Can we simply admit that all along that GOP efforts to change voting laws in favor of what is called voter integrity, even asking for voter ID have been all along about voter suppression.
We also need to recognize that when the Supreme Court overturned the voting rights act, that they were simply parroting the complaints of the states mostly of the old confederacy - states that wanted to return to the suppression of the black vote? Were the justices honest they would have come back years after and retracted their decision -- because they were wrong. The changes that were made in the electorate under the voting rights act were not a sign that the spirit of Jim Crow had ended - they only existed because of the voting rights act.
That does not mean that we cannot have some means of identifying who a voter is, but having registered to vote in the old days, with a birth cert and a utility bill, a permanent signature record seemed enough for all these years.
Being from NJ, I remember vote fraud from the old machine politics days - but these happened generally at the counting and not by individual voters. (And for more - read Robert Caro on LBJs 1948 senate bid).
Oh - the GOP seems to hate the notion that churches and civic minded groups might want to encourage voting. That by itself should be a red flag. They always wanted fewer voters, and their complaints sound very much like the segregationists complaints about ignorant black voters (ad please look up one of James Jackson Kilpatrick's old essay to see the old racist spirit. )
"It was the docs in the garage, next to the Corvette, that triggered the naming of a new special counsel."
Is anyone else concerned about how the National Archives didn't even know the docs were missing? Whether trump, Biden, or anyone else, how is it that there is not a process in place to 1) Identify what docs have been "checked out", 2) That all are returned within a reasonable amount of time, or officially "extended", and 3) All are returned PRIOR to leaving office.
If I were one of our allies, I'd be extremely concerned and upset. Can't we get this right from the get-go?
“In the City of Milwaukee, with the 4th Congressional District Republican Party working very closely with the RPW, RNC, Republican Assembly & Senate Campaign Committees, Statewide Campaigns and RPMC in the Black and Hispanic areas, we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem Vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas.”
I don't want to hear anymore about the "normies" in today's Republican Party, giving them praise when they do the right thing and uphold their principles regarding Democracy.
I have yet to hear any one of them step up to a microphone to say, "This is NOT what the Republican Party stands for", the way Senators Howard Baker and Lowell Weicker did during the Watergate hearings.
This has been a concerted effort all across the country, a strategy implemented and carried out with help and coordination from the RNC itself.
And it is disgusting to boast about disenfranchising Americans, no matter who they are, or what color of their skin.
I'm sick of it. Remember all of the pearl-clutching when Democrats, including Biden, characterized this "Election Integrity" as Jim Crow 2.0?
No more on the normies until they start standing up and speaking out.
Here's how the existence of the Republican's Committee to Investigate the Weaponization of Government (and long history of playing the refs) has already worked: The response to the discovery of retained documents by Trump: months of letters from NARA, extra time to look, no special counsel until what, November, and then the choice of someone with no history of connection to either the Obama or Biden administrations. Biden's documents: special counsel within a few weeks, and going out of the way to choose a Trump appointee.
I believe the special counsel appointment was appropriate--I'm not complaining about that. I just think it is worth noting that there is a much greater effort to quell discontent from the right than the left. Bullying works.
Also, this should not be displacing reporting on the Proud Boys trial. That evidence is compelling and should be front page news.
A pony? Sure: time for Dems to vet a younger model for 2024. Give Joe a gold watch, a sincere Thank You for preventing DJT '20, and bring on a new generation.
Biden's strategy in Ukraine has been known since before Russia invaded: Let it seem like Russia "Swallowed a porcupine." That includes stretching out the pain as long as possible. In a way, its the "anti-Powell Doctrine" which is that you use overwhelming force from the start.
It's worked so far. The longer it drags out, the worse Russia looks, can respond, becomes desperate. US energy exports to the EU just surpassed Russia's, and NATO is ramping up defense costs. It hasn;t been about just getting Ukraine to win, but to get Europe relying on the US again.
Most documents that are actually worthy of classification (because a good amount of currently classified stuff isn't, if things are anything like they were back when I was in the military) should NEVER leave a secure facility.
That means if you want to see it, you go to the facility, you don't take anything out. For any reason.
