Month: February 2020

Undersecretary of Defense is out as purge of those who pushed back on Trump’s Ukraine plot continues

Posted on by Mark Sumner

Multiple sources are reporting that Undersecretary of Defense John Rood has been asked to submit his resignation. CNN says that Rood has “lost support among senior national security leadership,” but there may be a simpler reason for the undersecretary’s departure: Rood was the person who signed off on the Defense Department’s examination of corruption in Ukraine. That review said that Ukraine had met all the goals set forward in legislation to combat corruption and promote democracy and was eligible to receive military funding allocated to it by Congress.

Throughout the impeachment hearings, members of the Defense Department, such as Laura Cooper, testified that investigations of Ukraine had found no reason to withhold military assistance funding. Subsequent letters revealed by filings under the Freedom of Information Act have made it clear that when Donald Trump’s demand to freeze the aid was passed to the Pentagon by officials in the Office of Management and Budget, those officials knew they were breaking the law. And now Rood is the next one to pay the price for being honest when Trump is in charge.

Rood made another mistake when it comes to hanging around Washington in the Age of Trump. Shortly after Trump’s “perfect” call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Rood emailed his boss, Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, to inform him that "placing a hold on security assistance at this time would jeopardize this unique window of opportunity and undermine our defense priorities with a key partner in the strategic competition with Russia."

Rood also made Esper aware that a group of Pentagon officials were meeting to figure out how they could deal with Trump’s demands.

So Rood both:

Validated that Ukraine had met the required commitments to fighting corruption and supporting democracy that were the only test included in the legislation authorizing the military assistance. Made it clear that placing a hold on the assistance was a threat to the national security of both Ukraine and the United States.

That’s not the kind of truth-telling that’s allowed in either the White House or the Pentagon under Trump. During the impeachment proceedings, Republicans in the House and the Senate repeatedly maintained that Trump had the right to place a hold on the assistance for any reason. He doesn’t. And they claimed that the hold did not represent a threat to Ukrainian security. It did.

The purge of Rood from the Pentagon shows that the general housecleaning of anyone who dared to speak the truth during Trump’s impeachment is far from over. 

Daily Kos straw poll: Elizabeth Warren wins a plurality, Sanders and Bloomberg round out top three

Posted on by kos

In the first post-Yang Gang straw poll, we’re finally back to having a clear picture of the Daily Kos community’s presidential preferences. And as of now, Elizabeth Warren is still top dog around these parts. 

    Elizabeth Warren 33

    Bernie Sanders 25

    Mike Bloomberg 13

    Amy Klobuchar 9

    Joe Biden 8

    Pete Buttigieg 7

    Tom Steyer 1

Despite a mediawide effort to erase Warren, she retains the plurality lead among Daily Kos readers (and outsiders urged on in various online forums). The two progressives in the race have 58% of the total, which is in line with results we were seeing last year. The difference? In October, the numbers were Warren 41, Sanders 15. Sanders has been consolidating the left offline, and he’s done that to some extent here online. 

The big surprise, or better said, disappointment, is that Bloomberg would get 13% around these parts—which just happens to be the rate he’s currently getting in the outside world. Turns out, sometimes we’re not just that different from the broader party. 

Trump approval rating hits a high post-impeachment

Posted on by Emily Jacobs
President Trump has again reached his personal best average job approval rating, with 46 percent of Americans approving of his performance as commander-in-chief. Along with his 46 percent approval, 51.1 percent of Americans disapprove of the job he is doing, according to a Real Clear Politics average. Trump has never surpassed 46 percent average approval,...
Posted in Uncategorized

Trump ousts top defense official who certified Ukraine aid

Posted on by Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Trump ousts top defense official who certified Ukraine aidPresident Donald Trump has ousted the Pentagon's top policy official who had certified last year that Ukraine had made enough anti-corruption progress to justify the Trump administration's release of congressionally authorized aid to Kyiv in its conflict against Russian-backed separatists. John Rood resigned Wednesday, saying he was leaving at Trump's request. The Trump administration's delay in releasing the aid to Ukraine was central to the president's impeachment by the House on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.


Posted in Uncategorized

Chris Matthews Frets: If Bernie Wins the Nomination ‘We’ll Lose 49 States’

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

MSNBC host Chris Matthews is sounding the alarm suggesting that if the Democrat party goes all-in on radical socialist, Bernie Sanders, President Trump will wipe the floor with them on Election Day.

In discussing how the other candidates have withheld their fire against Sanders and his radical policies, Matthews predicted the ultimate outcome would be Trump winning 49 of 50 states. Or is it 57, Barack?

“They’re [other candidates] just pandering to the Bernie people and you know what pandering gets you? Nothing,” the MSNBC host complained. “It certainly doesn’t get you respect.”

