Welcome
If you were/are a Barack Obama, Joe Biden, Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders and/or Elizabeth Warren supporter, also known as a the left, liberal, progressive and/or Democrat then this site may be for you. The focus of this site is political including but not limited to Presidential, Senate and Congressional, as well as some Gubernatorial and some Mayoral politics which may or may not be local to the District of Columbia metro area. Here I share my opinions, political information gathered from various news sources, as well as links to important websites. Any Blue and Underlined text links to articles and more information about what I am referring to, just click on them to read more. There will be neither “fake news” nor “alternative facts” here. Since Donald Trump sucks all the air out of the room I have quite a bit of information about him included. We, as Democrats, have been robbed a few times and if you are part of the Resistance then you may be a little angry. But if you don’t have time for different news sources then coming here will give you some of the information you need to know what’s going on in one place. Now is not the time to stop paying attention, time to wake up. For those of you that are already awake, great, stay awake and get involved, if you can. If you are not part of the awake group yet then perhaps Elizabeth Warren can help.
Bill Maher’s New Rule: Get Low, challenges Democrats to face the reality of the current political climate and meet Republicans on their level.
- The Declaration of Independence: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, — That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” Read the full text here.
“The Fourth of July is a time of great national pride, and our new campaign is a portrait of how America has evolved,” said Ancestry CMO Vineet Mehra. “Diversity isn’t just something we value as Americans; it’s quite literally part of who we are. We’re living at a time when many people feel disconnected from one another, and one of the most powerful things we can do is to show how connected we really are.” “In addition to celebrating and illuminating both America’s history and its present-day diversity, we want to use this moment to illustrate the incredible discoveries that await when we look back into our own past: the learnings, insights and connections that can inspire our future, individually and collectively,” adds Tim Gordon, executive creative director, Droga5.
- On The Rachel Maddow Show Senator Cory Booker talks with Joy-Ann Reid about the injustice of unequal marijuana law enforcement and the facts learned so far about the benefits of legalization in states that have done so, leading him to propose national legalization.
- On All In with Chris Hayes ‘We do have the capacity to restore and redeem American democracy,’ the former vice president tells Chris Hayes in a wide-ranging interview about the environment, Donald Trump’s presidency, and the state of American democracy.
- On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams Democratic Strategist James Carville talks to Brian Williams about Trump’s Russia problem and what the Democrats need to do to be successful in 2018.
- On All In with Chris Hayes The senator’s office announced that McCain has been diagnosed with a brain tumor known as a glioblastoma.
On The Rachel Maddow Show Rachel Maddow reports what is known so far about breaking news that Senator John McCain has been diagnosed with a brain tumor.
On The 11th Hour with Brian Williams Bipartisan support is pouring in after the news Senator John McCain (R-AZ) has been diagnosed with brain cancer. MSNBC’s Garrett Haake joins with the latest from Capitol Hill.
- On The Rachel Maddow Show Rachel Maddow looks at a chart of House challengers who have raised at least $5000 by June 30 of the year before the election in which they’re running and notes a remarkable spike in Democratic House challengers for 2018.
McGrath is running for Kentucky’s 6th congressional district against incumbent Andy Barr, who the ad characterizes as “Mitch McConnell’s hand-picked congressman who said he would vote enthusiastically to take health care away from over a quarter million Kentuckians.” In McGrath’s new ad, after a discussion of her military record, her combat missions, and her achievement as a woman in combat, the ad pivots to a discussion of health care. See retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Amy McGrath’s advertisement video here.
The video is full of compelling visuals about her time in the military. “This is my new mission: to take on a Congress full of career politicians who treat the people of Kentucky like they’re disposable,” McGrath says in the video. “When I was 12 years old, I knew exactly what I wanted to do when I grew up,” McGrath says in the video. “I wanted to fly fighter jets and land on aircraft carriers, because that’s the toughest flying you can do.” McGrath goes on to say that when she was 13, she was informed by her congressman after writing him a letter that she wouldn’t be able to achieve that dream because “women ought to be protected and not allowed to serve in combat.” Her senator, Mitch McConnell, never answered her letter, she said.
