Tag: Hour

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New York Gov. Kathy Hochul Slams Lee Zeldin As “The Architect Of The Big Lie”

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul(D) appeared on MSNBC’s 11th Hour (11/04/22) to essentially make her closing argument against her Republican challenger Lee Zeldin in the election slated for this coming Tuesday(11/08/22). You’ll remember Hochul, then Lt. Governor, took over when former Governor Andrew Cuomo was forced to step down amid sexual harassment allegations. Hochul is now seeking election to a full term.

Asked to comment about her challenger, Lee Zeldin, Gov Hochul didn’t mince words, telling New Yorkers that Zeldin was “the architect of the big lie”, which formed the basis of former President Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election results. She specifically said(0:50): “This is something that needs to come out. Lee Zeldin was described by Donald Trump as a brilliant lawyer. You know why? Because Lee Zeldin had sent text messages right when the question of the presidential election was out there. He sent messages helping strategize on how to create the big lie. So you think about the architect of the big lie, actually undermining our democracy, as well as being out there supporting the insurrectionists, refusing to certify Joe Biden’s election on the same day as the attack on the seat of our democracy. He is so extreme, opposes women’s right to choose, doesn’t support a single bit of gun safety legislation, says he’s tough on crime, but boy, is he soft on guns, so people need to know, that’s who’s running for Governor, trying to hide all that now, like ‘Oh no, he would never do all these things’. Come on, voters in New York are smarter than that.”

Gov Hochul then touched on one of the biggest questions related to Zeldin’s quest for the governorship, and that is, whether it’s all tied to a possible Trump pardon. Gov Hochul specifically said(1:46): “Being so close to Trump though, you got to wonder, does Donald Trump raise money for him, associate with him…Donald Trump is probably sizing up saying, boy, this guy could give me a pardon if he were the Governor.”

Asked whether a Governor Zeldin could derail all the investigations into Trump’s businesses currently being conducted by New York Attorney General Letishia James, Gov. Hochul said(2:26): “Absolutely. Tish James is one tough prosecutor, she’s a great friend, and I know she’s going to go to the mat, but if there’s a conviction, that’s when a Governor has the power to pardon or grant clemency. Donald Trump knows this because he granted a pardon to a guy who went to jail who defeated me for Congress, Chris Collins, so he knows all about how this game is played. Let them do what they want, their dirty tricks, get convicted, but then you got a friend in the Governor’s office who can pardon you. That’s what Donald Trump is banking on, that’s why he’s so supportive of Lee Zeldin, and people need to know that close connection between the two of them. Lee Zeldin was called one of Donald Trump’s earliest and staunchest supporters. That should mean something to New Yorkers.”

The interview then shifted to probably the biggest topic in the New York Governor’s race, and that is, crime. Asked what she has done to combat crime in New York, Gov Hochul said(3:46): “Last January in my state of the state address, January 5th, this is not an election conversion here. January 5th, you can go look at the records, I was talking about how people are feeling insecure, we need to reduce crime, we need to get more guns off the streets. Since I’ve been Governor, we have 8,000 more guns off the streets. Why? Because I took my police force, state police, and said we don’t need to give out as many tickets, let’s get them stopping the guns from flowing into our streets, and for the first time in decades, you have the Governor of New York, working in partnership with the Mayor of New York City…No Governor has spent more money than I have on public safety in history.”

Gov. Hochul also addressed the contentious bail issue, that her challenger Lee Zeldin has used to cast her as weak on crime–criminals getting arrested, only to be released back on the streets due to a lax bail system. Gov Hochul told host Stephanie Ruhle(6:48): “You mentioned the bail laws. The reason the New York state budget, my very first budget was nine days late, I wanted it on time, but I said I’m not leaving here until we deal with the repeat offenders you mentioned, who will keep taking things off the shelves in the drug stores every day, the bail laws now cover them. Anything with a gun, the bail laws now cover them. I gave more powers and discretion to judges and district attorneys than they had before. We made those changes in our law, but they’ve only been in effect a short time.”

Asked whether she thinks the perception that she’s weak on crime is in any way related to her gender, a sexist perception based on New York’s history of “alpha male, macho men” Governors, she responded(7:44): “People ought to know I’m as tough as hell. I’m from Buffalo. My father and grandfather were steel workers, grew up in a big, Irish Catholic, rough and tumble family. There’s no one tougher than I am, and I’ve been through hell and back in this job, and I loved every minute of it. But there’s no one tougher than me, and if anyone thinks that I’m soft on crime, look at what we’ve been doing. We have been aggressive about this, and so I’m breaking the mold perhaps, people haven’t seen a Governor who looks like me, I want to make sure that this becomes the norm. We have the toughest, I am a mother, I’m actually a grandmother, so this is personal to me when people have that fear, so I have my own toughness, but also that compassion and the empathy that perhaps others don’t have.”

