Moments after Yours Truly urged Democrats to confront the unjust Roberts Supreme Court over its pattern of horrendous decisions that favor the GOP but wreck havoc on the rest of the nation, we got the bombshell news that Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy is retiring on July 1.
Moments later we got word that the dangerous Koch Brothers plan to spend “seven figures” to get Trump to nominate who they(Kochs) think should be on the Supreme Court.
Bottomline Dems must not only start speaking out against the unjust Roberts Supreme Court, they must also point to instances like these where the Koch Brothers are trying to buy a Supreme Court seat as reasons why the horrendous Citizens United decision needs to be reversed
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Yours Truly recently warned you about how the dangerous Koch Brothers’ real intentions behind their Constitutional Convention push is the elimination of Medicare and Medicaid. As if that is not bad enough, we now find out through an excellent New York Times piece that they are also actively derailing public transit projects by cities nationwide because such projects negatively affect their pocketbook(if that’s even possible ). This is greed beyond belief
Cities across the nation grappling with massive traffic jams, high carbon emissions etc have resorted to public transit as a solution. The simple reasoning behind this is that public transit, whether that be public buses or trains reduce the number of vehicles on the roads thereby reducing traffic jams, carbon emissions etc.
The Koch Brothers primary source of income is their refineries which produce among other things gasoline. The more vehicles there are on the streets, the more money Koch Brothers make (gasoline sales). Simply put, public transit is bad for Koch Brothers business and as such they are waging all out warfare against public transit projects nationwide, most of which benefit poor people.
In their war against public transit the Koch Brothers have enlisted the services of activists Americans for Prosperity, whose “grassroots” efforts according to the New York Times article, led to a No-vote on a Nashville, Tennessee public transit system that was previously considered a guaranteed Yes-vote. Needless to say the Koch Brothers pumped a lot of money into Americans for Prosperity for their “grassroots” efforts towards a No-vote.
A spokesman for Koch Industries, David Dziok, when questioned about this apparent conflict of interest not only denied that the Kochs have a financial interest in shooting down public transit projects, but also added the ridiculous statement that the Koch Brothers don’t control the activities of Americans for Prosperity, which they heavily fund–a totally bogus assertion.
The New York Times article also raises a very interesting point that caught Yours Truly’s attention and that is that Koch Brothers apparently have a data service called i360 which gives their activists(Americans for Prosperity) very accurate leads on the kind of voters to target to secure a No-Vote on public transit systems. Given the recent Cambridge Analytica scandal, Yours Truly is very curious as to how the dangerous Koch Brothers compiles this i360 list. Specifically, is i360 also a product of Facebook? Folks, rest assured that Yours Truly will dig into this i360 data service
Bottom line the dangerous Koch Brothers are a menace to Dems and poor people generally. They are not only planning on knocking poor people out of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security with their Constitutional Convention push, they also want to take away public transit.
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Folks Yours Truly readily admits that this week the Mainstream Media has done very well highlighting two issues that are very important to grassroots democrats across the country–voting machine security and the fight to save Medicare/Medicaid in the states
After bashing the Mainstream Media for weeks on end about their inexplicable silence regarding voting machine security in an election year, it was a pleasant surprise to see a report on Reuters addressing similar concerns. Hopefully MSM will continue reporting on this issue of great concern especially in Texas, where Dems are finally poised to make Historic electoral gains but are confronted with the sad reality of unverifiable voting machines in the Trump-Putin era. In years past fears about unverifiable voting machines would be shunned as conspiracy theorist talk. Grassroots Dems however are aware of just how real these fears are in the age of Trump and are desperate for more media coverage on this issue, not less.
Another big grassroots Dem story by the MSM this week was the Medicare expandion vote by the Virginia legislature that was largely pushed by the newly elected state Democrats. MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow hosted one of the Virginia state Democrats, Danica Roem, who was instrumental in the Medicare expansion push
The Virginia case is a classic example of why Dems need to wage the Medicare/Medicaid war in the states. As Maddow pointed out in the segment, the Dem electoral sweep in Virginia was largely because they campaigned on restoring healthcare to a public that is increasingly witnessing GOP efforts to take away their healthcare. In other words Medicare/Medicaid is a winning issue for Dems in the states
As Yours Truly has repeatedly stated, the fight for Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security are very important to grassroots Dems and could reap huge harvests in state legislatures. Democrats could literally recapture a huge chunk of the state legislatures they have lost to the GOP in recent years if they campaign hard on the theme that Republicans are out to take away people’s Medicare/Medicaid.