“They’ve got to get out there and say I disagree with socialism; I believe in the markets; I think he’s wrong,” Matthews continued. “I think you’ll never get it done and this country will never go that direction, by the way we’ll lose forty-nine states.”

Safe to say, Chris has no thrill going up his leg for Bernie’s socialist candidacy.

RELATED: Chris Matthews: Obama’s Presidency ‘Still Thrilling to Me’

Let’s Analyze Those Comments

There is a lot to unpack in Matthews’ comments, not the least of which is how his prediction will probably come true. We’ll get to that in a minute, however.

Let’s begin with how the MSNBC host, who wants to convince viewers that he and his network are not an arm of the Democrat party, framed the comment.

“We’ll lose forty-nine states.”

Why would he consider that a personal loss? A rhetorical question, of course.

Also worth considering, Mr. Matthews, is the possibility that Democrats aren’t exclusively pandering to Bernie’s people. Perhaps they have conformed to the extreme elements of the fringe left and are supportive of his socialist policies and platforms.

It’s not exactly a far-fetched notion for a party that has conformed to Bernie’s acolytes on impeachment hoaxes and theatrics from top to bottom.

RELATED: Chris Matthews Admits the Trump/Russia Collusion Story is Toast

He’s Right

Now back to our initial analysis – that Matthews may very well be right when he says the Democrats will suffer incalculable electoral losses on Election Day.

A new ABC/Washington Post poll shows the socialist curmudgeon dominating the field while more palatable choices amongst party moderates are plummeting.

And while Bernie-mania and his dreams of American socialism are popular amongst the extreme left, it remains extremely unpopular to the rest of America.

A new poll found only 28% of Americans have a favorable view of socialism, while 58% have an unfavorable impression.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) believes Sanders’ name on the Democrat ticket will result in overwhelming losses for the party in November. Perhaps enough that the House could be flipped.

“Bernie Sanders and House Democrats’ socialist agenda will put an end to Nancy Pelosi’s unsuccessful second stint as Speaker,” NRCC Spokesman Michael McAdams said in a statement.

The post Chris Matthews Frets: If Bernie Wins the Nomination ‘We’ll Lose 49 States’ appeared first on The Political Insider.

Top Pentagon policy official who expressed concern about Ukraine aid freeze will reportedly step down

Posted on by Yahoo News - Latest News & Headlines

Top Pentagon policy official who expressed concern about Ukraine aid freeze will reportedly step downThe Pentagon's top policy official is reportedly on his way out.Under Secretary of Defense for Policy at the Pentagon John Rood will reportedly step down from his post — which Bloomberg notes is one of the most important in the Defense Department — two sources familiar with the matter said. Rood apparently lost support among senior national security leadership, and White House officials reportedly considered him an impediment to the Trump administration's defense policies. He has served in the role since 2018.In President Trump's impeachment saga, Rood was the official who initially certified to Congress that Ukraine's reforms justified sending Kyiv $250 million in military aid in May 2019. Subsequently, CNN reported Rood exchanged emails with Defense Secretary Mark Esper on July 25 last year (the same day as Trump's infamous call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky) where Rood expressed concern over the White House's plan to halt the aid.In the email, Rood wrote the freeze "would jeopardize this unique window of opportunity and undermine our defense priorities with a key partner in this strategic competition with Russia."There's no indication the email is the reason behind Rood's forthcoming resignation. Read more at CNN and Bloomberg.More stories from theweek.com How to ensure it's a boy (according to 100-year-old pregnancy guides) Mike Bloomberg is not the lesser of two evils Turkish president says a new military intervention in Syria is 'imminent'


Posted in Uncategorized

Pelosi Admits Thinking About, Then Ripping SOTU Page With Soldier’s Homecoming

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi admitted pausing briefly when she came upon a transcript page in the State of the Union regarding a soldier’s touching homecoming … and shredding it anyway.

Pelosi, in an interview with CNN, described the moment she went unhinged at the conclusion of the SOTU and started ripping pages of the speech given to her by President Trump.

Though video evidence seems to indicate the lead Democrat pre-meditated her actions by inflicting small tears into the pages prior to the meltdown, Pelosi has insisted the historically disrespectful act was spontaneous.

The lone moment, according to the Speaker, where she gave pause, was a page involving one of the more emotional moments during the evening – a soldier’s homecoming.

But she did it anyway!

“My tearing it up had to do with — I thought if I could find a page that doesn’t have a falsehood on it, I’ll spare it, but I couldn’t find that,” Pelosi claimed.

“I almost did when the soldier was coming home, that was so beautiful, but get back to the bottom of the page and there he goes again.”

