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Mitch McConnell’s War On America’s Future

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The Senate GOP leader, Mitch McConnell, is doing everything he can to damage America’s security, both military and economic. McConnell has made his personal agenda clear: “Our top political priority over the next two years should be to deny President Obama a second term.”

As they say, “all’s fair in love and war,” and Senator McConnell has declared war on those who practice both.

Mitch McConnell and his Senate Republicans collectively signed a letter stating “tax and spending cuts must take priority over anything on the Democrats’ wish list, including allowing gays to serve in the military, ratifying a nuclear treaty, and extending jobless benefits.” They stated they would not allow any legislation to pass until the Bush tax cuts are extended for all Americans.

And now that it appears McConnell has succeeded in bankrupting our nation’s economic future by winning his tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires war, did we at least win even the promise of an up-or-down vote on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” the DREAM Act, or even the START treaty?

Not even close!

We need to tell Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell: No “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” vote, no Senate Christmas recess! Sign the petition!

Chris Geidner at MetroWeekly writes that the GOP’s “unified front raised significant questions about the opportunity to pass other lame-duck priorities for Democrats, including the New START treaty, the National Defense Authorization Act that includes DADT repeal language and the DREAM Act.”

“Senior administration officials discussed the tax-cut framework with reporters this evening. Asked by Metro Weekly whether these other lame-duck legislative proposals possibly being considered were raised in the course of the negotiations on the tax-cut measure, a senior administration official said, “This was a deal simply to resolve the tax issue.”

“As such, it remains unclear whether Democrats will be able to get the necessary support from Republicans to proceed to debate the NDAA in the lame-duck session.”

Great. Especially when stopping the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” is more important for McConnell than funding the United States military or giving our members of the armed forces (a measly) 1.4% pay raise. Tax cuts for 2% of the American people are more important than tax cuts for 98% of the American people. Borrowing $700 billion to give tax cuts to millionaires and billionaires is more important than funding the military’s $725 billion budget. And allowing Russia to continue its nuclear program without verification (Didn’t the GOP’s god-on-earth, Ronald Reagan, say, “Trust but verify?”) is more important than allowing President Obama to appear in control of foreign policy.

Despite his over-usage of his favorite phrase, “The American people want,” Mitch McConnell has no interest in doing what the American people want.

We know that 78% of the American people want “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repealed. That also includes, the majority of Democrats, the majority of conservatives, the majority of Independents, and even the majority of weekly church-going Christians.

We know that 53% of the American people want the Bush tax cuts to expire for households above $250,000.

We know that 73% of the American people want the Senate to ratify the START treaty with Russia.

We also know that the majority of our men and women in the armed forces have said loud and clear they couldn’t care less if they served with an openly-gay service member.

When Mitch McConnell says, as he did over the weekend, “It’s pretty clear taxes are not going up on anyone in the middle of this recession,” we should also remind the GOP leader that we are no longer in a recession, nor have we been since June, 2009.

Now McConnell says, “I don’t see how we can possibly finish the defense authorization bill, a two-week bill, wholly aside from these controversial items that are in it … before the end of the year.” In other words, strip the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal bill from the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and we’ll see if we will pass it.

McConnell, it seems, doesn’t know how long it takes to debate the NDAA. In September, McConnell said, “The Defense authorization bill requires 4 or 5 weeks to debate.” Then, on Sunday he claimed it took two weeks.

Brian Beutler at TPM writes, “a senior Democratic aide went back 20 years and found that spending two weeks on the defense authorization bill is a rarity.”

“Since 1990, the Senate has never spent anywhere close to four or five weeks debating that bill. Four times it’s taken longer than seven days – thus approaching or exceeding the two week threshold.

“The Senate has spent five days (or fewer) debating the defense authorization bill nine times. And, once, back in the friendly days when Bill Clinton presided over majorities in the House and Senate, it took one day.”

Mitch McConnell has proven he will say anything to get what he wants, and what he wants is not what “The American people” want, but what Mitch McConnell wants.

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News

Fox News Host Suggests Trump ‘Force’ Court to Throw Him in Jail – by Quoting Him

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11 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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The Fox News host who targeted a juror serving on Donald Trump’s criminal New York trial is now suggesting the ex-president should violate his gag order and “force” the court to throw him in jail, by quoting the Fox News host.

Jesse Watters came under fire earlier this week for profiling juror number two, sharing possibly identifying information published by a myriad of reporters but then using that information to pass judgment on her ability to serve.

“I’m not so sure about juror number two,” Watters concluded on Fox News.

Jurors, at the judge’s direction, were to remain anonymous, for their protection and the protection of the trial.

The judge excused her, after she said she felt she was not able to be impartial because friends and family were calling her asking if she had been chosen to serve on the Trump trial, after the media blitz.

New York Supreme Court Judge Juan Merchan admonished the press for reporting the information, but some news outlets appeared to ignore his warning.

Watters on Wednesday “did a segment with a jury consultant, revealing details about people who had been seated on the jury and questioning whether some were ‘stealth liberals’ who would be out to convict Trump,” the Associated Press reported.

READ MORE: Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

Trump later posted Watters’ quote on his Truth Social platform, leading some, including New York prosecutors, to ask the judge to cite him for allegedly breaking his gag order.

Judge Merchan ordered Trump to not mention witnesses, jurors, prosecutors, court staff, or the family members of prosecutors and court staff, CNN has reported.

