1lriley
Recently McConnell's been spouting off about entitlement programs--specifically Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. How they need to be cut back now that the Trump tax bill has given a big break to corporations and wealthy people like himself ($22.8 mil net worth) and his wife Elaine Chao ($24 mil net worth) and the Federal govt. is finding itself way short of funding.
So anyway the other day he's back in his home state eating with the Mrs. at some chain restaurant and is accosted by some angry patrons on the issue:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/angry-diners-confront-sen-mitch-170520595.html
I can understand though why Mr. McConnell thinks these programs need to go. He's a rich motherfucker and what he'd get from SSI pretty much wouldn't even register as a blip in his bank account. Those tax cuts he just voted for--they will though. And yeah maybe these guys and gals were all democrats but maybe some of them weren't. Cutting people out of their safety net retirement and health programs pretty much crosses all party lines and even if you don't have a party--and this place is in Kentucky after all--I think there are more GOP'ers there. I did get a laugh out of the one commenter though going on how if he'd been there he would have defended the congressman. I thought right, someone who doesn't even know the difference between a senator and a house member. Must be a dipshit.
So anyway the other day he's back in his home state eating with the Mrs. at some chain restaurant and is accosted by some angry patrons on the issue:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/angry-diners-confront-sen-mitch-170520595.html
I can understand though why Mr. McConnell thinks these programs need to go. He's a rich motherfucker and what he'd get from SSI pretty much wouldn't even register as a blip in his bank account. Those tax cuts he just voted for--they will though. And yeah maybe these guys and gals were all democrats but maybe some of them weren't. Cutting people out of their safety net retirement and health programs pretty much crosses all party lines and even if you don't have a party--and this place is in Kentucky after all--I think there are more GOP'ers there. I did get a laugh out of the one commenter though going on how if he'd been there he would have defended the congressman. I thought right, someone who doesn't even know the difference between a senator and a house member. Must be a dipshit.
22wonderY
Al Franken devoted a chapter to Mitch's past sins in Giant of the Senate.
3margd
Canadian & Mexican aluminum and steel under tariffs for national security reasons.
Meanwhile, sanctions lifted on Russian company investing in Kentucky, which might supply Defense Dept.
Sen McConnell blocks penalties rollback as well as election-security effort.
#MoscowMitch trending in Twitter:
Ex-McConnell staffers lobbied on Russian-backed Kentucky project
NATASHA BERTRAND and THEODORIC MEYER | 07/31/2019
Two former top staffers to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have lobbied Congress and the Treasury Department on the development of a new Kentucky aluminum mill backed by the Russian aluminum giant Rusal....
The disclosure comes as Democrats are pushing the Trump administration to review Rusal’s $200 million investment in the Kentucky project — concerned that the mill will supply the Defense Department — and as McConnell weathers criticism for helping block a congressional effort to stop the investment.
The Russian firm was only able to make the investment after it won sanctions relief from penalties the Treasury Department initially imposed in April 2018 on Rusal and other companies owned by Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch and Kremlin ally accused of facilitating Moscow’s nefarious activities, such as seizing land in Ukraine, supplying arms for the Syrian regime and meddling in other countries’ elections.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced in December that the department would lift the sanctions on Deripaska's companies, which had roiled global aluminum markets, if the oligarch agreed to drastically reduce his stake in the businesses. The deal was reportedly potentially beneficial to Deripaska, however. Deripaska himself still remains under U.S. sanctions.
Attention over the sanctions relief deal has focused on McConnell, given his role in halting a bipartisan congressional effort in January to stop the penalties rollback. McConnell told reporters in May that his support for lifting the sanctions was “completely unrelated to anything that might happen in my home state.”
...It’s unclear whether the former staffers — Hunter Bates, a former McConnell chief of staff, and Brendan Dunn, who advised the Kentucky Republican on tax, trade and financial services matters before heading to K Street last year — directly lobbied McConnell’s office over the aluminum mill project. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, the law and lobbying firm where Bates and Dunn work, and McConnell’s office declined to comment on whether they had done so.
...The lobbying push by McConnell’s former staffers, one of whom left his office in November 2016 and the other who left a year ago, also comes as McConnell is being criticized for blocking election-security bills in the wake of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. McConnell took to the Senate floor earlier this week to rebut accusations that he’s kowtowing to Russia, prompting the hashtag #MoscowMitch to begin trending on Twitter.
...Democratic lawmakers have called for an investigation of the project by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency body that can recommend the cancellation of foreign financial arrangements with U.S. firms over national security concerns...
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/31/mcconnell-staffers-lobbied-russian-bac...
Meanwhile, sanctions lifted on Russian company investing in Kentucky, which might supply Defense Dept.
Sen McConnell blocks penalties rollback as well as election-security effort.
#MoscowMitch trending in Twitter:
Ex-McConnell staffers lobbied on Russian-backed Kentucky project
NATASHA BERTRAND and THEODORIC MEYER | 07/31/2019
Two former top staffers to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have lobbied Congress and the Treasury Department on the development of a new Kentucky aluminum mill backed by the Russian aluminum giant Rusal....
The disclosure comes as Democrats are pushing the Trump administration to review Rusal’s $200 million investment in the Kentucky project — concerned that the mill will supply the Defense Department — and as McConnell weathers criticism for helping block a congressional effort to stop the investment.
The Russian firm was only able to make the investment after it won sanctions relief from penalties the Treasury Department initially imposed in April 2018 on Rusal and other companies owned by Oleg Deripaska, a Russian oligarch and Kremlin ally accused of facilitating Moscow’s nefarious activities, such as seizing land in Ukraine, supplying arms for the Syrian regime and meddling in other countries’ elections.
Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced in December that the department would lift the sanctions on Deripaska's companies, which had roiled global aluminum markets, if the oligarch agreed to drastically reduce his stake in the businesses. The deal was reportedly potentially beneficial to Deripaska, however. Deripaska himself still remains under U.S. sanctions.
Attention over the sanctions relief deal has focused on McConnell, given his role in halting a bipartisan congressional effort in January to stop the penalties rollback. McConnell told reporters in May that his support for lifting the sanctions was “completely unrelated to anything that might happen in my home state.”
...It’s unclear whether the former staffers — Hunter Bates, a former McConnell chief of staff, and Brendan Dunn, who advised the Kentucky Republican on tax, trade and financial services matters before heading to K Street last year — directly lobbied McConnell’s office over the aluminum mill project. Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, the law and lobbying firm where Bates and Dunn work, and McConnell’s office declined to comment on whether they had done so.
...The lobbying push by McConnell’s former staffers, one of whom left his office in November 2016 and the other who left a year ago, also comes as McConnell is being criticized for blocking election-security bills in the wake of Russia’s interference in the 2016 presidential election. McConnell took to the Senate floor earlier this week to rebut accusations that he’s kowtowing to Russia, prompting the hashtag #MoscowMitch to begin trending on Twitter.
...Democratic lawmakers have called for an investigation of the project by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States, an interagency body that can recommend the cancellation of foreign financial arrangements with U.S. firms over national security concerns...
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/07/31/mcconnell-staffers-lobbied-russian-bac...
4margd
Leader McConnell @senatemajldr | 5:33 PM · Jul 31, 2019:
The Senate just confirmed @POTUS''s impressive nominee for the critical role of USUN Ambassador: Kelly Knight Craft of #Kentucky. I’m confident our entire nation will be proud of the fine service she will render as our Ambassador to the United Nations.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Fallows @JamesFallows | 2:15 AM · Aug 1, 2019:
The “impressive” nominee:
-Is married to coal CEO; both are major Trump/ Mitch donors;
-First time *ever* for big donor in UN job
-In that job before: future prez (GHWB), former SCOTUS (Goldberg), true heavyweights (Moynihan, Kirkpatrick, Adlai S) etc
Mitch never disappoints
The Senate just confirmed @POTUS''s impressive nominee for the critical role of USUN Ambassador: Kelly Knight Craft of #Kentucky. I’m confident our entire nation will be proud of the fine service she will render as our Ambassador to the United Nations.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
James Fallows @JamesFallows | 2:15 AM · Aug 1, 2019:
The “impressive” nominee:
-Is married to coal CEO; both are major Trump/ Mitch donors;
-First time *ever* for big donor in UN job
-In that job before: future prez (GHWB), former SCOTUS (Goldberg), true heavyweights (Moynihan, Kirkpatrick, Adlai S) etc
Mitch never disappoints
5margd
Russian-backed Kentucky mill makes PR push amid Democratic concerns
NATASHA BERTRAND | 08/02/2019
...Braidy Industries, which is developing a new Kentucky aluminum mill partially backed by the Russian aluminum giant Rusal, has hired a firm with ties to Sen. Mitch McConnell (r-Ky.) to give the project a public relations boost as Democrats raise concerns about the initiative.
