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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
July 20, 2019
Unlike other Democrats, Pete Buttigieg has no use for Ronald Reagan’s legacy
by Emily Larsen
| July 19, 2019 05:05 PM
Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, 37, is declaring an imminent end to the era of Ronald Reagan, a break from Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi who often evoke the 40th president while laying out their vision for the future.
Establishment Democrats take a much different tone toward the former president than the South Bend, Indiana mayor, who was born during the first term of Reagan’s presidency.
snip//
Buttigieg, unlike older Democratic presidential candidates such as former Vice President Joe Biden, rejects nostalgia for the past.
“Don’t listen to anybody in either party who says we can just go back to what we were doing,” he told a crowd in Des Moines, Iowa in June.
more...
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/unlike-other-democrats-pete-buttigieg-has-no-use-for-ronald-reagans-legacy
Unlike other Democrats, Pete Buttigieg has no use for Ronald Reagan's legacy
Unlike other Democrats, Pete Buttigieg has no use for Ronald Reagan’s legacy
by Emily Larsen
| July 19, 2019 05:05 PM
Presidential hopeful Pete Buttigieg, 37, is declaring an imminent end to the era of Ronald Reagan, a break from Democrats such as Nancy Pelosi who often evoke the 40th president while laying out their vision for the future.
“The New Deal era lasted almost 50 years only to come to an end with Reagan,” Buttigieg said in a speech at the Young Democrats National Convention in Indianapolis Thursday night. “That the Reagan era lasted the next 40 years with even Democrats sometimes acting like the only thing you can ever do to a tax is cut, the only thing you ought to do with government is shrink it.”
“The New Deal era ended with Reagan. The Reagan era ends with us,” he said.
“The New Deal era ended with Reagan. The Reagan era ends with us,” he said.
Establishment Democrats take a much different tone toward the former president than the South Bend, Indiana mayor, who was born during the first term of Reagan’s presidency.
snip//
Buttigieg, unlike older Democratic presidential candidates such as former Vice President Joe Biden, rejects nostalgia for the past.
“Don’t listen to anybody in either party who says we can just go back to what we were doing,” he told a crowd in Des Moines, Iowa in June.
more...
https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/unlike-other-democrats-pete-buttigieg-has-no-use-for-ronald-reagans-legacy
July 19, 2019
Posted on Fri, Jul 19th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Trump Is Now Making Up Fake Quotes From AOC and Ilhan Omar
snip//
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1152304400439947267
Trump is so desperate to keep his racist dog and pony show going that he is inventing imaginary quotes that the two congresswomen never said.
Donald Trump is inventing quotes to throw gasoline on the racial hate fire.
Trump can’t discuss issues and he can’t run on accomplishments, so hate is his only option.
The president is dividing not defending America, racism is still racism even when the perpetrator tries to wrap it around the US flag.
Trump Is Now Making Up Fake Quotes From AOC and Ilhan Omar
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/07/19/trump-fake-quotws-aoc-omar.htmlPosted on Fri, Jul 19th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Trump Is Now Making Up Fake Quotes From AOC and Ilhan Omar
snip//
https://twitter.com/ddale8/status/1152304400439947267
Trump is so desperate to keep his racist dog and pony show going that he is inventing imaginary quotes that the two congresswomen never said.
Donald Trump is inventing quotes to throw gasoline on the racial hate fire.
Trump can’t discuss issues and he can’t run on accomplishments, so hate is his only option.
The president is dividing not defending America, racism is still racism even when the perpetrator tries to wrap it around the US flag.
July 19, 2019
Michelle Obama speaks out in a seeming condemnation of Trump's racist tweets
4:58 p.m.
Michelle Obama isn't staying quiet on this one.
Throughout the past week, President Trump's continually racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen have been met with harsh condemnation by sitting Democrats and a vote in the House. Former presidents have so far stayed out of the issue, but that didn't stop former first lady Michelle Obama from tweeting a voicey yet vague admonishment on Friday.
https://twitter.com/MichelleObama/status/1152303775236919296
Former President Barack Obama didn't issue any statements of his own, but he did retweet his wife's sentiments.