New York prosecutors told Juge Merchan Trump has violated the gag order at least ten times.

“Prosecutor Christopher Conroy described the ‘most disturbing’ example as a social media message Trump posted on Wednesday evening quoting a Fox News host as saying, ‘They are catching undercover Liberal Activists lying to the Judge in order to get on the Trump Jury,'” Politico reports.

That host was Jesse Watters.

RELATED: ‘Afraid and Intimidated’: Trump Trial Juror Targeted by Fox News Dismissed

Friday afternoon, Watters appeared to egg Trump on, urging the ex-president to violate the gag order.

“I would make them put me in jail,” Watters said on Fox News. “I would have a tweet about something perhaps I said on ‘The Five’ or ‘Jesse Watters Primetime,’ and I would force them to throw me in jail.”

Watch Watters’ remark below or at this link.

 

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News

Gaetz: ‘Corrupt’ Republicans Could ‘Take a Bribe’ and Throw House to Dems, Blocking Trump Run

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13 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) says some of his fellow House Republicans would “take a bribe” to throw the razor-thin GOP majority to the Democrats if a far-right faction calls up a motion to oust Speaker of the House Mike Johnson, allowing Democrats to hand the gavel to the Minority Leader, Hakeem Jeffries. he warned if that happens, Democrats would immediately declare Trump ineligible to be President, pack the U.S. Supreme Court, and pass numerous laws like the American Rescue Plan.

“I do believe in a one seat majority there could be one or two or three of my colleagues who would take a bribe in one form or another in order to deprive the Republicans of a majority at all,” Gaetz said Friday on his podcast (video below.)

He added, “the risk that one or two of my corrupt Republican colleagues might take a bribe, take a walk, feign an ailment and flip this thing to the Democrats is a risk that is too high for me at this time.”

Gaetz’s fellow far-right Florida Republican member of Congress, Anna Paulina Luna, told listeners, “I heard that when, if and when the motion vacate is introduced, that there will be immediate resignations of a couple of more moderate members of Congress. And in the event that that happens, that ultimately means it does go to a Democrat speaker.”

RELATED: Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) last month filed a “motion to vacate,” which she can use at any time to force a vote to oust the GOP Speaker, Mike Johnson. U.S. Rep. Tim Massie (R-KY) and just today, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar (R-AZ) has signed on as co-sponsors.

Congressman Gaetz told listeners if Democrats do take the House through a force vote to remove Johnson, Democrats would “be declaring Donald Trump an insurrectionist and setting up a barrier to him being able to become the president United States.”

“That’ll be their leadoff hitter, and then the chaser to that shot will be a massive spending package that looks a lot more like the American Rescue Plan. They will blow past every concept of every cap ever imagined. You’ll be looking at Universal Basic Income, you could be looking at packing the Supreme Court.”

Watch a short clip of Gaetz’s remarks below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

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Jeffries Vows Democrats Will Ensure Ukraine Aid Passes as Johnson Defectors Grow

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16 hours ago

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April 19, 2024

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Democratic House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries vowed Friday the majority of Democrats will support Republicans’ Ukraine, Israel, Taiwan, and Gaza foreign aid legislation as Republican Speaker Mike Johnson lost support of another member of his conference to a faction determined to oust him.

“Democrats will provide a majority of our majority as it relates to funding Israel, humanitarian assistance, Ukraine, and our allies in the Indo Pacific,” Minority Leader Jeffries said. “It remains to be seen what Republicans will do in terms of meeting the national security needs of the American people, but it was important for House Democrats to ensure that the national security bills are going to be considered.”

Despite Republicans having a one-vote majority, more Democrats on Friday voted to move the critical and long-awaited foreign aid bills forward than did Republicans.

READ MORE: ‘Stop Bringing Up Nazis and Hitler’: Marjorie Taylor Greene Smacked Down by Democrats

The 316-94 vote included 165 Democrats and 151 Republicans voting yes, and 55 Republicans and 39 Democrats voting no.

Axios’ Juliegrace Brufke posted the list of Republicans voting against their party’s legislation.

Calling it a “rare” moment in modern congressional history to have to rely on opposition party votes to pass legislation, BBC News reports Speaker Johnson’s “hold on power is tenuous, and the legislators who oppose him – and his bid to provide aid to Ukraine – occupy some key positions within the House’s power structure.”

Amid the procedural vote to move the foreign aid funding bills forward, U.S. Rep. Paul Gosar, a far-right Republican of Arizona, announced he is joining Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), and Congressman Tim Massie (R-KY) in formally announcing their will vote to oust Speaker Johnson.

Gosar, like Greene, is reportedly a Christian nationalist. In 2022 CNN reported his “lengthy ties to White nationalists, [a] pro-Nazi blogger and far-right fringe received little pushback for years.”

RELATED: ‘Repercussions’: Democrats and Republicans Stand Against ‘Pro-Putin’ House GOP Faction

“We’ve been very honest in our assessment of the situation from the beginning,” Jeffries on Friday also declared. “At the appropriate time as House Democrats, we will have a conversation about how to deal with any hypothetical motion to vacate.”

“Moscow Marjorie Taylor Greene, Massie, and Gosar are quite a group. But central to our conversation is to make sure that the national security legislation in totality is passed by the House of Representatives.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

 

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