To be clear, Yours Truly’s argument has been that the Koch Brothers/ALEC funded clamor for a Constitutional Convention(ConCon) by state GOP politicians is aimed ultimately at the elimination of Medicare/Medicaid because they are the biggest driver of the national debt.
There is a lot of proof out there supporting this argument but you’ll never hear that from the Mainstream Media probably because it is still considered a “radical” argument because its main pusher, Yours Truly is regarded by the MSM as a “radical leftist”. But the proof is staring the Mainstream Media in their faces if they cared to look. Consider for instance, Virginia GOP’s pushback argument to the Medicare expansion move by the Democrats. Virginia’s GOP Senate Majority Leader opposed the Medicare expansion move because it “abandons Virginia’s long-standing reputation for fiscal responsibility.”–the quintessential balanced budget amendment argument behind GOP’s Constitutional Convention effort.
Bottom line folks we still have a lot of pushing to do to get the Mainstream Media to talk about issues near and dear to grassroots Dems. However where, as here, they show a slight improvement we have to give them partial credit. The ideal situation(worthy of full credit) would be for Mainstream Media to “go there” and say boldly like Yours Truly that the ultimate goal of the Constitutional Convention push by state Republicans is the elimination of Medicare/Medicaid because they believe these programs are huge drivers of both the national and state government debt. Let us hope from now until midterms 2018 the Mainstream Media sticks with issues important to grassroots Dems like voting machine security and the NoConCon war as opposed to say, “c*unt” talk
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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com
Democrats have traditionally done very well in Washington state. The current Governor of WA Jay Inslee is a Democrat. Obama won WA both in 2008 & 2012. Hillary Clinton won WA in 2016. There’s clearly a lot ot Dem support in WA state and as we approach Midterms 2018, it is important that Dems point out GOP’s efforts to change the U.S. Constitution
According to the Washington state Legislature's website, the state's Constitutional Convention proposal HJM4006, was introduced on January 19 2017 and has 16 sponsors. Like Pennsylvania, Washington remains a targeted state(marked red on ConCon map above) meaning the ConCon measure has been introduced in the state legislature but is yet to be voted on by the full House and Senate (ConCon proposal still pending).
However there is a strange twist in Washington state's NoConCon battle. Turns out unlike in the previous states Yours Truly has highlighted, in WA, one of the ConCon proposal sponsors is a Democrat--a self-described "Berniecrat"--an obvious reference to 2016 Presidential aspirant Sen Bernie Sanders. Yours Truly only hopes that one of Rep Brian Blake's House colleagues will whisper in his ear that grassroots Democrats are totally opposed to Koch Brothers/ALEC's radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution--for any reason.
Here’s a HANDY LIST of the 15 WA GOP state politicians pushing Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution and thereby eliminate Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security
Bottomline, because Washington state is a Dem-friendly state the DNC must wage the NoConCon war there–especially in this midterm election year. Surely Dems can flip these 15 Red WA state House seats blue.
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Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state in Presidential elections. Democrats have traditionally done very well in PA. Obama for example won PA both in 2008 & 2012. Hillary Clinton was favored by pollsters to win PA in 2016 but surprisingly lost to Donald Trump. The fact of the matter is there is a lot of Dem support in PA and as we approach Midterms 2018, it is important that Dems point out GOP’s efforts to change the constitution
Pennsylvania’s Constitutional Convention proposal HR100 was introduced in the PA Legislature on March 20, 2017 and has 7 sponsors–all Republicans. According to the PA Legislature website, the proposal is still lying in the PA Legislature with no vote taken on it yet.
That leaves us with only 7 PA GOP ConCons to go after(proposal sponsors). They are up for reelection so its important that we kick them and their ConCon proposal out of the PA Legislature in Midterms 2018
Here’s a HANDY LIST of the 7 PA GOP State politicians pushing Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution and thereby eliminate Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security
Bottomline, because Pennsylvania is a crucial swing state where Dems have traditionally done well, the DNC must wage the NoConCon war there–especially in this midterm election year. Surely Dems can flip these 7 PA State House seats blue.