Obama's words come after Trump directed racist tweets at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and three other Democrats, telling them to "go back" to the countries they came from. Only Omar was not born in the U.S., and Trump's supporters chanted "send her back" about Omar at his Wednesday rally. Kathryn Krawczyk
Michelle Obama speaks out in a seeming condemnation of Trump's racist tweets
https://theweek.com/speedreads/853942/michelle-obama-speaks-seeming-condemnation-trumps-racist-tweetsMichelle Obama speaks out in a seeming condemnation of Trump's racist tweets
4:58 p.m.
Michelle Obama isn't staying quiet on this one.
Throughout the past week, President Trump's continually racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen have been met with harsh condemnation by sitting Democrats and a vote in the House. Former presidents have so far stayed out of the issue, but that didn't stop former first lady Michelle Obama from tweeting a voicey yet vague admonishment on Friday.
https://twitter.com/MichelleObama/status/1152303775236919296
Former President Barack Obama didn't issue any statements of his own, but he did retweet his wife's sentiments.
Obama's words come after Trump directed racist tweets at Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) and three other Democrats, telling them to "go back" to the countries they came from. Only Omar was not born in the U.S., and Trump's supporters chanted "send her back" about Omar at his Wednesday rally. Kathryn Krawczyk
July 19, 2019
Trump’s Base Isn’t Enough
The president needs the voters who approve of his record on the economy but disapprove of him overall. His racist attacks this week only hurt that cause.
Ronald Brownstein
5:00 AM ET
Buried beneath the blustery bravado of Donald Trump’s openly racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color were clear signs of electoral anxiety.
Trump insists he is producing great results for the country, especially on the economy. And yet, at the price of provoking great backlash, he moved in an unprecedented manner this week to portray four nonwhite Democratic representatives as fundamentally un-American, not only ideologically, but also racially and ethnically.
In so doing, Trump has telegraphed that, ahead of 2020, he hopes to focus at least as much on the jagged divide of “Who is a real American?” as on the traditional question incumbent presidents seeking reelection highlight during generally good economic times: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
That choice may reflect the convergence of inclination and calculation. Trump’s instinct is to center his politics on cultural and racial conflicts that pit Americans uneasy about the nation’s changing identity against those who welcome or accept it. But Trump also faces clear evidence that he may be unable to build a winning coalition with just the voters satisfied with his performance in office. That’s evident even with an economy that’s booming, at least according to measures such as the low unemployment rate and the soaring stock market.
The latest such evidence comes in a new study released today by Navigator Research, a consortium of Democratic research and advocacy groups. The report, provided exclusively to The Atlantic, examines a group that many analysts in both parties believe could prove to be the key bloc of 2020 swing voters: Americans who say they approve of Trump’s management of the economy but still disapprove of his overall performance as president. And it shows Trump facing significant headwinds among that potentially critical group, partly because of the divisive language and behavior he’s taken to new heights, or lows, since last weekend—tweeting about the congresswomen and encouraging his supporters to attack them as well.
This conflicted group looms so large over 2020 because about half (or even slightly more) of voters express support for Trump’s management of the economy, but only 40 to 45 percent of them give him positive marks on his overall performance. That difference could be the tipping point between a coalition that places Trump close to the comfort zone for presidents seeking reelection—support from about half of Americans—and one that leaves him trying to secure a second term with positive marks from a much smaller circle. The only presidents since 1952 who sought reelection with approval ratings below 50 percent—Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush—all lost.
more...
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/trump-base-2020/594325/
Trump's Base Isn't Enough
Trump’s Base Isn’t Enough
The president needs the voters who approve of his record on the economy but disapprove of him overall. His racist attacks this week only hurt that cause.
Ronald Brownstein
5:00 AM ET
Buried beneath the blustery bravado of Donald Trump’s openly racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color were clear signs of electoral anxiety.
Trump insists he is producing great results for the country, especially on the economy. And yet, at the price of provoking great backlash, he moved in an unprecedented manner this week to portray four nonwhite Democratic representatives as fundamentally un-American, not only ideologically, but also racially and ethnically.
In so doing, Trump has telegraphed that, ahead of 2020, he hopes to focus at least as much on the jagged divide of “Who is a real American?” as on the traditional question incumbent presidents seeking reelection highlight during generally good economic times: “Are you better off than you were four years ago?”
