Category: Democrats

Schumer to put Republicans between a rock and a hard place

Posted on (Updated by Joan McCarter

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer is planning a big change for the body this fall: actual legislative work. Until now, his focus primarily has been on confirming President Joe Biden’s nominees. When the Senate returns from celebrating Independence Day over the next three weeks, the focus will shift to legislative business—not just the must-pass spending bills to keep government open and other necessities, but some bipartisan legislation that should put Democrats on better footing for a tough 2024 battle ahead.

The election map next year is not favorable to Democrats. Schumer’s calculation in setting an ambitious agenda ahead of it seems two-fold: create an opportunity for a Democratic-majority Senate to bank key accomplishments to run on, and force Republicans to decide whether they should block other Republicans’ pet legislation. The strategy has another upside: showcasing just how much the Republican-led House is mired in carrying out Donald Trump’s revenge agenda of impeachment—and impeachment-expunging—nonsense.

Schumer told Politico that there are a “bunch of Republicans” who want to work with Democrats to get their stuff through. “Legislating in the Senate with the rules we have is not easy, right? But if you push ahead, we’re going to get some good things done.” That’s Schumer setting the challenge for Republicans on the filibuster. Either they can give their Republican colleagues actual achievements to run on, even though it also helps Democrats, or they can be like the House Freedom Caucus and shut everything down.

Regulating artificial intelligence is just one example of legislation Schumer is working on with Indiana Republican Sen. Todd Young and Sen. Mike Rounds of South Dakota. Another is a bipartisan effort from the two Montanans, Democrat Jon Tester and Republican Steve Daines. It would open up financial institutions to marijuana-based businesses in states where it’s been legalized. That’s a great one for Schumer to push. Tester is up for reelection in 2024 in red Montana and his colleague Daines is in charge of Republican Senate campaigns for the cycle. That puts Daines in a tricky position.

Republicans are already arguing among themselves over another bill Schumer will bring up, a rail safety effort that Ohio Sens. Republican J.D. Vance and Democrat Sherrod Brown have jointly worked on for the upcoming session. Brown is also up for reelection this cycle. The two teamed up after the catastrophic train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio. The legislation is drawing criticism from other Republicans, including Sen. John Thune of South Dakota, part of Mitch McConnell’s leadership team. He says it’s too heavy on regulation.

Those bills are in addition to the legislation that will take up a good chunk of July and September, including the spending bills that absolutely must pass by the end of September to keep the government open. Expect the House/Senate divide to be dialed up to 10 by then. On top of that, the Senate must pass a reauthorization of the Federal Aviation Administration, where there’s a partisan fight over how many hours pilots must train, and a farm bill to reauthorize Department of Agriculture programs for another five years. That’s going to create another intra-Republican fight as the House tries to severely cut food assistance programs and the Senate Republicans try to get one of their top priority packages through the quagmire.

Getting all these major bills done may or may not happen more easily with a charm offensive to certain Republican senators from Schumer. They’re going to have to weigh a lot of factors: do they give Democrats accomplishments if it helps them, too? Do they allow a bunch of ambitious bipartisan bills to pass, knowing that it will make the House Republicans look even worse when they fail to act? Will they work on winning over non-extremist Republicans in that body to actually pass legislation? We’ll find out soon enough if those so-called moderate Republicans even exist in the first place.

Ultimately, Schumer’s ambitious bipartisan agenda will likely put Senate Republicans in the position of either embracing House Republicans and their revenge agenda or splintering away to pass legislation. The gridlock could also put the filibuster in the spotlight again if Republicans block their own bills. That could help make the case for filibuster reform in 2025 if Democrats keep the majority.

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Raskin says he is halfway through his cancer treatment

Posted on (Updated by Stephen Neukam

Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) is halfway through his treatment for diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with late last year, he said.

“I'm midway through my treatments here,” Raskin said in a video to supporters who signed a note to him through the Progressive Change Campaign Committee. “I've done three of six rounds of chemotherapy, and you guys have completely bolstered my courage and my confidence.”

Raskin announced his diagnosis in December, saying his illness was a “serious but curable form of cancer.”

“Prognosis for most people in my situation is excellent after four months of treatment,” Raskin said in the December statement.

Raskin has continued to work throughout his treatment, and has recently started to don a bandana due to the hair loss from his cancer treatment. Raskin thanked supporters for sending him new headwear.

“I've got my own constitutional preamble bandana,” Raskin said in the video. “I've got flag hats. I've got people's own chemo hats that worked for them, from a place called Alex's Lemonade Stand. I got some bandanas. So my cup runneth over. And of course, a bunch of people sent me my own true blue Democrat mask.”

Raskin has most recently been at the forefront as the lead impeachment manager in former President Trump’s second impeachment and for his role on the House committee that was investigating the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection. 

