DonViejo
DonViejo's JournalThe best explanation I’ve seen of how politicians like Trump feed violence
When you shout BREAKING POINT over and over again, you dont get to be surprised when someone breaks.by Dara Lind on June 17, 2016, 2:30 p.m. ET
If youre worried about the effect Donald Trumps brand of xenophobic populism is having on America, you should be paying attention to whats going on in Britain right now. On Thursday, Jo Cox, a 41-year-old rising star in Parliament who was known for her support for Syrian refugees, was murdered by one of her constituents.
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Alex Massie, a columnist for the Spectator (a conservative British magazine), wrote a beautiful column in the wake of Coxs murder. Massie explains, better than any commentator Ive read, the relationship between apocalyptic rhetoric and panic-induced violence:
When you encourage rage you cannot then feign surprise when people become enraged. You cannot turn around and say, Mate, you werent supposed to take it so seriously. Its just a game, just a ploy, a strategy for winning votes.
When you shout BREAKING POINT over and over again, you dont get to be surprised when someone breaks. When you present politics as a matter of life and death, as a question of national survival, dont be surprised if someone takes you at your word. You didnt make them do it, no, but you didnt do much to stop it either.
Sometimes rhetoric has consequences. If you spend days, weeks, months, years telling people they are under threat, that their country has been stolen from them, that they have been betrayed and sold down the river, that their birthright has been pilfered, that their problem is theyre too slow to realise any of this is happening, that their problem is theyre not sufficiently mad as hell, then at some point, in some place, something or someone is going to snap. And then something terrible is going to happen.
We cant control the weather but, in politics, we can control the climate in which the weather happens.
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full article
http://www.vox.com/2016/6/17/11962618/right-wing-violence-politicians
Trump wants to build a wall as Texas developers complain about shortage of Mexican laborers to build
While presumptive GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump is leading in the polls in Texas by promising to build a wall between the Lone Star state and Mexico, home builders in the area are complaining about a labor shortage that is keeping them from getting homes built and is driving up costs.
The problem? Skilled Mexican laborers who have gone home and havent returned, reports WFAA.
Lacking skilled tradesmen, the completion of homes under construction in North Texas is falling further and further behind, adding up to $7,000 per month to the cost of a home.
Part of the problem, explains Ted Wilson of Residential Strategies, is that many subcontractors shut down during the recession and a lot of their workers returned to Mexico and arent coming back despite plenty of work being available.
It used to be the deal the electrician was finishing, the sheetrocker was stepping over him to button up the house and now you go by and there will be no trucks in front of the house for a week or so until the next trade shows up, explained Wilson. For home builder Kevin Egan, that means hes only completing about half the houses he needs to finish for buyers driving up his costs and theirs.
more
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/trump-wants-to-build-a-wall-as-texas-developers-complain-about-shortage-of-mexican-laborers-to-build-homes/
Democratic lawmaker says Trump could be a secret Clinton plant: Bill and Donald ‘are buddies
For a long time, theres been a conspiracy theory floating around that presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump decided to run for office at the behest of the Clinton family as a way to destroy the GOP and pave the way for Hillary Clintons presidency.
Now at least one Democratic congresswoman is openly musing about the idea that this conspiracy has some truth to it.
In an interview with The National Review, Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) talks about rumors shes heard about Trump being a secret Clinton plant and she cant dismiss the idea entirely.
There are some theories on the internet that this is Bill Clintons best political deal, says Kaptur, who supported Hillary Clintons rival Bernie Sanders in this years Democratic primary. That he and Donald are buddies, and they have a lot of similar friends in New York, and he has masterfully selected a friend who maybe by October will say, You know, this is very boring. And Im going to get out. Do I believe it 100 percent, do I believe it 2 percent? You know, you really wonder.
While its unlikely that Trump is in cahoots with Bill Clinton to ensure a Hillary Clinton victory this fall, it is true that Trump has acted exactly as youd expect a pro-Clinton plant to act. After all, hes sown division and chaos within the Republican Party and has also helped drive the GOPs favorable ratings to their lowest ever.
In other words, even if hes not a plant, hes doing a really good job of acting like one.
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http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/democratic-lawmaker-says-trump-could-be-a-secret-clinton-plant-bill-and-donald-are-buddies/
Sarah Palin invites mockery by calling Obama ‘special kind of stupid’ in latest unhinged rant
Former vice presidential candidate and Alaska governor Sarah Palin has never been shy about her unfavorable opinions regarding President Barack Obama.
Her Friday criticism may strike some as odd, however. In a Facebook rant, Palin called the Harvard Law-educated president a special kind of stupid in all-capital letters. Palin was apparently upset about Obamas efforts to enact gun regulations in the wake of the most deadly mass shooting in recent U.S. history.
OBAMA IS A SPECIAL KIND OF STUPID, she exploded. Enough is enough, Mr. President. Theres no due respect due you after pulling this stunt.
Obamas stunt was, in her mind, a call to ban high-capacity assault rifles like the one used by Florida shooter Omar Mateen. While visiting Orlando in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting this week, Obama spoke of the families of the victims, according to an Independent Journal article Palin linked to.
more
http://www.rawstory.com/2016/06/sarah-palin-invites-mockery-by-calling-obama-special-kind-of-stupid-in-latest-unhinged-rant/
Paul Ryan On Stopping A President Trump's Muslim Ban: We'll Sue Him!
House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) has made clear he doesn't agree with a proposal put forward by Donald Trump -- whom Ryan has endorsed -- to ban Muslim immigration into the United States, but in an interview with the Huffington Post Thursday, Ryan floated taking a President Trump to court if he tried to implement such a ban or some of his other controversial proposals unilaterally.