RELATED: President Trump Cuts Rally Short, Makes Unannounced Trip to Pay Respects to Fallen Soldiers

Soldier’s Homecoming

Earlier this month, Pelosi demanded social media giants Facebook and Twitter remove an ad that transposed her shredding of the SOTU beside several emotional and terrific moments during the President’s speech.

The ad was meant to show the many touching stories Pelosi was disrespecting through her actions – honoring a  Tuskegee airman, a fourth-grade student who received a scholarship to go to a school of her choice, the family of a soldier killed by Iranian terrorist leader Qasem Soleimani, to name a few.

And, of course, the Williams Family from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, who were reunited during the speech with Sergeant First Class Townsend Williams who had been serving on his fourth deployment.

RELATED: Nancy Pelosi Interrupts CNN’s Christiane Amanpour To Claim Trump Was Never Acquitted In Impeachment Trial

She Owes That Family an Apology

Shredding a SOTU transcript because your blind hatred of President Trump motivated you to do so is reprehensible in and of itself.

Admitting you were in such a rage that you were willing to do so with a page that you know involved a touching military homecoming is even worse.

House Republican Whip Steve Scalise slammed Pelosi for her actions at the time and demanded an apology.

“I thought it was disgraceful. It’s unbecoming of a speaker,” Scalise said. “Frankly, Speaker Pelosi should apologize as well, because it’s not the image she should want to portray as the speaker of the House.”

She pre-ripped the page with the soldier’s story. She then saw the same page and noted what was on it at the end of the speech. And she ripped it anyway.

Pelosi owes that family an apology as well. Do you think she’ll ever admit it?

The post Pelosi Admits Thinking About, Then Ripping SOTU Page With Soldier’s Homecoming appeared first on The Political Insider.

Barr isn’t about to quit, he’s not trying to stop Trump, and he’s not concerned about justice

Posted on by Mark Sumner

Attorney General William Barr has been going public this week, expressing his frustration with Donald Trump. Barr is so upset about Trump placing his stubby vulgarian fingers on the scales of justice that he worries that he can’t do his job. He has even thought about quitting.

Don’t you believe it. The manual of the Justice Department says, “The legal judgments of the Department of Justice must be impartial and insulated from political influence. It is imperative that the Department’s investigatory and prosecutorial powers be exercised free from partisan consideration.” But Barr doesn’t believe any of that. He’s not leaving. And he’s not going to stop turning the Department of Justice into a blunt instrument in Trump’s undersized hands.

On Tuesday, The Washington Post reported that Barr had considered resigning in response to Trump’s never-ending tweets about federal judges, prosecutors, and jurors. But on Tuesday night, Barr’s spokesperson made it clear that he wasn’t going anywhere. And no matter how many times the Post quoted “people close” to Trump or Barr about the White House friction over Trump’s Twitter habit, this definitely seems like a moment when it makes more sense to believe what Barr’s spokesperson is saying rather than the media accounts.

The idea that the Department of Justice is supposed to be apolitical and insulated from political decisions isn’t hidden away or just a matter of obscure tradition. That’s the first paragraph of the manual that every member of the department is required to read. That’s what the DOJ is supposed to be—impartial, insulated, free to seek genuine justice rather than be influenced by politics.

All of that is exactly the opposite of what Barr has done from the very moment the Senate blessed his return to the attorney general position. Barr has made it clear, in both words and deeds, that he sees the DOJ as a wholly owned subsidiary of Trumpism, Inc. And he’s not about to back away from using his powers to blunt a blade that cuts deep against Trump’s political opponents.

Since moving his stuff back into the Department of Justice, Barr has:

