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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM

megaeliz Since: Mar, 2017
#277476: Apr 15th 2019 at 4:13:28 PM

Generally, Massachusetts Republicans, like Bill Weld, tend to skew a lot further to the left then the rest of the country, mostly because a hardliner would never stand a chance in a statewide election.

Edited by megaeliz on Apr 15th 2019 at 7:20:11 AM

Rationalinsanity from Halifax, Canada Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
#277477: Apr 15th 2019 at 4:17:22 PM

I'd be amazed if Weld makes so much as a dent in Trump. He'll get pulverized, even in blue states with open primaries.

And that's if state GOP parties even hold a primary, so are considering handing it to Trump without the formalities.

Politics is the skilled use of blunt objects.
Parable Since: Aug, 2009
#277478: Apr 15th 2019 at 4:22:15 PM

At best he can raise a ruckus that Trump will have to respond to instead of targeting Democrats.

sgamer82 Since: Jan, 2001
#277479: Apr 15th 2019 at 4:51:20 PM

So Weld is sort of the Republican equivalent of guys like Manchin?


https://whatthefuckjusthappenedtoday.com/2019/04/15/day-816/

    Day 816: Hateful and inflammatory 
1/ Attorney General William Barr will release a redacted version of Robert Mueller's report to both Congress and the public on Thursday morning. The redactions will cover four categories: secret grand jury details, classified national security and intelligence specifics, material related to ongoing investigations and sections that could defame "peripheral" third parties wrapped up in Mueller's probe. The release comes days after Barr told Congress he believed "spying" on the Trump campaign occurred during the 2016 election. Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee have already authorized the use of a subpoena to compel the Justice Department for the full report without redactions if they do not receive it this week. (New York Times / Washington Post / CNN / Politico / NBC News)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/15/politics/mueller-report-justice-department-plan/index.html

An insiders' guide to the Mueller Report: How experts and political operatives will read the report. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/04/15/mueller-report-release-insiders-guide-226655

2/ The House intelligence committee demanded that Mueller "must" brief them and provide "all materials, regardless of form and classification, obtained or produced" during his 2-year investigation. Chairman Adam Schiff and Ranking Member Devin Nunes requested that Mueller and other senior members of his team brief the committee, in a letter sent March 27th to Barr, FBI Director Chris Wray, and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Nunes has previously dismissed the Mueller report as a "partisan document" that he has no interest in reading. (Daily Beast / Axios / Politico)

https://www.axios.com/adam-schiff-devin-nunes-robert-mueller-house-intelligence-1734448f-e19e-463c-af9a-0c18190463ff.html

3/ Trump's attorneys threatened legal action if an accounting firm complied with a subpoena from the House Oversight and Reform Committee to turn over 10 years of Trump's financial records. Last month, the committee requested that Mazars USA turn over Trump's personal and business finances. In response, Mazars asked for a subpoena before they would comply. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/15/trump-financial-records-1275965

4/ Sarah Sanders claimed that members of Congress aren't "smart enough" to understand Trump's tax returns. Earlier this month, the House Ways and Means Committee formally requested Trump's tax returns from the IRS, setting a hard deadline of April 23 to comply. (CNN / Washington Post)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/14/politics/sarah-sanders-trump-tax-returns-democrats/index.html

There are 10 accountants in this Congress, including two senators and eight House members. Three Democratic members of Congress are also trained as certified public accountants. (CNN)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/14/politics/trump-taxes-accountants-congress/index.html

5/ The White House is considering travel restrictions for nationals of countries with high rates of overstaying visas as part of a broader push to curb immigration. The effort would target nationals primarily from the African nations of Nigeria, Chad, Eritrea, Liberia and Sierra Leone, telling the countries' governments that if overstay rates don't reverse, then future visas could be shorter or harder to get. (Wall Street Journal / Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/15/travel-ban-visa-overstay-1356417

