babylonsister
babylonsister's JournalSo, let me get this straight.
A friend posted this on FB~
You can’t hand out water and snacks to people waiting in line to vote, but you can station yourself armed, in full tactical gear, and intimidate people trying to drop off a ballot?
David Corn: GOP Secretary of State Candidates Scheduled to Appear with...Conspiracy Theorists
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/10/gop-secretary-of-state-candidates-mark-finchem-marchant-karamo-scheduled-to-appear-with-a-white-nationalist-and-conspiracy-theorists/16 hours ago
GOP Secretary of State Candidates Scheduled to Appear with a White Nationalist and Conspiracy Theorists
They’re not even trying to hide their ties to the extremist fringe.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow
An ally of white nationalists; a former CEO and conspiracy theorist who tried to convince Donald Trump to use the National Guard to seize voting machines after the 2020 election; an Ohio math teacher who claims he discovered an algorithm showing that virtually every county in the United States was hacked to prevent Trump’s reelection two years ago—these are people with whom Republican secretary of state candidates have forged alliances.
Mark Finchem, Jim Marchant, and Kristina Karamo, each an election denialist and a GOP contender for secretary of state in, respectively, Arizona, Nevada, and Michigan, were scheduled to appear October 29 at a self-described “Florida Election Integrity Conference 2.0” in Orlando. Also on the bill: other proponents of Trump’s Big Lie that the election was stolen from him. The event, one in a series of such conferences being mounted by 2020 truthers across the country, shows how these Republican candidates are closely tied to right-wing extremism. The previous conference in this series, held in New Mexico, was moderated by Lara Logan, the past CBS News reporter who has recently been mouthing bonkers QAnon-ish claims that a Satanic global cabal of elitists is kidnapping hundreds of thousands of children to drink their blood. (She has been booted off Fox News and Newsmax for her conspiracy-driven ravings.)
The Florida event is moderated by Carolyn Ryan, who works for Real America’s Voice, a conservative network that broadcasts Steve Bannon’s daily show and has promoted QAnon material. Scheduled speakers at the conference—in addition to the three Republican secretary of state candidates—include Laura Loomer, Patrick Byrne, and Douglas Frank, each a luminary in the 2020 truther movement.
snip//
It’s not surprising that Finchem, Marchant, and Karamo would participate in an election denialism shindig. They have each championed Trump’s lies. Moreover, Finchem has hobnobbed with QAnoners and 9/11 truthers; Karamo was slated to appear at a QAnon conference last year; and Marchant in 2021 spoke at a QAnon event, where he said he had been convinced to run for secretary of state by a key QAnon influencer. Yet this conference is a reminder of how far gone the GOP is. Leading Republicans, who are vying for positions critical to the operations of elections in swing states, are not bothering to hide their ties to fringe players, bigots, and loony conspiracy theorists, not even in the final days of the campaign. There’s not much integrity in the so-called election integrity movement, but these events certainly are accurate displays of how extreme and unhinged the GOP has become.
The Rude Pundit: They Once Blew Up a Classroom Over Textbooks, So, Yeah, There Will Be Violence
The Rude Pundit
Proudly lowering the level of political discourse
10/28/2022
They Once Blew Up a Classroom Over Textbooks, So, Yeah, There Will Be Violence
In 1974, in West Virginia, protesters used dynamite and Molotov cocktails against the buildings of their enemies. The protesters were upset that the Board of Education of Kanawha County voted to update the textbooks in the district's language arts classes to include more modern authors in an effort to be more inclusive and multiracial. Kanawha County is the biggest in the state, and it includes the capital, Charleston. A fundamentalist Christian member of the board, Alice Moore, discovered that some of the new books included profanity, sex, evolution, and Freud. Oh, they also contained works by Black activists like Malcom X. Moore said that she was upset that the new books would teach American history in a way that "unduly favoring Blacks." Yeah, the connections to the current fuckery over curriculum in schools are that blatant.
snip//
Right now, Republicans are telling MAGA cretins and other assorted shitheels and scumfucks that they are going to win back the House of Representatives and possibly the Senate. They are saying that there is no way they can legitimately lose, and, in fact, if they do lose, it must be because of Democratic fraud, cheating, and theft. Tucker Carlson, who has the laugh of someone having a great time fucking a corpse, has proclaimed as much to his millions of Nazi and Nazi-adjacent viewers. GOP candidates like Kari Lake, who you know masturbates with a Trump-shaped dildo, and Blake Masters, who you know masturbates with a Peter Thiel-shaped dildo, are refusing to say they'll accept the results of the election if they lose.