There also needs to be a clear chain of custody and clear (and regularly applied) penalties for violations.
No one individual (and this includes PotUS) should be able to declassify anything--be it by diktat or in their imagination or whatever. There needs to be a clear procedure with multiple parties involved.
If, as a legislator (or administrative or legislature staff), you cannot righteously qualify for a security clearance, then:
1) you do not get one; and
2) you do not get to see classified material nor do you get to do committee work that requires viewing such material. You don't get a job that requires access (looking at you, Jared).
And, frankly, if you cannot qualify for a top level security clearance you should not be able to run for or be elected to offices like PotUS... or a cabinet appointment, etc.
WRT to Biden v Trump situation:
Special Investigator/prosecutor/whatever for each case, grand jury/indictment/whatever for the appropriate people (except Biden because you don't currently indict and try sitting Presidents--so you have to try for an impeachment there--good luck!).
Equal treatment before the law. Isn't that the point?
I have no problems with ANY heads rolling for any of this stuff, provided process is followed. At least the Biden people (at this point) seem much more straight up and not obstructionist about it so far.
When they GoP complains that people should be punished, this obviously means that Trump should also be punished, amiright? We know that isn't what they mean or want, but that is the play.
I've been in the intelligence community for 20 years. If I had done what Biden is accused of doing, I would've, at the minimum, have multiple security violations and likely be in jeopardy of losing my job. Simply stating that Trump is worse really isn't an excuse. Again, handling classified documents isn't hard: they literally make it idiot-proof by labeling document TOP SECRET or SECRET in bright yellow/red letters on top and bottom.
The Biden document disaster isn't an Afghan withdraw level catastrophe but its not a nothing-burger either. That said, it *is* an opportunity for Dems, Never-Trumpers, and other allies of the rule-of-law to show and tell: everyone gets treated equally. Hell, its a chance for Biden and his administration to do the right thing and say something equivalent to "we take this seriously and are cooperating with the investigation."
The GOP is going to "whatabout..." all day long. The Dems must be ready with a firm and stark contrast.
oh, and like TD writes below - if this encourages Biden and the Dems to find a new candidate in '24 that's not necessarily a bad thing either. I feel, on balance, Biden has been very good but his age is a real factor. A race against a senile, incompetent, has-been vs. an old but still fairly vigorous Biden isn't ideal.
Want to start by saying that I love the bulwark and their thoughtful analysis. But in the cheap shots today, do we really need to parrot Fox news talking points? Really no one from the government is coming for your gas stoves (our your guns or your Christmas decorations either). The head of the US safety agency has stated that no ban of gas stoves is planned. The fact that one commissioner from the consumer product safety commission said that "nothing is off the table - including bans" does not indicate that the government is coming for your stoves. This really is just a FOX talking point. The fact that studies have shown that children living in a house with gas stoves have a 42 percent increased likelihood of having asthma and a 24 percent increased risk of developing it in their lifetime indicates that we should indeed be taking a hard look at gas stoves and their impacts on child health. Please don't stoop to this level.
1) The world cannot be made safe; no matter how much you might want to make it safe;
2) People will act in unsafe manners and do unsafe things--sometimes because it IS unsafe, sometimes because someone dared tell them not to do it;
3) Corporations that are making a profit off of unsafe things aren't to interested in seeing those profits go away.
I can remember when you could buy a car that had no seat belts (OMG). I can remember the great wailing and gnashing of teeth over being forced, FORCED dammit to wear a seatbelt. How DARE you make me uncomfortable or try and save my life or save me from a crippling injury or huge medical bills. HOW DARE YOU!
Same thing for motorcycling w/o a helmet.
I remember when child car seats were NOT a thing.
I remember when smoking was super cool and pretty much everyone did it, everywhere.
Can safety stuff go too far? Yes. Amazingly, the stuff seems to work out in the long term, somehow.
Suppressing the Black Vote. And Bragging About It.
Can we simply admit that all along that GOP efforts to change voting laws in favor of what is called voter integrity, even asking for voter ID have been all along about voter suppression.
