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Tammy Baldwin, First Openly Gay US Senate Candidate, Needs Your Help Now

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The name Tammy Baldwin is known pretty well amongst progressive and LGBT politicos, but for those who have never heard of her, Tammy Baldwin currently serves as a U.S. Congresswoman for the state of Wisconsin. Baldwin, 50, a Democrat in office since 1999, will be the first openly-lesbian U.S Senator if she wins in November. If she loses, she’s out of national politics for now, as her seat in the House may go to Wisconsin State Rep. Mark Pocanan, openly-gay Democrat who won last night’s primary.

Baldwin is facing former Wisconsin Republican Governor Tommy Thompson, who served as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services under George W. Bush.

The Advocate notes that Baldwin “would be the first woman elected to represent the state in the Senate, and the first openly gay senator, distinctions that have earned her endorsements from the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund and LPAC, the new super PAC dedicated to lesbian visibility in politics.

The contest is expected to turn on the economy. Democrats seized on the Thompson victory to draw sharp contrasts with Baldwin, a seven-term congresswoman from Madison, based on the candidates’ economic visions.

“This is a very good night for Tammy Baldwin,” said Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee executive director Guy Cecil in a statement. “Tonight’s results provide Wisconsinites with a crystal clear choice between a fighter for the middle class like Tammy Baldwin and a self-serving multi-millionaire like Tommy Thompson who would cut taxes for the rich and pay for it by raising taxes on the rest of us, ending Medicare and privatizing Social Security.”

Tommy Thompson of course is anti-gay. And of course, he doesn’t mention that — or any social issue positions — on his website. But Thompson in a 2007 presidential debate, when asked if it’s OK for a private employer to fire someone for being gay, stated:

“I think that is left up to the individual business. I really sincerely believe that that is an issue that business people have got to make their own determination as to whether or not they should be.”

Thompson the next day walked that statement back.

Speaking of Thompson’s website, here are a few items from his list of “accomplishments” as Governor:

“Tommy used his veto pen a record 1,900 times to slash more than $287 million in spending.  He never signed a budget in 14 years as governor without cutting spending with his veto pen.”

“Under Tommy’s leadership, Wisconsin became the first state to end the Aid to Families with Dependent Children federal assistance program, replacing it with a more fiscally efficient program that created a pathway to jobs for thousands of Wisconsin residents eager to work.

“As a result of Tommy’s efforts, Wisconsin cut its welfare rolls by 93%, from 98,000 AFDC families when he assumed office to 6,720 W2 cash assistance families by the year 2000.”

“In 1990, Tommy created the nation’s first private school choice program.   He later expanded the private school choice program to include religious schools – another national first for Wisconsin.  This would be a decision that Tommy would have to defend all the way to the Supreme Court.”

The last thing America needs is another U.S. Senator who is anti-gay, anti-women, anti-poor, and is looking to “balance the budget” on the backs of the poor.

Let’s also remember that when President Obama is re-elected, we’ll need as many Democrats in the Senate to override Republican filibusters and attempts to kill Obama’s agenda. That includes likely Supreme Court appointments and the repeal of DOMA and passage of ENDA.

If you’re LGBT, if you’re a progressive, if you’re a Democrat, or if you just believe in a country that should be for people and against hate, please try to help Tammy Baldwin, and please make sure you’re registered in your state to vote.

Here’s Baldwin’s statement from last night upon learning her Republican opponent will be Tommy Thompson:

“Tonight, the Republican primary electorate presented Wisconsin voters with a clear choice for the November election. Make no mistake, Tommy Thompson will stand with those who already have too much power and influence in Washington.

 

I will fight to do what’s right for the middle class and Thompson will put those at the very top and the big monied special interests in Washington ahead of Wisconsin’s hard working families. I will take on these powerful interests in Washington, and in the Senate, I will stand up for Wisconsin’s middle class, as I always have.

 

Unlike Tommy Thompson, I will fight for Wisconsin’s middle class by working across party lines to move our economic recovery forward — working to build a “Made in Wisconsin” manufacturing economy; providing tax cuts for small business to fuel job creation; ending tax breaks for outsourcing and giving companies tax incentives to create jobs here at home. That is the road to a stronger middle class, a stronger Wisconsin, and brighter future.

