From the GREAT STATE OF MAINE…
Energize An Ally Tuesday
A couple House candidates in our spotlight this week. One is running in a special election this fall in North Carolina, and the other just announced a rematch against a real Democratic slimeball (yeah, they exist, although they're becoming an endangered species).
The election in North Carolina's 9th district shouldn’t even be taking place. After last November's election between Democrat Dan McCready and Republican Mark Harris, it was discovered that Harris had cheated his ass off in the worst case of election fraud in years. The seat should've been handed to McCready, who ran an honest, above-board campaign on the issues. But no. They called a new election. Although Harris won’t be the nominee this time, the stinks-to-high-heaven Republican party gets a do-over. And McCready is rarin' for the fight.
If you'd like to learn more about Dan or donate to his campaign, his campaign site is here and his ActBlue page is here. You can also follow him on Twitter here and on Facebook here.
And I was really happy to learn last week that Marie Newman---who came thiiiis close (51-49) to knocking evil faux-Democrat Dan Lipinski off his perch in the Illinois 3rd district primary---is calling for a rematch next year.
To recap: Lipinski fights against a woman’s right to make her own health care choices, votes to destroy Planned Parenthood, wants to ensure second-class status for LGBT Americans, enjoys dropping the hammer on immigrants, resists minimum-wage hikes, didn’t support Barack Obama’s reelection, and voted against the Affordable Care Act.
Marie Newman, by contrast: Pro-women, pro-LGBT, black lives do matter, pro-universal health care, pro-immigration, pro-affordable college, pro-living wage, pro-renewable energy, and anti-Citizens United.
Check out Marie on the issues here and if you feel so inclined, her ActBlue donation link is here. (I know it's early yet, but I wanted to make sure her announcement didn’t get lost amid the swarm of news about the presidential candidates.) Follow Marie on Facebook here and on Twitter here.
As a wise man once said: "I just want to tell you both good luck. We're all counting on you."
Cheers and Jeers starts below the fold... [Swoosh!!] RIGHTNOW! [Gong!!]
Cheers and Jeers for Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Note: No animals were harmed during the production of today’s column. They were, however, mildly teased and got their bellies scratched. Oh yes they did! Didn't you? Yes you did! Skritchy skritchy skritchy! Oh yes you diiiiid! ---Mgt.
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By the Numbers:
Days 'til Richter Scale Day: 3
Days 'til the 90th Tulip Time Festival in Holland, Michigan: 11
Percent of Americans who believed, after the release of the "Barr letter," that Trump or someone close to him broke the law, according to a Reuters-Ipsos poll: 49%
Percent of Americans who now believe, after the release of the Mueller Report, that Trump or someone close to him broke the law: 68%
Maximum percent of the NRA's budget that is now spent on gun education, safety and training: 10%
Percent of Americans who are demanding universal background checks on gun purchases, according to a new Quinnipiac poll: 93%
Percent of Americans who support the 2017 GOP tax bill, now that tax season is over, according to Navigator Research: 33%
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NEW Tuesday feature! "Packin' for Philadelphia!"
Brought to you by the 2019 Netroots Nation Convention in Philadelphia, July 11-13. Hey! Did you know that Philadelphia is in the great state of Pennsylvania? I looked it up and it is! And do you know what every state has? A state flag! And Pennsylvania is no exception, many people are saying. As designs go, it's busy, busy, busy…
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania flag is composed of the state’s coat of arms embroidered in the center of a dark blue background.
The Pennsylvania coat of arms depicts two horses with red harnesses, one on either side, standing on their hind legs facing a shield. The shield depicts the strengths of Pennsylvania---a ship carrying commerce, a farming plow, and three sheaves of wheat. Perched atop the shield is an eagle. Directly below the shield is an olive branch and a corn stalk crossing limbs. At the bottom of the coat of arms is a banner that reads “Virtue, liberty, Independence”—the state’s motto.
Pennsylvania’s flag was first authorized in 1799. The current flag is a more modern version of the same flag. The current design became official in 1907.
I always thought they should update the design to add an indelible moment in Pennsylvania history: Senator Rick Santorum getting booted from office.
