It’s a beautiful spring day outside, which means, of course, that I’m inside *screaming*/*pleading*/*begging* for people to start paying attention to down-ballot races this November…
“The Steve Bannon’s of the world, the Trump hardcore base, it is one thing to say these are unorganized people, they’re crazy, whatever. They have become incredibly effective and they will continue to be.”
@lucymcaldwell
on the state of the GOP
#CrossConnection
Don’t see a lot of conservative commentators clamoring about how murderer Kyle Rittenhouse is a high school dropout, was possessing military-grade firearms illegally. Can’t imagine why not since they always let us know about slain black men’s history of speeding tickets. Strange!
Casually asked my husband this morning if he remembers learning square-dancing in school, and he looked at me as if I’m insane. So I guess it was a regional thing?
Were you forced to “do-si-do your partner (and your corner, too)”growing up? If so, where are you from?
I know many of the people who are in Trump’s orbit because once upon a time they were friends and colleagues and I thought they shared my values. They get mad when I speak out against them now—they want me to be polite. Well, I want them to stop subverting American democracy.
Hopeful: Yesterday I heard from multiple Arizona politicos I trust that there’s a *surplus* of well-known, local Republican operatives working both publicly and behind the scenes to defeat Trump there.
Imagine if the version of Mitch McConnell on display on the Senate floor today had bothered to show up on any other day these past four years. Imagine how much destruction could have been avoided if he hadn’t stoked the flames of Trump’s insanity and instead just told the truth.
In SW Florida this week, I saw many, many boats go by proudly flying Trump flags. However you feel about the guy in the White House, have we ever had a time in history where private citizens displayed FLAGS of our elected leader? This seems seriously weird.
The Ohio Secretary of State (R) was asked point blank about Trump wanting all ballots counted by Tuesday night, and he retorted, “That’s not how elections work.” Watching more of the Republican electeds outside the Beltway turn on Trump is really fun, and I hope it sticks.
Trump responds to Harris pick at coronavirus press briefing, calls her "extraordinarily nasty to Kavanaugh…nasty to a level that was just a horrible thing."
Friendly reminder that we can both be decent people w/compassion for fellow man and not be obligated to do phony virtue-signaling of expressing “hopes and prayers” for the monster in the White House whose negligence has caused the deaths of more than 200,000 innocent Americans.
I hope that when this is all over (*god willing*), we don’t forget how truly corrupt, craven and f*cked up a person had to be to work for the Trump Machine in year 2020. No amount of fame, $$$ funneled this way or that way, etc is worth destroying the fabric of our country over.
6/6 Elise Stefanik has turned out to be exactly who I thought she was all those years ago—actually, worse.
@RadioFreeTom
invoked “Tracy Flick” this AM, but I’d argue Tracy Flick is less craven.
Moral of the story: Trust your gut. If someone seems like a monster, she probably is.
Arizona’s been on the road to redemption since 2010, the year of the draconian anti-immigration bill SB1070. We recalled its author Russell Pearce in 2012. We kicked Joe Arpaio to the curb in 2016. We rejected Kelli Ward, then Martha McSally in 2018. Last night, we dumped Trump.
Brad Parscale & I spoke at the same caucus tonight. He talked about going to the Super Bowl, the food on Air Force One is, and the “perks of the job.” I talked about how more Iowa farmers are committing suicide, the ubtebable debt and how Trump has alienated women and minorities.
1/6 Elise Stefanik and I both attended Harvard (she was ahead of me, but many mutual friends). Didn’t know her well at all, but I always had a negative impression of her—my gut told me she was phony and untrustworthy. But people probably thought of us in same vein because we
DeSantis just did it again. Misleading to suggest he was a SEAL. He cannot claim this was accidental or a slip of the tongue when he’s just done it again.
This is officially stolen valor territory. Despicable.
The funniest thing about this whole Texas lawsuit train-wreck will be when SCOTUS dismisses the suit and, in his rage, Donald Trump blames
@KenPaxtonTX
and therefore does not pardon him.
