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  • Meanwhile the Democrats are introducing the Immigration Bill. Looking at its contents you would think the term "snowball's chance in hell" was invented just to describe its chances of getting through both houses of Congress.

    Comment


    • So who has the worst job in America this morning....Greg Abbott's press secretary or Ted Cruz's director of communications?
      “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
      Mark Twain

      Comment


      • firestorm,

        The question is do the Republicans have another option? I am not talking about Cruz and Graham here but McConnell and co. who voted to acquit him. If they had openly turned on Trump, most of their voter base would have deserted them. Their choice was between acquitting him (and prior to the riot, supporting him to an extent at least) and political suicide
        most of them have just come off fresh from elections. McConnell, for instance, could have voted to convict and he wouldn't have to eat any serious consequences. there might be a leadership challenge, but no one is gonna knock McConnell off at this point in his career.

        as far as I can tell, though, McConnell's thinking on the subject is that conviction would have been almost a purely symbolic move and thus not worth even the smallest blowback.
        There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

        Comment


        • Originally posted by Albany Rifles View Post
          So who has the worst job in America this morning....Greg Abbott's press secretary or Ted Cruz's director of communications?
          Social media has been killing Ted the last couple days

          Fled Cruz, Flyin Ted, Mayan Ted, Ted Cruise, Cancun Cruz

          Putting Cancun Cruz aside, what does it say that Greg Abbott and the state of Texas, Gavin Newsome and the state of California, and Andrew Cuomo and the state of New York are all enveloped in crisis or controversy... all at the same time?

          Comment


          • Originally posted by astralis View Post
            firestorm,



            most of them have just come off fresh from elections. McConnell, for instance, could have voted to convict and he wouldn't have to eat any serious consequences. there might be a leadership challenge, but no one is gonna knock McConnell off at this point in his career.

            as far as I can tell, though, McConnell's thinking on the subject is that conviction would have been almost a purely symbolic move and thus not worth even the smallest blowback.
            You are right about McConnell. He may not even fight another election after his current term is up in six years. But what about all the Republicans he and McCarthy are shepherding in Congress? If they had openly opposed Trump and voted to impeach/convict as the case may be, there is a high chance a lot of them would get primaried by Trump cultists and lose. Imagine a whole bunch of new Lauren Boeberts, Taylor-Greenes and Josh Hawleys (or worse) coming into congress because of it.

            Comment


            • But what about all the Republicans he and McCarthy are shepherding in Congress? If they had openly opposed Trump and voted to impeach/convict as the case may be, there is a high chance a lot of them would get primaried by Trump cultists and lose. Imagine a whole bunch of new Lauren Boeberts, Taylor-Greenes and Josh Hawleys (or worse) coming into congress because of it.
              which just goes to show you where the real power of the Republican Party is. the GOP isn't a platform for ideas, it's a personality cult.
              There is a cult of ignorance in the United States, and there has always been. The strain of anti-intellectualism has been a constant thread winding its way through our political and cultural life, nurtured by the false notion that democracy means that "My ignorance is just as good as your knowledge."- Isaac Asimov

              Comment


              • Originally posted by Firestorm View Post

                You are right about McConnell. He may not even fight another election after his current term is up in six years. But what about all the Republicans he and McCarthy are shepherding in Congress? If they had openly opposed Trump and voted to impeach/convict as the case may be, there is a high chance a lot of them would get primaried by Trump cultists and lose. Imagine a whole bunch of new Lauren Boeberts, Taylor-Greenes and Josh Hawleys (or worse) coming into congress because of it.
                It does appear that Republican candidates and elected officials face an insoluble problem. On one hand they can pledge complete fealty to Trump in which case they alienate suburbanites and quite likely lose narrowly in the General Election nationally or in swing states. Or they can distance themselves from Trump ( or criticize him however mildly) and most likely get primaried.

                The best case scenario is that if the Republicans lose the presidency the next two or three cycles, it might be possible for an anti-Trump Republican to eventually win. However, its also possible that Trump or his chosen successor might scrape a narrow electoral college win in 2024 or 2028 due to the huge amount of partisanship, in which case Trumpism becomes entrenched as the only vehicle for any right of center politics in the US.
                Last edited by InExile; 19 Feb 21,, 23:57.