McGrath says she went to the Naval Academy anyway, and while she was there the law was changed and women were allowed to serve in combat. She then had a 20-year military career, in which she flew 89 combat missions, including bombings targeting al Qaeda and the Taliban. See retired Marine Lieutenant Colonel Amy McGrath’s advertisement video here.
On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Lieutenant Colonel Amy McGrath, the 1st female Marine to fly in an F-18 in combat, is challenging the GOP incumbent Kentucky congressman, who she says, like McConnell, ignores Obamacare’s benefits for Kentuckians. She also shares her advice for Trump about Afghanistan.
- A Democratic union ironworker who twice ran unsuccessfully for the Wisconsin state Legislature announced June 19th that he will challenge Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan for re-election. Randy Bryce, of Caledonia, is a US Army veteran, community activist and political coordinator for his local ironworkers union. Bryce, highlighting both his occupation and mustache, goes by @IronStache on Twitter. Bryce argued that his blue collar background was more in line with the sensibility of the congressional district, which has long relied on a shrinking manufacturing economy. “My values are my neighbors’ values, and we know that Washington has gotten way off track,” Bryce said in a statement. “Whether it’s healthcare, jobs, national security, education, or the environment, there’s not one issue where Paul Ryan and Donald Trump are headed in the right direction. It’s time for a change in Congress.” Bryce lost a Democratic primary for state Assembly in 2012 and the general election for state Senate in 2014. On The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell Wisconsin ironworker Randy Bryce will challenge Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan for re-election in 2018. If Bryce wins, it would be the third time since 1862 that a Speaker of the House has lost re-election. Lawrence O’Donnell talks to Randy Bryce.
Democrat Randy Bryce announced on June 18 that he would challenge Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) in the 2018 midterm election. (Randy Bryce for Congress/YouTube) Here you can go to Randy Bryce’s website Randy Bryce For Congress.
- Although Jon Ossoff, the Democratic candidate for Georgia’s reliably conservative 6th Congressional District won 48% of the vote it was not the required 50% to avoid a runoff vote in June. The off year special election was to fill the seat that was vacated by Price, who won reelection by more than 20 points in 2016. Price left to become Trump’s Secretary of Health and Human Services. Democrats turned out in impressive numbers and if that pattern holds into next year’s midterm elections that will help the Democrats take back the House. So turn out to vote Democrats, you see what we get when you stay home.
Georgia’s 6th congressional district special election is June 20, 2017. So turn out to vote Democrats, you see what we get when you stay home. Where to Vote.
Unfortunately Republican Karen Handel has defeated Democrat Jon Ossoff to represent Georgia’s Sixth Congressional District in a hotly contested special election. Karen Handel (Republican) 51.9% 134,595 | Jon Ossoff (Democratic) 48.1% 124,893. On The Rachel Maddow Show Rachel Maddow shows how all of the special elections to replace Trump cabinet members have shown large swings in favor of Democrats in otherwise securely Republican districts, except for Georgia 06. Jon Ossoff’s Georgia special election loss shows Democrats could use a substantive agenda. Jon Ossoff’s narrow loss in the Georgia House special election seat will come as a crushing emotional blow to Democrats even though it hardly dooms their hopes to take back Congress next year. On The Rachel Maddow Show State Representative Stacey Abrams, Georgia minority leader, talks with Rachel Maddow about the encouragement Democrats see in the outcome of the Georgia special election.
- Former Virginia Congressman Tom Perriello is gaining ground and is tied with Lt. Governor Ralph Northam in the Democratic Gubernatorial primary. Perriello and Northam each drew support from 26 percent of Democratic-leaning voters in a poll by the Wason Center for Public Policy at Christopher Newport University. Just under half of those surveyed for the Democratic primary were undecided. Democrats need to turn out to vote in the June 13 primaries, you see what we get when you stay home.