My advice: Stop focusing only on Washington, and start paying attention to those running for office in your own backyard. Get involved in electing pro-choice state lawmakers. After today, these are the legislative bodies that will make or break our reproductive rights.
The Trump campaign ends its reign of terror on our country w/a sparsely attended press conference held at a landscaping business next door to a sex shop.
The way Trump’s followers are now coming after members of the media simply reporting on Coronavirus is truly terrifying. You guys do realize his pandemic-denying hubris could kill you and your loved ones, right?
Monster in the White House coming in HOT with the misinformation this morning. Goodyear communicated to employees a "zero tolerance policy" for "Political Affiliated Slogans or Material." That would include wearing Biden hats too.
Don’t buy GOODYEAR TIRES - They announced a BAN ON MAGA HATS. Get better tires for far less! (This is what the Radical Left Democrats do. Two can play the same game, and we have to start playing it now!).
Hey Meghan, I’m no TV host, but you and I are both from AZ, went to same fancy private school in Phx (PCDS), Ivy League schools, etc. I’ve gotten my 1st dose b/c I’ve volunteered 20 hrs+ so far helping vaccinate the community. Your dad believed in public service—you might try it.
I began my career in conservative politics. I returned to politics in 2019 to work to defeat Trump. Yes, there are things I disagree w/in Biden’s agenda. But the difference b/w now and a year ago is that I don’t wake up every morning fearing America is on the brink of collapse.
I’m still waiting to be bowled over with something shocking from the Fauci email dump.
What’s the big revelation here, exactly? That Dr. Fauci is as squeaky clean as public servants come and that, in the last 18 months, he performed a difficult job with diligence and grace? Ok…
@SarahLongwell25
The Biden camp’s new strategy is positioning Biden as the de facto President—that is, the adult in the room—which should be especially effective given Trump himself is now out of commission.
So many in the last 24h have described Biden’s response as refreshing, “presidential.”
This is a big deal. Rick Snyder is not some wishy-washy Republican. This is the guy who, as Michigan Governor, signed Right-to-Work into law against enormous political pressure to veto. Snyder is choosing country over party, and God willing, more governors like him will follow.
John Bolton did not come to play today:
“At noon, Trump will go from sitting in the most powerful office in the world...to sitting in the pool at Mar-A-Lago.”
Adult trick or treating is so weird. Grown adults (who have no children!) should not don costumes and knock on the doors of other grown adults’ houses, asking for free candy.
There, I said it.
Turning Point USA is promoting “Navajos for Trump,” yet they can’t point to any real-life Navajos for Trump—only billboards like this one paid for by...Turning Point USA. This is pretty gross, especially when you consider how badly Navajo Nation has fared these last few months.
Bewildered by impulse of so many life-long conservatives who oppose Trump to hail Biden as savior. I will enthusiastically vote for Biden in Nov, but not b/c I'm fond of his record or policies. I'll do all I can to elect Biden b/c Trump is an existential threat to our republic.
Seeing people I knew personally use their public platforms to participate in Trump cult stuff like today’s rally will never not be unsettling. I’ve asked myself, “Was the wool pulled over my eyes back then, or have they gone off the deep end?” I think it’s a combination of both.
You know who else was a deployed combat pilot? McSally’s challenger: Mark Kelly. (Also an astronaut, but that’s beside the point.)
The point is that being a fighter pilot has nothing to do with trashing journalists doing their jobs.
The United States makes up less than 5% (1/20th) of global population. There’s absolutely no excuse for our country having 1/4th of the world’s COVID-19 cases & 1/5th of the world’s deaths. The death tally, especially, contradicts the claims that testing has inflated our numbers.
Friendly reminder that today is the winter solstice, which means that every day after this one until June will be a little longer and brighter than the day before.
Isn’t that great news?!
This is a really important piece of data when we're scratching our heads about why Trump's approval rating among Republicans remains so high. That stat means nothing when the pool is shrinking so quickly and dramatically.
Hey, Republican establishment...remember that time you got a bunch of states to cancel their primaries even though there were viable primary challengers, and then after that, your guy tried to get a foreign gov’t to interfere in our election and now will probably be impeached?
