Greenville, NC Trump Voters Brand Me A Socialist; As Workers They Loved My Money In The 80s

Greenville, NC Trump Voters Brand Me A Socialist; As Workers They Loved My Money In The 80s

Greenville Wasn’t Always Prosperous

Unlike most progressives, I've been to Greenville, NC. In fact, I've been there at least 25 times. As a small business owner, I pumped a minimum of $25 million into the Greenville, NC manuf economy.

Older Trump supporters in Greenville can brand me as an elite socialist, but I'll bet large numbers of these same Trump voters were happy to have my $$$ support back in the 80s.

The behavior I witnessed by Trump supporters in Greenville this week was horrifying and unAmerican from my perspective. This Politico article says Trump supporters wanted to go much further in Greenville with their chants. See their t-shirts in this Politico article.

All I can tell you, Greenville, is that this capitalist (tomatoes fly stage left from the Bernie crowd) stood with you when Greenville wasn't so prosperous. There was no BMW plant in those days. I could have taken my business off-shore, but did not. My principles dictated that I pay higher prices and support American workers.

'Knock Down the House' Documentary Featuring AOC + Three 2018 Democratic Candidates Sold To Netflix for $10 Million

'Knock Down the House' Documentary Featuring AOC + Three 2018 Democratic Candidates Sold To Netflix for $10 Million

The Kickstarter campaign read: When her daughter died from a preventable medical condition, businesswoman Amy Vilela of Las Vegas didn't know what to do with her anger about America's broken health care system. Bronx-born Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez had to work double shifts in a restaurant to save her family’s home from foreclosure after losing her father. Cori Bush, a Saint Louis nurse, was drawn into the streets when the shooting of Michael Brown brought protests and tanks into her neighborhood. Paula Jean Swearengin buried family and neighbors to illnesses caused by West Virginia’s coal industry — and worries her children will be next. All four women understood that their lives were affected by politics, but none had considered running for office themselves. Until now.

424 backers pledged $28,111 to help bring the documentary ‘Knock Down The House: A Documentary’ to life. Created by Rachel Lears and Robin Blotnick, ‘Knock Down The House’ won the Sundance’s Festival Favorite Award, a fact that most certainly impacted the recent sale of all distribution rights to the film to Netflix for $10 million. Deadline reports that NEON, Focus, Hulu and Amazon were also vying for the feature

Kamala Harris Eyes March 3, 2020 California Primary | Early Voting Timed With Iowa + New Hampshire

Harris in Los Angeles with beneficiaries of the DREAM Act—which the senator has made a priority to protect. Photographed by Zoe Ghertner,Vogue, April 2018

As America readies another presidential election season and trained journalists are talking Iowa and New Hampshire — two states that do not at all mirror the voter makeup of America or the wins of the 2018 mid-terms — Sen. Kamala Harris is beating down door in California. Not content with a wait and see strategy, Senator Harris is locking down endorsements and financial contributions in her new Super Tuesday March 3 primary state — and her home state — that could give her an enormous edge in winning the Democratic nomination. The decision of California to move up its primary from being last in the country makes it suddenly very relevant.

If she has anything but stellar success in California, writes Politico, her presidential aspirations for 2020 could end quickly. Kamala Harris has a true political machine in California and no home-state challengers. Not that Harris isn’t busy making appearances out of California.

In particular, she’s courting voters in another Super Tuesday state — South Carolina. If Biden runs, he does have close relationships with African American voters in the South Carolina, but it’s pretty inconceivable that African American women won’t break big for Sen. Harris in South Carolina.

Michelle Goldberg: Ilhan Omar Damaged Her Democratic Allies and Squandered Some of Her Own Hard-Won Power

Michelle Goldberg: Ilhan Omar Damaged Her Democratic Allies and Squandered Some of Her Own Hard-Won Power

Writing for The New York Times, Michelle Goldberg reminds us that when America was unsettled over a crude mail bomb being found in the mailbox of George Soros, Representative Kevin McCarthy, the California Republican who is now the House minority leader, tweeted, “We cannot allow Soros, Steyer and Bloomberg to buy this election!”  Interviewed on CNN about receiving his own mail bomb, Steyer described McCarthy’s tweet as a “straight-up anti-Semitic move.”

