Obama: II GOP: 0
I fell back in like with my President this week. Not back in love — there’s way too much for Obama to do, way too much he needs to change — about Obama — for that to happen. Yet.
Go ahead, laugh, make jokes, tell me I’m a fool. Ridicule me.
But here’s what I’ll tell you: Obama started to grow a pair this week.
The State of the Union address was an unqualified success. Yes, it was short on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” repeal details, but, it would appear, his message was received. We’ll know more Tuesday when Secretary of Defense Robert Gates makes his “major announcement” at the Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. I’m cautiously optimistic there will be significant movement. I’m also concerned Gates will present a long, drawn out process. Kind of like the way a crack addict would plan his own kicking the habit.
Obama faltered Thursday as he talked about equality in Tampa. That was a disappointment, because it seemed he really couldn’t find the words to show what we had hoped he believed.
Today, at what has now been christened “Question Time,” in a meeting reminiscent of British Parliament debates with the Prime Minister — albeit more civil — Obama found his voice. He spoke strongly and unreservedly to GOP Representatives at their retreat in Baltimore. He used phrases like, “You know that’s not true.” He quoted specific details that no president before, at least to my memory, ever could have. he called them on the carpet. In one exchange with GOP Rep. Jeb Hensarling, he interrupted the endless wind-up to a question that never came, and accused him of posturing and cited his rhetoric as exactly what is wrong with politics today. It was classic.
David Corn just wrote,
“The event was gripping. As word spread through Washington, people rushed to their televisions and became fixed on it. CBS News reporter Mark Knoller, a veteran White House correspondent, tweeted that this was a first. It marked a giant step forward in political and governmental transparency. (It was not certain that the House GOPers would allow cameras into the session until the morning.) The debate was serious and intense. It just so happened that Obama cleaned the clocks of the GOPers, referring to them repeatedly as “you guys,” while they called him “Mr. President.” (“Interesting session,” Republican leader John Boehner tweeted afterward.) Consequently, Republicans may want to think twice before providing Obama another opportunity. Yet this was a good moment for the republic.”
I agree. A “good moment for the republic,” indeed.
The GOP Reps whined. Literally. Cries of, “We have ideas too” were embarrassing.
Obama accused the GOP of engaging in the “Politics of no.” When one lawmaker misquoted the president’s State of the Union speech, Obama said, “That’s not what I said. And I should know what I said because it was just two days ago that I said it.”
THIS is my president.
(West Wing aficionados will remember the episode with “Dr. Jenna Jacobs,” whom President Bartlet slams for her beliefs on homosexuality. In no way was THAT President Obama this week. But the last part of the clip, where Bartlet says, “Toby, that’s how I beat him.” THAT was Obama this week.)
Unsurprisingly, the GOP wind machine has been hard at work, attempting to put a good spin for their side on this. They got their clocks cleaned by the President of the United States, and they know it.
Here’s what the National Review had to say,
“Pence calls today’s Q&A session with the president in Baltimore a “useful†tool for the House GOP in spreading its message. “It’s not widely known, but Republicans have actually been offering positive solutions on the economy, fiscal discipline, energy independence, and health-care reform,†he says. “It’s not widely known because this administration has done a real number on us, smearing the GOP as the ‘party of no.’ Today we were able to push back on that, and even the president acknowledged that Republicans have been offering substantive alternatives on every major issue.â€
“Republicans, he adds, “gave as good as they got†in the question period. “We confronted the president with some very direct questions and statements — focused on policy, not politics. He responded, occasionally, with similar directness. It was productive.†So is Pence open to more House of Commons-like debates? “We welcome them,†he says.”
Yes, Obama has a LONG way to go on equal rights — and in no way, shape, or form am I letting him off the hook for what he hasn’t accomplished — or even attempted.
But this week, my president found his backbone. And it was a welcome relief to the millions who feared he had lost it.
What happens next week is anyone’s guess. But this was an excellent (re)start.
You can watch Obama’s meeting with the GOP from earlier today at C-SPAN. Sadly, the video cannot eb embedded. I’ll ty to get a copy of it over the weekend. Watch it. It will raise your heart a bit.
See what Julie Gulden at DailyKOS says, in, “Luke Russert nailed it…updated w/video.”