6/ Trump reportedly revived the rejected proposal to send undocumented immigrants into "sanctuary cities" in order to distract from the Mueller report, according to people close to him. After members of his administration dismissed the idea of sending migrants to sanctuary cities, Trump tweeted that he was still considering the plan. Further, Trump has reportedly been "purposefully escalating his language" to rile up his base of supporters and anger political rivals, despite previously claiming that Barr's four-page summary of the Mueller report proved there was "No Collusion, No Obstruction, Complete and Total EXONERATION." (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/14/us/politics/trump-mueller-report.html

Three Democratic House committee chairmen: The Trump administration lacks the legal authority to send undocumented migrants to sanctuary cities. They're calling for documents related to the plan's consideration by early May. (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/democratic-chairmen-demand-trump-admin-documents-sanctuary-city-proposal-n994556

Trump appeared to confirm that a proposal to send immigrants to "Sanctuary Cities and States" was in the works, "subject" to the Department of Homeland Security. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/15/trump-undocumented-immigrants-sanctuary-cities-1276353

House Democrats want Stephen Miller to testify about his role in the plan to release undocumented immigrants into "sanctuary cities," because he "seems to be the boss of everybody on immigration" (Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/powerpost/democrats-take-aim-at-miller-as-questions-persist-about-sanctuary-city-targeting/2019/04/14/61824ef4-5ed5-11e9-9ff2-abc984dc9eec_story.html

7/ Trump tweeted a video of the World Trade Center towers burning interspersed with remarks Rep. Ilhan Omar made about civil rights and Muslims in America. "WE WILL NEVER FORGET!" Trump captioned the video. During a speech at an event hosted by the Council on American-Islamic Relations, Omar said Muslims have "lived with the discomfort of being a second-class citizen" since the Sept. 11 attacks, because "some people did something and that all of us were starting to lose access to our civil liberties." The Minnesota Democrat is one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress. (New York Times / Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/04/13/president-trump-targets-rep-ilhan-omar-with-video-twin-towers-burning/

8/ Omar said she's "experienced an increase in direct threats on my life" since Trump tweeted footage of Sept. 11 accusing her of downplaying the terror attacks. "This is endangering lives," Omar said, charging Trump with encouraging right-wing extremism. "It has to stop." Sarah Sanders, meanwhile, said "it's a good thing the president is calling her out" for her "absolutely abhorrent" comments she made at the event. (CNN / The Guardian / Washington Post / CBS News / ABC News)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/14/politics/ilhan-omar-death-threats/index.html

9/ Nancy Pelosi demanded that Trump delete "his disrespectful and dangerous video" of Omar, claiming his "hateful and inflammatory rhetoric creates real danger." Pelosi added that the U.S. Capitol Police and the House sergeant-at-arms "are conducting a security assessment to safeguard" Omar. "They will continue to monitor and address the threats she faces." (New York Times / Politico / Axios)

https://www.axios.com/pelosi-demands-trump-remove-video-ilhan-omar-033200ff-d89f-4866-88d0-4a0064be535a.html

10/ Trump continued his attacks on Omar on Monday, baselessly claiming that she was "out of control" when she made her alleged "antisemitic, anti-Israel and ungrateful US HATE statements." Trump also criticized Pelosi for coming to Omar's defense, saying she has "lost all control of Congress." Trump flew to Minneapolis to attend an event bordering Omar's congressional district. (Politico / The Guardian)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/15/trump-attacks-ilhan-omar-pelosi-1275357

poll/ 17% of Americans believed their taxes would go down as a result of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act. 40% said they saw no change from the tax bill, while 32% said the bill drove their taxes up. (Politico)

https://www.politico.com/story/2019/04/15/donald-trump-tax-cuts-unpopular-1273469

    Notables 
The Interior Department's inspector general opened an investigation into ethics complaints against the agency's new secretary. David Bernhardt, a former lobbyist for the oil and agribusiness industries, has faced multiple allegations of ethics violations since joining the Trump administration as the Interior Department's deputy secretary in 2017. (New York Times)