                Comment


                • Originally posted by statquo View Post

                  ... what does it say that Greg Abbott and the state of Texas, Gavin Newsome and the state of California, and Andrew Cuomo and the state of New York are all enveloped in crisis or controversy... all at the same time?
                  It says that they're all facing unprecedented challenges.
                  Trust me?
                  I'm an economist!

                  Comment


                  • "Twitter users mocked first-term Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on Friday over a tweet in which she argued that defending the U.S. Constitution 'doesn’t mean trying to rewrite the parts you don’t like.' Users on Twitter were quick to point out to the gun rights advocate the many changes that have been ratified to the Constitution since it became the country’s official legal framework in 1788."

                    So, THAT'S where the Bill of Rights came from!

                    And, Rep. Boebert's right to vote.

                    https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5...titution-tweet

                    Best Part Last: Rep. @laurenboebert is a cosponsor of H.J.Res.12 to amend the Constitution to add term limits for Congress.




                    Trust me?
                    I'm an economist!

                    Comment


                    • Originally posted by statquo View Post

                      Social media has been killing Ted the last couple days

                      Fled Cruz, Flyin Ted, Mayan Ted, Ted Cruise, Cancun Cruz

                      Putting Cancun Cruz aside, what does it say that Greg Abbott and the state of Texas, Gavin Newsome and the state of California, and Andrew Cuomo and the state of New York are all enveloped in crisis or controversy... all at the same time?
                      I liked 'Snake on a plane'.
                      sigpic

                      Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

                      Comment





                      • A Conversation on Reparations

                        Harvard Kennedy School's Institute of Politics
                        Streamed live on 21 February 2020

                        Join us for a conversation addressing the call for reparations with Professor Randall L. Kennedy, Michael R. Klein Professor of Law at Harvard Law School, and Professor Cornell Brooks, Professor of Practice of Public Leadership and Social Justice at Harvard Kennedy School. The discussion will be moderated by David Harris, Managing Director of the Charles Hamilton Houston Institute for Race and Justice, Harvard Law School.
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                        • Originally posted by CNBC

                          BET founder Robert Johnson calls for $14 trillion of reparations for slavery
                          by Matthew J. Belvedere
                          01 June 2020

                          KEY POINTS
                          • "Now is the time to go big" to keep America from dividing into two separate and unequal societies, Robert Johnson said in a CNBC interview Monday.
                          • Johnson said reparations would send the signal that white Americans acknowledge "damages that are owed" for the unequal playing field created by slavery and the decades since.
                          • The wealth divide and police brutality against blacks are at the heart of protests that have erupted across the nation following last week's killing of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis.
                          Robert Johnson, founder of Black Entertainment Television, told CNBC on Monday the U.S. government should provide $14 trillion of reparations for slavery to help reduce racial inequality.

                          The wealth divide and police brutality against blacks are at the heart of protests that have erupted across the nation following last week's killing of George Floyd during an arrest in Minneapolis.

                          "Now is the time to go big" to keep America from dividing into two separate and unequal societies, Johnson said on "Squawk Box."

                          "Wealth transfer is what's needed," he argued. "Think about this. Since 200-plus-years or so of slavery, labor taken with no compensation, is a wealth transfer. Denial of access to education, which is a primary driver of accumulation of income and wealth, is a wealth transfer."

                          Johnson, 74 made history as America's first black billionaire when he sold BET to Viacom in 2001. Shortly after the sale, he started the investment firm The RLJ Cos. He's no longer on the Forbes billionaires list.

                          Calling reparations the "affirmative action program of all time," Johnson said they would send the signal that white Americans acknowledge "damages that are owed" for the unequal playing field created by slavery and the decades since with a "wealth transfer to white Americans away from African Americans."

                          "Damages is a normal factor in a capitalist society for when you have been deprived for certain rights," he said. "If this money goes into pockets like the [coronavirus] stimulus checks ... that money is going to return back to the economy" in the form of consumption. There will also be more black-owned businesses, he added.

