Congressional Black Caucus rips Justice Democrats "for targeting black lawmakers for primaries"

[Rembrandt Brown]

CBC lawmakers rip Justice Democrats for targeting black lawmakers for primaries
BY SCOTT WONG, The Hill - 07/12/19

Congressional Black Caucus members are furious at Justice Democrats, accusing the outside progressive group aligned with firebrand Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) of trying to oust lawmakers of color, specifically African American lawmakers.

Justice Democrats is backing primary challengers to eight-term Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas), a Hispanic Caucus member, and 10-term Rep. Wm. Lacy Clay (D-Mo.), a member of the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC). The insurgent group also made noise this year about challenging Democratic Caucus Chairman Hakeem Jeffries (D-N.Y.), a CBC member seen as the heir apparent to Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

And CBC leaders are fretting that Justice Democrats may target other black lawmakers in the coming weeks and months, including Reps. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Joyce Beatty (D-Ohio), Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) and Anthony Brown (D-Md.). Brown said the group has been making calls in his district, actively trying to recruit a challenger to run against him — something that Justice Democrats denies.

“It just seems strange that the social Democrats seem to be targeting members of the Congressional Black Caucus, individuals who have stood and fought to make sure that African Americans are included and part of this process,” Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-N.Y.), a senior CBC member, told The Hill.

“I don’t know what that agenda is, but if they want to come after members of the Black Caucus, it’s two ways,” warned Meeks, the Queens Democratic Party boss who clashed with Justice Democrats in a local district attorney race last month.

Some Democrats are hoping that Ocasio-Cortez, the rabble-rousing freshman with 4.7 million Twitter followers, gets a primary challenge herself in 2020.

Justice Democrats stormed onto the scene last year when one of their little-known handpicked candidates, Ocasio-Cortez, who is Hispanic, unseated then-Rep. Joseph Crowley, the powerful Democratic caucus chairman, in a New York primary.

In a statement, Justice Democrats’ executive director, Alexandra Rojas, defended the group’s strategy, noting that it has endorsed several candidates of color.

One of them is Cori Bush, a registered nurse and Black Lives Matter activist who is taking on Clay for the second time.

“We are supporting a black woman who is a community organizer who has taken on police brutality in the St. Louis area,” Rojas said. “Seventy percent of congressional districts in America have no competitive general election; primaries are often the only places where voters can have a real say.

“Barack Obama first ran for Congress in a primary challenge to Rep. Bobby Rush, a CBC member,” Rojas added. “This is a democracy and voters deserve choices.”

Justice Democrats also pointed out that they endorsed Ayanna Pressley, an African American woman, in her successful primary challenge last year against Democratic Rep. Mike Capuano in a Massachusetts district where minorities make up the majority.

This cycle, Justice Democrats is also supporting Bronx educator Jamaal Bowman, who is black, as he takes on House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.), who is Jewish, and Jessica Cisneros, a 26-year-old Hispanic woman who is running against her former boss, Cuellar.

The CBC’s allegations are “absurd and more about protecting incumbency over democracy,” a Justice Democrats source said.

In the last cycle, Justice Democrats backed American Civil Liberties Union activist Chardo Richardson over Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-Fla.), who made history as the first Vietnamese American woman elected to Congress. The group in 2018 also endorsed Bush, who eventually lost to Clay by nearly 20 points in the primary. This week, the group said they will back Bush once again as she gives it another shot in Missouri.

In an interview in the Capitol, Clay said it was absolutely clear that Justice Democrats are targeting lawmakers of color like himself. He and his father, Bill Clay, have represented the district for the past 50 years, and Lacy Clay called the group’s actions “insulting” to the intelligence of Missouri voters.

“They are going after the wrong target. Instead of fighting Republicans and defeating Trump and holding on to our majority, they find it convenient to go after their own, which is to me a bunch of B.S.,” Clay told The Hill.

He likened Justice Democrats to “Russian trolls of 2016” trying to sow divisions in the Democratic Party.

“It does make you wonder what’s going on,” added another CBC member, Rep. Robin Kelly (D-Ill.). “Some names that have been mentioned all seem to be people of color, and more so CBC members.”

CBC members and some top Democratic aides have questioned who is pulling the strings at Justice Democrats. The group, which is targeting entrenched incumbent Democrats they view as insufficiently progressive and beholden to corporate donors, was founded in the wake of President Trump’s surprise 2016 victory by progressive media personalities Cenk Uygur and Kyle Kulinski, along with Bernie Sanders organizers Saikat Chakrabarti and Corbin Trent.

Uygur and Kulinski are no longer with the group. And after winning a seat in Congress, Ocasio-Cortez hired Chakrabarti as her chief of staff and Trent as her communications director.

Justice Democrats’ spat with the Black Caucus comes amid high racial tensions in the 235-member House Democratic Caucus. Ocasio-Cortez accused Pelosi of singling out “newly elected women of color” when the Speaker scolded lawmakers in a private meeting Wednesday for tweeting at each other.

