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Hello Widdershins, happy Tuesday in this broke-down mess of a government we’re currently suffering under.
Last Saturday was the Women’s March. (Yes, something happened besides the playoffs!) Despite all the Farrakhan mishegoss, a smart young colleague of mine and I went and carried signs. There were some good and inspiring speakers, and being San Francisco, the inclusiveness was epic. We had speakers from the MMIW (we really need to talk more about the plight of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women – I was extremely touched by the powerful speakers and singers); high-level elected officials like California Representative Barbara Lee and mayor of SF London Breed; Muslim comics and first-time state representatives; Samoan poetesses and homeless advocates; a Jewish community organizer; and a great performance from the SF cast of “Come From Away.” All women, all powerful, loud and proud! Here are some pictures I took.
Now some questions for you to debate:
- Rudy Giuliani: Worst Lawyer Ever or Double Agent for the Good Guys?
- Will our next President be Kamala, Kirsten or Elizabeth? (Tulsi, we know, is a hard “NO”)
- Buzzfeed story about Cohen being directed to lie to Congress by Drumpf: Totally bogus or only slightly inaccurate?
- What’s your bet on what date the government will re-open, cause Pelosi?
This is an open thread. Hang in there everyone!
- In: 2016 Election | Donald Trump | Open Thread | Republicans | Russia
- 133 Comments
Well hello there, Widdershins. Apologies for the long absence, and thanks to DYB and Fredster for keeping our posts going!
Am I the only one who heard about the New York Times’ report about the FBI investigation into Drumpf being a #RussianAsset last Friday and, far from being shocked or excited, could only ask, “And?”
As I have posted and commented repeatedly, there is no innocent explanation for what has happened in full view of the American people. None, zero, nada mucho. No other candidate has ever had contact with a hostile foreign government during an election; it has previously been unthinkable because all of our other candidates for President have been loyal to America. I mean, duh! That’s the lowest possible threshold to meet when running for a country’s Presidency! The Mango Moron, by contrast, is up to about 100 known contacts, folks. One. Hun. Dred. And it’s only now that the Times report came out (most likely based on leaks by Democrats, as House testimony from 2017 was quoted) that the media is starting to come around to a common sense point of view.
What took them so long?
Let’s do a bit of a thought exercise, shall we? Imagine the 2016 election is reset, and the feces-throwing baboon doesn’t run. Instead of the Dicktater, we have a typically odious Republican nominee (like Ted Cruz) and Hillary Clinton is running against him. At the same time it’s becoming known that Russia is interfering in the election on her behalf, the FBI suddenly discovers that Our Girl had just ONE contact with ONE Russian during the 2016 campaign.
It would have been extremely suspicious, of course. Republicans and Democrats alike would have had meltdowns, and the media would have (rightfully) tried and convicted her of corruption and treason prior to the election. (We all know they spent every day hammering her for a faux national security scandal, so what would they have done with a real one?!) If this imagined contact were known before the nomination were decided, there is not a chance in hell she would have become the nominee. If she had become the nominee before the imagined contact were discovered, she would assuredly have lost the election, and the Democrats would be a disgraced Party for decades to come. “Democrats in disarray,” a constant Beltway narrative no matter what the circumstances actually are, would be playing on every channel. The follow-up questions would have been obvious. How could they have allowed this to happen? Who else in the Party knew, and when did they know it? How far into the Democratic Party has Russia reached?
Now let’s come back to reality. Up till now, despite mounds of publicly available evidence that Russians, Trump and the GOP are all hand in glove, der Drumpfenfuhrer has been given the benefit of the doubt to a degree that I, as a human being with a functioning brain, simply cannot understand. Trump admitted to obstruction of justice to Lester Holt on national TeeVee, I have always believed; and according to the story, the FBI thought so too.
Agents and senior F.B.I. officials had grown suspicious of Mr. Trump’s ties to Russia during the 2016 campaign but held off on opening an investigation into him, the people said, in part because they were uncertain how to proceed with an inquiry of such sensitivity and magnitude. But the president’s activities before and after Mr. Comey’s firing in May 2017, particularly two instances in which Mr. Trump tied the Comey dismissal to the Russia investigation, helped prompt the counterintelligence aspect of the inquiry, the people said.
Where has the media been? Why are they still inching up to the real questions that need to be asked…what did the GOP know about Trump’s being a #RussianAsset, and when did they know it?
Maybe because they already know the answer?