                          Johnson said the need for reparations has been on his website since last year. "I'm not new to this challenge." He said he's not advocating "more bureaucratic programs that don't deliver and don't perform." He stressed, "I'm talking about cash. We are a society based on wealth. That's the foundation of capitalism."

                          Later on "Squawk Box" Merck Chairman and CEO Ken Frazier, who is black, expressed doubts about whether reparations would be possible. "I don't believe we'll be able to get anything like that through our political system." However, he said, "Leaders in the business community have to be a unifying force. They can be a source of opportunity. They can be a source of understanding."

                          "We as business leaders can step up and solve many of these economic problems for people," Frazier added, saying that education, particularly financial literacy, is the "great equalizer."

                          .
                          Originally posted by The_Grio

                          Robert Johnson calls for an official Black Lives Matter political party
                          by Biba Adams
                          26 June 2020

                          Robert Johnson called for Black Lives Matter to establish their own political party.

                          The 74-year-old billionaire said that the movement is the strongest he’s seen since the Civil Rights Movement.

                          In a wide-ranging interview on CNBC, Johnson advocated for a new political party, Johnson said, “No minority group has ever achieved significant power in a two-party system when they are locked into one party and considered unreachable by the other party.”

                          Johnson, who is a firm advocate for reparations said, “I propose that an independent party formed by Black Lives Matter should echo the founding principles of the original Congressional Black Caucus members in 1971 who … said Black Americans should have no permanent friends, no permanent enemies, just permanent interests.”

                          Johnson told Squawk Box that while he is a lifelong Democrat, he remains undecided between voting for President Donald Trump and Joe Biden.

                          “(Trump) took on one of the biggest issues facing African Americans — unemployment, and therefore lack of income and therefore the wealth gap.” He continued, “He addressed that and put a lot of African Americans to work and in a way that was more historic than it’s ever been. And I applauded him.”

                          "I’ve been convinced for a long time that 40 million African Americans who tend to vote as a bloc in one of the two parties limit their leverage in getting action form both parties,” Johnson said.

                          “Had African American interests been embraced by one or two of the dominant parties,” He offered, “we wouldn’t have the tremendous social, economic, racial issues that we have now.”

                          Johnson said that the Black vote has been taken for granted by the Democratic Party, an idea which has been echoed by Black celebrities like Diddy.

                          The Hip-Hop entrepreneur has worked with voter registration and getting out to vote for over twenty years. He also believes that the party takes the Black vote “hostage,” and declared by tweeting, “The Black Vote Won’t Be Free This Year!”

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                          • Originally posted by DOR View Post
                            "Twitter users mocked first-term Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) on Friday over a tweet in which she argued that defending the U.S. Constitution 'doesn’t mean trying to rewrite the parts you don’t like.' Users on Twitter were quick to point out to the gun rights advocate the many changes that have been ratified to the Constitution since it became the country’s official legal framework in 1788."

                            So, THAT'S where the Bill of Rights came from!

                            And, Rep. Boebert's right to vote.

                            https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5...titution-tweet

                            Best Part Last: Rep. @laurenboebert is a cosponsor of H.J.Res.12 to amend the Constitution to add term limits for Congress.



                            And renowned Constitutional Expert Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Mars) completed her GED right before running for office.
                            “Loyalty to country ALWAYS. Loyalty to government, when it deserves it.”
                            Mark Twain

                            Comment


                            • It is profoundly depressing that I have a better understanding of the US Constitution than someone elected to the US Congress. Can you be an 'originalist' if you don't know what the Constitution says?
                              sigpic

                              Win nervously lose tragically - Reds C C

                              Comment


                              • Originally posted by Bigfella View Post
                                It is profoundly depressing that I have a better understanding of the US Constitution than someone elected to the US Congress. Can you be an 'originalist' if you don't know what the Constitution says?
                                That's like claiming to be a Christian and saying, "If English was good enough for Jesus Christ, it's good enough for me."
                                Trust me?
                                I'm an economist!

                                Comment

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