There was no self-reflection, then, when Kevin McCarthy became a defender of Jews, threatening to force congressional action against two outspoken new Democratic representatives, Ilhan Omar and Rashida Tlaib, for their criticism of Israel. Rather than rise above Kevin McCarthy, Omar found herself in the same sewer, quoting Puff Daddy’s ode to the power of money: “It’s all about the Benjamins, baby.”

Mn. Rep Ilhan Omar Rebuked Over Anti-Semitic Tweet, Faces Loss Of Seat On Foreign Relations Committee

Mn. Rep Ilhan Omar Rebuked Over Anti-Semitic Tweet, Faces Loss Of Seat On Foreign Relations Committee

In a dramatic statement delivered on Monday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other Democratic leaders are calling on Minn. Rep Ilhan Omar to apologize for tweeting the strong suggestion that political donations drive politiciams’ support for Israel.

In the dramatic statement, House Democratic leadership said that while "legitimate criticism of Israel's policies is protected by the values of free speech and democratic debate," Omar's "use of anti-Semitic tropes and prejudicial accusations about Israel's top supporters is deeply offensive."

Democrats Court Rural Southern Voters With Stacey Abrams’ State of the Union Response

Democrats Court Rural Southern Voters With Stacey Abrams’ State of the Union Response

By Sharon Austin, Professor of Political Scieence and Director of the African American Studies Program, University of Florida. First published on The Conversation

In a brief, direct and optimistic speech about fighting immigrant scapegoating, racism and voter suppression, Stacey Abrams celebrated diversity in her Democratic rebuttal to Donald Trump’s divisive 2019 State of the Union address.

“We will create a stronger America together,” she said.

Abrams is the first African-American woman to deliver a State of the Union response in the 53-year history of this tradition. She is the first black woman to be nominated by a major party to run for governor. Before that, she was the first African-American ever to serve as House minority leader in the Georgia General Assembly.

Her State of the Union response has increased speculation that she is a rising political starwith a bright future in the Democratic Party.

By choosing Abrams to give the State of the Union response, Democrats were clearly reaching out to African-Americans and women, a key base for the party.

But Abrams’ speech also spoke to an often-overlooked constituency the Democratic Party may not have even thought about when they picked her. It’s a constituency Abrams has already cultivated: rural Southerners of color.

Abrams campaigned in both urban and rural counties last year, defying the logic of a Democratic Party that tends to court big city voters while leaving rural Americans to be won over by Republicans like Donald Trump.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Emerging As Unlikely, Egoless Unifying Force Among Democrats

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Emerging As Unlikely, Egoless Unifying Force Among Democrats

No freshman member of the new House of Representatives has gained more national media attention than Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Less than one week after her victory in the November 2018 midterm elections, AOC joined environmental activists in a protest in Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office. Politico published a story that AOC denied, advancing the theory that she was encouraging activists to primary Democratic incumbents in the 2020 elections.

The Republican obsession with Ocasio-Cortez has bordered on full-frontal misogyny, with many Dems reporting that “a cloud” of uncertainty hovered over her. Was she determined to build her own disruptive Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez brand? Or was she truly interested in passing collaborative legislation with fellow Democfrats.

Writing for Vanity Fair, Abigail Tracy says that AOC has emerged “as an unlikely unifying force for Democrats — and a surprisingly egoless champion of a new, progressive politics.”

American Women's Satisfaction W/How They Are Treated Hits All-Time Low, But Men Think We Are Fine

American Women's Satisfaction W/How They Are Treated His All-Time Low, But Men Think We Are Fine

How interesting that Republican white men are saying that Democrats are undoing all the progress women have made. Politico has photographed the 36 new women members of the House. 35 are Dems; 1 lone WV woman is a Republican.

I would say that Republican white men are really running scared if electing women to Congress -- unlike their white men party -- represents a step backwards for women in 2019. Let that sink in. The party that elected 1 freshman woman to the House is telling the party that elected 35 freshmen woman to the House that we are setting women back.

Hey, boys, maybe your War on Women worked so well that once and for all, you stirred up a heap of trouble for yourselves. As for your inner fears . . . you probably should be runnin' scared.