Pelosi clarified Thursday that her comments were aimed at Chakrabarti, Ocasio-Cortez’s chief of staff, who had earlier tweeted that the moderate New Democrats and Blue Dog Coalition should be renamed “The New Southern Democrats.”

“They certainly seem hell bent to do to black and brown people today what the old Southern Democrats did [during] the 40s,” Chakrabarti wrote, later deleting the tweet.

A senior House Democratic aide called it “ironic and funny” that Ocasio-Cortez is accusing Pelosi of attacking women of color, when Justice Democrats is targeting minority lawmakers.

“She’s only a woman of color when it’s convenient. None of the things she’s fought for aligned with communities of color and her group is funded only by elitist white liberals; she’s a puppet,” the top Democratic aide told The Hill in a phone call.

The aide then texted an image of a Goomba puppet from the Super Mario Bros. video game.

“I can’t tell you how pissed off people are” about the Justice Democrats, the aide added. “All these CBC members feel like they are under siege. But it’s offensive that these elitist white liberals feel like they can undermine the foundation of our party,” African American voters.

Trent, Ocasio-Cortez’s now-spokesman, declined to comment for this story.

Top CBC member Meeks now is calling for a meeting between CBC leaders and Justice Democrats to find out why they are targeting lawmakers of color.

“We will have to, at some point, sit down and see: Is this something that is directed at members of the Congressional Black Caucus?” Meeks asked. “We’re going to sit down with whoever the social Dems are. We have to find out who they are. Who is really running this show. We have to figure that out.”

Rep. Donald McEachin (D-Va.), a CBC member, said it was upsetting that Justice Democrats appeared to be taking aim at so many black lawmakers, especially since they have some of the most progressive voting records in the caucus.

“I think challenging other Democrats in the primary when we’re trying to hold on to the majority is wrong unless the person is so far out of bounds, so far away from Democratic orthodoxy, but that’s not what’s going on here,” McEachin told The Hill.

“It’s disturbing to see challenges to that many CBC members.”

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

 

[Famous1]

I'm a firm believer in primaries.

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

It's fucking disgraceful that the Congressional Black Caucus backed this guy over Ayanna Pressley and now is claiming the organization that launched Pressley and these other prominent minority women is racist.

Michael Capuano: ‘It’s not me. It’s whoever was in office in a place that has progressives.’
"That [has] a lot of young people that don't have a clue what happened yesterday, never mind five or 10 years ago," the outgoing congressman continued.

...

Ayanna Pressley Upsets Rep. Capuano in Massachusetts Democratic Primary
Capuano is second incumbent Democratic congressman to lose a primary this cycle

​

...

 

[sammyjax]

Wtf is going on here? Somebody help me out.

 

[kidmegaii]

Nancy pelosi flexing muscles?

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

Wtf is going on here? Somebody help me out.

Justice Democrats exists to challenge Democrats in safe seats who are not representative of what people who live in such places want. They get in place and because no Republican can beat them, they can go unchallenged for decades. Those seats are going to be disproportionately held by minority members of congress because minorities are largely unlikely to be elected anywhere else. So while Justice Democrats exists to target safe establishment Dems, within that the threat is most acutely felt by the black establishment Democrats.

So they're crying and insinuating conspiracy theories, like targeting bad lawmakers of color and replacing them with good ones is equivalent to taking out the leadership of the Black Panthers. But it's the exact opposite-- William Lacy Clay and his father have represented Ferguson for over 50 years. It should be the people's seat but they think it's their's. If the people who they represent think they're doing a good job, they'll re-elect them-- They should have a choice. And they don't without primaries. It's sickeningly weak to invoke race here when his challenger is a black female activist and the organization they're attacking has only made the hue of Congress darker.

 

[respiration]

Justice Democrats exists to challenge Democrats in safe seats who are not representative of what people who live in such places want. They get in place and because no Republican can beat them, they can go unchallenged for decades. Those seats are going to be disproportionately held by minority members of congress because minorities are largely unlikely to be elected anywhere else. So while Justice Democrats exists to target safe establishment Dems, within that the threat is most acutely felt by the black establishment Democrats.

So they're crying and insinuating conspiracy theories, like targeting bad lawmakers of color and replacing them with good ones is equivalent to taking out the leadership of the Black Panthers. But it's the exact opposite-- William Lacy Clay and his father have represented Ferguson for over 50 years. It should be the people's seat but they think it's their's. If the people who they represent think they're doing a good job, they'll re-elect them-- They should have a choice. And they don't without primaries. It's sickeningly weak to invoke race here when his challenger is a black female activist and the organization they're attacking has only made the hue of Congress darker.

Good assessment.

 

[sammyjax]

Justice Democrats exists to challenge Democrats in safe seats who are not representative of what people who live in such places want. They get in place and because no Republican can beat them, they can go unchallenged for decades. Those seats are going to be disproportionately held by minority members of congress because minorities are largely unlikely to be elected anywhere else. So while Justice Democrats exists to target safe establishment Dems, within that the threat is most acutely felt by the black establishment Democrats.