The firm, RunSwitch PR, was co-founded in 2012 by Scott Jennings — a former McConnell aide and CNN political commentator who ran a super PAC in support of the Senate Majority Leader called Kentuckians for Strong Leadership. Braidy hired RunSwitch in July “following recommendations from fellow business leaders naming them the best statewide media relations agency,” a Braidy spokesman said.
The public relations push comes amid Democratic calls for the Trump administration to review Rusal’s $200 million investment in the aluminum mill project, which was made possible by the Treasury Department’s decision in January to lift sanctions on Rusal and other companies owned by Oleg Deripaska — a Russian oligarch and Kremlin ally accused of facilitating Moscow’s nefarious activities.
...The Braidy mill is projected to cost $1.7 billion. According to the company, it will produce aluminum for the food and auto industries and not for the Defense Department, a concern Democrats have raised in their push for a review of the Rusal investment for possible national security implications.
Two former top staffers to McConnell, now working for the firm Akin Gump, have also lobbied Congress and the Treasury Department on the development of the aluminum mill, as POLITICO first reported on Wednesday. Akin Gump was hired by Braidy in May to help with the billion-dollar project, several months after the decision was made to lift the Rusal sanctions. A Braidy spokesperson emphasized that the Akin Gump lobbying efforts were unrelated to the sanctions decision.
...McConnell has weathered criticism for helping block a bipartisan congressional effort that would have stopped the lifting of sanctions on the Russian companies. McConnell told reporters in May that his support for rolling back the penalties was “completely unrelated to anything that might happen in my home state.”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/02/russia-pr-braidy-aluminum-1445259
NATASHA BERTRAND | 08/02/2019
...Braidy Industries, which is developing a new Kentucky aluminum mill partially backed by the Russian aluminum giant Rusal, has hired a firm with ties to Sen. Mitch McConnell (r-Ky.) to give the project a public relations boost as Democrats raise concerns about the initiative.
The firm, RunSwitch PR, was co-founded in 2012 by Scott Jennings — a former McConnell aide and CNN political commentator who ran a super PAC in support of the Senate Majority Leader called Kentuckians for Strong Leadership. Braidy hired RunSwitch in July “following recommendations from fellow business leaders naming them the best statewide media relations agency,” a Braidy spokesman said.
The public relations push comes amid Democratic calls for the Trump administration to review Rusal’s $200 million investment in the aluminum mill project, which was made possible by the Treasury Department’s decision in January to lift sanctions on Rusal and other companies owned by Oleg Deripaska — a Russian oligarch and Kremlin ally accused of facilitating Moscow’s nefarious activities.
...The Braidy mill is projected to cost $1.7 billion. According to the company, it will produce aluminum for the food and auto industries and not for the Defense Department, a concern Democrats have raised in their push for a review of the Rusal investment for possible national security implications.
Two former top staffers to McConnell, now working for the firm Akin Gump, have also lobbied Congress and the Treasury Department on the development of the aluminum mill, as POLITICO first reported on Wednesday. Akin Gump was hired by Braidy in May to help with the billion-dollar project, several months after the decision was made to lift the Rusal sanctions. A Braidy spokesperson emphasized that the Akin Gump lobbying efforts were unrelated to the sanctions decision.
...McConnell has weathered criticism for helping block a bipartisan congressional effort that would have stopped the lifting of sanctions on the Russian companies. McConnell told reporters in May that his support for rolling back the penalties was “completely unrelated to anything that might happen in my home state.”
https://www.politico.com/story/2019/08/02/russia-pr-braidy-aluminum-1445259
6margd
Mitch McConnell at nexus of increased Russian leverage on U.S. (29:34)
Rachel Maddow | Aug. 14, 2019
Rachel Maddow shares details from a recent Pentagon white paper* about how Russia secures its influence over other countries' politics and notes that Mitch McConnell's role in facilitating an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in his home state of Kentucky, among other things, aligns with Russia's strategy.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/mcconnell-at-nexus-of-increased-russian...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
Russian Strategic Intentions: A Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA)
White Paper (Approved for Public Release)
Edited by Ms. Nicole Peterson (NSI, Inc.)
May 2019 | 167 p
http://nsiteam.com/sma-publications/ as viewed at
https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000016b-a5a1-d241-adff-fdf908e00001
Rachel Maddow | Aug. 14, 2019
Rachel Maddow shares details from a recent Pentagon white paper* about how Russia secures its influence over other countries' politics and notes that Mitch McConnell's role in facilitating an investment of hundreds of millions of dollars in his home state of Kentucky, among other things, aligns with Russia's strategy.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/mcconnell-at-nexus-of-increased-russian...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*
Russian Strategic Intentions: A Strategic Multilayer Assessment (SMA)
White Paper (Approved for Public Release)
Edited by Ms. Nicole Peterson (NSI, Inc.)
May 2019 | 167 p
http://nsiteam.com/sma-publications/ as viewed at
https://www.politico.com/f/?id=0000016b-a5a1-d241-adff-fdf908e00001
7lriley
McConnell is a scumbag no question.
From a Russian viewpoint of the United States and the nations of the European Union though--the TPP, TTIP and TISA were all drawn up to isolate them economically. It was almost literally a declaration of economic war that went so far as to even try and take away trade even to their closest neighbors many of whom use to be part of the old Soviet Union. That this agenda failed was in large part due though to these trade deals unpopularity just about everywhere. Great for corporations and banks--terrible for everyone else--basically it was also a scheme to privatize public services all over the globe.
To put it bluntly the neo-liberal political agenda of our most powerful politicians helped to reignite a cold war with Russia and here the Russians are trying to fuck with us at practically every turn. Go figure.....and it doesn't take much to hack into our elections....that was an easy one. It's open season not just for the Russians but any number of other actors interested enough to do it. This is where McConnell is so shortsighted. He thinks Russia's interference is fine if it benefits himself and his party but he's not figuring for any other interested parties.
From a Russian viewpoint of the United States and the nations of the European Union though--the TPP, TTIP and TISA were all drawn up to isolate them economically. It was almost literally a declaration of economic war that went so far as to even try and take away trade even to their closest neighbors many of whom use to be part of the old Soviet Union. That this agenda failed was in large part due though to these trade deals unpopularity just about everywhere. Great for corporations and banks--terrible for everyone else--basically it was also a scheme to privatize public services all over the globe.
To put it bluntly the neo-liberal political agenda of our most powerful politicians helped to reignite a cold war with Russia and here the Russians are trying to fuck with us at practically every turn. Go figure.....and it doesn't take much to hack into our elections....that was an easy one. It's open season not just for the Russians but any number of other actors interested enough to do it. This is where McConnell is so shortsighted. He thinks Russia's interference is fine if it benefits himself and his party but he's not figuring for any other interested parties.
8Molly3028
RINO's should gladly embrace the label they have been given by the spineless, power hungry Trump cult members like Mitch. In fact, they should all wear ILWT (In Lincoln We Trust) hats to proclaim their commitment to the genuine GOP.
9margd
6 e-cigarette deaths ever: Vape control now!
36,000 gun deaths annually: Thoughts and prayers.
Robert Reich @RBReich | 3:09 PM · Sep 11, 2019
...Hundreds of deaths from not being able to afford insulin, nothing...
A. Burke @GargoylesGirl | 8:54 PM · Sep 11, 2019
Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 480,000 people in the United States every year
__________________________________________________________________
As if Kentuckians aren't suffering enough with black lung...
Tobacco's 'Special Friend': What Internal Documents Say About Mitch McConnell
Tom Dreisbach | June 17, 20195:01 AM ET
...An NPR review of McConnell's relationship with the tobacco industry over the decades has found that McConnell repeatedly cast doubt on the health consequences of smoking, repeated industry talking points word-for-word, attacked federal regulators at the industry's request and opposed bipartisan tobacco regulations going back decades.
The industry, in turn, has provided McConnell with millions of dollars in speaking fees, personal gifts, campaign contributions and charitable donations to the McConnell Center, which is home to his personal and professional archives.
One lobbyist for R.J. Reynolds called McConnell a "special friend" to the company.