“Thank you for everything you said about the Jan. 6 committee, thank you for everything you said about the impeachment trial,” Raskin finished. “Thank you for everything you said about us hanging tough for democracy and freedom against all the autocrats and all the theocrats and all the plutocrats of the world, from Putin and Moscow to Trump in Mar-a-Lago, all over the world.”

Undeniably backed by the Democratic Caucus, Hakeem Jeffries calls out Republican ‘craziness’

Posted on by Aysha Qamar

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries is on his way to once again making history with the full backing of Congressional Democrats. In all three roll call votes on Tuesday, Jeffries got 212 votes, at least 9 more than Republican Kevin McCarthy. Jeffries won't cross the vote threshold to grab the Speaker's gavel because Republicans still have an edge overall, but Democrats made it crystal clear that Hakeem Jeffries is the unquestionable leader of the Democratic Caucus. At a press conference on Tuesday, Jeffries showed exactly why Democrats are supporting him in force.

According to NBC News, by securing 212 votes, Hakeem made history as the first Democratic leader to win support from every single member of their caucus since 2007.  Rep. Nancy Pelosi had won unanimous support from her caucus after helping lead the party back into the majority in 2007.

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"We are gonna stay here to get this done. We are unified, and we're all gonna support Hakeem Jeffries for speaker, the lead vote-getter in the last ballot," Rep. Pete Aguilar, the new House Democratic Caucus chair, said of Jeffries’s nomination during the second round of voting.

But while Democrats were unified in voting for Jeffries, Republicans disagreed on who their next leader would be. The House adjourned Tuesday without picking a new speaker since McCarthy failed to win a majority on three ballots. According to CBS News, Tuesday's vote was the first time in 100 years that the House speaker seat remained unfilled after the convening of a new Congress. Additionally, it is also the first time in a century that the Speaker election has needed multiple rounds of voting.

During a speech Tuesday, Jeffries told reporters he is not willing to help Republicans elect a speaker.

“We are looking for a willing partner to solve problems for the American people, not save the Republicans from their dysfunction,” Jeffries said.

House Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries said it was a "sad day for democracy" after Republicans failed to choose a House speaker, preventing Congress from beginning its work. Follow @AP's coverage. https://t.co/RJYG9NzmdS pic.twitter.com/I6mCZyMbEx

— The Associated Press (@AP) January 4, 2023

He also nailed his introduction press conference by calling out the lack of organization Republicans have. He noted that while Democrats are “united, present, ready, willing, and able to get things done on behalf of the American people,” Republicans are dysfunctional.

JEFFRIES: The Republican dysfunction is what it is: Chaos, crisis and confusion, along with craziness. That's sad for the American people. They're going to have to figure out a way out of it. pic.twitter.com/jbwqa62SCR

— JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) January 4, 2023

Of course, while Republicans like McCarthy insisted to reporters that the party is "unified," the reality of the situation is clear.

"This isn't about me," McCarthy said, according to CBS News. "This is about the conference now because the members who are holding out … they want something for their personal selves."

Nevertheless, whatever reason it may be, Republicans seem to be confused now more than ever while Democrats are ready to make moves.

Jeffries comes with substantial leadership experience. He is not only considered the youngest member to serve as chairman of the Democratic Caucus, but was also part of a select group of lawmakers who were impeachment managers during the Senate trial of Donald Trump.

According to CNN, Jeffries is set to become one of the highest-ranking Black politicians in America, as the country makes history with a record number of Black members of Congress.

Rep. Pete Aguilar (D-CA) on GOP gridlock in the House Speaker race: "This is who they are: crisis, confusion, disarray. It's unfortunate that that's what the modern-day House Republican Conference looks like." pic.twitter.com/vmNTzLejFT

— The Recount (@therecount) January 4, 2023

Democrats continue to show the country that they are united and able to get things done, and kudos to House Democrats for making that divide very clear.

Liberal TIME Magazine Redefines ‘Election Denier’ to Protect New Election-Denying Democrat Leader Hakeem Jeffries

Posted on by Remso Martinez

In an attempt to shield Democrats from the “election denier” moniker, TIME Magazine lunged at the opportunity to take one for the team by penning a piece which asserts that new House Democrats leader Hakeem Jeffries has certainly denied the outcomes of elections in the past, but in no way does that make him an election denier.

No, being an “election denier” is exclusively reserved for conservatives and those who contested the voting integrity of the 2020 election – and that election alone.

What sparked this bout of justified, liberal mental gymnastics was a recent tweet from the RNC, which was posted when it was confirmed that far-left Congressman Hakeem Jeffries would be succeeding Rep. Nancy Pelosi as House Democrat Leader.

“BREAKING: Election Denier Hakeem Jeffries was just elected as the new leader of the House Democrats,” the RNC had posted on top of screenshots from as far back as 2018 in which Jeffries repeatedly denies elections.

