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Gays Gone Republican

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Back in September, on the heels of Ken Mehlman’s coming out, and the entire McCain camp — sans McCain himself — coming out in support of same-sex marriage, I asked, “Is Gay Republican The New Black?” Well, fast-forward to election day exit polls, and the answer is a resounding, “Yes.” It seems that gays are just as human as the the rest of society, and, despite all logic, can vote in large numbers against their self interests. Or, are they?

In “GOP: Gay Old Party? More gays voted Republican than in 2008,” the Washington Post’s Jonathan Capehart writes, “If you want more data that gay men and lesbians are pretty much just like everyone else — worried about the economy, freaked out about the direction of the country and perhaps ticked at the slow pace of change with regard to their civil rights — get a load of this exit poll result.”

Here it is — based on CNN’s exit polls.

In 2006, one in four self-identified gay men and lesbians voted Republican. That number dropped to one in five during the presidential election of 2008. This year, that number jumped dramatically. Amplified by a new, out loud and proud gay Tea Party PAC, GOProud — whose nationally-noted tony Manhattan fund raising party was headlined by extreme homophobe Ann Coulter — gay men and lesbians voted against their better interests one-third of the time. In other words, an astonishing thirty-one percent of self-identified gay men and lesbians voted Republican on Tuesday.

There is no doubt some politically-aware Republicans are courting the gay vote. This week, the day after the election, former GOP presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani came out — in contrast to his 2007 position — in support of repealing “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” and finding a way to praise the Log Cabin Republicans. Back when he was elected, GOP Chairman Michael Steele said his GOP needed to do a better job of wooing candidates and voters who support marriage equality.

Amanda Terkel in The Huffington Post adds, “I have been very concerned over these last two years that the connection between the gay rights community and the Democratic Party is in danger of being broken, because I think expectations were set so high as a result of the 2008 election, and people are extremely disappointed,” said Richard Socarides, a former assistant to President Clinton and senior White House adviser on gay rights.”

“More conservatives have been speaking out in favor of gay rights as the issue becomes more mainstream amongst the general public, and Republicans perhaps sense some vulnerability and dissatisfaction with Democrats.”

But the obvious question is, who are these people responding in exit polls? And, did “the gays,” frustrated by a perceived lack of action from their “fierce advocate” presidential candidate merely stay home and not vote?

The other obvious bit of information: in 2008, 56.8% of “possible” voters actually voted. In 2010, only 41.3% did.

The Washington Post’s E.J. Dionne, Jr. adds, “Voters younger than 30 made up nearly a fifth of the electorate in 2008 but only about a tenth on Tuesday, according to network exit polls. This week’s verdict was rendered by a much older and more conservative electorate.”

It bears mentioning too, that, after the 2008 exit polls were “analyzed,” the “news” was that blacks were primarily responsible for passing Prop 8. (They were not.)

The truth of the matter is that in times of economic distress — and America is certainly is in one — people choose financial security over social agendas. “It’s the economy, stupid,” may be the most-true statement ever uttered in politics. Of course, the “stupid,” long-term, may apply to gays who vote for a political party that wants to put them in jail for being gay. The “stupid” may apply to gays who vote for a political party that wants to keep the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) in place. The “stupid” may apply to gays who vote for a political party that continues to discharge them from the military, even after a federal court has ruled “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” unconstitutional. The “stupid” may apply to gays who vote for a political party that wants to block legislation that would protect them from being fired because they are gay. The “stupid” may apply to gays who vote for a political party that is happy to take their money but works to deny them their inalienable civil rights.

The question becomes, which party are we talking about?

Don’t get me wrong. I’m a staunch supporter of the Democratic Party. The GOP is merely pandering to the LGBT community. They can say they want to be more “inclusive” all they want. The proof is in the pudding, and their pudding comes without any rights for the LGBT community.

It’s time to get the Democratic Party to once and for all pander — and put their money where their mouth is — to “the gay agenda.”

For some, perhaps, it can feel liberating to berate their political leaders. At times, I certainly have done so — and with good reason. But there is a stark difference between being a critic of one’s own party — and country — and voting for the other side. The side, for instance, that wants, literally, to imprison us.

(Oh, if you actually like the shirt, yes, it’s for sale. No, I get nothing for telling you that.)
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News

Trump Organization Given ‘Corporate Death Penalty’ and Ordered Dissolved by Judge After ‘Persistent Fraud’: Legal Experts

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7 hours ago

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September 26, 2023

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A New York judge has ordered Donald Trump’s business entities in the state of New York, including The Trump Organization, dissolved, and his business certificates canceled, according to legal experts, after ruling that the ex-president for years committed fraud and deceived banks and insurers by inflating the value of his assets.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron “has ordered cancellation of all [NYS] business [certificates] of ‘any entity controlled or beneficially owned by Donald J. Trump, Donald Trump, Jr, Eric Trump, Alan Weisselberg, & Jeffrey McConney. An independent receiver will manage the dissolutions,” writes former federal prosecutor Elizabeth de la Vega.

The Messenger reports Judge Engoron’s “blockbuster ruling found that the former president and his business leaders failed to correct course after warned of a ‘propensity to engage in persistent fraud,'” and ordered “a quick timeline to dissolve the Trump Organization and other corporate entities.”

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MSNBC legal analyst Lisa Rubin explains that the “New York trial court judge has found that Trump, his adult sons, and Allen Weisselberg engaged in a persistent, years-long fraud through ‘fantasy world’ valuations of core Trump assets, including his own residence and various golf courses and office buildings.”

“His decision not only eliminates the need for trial on that claim, but also orders fairly dramatic relief: the cancellation of New York business certificates for all of the entities named as defendants, ‘as well as any other entity controlled or beneficially owned by the individual defendants found liable,'” she adds.