So they're crying and insinuating conspiracy theories, like targeting bad lawmakers of color and replacing them with good ones is equivalent to taking out the leadership of the Black Panthers. But it's the exact opposite-- William Lacy Clay and his father have represented Ferguson for over 50 years. It should be the people's seat but they think it's their's. If the people who they represent think they're doing a good job, they'll re-elect them-- They should have a choice. And they don't without primaries. It's sickeningly weak to invoke race here when his challenger is a black female activist and the organization they're attacking has only made the hue of Congress darker.

Thanks man. That was great.

Ima read up more on it.

 

[Darrkman]

 

[Big Tex]

I'm a firm believer in primaries.

Starting with primarying AOC...

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

Starting with primarying AOC...

1. Do you really think it can be argued that AOC exemplifies the problem with U.S. politics more than Joseph Crowley?

2. Is your beef with her ideological, strategic or both?

 

[durham]

I hate this hold the center Democratic bullshit. Black folks throwing race in an attempt to cover their centrist BS voting practices.

Just cause your Black doesn't mean shit, of you cosign the shit Pelosi is pulling. The Democrats deserve to fucking lose.

 

[Big Tex]

1. Do you really think it can be argued that AOC exemplifies the problem with U.S. politics more than Joseph Crowley?

2. Is your beef with her ideological, strategic or both?

Can it be argued that she has done anything for Queens? If you’re for primaries then let’s primary everybody. No incumbent is safe.

Or are you only for primaries for people you might not agree with but not for people you like?

 

[Big Tex]

Let me say I think AOC is smart and talented. I think she’s caught up in being a celebrity and not a legislator.

Anyone not pushing her to be a better legislator is not helping her.

Right now she has alienated half of her own caucus so there’s not shit she could propose that would pass.

A primary might help her get her priorities in order

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

Can it be argued that she has done anything for Queens? If you’re for primaries then let’s primary everybody. No incumbent is safe.

Or are you only for primaries for people you might not agree with but not for people you like?

Let me say I think AOC is smart and talented. I think she’s caught up in being a celebrity and not a legislator.

Anyone not pushing her to be a better legislator is not helping her.

Right now she has alienated half of her own caucus so there’s not shit she could propose that would pass.

A primary might help her get her priorities in order

"Starting with her" didn't exactly strike me as the invocation of a universal principle but, yeah, nobody should ever be viewed as above a primary challenge.

 

[ghoststrike]

Justice Democrats exists to challenge Democrats in safe seats who are not representative of what people who live in such places want. They get in place and because no Republican can beat them, they can go unchallenged for decades. Those seats are going to be disproportionately held by minority members of congress because minorities are largely unlikely to be elected anywhere else. So while Justice Democrats exists to target safe establishment Dems, within that the threat is most acutely felt by the black establishment Democrats.

So they're crying and insinuating conspiracy theories, like targeting bad lawmakers of color and replacing them with good ones is equivalent to taking out the leadership of the Black Panthers. But it's the exact opposite-- William Lacy Clay and his father have represented Ferguson for over 50 years. It should be the people's seat but they think it's their's. If the people who they represent think they're doing a good job, they'll re-elect them-- They should have a choice. And they don't without primaries. It's sickeningly weak to invoke race here when his challenger is a black female activist and the organization they're attacking has only made the hue of Congress darker.

Yep, its no different that what the Tea Party did when they felt that incumbent Republican House and Republican Senate members were not meeting their needs so they were primary-challenged and voted out in some cases. This is the progressive version of that and now establishment Democrats are crying foul. This was bound to happen with changing demographics and the current political climate.

Moderates, regardless of party affiliation, are becoming relics.

 

[TheBigOne]

Anthony Brown from PG County in MD is an empty suit taking up space. Plenty of hard working black politicians could take him out and do something with that seat

 

[Soul On Ice]

The CBC is mostly an immigrant rights advocacy agency.
I hope they get voted out

And really anyone. The whole party need new blood. They people who ain't done shit in DECADES taking up valuable space and need to get ousted

 

[Big Tex]

I hate this hold the center Democratic bullshit. Black folks throwing race in an attempt to cover their centrist BS voting practices.

Just cause your Black doesn't mean shit, of you cosign the shit Pelosi is pulling. The Democrats deserve to fucking lose.

There’s a reason why Justice dems only run in the deepest of blue districts. If their beliefs can win, then run them shits in the red districts in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania that we need to win majorities in the white house.

But they won’t because they know they’ll get destroyed on election day.

Since you believe far left politics would get the most votes in the country, why aren’t they?