That choice may reflect the convergence of inclination and calculation. Trump’s instinct is to center his politics on cultural and racial conflicts that pit Americans uneasy about the nation’s changing identity against those who welcome or accept it. But Trump also faces clear evidence that he may be unable to build a winning coalition with just the voters satisfied with his performance in office. That’s evident even with an economy that’s booming, at least according to measures such as the low unemployment rate and the soaring stock market.
The latest such evidence comes in a new study released today by Navigator Research, a consortium of Democratic research and advocacy groups. The report, provided exclusively to The Atlantic, examines a group that many analysts in both parties believe could prove to be the key bloc of 2020 swing voters: Americans who say they approve of Trump’s management of the economy but still disapprove of his overall performance as president. And it shows Trump facing significant headwinds among that potentially critical group, partly because of the divisive language and behavior he’s taken to new heights, or lows, since last weekend—tweeting about the congresswomen and encouraging his supporters to attack them as well.
“The main takeaway from this analysis is that while some Americans might be giving Trump positive marks for his economic performance, they are strongly held back by three things: the values that they have, the views they have on other noneconomic issues, and some very real concerns about Trump’s character and temperament,” says Bryan Bennett, an adviser to Navigator Research.
This conflicted group looms so large over 2020 because about half (or even slightly more) of voters express support for Trump’s management of the economy, but only 40 to 45 percent of them give him positive marks on his overall performance. That difference could be the tipping point between a coalition that places Trump close to the comfort zone for presidents seeking reelection—support from about half of Americans—and one that leaves him trying to secure a second term with positive marks from a much smaller circle. The only presidents since 1952 who sought reelection with approval ratings below 50 percent—Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter, and George H. W. Bush—all lost.
more...
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/trump-base-2020/594325/
July 19, 2019
July 19, 2019 9:26AM ET
Republicans Can’t Explain Why They’re Condemning the Racism of Trump’s Supporters But Not Trump’s
The GOP’s discomfort with racism comes with a pretty big caveat
By Ryan Bort
President Trump’s supporters broke into a “send her back!” chant directed at Ilhan Omar during his rally in Greenville, North Carolina, on Wednesday night — and guess what? Republicans are very concerned.
So troubled were some members of the party’s leadership in the House of Representatives, Politico reported on Thursday, that they convened with Vice President Mike Pence over breakfast to express their discomfort, urging him to relay their concerns to the president. He must have gotten the message, as Trump told reporters at the White House that he actually was “not happy” and “disagrees” with the racist chant his racist tweets and comments inspired Wednesday night, and which he did absolutely nothing to stop, instead pausing for nearly 15 seconds to allow the chant to be better heard.
Here’s a sampling of what the distressed House Republicans have said about the chant:
https://twitter.com/RepMarkWalker/status/1151688382428393472
https://twitter.com/RepKinzinger/status/1151843201029935105
On Tuesday, every one of these moralizing lawmakers had an opportunity to vote for a House resolution to condemn Trump’s racist attacks against Omar and the three other congresswomen of color the president told to “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” before they criticize his administration.
They all declined to do so.
more...
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republicans-cant-explain-why-theyre-condemning-the-racism-of-trumps-supporters-but-not-trumps-860764/
Republicans Can't Explain Why They're Condemning the Racism of Trump's Supporters But Not Trump's
July 19, 2019 9:26AM ET
Republicans Can’t Explain Why They’re Condemning the Racism of Trump’s Supporters But Not Trump’s
The GOP’s discomfort with racism comes with a pretty big caveat
By Ryan Bort
President Trump’s supporters broke into a “send her back!” chant directed at Ilhan Omar during his rally in Greenville, North Carolina, on Wednesday night — and guess what? Republicans are very concerned.
So troubled were some members of the party’s leadership in the House of Representatives, Politico reported on Thursday, that they convened with Vice President Mike Pence over breakfast to express their discomfort, urging him to relay their concerns to the president. He must have gotten the message, as Trump told reporters at the White House that he actually was “not happy” and “disagrees” with the racist chant his racist tweets and comments inspired Wednesday night, and which he did absolutely nothing to stop, instead pausing for nearly 15 seconds to allow the chant to be better heard.
Here’s a sampling of what the distressed House Republicans have said about the chant:
House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said the chant has “no place in our party and no place in this country.” On Tuesday, McCarthy defended the president’s no-less-racist tweets, chalking the attacks up to nothing more than an ideological dispute.
Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), a former pastor who attended the rally, said that Republicans need to “make sure we are not defined by that,” referencing the chant. On Wednesday night, Walker tweeted that he “struggled” with it.
Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.), a former pastor who attended the rally, said that Republicans need to “make sure we are not defined by that,” referencing the chant. On Wednesday night, Walker tweeted that he “struggled” with it.
https://twitter.com/RepMarkWalker/status/1151688382428393472
Rep. Tom Cole (R-Okla.) said that Vice President Pence seemed to be as “appalled” by the chant as everyone else.
Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) specifically requested a meeting with Pence to discuss the chant, and told Politico that while he’s fine with a “lock her up!” chant, “send her back!” crosses the line and “is simply not reflective of our constitution.”
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor that “there’s no place for that kind of talk.” While speaking to reporters the following day, he said there’s “not a racist bone in the president’s body.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted that though he disagrees with the “extreme left,” he woke up “equally disgusted” at the chant, writing that it would “send chills down the spines of our Founding Fathers.”
Rep. Paul Mitchell (R-Mich.) specifically requested a meeting with Pence to discuss the chant, and told Politico that while he’s fine with a “lock her up!” chant, “send her back!” crosses the line and “is simply not reflective of our constitution.”
Rep. Tom Emmer (R-Minn.) said at an event hosted by the Christian Science Monitor that “there’s no place for that kind of talk.” While speaking to reporters the following day, he said there’s “not a racist bone in the president’s body.”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) tweeted that though he disagrees with the “extreme left,” he woke up “equally disgusted” at the chant, writing that it would “send chills down the spines of our Founding Fathers.”
https://twitter.com/RepKinzinger/status/1151843201029935105
On Tuesday, every one of these moralizing lawmakers had an opportunity to vote for a House resolution to condemn Trump’s racist attacks against Omar and the three other congresswomen of color the president told to “go back” to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came” before they criticize his administration.
They all declined to do so.
more...
https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/republicans-cant-explain-why-theyre-condemning-the-racism-of-trumps-supporters-but-not-trumps-860764/
July 19, 2019
Posted on Fri, Jul 19th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Democrats Could Take The Senate, As They Are Dominating GOP Candidates In Fundraising
In an early sign that Democrats are in a good position to take back the Senate, Democrats are outraising Republican candidates in all toss-up Senate elections.
FiveThirtyEight reported:
Here are the numbers by state:
https://twitter.com/OpenSecretsDC/status/1152226586571108353
Strong Democratic fundraising was one of the biggest indicators of the blue wave in 2018. The fact that the strong fundraising has continued is a warning sign for incumbent Republicans who are going to face Democratic challengers who are better funded and can fight for every single vote.
Fundraising matters because that is money that can be used to combat Republican voter suppression efforts. Get out the vote efforts are very expensive. It costs a lot of money to overcome some of the hurdles to voting that Republicans have established in many states. The FiveThirtyEight analysis doesn’t include Sen. Susan Collins who is now the second most hated Senator in the United States.
Donald Trump is sucking up all of the Republican donor money to line his own pockets.
There is less cash to go around on the GOP side, and the climate is looking good for Democrats to take back the Senate next November.
Democrats Could Take The Senate, As They Are Dominating GOP Candidates In Fundraising
https://www.politicususa.com/2019/07/19/democrats-could-take-the-senate-as-they-are-dominating-gop-candidates-in-fundraising.htmlPosted on Fri, Jul 19th, 2019 by Jason Easley
Democrats Could Take The Senate, As They Are Dominating GOP Candidates In Fundraising
In an early sign that Democrats are in a good position to take back the Senate, Democrats are outraising Republican candidates in all toss-up Senate elections.
FiveThirtyEight reported:
In competitive Senate elections — those that the three major election handicappers rate as anything other than solid red or blue1 — Democrats have raised $34.1 million in total contributions in the first six months of 2019, and Republicans have raised $29.3 million. (A handful of minor candidates did not have second-quarter reports posted on the FEC website as of Tuesday at noon, so these numbers may be incomplete.) That gap is especially troubling for the GOP because there are eight Republican incumbents running in those 14 races, and incumbents usually raise more money than challengers early on. While Democrats have only four incumbents running, they’ve raised more than four times as much as their Republican challengers in those races. And in the two open-seat races, Democrats are outraising Republicans $1.9 million to $763,771.