Butchered the Mueller report, creating a false narrative especially designed to replace the actual results in the media spotlight with claims that Trump had been exonerated. To do this, Barr rewrote the conclusion on collaboration with Russia to disguise more than 100 points of active contact. But Barr’s action on the second half of the report was even more amazing: He took 10 instances of clear obstruction of justice and simply declared them okay, based on nothing more than his own opinion.  Extended the idea that Trump cannot be charged with a crime while in office—an already controversial ruling—to the even more astounding claim that Trump cannot be named in a criminal proceeding or even considered as part of a criminal investigation.  Attempted to hide the intelligence community whistleblower report by issuing a ruling that what the inspector general had determined was a critical issue was not critical at all. Attorneys working for Barr made an unprecedented decision that the whistleblower report did not have to be shared with Congress, despite clear law that said otherwise. That this decision failed to hold was entirely because the inspector general refused to be silent. Pretended during the impeachment proceedings that he was uninvolved in the Ukraine plot, even though he was clearly named by Trump as a conduit between the White House and Ukrainian officials. By refusing to testify before the House, Barr hid any actions he or the DOJ may have taken at Trump’s request … right up until the impeachment was over, when he announced an official pipeline between Trump’s personal attorney and the Department of Justice.  Created a special team lead by Connecticut U.S. Attorney John Durham to seek evidence for conspiracy theories voiced by Trump and Fox News. This has included attempting to get intelligence services in Australia, Italy, and the U.K. to provide information that could be used to attack the FBI and CIA. It has also included specifically seeking support for conspiracy theories meant to harm those Trump sees as enemies—from Hillary Clinton to James Comey to Andrew McCabe—despite a lack of genuine evidence. Created a second special team of hand-selected attorneys specifically to harass and undercut U.S. attorneys involved in cases that “interest Trump.” The latter have been subject to questioning about their loyalties and motives even as their cases have been put through additional review and second-guessed by Barr’s Trumpist hit squad. Directly interfered in the sentencing of Michael Flynn and Roger Stone by withdrawing sentencing suggestions and replacing them with much milder alternatives and by removing the U.S. attorney in charge of the Washington, D.C., office—an attorney who had been a member of Trump’s transition team and who was selected for that role by Trump personally—and replacing her with someone who would ignore career prosecutors and go along with Barr’s interference.

The Post story may claim that Barr “has his limits” when it comes to doing what Trump demands. If that’s so, those limits are yet to be tested. Because Barr is not a believer in a “unitary executive,” where all the departments of the executive branch are the responsibility of the president; he is a monarchist, who sees Trump as the owner of not just the Justice Department, but justice itself.

If he has limits, they won’t be found in the manual of the Department of Justice. Their basis might be found in actions of the Committee of Public Safety … or maybe not.

Morning Digest: GOP legislator threatens an independent run for VA governor if ‘shenanigans’ occur

Posted on by Daily Kos Elections

The Daily Kos Elections Morning Digest is compiled by David Nir, Jeff Singer, Stephen Wolf, Carolyn Fiddler, and Matt Booker, with additional contributions from David Jarman, Steve Singiser, Daniel Donner, James Lambert, David Beard, and Arjun Jaikumar.

Leading Off

● VA-Gov: On Monday, state Sen. Amanda Chase became the first notable Republican to join the 2021 race for governor of Virginia, but she may not be sticking with Team Red. Chase, who has a famously awful relationship with her party's leadership, said that she would "fully run" as an independent if there are "any shenanigans that are pulled" in the nomination contest. No matter what Chase does, though, GOP leaders won't want to see her name on the general election ballot next year.

Chase made news in the spring of 2019 when she swore at and berated a police officer at the state capitol who told her that she couldn't park her car in a secure area. Chase, according to the officer's report, also referred to the state Senate clerk as "Miss Piggy" and angrily demanded, "Do you know who I am?" Chase refused to apologize and posted on Facebook that the report looked like it had been written by "a democrat operative."

Campaign Action

State Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment responded to the incident by putting out a letter praising the Capitol Police and saying the GOP caucus members "share your exasperation." Karl Leonard, who serves as sheriff of Chase's Chesterfield County, also withdrew his support for her re-election campaign after she wouldn't apologize to the officer.

Chase responded to Leonard's snub by backing his independent opponent's unsuccessful campaign and falsely accusing the incumbent of making Chesterfield a "sanctuary city." The Chesterfield County GOP in turn voted to eject her from the party.

Chase was still re-elected to her reliably red seat, but the Senate GOP found itself in the minority. After her Republican colleagues elected Norment as minority leader, though, Chase announced that she'd leave the party caucus in protest.

Chase still remains a Republican, but one without much influence: The senator only serves on one minor committee, and every bill she's sponsored by herself this year has been killed. However, Chase has continued to garner attention by ardently opposing gun safety measures and continuing to bring her pistol into Senate buildings in defiance of new legislative rules prohibiting firearms.

A few other Republicans are also eyeing next year's race to succeed Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam, who is prohibited from seeking a second consecutive term. State Sen. Bill Stanley has expressed interest in running for governor or for attorney general, while the Washington Post writes that businessman Pete Snyder has publicly talked about a potential gubernatorial bid.

Senate

● GA-Sen-B: While there's been plenty of speculation that Donald Trump could back Rep. Doug Collins over appointed Sen. Kelly Loeffler, Collins himself seems pessimistic that he'll be waking up to any endorsement tweets. Speaking to the Georgia Recorder, the congressman said of Trump, "He's not getting in this race," and continued that Trump "respects the senator and her position and he knows me intimately." Collins added, "I respect the fact that he's staying out of it."