For most of you -- the ones left -- you embrace a version of Christianity that says women must be subservient to men and obey you. No wonder you're confused about the hurricane arriving in DC. All your witches on brooms jokes will get you nowhere. DEAL WITH THEM. And just remember that you and your egregious, anti-people policies are a key reason they are so pissed off.

Related: Women’s satisfaction with how society treats them hits a record low. Marketwatch


Nancy Pelosi Victorious – Why The California Democrat Was Reelected Speaker of the House

Nancy Pelosi Ready to Be Sworn In Again As Speaker of the House, Jan. 3, 2019

Nancy Pelosi Victorious – Why The California Democrat Was Reelected Speaker of the House

By Kathryn L. Pearson, Associate Professor of Political Science, University of Minnesota . First published on The Conversation.

Despite some brash and not insignificant opposition, California’s Nancy Pelosi is returning to her previous role as speaker of the House.

She will preside over a chamber that is 77 percent male and a Democratic Caucus that is 62 percent male.

When the Democratic Caucus held their leadership election on Nov. 28, Pelosi won the nomination on a 203 to 32 vote, falling 15 votes shy of the 218 she would later need to win the speakership with all members voting.

When a vote was taken on the House floor on Jan. 3, she won by a vote of 220 to 192, with 15 Democrats voting for someone else or voting “present.” The close vote illustrated, once again, Pelosi’s skill in coalition-building and counting votes, but also that some Democrats – particularly new members and those in swing districts – are dissatisfied with her as the party’s standard bearer.

As a political scientist who focuses on gender and party discipline in the House of Representatives, I have studied Pelosi’s leadership and how she was able to hold it for so long.

It’s important to realize that Pelosi’s battle to win over wavering Democrats didn’t begin in November 2018. Rather, it stretches back to when she was first elected to leadership in 2001. Her ongoing ability to rally members of her own party illustrates why she has been among the most successful U.S. House speakers. It also suggests her leadership will help Democrats in Congress as they negotiate with President Trump and Senate Republicans, even if Pelosi remains unpopular in some Democratic members’ districts.

Rising to power

Oprah Heads To Georgia As Maya Angelou's Words Remind Us To Use Our Anger By Voting

OPRAH URGES HER 42 MILLION TWITTER FANS TO HEAD TO THE POLLS, SITTING ALONGSIDE HER LONGTIME FRIEND, NBC NEWS’ MARIA SHRIVER IN A NEW PUBLIC SERVICE AD. THE MEDIA MOGUL SAYS ABOUT VOTING “OUR COUNTRY DEPENDS UPON IT.”

Oprah Heads To Georgia As Maya Angelou's Words Remind Us To Use Our Anger By Voting

A Fragile American Dream

AOC’s reflection on ‘Maya’s Quilt of Life’ comes when Oprah Winfrey is headed to Georgia on Thursday, where she will campaign for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams. The candidate is deadlocked in a tight race with current Georgia secretary of state Republican Brian Kemp.

Oprah urges her 42 million Twitter fans to head to the polls, sitting alongside her longtime friend, NBC News’ Maria Shriver in a new public service ad. The media mogul says about voting “Our country depends upon it.”

“We’re both independents. I don’t think a lot of people know that,” Winfrey — who endorsed Barack Obama in the 2008 presidential election and called herself a “100 percent supporter” of his during the 2012 race — told the camera.

Oprah will join Stacey Abrams at two town hall conversations, according to BuzzFeed News. And like Will Farrell before her this week, Oprah will spend time knocking on doors.

Not only would Abrams become the first African American woman elected as a US governor, her Republican opponent Brian Kemp as already been found guilty of substantial voter suppression efforts in the state of Georgia. Kemp has once again put the state’s minority voters under siege, as the courts have stepped in yet again to insure a reasonably fair and honest election in the state.

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Across America, millions of citizens are heeding the words of Maya Angelou, and will declare — one way or the other next Tuesday — the state of America’s soul, civic spirit and historical progress on the rights of all people, not only white people:

“If you’re not angry, you’re either a stone, or you’re too sick to be angry. You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn’t do anything to the object of its displeasure. So use that anger, yes. You write it. You paint it. You dance it. You march it. You vote it. You do everything about it. You talk it. Never stop talking it.”

