Michigan GOP food fight

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Saturday January 06, 2024 · 5:52 PM PST

2024/01/06 · 17:52

So the Michigan Republican Party is apparently in a civil war — not with Democrats, but with each other. I’m relying here on the reporting of Craig Mauger, who covers state government and politics for the Detroit News. (I’m not embedding all the X-tweets, but they’re all there @CraigDMauger.) A fuller account of the goings-on by Mauger and his colleague Marnie Muñoz, is at the Detroit News site. CNN, Reuters, etc. have also now picked up the story.

(A reminder here that Michigan, led by Democratic AG Dana Nessel, is one of the states that has just pressed charges against its 16 “fake electors,” bolstered by mastermind Ken Chesebro’s revelations about the overall master plan for how the fake certificates were going to force Congress to delay certification and let SCOTUS decide or send it back to the states to “recount” or something something. . . and Trump wins. Craig Mauger has been covering that too. But it’s somewhat separate from today’s fiasco, or so it seems. So is the pending fight over redistricting the State Senate.)

Now the Michigan GOP has decided to try to change how it chooses candidates — for all offices, I gather, not especially for POTUS — from a primary to a smoke-filled back room of insider “precinct delegates.” Craig (a journalist, not a lawyer) wonders if this conflicts with explicit state law that seems to require a primary. It’s not the most artfully or clearly drafted provision, so I can’t tell. But the intent is clearly to bring the process under state party control. Why? Well, Craig notes it may be relevant that the proposal came from GOP Chairwoman Kristina Karamo — and may be related to the GOP nominees for AG and Secretary of State who lost badly in 2022.

Former AG nominee Matt DePerno responded quickly, “This is a terrible idea. Karamo needs to resign.” This isn’t the first sign of unhappiness with Karamo, by any means. Among other things, the state party is virtually bankrupt, with donors fleeing instead of boosting the party coffers in preparation for both the Presidential race and a Senate seat they had hopes of flipping. So yesterday a group of about 45 people out of about 100 in the state party (including DePerno and GOP co-chair Malinda Pego) held a caucus meeting to talk about ousting her. This is where it gets interesting.

The Michigan GOP official account (controlled, presumably, by Karamo and her allies) immediately declared ahead of time that the caucus meeting was “unauthorized and out of compliance with the Party By-laws and, therefore, incapable of conducting any official business of the Michigan Republican Party.” OK, fair enough; it’s like requiring a quorum. The ouster-group claims they had enough people plus proxies to meet a quorum requirement; I assume that will be tested.

The group that met voted, not surprisingly, to oust both Karamo and GOP Party General Counsel Dan Hartman, who is apparently Karamo’s ally. That’s the CNN and Reuters headline: “Chair ousted.” But it may not be that simple.

The official GOP account (again, undoubtedly controlled by Karamo) then issued another statement saying the “rogue cabal of anti-grassroots establishment operatives” had “staged an illegitimate gathering,” and attempted an illegal coup. (She also spelled the names of the two leaders wrong, either deliberately or in haste.) Karamo has vowed not to recognize the ouster, and insists she is still in control of the party. She’s set her own party meeting for January 13; it remains to be seen how many people show up.

Food fight! Internecine conflict! Schism?

There’s a long “where are we now?” tweetthread from Michigan political analyst Dennis Lennox, which I’ll excerpt here:

1. Come Monday, does the RNC recognize a new chairman? We may not see any announcement. RNC doesn't like publicizing squabbles.

2. If RNC recognizes a new or interim chair, it's over for Karamo.

3. If there's no immediate action the next event to watch is the RNC's winter meeting later this month. Every state party chairman is a member of the RNC. Who does the RNC credential? If they don't credential Karamo, it's over.

4. RNC rules mostly default to state party rules. /2

5. In 2016 and 2020, the RNC ruled it isn't a tribunal to adjudicate disputes over who is and isn't an RNC member. They've largely left that up to the state parties.

6. RNC only hears disputes (called "contests") when it involves delegates to the national convention. /3

7. To have a contest before the RNC you need delegates, which means we're probably talking early spring before there's a controversy ripe for a contest. Generally, you need two slates of delegates. /4 . . . .

(Lennox then goes through the whole laborious process the RNC would use to determine which of two competing slates is the legitimate one for Michigan.)

Parenthetically, does anyone else remember the credential fight at the 1964 Democratic Convention in which the Mississippi Freedom Democratic Party, a Black (and white allies) coalition of voting rights activists led by indominable organizer Fannie Lou Hamer, challenged the credentials of the white racist Dixiecrat Party?

Mrs Fannie Lou Hamer in 1963 SNCC film "We'll Never Turn Back" — Fannie Lou Hamer, 1963

From Wikipedia:

The MFDP,,,challenged the right of the Mississippi Democratic Party's delegation to participate in the convention, claiming that the regulars had been illegally elected in a completely segregated process that violated both party regulations and federal law, and that the regulars had no intention to support President Lyndon B. Johnson, the party's candidate, in the November election. They asked that the MFDP delegates be seated rather than the segregationist regulars.

There followed a long hearing process, and LBJ attempted to forge a compromise that was unacceptable to Hamer and the MFDP delegation. Ultimately the party decided to accept the white segregationist delegation, the MFDP left, and Democrats went on to lose Mississippi in the general election.

So this could be something like what Michigan’s GOP factions face in the run-up to this summer’s RNC. But Lennox says, “My prediction is the RNC moves swiftly on recognizing or de-recognizing a chairman in Michigan. Even if that means calling a new meeting of the State Committee to reenact whatever they did today.” That’s especially true if, as looks likely, Trump nails down the nomination quickly and there’s little for the national convention to argue about. In the meantime, however, who gets to spend money in the GOP bank account (assuming they have any)? More significantly, perhaps, Lennox notes, “With or without a decision by the RNC, what does Democrat [sic, grrrrrr] Secretary of State Benson do? If I were her and wanted to play partisan games, I'd keep recognizing the rump/junta/continuing party chaired by Karamo.” Ultimately, he concludes, “If the RNC under Michigan's own Ronna McDaniel wants to act, they will. It's that simple. RNC can do whatever it wants. At the end of the day, it's a private club. Even its rules are hardly the Ten Commandments. All eyes on McDaniel.”

I’d love to hear from any Michiganders on how this is playing out in the state — and whether Democrats are sitting back and enjoying the show, or weighing in at all.

But even so. . . I still light Hanukah candles

rugbymom

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Sunday December 18, 2022 · 2:06 PM PST

2022/12/18 · 14:06

I grew up in a mixed family, secular socialist Jews on one side, secular sort-of Christian on the other. My Jewish grandparents lived near us until I was 10, and they didn’t observe the major holidays like Passover and the High Holy Days (Yom Kippur and Rosh Hashanah). But my zeidi wanted us to know the kids’ holidays, Hanukah and Purim. So for Hanukah, he lit candles, and taught us how to play dreidle games where you could win nuts or raisins, and sometimes he gave us Hanukah gelt (gold-wrapped chocolate coins). I am even less Jewish-observant than they were. But most years, I still light the menorah that my aunt gave me decades ago.

So here’s the story of Hanukah, more or less as I was taught it. (Remember, they’re secular socialists. This may not be the Authorized Version you would learn in Hebrew school, which I never attended.)

There was a big war. The bad invader guys were trying to destroy the people’s culture and everything, so among other things, they totally trashed the Temple and extinguished the Light that symbolized the presence of God. Poof! No Light, so God doesn’t love you any more.

Eventually the good guys got the bad invader guys out, and cleaned the debris out of the Temple. But when they were ready to rekindle the Light, they had a problem. They could only find a little bit of oil that the invaders hadn’t managed to find and trash, just enough for maybe one day. The process for making purified oil for the Temple took . . . eight days. What to do? Light it, and have it go out again? Or wait the eight days?

They decided they needed to get it lit right away. The people needed to see that the Light was there. They’d figure out the next day what to do after that.

But the next day the Light was still burning. How could it? There wasn’t enough oil. But there it was. And the next, and the next, and so on for eight whole days, until the fresh oil was ready.