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

House progressives speak out amid Pelosi tension

During a Netroots Nation panel discussion on Saturday, liberal freshman lawmakers addressed struggles they'd faced and the importance of women of color speaking up, amid tension between Democratic progressives and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

What they're saying: Days after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) accused Pelosi of "singling out" newly elected women of color, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) noted there's a struggle "oftentimes with people who have power about sharing that power. ... We’re in the business of trying to grab that power and return it to the people."

• Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.) said she thinks it's important to be "unapologetically" yourself. And Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-Mass.) said she didn't want to bring a chair to the table, she wanted to "shake the table" and redefine it.

• "If you're going to come to this table, all of you who have aspirations of running for office. If you’re not prepared to come to that table and represent that voice, don’t come, because we don’t need any more brown faces that don’t want to be a brown voice. We don’t need black faces that don’t want to be a black voice. We don’t need Muslims that don’t want to be a Muslim voice. We don’t need queers that don’t want to be a queer voice. If you’re worried about being marginalized and stereotyped, please don’t even show up because we need you to represent that voice."— Rep. Ayanna Pressley

Context: Both sides have publicly aired disagreements in recent days. Pelosi singled out Omar, Tlaib, Pressley and Ocasio-Cortez — known as "the squad" — in an interview with the New York Times last week for their use of Twitter. Pelosi reportedly warned progressives in a closed-door meeting Wednesday to air party grievances privately.

The big picture: Tension in the Democratic Party has escalated since progressives spoke out last month after a House border funding bill that included more protections for migrant children was blocked by moderate Democrats. The Senate's version was passed instead.

• Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), co-chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, said Pelosi's comments were not "helpful to a broader picture of how we build progressive power in the House and what it looks like relative to overall Democratic power," according to HuffPost.

Why it matters: The situation highlights the political and generational divide between the most powerful woman in U.S. politics and the progressives trying to push the party left.

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

Video automatically starts at the relevant segment, 33:51

Talks about the CBC siding with Pelosi over the Congresswomen-- "They were furious because they're close with Pelosi and they're saying 'Back off.'"

Right now she has alienated half of her own caucus so there’s not shit she could propose that would pass.

In the above segment, it is said that AOC and Pelosi haven't spoken since February, which is crazy and ridiculous all-around.

 

[Drayonis]

I hope they get voted out

All you can do is "hope" since you don't vote

 

[Heist]

Dems are in a freaking free fall and they’re busy ripping the wings off their own plane mid flight.

 

[Rembrandt Brown]

There’s a reason why Justice dems only run in the deepest of blue districts. If their beliefs can win, then run them shits in the red districts in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania that we need to win majorities in the white house.

But they won’t because they know they’ll get destroyed on election day.

Since you believe far left politics would get the most votes in the country, why aren’t they?

I think you're mischaracterizing what Justice Dems currently does. They only run in the deepest of blue districts because politicians representing those districts often vote as if they were representing swing or blue dog districts. It doesn't make sense to start in tougher territory picking the absolute hardest fights and bypass the "low-hanging fruit" districts where there is support for left or far-left politics but no utilization.

 

[sharkbait28]

Wtf is going on here? Somebody help me out.

Just to supplement Rembrandt's excellent summary... check out Knock Down The House doc on Netflix

It provides a nice intro to what the Justice Dem movement is all about. There's a lot of shrill handwringing about their objectives and soundness of the strategy but it's pretty clear this is the direction Dems need to move in rather than clinging to some fantasy center which keeps moving to the right. We need to motivate new voters and abandon this bizarre focus on chimerical Independents and disaffected (perpetually confused) Trump voters... imho

Starting with primarying AOC...

Lol you're in for a long couple of decades bruh

 

[muckraker10021]

1. Do you really think it can be argued that AOC exemplifies the problem with U.S. politics more than Joseph Crowley?

2. Is your beef with her ideological, strategic or both?

The incumbent ‘old-line’ Democrat congress-persons have been sitting in congress for in-many-cases decades, doing virtually nothing but going to corporation and lobbyist paid for dinners & events. When the go home to their home districts they visit the big churches, hand out chintzy plaques, and pose for pictures with the parishioners. They DON’T talk about the seminal issues that determine what quality of life their constituents will enjoy versus the corporate greed and corruption that is determined to suck every drop of blood and all the money out of American citizens because that is their business $$$$$$$$$$$$$ model. That is how the CEO and his top crew become billionaires and millionaires. The incumbent congress-persons mostly sit there like potted plants waiting for their corporate masters to piss on them and give them their orders. AOC and the so-called ‘squad’ are a much needed overdue departure from the stagnant corporate owned timid sclerotic “moderate” Democratic congress-persons who when Obama was POTUS didn’t even help him fight the racist RepubliKlan assault against his policies and his person. We need 100 AOC’s and the squad, they won’t be quiet as the corporate elites usher in fascism to AmeriKKKa.

 

[Big Tex]

I think you're mischaracterizing what Justice Dems currently does. They only run in the deepest of blue districts because politicians representing those districts often vote as if they were representing swing or blue dog districts. It doesn't make sense to start in tougher territory picking the absolute hardest fights and bypass the "low-hanging fruit" districts where there is support for left or far-left politics but no utilization.

