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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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‘Lied Through His Teeth’: Senator Warns RFK Jr. Undermining Vaccine Will ‘Kill’ Kids

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U.S. Senator Chris Murphy (D-CT) is accusing Secretary of Health and Human Services Robert F. Kennedy Jr. of lying during his Senate testimony this week, and warning that the HHS chief’s efforts to destroy faith in the measles vaccine will lead to children dying.

“It’s not a small thing that Trump’s Cabinet thinks Congress and the American people are so dumb that they can tell brazen lies over and over. We can’t normalize this,” Senator Murphy urged.

“The way in which Trump and Trump’s cabinet lie through their teeth, unapologetically and brazenly, to Congress and the American people, is outrageous,” Murphy said in video (below) he posted online Friday. “And I really worry that we risk normalizing it by not calling it out when it happens.”

He called the exchange he had with RFK Jr. “maddening” and “heartbreaking,” and said the HHS Secretary “essentially says that he’s no longer recommending that families get the measles vaccine. That’s going to kill hundreds, if not thousands of kids in this country.”

Murphy then played a clip from Kennedy’s testimony (which NCRM covered earlier this week), and, he said, caught Kennedy in a lie.

RELATED: ‘None of That Is True’: RFK Jr. Fact-Checked Repeatedly in Heated Senate Hearing

“By the way,” Kennedy told Murphy, “I said at the [House] hearing this morning that I was recommending the measles vaccine,” and told him to “look at the transcript.”

“So guess what I did?” Murphy says. “I went and checked the House transcript. It’s hours of testimony. I and my staff watched all of it, and guess what? Nowhere, nowhere in that transcript does he say he recommends the measles vaccine.”

“He lied through his teeth, and he did it because all of these MAGA sycophants have gotten used to lying. Donald Trump does it all the time, so they think they can do it as well. But we can’t normalize this because you can’t run a country if your leaders are lying to you every single day,” the Connecticut Democrat warned.

“RFK Jr. doesn’t support the measles vaccine, and he shouldn’t pretend that he does. He undermines the vaccine on a daily basis and whether we like his conspiracy theory positions or not, he should just be honest with the American people. They should all be honest with the American people, and none of us should normalize or get used to this amount of lying.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘It Meant Assassination’: Trump Blasts ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey for ‘8647’

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‘It Meant Assassination’: Trump Blasts ‘Dirty Cop’ Comey for ‘8647’

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President Donald Trump is attacking the FBI Director he fired, Jim Comey, who is reportedly under investigation  over a photo of sea shells formed into the numbers 8647. Top Trump law enforcement and intelligence officials claim it is a call for the assassination of the 47th President, although “86” is generally understood to mean “reject” or “eject,” and, since the 1930s, in restaurant parlance, has meant a menu item is unavailable.

“He knew exactly what that meant,” President Trump told Fox News’ Bret Baier in an interview that will air Friday evening. “A child knows what that meant.”

“If you’re the FBI Director and you don’t know what that meant, that meant ‘assassination.’ And it says it loud and clear,” Trump alleged.

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

“Now, he wasn’t very competent, but he was competent enough to know what that meant, and he did it for a reason, and he was hit so hard because people like me, and they like what’s happening with our country. Our country’s become respected again,” the President claimed. “And he’s calling for the assassination of the president.”

Baier interjected, saying: “Obviously, he apologized and said he —”

“Well, he apologized because he was hit,” Trump also claimed. “Look, he’s a very bad —”

When asked what he wants to see happen to the former Director of the FBI, Trump said he did not want to weigh in, and would let his Attorney General handle it.

“I don’t want to take a position on it because that’s gonna be up to Pam [Bondi] and all of the great people, but I will say this. I think it’s a terrible thing. And when you add his history to that, if he had a clean history, he doesn’t.”

“He’s a dirty cop. He’s a dirty cop. And if he had a clean history, I could understand if there was a leniency. But I’m going to let them make that decision.”

READ MORE: ‘Mad King’: Trump Teases ‘Fourth’ Term to U.S. Troops Overseas

Trump Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard told Fox News on Thursday night she thinks Comey should go to prison for posting the “8647” photo.

Asked, “Do you believe Comey should be in jail?” Gabbard replied, “I do.”

“Any other person with the position of influence that he has,” she added, “people who take very seriously what what a guy of his stature, his experience, and what the propaganda media has built him up to be?”

“I’m very concerned for the president’s life. We’ve already seen assassination attempts,” she continued. “I’m very concerned for his life, and James Comey, in my view, should be held accountable and put behind bars for this.”

But others commenting via social media were quick to point to a number of “86” posts apparently made by right wing influencers and even a former member of Congress, as well as T-shirts for sale during the Biden years.

Watch the video below or at this link.

READ MORE: ‘Significant Damage’: Walmart’s ‘Magnitude’ Warning to Consumers Spurs Trump Tariff Critics

 

Image via Reuters

 

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‘Mad King’: Trump Teases ‘Fourth’ Term to U.S. Troops Overseas

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During a rally-style appearance before uniformed U.S. troops in Qatar on Thursday, President Donald Trump—serving as their Commander-in-Chief—floated the idea of a “fourth” term and falsely claimed victory in the 2020 election he lost. The appearance drew swift criticism for blurring the line between military service and political theater.

“As you know, we won three elections, okay?” Trump told the largely silent troops (video below). “And some people want us to do a fourth. I don’t know—I’ll have to think about that.”

“You saw the new, the new hat. The hottest hat is, it says, ‘Trump 2028: We’re driving the left crazy.'”

“When you see that. We didn’t need that hat, but, uh, it was it’s been an amazing period of time,” he concluded.

READ MORE: ‘Significant Damage’: Walmart’s ‘Magnitude’ Warning to Consumers Spurs Trump Tariff Critics

Noting that Trump was speaking “at the largest U.S. military installation in the Middle East,” CNN reported that the President “thanked the U.S. troops for political support.”

“There’s – nobody been stronger than the military in terms of backing us, nobody,” Trump said. “So, I just want to thank you all very much. Great honor. Thank you very much.”

CBS News national security coordinating producer Jim LaPorta, who has reported extensively on the military, wrote: “If this was a rally, the president’s remarks would be fine. But in front of service members who are expected to be apolitical, many Defense Department officials would find these remarks inappropriate.”

READ MORE: ‘Deeply Fascist’: Massive Banner of Trump on Government Building Sparks ‘North Korea’ Vibes

The Bulwark’s Sam Stein observed: “Treating the troops like they’re at a campaign rally and sowing doubt about the past and future of American elections — all in one soundbite.”

Democratic pollster and strategist Luke Martin called it “especially jarring to see Trump flirting with blowing a hole in the Constitution in front of an entire crowd of people who literally swore an oath to protect it with their life.”

Independent journalist Mike Rothschild noted: “Making a statement like this in front of active duty troops would have generated months of scandal, hearings, and resignations in years gone by. Now it’s just another Thursday with the Mad King.”

Watch the video below or at this link.

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

 

Image via Reuters

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