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U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Republican of Georgia, is under fire after praising University of Mississippi students, some wearing American flag outfits, mocking a Black woman protester by making monkey sounds and shouting, “lock her up.”
“Counter-protestors at the University of Mississippi made racist remarks — including monkey noises and comparisons to Lizzo — towards a Black woman who was part of a planned protest against the war in Gaza,” Los Angeles Magazine reported Friday.
Collins, who tried to defund Vice President Kamala Harris’ Office in November, declared his support for the counter-protesters at “Ole Miss,” as the University is called.
“Ole Miss taking care of business,” he wrote on social media, atop the video (below).
The counter-protesters, as evidenced in the video, appear to be mostly white.
A large number of users on the social media platform X responded, accusing the Congressman and the counter-protesters of racism.
“When is the inevitable ‘I don’t have a racist bone in my body’ tweet coming,” wondered Rewire News Group editor-at-large Imani Gandy.
“Which part is your favorite, Mike?” asked Fred Wellman, the former executive director of The Lincoln Project. “Is it the white kid acting like a monkey at the black woman or the white security guy acting like she’s a threat? I’m trying to figure out which flavor of racism has you all excited the most?”
READ MORE: MAGA State Superintendent Supports Chaplains in Public Schools – But Not From All Religions
Harvard Law Cyberlaw Clinic clinical instructor Alejandra Caraballo responded to the Georgia GOP congressman, “Thanks for confirming you’re a massive racist piece of sh*t.”
Mississippi Free Press news editor Ashton Pittman wrote: “Rep. Mike Collins, R-Georgia, praises a video showing a University of Mississippi frat boy dancing like a monkey and making monkey noises near a Black woman student who was protesting for Palestine while other frat boys chant ‘lock her up.'”
In a separate post describing a separate video taken of the same group Pittman wrote: “Frat bros at @OleMiss chant, ‘Lizzo! Lizzo!’ and shout, ‘F**k you fatass, f**k you b*tch’ at a Black woman who was protesting for Palestine. Do people really think these counterprotestors are doing it to support Jews?”
Journalist John Harwood did not mince words, writing, “Congressman proud of the racism.”
“Okay, Mike. We get it,” wrote podcast host, documentary director, and author W. Kamau Bell. “You want to be famous for being a racist. Fine. I’ll help you become a famous racist. You’re welcome.”
The original video is here.
See Rep. Collins’ post and the video below or at this link.
Caution: the video is disturbing.
Ole Miss taking care of business. pic.twitter.com/JiL9hs2pHz
— Rep. Mike Collins (@RepMikeCollins) May 3, 2024
READ MORE: Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’
Amid more damning revelations from her soon-to-be released book, embattled South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem will head to Mar-a-Lago this weekend as ex-president Donald Trump auditions potential vice presidential picks in front of high-dollar donors. Noem was also slated to attend a Republican fundraiser in Colorado this weekend but it was canceled over alleged safety concerns after news broke she had bragged about shooting her 14-month old dog.
While Noem’s shooting to death of her wirehaired pointer, Cricket, which she detailed in the book, is still making headlines overnight a new revelation made news: Noem falsely claims in her book she met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong-un.
A spokesperson for Noem “seemed to concede that the Kim story was false Thursday night,” and notified her publisher, Politico’s Ryan Lizza reported in his exclusive.
But less noticed appears to be the actual text of Noem’s false story, in which she brands children she ministered in church “little tyrants,” and compared them to the murderous North Korean dictator.
READ MORE: RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties
“Through my tenure on the House Armed Services Committee,” Noem wrote, according to Politico, “I had the chance to travel to many countries to meet with world leaders. I remember when I met with North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un. I’m sure he underestimated me, having no clue about my experience staring down little tyrants (I’d been a children’s pastor, after all).”
CNBC reported this week Trump “will mingle with potential vice presidential running mates and wealthy Republican donors at the Republican National Committee’s spring donor retreat. The meetings are likely to act as informal tryouts for a short list of politicos in the running to join the Trump ticket.”
The list of Republican “special guests” includes U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, Tim Scott, and J.D. Vance, Rep. Elise Stefanik, North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum, and South Dakota Governor Kristi Noem.