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/15/climate/bernhardt-interior-department-ethics-investigation.html

Trump's reelection campaign raised more than $30 million in the first quarter of 2019, bringing Trump's total war chest to just over $40.8 million. The amount is unprecedented for an incumbent president this early into the campaign, and edges out the two top Democratic challengers. The GOP, meanwhile, matched Trump's fundraising abilities by bringing in $45.8 million in the first quarter, the party's best non-election year total. Trump's reelection campaign has set a total fundraising goal of $1 billion for 2020. (Associated Press / NBC News / New York Times / CNN / Axios)

https://apnews.com/38f693eed70940a7a71ad7997f6e56b3

Former Massachusetts governor Bill Weld announced that he will challenge Trump for the 2020 Republican presidential nomination. Weld said he will not run as an Independent if he does not win the Republican nomination. (CNN / Washington Post)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/15/politics/bill-weld-2020-trump/index.html

Pete Buttigieg announced his presidential bid. If elected, Buttigieg, a 37-year-old Rhodes scholar and veteran of the war in Afghanistan, would be the youngest president ever and the first who is openly gay. "It's time to walk away from the politics of the past and toward something totally different," Buttigieg told a crowd at a rally, adding: "Change is coming, ready or not." (New York Times / Washington Post)

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/pete-buttigieg-says-he-can-beat-donald-trump-in-2020/2019/04/14/ea22a7b8-5e5d-11e9-9625-01d48d50ef75_story.html

Trump will award Tiger Woods the Presidential Medal of Freedom, tweeting that he's awarding Woods the honor "because of his incredible Success and Comeback in Sports (Golf) and, more importantly, LIFE." Since 2019, a series of women have said they had affairs with Woods while he was married. (People / Bloomberg / CNN / NBC News)

https://www.cnn.com/2019/04/15/politics/tiger-woods-medal-of-freedom-donald-trump/index.html

Sarah Huckabee Sanders claimed Trump was joking during the 2016 campaign when he said he loved Wiki Leaks. "Look, clearly the president was making a joke during the 2016 campaign," Sanders told Fox News. "Certainly we take this serious." After Julian Assange was arrested last week, Trump claimed that "I know nothing about Wiki Leaks," despite mentioning Wiki Leaks multiple times on the campaign trail and once exclaiming, "I love Wiki Leaks" at a campaign event in October 2016. (NBC News)

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/donald-trump/trump-was-joking-about-loving-wikileaks-sarah-sanders-says-n994296

CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#277480: Apr 15th 2019 at 4:58:03 PM

Bill Weld is going to get steamrollered in the elections, but any money Trump wastes containing him is money he's not spending usefully in his campaign.

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
PushoverMediaCritic I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out. from the Italy of America Since: Jul, 2015 Relationship Status: watch?v=dQw4w9WgXcQ
I'm sorry Tien, but I must go all out.
#277481: Apr 15th 2019 at 5:00:52 PM

As a Jew, it really fucking pisses me off to see Republicans, of all people, using anti-Semitism as a shield to be horribly Islamaphobic. Like these fucking hypocrites haven't said way worse shit about Jews in the past.

AlleyOop Since: Oct, 2010
#277482: Apr 15th 2019 at 6:17:46 PM

Bill Weld is a former card-carrying Libertarian in the sense of being a moderate with socially liberal and fiscally conservative leanings, though more in the vein of classical liberalism than Ayn Rand objectivism. Which is fine, I don't support libertarianism anymore but if there was ever any particular kind of Republican viable enough to view as competitive with the Democrats it'd be one of those.

Ramidel Since: Jan, 2001
#277483: Apr 15th 2019 at 7:49:14 PM

I can think of one case where I might vote Bill Weld: If the alternative's Tulsi Gabbard.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277484: Apr 15th 2019 at 7:50:04 PM

Fortunately that's almost certainly not going to happen.