RELATED: Meet Hakeem Jeffries, the Democrats’ Far-Left Choice to Succeed Pelosi as House Leader

Election Denying Juxtaposition

TIME wrote, “In tweets, news interviews, and House hearings, Jeffries called to question the legitimacy of Trump’s election because of Russia’s attempts to interfere in the 2016 race, and accused Trump of colluding with Russia to win the election.”

They also added that the special council investigation in 2019 “did not find sufficient evidence that Trump or his campaign conspired with Russia.”

Right there, the author Jasmine Aguilera doesn’t deny that Jeffries himself denied that Trump was the lawfully elected president, going as far as to repeatedly call him “illegitimate.” With that fact stated, you’d think it would be hard to make a case that someone isn’t an election denier when you’ve already firmly shown that they have denied election results.

This is where things get stupid.

Aguilera argues that since the 2020 election, the term “election denier” doesn’t just mean someone who denies elections.

No, she states that the “phrase has come to be associated with Republicans who claim the 2020 election was stolen from Trump, assert without evidence there was fraud in 2020 voting, and cast doubt on secure voting systems—claims that lead to the deadly January 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol.”

Well, of course. That’s a fait accompli: the liberal media insists that it is that way, and flood the airwaves with it. Jeffries can’t be an election denier because he’s a Democrat. The term’s definition magically changed and we all have to accept that now.

“Calling Jeffries an ‘election denier’,” she continues, “is misleading and conflates different issues.” No, actually, it isn’t misleading at all.

You don’t get to just go around changing the definitions when they become inconvenient – or in this case, downright embarrassing. This used to be an accepted fact of life, but now, we go by the rules of 1984 where words can change meaning in order to prop up the Party.

Aguilera tries to add emphasis to this point by quoting Rachel Orey, an associate director of the Elections Project at the Bipartisan Policy Center, who had stated that “Casting unfounded doubt on the outcome of an election is irresponsible when either party does it, but I think it’s important to remember that the culture around elections was quite different before 2020.”

Once again, an election denier is a denier of elections, except when Democrats deny elections. Confused? I certainly am, especially with Orey’s assertion that before 2020 things were just magically different.

Am I the only one that remembers four years of Democrats calling for Trump’s impeachment based solely on the debunked Russian collusion hoax?

I’m certainly old enough to remember that Democrats denying the outcomes of elections didn’t start (and sadly won’t end) with Donald Trump.

Democrats – including former Presidents – have denied every single election Republicans have won since the year 2000.

RELATED: Trump and Melania Reportedly ‘Just Sick’ Over January 6 Defendants, Would Issue Pardons

A Democrat Tradition

Denying elections is as much a part of the Democratic Party as slavery and taxpayer funding of abortion. This isn’t ancient history either.

Former Vice President Al Gore, Presidents Jimmy Carter, Joe Biden, Bill Clinton, former Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, and former Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz were all vocal election deniers in 2000, claiming that Republican George W. Bush had stolen the election.

In 2004, Democrats attempted to do the exact same thing again, with Hillary Clinton, Howard Dean, Shiela Jackson Lee and even Democrat nominee John Kerry attempting to paint the 2004 election results as illegitimate. 

And of course, we all know about Democrats denying the 2016 election.

This dangerous attempt by TIME to allow a writer to assert that we can change very basic definitions based on a very open political narrative isn’t just dangerous to public discourse, it’s an outright threat to our democracy.

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It took House GOP just one day to show why Democrats need to bomb-proof everything while they can

Posted on (Updated by Joan McCarter

It’s going exactly how Republicans promised it would if they took the House: vengeance. Nothing but vengeance. Policy agenda? As if.

The first press conference of their majority Thursday, was from the Oversight and Judiciary Committee chairs laying out the number one target for their vendetta. It was all Hunter Biden’s laptop, all the time. A thing that is entirely not real.

On the second day of their majority, Rep. Jim Jordan’s Judiciary committee sent a letter to White House Chief of Staff Ron Klain demanding the testimony of White House staff about the administration’s “misuse of federal criminal and counterterrorism resources to target concerned parents at school board meetings.” Another thing that never happened. All four of the people they are demanding testimony from are women, and some are women of color.

That was just the start. Jordan also sent letters to Justice, the FBI, Departments of Education, and Homeland Security telling them to “anticipate requiring testimony, either in hearings or transcribed interviews” from dozens more officials, many again of whom are people of color and women.

What about inflation? What about gas prices? What about fentanyl? What about violent crime? What about immigration? What about making sure everyone can afford to go to Disneyland?

As if.

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They are not interested in making government work. They won’t try to make government work. Which is why it is imperative that Democrats do all the stuff while they have the majority. That includes figuring out how to put the debt ceiling out of their reach, just for a start. That one’s a necessity.

