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Virginia Foxx: Gearing Up For 2010 With A Million Dollar War Chest

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Matthew Shepard’s Hate Crime Murder Denier Just Doesn’t Know When To Quit

Virginia Foxx (R- NC), has been quietly amassing a large campaign war chest, and reportedly has cash on hand of $942,195, according to Internet watchdog OpenSecrets.org and the Center for Responsive Politics. The Congresswoman, who back in April was nationally excoriated for calling Matthew Shepard’s hate crime murder a “hoax”, is evidently gearing up for another election. Her seat, which she has held since 2005, is up for reelection next year. Foxx did not win her home county the past two elections.

Voters across the country were outraged for weeks when Foxx, a staunch conservative, stood on the floor of the U.S. House in opposition to the Matthew Shepard Hate Crimes Bill, and said,

“The hate crimes bill that’s called the Matthew Shepard Bill is named after a very unfortunate incident that happened where a young man was killed, but we know that that young man was killed in the commitment of a robbery. It wasn’t because he was gay. This – the bill was named for him, hate crimes bill was named for him, but it’s really a hoax that that continues to be used as an excuse for passing these bills.”

News of her comments flooded the Internet and the cable news channels. MSNBC’s Keith Olbermann named her “Worst Person in the World” twice. This blog, while reporting on Rep. Foxx’s refusal to apologize several times, created FireFoxx, a Facebook group, now with almost 2000 members, in response to Dr. Foxx’s comments. The Representative has yet to respond to a letter sent directly to her May 23. Previously this year, The Washington Post reported Foxx used “the racially charged term ‘tar baby’ during a House floor speech,” referring to Democrats’ plan to ban bonuses of TARP recipients.

While all politics may be local, funding isn’t necessarily. Foxx’s largest campaign contributors this cycle (2009-2010) are big corporations, including American Crystal Sugar, AT&T, UPS, regional bank BB&T, and glass giant Corning. AT&T and BB&T were two of Rep. Foxx’s largest contributors during the 2008 election cycle, and BB&T also was during 2006.

Foxx, who has voted with her party 93.3% of the time in the current Congress, voted against the credit card bill. The bill, which put major restrictions on banks and credit card companies, was a major Democratic reform, and passed by a 367-61 margin. Winston-Salem, N.C.- based BB&T, the third-highest contributor to Foxx’s Congressional campaigns, was adversely affected by the bill. The NRA, a strong Foxx supporter, although not a top contributor, supported the bill because it allows concealed, loaded firearms to be carried in national parks.

According to the most-recent Federal Election Commission data available, Foxx, whose personal net worth is estimated at $3,188,046 to $9,972,000, has on hand more money than she spent in the 2008 election, and zero debt. The secret to her campaign success? Consistently out-spending her opponent many times over. In the 2008 election, Foxx spent 3.5 times what her opponent did. In 2006, Foxx spent 7.5 times what her opponent spent. And in her first election, Foxx spent almost three times that of her opponent. Since her 2004 Congressional campaign, Foxx has out-spent her opponent by an average of almost four times.

Matt Comer of Charlotte, N.C.-based Q-Notes, reported that openly gay South Carolina politician Jim Neal met with Foxx’s constituents last month:

“Running a campaign portraying Foxx’s actions as counterproductive for the district will be the key to success. “We can elect a moderate democrat here,” he said. “It is a question of presenting somebody who is palatable to the people who have voted for Virginia Foxx, to the Democrats who have voted for her.”

Neal understands the frustration of district Democrats. Although he doesn’t live there, he’s more than happy to help constituents find a way to bring new representation to the area, replacing the “out of touch” elected official they currently have.

“She isn’t only reflecting poorly on herself, but she’s up there to represent the people of the Fifth District, to represent North Carolina,” he said. “She’s an embarrassment. She needs to be fired.”

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COMMENTARY

‘I’m Broke’: One Day Before Shutdown and With No Plan McCarthy Says He Has ‘Nothing’ in His ‘Back Pocket’

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Just 30 hours before his own Republican conference likely will have succeeded in shutting down the federal government of the United States, Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy candidly admitted to reporters he’s run out of ideas.

Earlier Friday in an “embarrassing failure,” 21 House Republicans killed legislation from their own party, a short-term continuing resolution, that would have kept the federal government open.

Later on Friday afternoon, swarmed by reporters, McCarthy was asked if he was going to tell them what his plans are. He sarcastically replied, “No, I’m going to keep it all a secret.”

When pressed, he said he would “keep working, and make sure we solve this problem.”

“What’s in your back pocket, Speaker?” another reporter asked, pressing him for an answer.

“Nothing right now. I’m broke,” he admitted, apparently referring to options and ideas to avoid a shutdown.

READ MORE: ‘Bad News’ for Sidney Powell as First Trump Co-Defendant in Georgia RICO Case Takes Plea Deal: Legal Expert

But another reporter asked Speaker McCarthy the main question: Would he partner with House Democratic Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries to put the Senate’s bill before the House.

He refused to answer.