But if those far left politics can’t win nationwide then adopting them just means you will lose your majority. Pelosi actually told AOC how things work. You want the green new deal? Stop tweeting about it and get the votes. If all you’re coming with is 4 votes and twitter followers, you can sit your narrow ass down somewhere.

Once again, she hasn’t been in office a year and she’s already threatened members of her own caucus with primaries, sat in on a demonstration at the speaker’s office, pushed a bill that republicans used to try to for vulnerable dems to take a difficult vote, had your staff accuse centrist dems of being as bad as segregationists, and implied the speaker is racist.

Twitter followers have no vote in congress and the vast majority of people in congress aren’t on twitter.

So when she goes to members of her caucus and trues to convince them to take votes on something she wants that might be troublesome to them, what do you think they’re going to tell her?

As long as her and the “squad” ain’t got nothing but twitter and 4 votes, no real power players will take any of them seriously.

That’s why when she was going around the senate tweeting #wheresmitch like McConnell was afraid of her, she was embarrassing herself. McConnell isn’t afraid of anyone on Earth with no votes.

 

[Big Tex]

The incumbent ‘old-line’ Democrat congress-persons have been sitting in congress for in-many-cases decades, doing virtually nothing but going to corporation and lobbyist paid for dinners & events. When the go home to their home districts they visit the big churches, hand out chintzy plaques, and pose for pictures with the parishioners. They DON’T talk about the seminal issues that determine what quality of life their constituents will enjoy versus the corporate greed and corruption that is determined to suck every drop of blood and all the money out of American citizens because that is their business $$$$$$$$$$$$$ model. That is how the CEO and his top crew become billionaires and millionaires. The incumbent congress-persons mostly sit there like potted plants waiting for their corporate masters to piss on them and give them their orders. AOC and the so-called ‘squad’ are a much needed overdue departure from the stagnant corporate owned timid sclerotic “moderate” Democratic congress-persons who when Obama was POTUS didn’t even help him fight the racist RepubliKlan assault against his policies and his person. We need 100 AOC’s and the squad, they won’t be quiet as the corporate elites usher in fascism to AmeriKKKa.

Lots of talk. What has she done?

Jack shit.

What bills has she passed?

Same number as I have.

How many times is she talking about problems in Queens tho?

 

[muckraker10021]

Lots of talk. What has she done?

Jack shit.

What bills has she passed?

Same number as I have.

How many times is she talking about problems in Queens tho?

RepubliKlan Paul Ryan was a congressman for 20 years including becoming speaker of the house with a huge majority.

Paul Ryan was able to sponsor only TWO Congressional bills in 20 years that have been passed into law.

AOC the youngest member of congress and other so-called 'squad' has been in congress a few months and the corporate 'moderate' Democrats have brought out their long knifes and joined with fascist racist Trump to murder them just for their truth telling much less sponsoring a bill that the corporatist would vote for.

 

[Big Tex]

RepubliKlan Paul Ryan was a congressman for 20 years including becoming speaker of the house with a huge majority.

Paul Ryan was able to sponsor only TWO Congressional bills in 20 years that have been passed into law.

AOC the youngest member of congress and other so-called 'squad' has been in congress a few months and the corporate 'moderate' Democrats have brought out their long knifes and joined with fascist racist Trump to murder them just for their truth telling much less sponsoring a bill that the corporatist would vote for.

And how did Paul Ryan get to be speaker? Multiple choice for you. Was it...

a) Twitter followers gained
b) Viral moments
c) Gathering votes

The answer is C.


Nobody is worrying about their “truth telling”. If they want to truly become effective, they’ll learn how to gather votes. Twitter clap backs and viral videos may make folks online feel good, but all of the videos you posted, what actually happened because of them?

Also fuck Paul Ryan. They should aspire to be better than that.

The way the government works is you have to forge alliances. You have to build consensus. She’s on track to be Bernie Sanders. Spend 30 years in government, get nothing done. If that’s all she wants, them so be it.

If she wants to actually bring about some improvements for her constituents, she has to be effective in getting legislation passed and that means gathering votes. If she doesn’t want to legislate, she should go back to being an activist and tweet away.

Bottom line that district in Queens only gets one person to represent their interests. That should be her main focus, not being a celebrity.

Ayanna Pressley was asked what she thought about this dust up between the squad and Pelosi. She said “seven people have been killed in my district recently. That’s what I’m focused on. i don’t have time for all this other stuff”. Perfect fucking answer. Can you ever imagine AOC not giving an opinion on some national thing because she’s focused on Queens? Lmao.

 

[hardawayz16]

Lots of talk. What has she done?

Jack shit.

What bills has she passed?

Same number as I have.

How many times is she talking about problems in Queens tho?

DAMN!

She has gone to visit the camps at the border tho. Sure thats helping her folks in Queens.