How do you think those armed and ready assholes are gonna react if Democrats end up winning? Hell, the GOP could win both houses, but if there's an election where they think they should have won, like with Herschel Walker in Georgia, that's gonna tell the locked and loaded crowd it's go time. Christ, speaking of Georgia, I don't wanna think about how insane the state's gonna get if Stacey Abrams wins the governorship. If you tell gullible motherfuckers that those who oppose you are satanic baby murderers who steal elections so they can murder more babies, more than a few of those motherfuckers are gonna react as if that's true.
It's fucking madness that we're even living through this, that we're not just talking about it, but fully expecting it and preparing for it.
And the point of the story I started with, about what became known as the "Textbook Wars," is not just that violence can happen over the stupidest goddamn things. No, the point is about what came after, when the violence was over and the protests ended and people went to jail for the worst acts and everyone went back to their lives and the books were allowed to be used.
Yeah, that's right. But the Board of Education gave each school the right to say whether or not they used them. And a good many of the schools did not. After a few years, in some schools, thousands of unused books were burned just to dispose of them to open up storage space. And Alice Moore got the school board to pass a new regulation that prohibited any books that "pry into home life; teach racial hatred; undermine religious, ethnic, or racial groups; encourage sedition; insult patriotism; teach that an alien form of government is acceptable; use the name of God in vain; or use offensive language."
more...
https://rudepundit.blogspot.com/2022/10/they-once-blew-up-classroom-over.html
House GOP Seeks to Make Trump Tax Cuts Permanent
Of course they do 
and just ignore all the positive measures Biden has introduced for the people. 
https://politicalwire.com/2022/10/28/house-gop-seeks-to-make-trump-tax-cuts-permanent/
House GOP Seeks to Make Trump Tax Cuts Permanent
October 28, 2022 at 8:50 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
Herschel Walker's Negatives Are Skyrocketing As Raphael Warnock Opens Up 5 Point Lead
https://www.politicususa.com/2022/10/27/herschel-walker-raphael-warnock-poll.htmlPosted on Thu, Oct 27th, 2022 by Jason Easley
Herschel Walker’s Negatives Are Skyrocketing As Raphael Warnock Opens Up 5 Point Lead
A new poll shows Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-GA) with a 5-point lead over a plummeting Herschel Walker.
From the Monmouth University Poll:
Just under half of Georgia voters say they will either definitely (39%) or probably (10%) vote for Warnock in November and a slightly smaller number will either definitely (33%) or probably (11%) vote for Walker. These numbers also include those who have already cast their ballots in early voting – representing about 1 in 4 potential voters in this election. At the other end of the spectrum, 40% say they will definitely not vote for Warnock and 46% say the same for Walker. The number of voters who give their definite support has increased by 7 points for each candidate since September, while the number who say they definitely would not vote for them has gone down a couple of points for Warnock (from 42% to 40%) and up a few points for Walker (from 43% to 46%).
The Monmouth Poll was taken before the latest allegation that Walker paid for another woman’s abortion, so it may not fully reflect just how high Walker’s negatives have jumped.
The three-point increase in people who said that they definitely would not vote for Herschel Walker is likely part of the fallout from the persistent scandals that have followed the Republican candidate.
It is a mistake to assume that because Republican voters don’t care about Walker’s scandals, it means that all voters don’t care.
Polling has consistently shown that the abortion allegations, domestic violence allegations, secret children, and general trouble surrounding Herschel Walker have hurt him with non-Republican voters.
If Republicans lose in Georgia and Pennsylvania, their odds of taking back the Senate are close to zero. Herschel Walker seems to be fading as a candidate, as a strong close to the campaign by Rev. Warnock could slam the door on Mitch McConnell’s hopes of becoming Senate Majority Leader again.
Obama Wants to Buy a Basketball Team
https://politicalwire.com/2022/10/27/obama-wants-to-buy-a-basketball-team/Obama Wants to Buy a Basketball Team
October 27, 2022 at 6:44 am EDT By Taegan Goddard
Marjorie Taylor Greene Tells Woman She's Too Old and Barren to Have a Say on Abortion
How insulting...
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2022/10/marjorie-taylor-greene-abortion-call-in
Levin Report
Marjorie Taylor Greene Tells Woman She’s Too Old and Barren to Have a Say on Abortion
“I don’t think you’re having children any time soon,” the congresswoman repeatedly said, as though that has anything to do with anything.