As the indispensable journalist Sarah Kendzior wrote in December of 2017, the GOP is not going to get electoral power from their support of the Siberian Candidate. Yet Lindsey Graham has become one of his strongest supporters. Why?
Given that some of Graham’s worst fears about Trump’s Kremlin ties and mental state have been legitimized, what accounts for the senator’s changed attitude toward the president? There are a variety of possible rationales available for conjecture, many of which apply to the GOP at large. Opportunism may play a role, as Graham complies with Trump in order to pursue right-wing extremist economic policies and war. Blackmail may also be an issue, given that Graham has admitted his email was hacked, as was the RNC’s, by Russia. Trump has derided and threatened members of Congress and private citizens, and it’s not a stretch to imagine him unleashing his fire– publicly or privately–on Graham.
Opportunism. Blackmail. Intimidation. Those are three good reasons. But what about corruption? The New Republic had the right take on this in May of 2017. Yes, they knew and they let it happen. They did. not. care.
The basic nature of the [Russian] pro-Trump subversion effort was known to GOP leaders before the parties’ conventions last year: The above conversation took place on June 15 [2016]. Several weeks after the GOP officially nominated Trump in mid-July, in a secure setting with Obama administration officials and other members who receive classified briefings, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell vowed to politicize any effort on the part of the government to reveal that Russian intelligence was intervening in the election to help Trump. “According to several officials,” the Post reported, “McConnell raised doubts about the underlying intelligence and made clear to the administration that he would consider any effort by the White House to challenge the Russians publicly an act of partisan politics.”
Despite Ryan’s clear awareness of the truth, we can infer that he sided with McConnell, tacitly or otherwise, because the Obama administration backed down in the face of McConnell’s threat. An official government assessment that Russia was helping Trump in the election didn’t reach the public until after the election, as Trump was transitioning to the presidency.
So where has the rest of the media been? Even after the massive trouncing at the mid-terms, the media has failed to pronounce the doom and disgrace of the GOP as a Party. “GOP in disarray” is not a narrative I hear or see. Steve Bannon, somehow, continues to escape all blame and scrutiny; the latest major stories on him are from a year ago. How is he not as guilty as Manafort? And although this has not been noted anywhere other than Twitter, there is evidence that Mueller is looking into the media as part of his investigation. For example: Faux News has not tweeted since 11/8/18. Seriously. Isn’t this big news?
As the inevitable downfall of Drumpf draws near, I hope the impending Mueller report includes some insight into why the media has been so reluctant to call out Drumpf for his treason, and the GOP for their knowledge of treason.
We deserve and need the truth about what has happened to the right-wing half of our two-party system. And one of the pieces of the puzzle is, what did the media know, when did they know it, and why are they still so unwilling to admit the truth?
This is an open thread.
Merry Christmas Widdershins! Haven’t done one of these in a while – I hope you enjoy it.
THE SCENE: Christmas Morning at the McConnell mansion in Kentucky. MITCH MCCONNELL, the Republican Senate Majority Leader, is lounging in his four-poster bed, dressed in Trump gold pajamas (100% polyester!) with the Trump logo on his chest. His wife, ELAINE CHAO, is lounging next to him. Her pajamas match, of course.
MCCONNELL (stretching comfortably): What a great night’s sleep! (to ELAINE) You know, I was a bit worried I might get three, um, “visitors” overnight. Well, Merry Christmas to us!
There’s a knock at the bedroom door.
MCCONNELL: Come in, honey!
SENATE AIDE #1 enters. She is young, blonde and Fox News friendly.
MCCONNELL (startled): Oh! I thought you were one of my daughters. Uh, how’s it going, uh…Maggie?
(Her name is Mary.)
MARY (deferentially): It’s Mary, sir.
(ELAINE, frustrated, lightly smacks MCCONNELL on the arm.)
MCCONNELL: Ahem, yes, of course, Mary. How can I help you? And a Merry Christmas to you, my dear.
MARY: Merry Christmas, sir. Sir, I wanted to let you know that I’ve just received word. The Washington Post has another scoop. It’s…it’s bad, sir.
ELAINE: Oh no. What has that orange idiot done now?
(MARY is shocked, then giggles a bit))
MCCONNELL (repressively): ELAINE!
ELAINE (repentant): Sorry, darlin’. I forgot we weren’t alone. (to Mary) Go ahead, dear.
MARY: Well, um, it looks like he made fun of a child. See right here? He said that at 7 years old, it’s “marginal” to believe in Santa Claus.
ELAINE (muttering to herself): Jesus f*cking Christ.