“In addition to finding that Trump committed fraud, the judge canceled the certificates of various Trump businesses, appointed a former judge as an independent monitor of the Trump Organization, and will appoint receivers to manage the canceled LLCs,” writes former federal prosecutor Renato Mariotti.

“This is a pretty big deal,” he adds.

Professor of law Ryan Goodman, the former Dept. of Defense Special Counsel says Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron ordered the “corporate death penalty” for the Trump organization. Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance also used the term “corporate death penalty.”

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“The leading Republican candidate has been found liable for sexual assault and fraud, his companies found guilty of fraud, and he’s charged with 91 OTHER felony counts. That he is not dismissed politically out of hand says much more about us, than about him,” observes MSNBC’s Andrew Weissmann, the well-known former lead prosecutor in Robert S. Mueller’s Special Counsel’s Office and former FBI General Counsel.

Attorney, retired U.S. Air Force colonel, and former administrative law judge Moe Davis responding to the news, writes: “Trump is the eponymous fraudster. The name Trump is to fraud what Campell’s is to soup, Kleenex is to tissue, and ping is to pong.”

 

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Trump Committed Fraud and Deceived Banks While Growing His Real Estate Empire, Judge Says: Report

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8 hours ago

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September 26, 2023

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Donald Trump committed fraud, deceived banks, and inflated the value of his real estate holdings a judge said Tuesday, granting New York Attorney General Letitia James partial summary judgment in her civil case against the ex-president.

Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Arthur Engoron “has ruled that Donald Trump committed fraud for years while building the real estate empire that catapulted him to fame and the White House,” The Associated Press reports. Judge Engoron “found that the former president and his company deceived banks, insurers and others by massively overvaluing his assets and exaggerating his net worth on paperwork used in making deals and securing financing.”

“The decision, days before the start of a non-jury trial in Attorney General Letitia James’ lawsuit, is the strongest repudiation yet of Trump’s carefully coiffed image as a wealthy and shrewd real estate mogul turned political powerhouse,” The AP adds.

Attorney General James “is seeking $250 million in penalties and a ban on Trump doing business in New York, his home state. The trial could last into December, Engoron has said.”

READ MORE: McCarthy Now Blaming Likely Shutdown on Fentanyl, President Biden, and His Own House Republicans
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McCarthy Now Blaming Likely Shutdown on Fentanyl, President Biden, and His Own House Republicans

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11 hours ago

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September 26, 2023

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Speaker Kevin McCarthy during a raucous gaggle with reporters Tuesday afternoon blamed the increasingly likely shutdown of the federal government on fentanyl, President Joe Biden, and his own House Republicans.

Political experts have said the Republican Speaker could avoid a government shutdown, which will happen at midnight on Friday if legislation is not passed, by making a deal with Democrats and a small number of House Republicans. Doing so would likely cost him his job.

Asked on Tuesday by CNN’s Manu Raju, “Are you ruling out a clean CR without any border security?” McCarthy immediately launched in to a diatribe.

“You know what’s so concerning here? What do you tell to the families that tomorrow morning are gonna wake up and their child’s dead? Because fentanyl came across?” he asked the CNN reporter (video below). “What do you tell to that border agent that you saw the other day? Now his network doesn’t believe it but he’s all in blood. Or the cartels, the billions of dollars that they’re making. Or to the young girls that get raped?”

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Another reporter, seemingly frustrated, interjected and asked, “But what do you tell the workers who are concerned they’re gonna get furloughed next week because there is no agreement in your chamber, sir?”

“Well, I know. It’s easy,” McCarthy claimed. “All the President has to do is say, ‘You know what, as one of my fundamental jobs as the President of the United States is to secure our border.'”

Another reporter, ignoring the Speaker’s apparent obfuscation, loudly asked, “Speaker McCarthy if we see the rule votes fail later today, is it possible to even move on to a CR [continuing resolution] for you?”

“Oh, yeah, I never give up,” McCarthy said smiling.

“I know that,” she replied, “but do you think you have the votes?”

Again, not delivering a straight answer, McCarthy smiled and replied, “Oh, I’ve got a lot of things I can try.”

READ MORE: ‘Height of Irresponsibility’: Top LGBTQ Civil Rights Group Slams House Republicans Over Shutdown and ‘Politics of Hate’

CNN’s Raju reported that McCarthy, when asked about the “math,” meaning if he has the votes to keep the government open, said: “What’s concerning to me is that there are people in the Republican Party who will take the position of President Biden against what the rest of Americans want.”

That could suggest some Republicans have indicated they would vote with Democrats on a bill to keep the government from shutting down.

Raju also reported he asked “Speaker McCarthy if he believes he could survive a vote to oust him from the speakership, as [Rep. Matt] Gaetz has threatened, and he said: ‘I don’t count that vote.'”

NPR’s Joel Rose has reported, “Close to 90% of … fentanyl is seized at ports of entry. Immigration authorities say it is smuggled mostly by U.S. citizens, as well as other travelers who are legally authorized to cross. Virtually none is seized from migrants who are seeking asylum.”

On Monday The Washington Post Editorial Board wrote: “The U.S. government will almost certainly shut down on Oct. 1, the work of ultraconservative holdouts who want to ‘burn the whole place down,’ as House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) put it. Yet, for now, Mr. McCarthy does not appear willing to take away the matches. He could sideline the objectors by calling House Democrats and agreeing to pass bipartisan legislation to fund the government.”

Watch McCarthy below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Careening’ Toward ‘Risk of Political Violence’: Experts Sound Alarm After Trump Floats Executing His Former General

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