 

[code_pirahna]

Yo is Rembrandt_Brown geechiedan?

 

[muckraker10021]

And how did Paul Ryan get to be speaker? Multiple choice for you. Was it...

a) Twitter followers gained
b) Viral moments
c) Gathering votes

The answer is C.


Nobody is worrying about their “truth telling”. If they want to truly become effective, they’ll learn how to gather votes. Twitter clap backs and viral videos may make folks online feel good, but all of the videos you posted, what actually happened because of them?

Also fuck Paul Ryan. They should aspire to be better than that.

The way the government works is you have to forge alliances. You have to build consensus. She’s on track to be Bernie Sanders. Spend 30 years in government, get nothing done. If that’s all she wants, them so be it.

If she wants to actually bring about some improvements for her constituents, she has to be effective in getting legislation passed and that means gathering votes. If she doesn’t want to legislate, she should go back to being an activist and tweet away.

Bottom line that district in Queens only gets one person to represent their interests. That should be her main focus, not being a celebrity.

Ayanna Pressley was asked what she thought about this dust up between the squad and Pelosi. She said “seven people have been killed in my district recently. That’s what I’m focused on. i don’t have time for all this other stuff”. Perfect fucking answer. Can you ever imagine AOC not giving an opinion on some national thing because she’s focused on Queens? Lmao.

A significant percentage reason for the virulent hatred against the so-called squad is sexism, people residing in the reality based world can't ignore that reality. Those of us who intend to continue living in the United States are in the fight for our lives & our childrens future. Trump is a white supremacist corporate fascist intent on destroying the multicultural liberal democracy that has staggering along since 1965 in this country. Drumpf and his camarilla want to install a white male dominated kleptocracy — Fascism

Here in 2019 what's left of this Democratic Republic started in 1776 is whether or not the United States of America actually becomes a full fledged corporatist fascist state. We need as many voices as possible sounding the alarm about whats going on under Trump. Too many American citizens are somnolent.

Civilization or Barbarism those are the sole mega-trends in play for 2020 and beyond. Trump and the RepubliKlans have made their choice. The corporate moderate Democratic Party politicos led by Nancy Pelosi and the old guard shot-callers have decided that being 'republiklan-light' politicians is the way to win in 2020. Instead of expanding the party's voter turnout, bringing to the polls the millions of progressive Democratic voters who didn't show up in 2016, the old sclerotic leaders think that they can get maga hat wearing Drumpfsters to leave their cult and vote for Democratic party candidates. It's a losing gambit.

Paul Ryan was always a full fledged idiot and con man. READ: https://www.bgol.us/forum/posts/19465908/
He was the default choice of RepubliKlans when John Boehner stepped down to go smoke marijuana with his son-in-law and go into the pot business; they didn't want a tea party 'freedom caucus' speaker.

As I said, I'll take 100 Democrats with the conviction and energy of the so-called squad congress-persons. The Democratic Party needs the energy and persistence. The $15 an hour minimum wage in affect in many states happened not because of the sclerotic old-guard corporate centrist democrats (they wanted $10 bucks an hour) it happened because progressive democrats broke down that door. The late Hillary clinton was one of the $10 dollar people.


You Beat the RepubliKlans by energizing non-fascist, non-racist voters who are not terrified by multiculturalism and are not nostalgic for a "make a amerikka great again" 1950's apartheid AmeriKKKa.
Barack Obama showed the 'Democratic Party' how to win national elections; unfortunately the corporate controlled shot-calling Democratic leaders do not want to replicate Team Obama's formula of energizing millions of voters who normally stay home & don't vote. The corporate controlled shot-calling Democratic leaders are still clinging to the losing strategy of going for the votes of the "centrist" 'Reagan democrats voters'— the cacs who voted for Trump— 80% of those people will vote for Trump again.
In 2016 the Black & youth & progressive vote was down by more than 10 million voters, those are the millions of voters that the Democratic shot-callers seem to have no interest in because they are 'too progressive'. What fucking idiots!
Remember:

Barack Obama in 2008 when the U.S. population was smaller got 69,498,516 votes 52.9%

Such Huge voter turnout overwhelms the republiklan voter suppression efforts. Democratic shot-callers seem determined to shit on their base voters and elusively seek the votes of MAGA Trump voters in search of defeat.

Obama Election rally, Madison WI. Look at that fucking crowd!

Hillary lost POTUS election in Wisconsin to Trump in 2016 by 23,000 votes. Obama has more than 23,000 people in the front part of that rally!