The interview then shifted to the “tightening polls” being parroted by Fox News and other rightwing media outlets. Gov. Hochul dismissed these bogus polls as gimmicks commonly employed by Republicans to raise more money for their candidate based on the false perception that they are on the brink of victory. Gov Hochul specifically said, regarding the “tightening polls”(10:43): “All you have to do is see the name Trafalgar. It’s going to show that we’re neck and neck , or that Lee Zeldin is beating me today. Our own polls show that that’s wildly wrong, but you’re making money. You’re getting super billionaire donors like Ron Lauder to dump millions ans millions and millions of dollars in negative ads against me to prop up your election because you gave them a fake poll. Democrats are too honest to do that, we’re not playing that game, and so that’s what’s going on here. I think that is having an effect, but I don’t care, I’m not intimidated by them, by their polls, their money, I have my faith in New Yorkers, and I know they’ll do the right thing. All I need to win on this election, is Democrats turning out. We have enough Democrats, but they get complacent…That’s when you get in trouble. We cannot let that happen.”

Gov. Hochul finished with this powerful message(11:17): “I’m calling on all New Yorkers to stand up, defend your democracy against a Trump-loving, climate change denier, election denier, abortion denier-denying abortion rights, that’s who’s on the ballot. It’s time people understand that.”

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Former AG Holder Re January 6th:”I Think We’re Going To See Indictments Here”

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Former AG Holder on MSNBC’s 11th Hour show (07/15/22)

Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder(Obama) appeared on MSNBC’s 11th Hour w/Stephanie Ruhle(07/15/22) where he dropped a bombshell, telling host Ruhle that his vast experience as a public corruption prosecutor at DOJ, leaves him with a strong “feel” that we will see indictments for Trump’s political allies, and possibly Trump himself, over their efforts to thwart the peaceful transfer of power after Trump lost the 2020 election.

Holder said that as a career public corruption prosecutor, “you get a feel for these things after a while.” For the record, many political pundits and legal analysts have said the same thing on cable TV shows. Reasonable people will agree however, that it is quite different, and highly notable, when it comes from a career public corruption prosecutor like Holder, who recently headed the DOJ.

11th Hour host Stephanie Ruhle:“Merrick Garland, the Attorney General is under huge pressure to act, especially as these hearings unfold. You once had his job…should he act?”

Former AG Holder(video at 0:30):“I think to the extent that I could offer a little advice to the folks at the Justice Department, I would say that maybe you need to find a way in which you can appropriately reassure the American people that the Justice Department is on the case. You know, I was a prosecutor, started my career in the public integrity section, where we looked at, and prosecuted official corruption cases, political corruption cases, and you get a feel for these things after a while. And I got to tell you that on the basis of what I’ve heard, what I’ve read about this whole January 6th matter, I think we’re going to see indictments here. I don’t know if they are going to involve ultimately, the president, but I think those near to him have criminal liability, I think people outside the White House are going to be potentially indicted as well, and as I said, that feel that you get as a public corruption prosecutor makes me think that DOJ is going to ultimately return indictments in connection with the attempt to stop the transfer of power back in January.”

There’s no other way to interpret former AG Holder’s remarks on MSNBC’s 11th Hour other than, his vast experience as a public corruption prosecutor at DOJ gives him total confidence that indictments will be handed out to Trump’s political allies, and possibly Trump himself, for their efforts to thwart the peaceful transition of power following the 2020 election.

One only hopes that when former AG Holder says “people outside the White House”, he’s referring to the likes of Reps Marjorie Taylor Green, Matt Gaetz, or even Senators Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz, Mike Lee, or in the case of Texas, AG Ken Paxton and other Texas super Trumpers. As Trump famously says, “We’ll see what happens.”

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Is It Time To Go To Non-Partisan Primaries To Address Growing Polarization?

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A segment on MSNBC’s 11th Hour w/ Stephanie Ruhle(06/22/22) delved into the very interesting discussion as to whether, given the staggering levels of polarization in the country, we should change adopt a non-partisan primary voting system. Ruhle’s guest Nick Troiano, Executive Director of Unite America, says this change, which is already in place in several states, notably Alaska, would incentivize candidates to look for support beyond their party affiliation thus making them more likely to seek bipartisan solutions to problems. Unite America is a national organization trying to bridge the growing partisan divide by supporting political reforms and candidates who put people over party.