Trump claiming he pre-paid tens of millions of dollars of taxes for no reason in the same breath that he is claiming he’s an incredibly shrewd and savvy businessman is... curious.
The clowns at the Arizona audit are looking for bamboo fibers because they claim fraudulent ballots were shipped in from Asia—and you know, all packages from Asia have bamboo residue, right?
If this seems insane to you, it’s because it is.
John Brakey, an official helping oversee the audit of the 2020 Arizona election, says auditors are looking for bamboo fibers because of a baseless accusation that 40K ballots from Asia were smuggled here.
#AzAuditPool
Floored by outpouring of support for Joe. Just now:
“As a conservative Republican, I want 2continue fighting alongside Joe..I saw videos of Joe at IA Caucus. Want to commend him hugely on what he did&what he’s doing. He faced the beast head on. There is not a better man for it.”
This morning, Dr. Fauci told the World Health Organization that President Biden has retracted the Trump administration’s announcement to withdraw from the organization.
5/6 So Elise began her congressional ...well, shall we call it a journey? Things seemed okay—she was the nakedly ambitious narcissist I suspected, but she was saying the right things. But soon the attention for Elise dried up. That’s when Elise really began showing us who she is.
It takes a real talent like Donald Trump to manage to make a dangerous, authoritarian regime like Iran look moderate and reasonable on the world stage.
There are some people who live down the street from where I grew up who are enthusiastic about Halloween decorations, and also, apparently, Donald Trump. Not sure they thought through the optics of this yard display though.
In theme of
@stuartpstevens
' book- all of us who worked w/GOP over the years were complicit in some way, even small. Ex: I recall lobbying a state rep on public-sector union reform in 2010. She insisted I review her binder proving Obama wasn't American. I was quiet, said nothing.
Can’t shake feeling resentful of new mask mandates. I’m vaccinated. My spouse is vaccinated. Vast majority of those in my area are vaccinated. I grasp the threat of new variants—which is why I support vax passports. When will we start doing right by those who’ve done right thing?
3/6 started fundraising for Elise, and unsurprisingly, lots of them called to ask me for help because they assumed I, a conservative, would be happy to support her. I avoided/put them off, never gave her a dime, politely declined to be helpful. It was awkward, but I just had a
GOP pols’ talking points on Marjorie Taylor Greene is that it’s not for them to judge her fitness for office-it’s up to her voters. Weirdly, none of them ever employed this logic when opining on AOC, the Squad, or anyone else they oppose. That’s all you need to know. Disgusting.
4/6 tremendously bad feeling about her. Then she won, our mutual friends were really excited (recall that back then she was the youngest woman ever elected to Congress), and I pretty much forgot the whole thing. When I did think about it, I felt bad for maybe being too harsh.
2/6 were both conservatives (I was a rabble-rousing columnist for The Crimson, ruffled plenty of feathers). When Elise ran for Congress, I was working at the Goldwater Institute, highly engaged in conservative/GOP politics. Unsurprisingly, lots of mutual friends—including Dems—
ATTN AZ VOTERS, the party establishment in our state is trying to cancel the primary to rig the vote for Trump.
Contact AZGOP chair Kelli Ward. Tell her how WRONG it is to deny the will of voters.
Call: (602) 957-7770
Email: kelli.ward
@azgop
.org
SHARE+RETWEET!
JUST IN: National Association of Letter Carriers, a union that boasts nearly 300,000 active and retired postal workers, endorses Joe Biden, warning that the “survival” of USPS is at stake.
Nothing to feel but anger and despair upon learning that the VERY SAME SENATORS perpetrating lies of Ukrainian meddling in our election were BRIEFED by the intelligence community just this fall that the Russians have been perpetrating this conspiracy to pin blame on Ukraine.
Getting annoyed with all these celebs and public figures "volunteering" to be among the first to get the vaccine to "show it's safe." I get it--we need the general public to be bought in--but at some point, the famous people should probably model getting in line w/the rest of us.