Ceramic Chanukia: 3 women/robed adults with a little girl/robed child in a body posture of interested watching as the adult at the left is pouring a jar of water or oil past the child to the row of eight vessels just below their feet, the center adult holds clasped or clapping hands above right shoulder-height, and the third woman/adult with head tilted in watching position has a book in her hands. The title of the work is Miracle of the Jar of Oil. Green-bronze glaze with brown glaze detail along the foot. -- late 1940s, by Chava Samuel (1904-1989, b.Germany, d.Israel) -- Image use permitted with attribution under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported license. — “Miracle of the Jar of Oil” by German-Israeli artist Chava Samuel (1904-1989)

That’s why every year we celebrate by lighting candles for 1, then 2, then 3, then up to 8 nights. And why the letters on the dreidle are the initials N, G, H, and SH. (SH is a single letter in Hebrew, Shin, the one that looks like a fancy W.) They stand for Nes Gadol Hayah Sham — A Great Miracle Happened There.

So go ahead. Light the light, even when you are sure that there isn’t enough oil. That there isn’t enough of whatever it is that you need to keep going. Just begin. Sometimes, just sometimes, what you think isn’t enough, turns out to be just right.

The last Civil War veteran in RI (US Colored Troops)

rugbymom

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Monday May 31, 2021 · 8:36 AM PDT

2021/05/31 · 08:36

Color guard of Grand Army of the Republic commemoration, 1930s. — Edward P. Taylor, veteran of US Colored Troops, flag bearer at Grand Army of the Republic parade. Date unknown.

The last known surviving Civil War veteran in Rhode Island, Edward P. Taylor, died in 1940, just before his 98th birthday. Even as an old man, he was active in the McGregor Post #14, Grand Army of the Republic, serving as color bearer in numerous parades and events. Arthur J. Viens, past commander of the Rhode Island Commandery, Military Order of Foreign Wars, recalled his Irish grandmother introducing him, as a child, to the aged Mr. Taylor at a “Decoration Day” parade.

Four Civil War veterans, West Warwick, RI — Edward P. Taylor (far right) with other Civil War Veterans

But Taylor was not a RI native. He had been born into slavery in Maryland in 1842. During the Civil War, he took his freedom, went to Washington, D.C., and in 1863 enlisted in the newly-formed 2nd Regiment, United States Colored Troops. The U.S. Colored Troops units were organized by the Federal government early in 1863, after self-emancipated Blacks showed up in droves at Union Army encampments begging to be allowed to help the war effort. The more than 178,000 men who served provided much-needed manpower for the Union effort. The 2nd Infantry saw action along the Gulf Coast, especially in Florida, where Mr. Taylor was badly wounded. While in the hospital he met John Holden, a Rhode Island soldier who had also been injured, and the two became good friends. Holden encouraged his friend to come to Rhode Island, where, he said, the textile mills were always looking for good workers.

Following his war service, Taylor returned to Washington, where he married a formerly enslaved woman, Martha Scott. In 1874, they decided to take advantage of John Holden’s offer, and moved with their two young children to West Warwick, RI. True to his word, Holden helped Taylor get a job

as a cloth dyer at the local mill, and helped the family buy a home. Martha Taylor helped support their growing family by taking in laundry. They were married for 70 years; she died less than a year before he did in 1940.

Taylor's remarkable story was rediscovered as the West Warwick Public Library digitized photographs taken of the Pawtuxet Valley and its citizens between 1880 and 1935. Volunteers Chester and Janice Browning began digging into his background, and eventually connected with Taylor descendants who were also researching their family history. They discovered that Taylor, his wife, and several of their children were buried at the local Greenwood Cemetery without a headstone or other marker.

The Major Sullivan Ballou Camp of the Sons of Union Veterans of the Civil War (successor to the G.A.R.), a reenactor group, took on the service project of obtaining and installing a proper headstone and military marker.

Members of Major Sullivan Ballou Camp #3, Sons of Union Veterans, May 27, 2012 — Members of Major Sullivan Ballou Camp #3, S.U.V.C.W.

(You may recall Sullivan Ballou’s letter to his wife was featured in Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary. Yes, that Sullivan Ballou, a Rhode Island lawyer — although there’s a question now whether he really was the author of the famous letter.) The headstone was unveiled and dedicated in a Memorial Day ceremony, Saturday, May 26, 2012. The ceremony was organized by the Sullivan Ballou unit (in full period dress, both veterans and some women civilians), other units of the S.U.V.C.W., and the Military Order of Foreign Wars.

Descendants of Edward P. Taylor, with military members and veterans

Four descendants of Mr. Taylor were present, delighted to see their ancestor’s service recognized by his community.

Steven A. Usler, an aide to Sen. Jack Reed (D-RI), read a citation and presented them with a neatly-folded flag that had flown over the U.S. Capital. The ceremony ended with a rifle salute by members of the 2nd Rhode Island Volunteers, and "Taps."

As a pacifist, I’m not generally a big fan of (or attender at) military ceremonies. But on that day, I was glad to be able to witness proper attention and recognition given to a man — and his family — who served the nation well, and went on to serve his community well for many decades thereafter.

Headstone, plaque, flag and flowers for Edward P. Taylor (d. 1940)

ACTION NEEDED TODAY: Shave the Peak

rugbymom

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Friday July 19, 2019 · 5:50 AM PDT

2019/07/19 · 05:50

chart of energy use and sources on hot summer day — The black area at the top is coal-fired plants kicking in.

For the millions of us who are in the midst of the massive heat wave across large swaths of the US, there is a simple move we can make that helps reduce CO2 emissions. It’s called “Shave the Peak.” The Green Energy Consumers organization in RI/MA promotes this, and I get alerts from them and from our utility on days when it’s needed, but everyone can do this.

Here’s why: On days with very high electrical usage, which mostly is the hot humid days with air conditioners going full blast everywhere, the utilities have to kick in the plants they don’t normally operate. Those are the old dirty inefficient ones (coal, in our region), the ones we really don’t want to have operating, that kick out way more CO2 per kilowatt than the usual mix does. (They’re also the most expensive per kilowatt.) So if we can even out the usage, and keep those plants offline, we’re helping reduce CO2 emissions. It also saves money, which in the long run should help utility rates.

What they ask: During the worst hours, generally 3-8 pm, do everything you can to reduce electrical use. Move every activity you can either earlier or later: laundry, cooking, dishwasher, hot showers that kick on an electrical water-heater, running the A/C or dehumidifier; charging electronic devices. It’s not that difficult if you plan ahead; do the cooking for dinner in the cooler mornings and eat a cold meal. If you have someone in the household who’s elderly or ill who can’t tolerate heat, run the A/C extra (to a cooler temp) in the morning, and then see if you can shut it down during the peak.

I find this easier — and easier to persuade people to do — than telling people not to use electricity at all. Obviously, reducing total usage is also helpful, 365 days a year. But this time-shifting is supposed to help a lot too, without causing as much dislocation.

On Twitter: @ShaveThePeak

The great John Dingell has passed

rugbymom

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Thursday February 07, 2019 · 6:30 PM PST

2019/02/07 · 18:30

SOUTHGATE, MI - FEBRUARY 24: U.S. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) , 87, the longest serving member of Congress in U.S. history, announces his retirement at a luncheon February 24, 2014 in Southgate, Michigan. Dingell began serving in Congress in 1955, taking over the seat his father vacated. (Photo by Bill Pugliano/Getty Images)

The Detroit News is reporting that John Dingell, the longest-serving member of the House (D-MI), has died, at age 92.

Michigan Democrat John Dingell, the longest-serving member ever of Congress . . . died Thursday, his wife said. He was 92.

The Dearborn statesman was a champion of the auto industry and was credited with increasing access to health care, among other accomplishments. Dingell helped write most of America's major environmental and energy laws.

There was a warning earlier in the week, as his wife, Rep. Debbie Dingell, went home from DC to be with him.