Troiano told 11th Hour host Ruhle(video at 1:22):“I think we spend a lot of time focused on who we elect, not enough time focusing on how we elect, because it’s the systems of our elections that are really pushing our parties further and further apart, and I think our politicians, as a result, are much more polarized than we the people. We’re not seeing the types of solutions and bipartisan policy making in Congress as the American people want and deserve, and the core reason of that is because of our system of partisan primaries. In the last election, it was only 10% of Americans who elected 83% of Congress, because the vast majority of our elections are decided not in the general election in November, but in the primary election, and that problem is getting even worse this election cycle after the latest round of redistricting. We’re going to have the least competitive elections of our lifetime. It’s going to lead to the least accountable Congress of our lifetime. So if we want different outcomes out of Congress, we have to change the process, and fortunately, there’s a growing movement to do that at the state level all across the country.”

Below are some of United America‘s suggested reforms

Troiano singled out the primary system in Alaska as the “best example” of what should be emulated nationwide, if we are going to address the growing polarization problem. He said: “Senator[Lisa]Murkowski was one of the 14 Republicans who voted to advance the bipartisan gun legislation. She’s the only Republican up for election this year, and what’s notable is that this is the first time where the Senator doesn’t face a partisan primary. She’s standing for election in front of all Alaskan voters because in 2020, Alaskans adopted a ballot measure that replaced both parties primaries with a single non-partisan primary. So all the candidates compete in one election, all the voters get to participate on that ballot, the top four finishers go to the general election and through an instant runoff, whomever wins the majority of support gets elected, and so it gives voters more voice and choice in elections, and it incentivizes candidates and leaders to campaign and be responsive to the whole constituency, not just the 10% who may vote in a partisan primary. Now imagine if additional states were to adopt this reform, we can have dozens of our elected leaders in Congress finally being able to be responsive to the majority of Americans and not the political extremes.”

Troiano also said non-partisan primaries would encourage more people to throw their hats into the political ring without fear of being labeled “spoilers”, something he acknowledged, keeps a lot of otherwise good candidates from both parties, on the sidelines.

Bottom line folks, non-partisan primaries is a very interesting suggestion indeed, which Yours Truly hopes, will be given serious consideration given the crippling levels of polarization in our politics today. Simply put, when the likes of Boebert(CO) and MTG(GA) start showing up in Congress, then reasonable people will agree, that the selection system is surely broken!!

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Trump Has Violated Oath Of Office, Needs To Be Impeached

After the disastrous #TreasonSummit  in Helsinki, Finland between President Trump and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, many have wondered how his GOP would react–whether this would be the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back. Eventhough there have been sharp criticisms of Trump from some GOP circles(Sens McCain, Flake etc), most Republicans have resorted to their usual tactic–making excuses for him, and silly ones at that.


One of those silly excuses now bandied about by the hapless Congressional Republicans is that they strongly oppose Trump’s stance in Helsinki where he appeared to side with Putin over U.S. Intel, but cannot do anything because their constituents “love Trump”. Basically I would do something but I don’t want to anger my constituents. As silly as this sounds, some in the Mainstream Media have began running with it as a plausible explanation.

There was late-breaking news yesterday by the New York Times that two weeks before Trump was inaugurated (Jan 6, 2017), U.S. Intel officials briefed him in excruciating detail about how Putin and his Kremlin operatives interfered in the 2016 U.S. elections. According to former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance who was a guest on 11th Hour with Brian Williams show, this is highly significant because it suggests that by continuing to deny Putin’s involvement in the 2016 election interference, Trump’s actions enter the realm of criminal cover-up. Joyce Vance’s point is very clear. Trump knew on inauguration day who the alleged Russian perpetrators were and there is no plausible reason why he should be throwing confusion into what is now a settled conclusion that Putin/Russians interfered, unless of course he is covering up their actions.


There is absolutely no way someone presented with such detailed information about Russian interference would have any ambiguity about the subject, which is why former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance says there could be a cover-up case made against Trump. Needless to say, even after this bombshell New York Times article, Trump’s GOP will counter with the silly “my constituents love Trump” excuse and some in the Mainstream Media will run with it again as a plausible explanation.

What some in the Mainstream Media fail to realize is that Trump’s actions in Helsinki, especially viewed in light of this NYT article, raise serious national security questions and go right to the heart of his presidential Oath of Office. Luckily this fact is not lost to all in the Mainstream Media and Yours Truly was very happy to hear former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance raising it on MSNBC’s 11th Hour with Brian Williams show

Bottomline Dems should not fall for the silly excuse given by GOP members of Congress that they can’t do anything because their constituents “love Trump”. The fact of the matter is if Trump is not living up to his presidential Oath of Office, he has no business being President of The United States, period. Whether or not some GOP constituents “love him” is irrelevant. Excellent punditry by Joyce Vance.

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