Just before 5 PM CNN’s Manu Raju reported on the ongoing House Republicans’ closed-door meeting with the Speaker, a meeting where the 21 Republicans who will likely be effectively responsible for the shutdown reportedly did not attend.

“McCarthy is telling [Republicans] now there aren’t many options to avoid a shutdown, according to sources in room. He says they can approve GOP’s stop-gap plan that failed, accept Senate plan, put a ‘clean’ stop-gap on floor to dare Democrats to block it — or shut down the government.”

READ MORE: Will McConnell and Senate Republicans Use Feinstein’s Passing to Grind Biden’s Judicial Confirmations to a Halt?

He adds, U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) largely responsible for the impending likely shutdown and the impending possible ouster of McCarthy said: “We will not pass a continuing resolution on terms that continue America’s decline.”

At midnight Saturday Republicans will likely have succeeded in furloughing 3.5 million million federal workers – two million of them service members in the U.S. Armed Forces – and countless contractors, while financially harming untold thousands of businesses that rely on income from all those workers to keep running – unless Speaker McCarthy puts a bipartisan continuing resolution approved by at least 75 U.S. Senators on the floor, legislation every House Democrat is likely to vote for.

Should he do so, many believe he will have also signed his own pink slip.

But whether or not the government shuts down, and whether or not McCarthy puts the Senate’s CR on the floor, according to The Washington Post the far right extremists in his party are already moving to oust him “as early as next week.”

The Biden campaign is making certain Americans realize the blame for the impending shutdown sits at McCarthy’s feet.

At 6:23 PM Friday evening, Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman wrote on social media: “HOUSE REPUBLICANS HAVE NO PLAN TO KEEP GOVERNMENT OPEN.”

Watch the videos above or at this link.

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‘Bad News’ for Sidney Powell as First Trump Co-Defendant in Georgia RICO Case Takes Plea Deal: Legal Expert

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The first of 19 co-defendants in Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’ RICO and election interference case against Donald Trump has pleaded guilty in what is being described as a “plea deal.”

“Under the terms of an agreement with Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office, Hall pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit election fraud, conspiracy to commit computer theft, conspiracy to commit computer trespass, conspiracy to commit computer invasion of privacy, and conspiracy to defraud the state,” NBC News reports. “Under the terms of the deal, he’s being sentenced to five years probation.”

CNN previously reported “Hall, a bail bondsman and pro-Trump poll-watcher in Atlanta, spent hours inside a restricted area of the Coffee County elections office when voting systems were breached in January 2021. The breach was connected to efforts by pro-Trump conspiracy theorists to find voter fraud. Hall was captured on surveillance video at the office, on the day of the breach. He testified before the grand jury in Fulton County case and acknowledged that he gained access to a voting machine.”

READ MORE: Will McConnell and Senate Republicans Use Feinstein’s Passing to Grind Biden’s Judicial Confirmations to a Halt?

Former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance, a professor of law and frequent MSNBC contributor, says Hall “was in the thick of things with Sidney Powell on Jan 7 for the Coffee County scheme involving voting machines. If he’s cooperating, it’s a bad sign for her.”

Hall’s plea deal “spells bad news for, among others, Sidney Powell,” says former Dept. of Defense Special Counsel Ryan Goodman, an NYU Law professor of law. Goodman posted a graphic showing the overlap in charges against Hall and Powell, which he called “alleged joint actions.”

See the graphic above or at this link.

 

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Far-Right Republicans Kill GOP Bill to Keep Government Running in ‘Embarrassing Failure’ for McCarthy: Report

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With a shutdown less than 36 hours away, far-right Republicans in the House of Representatives Friday afternoon voted against their party’s own legislation to kept the federal government running. Democrats opposed the content of the bill and voted against it. Just 21 far-right members of the GOP conference were able to effectively force what appears to be an all but inevitable shutdown at midnight on Saturday.

“HARDLINE HOUSE RS take down stopgap funding bill. 21 GOP no votes. 232-198,” reported Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman just before 2 PM Friday.

NBC News reported that a “band of conservative rebels on Friday revolted and blocked House Republicans’ short-term funding bill to keep the government open, delivering a political blow to Speaker Kevin McCarthy and likely cementing the chances of a painful government shutdown that is less than 48 hours away.”

READ MORE: Will McConnell and Senate Republicans Use Feinstein’s Passing to Grind Biden’s Judicial Confirmations to a Halt?

“Twenty-one rebels, led by Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., a conservative bomb-thrower and a top Donald Trump ally, voted Friday afternoon to scuttle the 30-day funding bill, known as a continuing resolution or CR, leaving Republicans without a game plan to avert a shutdown. The vote failed,” NBC added. “The embarrassing failure of the GOP measure once again highlights the dilemma for McCarthy as his hard-liners strongly oppose a short-term bill even if it includes conservative priorities. It leaves Congress on a path to a shutdown, with no apparent offramp to avoiding it — or to quickly reopen the government.”

A bipartisan group of at least 75 U.S. Senators has passed two bills this week that would keep the government running. Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy has refused to allow it to come to the floor for a vote.

 

 

 

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