● NC-Sen: Faith and Power, a PAC with extensive GOP ties, is spending an additional $500,000 to promote state Sen. Erica Smith ahead of the March 3 Democratic primary. This takes the group's total investment here up to $2.9 million to date.

● TX-Sen: Nonprofit director Cristina Tzintzún Ramirez picked up an endorsement on Tuesday from Rep. Joaquin Castro ahead of the March 3 Democratic primary to take on GOP Sen. John Cornyn.

● WY-Sen: Converse County Commissioner Robert Short announced this week that he'd join the August GOP primary to succeed retiring Sen. Mike Enzi. Short is a self-described "centrist Republican," which is unlikely to be a compelling pitch to GOP voters in this extremely red state.

Former Rep. Cynthia Lummis has been the clear primary frontrunner ever since Rep. Liz Cheney announced last month that she'd stay out of the race, and both Enzi and Sen. John Barrasso endorsed her on Tuesday. The only other notable Republican who has expressed interest in this race in recent months is conservative mega donor Foster Friess, who said this week that he was still considering. Wyoming's filing deadline isn't until late May, so Friess could keep us waiting a while longer.

Gubernatorial

● VT-Gov: On behalf of Vermont Public Radio and Vermont PBS, Braun Research is out with the first poll we've seen of this race, and they have good news for GOP Gov. Phil Scott. The incumbent posts a hefty 52-29 lead in a hypothetical general election match with Lt. Gov. David Zuckerman, a member of the Progressive Party who is also competing for the Democratic nod. Braun also finds Scott leading another Democratic contender, former state education secretary Rebecca Holcombe, by a larger 55-20 spread.

Vermont is a reliably blue state in presidential elections, but it's been more than willing to elect moderate Republican governors. Scott decisively won his 2016 and 2018 races, and Braun gives him a 57-26 favorable rating. Morning Consult also found Scott with a 65-22 job approval score during the final quarter of 2019.

House

● AL-01: Over the last few weeks we've gotten new ads from state Rep. Chris Pringle and Mobile County Commissioner Jerry Carl, who are both competing in the March 3 GOP primary.

Pringle's commercial begins features him building a brick wall in front of what's made to look like Nancy Pelosi's D.C. office as the candidate tells the audience, "Walls protect us from America's enemies, and I have the perfect place for another." After calling Democrats "radical socialists," Pringle engages in some extra McCarthyism by walking off and uttering the word "commies" under his breath.

Carl's considerably more generic ad, by contrast, praises him as a pro-Trump conservative problem solver who opposes abortion and gun safety measures.

● GA-09: GOP activist Ethan Underwood announced this week that he would run for this safely red open seat. Underwood is a former party chair in Forsyth County, which makes up about 8% of this district.

● MA-04: Former state Comptroller Thomas Shack announced on Tuesday that he would join the crowded and expensive September Democratic primary for this reliably blue open seat. Shack was appointed comptroller in 2015 by GOP Gov. Charlie Baker, and he stepped down early last year. (Unlike in many other states, Massachusetts does not elect comptrollers.)

Shack came into conflict with Baker during the last months of his tenure over who would be in charge of designing the computer system that would impact all state agencies. Shack said in 2018 that the administration was "subjecting the apolitical and independent comptroller's office to a political arm of government" and withholding money for security updates and new software.

A number of well-funded candidates are already seeking to succeed Senate candidate Joe Kennedy III in this seat, which includes the Boston suburbs of Brookline and Newton and stretches south to Bristol County on the Rhode Island border. The candidate with the most money at the end of 2019 was City Year co-founder Alan Khazei, who had $663,000 on-hand. Newton City Councilor Jake Auchincloss wasn't too far behind with $554,000 in the bank, while fellow Newton City Councilor Becky Walker Grossman had $318,000 to spend.

Former Alliance for Business Leadership head Jesse Mermell and Dave Cavell, a former senior adviser to Attorney General Maura Healey, had $248,000 and $173,000 on-hand, respectively. Former Wall Street regulator Ihssane Leckey had just $52,000 available while another contender, attorney Ben Sigel, announced after the end of the quarter.

● MI-03: Attorney Nick Colvin announced on Tuesday that he was dropping out of the August Democratic primary to take on independent Rep. Justin Amash because of fundraising challenges. Colvin's decision leaves fellow attorney Hillary Scholten as the only notable Democratic candidate competing for this seat in the Grand Rapids area.

Amash left the GOP in July and while he has not ruled out a bid against Donald Trump, he's said that he plans to seek re-election without a party label this year. While Amash only brought in $150,000 during his first fundraising quarter as an independent, he nearly quadrupled that in the final three months of 2019 by hauling in $592,000. Amash ended the year with $722,000 on-hand, which was more than any of his opponents.