In addition, Democrats are outraising Republicans in all three of the most competitive races — those rated as “toss-ups” — even though two of them have Republican incumbents.
In addition, Democrats are outraising Republicans in all three of the most competitive races — those rated as “toss-ups” — even though two of them have Republican incumbents.
Here are the numbers by state:
https://twitter.com/OpenSecretsDC/status/1152226586571108353
Strong Democratic fundraising was one of the biggest indicators of the blue wave in 2018. The fact that the strong fundraising has continued is a warning sign for incumbent Republicans who are going to face Democratic challengers who are better funded and can fight for every single vote.
Fundraising matters because that is money that can be used to combat Republican voter suppression efforts. Get out the vote efforts are very expensive. It costs a lot of money to overcome some of the hurdles to voting that Republicans have established in many states. The FiveThirtyEight analysis doesn’t include Sen. Susan Collins who is now the second most hated Senator in the United States.
Donald Trump is sucking up all of the Republican donor money to line his own pockets.
There is less cash to go around on the GOP side, and the climate is looking good for Democrats to take back the Senate next November.
July 19, 2019
Trump outdoes himself with latest display of rank hatred and rancid bigotry
Our national nightmare will end when white Americans decide they can no longer tolerate Trump's racist behavior
Sam Fulwood III
Jul 18, 2019, 12:28 pm
I smelled the crowd gathered Wednesday night in Greenville, North Carolina, as they cheered and chanted “send her back,” even though I was nowhere near the mob.
I didn’t have to be physically present. Racism’s stink travels too well, enough to be offensive even over the distance that separated me from the white-hot, reeking bodies at President Donald Trump’s odious rally.
Those of us who know its pungent stench can sense it from nearly 300 miles away. We who came of age a half century ago in a segregated South — in my case it was North Carolina, not all that far from Trump’s campaign rally — can feel and be harmed by rank hatred without being in its physical presence. The sensations are always stomach-churning.
As I bore witness to Trump’s rally, albeit via televised news accounts and social media reports, I recoiled with a familiar sense of horror and disbelief. It was as if presumed-dead ghouls had come back from ancient crypts filling the air with what Vincent Price described as “the funk of 40,000 years.”
Apparently, that’s where we are in Trump’s America, a place where nationalist zombies masquerade as patriots and celebrate their white privilege with overtly racist chants led by the president of the United States.
MORE...
https://thinkprogress.org/the-stench-of-racism-envelops-trump-and-the-gop-45113a1f61c2/
Trump outdoes himself with latest display of rank hatred and rancid bigotry
Trump outdoes himself with latest display of rank hatred and rancid bigotry
Our national nightmare will end when white Americans decide they can no longer tolerate Trump's racist behavior
Sam Fulwood III
Jul 18, 2019, 12:28 pm
I smelled the crowd gathered Wednesday night in Greenville, North Carolina, as they cheered and chanted “send her back,” even though I was nowhere near the mob.
I didn’t have to be physically present. Racism’s stink travels too well, enough to be offensive even over the distance that separated me from the white-hot, reeking bodies at President Donald Trump’s odious rally.
Those of us who know its pungent stench can sense it from nearly 300 miles away. We who came of age a half century ago in a segregated South — in my case it was North Carolina, not all that far from Trump’s campaign rally — can feel and be harmed by rank hatred without being in its physical presence. The sensations are always stomach-churning.
As I bore witness to Trump’s rally, albeit via televised news accounts and social media reports, I recoiled with a familiar sense of horror and disbelief. It was as if presumed-dead ghouls had come back from ancient crypts filling the air with what Vincent Price described as “the funk of 40,000 years.”
Apparently, that’s where we are in Trump’s America, a place where nationalist zombies masquerade as patriots and celebrate their white privilege with overtly racist chants led by the president of the United States.
MORE...
https://thinkprogress.org/the-stench-of-racism-envelops-trump-and-the-gop-45113a1f61c2/
July 18, 2019
'It Makes Us Want to Support Him More'
My gag reflex went into overdrive reading this. 
‘It Makes Us Want to Support Him More’
Amid a convulsive week in American politics, at one of the darkest rallies Donald Trump has ever held, his base showed up in force to tell the president he’s done nothing wrong.