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Puppy Pic of the Day: Dog gets a new puppy, goes bonkers…
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CHEERS to joining the primary polka party.Sensing that the current roster of 936 candidates in the Democratic primary just didn’t offer enough variety, another patriotic do-gooder---this one's white and male---entered the 2020 race yesterday. Let's check out his vitals:
Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA)
Hails from: Salem, Massachusetts
Age on inauguration day 2021: 42
Primary campaign theme: "Patriotism"
Education: BA (physics), MBA, MPP from Harvard; Served seven years in the Marine Corps., achieving the rank of Captain and earning two Bronze Stars during his four tours of duty in Iraq.
Official website: Seth Moulton.com
Strengths: Supports assault weapons ban; strong on veterans issues; basically progressive on climate change (supports the Green New Deal), marijuana, LGBT rights, and health care (supports a public option in the ACA).
Weaknesses: Will anyone be able to tell him apart from Tim Ryan or Eric Swalwell? Generated animosity when he tried (unsuccessfully) to deny Nancy Pelosi the speakership after the 2018 elections.
Baby-kissing ability, based on reviews at Toddler Yelp: 8.2/10
He joins Kamala, Cory, Tim, Wayne, Elizabeth, Beto, Bernie, Tulsi, Julian, John, Andrew, Kirsten, Eric, Jay, Pete, Marianne, Amy, and John #2 in their quest to be the lucky duck who has the honor of chasing the Trump crime syndicate out of Washington. It'll be a tough and likely fruitless pursuit of the highest office in the land. But one thing he's got going for him: no matter what happens, Seth will always be the candidate with the most Moultonmentum.
CHEERS to the sound of laughter. Round and round the latest Trump lawsuit goes, which judge'll laugh it out of court nobody knows. In the private sector, failed real estate developer (hell, failed developer of anything) Donald Trump could just send out his fixer Michael Cohen to bully and threaten into submission challenges to his dwindling empire. Now, as president, he thinks that tactic will work on heads of House committees like Oversight Committee chair Elijah Cummings. Cummings has subpoenaed Trump’s financial records, and Trump has filed a lawsuit to stop him. Even Fox News's go-to legal eagle says he's about to get his whispy, hair-like head covering that he whips up every morning in a cotton candy machine mussed:
Andrew Napolitano on Monday explained why President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against House Oversight Committee Chairman Elijah Cummings (D-MD) is almost certainly doomed to fail. […]
“The complaint actually asks the court to second guess Congress’s motivation and courts are reluctant to do that because the courts and the Congress are equal branches of government and don’t get in the business of second guessing the motivation of either,” he said.
“Congress will have to state for what purpose they want this. It is a low threshold.
They once investigated the contents of Roger Clemens’ urine. What the heck congressional purpose was that? And that was upheld!"
Well, I guess we know one thing, anyway: if they ever end up in a subpoena fight over the pee tape, Congress’s authority is as good as golden shower.
JEERS to doing the ol' flip-flop-flip-flop. After dropping into the running to be a member of the Federal Reserve Board, then dropping out, then dropping in again, yesterday former Godfather's Pizza CEO and honorary mayor of Uze Beki Beki Beki Beki Stan Stan Herman Cain officially dropped out one final time:
President Donald Trump said Monday that his embattled Federal Reserve pick Herman Cain has withdrawn from consideration for a seat on the bank's powerful board of governors.
Cain's exit from the process, which would have included hearings on Capitol Hill and a vote in the Senate, comes less than a week after he told the Wall Street Journal in an interview he would not remove himself from consideration and was "very committed" to securing the nomination.
He faced an uphill battle largely due to the revival of sexual harassment allegations that effectively ended his 2012 campaign.
The nomination will now fall to the next guy on Trump's list: Papa John.
P.S. Speaking of food moguls, Miguel Patricio will be replacing Bernardo Hees as CEO of Kraft Heinz. But Hees won’t be leaving right away—he’ll stay on until the end of June so that Mr. Patricio will have time to play ketchup.