<knocks on wood>

Disgusted, but not surprised
CrimsonZephyr Would that it were so simple. from Massachusetts Since: Aug, 2010 Relationship Status: It's complicated
Would that it were so simple.
#277485: Apr 15th 2019 at 9:10:01 PM

It's not going to happen. Tulsi has no base of support — what idiot votes for her over Bernie?

"For all those whose cares have been our concern, the work goes on, the cause endures, the hope still lives, and the dream shall never die."
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277486: Apr 15th 2019 at 9:31:03 PM

Aside from the idiots who vote for her in Hawaii to be their Rep., probably none. And even the former might go with Bernie Sanders over her.

Edited by M84 on Apr 16th 2019 at 12:31:14 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#277487: Apr 15th 2019 at 9:37:29 PM

Mitch is more powerful and damaging as a senator, as in the institutional breakdown of our republic, whenever it's completed, will be traced by future historians to his actions. As President, he's limited to an ultimately finite period of high-intensity garbage. As senator, it's a losing battle waiting until he dies.

This.

If Mitch had any ambitions to be President, he would have run a long time ago and had the entire Republican party marching in lockstep like no other candidate has before.

It's never happening. And the reason it's never happening is because he is so much more dangerous right there where he is, orchestrating the destruction of civil liberties from the legislative chamber.

We're seeing right now a judicial coup made possible only by the fact that Mitch runs the Senate Republicans. By blocking Obama from making judicial nominations, Mitch arranged for Trump to lifetime-appoint a great number of Judges to both the Supreme and lesser Courts, ensuring that many of us reading this will reach the natural end of our lives before the Trump Administration's impact on American culture comes to an end.

The fact that we're going to be battling a judicial army hostile to civil liberties for the rest of our natural lives isn't because of Trump. It's not because a bad dude made it to the Presidency. Frankly, a trained chimp could have taken the Presidency and this still would have happened, so long as that chimp sends Mitch the nominees he needs.

It's happening because a bad dude was elected Senator in 1985 and now, five Presidents later, he's still there. And the entire party apparatus marches to the beat of his drum.

There's never going to be a President McConnell. Mitch would never give up so much power and settle for a role of such lesser influence.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Apr 15th 2019 at 10:39:45 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277488: Apr 15th 2019 at 9:42:59 PM

"Do you have any idea how much power I would have to give up to be President?!"

So Mitch is Luthor now?

Disgusted, but not surprised
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#277489: Apr 15th 2019 at 10:15:02 PM

Recall also that the Evil Turtle also isn't an obvious enemy.

We all know how bad Trump is. But a lot of people don't realize that the Evil Turtle is also bad, and quite likely much worse. The cool thing about being the power behind the throne is that people notice the guy sitting in the throne first and foremost.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman
rmctagg09 The Wanderer from Brooklyn, NY (Before Recorded History) Relationship Status: I won't say I'm in love
The Wanderer
#277490: Apr 15th 2019 at 10:17:24 PM

I suppose for the turtle slow and steady really does win the race.

Hugging a Vanillite will give you frostbite.
TobiasDrake (•̀⤙•́) (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Arm chopping is not a love language!
(•̀⤙•́)
#277491: Apr 15th 2019 at 10:17:31 PM

Another cool thing about it is that when the throne changes hands, you're still there. Either prepping the new guy to continue the work you're doing or sharpening the knife, depending.

Edited by TobiasDrake on Apr 15th 2019 at 11:17:57 AM

My Tumblr. Currently side-by-side liveblogging Digimon Adventure, sub vs dub.
Grafite Since: Apr, 2016 Relationship Status: Less than three
#277492: Apr 16th 2019 at 12:31:11 AM

Bernie Sanders did pretty well in Fox News' town hall. The whole audience was in favor of single-payer healthcare, hilarious backfire. This is why I think candidates should be careful in rejecting these events, even one person convinced to back our side helps.

