Month: September 2018

The bogus GOP talking point about ‘timing,’ and dueling character witnesses

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The Republican talking point today is “Why did Democrats wait until the eleventh hour” to bring to light this allegation of sexual assault by Judge Kavanaugh when he was in high school just days before his confirmation vote?

Seriously? Republicans are complaining about regular order and procedure after having blockaded President Obama’s nomination of Merick Garland for a year, and then rushing the nomination process for Brett Kavanaugh? That is chutzpah.

The confirmation vote has been rushed by the Septuagenarian Ninja Turtle, Senate majority leader Mitch McConnell, before the National Archives has even completed its review of documents related to Kavanaugh. Only about 10% of documents have been made available through an alternative source, a very non-neutral arbiter, Bill Burck, a private attorney employed by former president George W. Bush and a longtime Republican — and reportedly a longtime friend of Kavanaugh’s — overseeing the review of the documents. The fight over the release of Kavanaugh documents. A group of Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have been forced to file a lawsuit against the National Archives in an attempt to gain access to records related to Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh. Senate Dems sue Archives to try to force release of Kavanaugh documents.

You want to talk about regular order and procedure Turtle Man? Mitch McConnell is the man who broke America. UPDATE: Charles Pierce at Esquire brings it up to date. History Will Remember Mitch McConnell as One of the Very Worst.

Then there is the fact Christine Blasey Ford did not want to come forward and be subjected to a political assault. She told this to both Senator Dianne Feinstein and reporters at the Washington Post. It was only after her letter was leaked to the Intercept and the New Yorker last week that she made the decision over the weekend that she would be willing to testify after having been outed against her will. She is now, predictably, being politically assaulted.

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The biggest test of the #MeToo movement: a Supreme Court nominee

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The #MeToo movement is about believing a woman when she says that she has been sexually harassed, sexually assaulted, or raped by a man who is in a position of power:

After The New York Times published an explosive report in October 2017 detailing decades of sexual harassment allegations against Harvey Weinstein, dozens of women came forward with their own accusations against the Hollywood mogul. Within a week Weinstein had been fired from his company and expelled from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Now, in a post-Weinstein world, legions of women have felt empowered to speak out and share their own #MeToo stories—both on social media and in news outlets. The reports against the powerful producer sparked an avalanche of accusations against high-profile men in media, politics, Silicon Valley, and Hollywood, all with varying degrees of repercussions.

Here, a list of the high-profile men who have been accused of sexual harassment, assault, and/or misconduct since the Weinstein story broke, which we’ll keep updating as new allegations surface. Post-Wtneinstein, These Are the Powerful Men Facing Sexual Harassment Allegations.

The stakes just got a lot higher for the #MeToo movement.

“Earlier this summer, Christine Blasey Ford wrote a confidential letter to a senior Democratic lawmaker alleging that Supreme Court nominee Brett M. Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her more than three decades ago, when they were high school students in suburban Maryland.” California professor, writer of confidential Brett Kavanaugh letter, speaks out about her allegation of sexual assault:

Now, Ford has decided that if her story is going to be told, she wants to be the one to tell it.

Speaking publicly for the first time, Ford said that one summer in the early 1980s, Kavanaugh and a friend — both “stumbling drunk,” Ford alleges — corralled her into a bedroom during a gathering of teenagers at a house in Montgomery County.

While his friend watched, she said, Kavanaugh pinned her to a bed on her back and groped her over her clothes, grinding his body against hers and clumsily attempting to pull off her one-piece bathing suit and the clothing she wore over it. When she tried to scream, she said, he put his hand over her mouth.

“I thought he might inadvertently kill me,” said Ford, now a 51-year-old research psychologist in northern California. “He was trying to attack me and remove my clothing.”

Ford said she was able to escape when Kavanaugh’s friend and classmate at Georgetown Preparatory School, Mark Judge, jumped on top of them, sending all three tumbling. She said she ran from the room, briefly locked herself in a bathroom and then fled the house.

