If there *is* an impeachment inquiry, and Dems do hold hearings, can we please, please, PLEASE have only congressional staff attorneys ask questions of witnesses?
Why GA matters—immensely:
1) 51 seats is always better than 50–takes power from Sinema/Manchin, extra vote in case of absences, don’t need VP to break ties, etc.
2) Warnock is an amazing senator
3) Black representation matters, period
4) 2024 map is very tough for Dems
At this point, Schumer would be well within his rights to tell McConnell that the 2001 deal is now off the table and say that Democrats will instead, by limiting the filibuster, pass an organizing resolution that gives them the majority on committees
My god. This is just so typical of the
@NYTimes
. Pelosi won *more* votes and had *fewer* "nos" than Ryan in 2015, but Ryan won "overwhelming support" while Pelosi had "significant defections"
BE ON ALERT: Republicans in California have set up fake ballot drop boxes that they’re promoting on social media. Whatever your state, before you use a drop box, confirm with your local election office that it’s legitimate
Another reason
#GASen
runoffs are so important: To fire Louis DeJoy, Biden needs to fill 3 vacancies on the USPS board of governors. To do *that*, Dems need to win the Senate
Man this is making me angry. You have Chuck Schumer, who's constitutionally incapable of standing up to Trump and is determined to sell us out to Facebook, waltzing to another term, while Nancy Pelosi, who passed freakin' Obamacare, is getting challenged
At least six House Democrats have already called for Trump's impeachment for inciting today's violent coup attempt:
Cicilline
Moulton
Omar
Pressley
Takano
Wexton
Please let me know if you see others.
I think there's some real anger brewing out there among vaccinated folks that's not getting much attention. Instead, we see pieces trying to soothe the infantile reactance of the unvaccinated and blame it on those who've gotten shots
Let me say this very clearly as the son of a Holocaust survivor: The only apology I want is from people who seek to weaponize false charges of antisemitism against the left while ignoring the very real threat of anti-Jewish hatred on the right
I think part of this feigned hysteria on the right about Castro’s (totally legitimate) use of public donor info is also part of a ploy to attack campaign finance disclosure laws. They’d like nothing more than for all money to be dark money
The person who comes out looking the worst from this Swan interview: Maggie Haberman. How many times has she interviewed Trump without asking these kinds of followup questions?
Six weeks ago, in early February, SCOTUS stayed a ruling ordering Alabama to redraw its congressional map because it was too close to the election
Now, in late March, it's ordering Wisconsin to redraw its legislative maps
This is such a colossal “fuck you” by North Carolina Senate Democrats to all the people who have fought—and donated to—the legal battle to end gerrymandering
Unreal. Half of North Carolina Senate Dems largely voted for the GOP's new modestly-less-gerrymandered map, likely in part because some Dems got favorable seats to protect neighboring GOP incumbents. This happened in MO, OH, & PA after 2010, now it's happening again
#NCpol
#NCGA
VP Pence apparently couldn't find an actual rabbi. Instead he got a Christian leader of a group of Christians who call themselves "Messianic Jews". Yeshua = Jesus. Actual Jews paying attention to this are outraged at this decision, btw.
Important reminder! If you can't stand seeing Tulsi Gabbard up there on the debate stage, you can help boot her out of Congress. Donate to her primary challenger, state Sen. Kai Kahele, today!
I’m completely sick of this wholly invented “red line” crap. It’s not a thing, and to act like it is is to normalize authoritarian disregard of the rule of law
But both Trump and Cohen believe this is really Mueller and that farming it out to SDNY was a fig leaf. Both sources say that this has crossed the "red line" that Trump laid out for Mueller going outside his purview in intvw w
@nytmike
@peterbakernyt
and me last July
Fantastic news: Nevada legislature passes bill to send ballots to all active registered voters for November general election. Gov. Steve Sisolak may sign as early as today
Holy hell. Republican Sen. David Perdue has been running a Facebook ad that *made Jon Ossoff's nose bigger*. Oh, and it just so happened to pair him alongside Chuck Schumer. The campaign has since taken it down
One unheralded group that deserves major props:
@DemsOfState
. Democrats are on track to hold every secretary of state post up this year—defeating a huge number of election deniers—*and* flip Nevada. A truly impressive outcome that quite literally is saving our democracy
Amazing. The Pennsylvania GOP has been trying to get Republicans to request mail ballots (their website even has a guide! ), but rank-and-file GOP voters are refusing to because of Trump ranting against mail voting
PA mail ballots approved for the Tues primary:
Dems: 1.3 million
GOP: 525k
"We’re kind of listening to Trump on this" says one GOP chair
Via
@AndrewSeidman
Since we once again have a story about Republicans trying to steal an election by screwing with absentee ballots, a reminder that this is called *election fraud*, not voter fraud
An explosive, 150-page WhatsApp chat leaked to New Times appears to show members of Alex Diaz de la Portilla's 2018 campaign team discussing destroying or stealing absentee ballots from voters who selected one of his opponents, Zoraida Barreiro.