Friends and colleagues know me and know I would be in Washington right now unless something was up. I am home with John and we have entered a new phase. He is my love and we have been a team for nearly 40 years.
Ã¢ÂÂ Rep. Debbie Dingell (@RepDebDingell) February 6, 2019

I will be taking each day as it comes. We thank people for their friendship and support and ask for prayers and privacy during this difficult time.
Ã¢ÂÂ Rep. Debbie Dingell (@RepDebDingell) February 6, 2019

Dingell himself (a prolific and clever tweeter) managed to tweet this out yesterday:

The Lovely Deborah is insisting I rest and stay off here, but after long negotiations we've worked out a deal where she'll keep up with Twitter for me as I dictate the messages. I want to thank you all for your incredibly kind words and prayers. You're not done with me just yet.
Ã¢ÂÂ John Dingell (@JohnDingell) February 6, 2019

Another giant, gone to his well-earned rest.

Cheers and Jeers (Ersatz edition)

rugbymom

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Thursday October 11, 2018 · 6:17 AM PDT

2018/10/11 · 06:17

Seen on my walk yesterday -- thank you, neighbor!

Since Bill in Portland Maine is temporarily indisposed, and hasn’t posted (yet) this morning, I’ve taken the liberty of posting a counterfeit C&J to give everyone a space to share. (Not to worry, Billeh — I don’t want the permanent gig, and can’t live up to your level of snark.)

CHEERS to epic trolling, Part 4,513: What would you guess you’d find at BrettKavanaugh.com? Per HuffPost:

Don’t expect to find any flattering biographical information about newly-minted Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh on his namesake website domain.

Instead, visitors to BrettKavanaugh.com are invited to click on links to resources for survivors of sexual assault.

Kavanaugh, who was sworn in Monday despite accusations of sexual assault by several women, failed to secure his name’s URL and it was scooped up by Fix The Court, a judicial reform organization.

(Hunter has a whole diary on it.)

CHEERS to more “witches” found: In case you missed it yesterday, Richard Pinedo, who pleaded guilty back in February to stealing online identities and selling them to the 13 Russians who have been indicted for 2016 election interference, was sentenced to six months in prison plus six months home confinement plus two years supervised release. And yes, he’s cooperating fully with Mueller.

NO PUPPIES, BUT. . . I just returned from two weeks in South Africa.

Endangered white rhinos, protected by cracker-jack anti-poaching security force

Baby hyenas peeking out of their den (in a termite mound)

At an eatery on Vilakasi Street, Soweto, between Nelson Mandela’s house and Bishop Tutu’s house

CHEERS On the long plane ride home, I watched the Mr. Rogers Neighborhood documentary. I found it very soothing and uplifting — and I’m not the only one:

Lisa Murkowski said she watched Mr. Rogers documentary following Kavanaugh vote.

"I figured I needed something calming for the night. It's okay to be good with another. It's okay to accept people for who they are. It's okay to just find the good." https://t.co/GjHnoBtCH5
Ã¢ÂÂ Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) October 10, 2018

As Bill would say, Floor’s open — What are you cheering and jeering about today?

Poll

62 votes Show Results

How are you doing on donations to Democratic candidates?

62 votes Vote Now!

How are you doing on donations to Democratic candidates?

I've given all I can this cycle

19 votes

Sorry, they're a bunch of fat cats and don't need my money. Let George (Soros) do it.

1 vote

I've given some but will give more.

26 votes

Thanks for reminding me -- taking out the checkbook/credit card right now.

4 votes

I can't give money right now, so I'm phone banking/canvassing/postcarding instead.

12 votes

Let 1,000 sites of resistance arise -- legally

rugbymom

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Wednesday June 20, 2018 · 9:11 AM PDT

2018/06/20 · 09:11

scales of justice in a courtroom. — Let's put our thumbs on the other scale to even things up, shall we?

The horrific news this morning is of young children being whisked around the country, dispersed from the holding pens at the border to Michigan, New York, and elsewhere.

Michigan's Department of Civil Rights says that it's receiving detained immigrant children as young as 3 months old. https://t.co/5aIaheiyLX
Ã¢ÂÂ Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) June 20, 2018

EXCLUSIVE: Children from the southern border are being brought to NYC after being separated from their families.
Overnight, @joshrobin captured video of unusual activity at a foster agency in East Harlem. #MorningsOn1 pic.twitter.com/WhiN27wb5T
Ã¢ÂÂ Spectrum News NY1 (@NY1) June 20, 2018

While this is indeed horrific — echoes of slave ships — it also provides literally thousands of opportunities for resistance, in local communities. How? By just forcing the Federal government to obey the laws.

Opportunity #1: The airlines. (See this diary on the trauma for flight attendants.) Every airline has procedures and policies firmly in place regarding transportation of minors. They are designed to thwart trafficking (and also parental custody disputes). Remember the case a couple of weeks ago when a (white) mother got asked for the birth certificate for her (darker) infant? That’s the policy running amok, but it’s definitely the policy. If you fly with a child who isn’t your own, or even if you don’t have the same last name, you have to have proof that you either are the parent, or that you have the parent’s permission to take the child with you, or a court order giving you custody. I’ve known foster parents who found out they couldn’t take a foster child to, say, a wedding, or DisneyWorld, without a judge specifically authorizing it.

So the airlines just need to enforce that rule here. You want to bring a toddler on the plane? Let me see your papers. Let me see your court order. Just because you have a uniform on doesn’t mean you can do whatever you want to; if some random Joe or Jane showed up in fatigues, or a police uniform, we still couldn’t allow them to transport a child without documents.

The airlines should be pressured — social media, every way possible — to stop cooperating with this scheme, effective immediately. The pilot and flight attendant unions could help, immediately, by saying they expect their members to obey the rules for transporting minors traveling without a legal parent or guardian, and announcing that they will defend any of their members who are potentially disciplined for refusing to transport children without proper papers or legal authorization.

Opportunity #2: Reportedly, these children are then being funneled into state foster care systems and group homes all around the country. That’s an occasion and a local focus for public outrage — what is NY State thinking, collaborating with this? Under what authority are states signing onto this monstrous deal? This is a political opportunity for states to object, just as they have with sending National Guard to the border, and therefore for citizens to pressure.

Opportunity #3: State legal systems. This is also a huge opportunity to create a counter-narrative to the “we’re just following the law here” nonsense. The systems for foster care have 100 years worth of statutory framework (required by federal law), rules, procedures, and court practices governing them. No matter how a child comes into care — even if found wandering the streets, or left by the side of the road in a box — there are procedures. There are hearings, quickly — an emergency hearing if necessary.

For example, I got a call one morning (back when I was practicing law). A baby had been born the night before at the local hospital, to a mother who was in a psychiatric hospital (long term) and pretty obviously couldn’t care for it. The hospital had called the state DCYF, which was preparing to go into court that afternoon to get an immediate order so they could place the child in foster care instead of keeping her in the hospital. They wanted to know if I would act as guardian ad litem for the baby, a role I’d done many times before. (“Are you a mom?” the social worker asked me. “We think we need a mom here.” Yes, I was, although it was an improper question, and yes, I could.) Only with that court order would the baby be released from the hospital to the foster parents. Then there would be more thorough hearings, with the mother also represented by counsel, and review hearings that went on more than two years, until it was clear that the mother wasn’t getting functional enough to parent, even with multiple tweaks to her medication, and the child was eventually freed for adoption.

Every state has these procedures, although how seriously they’re taken, and how competent the participants, varies quite widely. There are requirements for finding and notifying parents. The child gets a guardian ad litem, and often an attorney as well. Their job is to make sure the child’s best interests are being protected. The parent gets an attorney, at state expense. The parent has a right to consult with counsel, and to participate in the hearing. If the parent is incarcerated (or in a psychiatric facility) but shows an interest in the child, the jail has to set up a link for the parent to participate remotely. (I won a case on appeal for a guy who was in prison out of state, and had a crappy telephone hook-up that didn’t really allow him to participate in the hearing terminating his parental rights.) It is not automatic — per longstanding case law — that any incarcerated parent has forfeited their rights, especially if it’s a pre-trial or short-term incarceration; you have to balance and prove harm to the child.