Two notable Republicans are challenging Amash in this 52-42 Trump seat. Army veteran Peter Meijer, who hails from a wealthy family, raised $235,000 and self-funded another $78,000, and he ended December with $557,000 in the bank. State Rep. Lynn Afendoulis was well behind with $101,000 raised and another $11,000 self-funded, and she had $199,000 to spend. Scholten, now has the Democratic side to herself, raised $124,000 and had $207,000 in the bank. Michigan's filing deadline is in April, so there's still a bit of time for this race to take shape no matter what Amash ends up doing.

● TX-02: Attorney Sima Ladjevardian rolled out endorsements this week from Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvia Garcia, who each represent nearby Houston-area seats, for the March 3 Democratic primary to face GOP Rep. Dan Crenshaw.

● TX-11: A new group called Energy Security PAC is up with a TV spot praising the military record of Air Force veteran August Pfluger, who has Donald Trump's endorsement, ahead of the March 3 GOP primary. There is no word on the size of the buy.

Pluger ended 2019 with a massive financial edge over all of his primary foes, but two of them are also getting outside help. Fired Up PAC is spending at least $186,000 on a TV spot promoting Brandon Batch, a former staffer for retiring Rep. Mike Conaway, though we don't have a copy yet. Keep Texas Great, which supports Midland City Councilman J.Ross Lacy, is spending at least $30,000 on a commercial that promotes Lacy as someone who understands West Texas and isn't just "another carbon copy Republican."

● TX-12: The Congressional Leadership Fund is spending a hefty $850,000 on a new TV ad campaign targeting businessmen Chris Putnam, who is challenging veteran Rep. Kay Granger in the March 3 GOP primary.

The CLF's narrator begins by proclaiming that the people spending millions against Granger "spent millions attacking President Trump. They lost. America won." All of that is reference to the extremist Club for Growth, which goes unnamed in this commercial but has been airing ads hitting the incumbent. The Club, which did indeed spend millions to try and deny Trump the 2016 GOP nomination, has refashioned itself since then as an ardently pro-Trump organization, but their intra-party foes don't especially care.

The CLF's ad continues by going after Putnam directly, saying he's "best known for raising property taxes and as a leader of a company that outsourced good paying jobs to Asia instead of hiring Texans." The narrator never actually accuses Putnam of opposing Trump but instead argues, "It's Trump against them. Again. And he's backing Kay Granger." The spot concludes by asking the audience, "Whose side are you on?"

● TX-22: Nonprofit CEO Pierce Bush talks about his famous family’s history in the Houston area in his newest ad and actually refrains from name-dropping Donald Trump.

But in case anyone was worried that Bush had forgotten what animates GOP voters in this day and age, he goes on to claim that “liberals want to rip the American system apart and bring socialism out of the trash heap of history.” In case that was too subtle, the ad also features images of Karl Marx, Lenin, Stalin, Nicolás Maduro, and … Putin? We’re not sure the last time we saw Trump’s BFF used as a villain in a GOP ad, but there he is!

● TX-31: Rep. Marc Veasey, who serves as the regional vice chair for the DCCC, has endorsed Round Rock City Councilor Tammy Young in the crowded Democratic primary to face GOP Rep. John Carter.

Mayoral

● Baltimore, MD Mayor: Incumbent Jack Young recently launched his first commercial ahead of the April Democratic primary, while former U.S. Treasury official Mary Miller also began a $500,000 opening ad buy.

Young, who was elevated to this office last year after Catherine Pugh resigned in disgrace, features a narrator praising him for working to “clean up City Hall.” The spot goes on to laud Young for working to require police to wear body cameras, lower the city’s crime rate, and open city recreation facilities on Saturdays. Young’s team said that the buy was “sizable,” but they did not reveal more.

Miller’s first ad also features her talking about public safety. Miller tells the audience that the police force is understaffed and burdened with outdated technology, and she pledges that Police Commissioner Michael Harrison will have “the resources and support to succeed with his plan, because everyone in Baltimore has a right to be safe.” Her second commercial shows a mother talking about Miller’s work helping her son graduate from school, and the candidate declares that “wherever you live in Baltimore, you deserve a quality education with a path to success.”

Other Races

● Los Angeles County, CA District Attorney: On Tuesday, Sen. Kamala Harris endorsed former San Francisco District Attorney George Gascón's campaign against incumbent Jackie Lacey in the March 3 nonpartisan primary. Gascón was appointed to succeed Harris as SF's top prosecutor after she was elected state attorney general in 2010, and she praised him as a "proven leader" for criminal justice reform.

Former public defender Rachel Rossi is also challenging Lacey from the left next month. If no one takes a majority of the vote, the top-two candidates would compete in the November general election.