So is doing the least they can on protecting the next presidential election by pushing the electoral count reforms through. We have some breathing room on that with the great results in some swing state elections, but fixing this is important, particularly now that larger election reforms can’t get done.

It would also be super smart to revive the child tax credit monthly payments from the 2021 COVID-19 relief bill Democrats passed, and generally do do everything they possibly can to help regular people and to make a very big deal out of it—the Democrats’ Christmas Gift to America—to start making the case for 2024.

Which will have to happen the week after next, because they’re already gone until after Thanksgiving. Oh, well. In the meantime, enjoy the Washington Post showing us what a fool Kevin McCarthy is, and relish how his red wave became a pink dribble.

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Pelosi is right: It’s time to usher in a new era of Democratic leadership

Posted on by Kerry Eleveld

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi launched a 1,000 headlines Thursday when she announced she would not seek reelection as Democratic leader in the upcoming Congress.

That declaration alone would have ushered in a new era for House Democrats after two decades under her leadership, but Pelosi also helped clear the decks entirely for a new, younger leadership team to take over. Not only is Pelosi leaving her post, so are her top deputies Reps. Steny Hoyer of Maryland and Jim Clyburn of South Carolina, the number two and number three House Democrats, respectively.

Clyburn's statement celebrating Pelosi's tenure included a nod to the future as he pledged to assist "our new generation of Democratic Leaders which I hope to be Hakeem Jeffries, Katherine Clark, and Pete Aguilar.” Baton passed.

Regardless of whether House Democrats' leadership transition will proceed that cleanly (as it appears to be doing), the Democratic caucus now gets an entirely fresh start to elevate leaders of their choosing. They can take stock of the times, their needs, and elect a team they trust to chart a new course to the future.

True to her brand, Pelosi appears to be making a pitch-perfect exit. From shattering glass ceilings as the first female speaker to becoming an anti-Trump icon, Pelosi demonstrated steely resolve throughout 45's tenure, stewarded President Joe Biden's historic agenda through a razor-thin majority, and will now stick around to mentor an upcoming Democratic class.

Meanwhile House Republicans are already dissolving into utter chaos as they anticipate a majority with roughly the same number of members Pelosi counted during Biden’s highly productive inaugural years.

what a contrast: incoming GOP Speaker (maybe) will have 221 members in his caucus & it's widely acknowledged it will be an unmanageable shit show outgoing Dem Speaker had 221 members and passed so many significant pieces of legislation to improve lives thanks @SpeakerPelosi

— Joe Sudbay (@JoeSudbay) November 17, 2022

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Frankly, Biden, Pelosi, and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York should be enormously proud of their work and buoyed by the results of a midterm nearly everyone had predicted would result in a Democratic drubbing.

Though the outcome fell short of a Democratic sweep, Senate Democrats could still pad their majority while their House counterparts enter the next election cycle already within striking distance of reclaiming the gavel.

Biden, who had been pilloried for his low approvals, never became the drag pundits had ordained him to be. In fact, Biden arguably proved to be a net plus by repeatedly pledging to codify abortion rights while reengaging young voters with student debt cancellation, historic investments in fighting climate change, and moving toward decriminalizing marijuana.

If anything, the midterms strengthened Biden’s argument for running for reelection in 2024. But it's time to consider the possibility that Pelosi has got this right: It's time for a changing of the guard.

Just like his congressional counterparts, Biden outperformed expectations by a lot. He showed up in states where he could be helpful, such as Pennsylvania, while keeping a low profile elsewhere. He ultimately gave the Democratic base lots of reasons to get to the polls. And toward the end of the cycle, Biden closed on a message of GOP extremism, warning voters of the threat the party now poses to democracy and the fact that Republicans planned to cut Social Security and Medicare. In an era that is completely unpredictable and defies historic precedent, Biden navigated the turbulent atmospherics just about right.

And yet the president continues to seem bewildered by an unrecognizable political landscape that constantly cuts against his core and offends his sensibilities.

As The New York Times' Peter Baker wrote just before Election Day:

These are frustrating, even perplexing times for Mr. Biden, who according to confidants had expected the fever of polarizing politics to have broken by now and was surprised that it had not. The presidency he envisioned, one where he presided over a moment of reconciliation, is not the presidency he has gotten. He thought that if he could simply govern well, everything would work out, which in hindsight strikes some around him as shockingly naïve if somewhat endearing.

“In the old days, when I was a United States senator, we’d argue like hell with one another, disagree fundamentally, and go down to the Senate dining room and have lunch together,” Mr. Biden reflected to an audience in San Diego last week. “Because we disagreed on the issues, but we agreed on the notion that the institutions matter.”

“Well, the institutions are under full-blown attack,” he added. “I’m already being told, if they win back the House and Senate, they’re going to impeach me. I don’t know what the hell they’ll impeach me for.”