So there are both substantive rights, and huge procedural rights for both parent and child. It’s cumbersome and makes the state’s job more difficult — and that’s a good thing. It *should* be difficult for the government to disrupt parent-child bonds. It *should* be a last resort, only when absolutely necessary to protect the child’s safety. Thanks to generations of dedicated lawyers, there’s copious case law that family preservation has to weigh heavily, much more heavily than “but this way the child gets three square meals a day.”

If states force the Federal government to abide by the same rules that everyone else has to, it will slow this process down. It will prevent DHS from fast-tracking this and sneaking kids out without any public attention. It will force the local US Attorneys’ offices to go into Family Court or magistrates’ court — in courthouses they’ve never been in, before judges they’ve never had to deal with, dealing with statutes they’ve never read before — to justify the government’s actions. It will force lawyers and social workers to either comply with unreasonable demands, or stand up and say, “Sorry, we don’t do it that way here.” And it doesn’t require disobeying the law and the rules; it requires complying with them, and pointing out that it’s the Federal government that is running lawless and out of control.

In other words, if people refuse to get scared, and just do their jobs — treat these kids the way their existing rules require them to treat any other kids on their flights, or any other kids coming into their foster care system — it could be a huge step towards shutting this down. Let AG Jeff Sessions and those preaching about the alleged Biblical mandate to obey the laws argue why they shouldn’t have to do the same.

Should allies take a knee?

rugbymom

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday October 08, 2017 · 2:09 PM PDT

2017/10/08 · 14:09

So in between posting comments here, I have been training for my first 10K since, well, let’s just say Jimmy Carter was President when I ran my only other one. The race is tomorrow (Indigenous People’s Day, according to the Mashpee Wampanoag who I figure get naming rights in eastern Massachusetts). It’s probably going to rain (ick).

I’ve done quite a few 5Ks over the years. I love the crowds, which at least where I am are increasingly diverse, reflecting the whole community — Hispanic, African-American, African, South Asian, Middle East, eastern European. I don’t particularly care about the national anthem, but there it is, at the beginning of the race, part of the ritual.

BOSTON, MA - AUGUST 19: Counter protesters hold up fists and signs during a march to the 'Free Speech Rally' on Boston Common on August 19, 2017 in Boston, Massachusetts. Thousands of demonstrators and counter-protestors are expected at Boston Common where the Boston Free Speech Rally is being held. (Photo by Scott Eisen/Getty Images) — This is from the August 2017 counter-demonstration on Boston Common, not from a road race.

But now I'm thinking about tomorrow’s start. Boston Common, practically across from the MA State House, site of many demonstrations over the years. 5,000+ women, probably of every ethnic, racial, national, religious, gender identity, sexual orientation, age, and every other type of diversity. (Yes, there is a wheelchair division.) I’ll be just another older white runner, in the middle of the back of the pack. No one will have their cameras trained on me; they’ll all be watching the first row of elite runners.

So do I take a knee, in solidarity with #BLM? If so, do I need some sort of #BLM sign so people understand why I’m doing it? Is it helpful, or would it come across as trying to draw attention to myself, which doesn’t seem appropriate? Do I wait until I get there and ask around to see if there’s a group that plans to do this?

Comments welcome. I may not be around to respond to each one but will be back later.

Poll

39 votes Show Results

If you were me, would you take a knee?

39 votes Vote Now!

If you were me, would you take a knee?

Yes, with some kind of sign showing why you're doing it

5 votes

Yes, just do it.

28 votes

Depends on whether you find other people, especially people of color

2 votes

Depends on something else (say more in the comments)

0 votes

No, no one cares what someone in the back of the pack does.

0 votes

No, it's not about you.

3 votes

Other (say more in comments)

1 vote

Next challenge for activists: The Cabinet nominations fight

rugbymom

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Tuesday December 20, 2016 · 4:56 AM PST

2016/12/20 · 04:56

As we look (with dread) towards January, the most important next step should be putting maximum public pressure on the US Senate to reject all (or at least most) of the current slate of Cabinet (and sub-Cabinet) nominees. As you probably already know, the list PEOTUS (or, more likely, his team) is proposing ranges from rank incompetents to hard-right-wing ideologues to full-blown conspiracy theorists. Almost all are old rich white males; too many (for my taste) are recently-retired military men. (For more detail on some of them, see Sher Watts Spooner’s Sunday front-page diary, “Donald Trump’s contemptible cabinet (with poll!)”)

Fortunately, the Senate confirmation process should provide a meaningful opportunity for pushback. This is one of the checks-and-balances wisely embedded in the Constitution. The men who drafted the US Constitution had no rosy illusions about human nature. Some had dealt, directly or indirectly, with King George III, who took the throne (at age 22) in the middle of a brutal world-wide war (1755-1763), and had well-documented periods of madness throughout his 60-year reign. They had experience with profiteering, treachery, and treason within their own ranks. They tried to design a system that could rein in the evil designs that they assumed would manifest from time to time. Will it succeed this time? We don’t know yet — but we certainly need to use all the opportunities the Constitution provides.

There are indications that since the Republicans never expected to win, none of the usual pre-Election vetting and investigating happened. The list has been thrown together quickly, based, it sounds, on limited consultation within the inner circle and the PEOTUS’s gut instincts. So many of these nominees may have histories or embarrassing financial or personal issues that Trump/Pence/Priebus may not even know about. And as Laura Clawson has previously diaried (“Democratic groups aren't giving Trump's awful nominees a pass”), David Brock’s pro-Clinton Super PAC and some Clinton campaign aides want to make sure they find whatever may be out there — past statements, voting records, tax documents, and business ties (including those reported in Russian-language sources) — to pass along to Senate committee members:

Clinton aides are teaming up with a Dem group to find oppo research to sink Trump's cabinet nominees Ã¢ÂÂ@BuzzFeed https://t.co/xOg5JwFbeq
Ã¢ÂÂ Kyle Griffin (@kylegriffin1) December 17, 2016

As I’ll detail below, various Democratic Senators have taken the lead in opposing each of the nominees. (I’ve undoubtedly missed some, so feel free to add in the comments.) They are obviously coordinating and pooling research capacity.

As you’ll see below, some of the nominees are also running into opposition from the far-right because they’re not far-far-far-right enough for the newly empowered true believers. That’s not company I’d want to keep — but on the other hand, divisions between the Priebus and Bannon wings could work to our advantage if they peel off a vote or two, or if the nominees are so eager to prove their far-far-far-right bona fides that the somewhat less extreme Republicans find them too far out there. There may also be opposition from the Washington Establishment to nominees from outside that circle; the NY Times notes that these outsiders were chosen precisely to “unnerve” and shake up Washington, and Washington may not like being shook.

Can we defeat all the nominees? It seems too much to hope for — but every one who gets defeated, or withdraws under aggressive questioning, the better the next year or two or four will be. We need three Republican votes to block each one on the floor of the Senate. But in the committees, which mostly have a one-vote Republican majority, we only need one to block — assuming the Democrats all hold firm.

It’s also not unusual for a nominee to withdraw his or her name during the confirmation process as embarrassing information comes out, or if it becomes clear that the votes are not there. It would be highly unusual for the Senate to reject most or all of a President’s choices — but as we know, “unusual” doesn’t begin to describe this transition process, so let’s go for it.

The most important thing for most of us to do is contact your own Senators, regardless of which party they’re in. That’s the key — they want to hear from their own constituents, so you call and politely say, “I’m a Kansas City voter and would like to urge the Senator to. . . .” You may want to focus on one race, especially if you have professional or personal expertise or links, or they are a key vote on a particular committee — or (especially for Democrats) just urge them to vote “no” on the entire list. I’ll go through some of the most important races, but first, a link to The Nation magazine’s Action page, which has a petition to sign (coordinated with other groups such as Public Citizen) and advice on contacting your own Senators. The hearings won’t happen until January, but the hearings and public narrative are being shaped now. So this is a perfect time to be vocal.