Much of the relationship between McConnell and the tobacco industry happened behind the scenes. But the disclosure of millions of once-secret tobacco industry documents — which are now readily searchable online — has opened a window into McConnell's interactions with tobacco executives and lobbyists.
Many of the records were first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader, as part of a yearlong investigation into McConnell. Other documents on McConnell's relationships to the industry are being reported by NPR for the first time as part of a series produced by the Embedded podcast.
As a whole, ethics watchdogs say the documents raise questions about how McConnell is crafting legislation dealing with wealthy, powerful industries, even with millions of lives at stake. Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 480,000 people in the United States every year.
...NPR also found that vaping and tobacco companies are currently employing McConnell's former policy adviser, his former policy director and his former chief of staff to lobby on their behalf. Lobbying groups frequently hire former staffers to top senators of both parties, though former top Senate staffers are prohibited from lobbying their old bosses within a year of leaving government...
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/17/730496066/tobaccos-special-friend-what-internal-d...
36,000 gun deaths annually: Thoughts and prayers.
Robert Reich @RBReich | 3:09 PM · Sep 11, 2019
...Hundreds of deaths from not being able to afford insulin, nothing...
A. Burke @GargoylesGirl | 8:54 PM · Sep 11, 2019
Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 480,000 people in the United States every year
__________________________________________________________________
As if Kentuckians aren't suffering enough with black lung...
Tobacco's 'Special Friend': What Internal Documents Say About Mitch McConnell
Tom Dreisbach | June 17, 20195:01 AM ET
...An NPR review of McConnell's relationship with the tobacco industry over the decades has found that McConnell repeatedly cast doubt on the health consequences of smoking, repeated industry talking points word-for-word, attacked federal regulators at the industry's request and opposed bipartisan tobacco regulations going back decades.
The industry, in turn, has provided McConnell with millions of dollars in speaking fees, personal gifts, campaign contributions and charitable donations to the McConnell Center, which is home to his personal and professional archives.
One lobbyist for R.J. Reynolds called McConnell a "special friend" to the company.
Much of the relationship between McConnell and the tobacco industry happened behind the scenes. But the disclosure of millions of once-secret tobacco industry documents — which are now readily searchable online — has opened a window into McConnell's interactions with tobacco executives and lobbyists.
Many of the records were first reported by the Lexington Herald-Leader, as part of a yearlong investigation into McConnell. Other documents on McConnell's relationships to the industry are being reported by NPR for the first time as part of a series produced by the Embedded podcast.
As a whole, ethics watchdogs say the documents raise questions about how McConnell is crafting legislation dealing with wealthy, powerful industries, even with millions of lives at stake. Cigarette smoking kills an estimated 480,000 people in the United States every year.
...NPR also found that vaping and tobacco companies are currently employing McConnell's former policy adviser, his former policy director and his former chief of staff to lobby on their behalf. Lobbying groups frequently hire former staffers to top senators of both parties, though former top Senate staffers are prohibited from lobbying their old bosses within a year of leaving government...
https://www.npr.org/2019/06/17/730496066/tobaccos-special-friend-what-internal-d...
10margd
Mitch McConnell: The Man Who Sold America
After 40 years of scorched-earth politics and bowing to special interests, will Mitch McConnell finally pay the price?
Bob Moser | Sept 17, 2019
...In his past two campaigns, McConnell outraised his opponents by $10 million and $12 million, an almost insurmountable advantage for even the most appealing candidate to overcome. It’s unlikely that he’ll enjoy that kind of edge in 2020. Ditch Mitch, a PAC founded by Ryan Aquilina, a digital strategist for progressive campaigns, has already raised $3 million to supplement the Democratic effort to oust McConnell. “We see ourselves as a necessary complement,” Aquilina says, “considering that McConnell is going to raise jumbo-jet cash and spend it all going negative.”
McConnell’s opponent in 2020 will surely make an issue of where his campaign money comes from, too — since it’s almost exclusively from corporate donors from outside Kentucky. Only nine percent of his haul in the most recent fundraising came from individual donors back home; the vast majority, as usual, derived from a roster of big corporate interests — including United Parcel Service, the Blackstone Group, Eli Lilly & Co., and the private-prison GEO Group.
“This is a winnable race, if you try to make it catered to Kentuckians,” says Matt Jones, the popular host of Kentucky Sports Radio who’s also considering a run. “This is a blue-collar, anti-establishment state. People are religious, but they’re not Bible Belters. There’s a long history of fighting for workers’ rights here. People say voters aren’t going to go for Trump and then vote for a Democrat down-ballot. But that’s misunderstanding Kentucky.” Aquilina agrees: “The reason people voted for Trump here is the same reason they hate McConnell.”
Which means McConnell won’t have the luxury of distancing himself one iota from the president between now and next November; Trump’s approval ratings in Kentucky are more than 20 points higher than his own. As demonstrated by his hasty dismissal of those election-security bills in July, the senator has no choice but to keep himself tethered to Trump and hope to ride his coattails — a situation that, for a control freak like McConnell, cannot be comforting.
That’s what it’s come to for Mitch McConnell. Four decades of clawing his way to power, by any means at his disposal, and now his political life, which is his only life, ultimately rests in the hands of the most erratic character ever to occupy the Oval Office. No one can doubt that McConnell will run a campaign, as always, that is lavishly funded and equal parts savvy and cutthroat. But the conditions, created largely by the senator himself, are ripe for a reckoning. And if it comes, it will be an ironic and fitting denouement to one of the most destructive political careers in American history.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/mitch-mcconnell-man-who-...
After 40 years of scorched-earth politics and bowing to special interests, will Mitch McConnell finally pay the price?
Bob Moser | Sept 17, 2019
...In his past two campaigns, McConnell outraised his opponents by $10 million and $12 million, an almost insurmountable advantage for even the most appealing candidate to overcome. It’s unlikely that he’ll enjoy that kind of edge in 2020. Ditch Mitch, a PAC founded by Ryan Aquilina, a digital strategist for progressive campaigns, has already raised $3 million to supplement the Democratic effort to oust McConnell. “We see ourselves as a necessary complement,” Aquilina says, “considering that McConnell is going to raise jumbo-jet cash and spend it all going negative.”
McConnell’s opponent in 2020 will surely make an issue of where his campaign money comes from, too — since it’s almost exclusively from corporate donors from outside Kentucky. Only nine percent of his haul in the most recent fundraising came from individual donors back home; the vast majority, as usual, derived from a roster of big corporate interests — including United Parcel Service, the Blackstone Group, Eli Lilly & Co., and the private-prison GEO Group.
“This is a winnable race, if you try to make it catered to Kentuckians,” says Matt Jones, the popular host of Kentucky Sports Radio who’s also considering a run. “This is a blue-collar, anti-establishment state. People are religious, but they’re not Bible Belters. There’s a long history of fighting for workers’ rights here. People say voters aren’t going to go for Trump and then vote for a Democrat down-ballot. But that’s misunderstanding Kentucky.” Aquilina agrees: “The reason people voted for Trump here is the same reason they hate McConnell.”
Which means McConnell won’t have the luxury of distancing himself one iota from the president between now and next November; Trump’s approval ratings in Kentucky are more than 20 points higher than his own. As demonstrated by his hasty dismissal of those election-security bills in July, the senator has no choice but to keep himself tethered to Trump and hope to ride his coattails — a situation that, for a control freak like McConnell, cannot be comforting.
That’s what it’s come to for Mitch McConnell. Four decades of clawing his way to power, by any means at his disposal, and now his political life, which is his only life, ultimately rests in the hands of the most erratic character ever to occupy the Oval Office. No one can doubt that McConnell will run a campaign, as always, that is lavishly funded and equal parts savvy and cutthroat. But the conditions, created largely by the senator himself, are ripe for a reckoning. And if it comes, it will be an ironic and fitting denouement to one of the most destructive political careers in American history.
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/mitch-mcconnell-man-who-...
11margd
Richard W. Painter @RWPUSA (former chief WH ethics lawyer) | 7:11 PM · Oct 4, 2019:
The senators are the judges in an impeachment trial. They vote after they hear the evidence.
@senatemajldr is pledging his vote and votes of other senators for an acquittal in advance — in exchange for money.
A JUDGE WHO DID THIS WOULD GO TO JAIL.
McConnell vows to block Trump impeachment in fundraising pitch
Jordain Carney - 10/04/19
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/464379-mcconnell-vows-to-block-trump-impea...
The senators are the judges in an impeachment trial. They vote after they hear the evidence.