We also need to recognize that when the Supreme Court overturned the voting rights act, that they were simply parroting the complaints of the states mostly of the old confederacy - states that wanted to return to the suppression of the black vote? Were the justices honest they would have come back years after and retracted their decision -- because they were wrong. The changes that were made in the electorate under the voting rights act were not a sign that the spirit of Jim Crow had ended - they only existed because of the voting rights act.
That does not mean that we cannot have some means of identifying who a voter is, but having registered to vote in the old days, with a birth cert and a utility bill, a permanent signature record seemed enough for all these years.
Being from NJ, I remember vote fraud from the old machine politics days - but these happened generally at the counting and not by individual voters. (And for more - read Robert Caro on LBJs 1948 senate bid).
Oh - the GOP seems to hate the notion that churches and civic minded groups might want to encourage voting. That by itself should be a red flag. They always wanted fewer voters, and their complaints sound very much like the segregationists complaints about ignorant black voters (ad please look up one of James Jackson Kilpatrick's old essay to see the old racist spirit. )
"It was the docs in the garage, next to the Corvette, that triggered the naming of a new special counsel."
Is anyone else concerned about how the National Archives didn't even know the docs were missing? Whether trump, Biden, or anyone else, how is it that there is not a process in place to 1) Identify what docs have been "checked out", 2) That all are returned within a reasonable amount of time, or officially "extended", and 3) All are returned PRIOR to leaving office.
If I were one of our allies, I'd be extremely concerned and upset. Can't we get this right from the get-go?
“In the City of Milwaukee, with the 4th Congressional District Republican Party working very closely with the RPW, RNC, Republican Assembly & Senate Campaign Committees, Statewide Campaigns and RPMC in the Black and Hispanic areas, we can be especially proud of the City of Milwaukee (80.2% Dem Vote) casting 37,000 less votes than cast in the 2018 election with the major reduction happening in the overwhelming Black and Hispanic areas.”
I don't want to hear anymore about the "normies" in today's Republican Party, giving them praise when they do the right thing and uphold their principles regarding Democracy.
I have yet to hear any one of them step up to a microphone to say, "This is NOT what the Republican Party stands for", the way Senators Howard Baker and Lowell Weicker did during the Watergate hearings.
This has been a concerted effort all across the country, a strategy implemented and carried out with help and coordination from the RNC itself.
And it is disgusting to boast about disenfranchising Americans, no matter who they are, or what color of their skin.
I'm sick of it. Remember all of the pearl-clutching when Democrats, including Biden, characterized this "Election Integrity" as Jim Crow 2.0?
No more on the normies until they start standing up and speaking out.
Who are these unnamed Democrats calling for the banning of gas stoves?
Hmmm... 37,000 votes suppressed and Barnes lost by about 27-28,000. Is it safe to say that this cost the D's a Senate seat?
Here's how the existence of the Republican's Committee to Investigate the Weaponization of Government (and long history of playing the refs) has already worked: The response to the discovery of retained documents by Trump: months of letters from NARA, extra time to look, no special counsel until what, November, and then the choice of someone with no history of connection to either the Obama or Biden administrations. Biden's documents: special counsel within a few weeks, and going out of the way to choose a Trump appointee.
I believe the special counsel appointment was appropriate--I'm not complaining about that. I just think it is worth noting that there is a much greater effort to quell discontent from the right than the left. Bullying works.
Also, this should not be displacing reporting on the Proud Boys trial. That evidence is compelling and should be front page news.
They're coming to get yer guns--- they're coming to get yer hamburgers...they're coming to get yer gas stoves--- yawn.
A pony? Sure: time for Dems to vet a younger model for 2024. Give Joe a gold watch, a sincere Thank You for preventing DJT '20, and bring on a new generation.
Biden's strategy in Ukraine has been known since before Russia invaded: Let it seem like Russia "Swallowed a porcupine." That includes stretching out the pain as long as possible. In a way, its the "anti-Powell Doctrine" which is that you use overwhelming force from the start.
It's worked so far. The longer it drags out, the worse Russia looks, can respond, becomes desperate. US energy exports to the EU just surpassed Russia's, and NATO is ramping up defense costs. It hasn;t been about just getting Ukraine to win, but to get Europe relying on the US again.
Weissman is right.
As to WI, can we all agree now that the Dem Senate candidate was not the problem, Charlie?