After the country narrowly escaped Trump's treacherous clutches, it was perhaps soothing to be led by a president so firmly rooted in a bygone era of shared commitments and institutional collegiality. Biden’s mere presence recalls a time when U.S. lawmakers almost universally considered America’s enemies without to be greater threats than its enemies within. And based on the midterm results, Biden clearly rose to the occasion even though it's an occasion that has dismayed him. Looking back over the arc of Biden’s presidential speeches, they were far more aggressive, forceful, and on point than he got credit for.

But as Pelosi noted in her speech, "for everything there is a season."

"Now we must move boldly into the future, grounded by the principles that have propelled us this far and open to fresh possibilities," Pelosi said.

Democrats have always been about moving boldly into the future while Republicans nostalgically cling to the past. A recent PRRI poll found that two-thirds of Republicans agreed with the statement, "Since the 1950's, American culture and way of life has mostly changed for the worse."

PRRI pollster Natalie Jackson called the 1950s question a "key predictor" of a person's support for Donald Trump and/or the Republican Party.

So as Republicans descend into crisis over who is the true leader of the party of yesteryear, perhaps now is a good time to consider which Democrats might emerge to lead the party of tomorrow.

The midterms have served as a proving ground for plenty of breakout Democratic talent that runs the spectrum from unabashedly liberal to battleground tested. Some campaigned in shorts and hoodies while others donned T-shirts emblazoned with the words, "my body, my decision." Taken together with some standouts from the 2020 contest, Democrats have a wealth of barrier-breakers in the making in terms of gender, religion, race, and sexual orientation.

The advantages of incumbency are massive, and there's certainly an argument to be made that Democrats stand a better chance of keeping the White House in 2024 if they stick with a president who is already in it. That’s the case that is ultimately Biden’s to make should he choose to do so.

But in 2024, Democrats could face anyone from the thrice-defeated Trump to a fresher face like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis. Either way, Democrats must live up to being the party of the future. That's what we expect of ourselves, and that's what America needs from us.

One way or the other, Democrats will emerge united to defeat an illiberal anti-democratic GOP that hopes to impose its 1950s values on a 21st century country. But for now, we should be exploring both the best message and best messenger to carry us forward. Biden proved to be that person in 2020, but whether he will reclaim that mantle in 2024 remains to be seen.

How are we going to win the Georgia runoff? By helping nonprofit groups in frontline communities get out the Democratic vote. Chip in $1 today to each of these amazing organizations.

Election Night 2022 was full of surprises—mostly for people pushing the last couple months of traditional media narrative of a "red tsunami." The problem is that Americans are not super into the GOP. Markos and Kerry have been saying the media narrative was wrong for months, and on Tuesday, Daily Kos and The Brief team was validated.

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Nancy Pelosi Hints Attack On Her Husband May Lead to Retirement

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi indicates that the recent brutal hammer attack on her husband in their San Francisco home has her pondering retirement.

Her comments came during her first sit-down interview since the attack, an appearance with CNN’s Anderson Cooper.

“There’s been a lot of discussion about whether you’d retire if Democrats lose the House,” Cooper said, referencing the Democrats’ expected midterm shellacking on Tuesday.

While declining to make an announcement, Pelosi acknowledged, “The decision will be affected about what happened over the last week or two.”

Cooper continued to press: “Will your decision be impacted by the attack in any way?”

“Yes,” she replied.

RELATED: Report: Paul Pelosi’s Hammer-Wielding Attacker Is an Illegal Immigrant

Pelosi Prepping for Retirement?

Ever the master manipulator, Pelosi is already trying to control the narrative following the midterm elections.

Rather than admitting she’s about to be retired due to a Republican red wave, she wants to be able to say that political violence caused by Trump and his supporters forced her to step aside.

Pelosi even said she agrees with President Biden that there is a direct correlation between the hammer attack and January 6th, calling it a “copycatter” event “inflamed by the same misrepresentation.”

“There’s no question. It’s the same thing,” she added.

RELATED: Fox’s Jesse Watters Slams Gavin Newsom After CA Governor Accuses Him of ‘Aiding and Abetting’ Paul Pelosi Attack

She’s an Outstanding Master of Resources

Aside from discussing retirement, Nancy Pelosi went on endlessly rave about why she was allegedly the true target of her husband’s hammer-wielding assailant.

“I’ve been a target for a long time. Because I’m very effective,” she bragged. “I’m a great … master of the legislation.”

“On the political side, I’m an outstanding, shall we say, a master of the resources necessary, intellectual, financial, political to win elections,” Pelosi added.

“So they have to put a stop to me, right, because they know that I’m about having our members succeed.”

Here again, notice the use of the word “they.” Pelosi is attempting to portray the attacker as more than a lone lunatic who broke into their home late at night, and rather, a representative of the pro-Trump movement.