MCCONNELL: Elaine! (to Mary) Thanks for telling us, uh, Marjorie. Now scoot along. Go have some eggnog or something.
MARY (rolling her eyes a bit): Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.
(Mary exits, closing the door)
ELAINE (sitting up in bed): For heaven’s sake, Mitch. That f*cking moron can’t even talk to a child properly! Why don’t you do something already? I’m almost embarrassed to be a Republican these days.
MCCONNELL: (placatingly) Now, Elaine, I know it’s hard to take sometimes.
(He gets out of bed, pacing…the audience can see his Trump slippers)
MCCONNELL: But look – LOOK at all the power we have! And money…soooooo much money. That tax cut was very, very good to us. So what if the guy tweets every once in a while. We are still in great shape. It’s never been a better time to be a Republican!
(There’s another knock at the door.)
MCCONNELL: Come in, honey!
(SENATE AIDE #2 enters. She is interchangeable with Mary, but is wearing a different color mini-skirt.)
MCCONNELL: Darn it, when will Porter get here? (to AIDE #2) Uh, excuse me, sweetheart. Merry Christmas! What can we do for you?
SENATE AIDE #2: Sir, the AFP is reporting that Erdogan has invited President Trump to Turkey. It sure looks like he and the President are doing some kind of deal together, especially since Turkey is moving into Syria already. There’s also a lot of negative press about the General Mattis thing. I’ve checked the latest Presidential approval ratings, and they are, um, not good. 39%!
(ELAINE screams into a pillow)
MCCONNELL: ELAINE! (to SENATE AIDE #2) Uh, thanks, my dear. There’s some mulled wine in the kitchen, please help yourself!
SENATE AIDE #2 (puzzled by the lack of reaction): Uh, yes sir. Thank you, sir. Merry Christmas!
(SENATE AIDE #2 exits, closing the door.)
ELAINE (picking up where they left off, crossing to MCCONNELL): “It’s a great time to be a Republican?” Are you serious? All those Never Trumpers are having a field day! That Jonah Goldberg, ooh, I could smack him. Even the MAGA morons are starting to wake up. And the liberals, well – clearly they feel vindicated. (sarcastically) You DID notice the 2018 election, didn’t you? Did you see how many seats the Democrats gained in the House? That Pelosi woman —
MCCONNELL (interrupting superstitiously): She Who Must Not Be Named?
(ELAINE and MCCONNELL spit three times through their fingers)
ELAINE (continuing): ANYWAY, Ms. P is going to come after you with everything she’s got. That Elijah Cummings has already sent over 50 letters about various new investigations he’s planning on opening. You think Trump can survive all of this? Why are you still sticking by him?
(Another knock at the door.)
MCCONNELL and ELAINE (exasperated): Come in!
(SENATE AIDE #3 enters. Yes, she is interchangeable with Mary and #2, wearing yet another color mini-skirt.)
ELAINE (frazzled): What is it, Monica? Oh, Merry Christmas, dear.
MONICA: Merry Christmas, ma’am, sir. I’m sorry to disturb you, but it looks like another child has died in U.S. custody. (pointedly) That makes two.
MCCONNELL (showing the first signs of distress): Oh my goodness. That’s very bad indeed. Uh – what happened, do we know? (eagerly) Can we blame the Democrats?
MONICA (dubiously): Well sir, it’s not clear yet. If there’s a particular border patrol agent who’s responsible, I suppose we could find out how he voted in 2018?
MCCONNELL (wagging his finger): And 2016! If he voted for Hillary, we’re home free. (more cheerfully) Thanks, darlin’! Go stand under the mistletoe in the great room, maybe you’ll get lucky! (smacks her on the ass)
MONICA (shocked, rubbing her ass): Uh, thank you? (exits quickly, closing the door)
(ELAINE glares at MCCONNELL, shaking her head.)
MCCONNELL (dismissively): Oh whatever, she loved it. Now, where were we?
ELAINE (sighing): Mitch, honey. (taking his hand) Let’s not fight. Just please tell me, for once and for all, what is going on? I am ready to quit tomorrow. Just say the word. This is the worst job I’ve ever had! I don’t even think Trump knows my name. He keeps calling me “my Chinese friend.” “Where’s my Chinese friend?” he asks me. I’m from Taiwan, for heaven’s sake!
MCCONNELL (coming to a decision): Elaine, I’m gonna come clean. The Russians gave me a lot of money to back that orangutan. I’m just not going to go against them, okay? That Putin is no joke. He kills people! Besides which, we can keep the Democrats in check with our increased majority in the Senate. They’ll never get the votes to impeach him. We can stay on the Trump train and finally privatize Social Security and Medicare. Imagine, all the money pouring in! And, he’ll get re-elected in 2020. Our Russian friends will take care of that!
