Tag: paul

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Hillary Clinton Discusses Paul Pelosi Attack, Upcoming Midterms On MSNBC’s ReidOut Show

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Former U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton appeared on MSNBC’s ReidOut show(11/01/22) to discuss among other things, the violent attack on Paul Pelosi, the 82 year old husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, at their San Francisco home. As host Joy Reid correctly pointed out, Hillary Clinton, like Nancy Pelosi, is a high-flying female political figure, who has also been the subject of numerous threats of violence from rightwingers, so she was the perfect guest to opine on this topic.

Asked how the attack on Paul Pelosi personally struck her, and whether this spoke to a larger general animus in America towards powerful women, Hillary Clinton responded(3:30): “There’s always been a streak of violence, of racism, misogyny, anti-Semitism…but I think what we’re seeing today, and it has certainly been thrown into very high relief by the horrific attack on Paul Pelosi, is not just an aberration where one or two people, or a small group engage in that kind of violent rhetoric, and urge people to take action against political figures like her, like me, like others, we’re seeing a whole political party, and those who support it, those who enable it, those who run under its banner, engaging in behavior that is so dangerous, and I find frankly, disqualifying for people who are running for office.”

Clinton then slammed Republicans, a lot of who are running on a “tough on crime” message this midterm election cycle, saying, “They don’t seem to be too bothered” by an 82 year old man being attacked in his own home by an intruder, because “that person is married to the Speaker of the House who’s of a different political party.”

Clinton then went all the way there, telling host Joy Reid that the kind of violent rhetoric we are currently witnessing from Republicans, is what leads to authoritarian regimes. She specifically said(4:54): “I just want your viewers, and really, I would like every American just to stop and think about that. This is the kind of violent rhetoric that leads to violent action, that props up authoritarians, and that’s unfortunately what we see the Republican Party today supporting.” She went on to single out Rep Marjorie Taylor Greene’s violent rhetoric directed at Speaker Pelosi as one example, adding(8:39), “This is a real threat to the heart of our democracy.”

The interview then shifted to the upcoming midterm elections, where Hillary Clinton urged voters to believe Republicans when they say they will gut social security and other entitlement programs. She specifically said(10:43): “Sometimes when I tell people that, they say. ‘Oh, they would never do that.’ Well, they told us for 50 years they were going to get rid of Roe v Wade, and turn abortion over to the states, where state legislators, local political officials could decide what your healthcare would be, why won’t you believe them, that they are going to go after social security and Medicare? I believe them, I take them at their word.”

A very interesting part of the interview came when host Joy Reid showed an old picture of then Senator Clinton with the late Senator John McCain(R-AZ), Senator Susan Collins(R-ME) and Senator Lindsey Graham(R-SC) during a foreign trip they had taken related to climate change. Host Joy Reid asked Clinton to compare and contrast the Lindsey Graham she knew back then, with the full blown Trumper he has since become.

Clinton said when they took the trip, Sen Graham was a believer in climate change, and that he continued to believe in it up until Senator McCain’s sad death. After that, he totally changed. Clinton(15:58): “There was no doubt that everybody, including Senator Graham, understood and believed in climate change, and while John McCain was still alive, he seemed to believe that. After Senator McCain’s very sad passing, Lindsey was unmoored, I don’t know how else to say it. In 2016 he was still somewhat of himself…and then when Trump ended up getting elected, Senator Graham threw his lot in with him…I find it bewildering that somebody who was always on the conservative side, don’t get me wrong, has so thrown his lot in with the cult that goes along with the big lie, and seems to be moving us in a direction that I think anyone with half a sense of American history knows, is going to hurt us.”

Clinton, a former U.S. secretary of State, was then asked to opine on the current volatile situation in Brazil after President Jair Bolsonaro, dubbed the “Brazilian Trump”, lost his quest for reelection. Clinton said(23:48): “I think what he did today sends a quite positive message…I think that he basically couldn’t bring himself to say that he lost, and so it wasn’t a formal concession, but he said he would follow the constitution, and he apparently gave the okay to his team to say they would start the transition. So we didn’t hear ‘big steal’, we didn’t hear, you know, ‘it was rigged’, ‘I didn’t really lose’, we didn’t hear any of that from him, like we heard from, and still hear today, from Trump, so I’m cautiously optimistic that Brazil will make this transition. I think it’s going to be quite difficult for Lula because the election was so close…but he has made it clear, again something we didn’t hear from Trump at his inauguration…he wants to be the president for all Brazilians, those who voted for him, those who did not vote for him, so as I said, I’m cautiously optimistic that he will be able to govern the  country effectively and begin to deal with some of the very big problems that face Brazil.”