Most documents that are actually worthy of classification (because a good amount of currently classified stuff isn't, if things are anything like they were back when I was in the military) should NEVER leave a secure facility.
That means if you want to see it, you go to the facility, you don't take anything out. For any reason.
There also needs to be a clear chain of custody and clear (and regularly applied) penalties for violations.
No one individual (and this includes PotUS) should be able to declassify anything--be it by diktat or in their imagination or whatever. There needs to be a clear procedure with multiple parties involved.
If, as a legislator (or administrative or legislature staff), you cannot righteously qualify for a security clearance, then:
1) you do not get one; and
2) you do not get to see classified material nor do you get to do committee work that requires viewing such material. You don't get a job that requires access (looking at you, Jared).
And, frankly, if you cannot qualify for a top level security clearance you should not be able to run for or be elected to offices like PotUS... or a cabinet appointment, etc.
WRT to Biden v Trump situation:
Special Investigator/prosecutor/whatever for each case, grand jury/indictment/whatever for the appropriate people (except Biden because you don't currently indict and try sitting Presidents--so you have to try for an impeachment there--good luck!).
Equal treatment before the law. Isn't that the point?
I have no problems with ANY heads rolling for any of this stuff, provided process is followed. At least the Biden people (at this point) seem much more straight up and not obstructionist about it so far.
When they GoP complains that people should be punished, this obviously means that Trump should also be punished, amiright? We know that isn't what they mean or want, but that is the play.
"… The last thing I want to do is suppress votes."
But it IS on the list.
I've been in the intelligence community for 20 years. If I had done what Biden is accused of doing, I would've, at the minimum, have multiple security violations and likely be in jeopardy of losing my job. Simply stating that Trump is worse really isn't an excuse. Again, handling classified documents isn't hard: they literally make it idiot-proof by labeling document TOP SECRET or SECRET in bright yellow/red letters on top and bottom.
The Biden document disaster isn't an Afghan withdraw level catastrophe but its not a nothing-burger either. That said, it *is* an opportunity for Dems, Never-Trumpers, and other allies of the rule-of-law to show and tell: everyone gets treated equally. Hell, its a chance for Biden and his administration to do the right thing and say something equivalent to "we take this seriously and are cooperating with the investigation."
The GOP is going to "whatabout..." all day long. The Dems must be ready with a firm and stark contrast.
oh, and like TD writes below - if this encourages Biden and the Dems to find a new candidate in '24 that's not necessarily a bad thing either. I feel, on balance, Biden has been very good but his age is a real factor. A race against a senile, incompetent, has-been vs. an old but still fairly vigorous Biden isn't ideal.
Want to start by saying that I love the bulwark and their thoughtful analysis. But in the cheap shots today, do we really need to parrot Fox news talking points? Really no one from the government is coming for your gas stoves (our your guns or your Christmas decorations either). The head of the US safety agency has stated that no ban of gas stoves is planned. The fact that one commissioner from the consumer product safety commission said that "nothing is off the table - including bans" does not indicate that the government is coming for your stoves. This really is just a FOX talking point. The fact that studies have shown that children living in a house with gas stoves have a 42 percent increased likelihood of having asthma and a 24 percent increased risk of developing it in their lifetime indicates that we should indeed be taking a hard look at gas stoves and their impacts on child health. Please don't stoop to this level.
1) The world cannot be made safe; no matter how much you might want to make it safe;
2) People will act in unsafe manners and do unsafe things--sometimes because it IS unsafe, sometimes because someone dared tell them not to do it;
3) Corporations that are making a profit off of unsafe things aren't to interested in seeing those profits go away.
I can remember when you could buy a car that had no seat belts (OMG). I can remember the great wailing and gnashing of teeth over being forced, FORCED dammit to wear a seatbelt. How DARE you make me uncomfortable or try and save my life or save me from a crippling injury or huge medical bills. HOW DARE YOU!
Same thing for motorcycling w/o a helmet.
I remember when child car seats were NOT a thing.
I remember when smoking was super cool and pretty much everyone did it, everywhere.
Can safety stuff go too far? Yes. Amazingly, the stuff seems to work out in the long term, somehow.