@senatemajldr is pledging his vote and votes of other senators for an acquittal in advance — in exchange for money.
A JUDGE WHO DID THIS WOULD GO TO JAIL.
McConnell vows to block Trump impeachment in fundraising pitch
Jordain Carney - 10/04/19
https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/464379-mcconnell-vows-to-block-trump-impea...
12margd
Trump has officially appointed one in four circuit court judges
Rebecca Klar - 11/07/19 06:05 PM EST
President Trump has officially appointed one in four circuit court judges as of Thursday...
Senate Republicans had previously broken the record for the number of appeals court judges confirmed during a president’s first two years in September 2018, after Trump’s 23rd circuit court judge was confirmed.
Trump announced during a celebration at the White House on Wednesday that he has appointed more than 150 federal judges, adding that he expects that to be closer to about 182 in a couple of months.
..."Few legacies will be longer lasting than this judicial one. These new judges are principled constitutionalists who have demonstrated excellence and professionalism throughout their legal careers,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote in an op-ed published by Fox News on Wednesday.
...“These judges are a way of advancing conservative political goals that cannot be achieved through the proper means,” Sam Berger vice president of Democracy and Government Reform for the left-leaning Center for American Progress...“Under Obama, they prevented him from appointing judges and when Trump became president they changed the rules so they could rush through a number of ideological and in many cases unqualified judges to the bench,” Berger added.
(Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)) “As a senator, I have now worked with four separate administrations, Democrat and Republican, on the appointment of federal judges. I can say with perfect confidence that over the last three years, President Trump has nominated — and Senate Republicans have approved — the most unqualified and radical nominees in my time in this body."
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/469519-trump-has-officially-appointe...
_____________________________________________________________________
Not qualified' rating and accusation from American Bar Association moves Trump nominee to tears
Ariane de Vogue and Alex Rogers | October 31, 2019
Lawrence J.C. VanDyke...American Bar Association concluded that he was "not qualified" for the judicial branch..."Mr VanDyke would not say affirmatively that he would be fair to any litigant before him, notably members of the LGBTQ community"...The President has repeatedly attacked the liberal-leaning 9th Circuit for rulings that have blocked administration initiatives, especially on immigration.
So far, at least six of the President's nominees have received a "not qualified" rating
As of last week, the Senate has now confirmed five judges the ABA deemed unqualified:
Leonard Steven Grasz,
Charles Barnes Goodwin,
Holly Lou Teeter,
Jonathan Kobes, and
Justin Walker...not qualified, ABA said in a letter, because he "does not presently have the requisite trial or litigation experience or its equivalent." The letter stressed that the committee had no questions on his temperament or integrity and that in the future it felt like he had "great potential to serve as a federal judge."
Goodwin and Teeter received support from Democrats, while the other three were approved only with Republican votes
Two Trump judicial nominees who have been called unqualified by the ABA -- John O'Connor and Brett Talley -- have withdrawn from consideration.
"(US district judge nominee Sarah E.) Pitlyk has never tried a case as lead or co-counsel, whether civil or criminal," wrote William Hubbard, chair of the ABA's standing committee on the federal judiciary. 'She has never examined a witness. "Though Ms. Pitlyk has argued one case in a court of appeals, she has not taken a deposition. She has not argued any motion in a state or federal trial court. She has never picked a jury. She has never participated at any stage of a criminal matter."...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/30/politics/american-bar-association-nominees-vandyk...
_____________________________________________________________________
After Menashi Vote, Trump Is Poised to Flip a Key Court
Trump’s 2nd Circuit nominees will have power over several lawsuits against the president.
Mark Joseph Stern | Nov 07, 2019
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Thursday to advance White House attorney Steven Menashi’s nomination to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Menashi, 40, is one of Donald Trump’s most controversial nominees because of his past inflammatory writings, his work with Stephen Miller and Betsy DeVos, and his refusal to answer the committee’s questions about that work. If the full Senate confirms Menashi, Trump will have flipped the court, creating a majority of conservative judges with the power to decide several pending lawsuits against the president.
Although the American Bar Association considered Menashi “Well Qualified,” its highest rating...“highbrow argument for racial purity in the nation state” ... “campus gynocentrists” unfairly accuse “the majority of male students with complicity in rape and sexual violence”...LGBTQ...race...multiculturalism...Islam....
Menashi joined the Trump administration as acting general counsel in Betsy DeVos’ Department of Education....rolled back protections for students who are disabled, LGBTQ, racial minorities, and sexual assault survivors. The New York Times also reported on Wednesday that Menashi devised a plan “to use private Social Security data to deny debt relief to thousands of students cheated by their for-profit colleges.” A federal judge later halted the scheme, ruling that it violated federal privacy laws. In 2018, Menashi moved to the White House to serve as a legal adviser; in that role, he helped Stephen Miller implement Trump’s crackdowns on immigration and asylum.
During Menashi’s confirmation hearing in September...he refused to answer questions about pretty much anything. Menashi would not say who he worked with in the administration or what he worked on...
Menashi’s nomination now goes to the Senate floor. Presuming all Democrats vote against him—a pretty safe bet—he is set to win confirmation unless three more Republicans join Democrats in opposition. If Menashi is confirmed, Trump will have flipped the court, creating a majority of judges appointed by GOP presidents.
Several cases of immense importance to the president are currently pending before the 2nd Circuit. A three-judge panel for the court recently ruled that New York state prosecutors may compel Trump to turn over his tax returns. It will also soon decide whether to uphold a House subpoena of the Trump family’s financial records. Once conservative judges gain an overall majority, they can overturn any panel decisions that go against Trump and shield him from oversight. It is no surprise, then, that the president and his allies in the Senate are eager to put nominees like Menashi on the 2nd Circuit as soon as possible.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/menashi-confirmation-second-circuit-...
Rebecca Klar - 11/07/19 06:05 PM EST
President Trump has officially appointed one in four circuit court judges as of Thursday...
Senate Republicans had previously broken the record for the number of appeals court judges confirmed during a president’s first two years in September 2018, after Trump’s 23rd circuit court judge was confirmed.
Trump announced during a celebration at the White House on Wednesday that he has appointed more than 150 federal judges, adding that he expects that to be closer to about 182 in a couple of months.
..."Few legacies will be longer lasting than this judicial one. These new judges are principled constitutionalists who have demonstrated excellence and professionalism throughout their legal careers,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) wrote in an op-ed published by Fox News on Wednesday.
...“These judges are a way of advancing conservative political goals that cannot be achieved through the proper means,” Sam Berger vice president of Democracy and Government Reform for the left-leaning Center for American Progress...“Under Obama, they prevented him from appointing judges and when Trump became president they changed the rules so they could rush through a number of ideological and in many cases unqualified judges to the bench,” Berger added.
(Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.)) “As a senator, I have now worked with four separate administrations, Democrat and Republican, on the appointment of federal judges. I can say with perfect confidence that over the last three years, President Trump has nominated — and Senate Republicans have approved — the most unqualified and radical nominees in my time in this body."
https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/469519-trump-has-officially-appointe...
_____________________________________________________________________
Not qualified' rating and accusation from American Bar Association moves Trump nominee to tears
Ariane de Vogue and Alex Rogers | October 31, 2019
Lawrence J.C. VanDyke...American Bar Association concluded that he was "not qualified" for the judicial branch..."Mr VanDyke would not say affirmatively that he would be fair to any litigant before him, notably members of the LGBTQ community"...The President has repeatedly attacked the liberal-leaning 9th Circuit for rulings that have blocked administration initiatives, especially on immigration.
So far, at least six of the President's nominees have received a "not qualified" rating
As of last week, the Senate has now confirmed five judges the ABA deemed unqualified:
Leonard Steven Grasz,
Charles Barnes Goodwin,
Holly Lou Teeter,
Jonathan Kobes, and
Justin Walker...not qualified, ABA said in a letter, because he "does not presently have the requisite trial or litigation experience or its equivalent." The letter stressed that the committee had no questions on his temperament or integrity and that in the future it felt like he had "great potential to serve as a federal judge."
Goodwin and Teeter received support from Democrats, while the other three were approved only with Republican votes
Two Trump judicial nominees who have been called unqualified by the ABA -- John O'Connor and Brett Talley -- have withdrawn from consideration.