She’s a master alright. A master manipulator.

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Former President Donald Trump has a different term for her.

“I think she’s an animal, too, to tell you the truth,” Trump said at a rally Monday night, after referring to MS-13 gang members as the same.

Trump would go on to point out how the media will run with his ‘animal’ comment and link it to the attack at Casa de Pelosi.

“They’ll say, ‘What a horrible thing. He called Nancy Pelosi an animal,’” he predicted.

Trump was commenting on impeachment efforts led by the House Speaker.

“I will never use the word bullshit again. But what she did to us in this country … ” he lamented.

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Latest Democrat Scare Tactic: Biden Calls DeSantis ‘Trump Incarnate’ At Florida Rally

Posted on by Becky Noble

With the 2022 midterm election just days away, President Joe Biden made a campaign stop in Florida on Tuesday for gubernatorial candidate Charlie Crist. There, he unveiled his latest scare tactic: compare GOP candidates to former President Donald Trump.

Actually it’s more than that – some Republicans are even worse than Trump! Hence Joe Biden calling current Gov. Ron DeSantis “Trump incarnate.”

Biden was stumping for Crist at a Democrat fundraiser in Golden Beach where he said this, “Charlie is running against Donald Trump incarnate. This guy doesn’t fit any of the categories I talked about. The way he deals, the way he denies.”

Biden continued, saying, “The rest of the world is looking at us, Charlie. They’re looking at us. It is really important that a state the size of Florida … comes down on the right side of history.”

RELATED: Nearly Two Open Jobs For Every Unemployed Worker, Data Shows

Republicans Are Nazis… Until They’re Not

In Democrats’ never ending case of self unawareness, Joe Biden also warned the crowd that if elected, Republicans would increase the everyday cost of living for Americans. But if anyone in the crowd has been to the grocery store, they might have figured out that the 40-year high inflation is already happening.

But Joe Biden comparing Ron DeSantis, or any Republican, unfavorably to Trump might be a new and improved version of Democrats comparing Republicans to Hitler and Nazis, until they say something that might be seen as coming around to the Democrats side.

For those who have an attention span longer than five minutes, you may recall George W. Bush was compared to Adolf Hitler on an almost daily basis throughout his presidency. But somehow, that all miraculously evaporated in March of 2017. During an interview with then-“Today” show Matt Lauer, the two were speaking about possible Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.

Bush stated:

“I consider the media to be indispensable to democracy. We need the media to hold people like me to account. Power can be very addictive and it can be corrosive, and it’s important for the media to call to account people who abuse their power. We need all the answers.”

The turnaround was so fast, leftists heads seemed to be on a swivel.

Gavin Newsom declared, “I am typing these words: President George W. Bush is right. Freedom of the press is ‘indispensable to democracy.’” The editor of “ThinkProgress” Jedd Legum said, ”When did George W. Bush become a voice of reason?”

When liberals thought there was an outside chance he might make Donald Trump look bad. That’s when the former “Hitler” became a good guy, compared to “New Hitler” Donald Trump.

Former Vice President Dick Cheney was vilified for his role with Bush in the Iraq war.

But when he cut a campaign ad for daughter Liz’s congressional campaign, where he called Donald Trump a “coward,” he was welcomed on the House floor at an event where Democrats marked the anniversary of the Jan. 6 riot at the Capitol.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi glowingly stated, “We were very honored by his being here.”

RELATED: ‘Trick On Taxpayers’ Outlines Questionable Projects Funded By COVID-19 Relief

Bonus Points If A Republican Hates Trump

Like Dick Cheney, for whom all that needed to be done was to voice contempt for Donald Trump, Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, when he was GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, had implications of racism made against him for simply running against Barack Obama.

But upon his entry into the Senate and almost immediate criticism of Trump, NBC bemoaned the fact that, at the time, Romney was an island unto himself.

The implication is clear – whoever the current top Republican is, that person is the “New Hitler.” 

Then, when the next guy comes along, they become the “New Hitler,” and the old “New Hitler” becomes, actually, just a swell guy and an example of a “good Republican.” 

That’s what Joe Biden is signaling with this “Trump incarnate” jab at Ron DeSantis. 

Sometime in the near future, we could very well see the left and media compare Donald Trump favorably to the latest villain, Ron DeSantis.

Joe Biden was recently in Florida to look at damage left by Hurricane Ian, and praised DeSantis for relief efforts. DeSantis is comfortably leading Crist by 12.3 points and is expected to win reelection.

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Trump Escalates Attacks on Mitch McConnell, Says He Has a ‘Death Wish’ by Supporting Democrat Bills

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Former President Donald Trump raised the temperature of his verbal attacks on Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell claiming the latter’s support of “Democrat-sponsored bills” indicates he has a “death wish.”

Trump declined to point to a specific piece of legislation in a post on his Truth Social media platform, though the timing of the comments comes as McConnell has voiced support for the Electoral Count Act.