Also expected to attend are House Speaker Mike Johnson, U.S. Reps. Byron Donalds of Florida and Wesley Hunt of Texas, former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, and other elected Republicans along with RNC co-chair Lara Trump.
READ MORE: Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report
NBC News, which says Rep. Donalds is also under consideration, on Friday added there will be “a fundraising retreat that could serve as a screening session” for potential vice presidential running mates.
Meanwhile, the Jefferson County, Colorado Republican Party chair announced a fundraising dinner Noem was slated to attend was canceled after threats were made, The Denver Post reports.
“We understood there was a planned organized protest outside of the hotel, led by Progress Now,” Nancy Pallozzi said. “I felt that our event would be negatively impacted, and we could not take the risk that those who made threats would cause physical harm.”
Over the weekend independent 2024 presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. spoke at a fundraiser for a far-right anti-government group in Erie County, New York – a slice of the country that had a large proportion of residents arrested and charged for crimes related to the January 6 insurrection. Kennedy, a conspiracy theorist and vaccine denialist, increasingly is embracing the far-right.
“That group, Constitutional Coalition of New York State, has founders who not only have ties to Donald Trump but are also connected to the stop-the-steal movement through their activist network, which includes groups that had a presence at the Capitol on Jan. 6,” The Daily Beast reported Friday. “It’s yet another instance of Kennedy—who is mounting one of the most well-funded third-party presidential threats in decades—serving as a peculiar bridge between his own anti-establishment movement and Trump’s.”
The Southern Poverty Law Center includes the Constitutional Coalition of New York State (CCNYS) on its page of anti-government groups. Political Research Associates, which detailed the high proportion of January 6 residents arrested and charged, included the Constitutional Coalition of New York State in its February report on “The Rise of the Far Right in Western New York.”
READ MORE: Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report
“If you don’t think the government is lying to you, you’re not paying attention,” Kennedy told attendees at the CCNYS fundraiser, The Buffalo News reports.
“CCNYS founders Nick and Nancie Orticelli are also affiliated with the Watchmen, a nearby militia who Nick has encouraged his social media followers to join. The Watchmen had several members at the Capitol on Jan. 6, and one member, Pete Harding, is still facing charges for violent entry and disorderly conduct on Capitol grounds,” The Daily Beast noted. “Nancie Orticelli has also hosted the Watchmen’s founder, Charles Pellien, on her weekly radio show on several occasions.”
One of Kennedy’s goals in traveling to New York was to get on the ballot for the November presidential election. Various polls show him taking votes from both President Joe Biden and ex-president Donald Trump, but Kennedy currently has only qualified to be on the ballot in three states, Utah, Michigan and Hawaii, the newspaper reported.
But The Washington Post on Thursday reported The American Independent Party of California, which has a history of “far-right ties,” and “backed segregationist and former Alabama governor George Wallace in 1968, nominated Kennedy for president.”
Kennedy “said this week that he has qualified to be on the ballot in California and will accept the nomination of the American Independent Party, which has a history of associating itself with far-right figures and individuals who have expressed racist views.”
Some news reports and RFK Jr. himself say the Trump campaign was actively courting Kennedy, attempting to convince him to consider being the ex-president’s 2024 vice presidential running mate.
“That MAGA dalliance with Kennedy could be coming back to bite the Trump campaign, some Republicans close to the former president worry,” The Daily Beast also reported.
“’They can only blame themselves,’ a Trump-aligned strategist told The Daily Beast, requesting anonymity to speak candidly about private conversations about the risk Kennedy poses, ‘because they cozied up to him and thought it was funny.’”
Watch WIVBTV’s report on Kennedy’s trip to New York below or at this link.
READ MORE: Trump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won
Congressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds
Noem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’
RFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties
Election Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report
Trump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won
News2 days agoCongressman Pummeled for Praising Students Mocking Black Protester With Monkey Sounds
News3 days agoTrump Won’t Commit to Accepting Election Results if He Doesn’t Win State He Falsely Claims He Won
News3 days agoElection Denialism Embraced by ‘Large Proportion’ of Trump’s Followers: Report
News2 days agoNoem Heads to Mar-a-Lago After Branding Kids She Ministered in Church ‘Little Tyrants’
News2 days agoRFK Jr., Embracing Far-Right, Spoke at Fundraiser for Anti-Government Group With J6 Ties