For those of you very happy with @Emolclause’s activism don’t shy away from the “tip jar” below on your way out
You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com
In a recent post Yours Truly suggested that Democrats needed to wage the NoConCon war in Michigan because it was a Dem-friendly state. Well the same applies for neighboring Wisconsin
On Nov 7 2017 the Wisconsin Senate passed AJR20 the state’s constitutional convention proposal. 19 Wisconsin GOP State Senators supported the ConCon measure. Sadly not all of them are up for reelection this year.
Here’s a Handy List of Wisconsin GOP State Senators up for reelection this year, who backed Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution opening up the door for elimination of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security under the guise of “Balanced Budget Amendment.”
State Senator Scott Fitzgerald(SD13)
State Sen Chris Kapenga(SD33)
State Sen Devin Lemahieu(SD9)
State Sen Howard Marklein(SD17)
State Sen Terry Moulton(SD23)
State Sen Stephen Nass(SD11)
State Sen Leah Vukmir(SD05)
State Sen Van Wanggaard(SD21)
The interesting thing about Wisconsin is that the Dems really fought back the Senate GOP ConCons. The same day the WI Senate GOP passed the ConCon measure, Dem State Senator Chris Larson (seen in the picture below) addressed demonstators who chanted “hands off my constitution”.
State Senator Chris Larson addressing NoConCon Demonstrators
Another Dem State Senator Kathleen Vinehout also slammed the GOP’s ConCon measure warning that it could degenerate into a “runaway” convention, basically a free-for-all where everybody’s constitutional rights would be at the mercy of GOP politicians–VERY SCARY. Yours Truly will reach out to these Wisconsin State Dems to see if they can mobilize a nationwide NoConCon movement.
The proposal passed the Wisconsin House on a 60-37 vote. There are 21 Wisconsin GOP House Reps who sponsored the ConCon bill. However three of them, Chris Kapenga, Dave Craig and Frank Lasee have since become State Senators. Of the three, only Sen Kapenga is up for reelection in 2018 and Yours Truly has included him in the HANDY LIST of State Senators(see gallery above). The Handy List of WI House Reps is therefore down to 18 and here are their “mugshots”
Bottomline, because Wisconsin is similar to Michigan and Minnesota in that they are all Dem-friendly states, the DNC must wage the NoConCon war in Wisconsin–especially in this midterm election year.
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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com
In a recent post Yours Truly listed the 20 Texas GOP State Senators pushing the Koch Brothers /ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution. While Texas is a major Republican state that deserves the attention of the #NoConCon movement (those opposed to a Constitutional Convention), the battle also needs to be waged in Battleground States that are currently mulling the Koch Brothers’ radical idea.
One such battleground state is Minnesota where Democrats have traditionally done very well. Minnesota for example went for Obama in 2008 and 2012 and for Hillary Clinton in 2016. To have Minnesota State GOP flirting with Koch Brothers/ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution can reap huge benefits for Dems in Midterms 2018.
Records show that SF 2490 was introduced in the Minnesota Senate on 03/15/2018. The “authors”(really ALEC) of SF 2490 are Republican State Senators Roger C. Chamberlain, Mark W. Koran, Andrew Mathews, Torrey N. Westrom, and Bill Ingebrigtsen.
In the Minnesota House of Representatives HF2690 was introduced on 5/18/2017. The bill is “authored”(really ALEC) by these 17 Minnesota GOP House Representatives
Bottomline, Dems must make a run for the Minnesota Legislature using the radical GOP/Koch Brothers /ALEC’s radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution whose end run is the elimination of Medicare /Medicaid under the guise of “Balanced Budget Amendment.”
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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com
In a previous post, Yours Truly highlighted a radical plan by the Koch Brothers and their outfit American Legislative Exchange Council(ALEC) to get Republican-controlled State legislatures to support their effort to Amend the U.S. Constitution and thereby ELIMINATE programs like Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security that have greatly benefited the poor.