"(US district judge nominee Sarah E.) Pitlyk has never tried a case as lead or co-counsel, whether civil or criminal," wrote William Hubbard, chair of the ABA's standing committee on the federal judiciary. 'She has never examined a witness. "Though Ms. Pitlyk has argued one case in a court of appeals, she has not taken a deposition. She has not argued any motion in a state or federal trial court. She has never picked a jury. She has never participated at any stage of a criminal matter."...
https://www.cnn.com/2019/10/30/politics/american-bar-association-nominees-vandyk...
_____________________________________________________________________
After Menashi Vote, Trump Is Poised to Flip a Key Court
Trump’s 2nd Circuit nominees will have power over several lawsuits against the president.
Mark Joseph Stern | Nov 07, 2019
The Senate Judiciary Committee voted along party lines on Thursday to advance White House attorney Steven Menashi’s nomination to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Menashi, 40, is one of Donald Trump’s most controversial nominees because of his past inflammatory writings, his work with Stephen Miller and Betsy DeVos, and his refusal to answer the committee’s questions about that work. If the full Senate confirms Menashi, Trump will have flipped the court, creating a majority of conservative judges with the power to decide several pending lawsuits against the president.
Although the American Bar Association considered Menashi “Well Qualified,” its highest rating...“highbrow argument for racial purity in the nation state” ... “campus gynocentrists” unfairly accuse “the majority of male students with complicity in rape and sexual violence”...LGBTQ...race...multiculturalism...Islam....
Menashi joined the Trump administration as acting general counsel in Betsy DeVos’ Department of Education....rolled back protections for students who are disabled, LGBTQ, racial minorities, and sexual assault survivors. The New York Times also reported on Wednesday that Menashi devised a plan “to use private Social Security data to deny debt relief to thousands of students cheated by their for-profit colleges.” A federal judge later halted the scheme, ruling that it violated federal privacy laws. In 2018, Menashi moved to the White House to serve as a legal adviser; in that role, he helped Stephen Miller implement Trump’s crackdowns on immigration and asylum.
During Menashi’s confirmation hearing in September...he refused to answer questions about pretty much anything. Menashi would not say who he worked with in the administration or what he worked on...
Menashi’s nomination now goes to the Senate floor. Presuming all Democrats vote against him—a pretty safe bet—he is set to win confirmation unless three more Republicans join Democrats in opposition. If Menashi is confirmed, Trump will have flipped the court, creating a majority of judges appointed by GOP presidents.
Several cases of immense importance to the president are currently pending before the 2nd Circuit. A three-judge panel for the court recently ruled that New York state prosecutors may compel Trump to turn over his tax returns. It will also soon decide whether to uphold a House subpoena of the Trump family’s financial records. Once conservative judges gain an overall majority, they can overturn any panel decisions that go against Trump and shield him from oversight. It is no surprise, then, that the president and his allies in the Senate are eager to put nominees like Menashi on the 2nd Circuit as soon as possible.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2019/11/menashi-confirmation-second-circuit-...
13margd
Our tax dollars at work. Pork barrel politics live in KY, at least, i.e., spending which is intended to benefit constituents of a politician in return for their political support, either in the form of campaign contributions or votes (wikipedia). A contribution to McConnell challenger Amy McGrath given price non-Kentuckians pay in unqualified judges*, pork, Trump-enabling, Senate-blocking and a thousand other ways for KY's choice in senators...
McConnell flexes reelection muscle with $1B gift for Kentucky
Alexander Bolton - 12/25/19
McConnell, who is running for his seventh Senate term next year, flexed his political muscle to secure $914.2 million in direct spending for Kentucky in the two year-end omnibus spending bills. The windfall will likely boost his political standing at home in the face of a well-financed Democratic opponent and his perennially low approval ratings.
McConnell touted his spending and tax-relief accomplishments at a press conference in Louisville, and drew a sharp contrast with his Democratic opponent, Amy McGrath, a retired Marine Corps fighter pilot who raised nearly $11 million in the third quarter this year for the 2020 race.
Noting that he’s the only top congressional leader who isn’t from California or New York, McConnell emphasized he was one of four people in the room making final decisions about specifics on the year-end spending and tax deals.
The GOP leader argued that his presence at the high-level talks gave Kentucky “an advantage to punch above its weight.”
“I saw a commercial from my likely opponent indicating that I was all that was wrong with Washington. So I have a question for her here as we go into the new year: In what way would Kentucky have been better off without any of these items that I put in the year-end spending bill?”
...“I was directly responsible — directly responsible — for these items”
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/475831-mcconnell-flexes-reelection-muscle-wi...
____________________________________________________________________________________
*
Senate Confirms Another Trump Court Pick Rated ‘Not Qualified’ To Serve
Justin Walker, 37, lacks the experience to be a lifetime federal judge, says the American Bar Association. Republicans voted for him anyway.
Jennifer Bendery | 10/24/2019
WASHINGTON ― Senate Republicans voted Thursday to confirm Justin Walker to a lifetime seat on a federal court, despite the fact that he earned a rare and embarrassing “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association.
Every Republican present voted to put Walker, 37, onto the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Every Democrat present voted no. The full vote tally is here...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/justin-walker-not-qualified-federal-judge-senate-...
(Prediction: many more impeachments down the road--of unqualified judges, acting badly...)
McConnell flexes reelection muscle with $1B gift for Kentucky
Alexander Bolton - 12/25/19
McConnell, who is running for his seventh Senate term next year, flexed his political muscle to secure $914.2 million in direct spending for Kentucky in the two year-end omnibus spending bills. The windfall will likely boost his political standing at home in the face of a well-financed Democratic opponent and his perennially low approval ratings.
McConnell touted his spending and tax-relief accomplishments at a press conference in Louisville, and drew a sharp contrast with his Democratic opponent, Amy McGrath, a retired Marine Corps fighter pilot who raised nearly $11 million in the third quarter this year for the 2020 race.
Noting that he’s the only top congressional leader who isn’t from California or New York, McConnell emphasized he was one of four people in the room making final decisions about specifics on the year-end spending and tax deals.
The GOP leader argued that his presence at the high-level talks gave Kentucky “an advantage to punch above its weight.”
“I saw a commercial from my likely opponent indicating that I was all that was wrong with Washington. So I have a question for her here as we go into the new year: In what way would Kentucky have been better off without any of these items that I put in the year-end spending bill?”
...“I was directly responsible — directly responsible — for these items”
https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/475831-mcconnell-flexes-reelection-muscle-wi...
____________________________________________________________________________________
*
Senate Confirms Another Trump Court Pick Rated ‘Not Qualified’ To Serve
Justin Walker, 37, lacks the experience to be a lifetime federal judge, says the American Bar Association. Republicans voted for him anyway.
Jennifer Bendery | 10/24/2019
WASHINGTON ― Senate Republicans voted Thursday to confirm Justin Walker to a lifetime seat on a federal court, despite the fact that he earned a rare and embarrassing “not qualified” rating from the American Bar Association.
Every Republican present voted to put Walker, 37, onto the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Kentucky. Every Democrat present voted no. The full vote tally is here...
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/justin-walker-not-qualified-federal-judge-senate-...
(Prediction: many more impeachments down the road--of unqualified judges, acting badly...)
14LolaWalser
McConnell's defeat would be a billion times sweeter than Trumpo's. The latter is an idjit who blundered into a position. The former is a cool and collected engineer of loathsomeness.
15Doug1943
Iriley re Russia.I think you're right. A lot of people on the Right, so far as I can tell, would also agree with you. There ought to be a way to put this cross-party consensus into effect.
16margd
How Mitch McConnell Became Trump’s Enabler-in-Chief
The Senate Majority Leader’s refusal to rein in the President is looking riskier than ever.
Jane Mayer | April 12, 2020
...some critics argue that McConnell bears a singular responsibility for the country’s predicament. They say that he knew from the start that Trump was unequipped to lead in a crisis, but, because the President was beloved by the Republican base, McConnell protected him. He even went so far as to prohibit witnesses at the impeachment trial, thus guaranteeing that the President would remain in office. David Hawpe, the former editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal, said of McConnell, “There are a lot of people disappointed in him. He could have mobilized the Senate. But the Republican Party changed underneath him, and he wanted to remain in power.”
...Bill Kristol, a formerly stalwart conservative who has become a leading Trump critic, describes McConnell as “a pretty conventional Republican who just decided to go along and get what he could out of Trump.” Under McConnell’s leadership, the Senate, far from providing a check on the executive branch, has acted as an accelerant. “Demagogues like Trump, if they can get elected, can’t really govern unless they have people like McConnell,” Kristol said. McConnell has stayed largely silent about the President’s lies and inflammatory public remarks, and has propped up the Administration with legislative and judicial victories. McConnell has also brought along the Party’s financial backers. “There’s been too much focus on the base, and not enough on business leaders, big donors, and the Wall Street Journal editorial page,” Kristol said, adding, “The Trump base would be there anyway, but the élites might have rebelled if not for McConnell. He could have fundamentally disrupted Trump’s control, but instead McConnell has kept the trains running.”