Now, the lineup, with priority on the worst and most important positions:

Secretary of State: Rex Tillerson, CEO of Exxon Mobil and a BFF of Putin with extensive personal and business investments in Russia, with a firm that is very closely enmeshed with Putin himself. Also under attack by the SEC for Exxon’s long history of climate change information suppression, and for lying about the value of Exxon’s oil reserves. Clear conflict of interest because of unvested stock rights that can't be divested (even if he gave up all other Exxon stock and involvement), enabling him to profit directly from the US dropping its sanctions against Russia.
- Opposition: McCain (R-AZ, probably), Graham (R-SC), Rubio (R-FL); Menendez (NJ), Reed (RI). Also 350.org (because oil) — and Breitbart News (because he wrote an Op-Ed in 2013 praising Common Core, a litmus test for the far-right).
- Support: Condoleeza Rice (a Russian specialist by training, with an oil tanker named after her) and Robert Gates, both of whom work for a law/ lobbying firm that represents Exxon in its Russian partnership, so not exactly neutral observers. Dick Cheney reportedly also is lobbying hard for Tillerson.

The Russia connection is a huge issue here (even per Chuck Todd at NBC). Putin has actively praised and promoted Tillerson, which is akin to allowing a (traditionally hostile) foreign power to name your chief diplomat. Photos of the two together are among the most frequent pictures shown of Tillerson. This hearing in the Senate Foreign Relations Committee is likely to be the earliest public examination of the Russian hacking, as well as a surrogate for Trump’s own blatant opportunities to profit from his governmental position, so expect (and hope for) fireworks.

ExxonMobil CEO Rex Tillerson and Russian President Vladimir Putin chatting it up after signing a deal in 2012

Deputy Secretary of State: Walrus-mustached John Bolton, who served as UN Ambassador under a recess appointment by Bush II, but then resigned rather than risk an almost-certain “no” vote from the Democratic-majority Senate in early 2007. Promoted conspiracy theories about Hillary’s supposed dire health and about Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin; thinks DNC hacking was Obama-initiative “false flag” operation.
- Opposition, so far: Rand Paul says “automatic no” because of Bolton’s support for the Iraq War. Presumably, also every Democrat because of everything else on his record plus his looniness.

Attorney General/DOJ: Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL). His biggest problem is a long history of opposition to civil rights, and just plain white supremacy and racism, bad enough that the Senate rejected him in 1986 when Reagan tried to appoint him as a federal judge in AL. (He conveniently left that off the questionnaire he filled out, even though it explicitly asked for failed appointments — but has now amended it, I gather.) Also undoubtedly anti-LGBTQ, and a Sessions-led DOJ would presumably not do anything by way of investigating Russian hacking, FBI violations of the Hatch Act, or anything else we need, while pursuing draconian drug policies and long prison sentences that devastate communities of color, and gutting what’s left of the Voting Rights Act.
- Opposition: Sen. Dianne Feinstein (CA) seems to be taking a lead role, asking Sen. Judiciary Chair Charles Grassley (R-IA) for more time to study the voluminous materials the applicant provided, plus the many more speeches and writings that staff turned up which Sessions had not volunteered. Request denied; hearing is scheduled for Jan. 10-11. Also in opposition: NAACP Legal Defense Fund, People for the American Way. The ACLU as a matter of policy does not take positions for or against particular nominees, but provides pretty scathing factual information on Sessions and several other key nominees.
- Support: Biggest problem here is getting Senators to vote against one of their own, both in committee (he’s a member of the Judiciary Committee) and on the floor. OTH, he presumably can’t vote himself, which helps. Grassley clearly wants to push this through quickly and none of that opposition nonsense, so any signs of it getting “bogged down” are a plus for us.
- Democrats have a solid bench of sluggers on Judiciary: Leahy (VT) (Ranking Member), Schumer (NY), Durbin (IL), Whitehouse (RI), Feinstein (CA), Klobuchar (MN), Franken (MN), Coons (DE), Blumenthal (CT) (though lists may change when new members are sworn in). But the Republican bench is also solid and well-respected.
Treasury Dept.: Steve Mnuchin, who has it all: 17 years at Goldman Sachs (following his father’s footsteps there, but nah, no affirmative action ever helps white males), hedge fund manager, buyer of IndyMac (renamed as OneWest) that profited from fraudulently issuing subprime loans mostly to blacks and seniors, and then foreclosing. (Why are these people not in jail?) National finance chair for Trump Campaign.
- Opposition: Elizabeth Warren (MA) seems to be in the lead here, as well she should, with full support from Ron Wyden (OR), Ranking Member of Senate Finance Committee. Also reportedly opposing: right-winger Eric Erickson, pointing out (accurately, and agreeing with Sanders) that this is the opposite of the swamp-draining Trump promised.
Commerce: Wilbur Ross, gazillionnaire Wall Street fraudster who profited like Mnuchin from the housing collapse. Owner of the Sago Mine where 12 miners died, a peculiar way for Trump to repay the coal miners who helped him to victory in PA, OH, and elsewhere.
EPA: OK AG Scott Pruitt, climate change denier with a long history of suing the EPA to protect OK's lucrative oil and gas interests.
- Opposition: Climate advocate Sheldon Whitehouse (RI), Merkley (OR), Sanders (I-VT), Blumenthal (CT), supported by every environmental group you can name.
Education: Betsy DeVos, ultra-wealthy MI funder of numerous right-wing initiatives and vigorous advocate of vouchers to use public funds for private schools, with a goal of basically destroying the concept of “public schools.” Also wants public schools to do “God’s work” of religious indoctrination.
- Opposition: First, some of the ultra-right-wing anti-Common Core people reportedly think she’s not ultra-right-wing enough against it. A letter saying she shouldn’t even get a hearing until she pays $5+ million in fines to the state of OH from a previous lawsuit was sent on Dec. 15 by Udall (NM), Markey (MA), Merkley (OR), Brown (OH), and Sanders (I-VT). Both major teachers’ unions (NEA and AFT) are strongly opposed.
HHS: Rep. Tom Price (R-GA), currently House Budget Committee chair, ally of Speaker Paul Ryan. Physician, vigorous advocate of limiting access to contraception and of eliminating all government health care programs including Medicare, Obamacare, Medicaid, etc.
- Opposition: Schumer says Medicare is completely non-negotiable; will he lead the fight against Price?
Labor: Andy Puzder, CEO of fast-food empire CKE Restaurants, the parent company of Hardee's and Carl's Jr. Longtime GOP donor. Serial violator of multiple labor laws. Advocates eliminating most workplace protections, including minimum wage, and the overtime rules. Fierce opponent of the Fight for $15, unions, paid sick leave, and everything else the Obama Labor Dept. under Tom Perez has been trying to achieve. Also anti-ACA, anti-choice, and has been accused of domestic violence.
- Opposition: Breitbart News, because Puzder (not surprisingly) thinks immigrants make a terrific low-wage workforce and should not be kicked out. More usefully, Elizabeth Warren (MA) and Mary Kay Henry, president of the politically active Service Employees International Union (SEIU).
HUD: Ben Carson, whose only qualification (other than NYC-born-and-raised PEOTUS’s automatic association of dark skin with the word “urban”) seems to be that he lives in a house. Another “disrupter” whose obvious goal is to destroy the agency he’s tasked with running, and to make the photographs look less obviously whites-only-may-apply.
Energy: Rick “Oops” Perry, who famously forgot that it was one of the agencies he wanted to completely eliminate. Climate change denier who sits (for six-figure annual honorarium — why don’t any of us ever get these cushy gigs?) on the Board of the company building the Dakota Access Pipeline, and who still may not realize that the DOE has responsibility for keeping the nuke arsenal safe.
- Opposition: So far, Heinrich (NM), with an assist from House Minority Leader Pelosi. Expect all the environmental groups here as well, plus anyone concerned about nuclear safety.
Office of Management and Budget: Rep. Mick Mulvany (R-SC), Tea Party/Freedom Caucus Republican, austerity fanatic budget-slasher, leader of shutdown / hostage taking , staunch opponent of government spending (including Pentagon). See Jon Perr’s excellent take-down diary, as well as several items in today’s Abbreviated Pundit Round-up. Would present an interesting dilemma for PEOTUS’s loudly-touted $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Opponents: Nancy Pelosi; Tim Kaine (VA) issued a statement last night condemning Mulvany’s “pro-shutdown record” and attempts to defund Planned Parenthood. May get opposition from Republicans who love defense spending and only use “austerity” as a weapon to slash social programs.
National Security Advisor: conspiracy-monger Lt. Gen. Michael Flynn, one of Trump’s closest confidants (the guy he listens to instead of the official DNI/CIA intelligence briefings). Caught while serving in Afghanistan releasing super-classified information to Australian and Pakistani allies, but not penalized (Clinton/gendered double standard, ya think?). Caught (with his son) actively recirculating the completely fake story about that nonexistent sex ring in the non-existent basement of the DC pizza parlor, which some dude decided to shoot up just in case. Fiercely anti-Muslim, pro-Turkish (Erdogan fan), and has a private consulting firm through which he may have shared classified information or profited from government position. (Why is he not in jail?)
- Opposition: Unfortunately, this position does not require Senate confirmation. However, Sen. Shaheen and Blumenthal have written to the FBI, DNI, and White House Director of Personnel Management to urge them to deny Flynn a security clearance, which presumably would make him ineligible for the job (though not, unfortunately, for Trump to continue to rely on his “judgment”).
- I suspect Flynn will be a key witness in any hearings about the Russian connection, and may himself be a target of the investigations, since he is one of the Trump inner circle who is known to have a close relationship with Putin. If we ever get to criminal indictments, I would think he, along with Manafort and Roger Stone, would be a prime target. I don’t think it’s out of the question that even in the short term, enough questions will be raised about his inability to separate CT from well-sourced information that his name may get pulled.