The legislation is a direct response to the January 6 riot at the Capitol and Trump’s attempts to overturn the election results in 2020.

“Is McConnell approving all of these Trillions of Dollars worth of Democrat-sponsored Bills, without even the slightest bit of negotiation, because he hates Donald J. Trump, and he knows I am strongly opposed to them?” Trump asked.

“Or is he doing it because he believes in the Fake and Highly Destructive Green New Deal, and is willing to take the Country down with him?

“In any event, either reason is unacceptable,” concluded Trump. “He has a DEATH WISH. Must immediately seek help and advice from his China-loving wife, Coco Chow!”

RELATED: Trump Calls For The Immediate Removal Of Mitch McConnell From GOP Leadership

Who is the Real Danger?

Naturally, the media ran with the “death wish” rhetoric and indicated it was a call to violence against Mitch McConnell.

The hypocrisy is rich, considering that the same media was celebrating the continued harassment of McConnell and his wife when Democrats were actively courting violence against their political opponents when Trump was in office, such as the time Congresswoman Maxine Waters openly encouraged supporters to harass Republicans in public as often and intensely as possible, to name one example.

You may recall that liberal activists left body bags outside the GOP leader’s home in 2020 and he and his wife were accosted by activists in 2018.

 

Now, outlets like the Wall Street Journal are concerned that Trump’s “reckless” rhetoric “courts potential violence.”

I would argue that Trump is not being literal with his comments but rather, speaking about a figurative career and political ‘death wish.’

Trump has consistently been calling on McConnell to be removed from his leadership role “immediately,” saying he is little more than “a pawn for the Democrats.”

 

RELATED: Report: Mitch McConnell Said He’s ‘Done’ With ‘Crazy’ Trump Over Capitol Riot

McConnell Celebrated Trump’s Political Suicide

Trump and McConnell have been feuding for what seems like forever, well before the “death wish” post.

Just last month, as reported by The Political Insider, Trump took to social media to blast McConnell as a “broken down hack politician” and even made remarks about his “crazy wife.”

Earlier in September, Trump described Mitch as an “absolute loser” who has been giving Democrats “everything they want.”

Trump has pressed the GOP to oust McConnell, whom he describes as a “Broken Old Crow,” from leadership.

 

Reports have surfaced of late indicating McConnell was considering a vote to convict Donald Trump in the impeachment trial over his alleged role in the Capitol riot and said he was “done with” the “crazy” former President over the incident.

To that end, the Kentucky Republican also expressed his excitement that Trump had a political ‘death wish’ of his own.

A recently published book alleges Mitch McConnell admitted he was “exhilarated” that Trump had “totally discredited himself” over the Capitol riot.

He also took joy that Trump seemingly had ‘committed political suicide’ at the time.

 

“I feel exhilarated by the fact that this fellow finally, totally discredited himself,” McConnell reportedly said. “He put a gun to his head and pulled the trigger. Couldn’t have happened at a better time.”

I don’t recall the Wall Street Journal or the media at large going apoplectic over McConnell’s remarks.

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The post Trump Escalates Attacks on Mitch McConnell, Says He Has a ‘Death Wish’ by Supporting Democrat Bills appeared first on The Political Insider.

If Democrats do the impossible this November, it could drive a stake through the MAGA-GOP coalition

Posted on (Updated by Kerry Eleveld

In 2020, Democrats fantasized about defeating Donald Trump at the ballot box, retaking the White House, and finally ending the MAGA nightmare that had consumed the country for four years.

The hope was that once Trump had helped surrender both the House and the White House to Democrats, Republican Party leaders would realize that staying politically wed to him was a one-way ticket to Loserville and ditch him.

The reality was both better and worse. Trump lost the White House, then doomed Republicans in two Senate runoffs that handed full control of Congress to Democrats—but he also turned out more than 74 million voters for Republicans. Even as Democrats claimed a trifecta in Washington, Republicans whittled down Democratic control of the House by 13 seats while cementing their grip on state legislatures across the country. Republicans simply couldn't believe so many Americans had voted for them. State party officials were thrilled. And when it came time to cut Trump loose following the Jan. 6 insurrection, GOP congressional leaders demonstrated the valor of a groundhog confronting its own shadow before scampering for cover.

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Fast forward to two months out from the 2022 midterms. After being told they were doomed for the better part of a year, Democrats are now in a competitive race to keep both chambers. On Thursday, Democrats rose to +1.9 points in FiveThirtyEight's generic ballot aggregate—their biggest edge all year. Out of the 38 polls taken in September, just six found a Republican advantage—five of them were from GOP-aligned groups.

As New Democrat Network President Simon Rosenberg noted, every one of the nine polls released this week (as of Thursday) shows movement toward Democrats, including Rasmussen and Fox News.