AOC shares this commitment to never shut up, because the future of America depends upon truthful voices as white nationalism threatens to sweep our beloved country.

Democrats Launch The Last Weekend As Largest Grassroots Army Ever Assembled For Midterm Elections

Nearly two dozen top progressive groups which include Swing Left, Indivisible, MoveOn, Organizing for Action, Latino Victory, United We Dream and the Working Families Party will launch on Wednesday a massive get-out-the-vote effort aimed at helping Democratic candidates during the last days of the 2018 midterm elections. 

Organizers say the effort, dubbed “The Last Weekend,” is focused on recruiting the largest grassroots army ever assembled before a midterm election — one that will not just vote for Democratic candidates but volunteer for their campaigns.

“The stakes are so high that voting isn’t enough,” said Ethan Todras-Whitehill, executive director and co-founder of Swing Left, which is organizing the effort. “You’ve got to do more. The new bar is not just voting, but volunteering in key races that matter for determining control of the government.”

“I can’t think of another time where you had this diverse array of progressive organizations coming together the last weekend before an election,” said Cristobal Alex, presidential Latino Victory, which is part of the effort. “Not just to get out the vote, but to mobilize an army of super volunteers ahead of the vote.”

Dem Women Pramila Jayapal, Tammy Duckworth & Kirstin Gillibrand Join Capitol Protest On Family Separation

About 2000 women came together in Washington DC on Thursday to protest the Trump administration's current zero-tolerance immigration policy, one that separates families and has three-year-old toddlers in immigration court, facing a judge alone and without legal counsel. 

The Thursday protesters marched from the Dept of Justice to the Hart Senate building, where they joined arms, sat down and chanted in an act of nonviolent civil disobedience. In response, about 600 women including Washington state Rep. Pramila Jayapal were arrested, writes ELLE. 

Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill) rolled into the middle of the protest with her daughter in two, and always impeccably groomed New York Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand hit the pavement, joining arms with the protesters. 

Brains Over Brawn: MSNBC Ratings Up 30% As Fox News Declines 13% 2018 Q1

Brains Over Brawn: MSNBC Ratings Up 30% As Fox News Declines 13% 2018 Q1

Democratic strategists are seeing another reason for optimism about the midterms: soaring ratings for liberal-leaning MSNBC are up 30 percent over last year, while Fox News and CNN both lost viewers from the first quarter of 2017 to the first quarter of 2018 — dropping 16 percent and 13 percent, respectively.

I say the ratings surge 1) yes, represents the growing resurgence of the Democratic party but

2) MSNBC has also brought multiple Republican or now Independent never-Trumpers to its voice. Many of the most left-leaning progressives believe that MSNBC has sold its soul and are not happy about these changes.

I say the results confirm the same research posted last night about the new Democratic party: more female than ever; more educated, strategic and thoughtful; younger by far than the Republican party; more interested in solutions as opposed to daily rants Trump style; and --yes -- totally committed to a diverse, multicultural, safe America, environmental action and protection, gender and LGBTQ equality, economic justice and -- I repeat -- progressive business solutions to the problems of 21st century America. Apologies for obvious omissions.

Government alone cannot get us out of this mess.

So FOX News makes us crazy with their outrageous assault on everyone but Trump. But their ratings are down 13% while MSNBC is up 30%. Rhodes scholar Rachel Maddow has the #2 show on cable news and sometimes she does beat Hannity, who did not get a college degree. Rachel is on the move, Hannity is not.

The Big Women's March On American Politics | Rebecca Traister Digs Deep Into The Women Running

The Big Women's March On American Politics | Rebecca Traister Digs Deep Into The Women Running

There's another Women's March brewing, writes Rebecca Traister for New York Magazine. As marchers all over America celebrated the one year anniversary of The Women's March, the largest activist march in American history, on Saturday and Sunday, Traister writes an in-depth look about the unprecedented number of women running for political office across America. 