Life is unfair...
M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277493: Apr 16th 2019 at 12:37:12 AM

[up]It's still an uphill and blatantly unfair debate environment. Even worse, it still grants some legitimacy to FOX News.

There's still good reason to be wary of agreeing to show up on what is basically a propaganda network masquerading as a news network.

And there's no guarantee any of those people will actually vote for Sanders over Trump come Election Day. And that's if Sanders even wins the Democratic Party primaries.

Edited by M84 on Apr 17th 2019 at 3:38:41 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Oruka Since: Dec, 2018
#277494: Apr 16th 2019 at 12:44:15 AM

They already are legitimate in their viewers' eyes. The only way those viewers will even hear you is if your voice comes out of that channel.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277495: Apr 16th 2019 at 12:48:14 AM

The concern is that it could convince other people — so-called "undecided voters" — to start watching more FOX News. Unlikely, but it's still a possibility.

Just to watch that town hall for example would mean actually tuning in to watch the FOX News channel. After watching that, one might get the impression that maybe FOX News isn't that bad and that those "liberals" were exaggerating how bad and how biased it is. Then they watch more of it.

The argument that this is the only way to reach FOX News audiences is a flawed one too. Does that mean that Democratic candidates should agree to show up on Infowars to try and reach that audience?

Edited by M84 on Apr 17th 2019 at 3:54:22 AM

Disgusted, but not surprised
Oruka Since: Dec, 2018
#277496: Apr 16th 2019 at 1:46:53 AM

There's few things more satisfying than exposing an evil show host's nonsense on their own turf. But it's a tactical choice.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277497: Apr 16th 2019 at 1:48:12 AM

[up]Oh sure it feels cathartic, but how effective in the long (or even short) term is it really?

Remember that by even showing up on their turf, you're granting them a minor victory. There's a reason it's generally a bad idea to debate with genocide deniers and what not.

Disgusted, but not surprised
Oruka Since: Dec, 2018
#277498: Apr 16th 2019 at 2:17:24 AM

Like I said, tactical. If you're prepared for short, quippy, wrong nonsense and can cut right through the trolling, bad faith, distractions... it can be done.

M84 Oh, bother. from Our little blue planet Since: Jun, 2010 Relationship Status: Chocolate!
Oh, bother.
#277499: Apr 16th 2019 at 2:28:05 AM

Can be done doesn't necessarily mean it's a good idea. It can very easily backfire.

Disgusted, but not surprised
SeptimusHeap from Switzerland (Edited uphill both ways) Relationship Status: Mu
#277500: Apr 16th 2019 at 3:15:29 AM

Intuition only, but I think a positive outcome is much more likely:

  • FOX has already a very large audience and has not much room for expansion. It's not like an obscure YouTube channel where a prominent politician can bring a lot of publicity and attention.
  • A lotf of people who want to see Sanders are already Democrats and unlikely to be swayed by FOX propaganda, and those who watch FOX anyway are likely already swayed.
  • A recent but well documented development in US politics is that people aren't voting mainly for their party but against the other one. See also, all the comments in this thread by tropers who don't like Biden/Bernie/Warren/Harris/O'Rourke/Buttigieg but will vote for them over Trump with little hesitation.
  • By that token, Sanders telling and convincing at least parts of a Republican-leaning audience that he isn't some kind of socialist monster can seriously hurt Trump by reducing the amount of people who will vote Republican. In a two candidate election one vote less for your adversary is mathematically equivalent to one more vote for you.
  • Even if Sanders does not become presidential nominee, Democrats need to fight that "socialist" label as it's quite harmful electorally, and the Evil Turtle is plotting to use the "Democrats are socialists" attack line in 2020.

"For a successful technology, reality must take precedence over public relations, for Nature cannot be fooled." - Richard Feynman

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