(ELAINE shakes her head in disbelief.)
(MCCONNELL’S phone dings. He reads it, then throws it across the room.)
MCCONNELL: No, no, no!
ELAINE (concerned): What is it now?
MCCONNELL: MUELLER!
(ELAINE and MCONNELL spit through their fingers again)
MCCONNELL (pacing): Hannity tells me that Mr. M has got me – ME! on his Christmas list. He’s going to find out about my special friendship with Russia! (realization slowly dawning) Oh my Lord. Who’s going to protect me? Trump will throw me under the bus faster than you can say “Michael Cohen!” He’s never liked me, never! And Pence, he’s useless. He’s going to get indicted before summer comes.
ELAINE (taking him by the shoulders): Mitch, look at me. (he looks up, in deep distress) You cannot go to jail. You hear me? Daddy would be furious! (commandingly) You know what you have to do.
(ELAINE hands him her phone. MCCONNELL slowly takes it and dials.)
MCCONNELL: Hello? Special Counsel’s office? Yes, Merry Christmas to you too (ELAINE puts her hand on his shoulder). This is Majority Leader McConnell. I’d like to speak to the Special Counsel, please…
(LIGHTS OUT.)
THE END
- In: "the Holidays" | Holidays | Open Thread | Politicians | Politics | Snark
- 89 Comments
This Maccabee is really Santa! THE HORROR. Courtesy of The Forward.
Happy Tuesday, Widdershins. If you hear the rap version of “The Little Drummer Boy” playing faintly in the background, it’s because I am writing from the center of the War on Chanukkah, otherwise known as San Francisco, the “City by the Bay” “City Sans Oy Vey.”
As I promenade through the streets of downtown, I hear only Christmas music. I see only Christmas trees, presents and lights. Wherefore the miraculous menorah? Wherefore the light that burned for eight nights instead of just one, to protect the besieged Maccabees in their temple? It’s enough to make you meshuggeneh!
After so many years in Noo Yawk, where there are roughly as many Jews on the Upper West Side as there are in Israel, this blatant discrimination is a shock to my system. It shall not stand! I will plant my Chanukkah bush on this Widdershin ground, and share some fun holiday music with you. Maybe then all the goyim will realize we’re here, we’re eating schmears, and we’re not giving up till you sing the Dreidel song with us!
Oh by the way, I’m in such a good mood because…it’s #MuellerTime.
Enjoy the day! This is an open thread.
Widdershins, we did it! The election was two weeks ago, and it was indeed a blue tsunami. 40 House seats, holy banana pants! Not to mention all the governor’s races, state houses and other awesomeness we, as card-carrying members of #TheResistance, made happen. Yay, us! (And 60 million other people.)
We deserve a break. To me, the idea of getting together with friends and/or family and eating and drinking myself into oblivion sounds really, really good right now. And I am really thankful that I have this opportunity, not taking it for granted at all.
Food-wise, I am especially looking forward to the barbecued turkey my sister-in-law’s dad makes every year. It is really good (he makes it in a Weber charcoal grill). Oddly, I am also looking forward to the fresh green beans. They are my favorite vegetable. No casserole, just yummy beans sautéed in oil, garlic and a few herbs.
What are your plans for Thanksgiving, and what are you looking forward to the most? Are you preparing this?
In case you’ve never seen this creation before, meet the TurKracken: a turkey, stuffed with an octopus, garnished with crab’s legs and artistically striped with bacon. MMMMmmmmm!
Relax and build up your strength, O Resisters. 2020 will be here before you know it, and we’ve got a lot of work to do before then!
This is an open thread.
I’m going to repeat something that every Widdershin already knows: There is no significant voter fraud in America.
The Brennan Center’s seminal report “The Truth About Voter Fraud” conclusively demonstrated most allegations of fraud turn out to be baseless — and that of the few allegations remaining, most reveal election irregularities and other forms of election misconduct. And numerous other studies have reached the same conclusion. In a recent report, “Noncitizen Voting: The Missing Millions,” the Brennan Center debunked President Trump’s claim that millions improperly voted in the 2016 election.
Yet, the topic of voter fraud always seems to be at the tip of Republican tongues, whether they be mouth-breathing MAGAs or petulant white, male, wealthy underachievers outraged that uppity wimminz and minorities would dare to vote against them.