  • +3 toward Dems: Rasmussen, Fox News
  • +2 toward Dems: NBC News
  • +1 toward Dems: New York Times, Economist, Echelon Insights, Morning Consult, Democracy Corps, Navigator Research

Nothing is assured, but Democrats managing to keep both chambers of Congress is now more plausible than the emergence of the red wave we were assured was coming for most of this year. Perhaps the most likely scenario is a split decision with Democrats keeping the Senate (even though some specific races have been tightening) but losing the House.

Such a scenario would not only entirely stall President Joe Biden's agenda, it would consume the lower chamber with a ridiculous round of wackadoodle partisan exercises, including investigations of Biden, his son Hunter, and absolutely anything else Republican extremists can dream up. The only thing worse than losing the House would be losing the Senate on top of it, forestalling any progress on Biden’s judicial and government nominees for the next two years.

However, Democrats—having finally broken from their defensive crouch after consistently overperforming in this year’s special elections—have just begun to imagine a far sunnier outcome. Just maybe they could keep both chambers, build on Biden’s judicial advances in the Senate, and continue making legislative progress on a host of issues related to economic justice, racial justice, and the safeguarding of our democracy.

Certainly those would be several critical upsides of Democrats prevailing outright in November.

But if Democrats manage to do what we were told was impossible and keep both chambers, the most profound impact could come in the form of dealing a death blow to a Republican coalition that has been overrun by Trumpism—or what Biden refers to as MAGA Republicans.

When so-called establishment Republicans like Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell dislocated their spines during Trump's second impeachment trial, they gambled on the notion that they could keep Trump and his liabilities at arm's length while still benefitting from the slice of new voters he brought into the GOP fold in 2020.

Heading into this year, Republicans were so cocky about their takeover prospects that they declined to even outline an agenda for voters. When McConnell was asked in January about what Republicans planned to do with a congressional majority, he pompously replied, "That is a very good question. And I'll let you know when we take it back.”

McConnell's stunning lack of leadership since Jan. 6 has come back to bite him in the ass, leading to underlings with bloated egos filling the vacuum. Not only did Senate GOP campaign chief Rick Scott promise a Republican majority would raise taxes on 100 million working Americans and sunset Medicare/Social Security, Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina unveiled a national 15-week abortion ban last week that he pledged would get a vote in a GOP-led Senate.

Asked on Fox News Thursday about the heat he has taken from fellow Republicans for giving away the game, Graham responded, “We owe it to the American people to tell them who we are, and here’s who we are as a national party.” Sorry, Mitch.

Meanwhile, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy plans to finally unveil a four-point plan Friday (it's never too late!), which will reportedly echo Scott's themes of slashing Social Security and Medicare, among other things. McConnell has insisted that Republicans will neither raise taxes nor sunset Medicare and Social Security. He has also promised they would never find the 60 votes necessary to pass a national abortion ban. That from the same man who nuked the filibuster on Supreme Court nominations so that he could steal three seats for Republicans under an entirely new regime.

In any case, Republicans in Washington are currently finishing out the final stretch of the campaign season in sloppier, more chaotic form than any party in recent memory. It is the epitome of disarray, mainly because GOP leaders quit leading, gifted their party to Trump, and he has gleefully tied them in knots.

Still, if Democrats manage to keep both chambers, even by the slimmest of margins, that victory would be an epically embarrassing defeat for a party that spent that last nine months fantasizing about the size of the red wave getting ready to wash over the country. In fact, coming up dry could potentially obliterate the coalition establishment Republicans embraced after Jan. 6 when they thought they could have their cake and eat it too.

If establishment Republicans are ever going sever ties with Trump's MAGA base, it will have to be on the heels of a defeat so stunning and agonizing that it leaves them no choice but to embark on the process of rebuilding their party. Losing the House, the Senate, the White House, and a slam-dunk midterm in three consecutive cycles to a pro-democracy coalition of Democrats, independents, and even some Republicans could quite possibly fracture the GOP base, finally severing Republican ties to the anti-democratic MAGA insurgency.

So when you think about the potential upsides of voting this November and getting every single one of your friends, neighbors, and family members to vote, don't just think about Democrats retaining congressional majorities. Instead, imagine crushing the MAGA extremists who seek to end America as we know it.

Let’s crush it in the Senate. Smash and donate! 

Let’s crush it everywhere. Smash and donate!

Since Dobbs, women have registered to vote in unprecedented numbers across the country, and the first person to dig into these stunning trends was TargetSmart CEO Tom Bonier, who's our guest on this week's episode of The Downballot. Bonier explains how his firm gathers data on the electorate; why this surge is likely a leading indicator showing stepped-up enthusiasm among many groups of voters, including women, young people, and people of color; how we know these new registrants disproportionately lean toward Democrats; and what it all might mean for November.

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