 

I believe Wisconsin deserves a US Senator who is unafraid to take on the big moneyed special interests in Washington. And I believe that the middle class needs someone fighting for them to make sure they have a fair shot at the American dream.

 

Tommy Thompson disagrees and he couldn’t be more wrong.

 

Tommy Thompson supports the policies of the past. Policies that have failed. Policies from the past that crashed our economy, and got us into our fiscal mess in the first place. He believes we should slash the very investments we need to move our economy forward, in education, innovation, and infrastructure — all while cutting taxes for those at the very top.

 

Tommy Thompson would actually cut taxes for millionaires like himself while increasing taxes on the middle class, increasing out-of-pocket health care costs for seniors, increasing the cost of higher education for students and their families, and ending Medicare as we know it for future generations.
That is not the America we believe in and it is not the Wisconsin we believe in. I believe that path is wrong for Wisconsin, wrong for our nation, and that we need to do what’s right for the middle class.”

Every vote, and every penny, counts.

If you’d like to help, visit Tammy Baldwin’s campaign site or donation page.

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News

‘Bootlicking’: Johnson Ripped for Shrugging Off Trump Ethics Oversight

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1 hour ago

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May 14, 2025

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Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson says he has no concerns about any potentially unethical or unlawful actions being taken by President Donald Trump, arguing that Trump is acting “in the open.” Defending his decision not to pursue oversight, Johnson baselessly claimed that aggressive investigations into then-President Joe Biden were justified because his allegedly concealed actions were integral to what the Speaker called the “Biden Crime Family.”

Johnson’s top three committee chairmen were tasked with investigating President Biden and his son Hunter Biden, and on his watch a formal impeachment investigation was opened. The committees in part relied on a former FBI source who later admitted he had made up the lies about President Biden and his son.

Speaker Johnson on Wednesday was asked whether he is “equally concerned about President Trump’s family’s business dealings, especially given the fact that he is in a region now where his family has billions of dollars in investments in Doha, Saudi Arabia, and the fact that he has a crypto business now, where he’s auctioned off access to the White House for the highest bidder in his meme coin?”

“Look,” Johnson replied, “there are authorities that police the executive branch, ethics rules. I’m not an expert in that. My expertise is here in the House, okay?”

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“I will say that the reason that many people referred to the Bidens as the ‘Biden Crime Family’ is because they were doing all this stuff behind curtains in the back rooms,” Johnson alleged. “They were trying to conceal it, and they repeatedly lied about it, and they set up shell companies into a family was all engaged in getting all on the dole.”

“Whatever President Trump is doing is out in the open, they’re not trying to conceal anything,” Johnson insisted.

NBC News’ Chief Capitol Hill Correspondent Ryan Nobles, who had asked the initial questions, informed Speaker Johnson that “the investment in the meme coin, those folks, are not transparent. We do not know who those people are.”

But Johnson vowed ignorance, while insisting that others have oversight responsibilities.

“I don’t know anything about the meme coin thing. I don’t, don’t know. I can just tell you that, I mean, President Trump has had nothing to hide. He’s very upfront about it, and and there are people who watch all the ethics of that, but, I mean, I’ve got to be concerned with running the House of Representatives, and that’s what I do.”

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“Congress has oversight responsibility, but, um, I think, so far as I know, the ethics are all being followed, so…”

Critics blasted the Speaker.

“Congratulations to @SpeakerJohnson for making Chapter 15 of Profiles in Sycophancy!” said U.S, Rep. Sean Casten (D-IL), mocking the Speaker. “Can’t believe it took you this long. ‘It’s not crime if it’s out in the open except for the memecoins I don’t understand’ isn’t a legal opinion. It’s bootlicking.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

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Trump to Middle East: ‘You’re the Envy of the World’

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4 hours ago

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May 14, 2025

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President Donald Trump, during his visit this week to Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates, declared the Middle East “the envy of the world,” “the center of the world,” while asserting that the region’s leaders know exactly “where my loyalties lie.”