Here’s what Democrats should do every time a Republican shitbird starts talking about this long, long debunked fairy tale in which everyone loves him, he is married to June Cleaver, who vacuums in pearls and pumps, and no black people exist anywhere:
“It’s not voter fraud that’s the problem. It’s Republican election fraud.”
Then sit back and watch the exploding heads, because no. one. ever. calls. them. on. this.
Ever.
The way I see it, we have not had an honest federal election in this country since 2000, when Gore won the popular vote by 500,000 votes, but still did not become President, because, Florida. Remember Florida, where Dubya’s paid operatives stormed down there in their Brooks Brothers shirts and demonstrated against the recount? And a Republican Secretary of State and Republican Supreme Court colluded to ensure that Bush won even though his margin was 537 votes?
Once that snarling weasel and his psychopathic VP took office, all bets were off. Electronic voting machines with no paper trails that switched votes to Bush from Kerry; gerrymandering and massive voter suppression became their M.O. And let’s not forget the Republican-controlled Supreme Court, which gutted a critical portion of the Voting Rights Act, opening the door to election fraud that was previously illegal, but now could be considered to fall into a grey area.
Shelby County v. Holder, 570 U.S. ___ (2013), is a landmark[1] United States Supreme Court case regarding the constitutionality of two provisions of the Voting Rights Act of 1965: Section 5, which requires certain states and local governments to obtain federal preclearance before implementing any changes to their voting laws or practices; and Section 4(b), which contains the coverage formula that determines which jurisdictions are subjected to preclearance based on their histories of discrimination in voting.[2][3]
On June 25, 2013, the Court ruled by a 5-to-4 vote that Section 4(b) is unconstitutional because the coverage formula is based on data over 40 years old, making it no longer responsive to current needs and therefore an impermissible burden on the constitutional principles of federalism and equal sovereignty of the states.[2][3] The Court did not strike down Section 5, but without Section 4(b), no jurisdiction will be subject to Section 5 preclearance unless Congress enacts a new coverage formula.[4]
Five years after the ruling, nearly a thousand polling places had been closed in the country, with many of the closed polling places in predominantly African-American counties. Research shows that the changing of voter locations and reduction in voting locations can reduce voter turnout.[5]
But even with all of the storied examples of Republican election fraud, all of which continued in 2018, our current pResident took it to a level never seen in American history when he conspired with a hostile foreign government to steal the Presidential election of 2016. Let’s face it, the Mango Moron did not win legitimately. Russia viciously attacked our election, influencing tens of millions of voters through fake news and bots on social media, hacking into Hillary’s and Podesta’s emails and leaking them for months, and invading voter databases, “not changing results.” Sure, if I were an evil tyrant roaming around voter databases for months uncaught, and I wanted one candidate to win, I absolutely would not change a thing!
So the Democrats should start talking about this, loudly and often. Perhaps some already are.
This is an open thread.
This little girl’s frustration has been yours, mine and ours…but today, it seems like she should be smiling. I’ll show you some numbers that will give you hope.
For decades, older voters have dominated the electorate in non-presidential years. But early and absentee voting among youth aged 18 to 29 has increased dramatically in several states with hotly contested races – including Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Nevada and Texas – compared to the 2014 midterm races.
(snip)
More than 35 million Americans have already cast their midterm election ballots, a 75 percent increase over the roughly 20 million who cast ballots ahead of Election Day 2014.
Nationally, voters aged 18 to 39 have nearly tripled their early voting rate since 2014. That’s increased their share of the early vote by more than 3 percentage points.
The early voting share of voters aged 50 to 64, meanwhile, has fallen by more than 2.5 percentage points. The share of those 65 and older has fallen nearly 5 points.
In Georgia, where Democrat Stacey Abrams is looking to become the first black female governor in the nation’s history, youth voters cast nearly 215,000 ballots as of Saturday – a 362 percent increase over the same point in the 2014 election, according to TargetSmart, a Democratic political data services firm.
No one knows what will happen, but…that being said, the Republicans seem resigned to losing the House. There’s a reason for that: internal polling isn’t good, plus, Independents, some GOP defectors and those over 65 seem to be going hard blue.
And Steve Schmidt has just said on Brian Williams’ show that those thinking a wave will hit the House and not the Senate, are like people thinking a tsunami will hit the Coast and miss Oregon.
Stay positive, mes amis. Whatever happens, we’ll be here together.
As Our Girl said so well, and I believe she won the popular vote (and probably the electoral college) because of it:
#LoveTrumpsHate
This is an open thread.
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