Grab Bag

● Where Are They Now?: Donald Trump announced Tuesday that he was commuting the sentence of former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich, a Democrat who has been in prison since 2012. Blagojevich made global headlines in December 2008 after he was arrested on corruption charges, which included trying to sell President-elect Barack Obama's Senate seat.

The Illinois legislature almost unanimously removed him from office the following month, and he was later convicted. (Before he was found guilty, Blago found time to appear on Donald Trump's "The Celebrity Apprentice" show.) Blagojevich was sentenced to 14 years in prison, and had Trump not commuted his sentence, he would not have been eligible for parole for another four years.

Cheers and Jeers: Wednesday

Posted on by Bill in Portland Maine

Cheers and Jeers is a hand-woven weekday post from the great state of Maine.

Back At It

Now that the impeachment trial is behind us, let's check in and see how the newly-restarted judge confirmation conveyor belt is going in the Senate…

“Have you ever tried a case in probate court?”

  “No.”

”Have you ever tried a case in divorce court?”

  “No.”

”Have you ever tried a case in traffic court?”

  “No.”

Continued...

Have you ever been on a basketball court?”

  “No.”

Have you ever courted the farmer’s daughter?

  “No.”

”Have you ever judged a criminal case?”

This court is clearly in recess.

  “No.”

“Have you ever judged a dog show?”

  “No.”

“Have you ever judged the pies at a state fair?”

  “No.”

“How ‘bout a spelling bee?”

  “No.”

“The distance between your car and the curb while parallel parking?”

  “No.”

“Have you ever watched Judge Judy?”

  “No.”

“Have you ever watched Judge Dredd?”

  “No.”

Smoke ‘em if ya got ‘em. We might be here awhile. (But, if anyone’s asking, I think this guy’s prospects look good!)

And now, our feature presentation...

-

Cheers and Jeers for Wednesday, February 19, 2020

Note: News anchor with cold insists on coming in to work and doing telecast as scheduled.  Phlegm at 11.

-

By the Numbers:

7 days!!!

Days 'til Super Tuesday: 13

Days 'til the San Diego Audubon Society's annual Bird Festival: 7

Amount Delta says it's pledging to spend to become the first carbon-neutral airline: $1 billion

Number of new Girl Scout Cookie flavors this year: 1 (Lemon-Ups)

Percent of Girl Scout Cookie sales that are Thin Mints: 25%

Years that U.S. quarters were struck from 90% silver: 1839-1964

Current ocean temperature off the Portland, Maine coast: 39F

-

Mid-week Rapture Index: 182 (including 3 oil supplies and 1 demonic brain portal).  Soul Protection Factor 24 lotion is recommended if you’ll be walking amongst the heathen today.

-

Puppy Pic of the Day: Extroverts v. Introverts

-

CHEERS to stumpin' on the Strip.  The great state of Nevada (please pronounce it correctly or the locals get cranky: "Nivea Cream”) is the site of tonight’s NBC News/MSNBC/Prozac Democratic debate  hosted by Hallie Jackson, Lester Holt, Jon Ralston, Vanessa Hauc and—oh Christ on a Tilt-A-Whirl—Chuck Todd. Propping up the lecterns are:

Him, him, him, her, him and her.

Starting at 9pm ET, the candidates, including El Bloombito, will make their points and get in their shots as the Nevada caucus clock tick-tocks down to T-minus 3 days. Fearless prediction: stupid questions will be asked. What can I say?  I'm Nostradamus's cousin 2,400 times removed.  It's a gift.

CHEERS to fresh dates. Two events you should know about.  First, if you live in the northeast, there's a Daily Kos/C&J Meetup on Saturday, March 28th.  It will be at a fine eatery in the vicinity of the Maine/New Hampshire border (Kittery or Portsmouth), and we'll post more details once we're sure the local cops aren't on to us. In the meantime, if you’re interested in joining us, RSVP my better half Michael at cuckolds04103 [at] gmail.com and he’ll keep you in the loop.

I don’t know how they plan to top Philly. But they will.

Second, and more pressing: the deadline to submit your ideas for panels and/or workshops to be held at this summer's Netroots Nation convention in Denver is just 9 days away. Grand poobah Mary Rickles says the goal is to highlight hot topics in the progressive community by bringing activists, analysts, political leaders and audiences together for 90 minutes of discussion and Q&A. The link for all the panel submission info is here. If you'd like some live assistance, there's a webinar next Tuesday, for which you can register at this link. So there you go. You have been reminded. My job is done here. [Poof!!!] From now on I'm nothing but a disembodied voice in your head.  Just curious: how did you get this lava lamp in here?