...Although the two men almost always support each other in public, several members of McConnell’s innermost circle told me that in private things are quite different. They say that behind Trump’s back McConnell has called the President “nuts,” and made clear that he considers himself smarter than Trump, and that he “can’t stand him.” (A spokesman for McConnell, who declined to be interviewed, denies this.) According to one such acquaintance, McConnell said that Trump resembles a politician he loathes: Roy Moore, the demagogic former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, whose 2017 campaign for an open U.S. Senate seat was upended by allegations that he’d preyed on teen-age girls. (Moore denies them.) “They’re so much alike,” McConnell told the acquaintance.
...In McConnell’s reëlection race against McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, he has been trying to make Trump his virtual running mate. And now that McConnell has helped eliminate nearly all meaningful spending restraints, he can count on practically unlimited funds from billionaire donors. His campaign has already raised $25.6 million, although McGrath has raised even more. Matt Jones, a popular sports-radio host and the co-author of “Mitch, Please!,” a scathing book about McConnell, said, “The quickest way for him to be beaten is to turn on Trump.” Jones told me that he and his co-author had interviewed people in every one of Kentucky’s hundred and twenty counties, and had found only one, an elderly farmer, who was a big McConnell fan. “McConnell’s hated here,” he told me. “And Trump is loved. He has no choice but to kiss Trump’s ring.”
Until recently, McConnell’s enabling of Trump has worked well for him, if not for the country. But it has now made him complicit in a crisis whose end is nowhere in sight. As the consequences of the Trump Presidency become lethally clear, his deal looks costlier every day. The trusted Cook Political Report recently downgraded the chances that Republicans would hold their Senate majority to a fifty-fifty tossup, after conservative strategists reported widespread alarm over Trump’s handling of the pandemic.
Rick Wilson, the former Republican consultant, holds out faint hope that, if McConnell and Trump are both reëlected, McConnell will finally stand up to the President. McConnell would be in his seventh, and likely last, Senate term. He’s had triple-bypass heart surgery, and acquaintances say that his hearing is poor; last summer, he fell and fractured his shoulder. For the first time in his political career, he might no longer feel he has to act purely out of self-interest. “He could lead the resistance, and blow up the train tracks,” Wilson said.
Dick Durbin has no such illusions. “I’ve seen how this movie ends too many times,” he said, of McConnell and Trump. “They need each other too much.”
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/20/how-mitch-mcconnell-became-trumps-...
The Senate Majority Leader’s refusal to rein in the President is looking riskier than ever.
Jane Mayer | April 12, 2020
...some critics argue that McConnell bears a singular responsibility for the country’s predicament. They say that he knew from the start that Trump was unequipped to lead in a crisis, but, because the President was beloved by the Republican base, McConnell protected him. He even went so far as to prohibit witnesses at the impeachment trial, thus guaranteeing that the President would remain in office. David Hawpe, the former editor of the Louisville Courier-Journal, said of McConnell, “There are a lot of people disappointed in him. He could have mobilized the Senate. But the Republican Party changed underneath him, and he wanted to remain in power.”
...Bill Kristol, a formerly stalwart conservative who has become a leading Trump critic, describes McConnell as “a pretty conventional Republican who just decided to go along and get what he could out of Trump.” Under McConnell’s leadership, the Senate, far from providing a check on the executive branch, has acted as an accelerant. “Demagogues like Trump, if they can get elected, can’t really govern unless they have people like McConnell,” Kristol said. McConnell has stayed largely silent about the President’s lies and inflammatory public remarks, and has propped up the Administration with legislative and judicial victories. McConnell has also brought along the Party’s financial backers. “There’s been too much focus on the base, and not enough on business leaders, big donors, and the Wall Street Journal editorial page,” Kristol said, adding, “The Trump base would be there anyway, but the élites might have rebelled if not for McConnell. He could have fundamentally disrupted Trump’s control, but instead McConnell has kept the trains running.”
...Although the two men almost always support each other in public, several members of McConnell’s innermost circle told me that in private things are quite different. They say that behind Trump’s back McConnell has called the President “nuts,” and made clear that he considers himself smarter than Trump, and that he “can’t stand him.” (A spokesman for McConnell, who declined to be interviewed, denies this.) According to one such acquaintance, McConnell said that Trump resembles a politician he loathes: Roy Moore, the demagogic former chief justice of the Alabama Supreme Court, whose 2017 campaign for an open U.S. Senate seat was upended by allegations that he’d preyed on teen-age girls. (Moore denies them.) “They’re so much alike,” McConnell told the acquaintance.
...In McConnell’s reëlection race against McGrath, a former Marine fighter pilot, he has been trying to make Trump his virtual running mate. And now that McConnell has helped eliminate nearly all meaningful spending restraints, he can count on practically unlimited funds from billionaire donors. His campaign has already raised $25.6 million, although McGrath has raised even more. Matt Jones, a popular sports-radio host and the co-author of “Mitch, Please!,” a scathing book about McConnell, said, “The quickest way for him to be beaten is to turn on Trump.” Jones told me that he and his co-author had interviewed people in every one of Kentucky’s hundred and twenty counties, and had found only one, an elderly farmer, who was a big McConnell fan. “McConnell’s hated here,” he told me. “And Trump is loved. He has no choice but to kiss Trump’s ring.”
Until recently, McConnell’s enabling of Trump has worked well for him, if not for the country. But it has now made him complicit in a crisis whose end is nowhere in sight. As the consequences of the Trump Presidency become lethally clear, his deal looks costlier every day. The trusted Cook Political Report recently downgraded the chances that Republicans would hold their Senate majority to a fifty-fifty tossup, after conservative strategists reported widespread alarm over Trump’s handling of the pandemic.
Rick Wilson, the former Republican consultant, holds out faint hope that, if McConnell and Trump are both reëlected, McConnell will finally stand up to the President. McConnell would be in his seventh, and likely last, Senate term. He’s had triple-bypass heart surgery, and acquaintances say that his hearing is poor; last summer, he fell and fractured his shoulder. For the first time in his political career, he might no longer feel he has to act purely out of self-interest. “He could lead the resistance, and blow up the train tracks,” Wilson said.
Dick Durbin has no such illusions. “I’ve seen how this movie ends too many times,” he said, of McConnell and Trump. “They need each other too much.”
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/04/20/how-mitch-mcconnell-became-trumps-...
17margd
Pantomath @pantomath__ | 9:02 AM · May 25, 2020:
My inner Voice. Retweet it.
#MitchMcConnell
2:20 ( https://twitter.com/pantomath__/status/1264904681844871181 )
My inner Voice. Retweet it.
#MitchMcConnell
2:20 ( https://twitter.com/pantomath__/status/1264904681844871181 )
18lriley
'If you think about why Kentuckians voted for Trump, they wanted to drain the swamp, and Trump said he was going to do that. Trump promised to bring jobs back, he promised to lower drug prices for so many Kentuckians. And that is very important.
And you know what? Who stops him along the way? Who stops the President from doing these things? Mitch McConnell.'
This is a quote from July 2019---and this is the problem with Amy McGrath because that is her quote. Sure, if you're from Kentucky vote for McGrath but keep in mind she is probably not going to be good. I mean this is an argument that she's made that McConnell hasn't done enough for Trump and she has in mind just to be another corporate center right democrat. If I were a Kentuckian I would vote for her to get rid of McConnell but I wouldn't give her a fucking dime.
And you know what? Who stops him along the way? Who stops the President from doing these things? Mitch McConnell.'
This is a quote from July 2019---and this is the problem with Amy McGrath because that is her quote. Sure, if you're from Kentucky vote for McGrath but keep in mind she is probably not going to be good. I mean this is an argument that she's made that McConnell hasn't done enough for Trump and she has in mind just to be another corporate center right democrat. If I were a Kentuckian I would vote for her to get rid of McConnell but I wouldn't give her a fucking dime.
19margd
The Lincoln Project @ProjectLincoln | 7:04 AM · May 28, 2020:
After 35 years, Kentuckians are still waiting for the kinds of opportunities #RichMitch has worked so hard to give himself.
