means less information on Russia has reached the White House. One official said Haspel was being “more precise, and airtight” because she knows Russia-related intel will go under a microscope, but others said Trump’s sensitivity around Russia means that they hesitate to raise it. A CIA spokesperson said any suggestion that Haspel’s decision-making is politically motivated is “misguided.”
September 23, 2020
GOP Report Fails to Show Wrongdoing by Joe Biden
September 23, 2020 at 7:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
GOP Report Fails to Show Wrongdoing by Joe Biden
https://politicalwire.com/2020/09/23/gop-report-fails-to-show-wrongdoing-by-joe-biden/GOP Report Fails to Show Wrongdoing by Joe Biden
September 23, 2020 at 7:46 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
A pair of Senate Republican committee chairmen released a report Wednesday arguing that Hunter Biden’s board position with a Ukrainian energy company was “awkward,” “problematic” and interfered with “efficient execution of policy” for the Obama administration, the Washington Post reports.
But the report offered few specific examples that it impacted Vice President Joe Biden’s actions and failed to demonstrate that it changed the administration’s policy toward Ukraine.
But the report offered few specific examples that it impacted Vice President Joe Biden’s actions and failed to demonstrate that it changed the administration’s policy toward Ukraine.
September 22, 2020
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
9/22/2020
The One Question for Republicans: What's Your Plan for When the ACA Is Gone?
I may just be a filthy writer with a fondness for sodomy references and scatological humor and not some fancy, overpaid media consultant, but if I were making ads for the Biden campaign or for any of the Democrats in Senate races, they'd be total tearjerkers dealing with how shit-covered Republicans want to fuck us in the ass over health insurance.
I'll give you bones for three spots. You want more? Fuckin' hire me.
Tag line for all of them? "What's your plan for me, (insert Republican shitheel here)?"
Few things fucking freak people out more than the idea that they're gonna lose their health insurance. Republicans need to be made to own the fact that if the Supreme Court overturns the entire Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional, millions of Americans will lose their health insurance in an instant. Everyone on the Medicaid expansion, all 12-14 million, will no longer be on it. The millions of 20somethings covered by their parents up to 26? On their own. Everyone with an Obamacare policy? Nope, that's shitcanned. You got a pre-existing condition? Fuck you. You need expensive treatments for years? Fuck you, too. Caps are back, motherfuckers.
more...
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-one-question-for-republicans-whats.html
The Rude Pundit: The One Question for Republicans: What's Your Plan for When the ACA Is Gone?
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
9/22/2020
The One Question for Republicans: What's Your Plan for When the ACA Is Gone?
I may just be a filthy writer with a fondness for sodomy references and scatological humor and not some fancy, overpaid media consultant, but if I were making ads for the Biden campaign or for any of the Democrats in Senate races, they'd be total tearjerkers dealing with how shit-covered Republicans want to fuck us in the ass over health insurance.
I'll give you bones for three spots. You want more? Fuckin' hire me.
1. Find someone who is 27 years-old who successfully beat cancer in their 20s. Get them to talk about how the only way they did that is because the Affordable Care Act kept them on their parent's health insurance until age 26. They can talk about how they would probably be dead if Trump and the GOP had their way, but, instead, they are happy, healthy, and have a job/family. They can also talk about how their cancer is a pre-existing condition now. And, of course, vote for Biden or the Democrat running for Senate.
2. Find a couple in a red state that expanded its Medicaid program under the ACA. Maybe in Montana or, for extra oomph, Kentucky. Get them to talk about all the medical conditions they got taken care of. Again, talk about how they might have been dead if Republicans had repealed the ACA. Instead, they're working and/or enjoying their kids/grandkids. Let them talk about how, if the Supreme Court gets rid of the ACA, shit will fall apart for them.
3. Find a family with a kid or two who had COVID-19, now suffering with the long-term impact, which we're only learning about, really. Have them talk about the struggle, how their insurance thankfully covers it, but how, if the ACA is overturned, the lung and other issues COVID leaves behind will now be pre-existing conditions that will affect those kids when they try to get insurance for the rest of their lives.
2. Find a couple in a red state that expanded its Medicaid program under the ACA. Maybe in Montana or, for extra oomph, Kentucky. Get them to talk about all the medical conditions they got taken care of. Again, talk about how they might have been dead if Republicans had repealed the ACA. Instead, they're working and/or enjoying their kids/grandkids. Let them talk about how, if the Supreme Court gets rid of the ACA, shit will fall apart for them.