Some of the nominations look less problematic to me, but maybe that’s just because I don’t know enough about them. These are the ones that might not be a complete disaster:

CIA: Rep. Mike Pompeo (R-KS), who historically has not been particularly Russia-friendly, so that could be interesting. The ACLU has a fairly critical fact sheet, however. Given the list, I’m suspending judgment on this one. And he’s not a military guy either.
UN Ambassador: SC Gov. Nikki Haley, whose relevant experience seems to be that she has visited and has family connections to one of those foreign countries with a different currency and a distinctively accented variety of English; also she understands that the Confederate flag is not, in fact, a flag representing the US government. And apparently she is willing to be the scapegoat for all the international messes the PEOTUS gets us into — and, presumably, to dutifully take voting instructions from the Russian, Filipino, Turkish, and Israeli UN Ambassadors.
Homeland Security: Gen. John Allen. I hate having a military general in charge of what should be a civilian agency. (He just retired in 2016 — but unlike Defense, there’s no required waiting period for HS.) But Allen sounds a lot saner and more balanced than many on this list and seems to have significant bipartisan support. ACLU review is mixed.
Transportation: Elaine Chao, Secretary of Labor in the Bush II Administration and Deputy Secretary of Transportation under Bush I (and wife of Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, which of course had nothing to do with why she’s being nominated). One of the few nominees with actual experience in the Department she’d be tasked with running.
Defense: Gen. James “Mad Dog” Mattis. Mixed response to this one. He needs a special waiver from Congress because he retired recently, and a law designed to keep the military under real civilian control has a seven-year exclusion for retired military. That seems a principle worth preserving, not granting waivers on. On the other hand, Mattis is reputed (despite his “Mad Dog” moniker) to be a non-hothead non-CT leader who might be a highly useful check on the impulsive let’s-go-shoot-or-bomb-’em-all hotheads.
Interior: Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-MT), avid hunter. Was expected to be a strong challenger to Sen. Tester in 2018, so having him otherwise occupied might be good, unless he’s doing more damage at Interior.
Small Business Administration: Linda McMahon, head of WWE pro-wrestling empire; major Trump backer. (Is the Mar-a-Lago now a “small business” eligible for special grants?)

I hope people will add comments, with a focus on reports on what Democrats and advocacy groups (ours) are actually doing, so that people can use that in exerting pressure. It’s a lot easier to urge your Senator to join an opposition bandwagon that’s already rolling, than to stick their neck out and be the first.

Great Non-English Breakfast #StrongerTogether Community Gathering Place, 12.18.16

rugbymom

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Sunday December 18, 2016 · 4:30 AM PST

2016/12/18 · 04:30

1928 ad for Kellogg's Corn Flakes — 1928 Kellogg's ad (the year Herbert Hoover was elected President)

MichaelHolmans is in the midst of a computer reset, so this morning's breakfast offering comes from the American side of the Atlantic. For more punditry, head over to Mark Sumner’s Abbreviated Pundit Round-up: UnPresidented Edition.

Our breakfast this morning honors Kellogg’s (@KelloggCompany), which is leading an advertisers' boycott of Breitbart News. The company has previously (per Wikipedia) funded a substantial youth project on white privilege and institutional racism, called on President Obama and President-Elect Trump to support the Paris Climate Agreement, promoted “Climate Smart Agriculture” for its grain producers and reducing water usage and overall waste in its manufacturing plants, and donated to activists opposing voter-ID laws.

(Historical note: Kellogg’s started life as an early health food company, back when new techniques for further refining the life out of flour was the new rage, and eating whole grains was something only lefty hippies (and Sylvester Graham, of graham cracker fame) did. They weren’t called “lefty hippies” then; they were Seventh Day Adventists and the radical Quaker spin-off “Congregational and Progressive Friends.”)

1956 ad for Kellogg — GOTV, 1956 style, to go with your breakfast cereal

On to more serious matters. As people have seen from my (probably boringly) repetitious comments, one of the most important places where we all can have a meaningful influence is in the upcoming fights over confirmation of Trump’s nominees for Cabinet and sub-Cabinet positions. This is one of the checks-and-balances wisely embedded in the Constitution, and needs to be fully exploited. Can we defeat all of them? It seems too much to hope for — but every one who gets defeated, or withdraws under aggressive questioning, the better the next year or two or four will be. The hearings won’t happen until January, but the hearings and public narrative are being shaped now. So this is a perfect time to be vocal. The Nation magazine has a petition and more suggestions on how to contact your two Senators. That’s the key — they want to hear from their own constituents, so you call and politely say, “I’m a Kansas City voter and would like to urge the Senator to. . . .”

I’m seeing a lot of articles in the mainstream media describing the problems with Trump’s slate of nominees. That’s encouraging.

David Brock’s pro-Hillary Super PAC has announced it’s working with some former Clinton aides to dig out as much opposition research as they can find on the nominees — past statements, voting records, tax documents, and business ties (including those reported in Russian-language sources) — to pass along to Senate committee members.

I was going to go into detail here on all the nominees (and the Democratic Senators who are taking the lead in opposing them), but instead will make it a separate diary, hoping to attract more readers. There are a couple of other front page diaries announced for later today on the same topic, so I’ll wait and see what they have to say, and post mine later — will link to it in the afternoon or evening threads.

@DanaHoule, one of the few people I read on Twitter, linked to a fascinating thread connecting Trump’s business connections (and the obvious intent not to divest) and Russian connections. I recommend the whole thread. (If you’re not “on” Twitter, it doesn’t matter; just click on this and you can read the whole thread, just not respond.)

we are watching this unfold out in the open:
1) Trump is not divesting his businesses.
Ã¢ÂÂ Tim Dickinson (@7im) December 17, 2016

Dickenson’s key observation is that in every other interaction Trump’s entire posturing is as the super-dominant super-alpha male — but with Putin, it’s utterly servile, not the competitive attempt to out-alpha-male the other alpha-male that one might expect. The question is why — and how long will it take to sleuth out.