Asked about the Russia-Ukraine war, Clinton spoke very highly of President Zelensky and his “very impressive” administration, saying they are holding up very well under the circumstances, and that Ukraine will ultimately prevail if the West continues providing them with military assistance. She added(26:55): “I personally view their fight as our fight. They are fighting for democracy, they are fighting for freedom, they are fighting for their rights to make their own futures, and not be subjected to Putin’s whims and his imaginary history that they’ve never existed…”

Asked at the very end of the interview, about the return of Bibi Netanyahu as Israel’s Prime Minister, and specifically, how Iran’s cooperation with Putin as he attacks Ukraine, might affect his relationship with Putin(they seemed to get along fine while he was PM and Trump President), Clinton said(27:46): “Netanyahu is a very experienced politician, and he certainly has always paid attention to the threat from Iran. I hope he pays attention to it now because this partnership that Iran has with Russia should be of deep concern to Israel.”

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What is Christian Nationalism? An Interesting CNN Segment Delved Into It

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An interesting segment on CNN’s Reliable Sources show (07/31/22) delved into the new hot political topic, and that is, Christian Nationalism. So what is Christian Nationalism? Host Brian Stelter brought in Katherine Stewart, who has studied this topic for years, to shed some light on the issue. Stewart is the author of the book “The Power Worshippers–Inside The Dangerous Rise Of Religious Nationalism”.

This intro by host Brian Stelter is important for establishing the context for the ensuing debate:“Roughly 70% of Americans identify as Christian, and this segment is not about most of them. This segment is about the rise of a White Christian Nationalist movement in the U.S. It’s emerging in the news more and more, you are probably hearing the term Christian Nationalism more and more. Here is one expert’s definition:’Christian Nationalism is the belief that the American nation is defined by Christianity, and that the government should take active steps to keep it that way.’ Many observers feel that would threaten our diverse, healthy democracy in the U.S. We are seeing some Republicans in the U.S. embrace the term Christian Nationalism, for example [Reps] Marjorie Taylor Greene…Lauren Boebert…”

Here’s how Katherine Stewart defined Christian Nationalism (video at ):“Christian Nationalism is basically the idea that America was founded as a so-called Christian nation, our law should be based on the Bible, and supposedly right-thinking believers need to reclaim America’s past.”

Stewart said this is dangerous because “it’s a radically anti-democratic ideology. It rejects the principles of pluralism and equality, that represent the best of the American promise. The movement, it’s not just an ideology, it’s also an organized quest for political power.. it’s a political movement. This movement has built up…a sort of a dense organizational infrastructure over decades, that includes right wing policy groups, legal advocacy groups, networking initiatives, that get the leadership on the same page…[including] Supreme Court Justices.”

Stewart went on to expound on her argument re the U.S. Supreme Court saying, all the six conservative justices on the high court are either current or former members of the Federalist Society, which she says “is an organization that plays an outsized role in shaping our courts.” Just so you know, the Federalist Society is part of the “dense organizational infrastructure” Stewart alluded to earlier.

Stewart said Trump’s presidency was key to the Christian Nationalist movement because he “threw open the doors to leaders of this movement. It’s a leadership-driven movement, it’s not defined by the attitudes of the rank and file. Those attitudes are actually shaped by the leadership of the movement. He [Trump] offered them unprecedented political access, offered them of course the justices they wanted. This is a movement that represents the minority of our country. Most American Christians reject the politics of conquest and division this movement represents.”

There’s no other way to interpret Katherine Stewart’s remarks on CNN’s Reliable Sources other than(I’ll be happy to stand corrected of course), power hungry conservatives have schemed for decades on how to use Chritianity to achieve political power, and they finally got their opening with the Trump presidency. Trump elevated the leaders of this movement, and what we’re witnessing today with Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert and others, are simply efforts to make Christian Nationalism a mainstream movement in America. Remember, as Katen Stewart correctly pointed out, a majority of Christians don’t agree with this effort to essentially hijack Christianity for political gain.