This rare constitutional maneuver referred to as Constitutional Convention (aka #ConCon in Twitter circles) or Convention of States would require the approval of 34 State Legislatures for it to initiate (begin debate). However for any proposed amendment to be ratified, it would require the approval of 38 State Legislatures. Because this is such a radical maneuver by the Koch Brothers and their State GOP enablers, our target should be to prevent them from getting to the 34 states required to begin the constitutional amendment process.
Texas has traditionally been a hotbed of Republican politics. It follows therefore that the Koch Brothers/ALEC would push their radical Constitutional Convention campaign heavily in the state---and they have. All elected Republican politicians in Texas have bought into the ConCon idea, from The Governor, Lt Governor, the two U.S. Senators and virtually all GOP State elected officials. The Texas Senate for example approved the ConCon idea on February 28, 2017 on a 20-11 straight party line vote. The same thing happened on May 4, 2017 when the Texas House of Representatives, adopted the Senate's proposal on a 94-51 straight party line vote. You would think that on an issue as consequential as changing the U.S. Constitution, the Texas GOP would at least strive for some support from Democrats, but no, they are controlled by what Koch Brothers/ALEC want, not what is in the best interests of the State.
Given the heavy investment Koch Brothers/ALEC have made in Texas as a ConCon state, it naturally follows that Texas also has to be ground zero for the #NoConCon movement--people like Yours Truly, opposed to Koch Brothers/ALEC radical idea to amend the U.S. Constitution. That of course begins by knowing who our enemies are--The Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Lt Governor Dan Patrick and the Texas GOP State Senators, without whose support the radical Koch Brothers/ALEC agenda would be dead on arrival
Below are the 20 Texas State Senators who supported Koch Brothers/ALEC radical plan to change the U.S. Constitution. Governor Abbott, Lt Governor Patrick and most of the GOP State Senators below are seeking re-election this November. Because the said Texas Senators are supporting Koch Brothers/ALEC's radical plan to kick Grandma and Grandpa out of their Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security, let's return the favor and kick these shameful Republicans out of Austin this November. We owe that much to poor Grandma and Grandpa.
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Few people know this fact but in 2001 Koch Petroleum Group pled guilty to covering up environmental violations at one of their refineries in Corpus Christi Texas–essentially admitting that they knowingly polluted the Texas atmosphere and then lied about it.
Since then the Koch Brothers have embarked on a rigorous campaign not to bring their industries into compliance, but to do away with environmental protections altogether. To that effect they have enlisted the services of Texas Republicans to peel away environmental protections that were put in place for the public’s safety. You would think any sane Texan would advocate for a cleaner environment and urge Koch industries to strive for better emission standards. Well, not the Texas GOP. In the same way the Texas GOP has backed the Koch Brothers/ALEC mission to do away with Medicare/Medicaid under the guise of “Balanced Budget”, they are also helping them pollute the Texas environment under the guise of “deregulation”.
What the Texas Republicans fail to tell their supporters is why the regulations were enacted in the first place, the obvious answer being for public safety. Take for instance the deadly explosion that happened at Texas’ West Fertilizer Company in 2013 that killed 15 people and wounded 226 others. After a federal investigation, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board concluded that the explosion was caused by the Ammonium Nitrate the company had on storage. The Chemical Safety Board added that the incident at West Fertilizer was a result of violations by the company, chief among them its failure to disclose to local authorities and the public that the chemicals they had on storage created a massive fire hazard. The Chemical Safety Board suggested that Texas do better on chemical disclosure to avert another chemical disaster.
However, a few months after the West disaster the Koch family sent then Texas AG Greg Abbott “donations” for his Texas Gubernatorial bid and just like that all the chemical disclosure reforms that were suggested by the U.S. Chemical Safety Board went out the window. Instead Greg Abbott started touting the ridiculous idea that requiring chemical companies to disclose what they had on storage would make it easier for terrorists to strike. Think about that folks, after the Koch family gave money to Greg Abbott he totally abandoned the public’s safety concerns, even after 15 people had been killed and 226 others wounded. In essence Koch Brothers paid Abbott to allow chemical companies to hide dangerous chemicals from the public, even though they knew 15 people had just died as a result of such failure to disclose.