To date, 390 women are planning to run for the House of Representatives, a figure that’s higher than at any point in American history. Twenty-two of them are non-incumbent black women — for scale, there are only 18 black women in the House right now. Meanwhile, 49 women are likely to be running for the Senate, about 68 percent higher than the number who’d announced at the same point in 2014. 

Of the 49 women currently planning to run for the Senate (including incumbents, challengers, and those running for open spots), 31 are Democrats. Well over half of the 79 women slated to campaign for governor are Dems, as are 80 percent of the women setting their sights on the House.

These women candidates are eying political offices at every level of local, state and national government. But make no mistake: 29-year-old Republican Lindsay Brown calls herself a "qualified millennial woman running a progressive campaign" for a US House seat in New Jersey. Democratic women would be thrilled to see more 70's style Republicans be elected to political office. In fact the very best event that could happen to Republicans is forward-looking, moderate, millennial women winning political office.

Mad, Mad As Hell, & Madder Still: Hillary Women One Year Later Punch Our Way To The Voting Booths | Take Note, We Are Just Getting Started

Mad, Mad As Hell, & Madder Still: Hillary Women One Year Later Punch Our Way To The Voting Booths | Take Note, We Are Just Getting Started

It's one year later -- one of the worst nights of my life. I drank more vodka than I want to admit. If Mika on Morning Joe opened her Bernie-loving trap on Nov. 9, I would throw a high heel at the TV and hopefully smash her away forever. 

Writing for Harper's Bazaar, Jennifer Wright reflects on that awful night a year later and the day after women hit the voting booths, inflicting serious pain on the Republican party in our first reckoning after Hillary's defeat. 

I watched as millions of women excitedly gathered in secret groups to support Hillary Clinton’s candidacy. There they talked about what an exciting moment in history this was. They did not venture out because their husbands might not like their vote, or Bernie voters might yell at them, or someone at their work might not like it. We saw at the time, I think, no contradiction in being posed on the edge of ultimate victory for womankind and also secreting ourselves away to make ourselves completely unobjectionable. We were always supposed to be unobjectionable.

So quietly, unobjectionably, we waited. We baked cakes, and chilled champagne, and put stickers on suffragettes graves. And so many of us thought how especially satisfying it would be to see a woman win against a man who was repeatedly accused of sexual harassment, who bragged about sexual assault, who seemed to embody the worst of what women encounter from men.

"It became clear that you can be the most qualified woman and still lose to the least qualified man."

On November 9, we woke up, and Donald Trump had been elected.

Listen Up Dems: Repressive Societies Prioritize Controlling Women's Reproduction

Anne of Carversville has tracked the Republican War on Women in-depth since 2007. The assault on women has gained huge momentum under Trump, and this 2007 essay written by Steven Conn, now the W.E Smith Professor of History at Miami University, is more relevant today than ever. 

Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee chair Rep. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico lit a bonfire among Democrats when he said earlier in August that abortion rights shouldn't be a "litmus test" for Democrats. 

Abortion rights activists including myself erupted, imploring leaders like Cecile Richards, the president of the Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund, to remain defiant with the Democratic Party. Richards couldn’t be clearer on how wrong she thinks Luján is, telling Politico.“It’s a shocking sort of misunderstanding of actually where the country is … which is overwhelmingly supportive of abortion rights and also, who are the ground troops that kind of fuel the election of candidates.” 

Dem Kentucky House Candidate Amy McGrath Delivers Progressive Power Punch Campaign Video

I was jazzed last night, seeing that Kentucky Congressional candidate Amy McGrath's story was front page landing photo and story at The Huffington Post.

The retired Marine colonel, wife and mother of three who has been teaching political science at the US Naval Academy, is one of more than 11,000 women pursuing public office after Trump's 2016 election win.

Many of us saw McGrath's incredible campaign ad as a triumph that motivated women in despair over Hillary's loss and Trump's arrival. We forgot in two-minutes of blazing determination to fight for true women's equality the DNC's decision that protecting women's body autonomy is no longer a core Democratic value. Instead, working-class, white men will rule, suggests the DNC, because we must cater again to them.

McGrath has a different vision of how Democrats can win, from the male-dominated DNC, now sounding a bit Republican on women's rights.