I would sue any president that exceeds his or her powers, Ryan said in a back-and-forth about Trump's claims that he could implement a Muslim ban or build a Mexican border wall without congressional approval.
Ryan said he wasn't sure of the "legal question" of whether Trump could institute a Muslim ban on his own as president.
Thats a legal question that theres a good debate about, he said, citing the 1952 Immigration and Nationality Act.
more
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/paul-ryan-trump-muslim-ban-sue
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/paul-ryan-trump-muslim-ban-sue
Trump Blasts Report Of Last-Ditch Effort To Oust Him At RNC: 'Totally Illegal'
Source: Talking Points Memo
Donald Trump on Friday flatly dismissed a report that dozens of GOP delegates are plotting to change the rules for the Republican National Convention in Cleveland in order to prevent him from snagging the nomination.
The Washington Post reported that some delegates to the RNC were lobbying to change its rules to unbind delegates in order to prevent Trump from clinching the nomination. Trump released a statement to The Post, which he barred this week from getting press credentials for his events, calling the reported movement "totally illegal."
I won almost 14 million votes, which is by far more votes than any candidate in the history of the Republican primaries, Trump said in the statement. I have tremendous support and get the biggest crowds by far and any such move would not only be totally illegal but also a rebuke of the millions of people who feel so strongly about what I am saying.
While the newspaper reported it was delegates agitating for a rules change, Trump took a shot at his primary opponents, appearing to blame them for the campaign. People that I defeated soundly in the primaries will do anything to get a second shotbut there is no mechanism for it to happen, Trump said in his statement to the Post.
Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/trump-blasts-wapo-rnc
Ryan: Republicans Should 'Absolutely' Follow Their Conscience On Trump
Source: Talking Points Memo
House Speaker Paul Ryan said in an interview teased Friday that "the last thing" he would do is instruct Republicans to support Donald Trump regardless of their personal qualms.
"Absolutely," he told NBC's "Meet the Press." "The last thing I would do is tell anybody to do something that's contrary to their conscience. Of course I wouldn't do that."
Ryan has endorsed Trump for president, and is the chair of this year's Republican National Convention.
This isn't the first time that Ryan has telegraphed some ambivalence about the presumptive GOP nominee. In previous comments, Ryan has said that his endorsement doesn't constitute a "blank check" for Trump.
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Read more: http://talkingpointsmemo.com/livewire/ryan-republicans-should-follow-conscience-voting-trump
Paulie-boy makes it official; he doesn't have a conscience.
Elizabeth Warren drops by Hillary Clinton campaign HQ
WASHINGTON -- Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren dropped by Hillary Clinton headquarters in Brooklyn Friday and spoke to hundreds of Clinton campaign staffers.
According to a personal familiar with her remarks, she talked about the importance of the 2016 election and issues that are at stake including the need to protect the Dodd-Frank financial rules, the protect the Affordable Care Act, and the need to move forward on a Supreme Court nominee.
The visit will only bolster talk that Warren is being considered as a potential vice presidential running mate for the former secretary of state. She met with Clinton in Washington last week. Warren also took photos with staff members.
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http://www.bostonglobe.com/news/politics/2016/06/17/elizabeth-warren-drops-hillary-clinton-campaign-headquarters-brooklyn/uHKMTiI4iPdp2DFRSMKagK/story.html?event=event25
Trump’s Poll Ratings Are Historically Bad
Politico: Trump is setting modern records for political toxicity at least for a major-party candidate this far out from an election. Seventy percent of Americans surveyed in an ABC News/Washington Post poll out this week had an unfavorable opinion of Trump, up 10 points over the past month. The poll showed Trumps favorable rating cratering at 29 percent, down from 37 percent last month.The numbers were similar in a Bloomberg Politics poll: Trumps favorable rating is just 31 percent, with 66 percent viewing him unfavorably. Thats only marginally better than in March, when 29 percent viewed Trump favorably, and 68 percent had an unfavorable opinion.
But its not just the overall unfavorable numbers its the intensity of the antipathy toward Trump, and the lack of enthusiasm for him.
The Hill: GOP insiders fear that Trump, whose yearlong run for the presidency has been fueled by sheer force of personality, has not grasped the depth of the challenges he now faces.
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https://politicalwire.com/2016/06/17/trumps-poll-ratings-are-historically-bad/
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I think the tailspin could be really bad historic proportions bad. I think itll be a historically bad loss. Ive said that from the very beginning.
Former White House press secretary Tony Fratto, quoted by The Hill, on the impact of Donald Trumps presidential campaign on the Republican party.
Senate votes to scale back federal job preferences for veterans
Source: The Washington Post
Congress stepped this week into a sensitive issue thats been quietly roiling the already-challenging hiring system for federal jobs: the Obama administrations high-profile push to give preference to veterans.
The Senate version of the vast military policy bill that now heads to conference with the House would knock out one of the advantages veterans enjoy when they apply for federal work. They would continue to get a leg up over non-veterans to get a foot in the door. But once theyre in government and want to be considered for another federal post, they would no longer go to the head of the hiring queue.
[image][/image]
It was high-level Pentagon officials who pressed Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, for a change to the veterans hiring system. These officials have expressed concern to McCain and other lawmakers that too many qualified non-veterans are getting shut out of federal jobs in deference to those who served but may not be qualified for some positions, according to committee staff.
Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/06/17/tktk-veterans/
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Name: DonGender: Male
Hometown: Massachusetts
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Member since: Sat Sep 1, 2012, 03:28 PM
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