“It’s really not about this one day, or this one egregious act. It’s about who Trump is, who he always was and who he always will be. It’s about the complete mismatch between the man and the office he holds.” —
@gtconway3d
writing in WaPo
Every year around this time, CPAC is a special time for each and every one of us who ever had a connection to conservative politics to look ourselves in the mirror and ask, “What the hell were you thinking even being cool with being in the same room as these horrible people?”
I find Joe Biden’s “this is pissing me off, but I’m going to keep my cool” tells—shifting his jaw, taking a deep breath and subtly directing his eyes to the ceiling—very endearing.
When Josh Hawley says Simon & Schuster’s decision to cancel his book deal is a “direct assault on the First Amendment,” what he actually means is it’s unfair that his fancy, lucrative book deal has been canceled. Hawley’s free to seek another publisher—or self-publish on Amazon!
A petition signed by Harvard alumni to remove
@EliseStefanik
from the
@harvardiop
senior advisory committee in light of her actions this week is gaining momentum. Good! I hope the Harvard and IOP powers-that-be listen and act swiftly!
If you’re flummoxed by why RFK Jr has picked Nicole Shanahan, a person no one has ever heard of, to be his VP, understand this: This is purely because she’s the only person capable of self-funding to pay for ballot access that was willing to say yes to him.
ATTN KS VOTERS, the party establishment in your state is trying to cancel the primary to rig the vote for Trump.
Contact KSGOP chair Mike Kuckelman directly. Tell him it’s WRONG to deny the will of voters.
Call: (913) 948-8612
Email: mkuckelman
@ktk
-law.com
SHARE+RETWEET!
Btw 5pm ET Friday & end of Sunday night, the Trump campaign sent more than a dozen messages to supporters with overarching theme: Trump can still win/Stop the steal/Send us $$.
This shouldn’t be dismissed as campaign-side ham-handedness. This is deliberate, deceptive grift.
So far this week, GOP leaders suggested vax passports should be outlawed—including by private businesses—and brainstormed ways to punish companies opposing voter suppression laws.
So the GOP distrusts government, but now also hates private enterprise. What’s the GOP for, again?
On the same weekend that Donald Trump invited the Taliban to Camp David for a secret meeting, Joe Walsh was taking part in a stair-climb in memory of the first responders who died on 9/11.
#BeBrave
#Walsh2020
ATTN NEVADA VOTERS, the party establishment in your state is trying to cancel the primary to rig the vote for Trump.
Contact NVGOP chair Mike McDonald. Tell him how WRONG it is to deny the will of voters.
Call: (702) 586-2000
Email: McDonaldNV
@gmail
.com
SHARE+RETWEET!
Excited to announce I’ve decided to feature an idiom of the week. Here’s the first one:
“Little Marco” [ˈlidl m AH r - k oh]
•A total retreat from previously held principles and refusal to acknowledge reality in the moment of existential threat.
Origin: 2016 GOP primary.
I don't understand his point. Isn't Kasich and Sanders joining forces a sign of the incredible mandate from prominent politicians across the spectrum that Trump must be defeated?
This is DEFINITELY what I signed up for.
A perfect emblem of what the Never Republicans have signed up for
Kasich and Sanders to join forces for a night of unity at Democratic convention via
@politico
Hey, guys, just a reminder that Martha McSally’s presumptive challenger in the general election is
@ShuttleCDRKelly
and I hear he’s accepting donations on his website or something?
I didn’t realize it at the time, but leaving the Republican Party in the summer of 2015—when Donald Trump threw his hat into the ring and it was clear to those paying attention that the writing was on the wall—was among the most liberating things I’ve ever done.
@svdate
If the president or anyone around him knew anything about Christianity, and especially about the traditions of the Episcopal Church, they would’ve known that this would only pave the way for faith leaders to condemn his ridiculous, divisive stunt.
If you can’t understand why it’s not enough to just vote Trump out of office—why we also have to eradicate his enablers in Congress—then consider that none of the latter have spoken out about this today, and tell me if that’s acceptable to you. I’ll wait.
Getting reports that at several precincts across Iowa, including precincts in Urbandale, voters wishing to speak on behalf of Joe Walsh are being turned away/told they may not speak.