The RepubliKlan Party of 2019 is:

• Unapologetically proudly RACIST 'MAGA'
• Virulently HOMOPHOBIC - kick them out of government positions including military
• Anti-Sex Education in schools- let the kids breed
• Anti-Birth Control - if you get pregnant, NO abortion for you
• Anti- Immigrants unless you look Norwegian(Build a wall, stop ALL Mexicans & Muslims & 'shithole' Africans)
• Anti- ANY Minimum Wage increase, in fact cut the wage as last RepubliKlan gov. of MO. did
• Anti- Student Loans (big cuts in Pell grants; blocked interest rate cut on loans)
• Anti-Abortion Rights - make it illegal even if you raped by Dad(republiklans were silent when Dr. George Tiller was murdered)
• Anti-Consumer Protection (pro-tort reform)
• Anti- Climate Change Science Reality (It's not real it's a communist plot)
• Anti- Environmental Clean-Up (Piyush Jindal of LA blocked law mandating oil corp. clean up of gulf coast)
• Anti- Infrastructure $$$$ Replacement (U.S. bridges & roads are old & crumbling)
• Anti-Regulating The Banksters (want to repeal Dodd-Frank & all restraints on criminality)
• Anti-Social Security Insurance (want to end it & send the existing money to Wall street)
• Anti-Medicare (want to send Grandma into the clutches of the "Health Care Mafia" with a coupon)
• Anti-Unemployment Insurance (want to end it; cut it to a max of 8 weeks))
• Anti- Healthy School Lunch for kids (have attacked & want to REPEAL Mrs. Obama's healthy lunch reforms)
• Anti-Education Standards (republiklans want to close the Dept. of Education & teach biblical creationism)
• Anti-W.I.C. (republiklan congress recently cut money for Women Infants & Children program)
• Anti- Environmental Conservation Laws (want to close the EPA & burn MORE coal; fuck Americans health)
• Anti-Food Saftey Inspections (republiklan congress recently cut US food saftey budget)
• Anti- Ingredient Labels on Food (republiklans don't want you to know whats in the food)
• Anti-Progressive Taxation (republiklans against raising the 15% tax Millionaires & Billionaires pay)
• Anti-Banning the Death Penalty (278 INNOCENT people released from Death Row since 1989)
• Anti- Restoring Habeas corpus (republiklans NOT against "disappearing" people)
• Anti-Separation Of Church & State (republiklans want to mandate Christian prayer ONLY in schools)
• Anti- Government Funding of Scientific Research (republiklans have slashed funding i.e. stem cell research)
• Anti-Feminism (woman should be submissive to men; it's in the bible)
• Anti-Affirmative Action (republiklans say "there is NO racism in AmeriKKKa)
• Anti-Department of Labor (republiklans believe overtime pay should be abolished)
• Anti-Small Business Administration (want to abolish it)
• Anti-Substantially Increasing Foreign Aid (republiklan congress just cut food aid to AFRICA)
• Anti-Government Student College Tuition Grants (republiklans want to dramatically cut PELL grants & other Education programs)
• Anti-ANY Gun Control; 100 round clips should be standard
• Anti- NON-Christian Religion Tolerance - Islam & Judaism should be aberrations
• Anti- Universal Health Care - preexisting condition, fuck you, perform your own surgery.
• Anti- Ban Against Torture (republiklans support "rectal" feeding & slicing of detainees genitals)
• Anti- ANY Cut In Military Spending
• Anti- Pay Increase For US Soldiers (republiklans consistently vote NO)
• Anti- Increase in Veterans Benefits (republiklans want to convert military pensions into 401K's)
• Anti- Equalizing Penalty for Crack/ Powder Cocaine Conviction
• Anti- Ending Draconian mandatory loooong sentences for drug possession
• Anti- Womens Health/ Well-Women Care (republiklans vote to 100% defund Planned Parenthood)
• Anti- Legislation Banning Outsourcing (republiklans voted AGAINST law prohibiting outsourcing by companies $$$$$ bailed out by U.S. taxpayers)




Nancy Pelosi Has Chosen Her War, and It’s With Her Own Party’s Future

https://theintercept.com/2019/07/07...n-her-war-and-its-with-her-own-partys-future/


They call themselves the “Squad.” From climate change to student debt to migrants in detention, progressive House Democrats Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and Ayanna Pressley have been energetic and outspoken since getting elected last November — and, as a result, have become inured to constant attacks from congressional Republicans and, of course, Fox News.

But how about from their own boss?

In an interview with the New York Times’ Maureen Dowd, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi dismissed the Squad as “four people” who have their “public whatever and their Twitter world” but don’t “have any following.”

Ouch. This isn’t the first time Pelosi has trolled the left-wing quartet. In April, when she was asked by Lesley Stahl on “60 Minutes” to comment on the newly emboldened progressive wing of her party, Pelosi responded: “That’s like five people.”

In the wake of November’s midterms, Pelosi mocked calls from AOC and her allies for a Green New Deal: “The green dream or whatever they call it, nobody knows what it is, but they’re for it right?”

To be clear: None of these freshmen Democrats have personally attacked Pelosi, and all four of them backed her bid for the speakership. As CNN’s Nathan McDermott tweeted, “It is pretty notable that the most vocally anti-Pelosi Democrats (ala the moderates in swing districts who opposed her leadership) don’t get as much criticism from her as the left-wing of the party.”