By Bess Levin
October 25, 2022
Like many of her GOP colleagues, Marjorie Taylor Greene is an antiabortion zealot who does not believe that pregnant people should get to decide what they can and cannot do with their own bodies. Something else she apparently believes? That if you’re over childbearing age, you don’t have the right to weigh in on reproductive rights and advocate for the people currently being harmed by the Republican Party.
During a call-in show on Monday night, Greene was confronted by a woman who told her, “My body is my body and I don’t want the government telling me what I can do with my body.” Based on her voice alone, the caller sounded like she might be elderly and while her age is obviously not relevant, Greene insisted it was. “Ma’am, are you having children any time soon?” she asked, not pausing for an answer. “That’s my question, I’m asking a legitimate question.” She then went on to insist that “abortion is murder” before circling back to her premise that the caller should not get to express her opinion because she possibly no longer ovulates. “I don’t think you’re having children any time soon,” Greene said. “So I appreciate your interest in women’s rights but killing an unborn baby is not a woman’s right and that’s not health care.”
After the caller appeared to reference the 10-year-old who was raped in Ohio and had to go out of state to get an abortion, Greene told her: “That is a very rare, rare, rare occasion so that should not be the entire premise of the argument on abortion. Again ma’am, I know you say it’s your body your choice but I don’t think you’re having any children any time soon and I think we need to focus on the future of America and that’s our children…and the unborn, they’re our future also. So let’s focus on protecting their lives instead of being focused on the lie that abortion is women’s health care because that’s not health care.”
Interestingly Greene has never suggested that the male politicians who have restricted abortion access and want to pass a national abortion ban, who also will not be “having children any time soon,” shouldn’t be allowed to weigh in here.
Greene has previously said the overturning of Roe v. Wade was a “blessing” and a “miracle,” and called another Republican lawmaker and rape survivor “trash” for supporting rape exceptions. She’s also told women that if they don’t want to get pregnant they should “make better choices” and “choose to not have sex.” (She did not mention that abstinence is apparently not something she personally practices, if a report from last year—which featured allegations that the lawmaker had multiple affairs with guys she met at the gym, one of whom was reportedly a “polyamorous tantric-sex guru”—is anything to go by. (Greene, for her part, has called the report “ridiculous tabloid garbage.”)
Pete Buttigieg asks the question we all want an answer to about Republican inflation solutions
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/10/26/2131375/-Watch-Pete-Buttigieg-articulate-the-real-problem-with-Republican-hypocrisy-in-just-two-minutesPete Buttigieg asks the question we all want an answer to about Republican inflation solutions
Marissa Higgins
Daily Kos Staff
Wednesday October 26, 2022 · 12:16 PM EDT
Share this article
Republicans have no shortage of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric and hate to spread around. We see this come up especially often lately when it comes to pushing anti-trans bills that aim to discriminate against and isolate both youth and adults who seek gender-affirming health care, bathroom access, and the chance to participate in sports. We’re also seeing Republicans attack queer rights with Don’t Say Gay bills and book bans aimed at texts by and about LGBTQ+ people.
And, of course, conservatives have no problem bullying individual people, either. As Daily Kos has covered, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Rachel Levine has been attacked by Republicans in office because she is an openly trans woman in a position of power. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg is also a fan favorite of conservatives who want to mock queer people.
But as Buttigieg made clear during his recent appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, he’s more than happy to point out flaws in Republican logic. Sure, conservatives can try to distract their voters and get people mad for no reason, but when it comes to evaluating what Republicans offer for solutions, it’s easy to see there’s a whole lot of nothing. Let’s see how Buttigieg makes this case below.
“Many congressional Republicans take stances that seem to be more about the problem than about the solution,” Buttigieg noted to Colbert on Monday as the pair discussed the former mayor of South Bend, Indiana’s history of providing care and funding to communities in need. Colbert joked with Buttigieg about the iconic photos of folks holding small checks for massive amounts of money, then smoothly transitioned into asking Buttigieg if he ever felt frustrated that conservatives who vote against his infrastructure bill later pat themselves on the back for getting (necessary) funds for their own districts later on.
Buttigieg went on to say that even outside of politics, the people who live in these communities deserve this money for their quality of life. “People who live in those communities shouldn’t be punished because their senator or their house member said no to this funding,” he continued. “We’re gonna serve everybody equally.”
Colbert said he wasn’t surprised to hear that from Buttigieg, and frankly, neither was I. If only Republicans shared a shred of that sentiment, we might be in a very different place as a nation.