Another take on the same topic:

Donald Trump is such a Russian toy that I'm starting to wonder if inside of him is a series of progressively smaller white nationalists
Ã¢ÂÂ Kate Willett (@katewillett) December 16, 2016

Harvard Constitutional Law professor Larry Tribe has tweeted this:

A sober voice uses the "T" word for Trump, which is no longer so far-fetched: https://t.co/Wfl8F2jnbr.
Ã¢ÂÂ Laurence Tribe (@tribelaw) December 18, 2016

For those interested in a thoughtful piece, with historical perspective that strikes me as sound, about the role of the Electoral College in 1789 and now, I recommend this from Salon. Short version: Like much else in politics, it was inserted late in the Constitutional drafting process as a compromise to solve a particular problem, and later Hamilton wrote an elegant justification for it that didn’t discuss the dilemma they’d actually been trying to resolve; and 200+ years of experience can’t be ignored when thinking about its role today. (That, by the way, is what liberals have been arguing for decades now on every other issue, contrary to Scalia’s “original intent” interpretations of the Constitution. We have to, in order to make the 1865 Equal Protection Clause, for example, apply to same-sex marriage, which was nowhere in the the thinking of anyone in 1865.)

We live in interesting times. But then, as a historian, I think most times are interesting, and that the real living happens in between the “historically significant” “newsworthy” events — in the cups of coffee and tea, the small favors we do for each other, the care for the sick and elderly and young children, the daily work, the writing and songs and art, the changing seasons of weather and the changing seasons of our lives. For those who follow the Christian liturgical calendar, this is the season of Advent, a time of expectant waiting (which anyone who’s been through that last month of pregnancy knows so well), in optimism not in dread. For those who follow a pagan calendar, we in the northern hemisphere are approaching the moment of turning, when the daylight begins to get longer and brighter, heralding the return of spring.

Here’s my favorite “Turning” song:

YouTube Video

Hillary News & Views 11.4.16: GOTV and more GOTV

rugbymom

Community (This content is not subject to review by Daily Kos staff prior to publication.)

Friday November 04, 2016 · 4:18 AM PDT

2016/11/04 · 04:18

*** SUPPORT HILLARY CLINTON/TIM KAINE ***

** SUPPORT DOWN-TICKET DEMOCRATS **

Donate Today! (but may be too late to be useful)

VOTE EARLY (if you can)!

Volunteer to GOTV!

The all-out final push continued yesterday, with at least a dozen events for Hillary and her top surrogates. (There were dozens more with second-tier surrogates, so many it’s impossible to cover them all.) The locations are the familiar list of key states: FL, NC, OH, NV, WI, and expand-the-map AZ. We’ll do a quick drive-by, not a lot of detail because you know the messaging: Elect Hillary/Tim, elect down-ticket Democrats, vote early (and return those mail-in-ballots!), volunteer to GOTV.

Chelsea Clinton began the day with a meet-and-greet at a coffee shop in Milwaukee, WI:

Thank you @Anodynecoffee for hosting us this morning in Milwaukee! pic.twitter.com/md7JuLaJj8
Ã¢ÂÂ Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) November 3, 2016

President Obama did two rallies in Miami and Jacksonville, FL:

Gran expectativa en FIU Arena por la llegada del Presidente Barack Obama. pic.twitter.com/ZcPDOSMxsa
Ã¢ÂÂ JosÃÂ© Armando (@Jarm21) November 3, 2016

"Hello, Miami!" pic.twitter.com/dmbJVYjVie
Ã¢ÂÂ Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) November 3, 2016

Full video:

YouTube Video

And now, President @BarackObama takes the stage in Jax! #WeAreFL pic.twitter.com/o1xP7EtFAr
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for Florida (@HillaryforFL) November 3, 2016

Tim Kaine was in Phoenix and Tucson, AZ. In Phoenix he delivered the first-ever stump speech entirely in Spanish (video includes the simultaneous English interpretation overlaid):

YouTube Video

The text (with translation) is available here, and selections were tweeted out on @Hillary_esp.

Ã¢ÂÂDonald Trump: Alguien, que piensa que comunicarse con la comunidad latina significa tuitear una foto de un taco bowlÃ¢ÂÂ Ã¢ÂÂ@TimKaine.
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary en espaÃÂ±ol (@Hillary_esp) November 3, 2016

(“Donald Trump: Someone who thinks that communicating with the Latino community means tweeting a picture of a taco bowl”)

Anne Holton did an event in Toledo, OH, and then on to Reno, NV:

Waiting for Anne Holton in Toledo. Ironworkers Vote Clinton/Kaine!!#StrongerTogether #OHHillYes #OhioVotesEarly pic.twitter.com/EqC70Fb09D
Ã¢ÂÂ Katharine Starkey (@KatharineStarke) November 3, 2016

Anne Holton stopped by one of our Reno field offices today to thank our volunteers: "We're making history and making history is never easy." pic.twitter.com/a34MM5zuk3
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for Nevada (@HillaryforNV) November 3, 2016

Some other friends also doing GOTV in Nevada, for the whole ticket:

.@SecretaryCastro, @JoaquinCastroTX and @RubenKihuen are here with me at UNLV to remind students that their voices and their votes matter. pic.twitter.com/ubjMlFatii
Ã¢ÂÂ CatherineCortezMasto (@CatherineForNV) November 3, 2016

Later in the evening, Bill Clinton joined up with superstar musician and DJ-producer Steve Aoki (a Bernie supporter during the primary) for a free Las Vegas concert and GOTV rally:

YouTube Video

Bernie also started in OH, with rallies on college campuses in Youngstown and Cincinnati, before joining Hillary in NC:

.@BernieSanders at Youngstown State urges Mahoning Valley to vote early for Hillary #OHHillYes #OHVotesEarly pic.twitter.com/nca6COzren
Ã¢ÂÂ Chris Moyer (@ChrisMoyer45) November 3, 2016

Hillary did an early vote rally in Greenville, NC, and an evening rally at the Walnut Creek Music Pavilion in Raleigh, joined by Bernie and by performer Pharrell Williams:

YouTube Video

On the way there, she and Pharrell did a surprise stop at a historically black college:

Hillary Clinton and Pharrell just made a surprise stop at North Carolina Central University, an HBCU in Durham pic.twitter.com/bRzIr9bRWc
Ã¢ÂÂ Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) November 3, 2016

Mission accomplished:

Aide says there's now a huge line of people walking to a nearby early voting site https://t.co/mZR2vGvYG4
Ã¢ÂÂ Jennifer Epstein (@jeneps) November 3, 2016

John Lewis also led another “March to the Polls” in Charlotte, NC:

Charlotte is fired up! Thanks to those who joined @RepJohnLewis to march and vote early. Find your polling location: https://t.co/oQGM5EY8cw pic.twitter.com/SALTMK7i1T
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for NC (@HillaryforNC) November 3, 2016

We're marching to the polls! #NCVotesEarly #NC12 #TTMO pic.twitter.com/WAc0n9sQg5
Ã¢ÂÂ Alma Adams (@AlmaforCongress) November 3, 2016

Is this variation on the traditional Sunday “souls to the polls” a new strategy, perhaps because the state cut back on Sunday voting hours, and/or because younger African-Americans (like their white counterparts) are less likely to attend church regularly? If so, it’s brilliant. President Obama will be back in NC today, with rallies in Fayetteville and Charlotte.

Last but definitely not least, yesterday and all week tens of thousands of volunteers made hundreds of thousands of telephone calls and door-to-door visits. (Someone of you noted in a comment thread getting a surprise GOTV phone call from a US expat living in London, UK.) Every bit helps, even if it’s just talking it up with people you know, wearing your swag out in public, baking cookies or making sandwiches for volunteers, or offering rides to early voting sites and to the regular polls on Tuesday.

For inspiration, read this piece with the headline we thought we’d never see:

Why is Hillary Clinton so widely loved?

Her fans are drawn to her intelligence, her industriousness, and her grit.

From Chimamanda Adichie at The Atlantic:

We do not see, often enough, the people who love Hillary Clinton, who support her because of her qualifications rather than because of her unqualified opponent, who empathize with her. Yet millions of Americans, women and men, love her intelligence, her industriousness, her grit; they feel loyal to her, they will vote with enthusiasm for her.

. . . . There are millions who admire the tapestry of Hillary Clinton’s past: the first-ever student commencement speaker at Wellesley speaking boldly about making the impossible possible, the Yale law student interested in the rights of migrant farmworkers, the lawyer working with the Children’s Defense Fund, the first lady trying to make health care accessible for all Americans.