3. Find a family with a kid or two who had COVID-19, now suffering with the long-term impact, which we're only learning about, really. Have them talk about the struggle, how their insurance thankfully covers it, but how, if the ACA is overturned, the lung and other issues COVID leaves behind will now be pre-existing conditions that will affect those kids when they try to get insurance for the rest of their lives.
Tag line for all of them? "What's your plan for me, (insert Republican shitheel here)?"
Few things fucking freak people out more than the idea that they're gonna lose their health insurance. Republicans need to be made to own the fact that if the Supreme Court overturns the entire Affordable Care Act as unconstitutional, millions of Americans will lose their health insurance in an instant. Everyone on the Medicaid expansion, all 12-14 million, will no longer be on it. The millions of 20somethings covered by their parents up to 26? On their own. Everyone with an Obamacare policy? Nope, that's shitcanned. You got a pre-existing condition? Fuck you. You need expensive treatments for years? Fuck you, too. Caps are back, motherfuckers.
more...
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2020/09/the-one-question-for-republicans-whats.html
September 22, 2020
What it’s like fighting for the right to vote as an ex-felon
A conversation with the two Black women at the center of one of America’s most important felony disenfranchisement cases.
By Fabiola Cineas Sep 22, 2020, 8:30am EDT
After Florida voted overwhelmingly to let 1.5 million formerly incarcerated people regain the right to vote, Rosemary McCoy and Sheila Singleton, two Black women who had completed their sentences and probation for felony convictions, cast their ballots in 2019 for the first time in years.
Just months later, they lost that newfound power: In May 2019, the Republican-controlled Florida legislature, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, enacted Senate Bill 7066. It required that formerly incarcerated people pay any restitution, fines, or court fees before they could register to vote and have their rights restored.
More than 85,000 released felons had already registered to vote. Now they faced a new roadblock. Backlash to the new ordinance was swift, with critics likening it to a modern-day Reconstruction-era poll tax. And in a state where election outcomes are often close, Floridians with prior felony convictions could be a key voting bloc.
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a felony disenfranchisement suit on behalf of McCoy and Singleton, arguing that the law is particularly harmful to these women because of their race, gender, and economic status. According to the SPLC, “nearly a quarter of all Black women in Florida live below the poverty line, and the unemployment rate for Black women with a felony conviction is more than 43 percent.” After the bill was passed, McCoy learned that she owed about $7,500 in restitution; Singleton owed $12,000. Interest has been accruing.
more...
https://www.vox.com/21439753/florida-felon-voting-rights
What it's like fighting for the right to vote as an ex-felon
What it’s like fighting for the right to vote as an ex-felon
A conversation with the two Black women at the center of one of America’s most important felony disenfranchisement cases.
By Fabiola Cineas Sep 22, 2020, 8:30am EDT
After Florida voted overwhelmingly to let 1.5 million formerly incarcerated people regain the right to vote, Rosemary McCoy and Sheila Singleton, two Black women who had completed their sentences and probation for felony convictions, cast their ballots in 2019 for the first time in years.
Just months later, they lost that newfound power: In May 2019, the Republican-controlled Florida legislature, backed by Gov. Ron DeSantis, enacted Senate Bill 7066. It required that formerly incarcerated people pay any restitution, fines, or court fees before they could register to vote and have their rights restored.
More than 85,000 released felons had already registered to vote. Now they faced a new roadblock. Backlash to the new ordinance was swift, with critics likening it to a modern-day Reconstruction-era poll tax. And in a state where election outcomes are often close, Floridians with prior felony convictions could be a key voting bloc.
The Southern Poverty Law Center filed a felony disenfranchisement suit on behalf of McCoy and Singleton, arguing that the law is particularly harmful to these women because of their race, gender, and economic status. According to the SPLC, “nearly a quarter of all Black women in Florida live below the poverty line, and the unemployment rate for Black women with a felony conviction is more than 43 percent.” After the bill was passed, McCoy learned that she owed about $7,500 in restitution; Singleton owed $12,000. Interest has been accruing.
more...
https://www.vox.com/21439753/florida-felon-voting-rights
Profile Information
Gender: FemaleHometown: NY
Home country: US
Current location: Florida
Member since: Mon Sep 6, 2004, 09:54 PM
Number of posts: 171,056