JEERS to really bad ideas from really good presidents.  On February 19, 1942, President Roosevelt signed the order that would lead to the"relocation" (read: forced detention) of Japanese Americans and Japanese nationals living here.  How do we know it was a really, really bad decision?  Because nutcase Michelle Malkin thinks it was a really, really good decision.  Case closed.

-

-

Gong!  Gong!!  BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!

This is another edition of The One Word Answer Man.  CNN Style asks: Why do so many Egyptian statues have broken noses?

Clumsiness.

Now back to Cheers and Jeers.

Gong!  Gong!!  BuddaBuddaBudda… GONG!!!

-

-

CHEERS to pissing off the wrong people.  Let's check in and see what the 1,100 members of the Federal Judges Association are currently discussing in their emergency session that was hastily called in response to the alarming Trump-Barr coup against the Judicial Branch:

“Bam! Wham! Whack! Slam! Bam! Thwack! Bam! Bam! Whack! Bam! Wham! Whack! Slam! Bam! Thwack! Bam! Wham! Whack! Slam! Bam! Thwack! Bam! Wham! Whack! Slam! Bam! Thwack! Bam! Whack! Slam! Bam! Thwack! Bam! Wham! Whack! Slam! Bam! Thwack! Bam! Wham! Whack! Slam! Wham! Bam! Thwack! Bam! Wham! Whack! Slam! Bam! Thwack! Bam! Wham! Bam! Whack! Whack! Slam! Bam! Thwack! Bam! Wham! Whack! Slam! Bam! Thwack! Bam!”

We'll post the full transcript as soon as the splintered-gavel-to-English translation comes back from Rosetta Stone.

P.S. The judge presiding over the Roger Stone trial says that today’s sentencing will happen, Barr meddling or no Barr meddling. I recommend throwing the book at him. A 19th-century law book that weighs twenty pounds and is bound with sharp metal hinges. Right in the kisser. Plus jail time.

JEERS to slowpokery. On February 19, 1986, the Senate approved a treaty that said genocide was unacceptable.  What's really amazing is that the treaty was first introduced in 1949...and was signed 37 years after the pact had first been offered up for ratification.  Or, as the Senate calls it: the speed of light.

-

Ten years ago in C&J: February 19, 2010

CHEERS to NASA!  The space agency is thumping its chest with pride this week.  Not only did they release amazing photos from the WISE satellite that reveal the universe is composed mainly of Pop Rocks, but the crew of the Space Shuttle Endeavour installed an observation deck with a 360-degree view (plus they'll finally have a quiet place to toke up).

Holy cow. The view from the ten-year-old ISS observation deck.

And to top it off,  they got to chat with President Obama and some middle school kids.  They'll head home Sunday.  I hope they remembered to get me an International Space Station snow globe from the gift shop.

-

And just one more…

CHEERS to the wisdom of the jbou. The Kossack—one of several of our great orange family who died four years ago, adding extra ugh to the horribleness of 2016—is gone but not forgotten.  C&J promised to revisit his sharp George-Carlin-meets-Stephen-Wright zingers from time to time.  Happily, today is one of those days.  Enjoy these random, timeless thoughts from a mind that fit in perfectly here at the Great Orange Satan:

» Google Earth makes me a bit paranoid so on top of my house I painted a satellite image of a different house.

» When Apple launches the IPhone 7 the commercial is going to be all about how good the phone is at capturing police brutality.

» I can't wait for the stage of capitalism where we have to watch a 15 second advertisement before we remember a memory.

» According to the Bible, the first thing God did was create light. So before that, this creepy motherfucker just hung out alone in the dark.

RIP, jbou.

» We all have cameras and yet no one has snapped a picture of a bird fucking a bee.

» Ben Carson really can bring people together. He made a gunman and a cashier share a knowing eyeroll in a Popeyes chicken.

» You think how great it would be to have a leprechaun and then you get one and all they do is lie around and complain about the spinach dip.

» I thought the  mainstream media couldn't go any lower. Then I turned on the TV and Chris Matthews was talking to Wayne Newton about Donald Trump.

» Inspiration can come from any source! Seek it out wherever you go! Except Walmart. Attempt no inspiration there.

» I'm a little surprised we haven't seen a GOP presidential candidate hold a fundraiser at a book burning.

» What we put into the Universe will always come back to us, so basically none of us can dodge the coming Fart Tidal Wave.

I think Einstein proved that last one mathematically. Sorry I contributed so heartily to your eventual demise, future generations.

Have a happy humpday. Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?

-

Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial

“This has been the greatest abuse of Cheers and Jeers I’ve ever seen at the hands of Bill in Portland Maine who has no sense of decency or understanding of the kiddie pool."

—Joe Biden

-