Fast forward to 2017 and a similar chemical disaster happens, this time at the Archema Chemical Plant in Crosby, Texas after Hurricane Harvey. Turns out Archema much like West Fertilizer, failed to disclose that it was storing large amounts of Sulphur Dioxide, contrary to what U.S. Chemical Safety Board had suggested after the 2013 West disaster but in keeping with Gov Greg Abbotts directive that they didn’t have to disclose because of fear of terrorism. I mean this was a classic case of Gov Abbott’s policies putting people’s lives in danger.
Strangely, nobody has ever held Governor Abbott to account over his deadly and inexplicable policy towards chemical disclosure and whether donations from the Koch family influenced his strange policy. The hapless Mainstream Media, with the exception of the wonderful Kiah Collier, lets Gov Abbott get away with this dangerous policy that will undoubtedly lead to further Texas deaths.
Think about that folks, because of the Koch Brothers, Gov Abbott will not allow Texans to know what dangerous chemicals are stored near their neighborhoods, their children’s schools, etc. A Texan for example would like to know whether there are toxic materials stored in an area before say purchasing a home in that area. Texans are denied all this because Koch Brothers tells Gov Abbott not to allow it. But not to worry folks, Yours Truly will make sure Gov Abbott’s DEADLY CHEMICAL POLICY GOES AWAY, whether the Koch Brothers like it or not
Bottom line Dems must expose how Governor Abbott and other Texas Republicans have sacrificed the public’s safety for the enrichment of their Super Donor Koch Brothers.
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We now know about how GOP Super Donors Koch Brothers have enlisted the services of American Legislative Exchange Council(ALEC) in their efforts to change the U.S. Constitution. ALEC essentially comprises wealthy corporate lobbyists who influence State GOP lawmakers into passing their(ALEC’s) preferred pieces of legislation. As Yours Truly pointed out in an earlier post, often times ALEC just hands down bills written by their lobbyists to State GOP legislators for passage “as-is”–a flagrant subversion of our democratic process.
Most of the voting public is unaware of this travesty surrounding ALEC and State GOP lawmakers thanks in large part to the hapless Mainstream Media. It is clear however that if the public were to find out that they elect state representatives only for them to be taken over by ALEC when they reach State Capitols, there would be bipartisan outrage(both Democrats and Republicans). Well it turns out that ALEC is fully aware that its activities would enrage a lot of Texas voters in particular so much so that in 2013 they asked then Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott to make them immune from Texas’ Open Records Laws.
Texas Governor Greg Abbott
Think about that folks, ALEC has so much conscience of guilt about its activities, that it wanted AG Abbott to keep its communications with Texas legislators secret. Even more troubling is that a Texas House Rep Stephanie Klick (Rep-Fort Worth) actually fought to keep her communications with ALEC secret. She argued that her communications with ALEC should be kept secret citing the “deliberative process” exemption to Texas’ Open Records Laws.
Government corruption watchdog Center for Media and Democracy wrote a letter to then Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott challenging ALEC’s and Rep Klick’s stances that their communications should be exempt from Texas Open Records laws. Now Yours Truly is not an attorney and so is not in a position to assess the merits or demerits of Texas Rep Klick’s “deliberative process” argument. However just from a public optics standpoint, it looks very bad that here you have an elected State Rep who appears intent on going around Texas’ open records laws to keep secret her interaction with lobbyists. It reeks of corruption whichever way one slices it and goes against the spirit of Texas’ sunshine-in-government laws.
Texas State Rep Klick is running for re-election this November. Her Dem challenger for Texas House District 91, Jeromey Sims must confront her on her ALEC stance. Specifically he should call on her to release her communications with ALEC that she sought to keep secret, if she hasn’t done so already. Regardless of whether she ended up releasing the documents or not, the Dem challenger should confront her for her demonstrated hostility towards Texas’ Open Records Laws. Simply put, any Texas politician who does not favor Texas’ Open Records Laws has no business being in the State Capitol.
Texas State Rep Stephanie Klick
Bottomline, as we approach Midterms 2018, Texas Dems must expose this corrupt affair between Koch outfit ALEC and the Texas GOP.
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You may reach the author via email at author@grassrootsdempolitics.com or author@emolumentsclause.com