Speaking of Trump’s recent decision to ban transgender people from the military, McGrath doesn't waver.

“These people are patriotic Americans who stepped up to the plate,” she explains. “Do you have my back when I’m getting shot at, are you competent, are you someone of integrity? That’s what we really care about.”

Trump’s attempt to ban immigrants and refugees from seven Muslim-majority countries “is a terrible policy” that amounts to “a strategic win” for the enemies she spent years fighting. This position puts her toe-to-toe with a Trump family that has NEVER served in the American military or even run for public office.

“They want to pit America and Americans against their religion (Islam), and he just handed them the Powerball lottery,” McGrath said. “This is not a war that can be won by more bombs being dropped on people. It’s a war that’s going to be won ... in people’s minds. When you hand the enemy exactly what they want in order to make more propaganda, you’re creating more fighters. This ban does not get to the root of the problem, and it does not protect Americans.”

More tough talk from progressive Kentucky Congressional candidate Amy McGrath could prove to be formidable in a Democratic race for one of 24 wins to put the party in control of the House in the 2018 elections. ~ Anne

Criticism Of Prominent DC Lawyer Jamie Gorelick Mounts Over Her Being Jared & Ivanka's Hired Gun

The Washington Post talks Washington power lawyer and Hillary Clinton supporter Jamie Gorelick, one of DC's most prominent attorneys and big-time Democrat. Gorelick came to fame in defense of Richard Nixon's fight to control his White House Papers. It put Gorelick in the position of defending a person her friends loathed -- and very probably, Gorelick herself. 

Not for the first time, Gorelick tells WaPo that she's shocked over the response among friends that she's representing Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump over their Washington woes. AOC covered the most public slap, coming from prominent Democratic strategist and lobbyist, who tweeted, "Hey Jamie Gorelick, you've just poured that 'Complicit' perfume on yourself."

“Representing Jared and Ivanka is a case of pushing the ethical envelope, helping a wealthy family on the brink of using the presidency to further enrich themselves,” said David Halperin, a speechwriter in the Clinton White House and former counsel to the Senate Intelligence Committee. “Gorelick is a Clinton supporter embracing the family that wanted to put Hillary Clinton in jail. People in Washington are all too willing to forgive that.”

Claire McCaskill Uses Facts To Slam Senate Republicans' Authoritarian Healthcare Process

Claire McCaskill Uses Facts To Slam Senate Republicans' Authoritarian Healthcare Process

While America was glued to the former FBI Director James Comey hearings on Thursday, HHS Secretary Tom Price testified about a bill to repeal and replace the ACA (Affordable Care Act aka Obamacare) before the Senate healthcare panel. 

Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.) asked the committee’s chairman, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), whether the panel would hold any hearings on the GOP’s proposal, catching Hatch by surprise. After conferring with an aide about how to respond, Hatch answered McCaskill, saying that he didn't know if there would be hearings on the still-secret legislation, being drafted by a committee of only white men. Suggesting that Democrats should have no quarrel with the process, the chair said that Democrats had been invited to "give your ideas" about the topic of healthcare reform. 

McCaskill was livid:

Biden-Backed, Ex Goldman Banker Democrat Phil Murphy Headed To November New Jersey Governor Win

Biden-Backed, Ex Goldman Banker Democrat Phil Murphy Headed To November New Jersey Governor Win

Vice President Joe Biden called the upcoming NJ governor's race “the single most important” election of the next three years.

Biden-backed Phil Murphy won the Democratic primary on Tuesday, delivering a Hillary Clinton populist message grounded in his career as a Goldman Sachs banker. Bernie Sanders did not endorse Murphy, although his son did campaign for the candidate.

As Sanders progressives rip into NJ Sen. Corey Booker's ethical credentials in any future presidential race -- having accepted money from big pharma companies in his state -- the Murphy win shows that at a state level, the Sanders wing of the Democratic party is not running the show in New Jersey.

The Murphy primary win -- and expected future win as NJ governor -- also demonstrates that Democrats can run on a platform that shares 95% of Sanders' priorities -- as the 2016 Presidential campaign platform did -- without throwing every person with ties to wealth and big business out of the party as the Sanders camp is demanding.