Buttigieg took the high road throughout the interview but wasn’t afraid to point out that Republicans offer more in terms of attacks than substantive solutions.
It’s a real stretch for Republicans to answer that question with specifics rooted in reality. Relatedly, it’s a great time to read The New York Times on actual experts sifting through the meager plans offered up by Republicans to help the economy in general.
Buttigieg also shared he would have “loved” to see a debate between Democrats and Republicans over different versions of the Inflation Reduction Act, but that ultimately only Democrats had one, and (as we know) it passed.
You can watch this clip from the show below.
The pair also discussed the importance of accepting election results, even if you or your candidate don’t win.
He went on to clarify that the reason it’s so important to accept results, whether you win or lose, is because we “expect the same” from citizens when it comes to policy decisions.
“If we all have to live with the outcome of each of these policy choices,” he continued. “It’s only fair that the people who make them have to live with the outcome of when we choose which one of them is going to be in charge. That’s how the bargain works.”
Somewhere (perhaps on Truth Social?) Trump is likely to be having a meltdown about just this point, but wouldn’t it be amazing if it got through to him and his lackeys?
On The Brink Of Defeat, Chuck Grassley Seems Terrified That Trump Is Coming To Iowa
Make it so!!
https://www.politicususa.com/2022/10/26/chuck-grassley-trump-iowa.html
Posted on Wed, Oct 26th, 2022 by Jason Easley
On The Brink Of Defeat, Chuck Grassley Seems Terrified That Trump Is Coming To Iowa
Sen. Chuck Grassley (I-IA) is facing the closest election of his career, so he released a statement on Trump coming to Iowa that never mentioned Trump.
The statement is a political work of art in trying to avoid toxic Trump:
https://twitter.com/metzgov/status/1585379756304125953
Grassley’s statement is supposedly about Trump’s upcoming visit to Iowa, but the statement doesn’t mention when the Iowa event is, if Grassley will be appearing with Trump, what the Iowa event is about, and it never mentions Trump at all.
It is almost like Chuck Grassley doesn’t want voters in Iowa to know that Donald Trump is coming, and he definitely doesn’t want to have his name associated with Trump.
Grassley’s struggles with Iowa voters are nothing new. A 2021 poll found that 64% of Iowans wanted him gone.
In July of 2022, Grassley started polling under 50% for the first time since 1980.
Grassley is currently locked in a statistical tie with his Democratic challenger Mike Franken in what will be the closest election of the 89-year-old’s career.
Chuck Grassley is in real danger of losing his seat, and it speaks volumes about the degree of liability that Trump poses for Republican candidates two weeks before election day if an incumbent as entrenched as Sen. Grassley won’t mention the former president’s name in a statement.
Debate Backfires On Dr. Oz As John Fetterman Raises More Than $2 Million In Less Than 24 Hours
https://www.politicususa.com/2022/10/26/john-fetterman-raises-more-than-2-million.htmlPosted on Wed, Oct 26th, 2022 by Jason Easley
Debate Backfires On Dr. Oz As John Fetterman Raises More Than $2 Million In Less Than 24 Hours
Dr. Oz begged for the debate with John Fetterman, but it backfired on him and caused Fetterman to raise more than $2 million in less than 24 hours.
In a statement provided to PoliticusUSA, the Fetterman campaign announced:
Pennsylvania Lt. Governor John Fetterman’s campaign for U.S. Senate announced that it has raised over $2 million since the Senate debate ended at 9:00 p.m. last night.
While Oz has to loan his campaign money to get through the home stretch, the grassroots are stepping up and supporting John Fetterman. The reason why small donations are valued as an electoral metric is that there is a direct correlation between small donors and the likelihood of voting. Campaigns with large small donor bases also tend to have the most committed voters.
Fetterman campaign manager Brandon McPhillips promised that the fundraising windfall would be used to make sure that Pennsylvania women understand Oz’s position on abortion, “This is a gigantic show of support for John and his debate performance. We’re honored and grateful for the support heading into the last two weeks of the race. Our campaign will put this money behind making sure as many Pennsylvania women as possible hear Dr. Oz’s radical belief that ‘local political leaders’ should have a say in their personal healthcare decisions.”
The national media has been obsessed with Fetterman’s health for months, but what they should be examining is the health of his campaign. The debate that Dr. Oz wanted so badly led to the Republican making the biggest gaffe and may have backfired and doomed his campaign.