1:00 ( https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1265962113765384193 )
This ad is on TV and digital media in @senatemajldr’s home state TODAY.
Pitch in now to help: https://secure.anedot.com/the-lincoln-project/c8b601979b74821cf9397
After 35 years, Kentuckians are still waiting for the kinds of opportunities #RichMitch has worked so hard to give himself.
1:00 ( https://twitter.com/ProjectLincoln/status/1265962113765384193 )
This ad is on TV and digital media in @senatemajldr’s home state TODAY.
Pitch in now to help: https://secure.anedot.com/the-lincoln-project/c8b601979b74821cf9397
20margd
“Keep Me As The Majority Leader, The Firewall Against Disaster” Mitch McConnell (R-KY) Warns Democrats Want To Change The Filibuster, Pack Courts
Published on Sep 17, 2020 / Fox News Radio
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke with Fox News Radio's Guy Benson about the ongoing battle for COVID relief on capitol hill. Leader McConnell also warned that senate Democrats want to pack the courts, change the filibuster & overtax and over regulate the economy should they get into the majority next year.
McConnell said, "Every single Democratic Senate challenger is committed to getting rid of the filibuster. What does that mean to the American people? They want to turn the Senate into the House so things can be done quickly with simple majorities. And here's what they're going to do. After they change the filibuster, they're going to admit the district as a state. They're going to admit Puerto Rico as a state. That's four new Democratic senators in perpetuity. And once they get a hammerlock on the Senate they're going to then pack the Supreme Court, the Circuit Courts and the Districts Courts by creating new vacancies, filling them with judicial activists. And then they'll do what they always do, turn to the economy and overtax and over-regulate -- and even if the public reacts two years later, a lot of damage will be done. The way to make sure that doesn't happen is to keep me as the majority leader, the firewall against disaster. If I'm the majority leader, we're not going to have two new states, we're not going to pack the courts, and we're going to do everything we can to prevent them from completely reversing the Tax Reform Act of 2017."...
https://radionb.com/news/fox-news-radio/article97536/%E2%80%9Ckeep-me-majority-l...
Published on Sep 17, 2020 / Fox News Radio
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) spoke with Fox News Radio's Guy Benson about the ongoing battle for COVID relief on capitol hill. Leader McConnell also warned that senate Democrats want to pack the courts, change the filibuster & overtax and over regulate the economy should they get into the majority next year.
McConnell said, "Every single Democratic Senate challenger is committed to getting rid of the filibuster. What does that mean to the American people? They want to turn the Senate into the House so things can be done quickly with simple majorities. And here's what they're going to do. After they change the filibuster, they're going to admit the district as a state. They're going to admit Puerto Rico as a state. That's four new Democratic senators in perpetuity. And once they get a hammerlock on the Senate they're going to then pack the Supreme Court, the Circuit Courts and the Districts Courts by creating new vacancies, filling them with judicial activists. And then they'll do what they always do, turn to the economy and overtax and over-regulate -- and even if the public reacts two years later, a lot of damage will be done. The way to make sure that doesn't happen is to keep me as the majority leader, the firewall against disaster. If I'm the majority leader, we're not going to have two new states, we're not going to pack the courts, and we're going to do everything we can to prevent them from completely reversing the Tax Reform Act of 2017."...
https://radionb.com/news/fox-news-radio/article97536/%E2%80%9Ckeep-me-majority-l...
21kiparsky
>20 margd: Intriguing that he's actually making prevention of democracy a key element of pitch.
Taxation without what now?
Taxation without what now?
22margd
Mitch McConnell just adjourned the Senate until November 9, ending the prospect of additional coronavirus relief until after the election
Tyler Sonnemaker • October 26, 2020
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has adjourned the Senate until November 9.
The move ends the prospect of an additional coronavirus stimulus deal being reached before Election Day.
Democrats and Republicans have been at odds over the terms of a deal, with Senate Democrats last week blocking a "skinny" $500 million bill re-proposed by Republicans.
The two parties also battled over the process leading up to Amy Coney Barrett's (52-48) confirmation to the Supreme Court, which was the Senate's last major order of business on Monday before adjourning...
https://news.yahoo.com/mitch-mcconnell-just-adjourned-senate-033913619.html
Tyler Sonnemaker • October 26, 2020
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has adjourned the Senate until November 9.
The move ends the prospect of an additional coronavirus stimulus deal being reached before Election Day.
Democrats and Republicans have been at odds over the terms of a deal, with Senate Democrats last week blocking a "skinny" $500 million bill re-proposed by Republicans.
The two parties also battled over the process leading up to Amy Coney Barrett's (52-48) confirmation to the Supreme Court, which was the Senate's last major order of business on Monday before adjourning...
https://news.yahoo.com/mitch-mcconnell-just-adjourned-senate-033913619.html
23Isabel_Collier
Este usuario ha sido eliminado por spam.
24lriley
#21--Mitch is suggesting things I've been suggesting. As far as I'm concerned it's time to in ice hockey terms drop the gloves or fuck you to the republican party time. The republican party has been taking liberties and now it's time for them to pay.
But beyond that there is no reason why D.C. or Puerto Rico should continue to go unrepresented by voting members in the Senate and House. It's pretty much taking the rights away from over 4 million Americans who can be subject---like in the case of the Puerto Rican hurricane a few years back to the whims of congress and a president who basically despises them for being brown and before some yahoo here starts pouting over another racism charge--no Donald a couple years later tried to trade Puerto Rico to Denmark for Greenland.
But beyond that there is no reason why D.C. or Puerto Rico should continue to go unrepresented by voting members in the Senate and House. It's pretty much taking the rights away from over 4 million Americans who can be subject---like in the case of the Puerto Rican hurricane a few years back to the whims of congress and a president who basically despises them for being brown and before some yahoo here starts pouting over another racism charge--no Donald a couple years later tried to trade Puerto Rico to Denmark for Greenland.
25margd
McConnell’s First Act of Sabotage
David Frum | 11/17/2020
The Senate majority leader is rushing to confirm a nominee to the Federal Reserve Board, just in time for her to cause trouble for President-elect Biden.
...The nomination that McConnell has suddenly taken up again is that of Judy Shelton. Shelton’s bid is perched on a knife’s edge, with Republican Senators Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, and Mitt Romney having already announced their opposition. She can’t afford to lose even a single additional vote—and when Arizona’s newly elected Senator Mark Kelly takes his seat in a few weeks, her window of opportunity might close entirely.
...Shelton’s partisan flexibility worries her critics, who are concerned that she might rediscover her affinity for tight money and high interest rates when Joe Biden takes office. And if Republicans retain their majority in the Senate, President-elect Biden will be denied control of fiscal policy. The Senate that voted for Trump’s trillion-dollar deficits will rediscover the importance of balanced budgets under Biden, if the GOP’s behavior during Obama’s presidency is any indication. Monetary policy might be the only tool to accelerate a recovery from the COVID-19 slump during the Biden administration. The Shelton nomination looks like McConnell’s bid to add a pro-recession bias to the Biden-era Fed.
...McConnell is jettisoning the qualified and broadly acceptable nominee (Christopher Waller, the current director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) to accelerate the hyper-partisan and divisive one. And what is most ominous about this maneuver is what it foretells about McConnell’s attitude to the Federal Reserve during the Biden presidency.
As one governor among seven, Shelton could do meaningful, but finite, harm. But right now, there are two vacancies on the board. If Shelton is confirmed, she will be one of six, not one of seven. And what if Republicans preserve their majority in the Senate after 2020, and McConnell then decides to extend to the Fed the same no-nominations-by-Democratic-presidents rule he formerly enforced on the federal courts? Richard Clarida’s term on the board expires in the spring of 2022. Shelton will then be one of five. Powell’s term as Fed chair expires early in 2022. If not renominated as chair, Powell may quit the board altogether. Shelton would then be one of four.
Could McConnell embargo the Fed as he has embargoed the federal courts, with a view of paralyzing monetary policy in order to hurt Democratic chances in the elections of 2022 and 2024? No such thing has ever happened before, but since McConnell gained the leadership of the Senate majority in 2014, it’s been one instance of no-such-thing-has-ever-happened-before after another. For all their many points of friction, McConnell and Trump have had one point of unity: a deep conviction of the non-legitimacy of government by the other party. That conviction was sharpened on the courts. Is it now to be perfected at the Federal Reserve, with the American economy joining American law and justice as McConnell’s hostage?
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/judy-shelton-and-federal-reser...