The “America First” president, aiming to sign defense and economic agreements worth about $2 trillion, also announced the end of sanctions on Syria. Trump has also been lobbying to accept a controversial and possibly unconstitutional gift from Qatar of a $400 million “flying palace” luxury jetliner, to use as Air Force One.

“I’ve seen tremendous unities, tremendous friendship, and the whole world is watching the Middle East, and many are watching with envy,” Trump declared, according to video from Bloomberg News, as he lavished praise on the Middle East leaders. “You have something very special going on. Incredible opportunities are within reach for this region.”

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Trump, who offered no praise for the U.S., blasted his predecessor repeatedly during his remarks, telling the Middle East leaders that “the Biden administration created havoc and bedlam by basically being incompetent, but by empowering Iran and its proxies, sending them billions of dollars, billions and billions of dollars.”

“Everybody at this table knows where my loyalties lie. Always have,” he insisted. “They’ll never waver, never. And we’ll stand with our friends and partners, and we’ll confront the aggression that threatens us all.”

Trump claimed that “we have a mandate from the American people, the likes of which people haven’t seen for 129 years. They say it was the most consequential election in America in 129 years. So that sounds like a long time, so we’ll take that.”

“It’s all started on November 5th with the election, but a stable and peaceful Middle East will be a successful and prosperous Middle East, and that’s what you’ve done, and that’s what you’re doing. And, you know, it’s amazing because when I was here last, it was fine, it was doing good, and then I see the things that you’re doing here, and in your countries, it’s just an incredible, what you’re doing is the whole world is talking about it. The whole world is watching us,” Trump said.

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“The whole world, the whole world is talking about what you, what you’re doing and you’re the envy of the world together. We’re in this room and we’re going [to] forge a Middle East that well be a thriving commercial, diplomatic and cultural crossroads at the geographic center of the world. That’s what it is. It’s the center of the world.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Less Blame Game, More Solutions’: Duffy Urged to ‘Do Your Job and Stop Whining’

 

Image via Reuters

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‘Wild Negative Coattails for Trump’: Omaha Elects Its First Black Democratic Mayor

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5 hours ago

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May 14, 2025

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Voters in Omaha, Nebraska just elected their first Black mayor, Democrat John Ewing Jr., in a historic shift, ousting a three-term Republican who has held that office since 2013. Some political observers say it’s the shape of things to come, as President Donald Trump’s favorability continues to drop and prices continue to rise, with more instability — economic and political — expected ahead.

Ewing, a former deputy police chief, beat Jean Stothert, who tried to embrace the MAGA agenda without fully embracing President Trump.

“Omaha’s Republican mayor Jean Stothert was a 12-year incumbent, once seen as untouchable,” observed Democratic pollster and strategist Matt McDermott. “Then she endorsed Trump, ran on anti-trans bathroom bans — and lost decisively. A clear rejection of MAGA at the ballot box.”

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Calling it “a fresh test of voter attitudes in a politically competitive slice of the country,” The Washington Post described Stothert as “a formidable opponent,” whom “Democrats sought to tie…to President Donald Trump’s unpopular agenda — another warning sign for Republicans in a critical battleground area.”

The New York Times, describing Omaha as “a politically divided city that has outsize importance in presidential elections,” reported that “the race provided an opportunity for strategists from both parties to gauge voters’ moods — even if much of the campaign focused on municipal nuts-and-bolts issues like street paving, crime and a planned streetcar.”

“Another example of a red to blue flip,” U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA) said. “Voters are angry at Republicans who are enabling the harmful policies of Trump.”

Kamala Harris won Omaha’s single electoral vote by about five points. Ewing, with results not yet official, appears to be winning by about ten points.

“Democrats just beat the longest-serving incumbent mayor in the country in Omaha, Nebraska, where I grew up,” declared Democratic strategist Mike Nellis, a former Harris advisor. “Jean Stothert was considered unbeatable, and they did it. That’s how much of a drag Trump is right now.”

“Wild negative coattails for Trump,” Nellis noted, and called it “a political shockwave,” where “Republicans are panicking.”

Watch Ewing’s victory speech below or at this link.

READ MORE: GOP Plan Redefines Dependent Child as ‘Under 7’—But Adds Loophole for Married Couples

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