There are people who love how cleanly she slices through policy layers, how thoroughly she digests the small print. They remember that she won two terms to the United States Senate, where she was not only well-regarded but was known to get along with Republicans. They have confidence in her. There are people who rage at the media on her behalf, who see the coverage she too often receives as unfair. There are people who in a quiet, human way wish her well. There are people who, when Hillary Clinton becomes the first woman to be president of the United States, will weep from joy.

From Guy Cecil, Co-Chair & Chief Strategist for Priorities USA:

The body is tired but the soul is stirring. We're almost there.
Ã¢ÂÂ Guy Cecil (@guycecil) November 4, 2016

@georgefayner We're going to do this. Stay calm. Focus. Keep organizing. We're in this together.
Ã¢ÂÂ Guy Cecil (@guycecil) November 4, 2016

This is my final service on Hillary News & Views; Lysis will do next Wednesday (as I recover from a looooong day working at the polls). I’m not disappearing entirely — you’ll see me in comment threads, and an occasional diary — but need to spend less time obsessing about the election and more on other writing projects. It’s been an honor and a delight getting to know all of you, and participating in this community effort to help elect Hillary as the next President. Forward Together!

*** SUPPORT HILLARY CLINTON/TIM KAINE ***

** SUPPORT DOWN-TICKET DEMOCRATS **

VOTE EARLY (if you can)!

Volunteer to GOTV!

Crossposted at HillaryHQ, an independent, progressive blog committed to electing Hillary Clinton as the next President of the United States. Please considering contributing to the HillaryHQ GoFundMe appeal to support Scan’s outstanding journalism throughout this election season.

Hillary News & Views 11.2.16: Señora Presidenta! FL, WI, NC, Women

rugbymom

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Wednesday November 02, 2016 · 4:33 AM PDT

2016/11/02 · 04:33

Hillary Clinton and Alicia Machado raising hands together, Nov. 1, 2016 — Hillary campaigning with Alicia Machado, Dade City, FL, Nov. 1, 2016

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The focus of the big-name campaign events continues to be states that are important in the Presidential race — and crucial to control of the Senate. The consistent themes are the usual stump speeches, plus early voting (including reminders to return those outstanding mail-in ballots) and turning supporters into more enthusiastic GOTV volunteers. Yesterday was “National Early Voting Day,” another campaign invention:

On National Early Voting Day, @repjohnlewis reminds us that we are one family and we are #StrongerTogether. Go vote! https://t.co/JGHURCrC8N pic.twitter.com/zvRfK6giJ8
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for Florida (@HillaryforFL) November 1, 2016

Hillary and Bill were both back in Florida. In Dade City, Hillary was joined by Senate candidate Patrick Murphy.

"Marco Rubio, he can stay low with Donald Trump, but #ImWithHer." Ã¢ÂÂ@PatrickMurphyFL pic.twitter.com/aSOoprvo3Q
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for Florida (@HillaryforFL) November 1, 2016

Hillary was then introduced by Miss Universe Alicia Machado (who spoke bilingually):

It's really clear that he does not respect women. He just judges us on our looks. . . .He thinks he can do whatever he wants and get away with it. Well, now I'm standing here on behalf of women and Latinos across the country — together we are going to say loudly and clearly: no trump. He's not getting away with it. . . .

Let’s work our hearts out so we can finally say 'Madam President’ — ‘Señora Presidenta!’

Hillary followed, continuing the theme of Trump’s repeated mistreatment of women and girls. (A new ad highlighting his misogyny — using footage of his own words — is reportedly airing in all the key in-play states: AZ, FL, NV, IA, NC, OH and PA.) Here’s full video of both speeches:

YouTube Video

Hillary and Patrick Murphy then went on to an evening rally in Ft. Lauderdale:

Crowd awaiting Clinton in Fort Lauderdale pic.twitter.com/oz8aayAvBZ
Ã¢ÂÂ Patricia Mazzei (@PatriciaMazzei) November 2, 2016

Meanwhile, Bill Clinton spoke in Florida City, Immokalee, and St. Petersburg.

An electric crowd for @billclinton in St. Pete! #WeAreFL pic.twitter.com/DD0kHb8Acs
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for Florida (@HillaryforFL) November 1, 2016

Earlier in the day, John Lewis and Patrick Murphy led an early-voting “March to the Polls” at historically black Bethune-Cookman College in Daytona Beach:

Marching to the Polls in Daytona Beach with @PatrickMurphyFL, @ajanaomi_king, @repjohnlewis and @doc9hen on National Early Vote Day. pic.twitter.com/aR3AMyqwfD
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for Florida (@HillaryforFL) November 1, 2016

Joe Biden will be in Florida today for rallies in Tampa and Palm Beach.

Tim Kaine spent yesterday in Wisconsin, a state that doesn’t seem to be in doubt on the Presidential level, but does have early voting — and a key Senate race. Tim (with Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Sen. candidate Russ Feingold) spoke in Appleton and UW-Madison, both college communities.

This morning, @TammyBaldwin early voted in Madison. Now, she's back on @UWMadison's campus firing up this crowd waiting to see @TimKaine! pic.twitter.com/ett4o6jd3t
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for WI (@HillaryforWI) November 1, 2016

"All of my successes have been disproportionately through strong women. Now I get to be a strong man supporting a strong woman."Ã¢ÂÂ@timkaine pic.twitter.com/24F9wKzvim
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for WI (@HillaryforWI) November 1, 2016

Joe Biden campaigned for Clinton (and Sen. candidate Deborah Ross) in NC:

"Let me start out by stating the obvious. We win North Carolina, we win it all." Ã¢ÂÂ@VP in Charlotte now

Let's win: https://t.co/qyFFc4JAHC pic.twitter.com/Why1Ob7Fb0
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for NC (@HillaryforNC) November 1, 2016

Bernie! spoke in the college towns of Plymouth and Hanover, NH, and in Portland, ME. From hillaryspeeches.com:

During his speech, Sanders spoke about the importance of the election and ensuring that a progressive is in the White House. He spoke about a number of Hillary Clinton’s platform points, including her plan to make college more affordable, a plan he and Clinton worked together on. Sanders said that electing Clinton is half the battle as she will need support in Congress. He encouraged voters to also support U.S. Senate candidate Maggie Hassan.

Sanders concluded each event by urging everyone to vote on election day and to not get discouraged by the current political climate. “I understand that a lot of people are discouraged by this campaign, and some people are going to sit it out. Don’t you be one of them! The stakes are much too high. This is not a personality contest. You are not voting for the senior class president at the local high school. You are voting for the most important public official in the world. The differences between Secretary Clinton and Donald Trump are day and night.”

.@BernieSanders at @dartmouth: "we need to forgive the debt of those willing to go into public service," @HillaryClinton agrees #nhpolitics pic.twitter.com/uBdXVXJG5S
Ã¢ÂÂ Victor Reyes (@vicreyesep) November 1, 2016

Today, Hillary will be in Tempe, AZ and Las Vegas, NV; POTUS is at UNC-Chapel Hill, NC; Chelsea in Eau Claire and Oshkosh, WI; and Bernie in Milwaukee.

I’m seeing more images of women wearing white to honor the suffragist foremothers:

When Jerry was born, women didn't have the right to vote. Today, at 103, she voted for the first woman president. pic.twitter.com/TIxUt9v0yR
Ã¢ÂÂ Hillary for Arizona (@HillaryforAZ) November 1, 2016

Finally, I’d like to call out yesterday’s diary “The best moment of my day just got way better,” recounting a bedtime conversation between a young girl and her mother who just got home from her evening job:

"We watched TV with Daddy tonight. . . . they were giving someone the nomination to be president. . . .It's a girl, Momma. Did you know a girl could be president?"

Go read the whole thing.

*** SUPPORT HILLARY CLINTON/TIM KAINE ***

** SUPPORT DOWN-TICKET DEMOCRATS **

Donate Today! (Not too late to be useful)

VOTE EARLY (if you can)!

Volunteer to GOTV!

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