It’s funny how, when it comes to understanding the 1st Amendment, liberals are far better capitalists than conservatives. We readily grasp that private businesses can and should be free to make their own decisions about what speech to permit. Conservatives just howl “censorship!”
A refusal to consider downballot consequences is how we got Gov. Jan Brewer. All except Beshear have downsides:
• AZ: Special 2 years before end of term
• PA: GOP Senate prez becomes LG & breaks ties until '26
• NC: GOP LG would be acting gov whenever Cooper leaves state
How each reported VP contender's office would be filled if they won:
AZ Sen. Mark Kelly: Gov appoints a (D); 2026 special election
KY Gov. Andy Beshear: Lt. gov (D) becomes gov; 2027 election
NC Gov. Roy Cooper: N/A
PA Gov. Josh Shapiro: Lt. gov (D) becomes gov; 2026 election
Fuck you, motherfucker. My father, from the time he was an 11-year-old boy, was hunted as human prey for four years. You think a gun would have made a difference? Seriously, fuck you.
This is ugly. Haberman has now declared that if “non-reporters” question her reporting, they represent a “facet of the whole fake news problem.” She’s developed a Pope complex, and this is very dangerous for the
@nytimes
The timing is clearly going to raise questions. But the fact that non-reporters believe their partisan analysis over actual reporting is a facet of the whole fake news problem in the first place
South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem beat an amazing Democrat, paralyzed former rodeo star (and state Sen.) Billie Sutton, by a shockingly narrow 51-48 margin in 2018. It's hard not to think about how many more people would be alive today had Sutton won
Want to help make sure Democrats keep the Senate? The most high-leverage thing you can do right now is help Nevada voters "cure" (fix) any issues with their mail ballots. You can do this remotely! Details & signup link here
This morning’s classified coronavirus briefing should have been made fully open to the American people—they would be as appalled & astonished as I am by the inadequacy of preparedness & prevention.
Make no mistake: McConnell caved, completely. He is dropping his demand that the organizing resolution include a pledge by Democrats to preserve the filibuster
Significant —> Mitch McConnell, citing public “assurances” from two Democratic senators that they won’t burn the filibuster, says he’s now ready to support a rules resolution.
Saving the USPS has to be a non-negotiable red-line dealbreaker for House Dems, along with voting by mail. This is our last best chance to save democracy
NEW w/
@jimtankersley
: The coronavirus pandemic is ravaging the United States Postal Service.
Mail vol down 30% this week, compared to same time last year. Could be down 50% by end of June
USPS told Congress today it needs a cash infusion and fast.
EVERY Dem presidential candidate should be helping out here. This key special election for a winnable GOP-held seat in the Texas state House is coming up on Nov. 5. If we flip it, we only need 8 more next year to win a majority in the chamber
.
@BetoORourke
about to go door knocking with
@ElizMarkowitz
, sole Dem in
#HD28
special election. Recapping recent statewide race margins in the district, he says it’s “very quickly moving in the right direction” and “very much in play.”
#txlege
It looks like some folks are hearing about the IDC for the first time tonight. Gather round, because if you don't already know about this gang of scumbag turncoat "Democrats" who enabled Republican rule in New York for years, you'll want learn 1/
Another big shift in public opinion: Americans now support removing Confederate statues by a 52-44 margin, per
@QuinnipiacPoll
. Three years ago, they were opposed 39-50
Every on-the-record quote in this piece attacking the obvious racism and sexism being levied at Biden's nominees is from women and people of color. We need to hear from more prominent white men calling this out, too
The way Pelosi & Schumer handled Trump is the model for all interactions with him by those with a regard for the truth: confront him with facts. This goes for reporters, too—there's nothing partisan in responding to lies with facts.
Mark Warner played an enormous role in turning VA from red to blue. In fact, he flipped the governorship and *then* he flipped a Senate seat! He's been as devoted a Democrat as they come.
Breyer's replacement will be the 6th Democratic nominee since 1968, compared to 21 Republican nominees. (Of the prior 26 nominees, 4 Dems/16 Republicans were confirmed).
There are countless things that are simply mandatory: paying taxes, carrying car insurance, feeding your kids. We don't "warn that punitive measures and social ostracism can backfire" for law-breakers. We just mandate that they follow the law. Why should vaccines be different?
These sick right-wing attacks on the Parkland students aren't just aimed at discrediting them, they're also intended to make them so miserable that they stop speaking out. I don't think these kids will be cowed, though.