JEERS to getting emphysema at 35,000 feet. My mom was a smoker, and I'll never forget flying with my parents and having to sit at the back of the plane because that was where the smokers sat so they wouldn't "bother" the non-smokers sitting in front of them. What were we thinking??! Thankfully the ban on airborne puffery went into effect 31 years ago today. So now all we have to worry about is engines blowing apart, increases in climate-change-related turbulence, dog-killing flight attendants, nose-bloodying security, Trump ranters, seat kickers and baby screamers. God bless Amtrak.
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CHEERS to babies and bunnies and boiled eggs, oh my! It's widely known in beltway circles that the single most important standard by which to judge a presidency is its Easter Egg Rolls. Yesterday’s event, hosted by Donald Trump and his uncaring wife (who sleeps in a separate bedroom if not a separate building), took place under a black cloud and a chill in the air. (Outside of the White House grounds, however, it was sunny and 72.) During the event, Trump signed autographs until he grew short of breath, and then left his handlers to continue boring the crowd while he retreated to his bedroom for cheeseburgers and Fox News, but not before he doubled down on his 2017 national anthem gaffe by not only forgetting to put his hand over his heart, but clearly not knowing the words:
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Oh well. At least he remembered to put his pants on this time.
CHEERS to "Ten-Cent Jimmy." Happy 228th Birthday to that old stuffed shirt James Buchanan. In practice, he was a stuck-up, hanky-sniffing, slavery-enabling disaster as president. But on paper, his resume was pretty impressive:
• United States Minister to the United Kingdom
• 17th United States Secretary of State
• United States Senator from Pennsylvania
• United States Minister to Russia
• Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (PA-04: 4 terms)
• Member of the U.S. House of Representatives (PA-03: 1 term)
• Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee
This year we got the 15th POTUS an extra special gift: an elevation in rank on the presidential ratings list, moving up to #44, just above #45 Donald Trump. Plus, of course, the usual "I Diddled While the Country Teetered on the Brink of Civil War and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt" t-shirt.
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Ten years ago in C&J: April 23, 2009
CHEERS to keeping up appearances. President Obama yesterday blew our national parks a great big Earth Day kiss:
National parks got $750 million in federal economic stimulus Wednesday to chip into a to-do list that includes repairing historic buildings, constructing trails and increasing renewable energy use from Independence Hall in Philadelphia to Yosemite in California. "This is probably the most significant investment made in more than a generation," Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar said in an interview before the Earth Day announcement.
More than 750 projects in 48 states are expected to create 30,000 to 40,000 jobs starting this summer. That includes 15,000 jobs in a proposed 21st Century Youth Conservation Corps.
Speaking of improving our parks, can someone please make sure they've booted the creationism books from the gift shops? Send 'em to Bush. C.O.D.
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And just one more…
CHEERS to Reason #59 why I love Elizabeth Warren. She's a total Game of Thrones geek:
In the season-eight premiere, our Khaleesi finally arrives at Winterfell with Jon Snow and her army of the Unsullied to “save the North,” not conquer it. She states her mission clearly in season seven: “I’m not here to murder. All I want to destroy is the wheel that has rolled over everyone both rich and poor, to the benefit of no one but the Cersei Lannisters of the world.”
And as much as Dany wants to take on her family’s enemies and take back the Iron Throne, she knows that she must first fight the army of the dead that threatens all mankind. This is a revolutionary idea, in Westeros or anywhere else. A queen who declares that she doesn’t serve the interests of the rich and powerful? A ruler who doesn’t want to control the political system but to break the system as it is known? It’s no wonder that the people she meets in Westeros are skeptical. Skeptical, because they’ve seen another kind of woman on the Iron Throne: the villain we love to hate, Queen Cersei of Casterly Rock.
The only way a candidate could top that is if I see them a) wielding a lightsaber b) reciting lines from Hogan's Heroes or c) outright bribery. What can I say? I'm easy. How 'bout it, Hickenlooper?
Floor's open...What are you cheering and jeering about today?
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Today's Shameless C&J Testimonial
"There's nothing wrong with taking candy corn from Bill in Portland Maine."
---Rudy Giuliani
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