The CNN segment singled out Reps Marjorie Taylor Greene(R-GA) and Lauren Boebert(R-CO) as illustrations of this budding Christian Nationalist movement, but if anyone out there is looking for the classic example to date, it is, in my humble opinion, none other than former Arkansas Governor and presidential candidate Mike Huckabee, a former Pastor, who has now fully embraced Trumpism. Mike Huckabee not only got his daughter Sarah to work in Trump’s White House, but also made sure she secured Trump’s endorsement for her run for Arkansas Governor, a job she is largely expected to bag.

Huckabee has also recently authored “christian” books themed around the Trump presidency. If Mike Huckabee, and his daughter Sarah for that matter, are not the classic examples of the abuse-Christianity-for-political-power-movement, I don’t know who is.

An important piece of advice Karen Stewart gave to the mainstream media when covering this Christian Nationalism movement, is to never forget that it is a leadership-driven movement. In other words, don’t focus too much on what the rank and file go out there and do in furtherance of the movement(often viral videos on social media attacking gays, pro-choice activists, etc), but rather, on the leaders of the movement, who indoctrinate them into doing this stuff. Hmm, very interesting.

Bottom line folks, many Christians, including Yours Truly, regarded former President George W. Bush and his wife Laura (Texas pride–deal with it), as very good representations of a Christian family–despite whatever differences one might have had with their political beliefs. Interestingly, Trump, the leader of the “christian” nationalist movement, has never humbled himself to say anything good about the God-fearing Bushes. That, my friends, is all you need to know about this “christian” nationalist movement. It is anything, but Christian.

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Melania’s Spox Says Trump’s Behavior Doesn’t Affect “Be Best” Campaign

In case you missed it, Melania Trump’s Spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham just did an interview on CNN where the host Christi Paul asked her about President Trump’s behavior vis-a-vis Melania’s “Be Best” campaign. Grisham gave one of the most ridiculous explanations I’ve ever heard on TV to which host Christi Paul shockingly never pushed back on/inquired further into.

CNN Host:How does she[Melania] balance her platform[“Be Best”] against some of the things that he[Trump] does?

Grisham: “I think that honestly one thing doesn’t have anything to do with the other, and she is focused on helping children. She has said many times that her husband is an adult, he is the President of the United States and he knows what he is doing, and she’s focused on “Be Best”, she’s focused on helping children, children are the ones who are impressionable right now and so she’s going to go out there and do the best that she can to help them succeed.”

The only way to interpret Stephanie Grisham’s explanation is that even though American children are impressionable, they never look up to the President of the United States, which as I said earlier is a totally bogus explanation that host Christi Paul should have vigorously pushed back on.

Bottom line Trump’s troubling behavior as President has serious ramifications up to and including its corrosive effect on our children. Where, as here, a mainstream media host gets an opportunity to raise that issue, it is only proper that they fully explore it–ask follow-up questions and push back when necessary. Even though Christi Paul is ordinarily a great host(among my CNN faves), she failed miserably on this Stephanie Grisham interview–sorry Christi.

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Speaker Ryan’s PAC Knowingly Using Illegally Obtained Info Against House Dem Candidate

There’s a very troubling report on MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow show that a Political Action Committee(PAC) alligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan is knowingly using illegally obtained information to attack a Dem congressional hopeful Abigail Spanberger.

According to Maddow, Speaker Ryan’s PAC is using very personal information illegally obtained from Abigail Spanberger’s SF-86 form. The Trump admin maintains Abigail’s info was erroneously released to the PAC following their FOIA request.


However this is where it gets interesting. Turns out that Speaker Ryan’s PAC got Abigail’s documents only 3 weeks after submitting their FOIA request. Abigail Spanberger’s campaign also filed a FOIA request to the same agency but interestingly, its still pending several months after it was filed. This calls into question Trump Admin’s stance that Abigail’s info was released “erroneously”. As Maddow correctly points out this appears to be the new GOP shady campaign tactic–doxxing Dem candidates who have filed SF-86 forms.

Bottom line this is out and out criminal conduct for which Dems and the mainstream media must call out Speaker Ryan and his PAC. Its also further proof that the GOP has indeed become a criminal enterprise as Yours Truly recently stated.

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Cathy McMorris Rogers Admission on Mueller Probe Implicates Speaker Ryan

A secret tape recording of a fundraiser for 4th ranking GOP member of Congress Cathy McMorris Rogers captures her essentially admitting to the fact that House Republicans are primarily interested in protecting Trump from the Mueller probe, and not getting to the bottom of what Russia did in 2016.