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CD2 Candidate Ann Kirkpatrick Opens New HQ, Launches Dozens of Canvassers

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Ann Kirkpatrick, the Democratic candidate for Congress in Tucson’s CD2, opened her new headquarters at 4742 N Oracle Rd, Tucson, AZ 85705, and launched dozens of volunteers to knock on doors for her and US Senate candidate Kyrsten Sinema.

She said the key issues in the race are: protecting choice in women’s health care, immigration reform including citizenship for the DACA recipients, and halting the separation of children from their parents at the border.

She has also called for creating a public option for Americans to buy into Medicare, protecting Medicare and Social Security from Republican attempts to cut earned benefits, and giving Medicare the power to negotiate drug prices to reduce costs for our seniors.

I canvassed 49 houses myself for four hours in the 101° heat and found that these issues resonated with voters I talked to. I met:

  • An independent voter who is Latino and who is upset by the US immigration policy.
  • A Republican who said he was upset with Trump and will vote for Kirkpatrick and Sinema to put a check on the president.
  • An independent who wanted to know where to donate to the Sinema campaign.

All three of them wanted to volunteer for the Democrats.

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Martha McSally is a creature of the military-industrial-congressional complex

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Rep. Martha McSally (R-Raytheon) epitomizes what President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned this nation against in his farewell address in 1961:

This conjunction of an immense military establishment and a large arms industry is new in the American experience. The total influence – economic, political, even spiritual – is felt in every city, every Statehouse, every office of the Federal government. We recognize the imperative need for this development. Yet we must not fail to comprehend its grave implications. Our toil, resources and livelihood are all involved; so is the very structure of our society.

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We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

Eisenhower’s orignal draft of the speech referred to the military-industrial-congressional complex.

In a series of negative campaign ads attacking her opponent, McSally presents a hyper-militarism. She always portrays herself in uniform for the persona of a  “woman warrior” to contrast with an old photo of Kyrsten Sinema in a pink tutu, as a girlie-girl “lefty-looney.”

The primary focus of McSally’s negative attack ads is to assert that Kyrsten Sinema “denigrated the service” of those in the military in protesting the Iraq war. Politifact rates this claim false, unsupported by any evidence. Did Arizona’s Kyrsten Sinema protest troops in a pink tutu and denigrated their service?”

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Political Calendar: Week of September 16, 2018

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The Political Calendar is posted on Sundays. Please send us notice of your political events prior to the Sunday before your event (7 days would be most helpful). See the calendar icon in the right-hand column of the blog page for easy access to the calendar.

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Political Calendar for the Week of September 16, 2018:

Coconino County Democratic Party’s annual Monsoon Picnic

Sunday, September 16, 10:30 a.m.: Coconino County Democratic Party’s annual Monsoon Picnic, at the County Fairgrounds (Maricopa Ramada), 2446 Fort Tuthill Loop, Flagstaff. A business meeting for PCs will begin promptly at 10:30 and conclude before 11 a.m. The public portion of the event will begin at 11 a.m. with food and candidate speeches. This is a potluck with the party providing pulled pork sandwiches, veggie burgers, hot dogs, buns, and drinks. We ask that those whose last names begin with A-M bring a salad or side dish and those whose last names begin with N-Z bring a dessert. (Bring reusable plates and utensils if you can. We will provide paper and plastic.) For more information please call (928) 214-0393 or email Kevin Ordean at Kordean@ccdem.org.

Monday, September 17: Constitution Day/Citizenship Day, commemorates the day the U.S. Constitutional Convention signed the Constitution in 1787.

Monday, September 17, Noon: Democrats of Greater Tucson luncheon, Dragon’s View Restaurant (400 N. Bonita, South of St. Mary’s Road between the Freeway and Grande Avenue, turn South at Furr’s Cafeteria). New price: buffet lunch is $10.00 cash, $12 credit; just a drink is $3.50. Featured speaker is Larry Bodine of Blog For Arizona on Local Political Journalism. Next Week: DGT President Brian Bickel on Pima County Bond Questions on the ballot.

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