David Frum | 11/17/2020
The Senate majority leader is rushing to confirm a nominee to the Federal Reserve Board, just in time for her to cause trouble for President-elect Biden.
...The nomination that McConnell has suddenly taken up again is that of Judy Shelton. Shelton’s bid is perched on a knife’s edge, with Republican Senators Lamar Alexander, Susan Collins, and Mitt Romney having already announced their opposition. She can’t afford to lose even a single additional vote—and when Arizona’s newly elected Senator Mark Kelly takes his seat in a few weeks, her window of opportunity might close entirely.
...Shelton’s partisan flexibility worries her critics, who are concerned that she might rediscover her affinity for tight money and high interest rates when Joe Biden takes office. And if Republicans retain their majority in the Senate, President-elect Biden will be denied control of fiscal policy. The Senate that voted for Trump’s trillion-dollar deficits will rediscover the importance of balanced budgets under Biden, if the GOP’s behavior during Obama’s presidency is any indication. Monetary policy might be the only tool to accelerate a recovery from the COVID-19 slump during the Biden administration. The Shelton nomination looks like McConnell’s bid to add a pro-recession bias to the Biden-era Fed.
...McConnell is jettisoning the qualified and broadly acceptable nominee (Christopher Waller, the current director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis) to accelerate the hyper-partisan and divisive one. And what is most ominous about this maneuver is what it foretells about McConnell’s attitude to the Federal Reserve during the Biden presidency.
As one governor among seven, Shelton could do meaningful, but finite, harm. But right now, there are two vacancies on the board. If Shelton is confirmed, she will be one of six, not one of seven. And what if Republicans preserve their majority in the Senate after 2020, and McConnell then decides to extend to the Fed the same no-nominations-by-Democratic-presidents rule he formerly enforced on the federal courts? Richard Clarida’s term on the board expires in the spring of 2022. Shelton will then be one of five. Powell’s term as Fed chair expires early in 2022. If not renominated as chair, Powell may quit the board altogether. Shelton would then be one of four.
Could McConnell embargo the Fed as he has embargoed the federal courts, with a view of paralyzing monetary policy in order to hurt Democratic chances in the elections of 2022 and 2024? No such thing has ever happened before, but since McConnell gained the leadership of the Senate majority in 2014, it’s been one instance of no-such-thing-has-ever-happened-before after another. For all their many points of friction, McConnell and Trump have had one point of unity: a deep conviction of the non-legitimacy of government by the other party. That conviction was sharpened on the courts. Is it now to be perfected at the Federal Reserve, with the American economy joining American law and justice as McConnell’s hostage?
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2020/11/judy-shelton-and-federal-reser...
26kiparsky
>25 margd: First act of sabotage? First? Sabotage is all he's done at least since 2008!
27margd
First act of sabotage against the Biden Administration!
___________________________________________
As senator, not VP:
BREAKING: Kamala Harris will be going to DC today to be the
deciding vote against Judy Shelton’s nomination to the Federal Reserve.
- United for the People @people4kam | 1:23 PM · Nov 17, 2020
---------------------------------------------------------
"Ms. Harris, no."
Image-46 no. 43 yes. ( https://twitter.com/Neil_Irwin/status/1328794019342725122/photo/1 )
- Neil Irwin @Neil_Irwin | 3:15 PM · Nov 17, 2020
___________________________________________
As senator, not VP:
BREAKING: Kamala Harris will be going to DC today to be the
deciding vote against Judy Shelton’s nomination to the Federal Reserve.
- United for the People @people4kam | 1:23 PM · Nov 17, 2020
---------------------------------------------------------
"Ms. Harris, no."
Image-46 no. 43 yes. ( https://twitter.com/Neil_Irwin/status/1328794019342725122/photo/1 )
- Neil Irwin @Neil_Irwin | 3:15 PM · Nov 17, 2020
28margd
His hands were completely bruised the other day--on blood thinners?
Post-polio syndrome?
Andrew C Laufer, Esq (civil rights attorney) @lauferlaw | 6:07 PM · Nov 17, 2020:
Just saw a quick presser McConnell gave on CNN
He does not look good. Pale skin, walks with a slight limp, and has trouble breathing.
Post-polio syndrome?
Andrew C Laufer, Esq (civil rights attorney) @lauferlaw | 6:07 PM · Nov 17, 2020:
Just saw a quick presser McConnell gave on CNN
He does not look good. Pale skin, walks with a slight limp, and has trouble breathing.
29kiparsky
>28 margd: Perhaps McConnell's body is more patriotic than he is, and is doing its best to end his career before he can do any more damage?
30margd
Reminder: a COVID relief bill has been sitting on Mitch McConnell’s desk for 50 days
while millions struggle to keep food on the table.
- Rep. Barbara Lee @RepBarbaraLee |10:12 AM · Nov 20, 2020
while millions struggle to keep food on the table.
- Rep. Barbara Lee @RepBarbaraLee |10:12 AM · Nov 20, 2020
31margd
Don Winslow donwinslow | 6:29 PM · Dec 30, 2020:
NEW VIDEO: #McConnellKillsSickLeave
What kind of a sick pig goes into the #COVID19 relief bill and removes 2 week paid sick leave?
MITCH McCONNELL
He ADDED tax breaks for rich horse owners but REMOVED sick leave.
Poor sick people will be forced to work & spread the virus.
0:48 ( https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1344425360574664705 )
NEW VIDEO: #McConnellKillsSickLeave
What kind of a sick pig goes into the #COVID19 relief bill and removes 2 week paid sick leave?
MITCH McCONNELL
He ADDED tax breaks for rich horse owners but REMOVED sick leave.
Poor sick people will be forced to work & spread the virus.
0:48 ( https://twitter.com/donwinslow/status/1344425360574664705 )
32Limelite
Trump’s Embarrassing Electoral College Hustle
You don't have to be an astute observer to realize that Mitch McConnell has lost control of the Republican caucus. Despite warning the party for weeks (months) not to challenge the Electoral College certification, Republican Senator Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) will go forward with his plan to contest the election results when the Senate meets on January 6th to unseal the Electoral College votes. He is directly flouting Mitch McConnell.
By the date the chambers meet in joint session, the future of the Senate should be known and Haley's future in the remains of any Republican Party, too. Until then, an interesting gamble to watch. Will the nuttier segment of Republican senators join Hawley in making an empty gesture that signals they have nothing to lose? Or, does it hint that he -- and maybe they -- are banking on the Republican Party evolving into a totally owned Trump subsidiary, the GOP existing no more?
You don't have to be an astute observer to realize that Mitch McConnell has lost control of the Republican caucus. Despite warning the party for weeks (months) not to challenge the Electoral College certification, Republican Senator Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) will go forward with his plan to contest the election results when the Senate meets on January 6th to unseal the Electoral College votes. He is directly flouting Mitch McConnell.
"Any challenge to Mr. Biden's electors appears doomed, since upholding the objection takes a majority in both chambers. The Democratic House would use the opportunity to excoriate Mr. Trump a final time on his way out the door, and grown-ups in the Republican Senate are unlikely to play along."Hawley acknowledges his challenge is largely symbolic. So, what's the political sense in it? Trump is a dead lame duck; kissing up to him at this late hour won't help your reelection years from now. The Democratic House holds the power here, and will be joined by any Republican senators as yet not bat shit crazy in upholding the EC decision. So, why incur the wrath of your senate leader for embarrassing him this way -- unless you're convinced that GA will elect two Democratic senators and execute the coup de grâce on Moscow Mitch?
By the date the chambers meet in joint session, the future of the Senate should be known and Haley's future in the remains of any Republican Party, too. Until then, an interesting gamble to watch. Will the nuttier segment of Republican senators join Hawley in making an empty gesture that signals they have nothing to lose? Or, does it hint that he -- and maybe they -- are banking on the Republican Party evolving into a totally owned Trump subsidiary, the GOP existing no more?
33kiparsky
Watching McConnell speaking in the joint session right now... "if this election were overturned by mere allegations from the losing side, our democracy would enter a death spiral"
I have little respect for the man, but he's standing up for the law this one time, and I have to acknowledge that.
EDIT: Having heard his whole spiel, my take is: this is a guy who knows that he's now the minority leader, and is hoping to erase his years of partisan attacks on functioning government.
I have little respect for the man, but he's standing up for the law this one time, and I have to acknowledge that.
EDIT: Having heard his whole spiel, my take is: this is a guy who knows that he's now the minority leader, and is hoping to erase his years of partisan attacks on functioning government.