How about Donald Trump? Pelosi is willing to criticize Trump — “I’ve never encountered, thought about, seen within the realm of my experiences as a child or an adult, anybody like this” — but only criticize. Nothing more. Not impeachment, that’s for sure. The top Democrat in the House told Dowd that the president has engaged in criminal behavior but — wait for it — “you can’t impeach everybody.”

The New York Times interview is yet another reminder for liberals and leftists that if they want to oppose Trump, they have to oppose Pelosi too.

Think I’m exaggerating? Consider three recent — and shameful — episodes.

First, the rape allegations against the president. On June 21, New York magazine published a cover story from the famed advice columnist and writer E. Jean Carroll, in which she documented in excruciating detail how Trump, back in the mid-1990s, forced “his penis halfway” inside of her in the midst of a “colossal struggle” in a Bergdorf Goodman dressing room.

Pelosi’s response to a reporter who asked her for comment a whole six days later? “I don’t know the person making the accusation … I haven’t paid that much attention to it.”





Now, she tells Dowd: “I respect the case she has but I don’t see any role for Congress.”

The sitting Republican president has been credibly accused of having committed a sexual assault and yet Congress, says the Democratic speaker of the House, has no “role” in holding him to account for it. Oh, and the speaker herself hasn’t been paying “attention to it.”

This, my dear liberals, is your (feminist) champion.

Second, the crisis at the border. One of the reasons Pelosi cited for not being familiar with the E. Jean Carroll story was that she was “busy worrying about children not being in their mothers’ arms.” Yet on that same day, as the New York Times reported, Pelosi “capitulated to Republicans and Democratic moderates and dropped her insistence on stronger protections for migrant children in overcrowded border shelters” by signing onto a bill from the Republican-led Senate, giving the Trump administration $4.6 billion to tackle the situation on the southern border.

Last time I checked, though, this administration’s horrific decision to separate migrant children from their parents had nothing to do with a lack of funds. “The cruelty is the point,” as the Atlantic’s Adam Serwer so memorably put it. Plus, 18 so-called “centrist” Democrats pushed Pelosi into dropping her objections to the Senate bill and yet in her New York Times interview, the speaker decided to level her attack on — you guessed it — the Squad. They made themselves irrelevant and shouldn’t have voted against “our bill,” she told Dowd, adding: “They’re four people and that’s how many votes they got.”

Yet they were far from alone in opposing Pelosi’s decision. “The final vote, 305 to 102,” reported the Times on June 27, “included far more Republicans in favor, 176, than Democrats, 129.”

Meanwhile, over at the border, children continue to be starved, women continue to drink out of toilet bowls, and men continue to be held in standing-room-only conditions. The Trump administration is now contemplating mass video proceedings for immigrants seeking asylum.

Thank you, Madam Speaker.



Third, Trump’s tax returns. Last Tuesday, almost exactly six months after Democrats won control of the House, they finally took the president of the United States to court to try to force disclosure of his financial records. Trump administration officials and Trump’s army of personal lawyers have offered a range of excuses for refusing to release these records — and for defying congressional subpoenas in the process. But as Slate’s Mark Joseph Stern has noted, one in particular stands out from the rest.

On June 10, in an appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, Trump’s lawyers contested the claim that the House’s impeachment power could justify subpoenaing the president’s financial records while gleefully pointing out to the judge that impeachment is not even on the table. They wrote in their brief:

Speaker Pelosi has steadfastly denied that the House’s investigations are in any way related to impeachment. In March, she unequivocally told the Washington Post, ‘I’m not for impeachment.’ In late May, the Speaker reiterated that ‘any suggestion that Democrats are planning to pursue impeachment ‘simply isn’t the truth.’” After she received the district court’s ruling in this case, the Speaker boasted that the Committee had prevailed despite “the fact the House Democratic caucus is not on a path to impeachment.” Just four days ago, the Speaker again told senior Democratic leaders that “she isn’t open to the idea” of impeachment, and Chairman Cummings “sided with Pelosi.”

Is it not a source of shame for rank-and-file Democrats, whether on the left or in the “center,” that Trump lawyers are citing Pelosi’s refusal to impeach him as their defense in court? As their justification for ignoring congressional subpoenas?

Meanwhile, Pelosi herself continues to duck and dodge the arguments in favor of impeachment — even when she happens to be the one making them. “The thing is that, he every day practically self-impeaches by obstructing justice and ignoring the subpoenas,” she told the Times.

Sorry, what is she on about? I may not be a U.S. citizen yet, or speaker of the House of Representatives for that matter, but I have read the U.S. Constitution from beginning to end, and I have yet to come across the clause that refers to “self-impeachment.”

So forget the “you-go-girl memes for literally clapping back at Trump” that Dowd fawns over in her interview with the speaker. It is time for liberals and leftists who lambast Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to admit to themselves that the hippie-punching Pelosi has become a Trump enabler too.

 

[darth frosty]