This is garbage, too, because House Democrats passed the Restaurants Act last year, but McConnell never allowed it to come up for a vote in the Senate.
Wicker's idea of "pushing" for this aid means failing to convince McConnell to even permit a vote on it
I asked him about the criticism that he’s taking credit for a bill he opposed, but Wicker said he had pushed this issue for restaurant aid “long, long before this legislation.”
Wicker added: “I think it's an entirely consistent position.”
Since Trump took office, voters in six states have put the the brakes on giving the GOP control of state government:
• Kansas
• Michigan
• New Hampshire
• Wisconsin
• Kentucky just last week
• Louisiana tonight
This is a very big one: Carolyn Bourdeaux, who was just elected to a historically red district in the Atlanta suburbs and was the only Dem to flip a GOP House seat w/o a boost from court-ordered redistricting, just came out for impeachment
Scientology is an evil, deranged cult that takes advantage of unhappy people, pressures them into parting with their life savings for worthless "educational" materials, and virtually enslaves its least fortunate acolytes
Karen Bass in 2010 at a ribbon-cutting for a Scientology church:
"That is why the words are exciting of your Founder L. Rob Hubbard...The Church of Scientology I know has made a difference, because your creed is a universal creed and one that speaks to all people everywhere"
The media is still spending more time on a curse word every adult has heard countless times than the Democrats’ awesome HR1, which would protect and expand voting rights and democracy
Every Dem not named Raphael Warnock must drop out of the
#GASen
special election immediately. Our leadership crisis under Trump and McConnell has grown far too terrifying to allow us to risk our chances of flipping this seat
This wasn’t some innocent mistake. Politico thought they’d nailed Sotomayor for some sort of gotcha—going out to dinner (with Democrats!) after hearing oral arguments remotely. Apparently it was too good to check, because it was bs
Also, Schumer’s wife’s name is Iris Weinshall
Trump just called for armed insurrection against the legitimately elected leadership of several states with Democratic governors. Can we hear some more about how his tone has improved?
Republicans are fomenting hatred against Jews by running ads laden with anti-Semitic tropes, like this one portraying George Soros as an evil puppet-master of the left, surrounded by stacks of cash
In a letter attacking Biden’s mental fitness, 14 Republican members of Congress essentially repeated the same line twice in a row but changed the timeframe from one year to 18 months
Huge congrats to Kai Kahele! He will be the first person to represent Hawaii in Congress who hails from the Neighbor Islands (i.e., outside of Oahu). He'll also be the second Native Hawaiian since statehood after the late Sen. Dan Akaka
My father was 9 when WWII started. When he published his memoirs about surviving the Holocaust 50 years later, no one ever asked him, “Are you sure it wasn’t some other Nazis who were trying to murder you?”
This is big. The MS constitution requires statewide candidates to win a majority of state House districts, which are heavily gerrymandered. This system therefore makes it almost impossible for the candidate preferred by Black voters to win—a deliberate legacy of Jim Crow
All we want are vaccine mandates for those eligible. You don't have to get vaccinated, but refusal to do so will mean you don't get to participate in public life. Every choice has consequences
(And yes, we also want greater assistance for those who are vaccine-impeded)
And I think a key reason for this is that the Biden team didn’t just pull some big number out of the air. They said, this is what we need to do, and here’s how much it will cost, and if you think we need to spend less, which vital necessity do you want to cut?
One HUGE consequence of Edwards winning a second term & GOP failing to win a supermajority is that Republicans likely won't be able to gerrymander the state again after the next census. (This tweet brought to you by
@PoliticsWolf
)
Yes, Tulsi Gabbard can seek re-election to the House even as she runs for president. But it creates a great opportunity for a smart, ambitious Hawaii progressive to start running for
#HI02
while Gabbard is preoccupied with satisfying her national stanbase
I'm still astonished that House Republicans booed—booed!—Ocasio on the floor of Congress as she voted for Pelosi. They are angry incels whose behavior is akin to how Kavanaugh & his buddies treated Renate
Exit polls not finalized yet, but Trump won military veterans 61-34 in 2016 yet just 54-44 in 2020. A big salute to
@VoteVets
&
@NSLforBiden
for taking the lead in making this happen
2020:
2016:
There was a 20-point swing from Trump to Biden among veterans and military families, according to NYT exit polling in 2016 vs. 2020, more than any demographic.
Biden nearly became the first Democratic nominee to win this group in decades.
Why are we not talking about this?
Rep. Chellie Pingree should announce right now that she'll run against Susan Collins in 2020 if she votes for Kavanaugh. She'd raise a fortune the day Collins votes to confirm him