While the public has suspected, even seen evidence of this for a long time now, it was quite breathtaking to hear such a high ranking member of congress essentially admitting that the majority party in Congress is essentially stonewalling a very serious investigation into Russian meddling in the  2016 U.S. elections.

It also bolsters the charge that has been levelled at House Speaker Paul Ryan since the Mueller investigation began–that he sits idly by as Rep Devin Nunes and other House Republicans openly obstruct the Mueller investigation–abetts their conduct. With McMorris-Rogers admission, the public does not have to speculate anymore about Speaker Ryan’s actions/inactions. It appears obstructing Mueller probe is an agenda fully endorsed by House Speaker Paul Ryan and Rep Cathy McMorris-Rodgers–Congressional leaders.

This is very serious in that it does away with the widely held notion that there are a few wayward GOP characters in Congress (Devin Nunes, Jim Jordan et al) who are acting independently to obstruct Mueller probe/protect Trump and suggests the entire GOP leadership in Congress is onboard with Mueller probe obstruction.

Dems must take Rep Cathy McMorris Rogers to task and demand that she comes forward and explain her actions. The same must be done for Speaker Ryan. Bottom line it is highly unlikely that Rep McMorris-Rogers would go along with a plan to obstruct Mueller probe if Speaker Ryan wasn’t in on it.

Dems and indeed the mainstream media(still a major let down) must take McMorris-Rogers and Speaker Ryan to task regarding their shameful conduct because they are Congressional leaders who ought to know better. Put another way the media’s emphasis should notbe on Rep Devin Nunes, but on Congressional leaders McMorris-Rogers and Speaker Ryan.

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What Did Russian Military Intel Do With Stolen Info Of 500,000 Voters?

This week’s bombshell indictments by Special Counsel Robert Mueller of specific members of the Russian Military Intelligence should be cause for Congressional Democrats to get off the TrumpRussia sidelines and begin asking a series of very important questions beginning with this–What did Russian military intelligence do with the information they stole from 500,000 U.S. voters? It is foolhardy to suggest that Russians amassed such a large quantity of data on U.S. voters only to turn around and sit on it. Every reasonable person would conclude that they put such data to use against Dems in the 2016 elections. Dems therefore have every right to question who in the GOP sought or was the beneficiary of such illegally acquired info beginning with the head honcho himself House Speaker Paul Ryan.


There have been media reports that a Ryan-allied political action commitee(PAC) used this illegally obtained information to attack Dems in the 2016 election cycle.


Given Mueller’s indictment, this is the perfect time for Dems to confront Speaker Ryan using the popular watergate question, “What did Speaker Ryan know about the Russian hack and when did he know it?” This is a particularly important question when considering the fact that a lot of Americans find Speaker Ryan’s strange silence even in the face of obvious TrumpRussia obstruction by his House GOP colleagues quite suspect. Is he afraid because he is implicated(complicit) or that he knows a lot of his GOP colleagues are?

Beyond House Speaker Ryan, the possibilities as to what Russian military intelligence could have accomplished with such a treasure trove of voter data should be very concerning to Dems. Remember Trump “beat” Hillary Clinton by a combined total of only 88,000 votes in the key swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin, and Pennsylvania. Yours Truly has always maintained, even when the mainstream media considered it a radical left-wing conspiracy theory, that Clinton won these three crucial swing states but more importantly, that the pre-election polls that showed her leading were never wrong


Dems need to ask serious questions about MI, WI & PA given this bombshell revelation that Russian military intel stole information of 500,000 voters. Specifically, were Trump’s poll-defying “wins” in MI, WI & PA made up of real voters or fictitious #GucciferVoters? Remember folks we are talking here about the highly sophisticated and well financed Russian military intelligence not the imaginary “400 pound guy in the basement” Trump referred to when confronted about Russian election meddling.

As for the unnamed GOP politician referenced in the Mueller indictments as having sought Dem dirt from the Russians and later used it in his campaign, Dems must demand his immediate resignation if he is currently a member of Congress. The highly informed grassroots Dems who follow Yours Truly on twitter strongly suggest it is Rep Matt Gaetz representing Florida’s 1st congressional district. If he turns out to be the one, Dems must demand his immediate resignation.


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