June 13th Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam won the Democratic nomination for governor of Virginia by an unexpectedly wide margin, and Republican Ed Gillespie held off a surprising challenge from Donald Trump acolyte Corey A. Stewart for that party’s nomination. With more than 99 percent of precincts reporting, Gillespie edged past Stewart by just over a percentage point, fewer than 4,500 votes. State Senator Frank W. Wagner was a distant third. The nation was watching Virginia as a political laboratory for how the political parties handle the deep divisions that followed last year’s election of President Trump. The establishment forces seemed to win out, as Virginia voters resisted efforts to pull further to the right or left. Perriello channeled the energy, and endorsement, of progressive leader Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as he tried to shake up the Democratic Party, but fell short in his bid to bring in enough new voters from among the young and working class to overcome Northam’s command of the Democratic machine, including the endorsement of nearly every Democratic elected leader in state or federal office. Virginia 2017 Primary Election results. Democrats need to turn out to vote in the November 7, 2017 general election, you see what we get when you stay home.
- Greg Gianforte, a Republican running for the open House seat in Montana, who was endorsed by Donald Trump, “body slammed” a journalist and broke his glasses the day before the state’s special election, for asking a question, according to eyewitness accounts and audio posted by the reporter. Ben Jacobs, a political reporter for the Guardian, had calmly asked Gianforte about the new Congressional Budget Office score of the House health care legislation and the incident quickly escalated from there. 3 major Montana newspapers withdrew their endorsements for Gianforte right before the state’s special election over his attack of the reporter. But up to 2/3 of the voters had already cast their votes before the incident by absentee mail-in ballots. Trump won Montana by 56% to Hillary’s 35%, a 21% point difference in the 2016 Presidential election. The Congressional seat was left open by Ryan Zinke when he left to be Trump’s Secretary of the Interior. While awaiting the election results Gianforte was charged with misdemeanor assault. This race was tighter than the Presidential election, but whether Gianforte won or not depended on same-day voting. Montana is one of 14 states that have same-day registration, allowing potential voters to both register at county election officials’ offices and cast a ballot on Election Day. Unfortunately, Gianforte won the election, with 87% of precincts reporting, Gianforte had 181,255 votes or 50.6% of the vote, compared to Quist who had 156,130 votes or 43.6% of the vote. Here Chris Hayes of All In with Chris Hayes shares his thoughts about Gianforte apologizing to the reporter…after he won.
- People hoping to visit Island Beach State Park this (July 4th) holiday weekend were not allowed in because of the state government shutdown New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie ordered amid the state budget standoff in Trenton. But there was one family there: Christie’s. They are using the summer beach house provided by the state for a weekend down the Shore. Christie, who first disclosed his weekend plans on Monday (June 26th 2017), said Sunday (July 2nd 2017) he was taking the state helicopter to go back and forth between Island Beach State Park and Trenton. Asked if this is fair, Christie said Saturday (July 1st 2017): “Run for governor, and you can have a residence there.”
So let me get this straight, New Jersey’s taxpayer-funded state beaches are closed to everyone except Christie’s family. And Christie was taking the taxpayer-funded state helicopter to go back and forth, to and from, the taxpayer-funded state beaches that Christie closed to everyone except Christie’s own family. And Christie’s answer for this was “Run for governor”.
Between this beach situation and scandals like Bridgegate, his alleged use of Hurricane Sandy relief money for political purposes, his misuse of billions in Port Authority funds for unrelated projects, and perhaps lesser known issues like he privatized the state’s public pension system, enriching wealthy business interests at the expense of taxpayers and state workers, he reportedly blocked reforms that would clean up New Jersey’s government among many others is there any wonder why Christie now has the lowest approval rating of any New Jersey governor in recorded history? The Quinnipiac University poll shows Christie’s approval rating among New Jersey voters at just 15 percent, with 81 percent disapproving. Christie’s approval rating is the lowest Quinnipiac found for any governor it measured in any state in more than 20 years.
But the least popular governor in New Jersey history says he doesn’t care what people think of him because he’s not running for office. Due to term limits Christie is heading into his final six months in office. “That fact is, who cares?” Christie said after a reporter asked if his approval could get even lower. New Jerseyans soured on him quickly, their view of the governor sinking lower and lower as he spent more and more time out of the state, chasing his fleeting dream of winning the White House. Many said he was neglecting his day job. And from his current actions the fact that he does not care shows.