Peter Nicholas
1:15 PM ET
GREENVILLE, N.C.—Before the rally began, I wanted to know why they’d come.
In the heavy, humid hours, I walked up and down the line winding through a parking lot at East Carolina University to interview some two dozen people who wanted to see the president. Many didn’t make it inside. About 90 minutes before Donald Trump took the stage, police announced that the 8,000-person basketball arena was full and those still waiting would have to watch on an oversize TV monitor set up outside. Rather than head home, they stuck around for a tailgate party of sorts.
Some cracked open beers and lit cigars, sitting on folding chairs in front of the TV. People walked by in shirts that read In Trump We Trust and Fuck Off, We’re Full. Earlier, in the 100-degree heat, a four-member family band called the Terry Train entertained the crowd with a song mocking CNN. Lying Wolf Blitzer and Lying John King. Don Lemon lies about everything … Erin Burnett, can you hear us yet? We’ll give you a story you can never forget. It built to this refrain: CNN sucks!
The event itself would soon turn into one of the darkest of Trump’s political career, with the president road testing a new enemy and eliciting from the crowd a fresh, frenzied three-word chant: “Send her back!” But even before he appeared, this week in American politics had been a convulsive one. Trump tweeted racist attacks on four Democratic congresswomen of color—including Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, the target of “Send her back!”—and the House, in turn, rebuked the president in a party-line vote.
Trump’s coarsening of political debate always leads to the same question: Did he go so far as to alienate even some of his own supporters? Did his blowing past the boundaries of acceptable discourse render him unelectable? That his base showed up in force last night, parroting his attacks on the congresswomen, once again showed that, for these voters, the answer is no. (Whether the suburban white women and independent voters who were part of his 2016 coalition feel the same is far from certain.)
Talking with the rallygoers, I couldn’t find one who faulted Trump for demonizing the freshman representatives, all four of whom are American citizens, calling on them to leave the United States and return to the “totally broken and crime infested places from which they came.” A few conceded that Trump occasionally fires off an inappropriate tweet, but said his accomplishments in office overshadow any offense. If anything, they said, his language springs from an authenticity they find refreshing. None of the people I spoke with considered his comments about the congresswomen racist.
“He’s not always the best at how he handles his emotions,” said Christian Carraway, 32, of Greenville, sitting on a folding chair outside the arena and waiting for Trump to appear. “He’s a very emotional guy. Passionate. But I like his policies and I think he has good intentions.”
more...
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2019/07/send-her-back-trump-supporters-his-nc-rally/594268/
July 18, 2019
2 hours ago
Donald Trump’s Politics of Hate Began With a “Cynical and Evil” GOP Memo
Thanks, Newt Gingrich.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow
Donald Trump’s outburst of nativistic racism—viscerally and putridly displayed by his “go back” tweet-attack on four congresswoman who are people of color and the subsequent and shocking (even for Trump) “send her back” rally in North Carolina on Wednesday night—has been a clarifying moment. It seems the culmination of his years-long effort to fashion a politics of white identity, racial resentment, and hatred, even though a new bottom will likely be hit tomorrow, or the next day, or the following week. And Trump’s bigotry and demagoguery is now in full public view, undeniably the lifeblood of the Republican Party. As Trump rants and fuels the flames of animus and malice, party operatives zap out emails attacking “deranged” Democrats and falsely asserting, “The socialist Democrats continue to make anti-Semitism a core tenet of their unhinged platform.” Trump is leading a crusade of fear, loathing, and lies and preying on prejudice and ignorance. But our racist president didn’t reach this dangerous position on his own. He is following a path—and perhaps turning it into a superhighway—established long ago by the party he now helms.
The few Republicans and conservatives tut-tutting Trump’s rampage of racist rancor ought to know that the history is clear: their party has been exploiting bigotry and acrimony for decades. There was Richard Nixon’s Southern Strategy, which aimed to attract white voters opposed to civil-rights advances. Ronald Reagan famously campaigned against “welfare queens” and hailed “states’ rights”—barely coded language deployed to achieve the same results.
snip//
The pattern is obvious: the guys at the top of the Republican Party have long tried to take advantage of racial conflict and political divisiveness. At times, they have even encouraged it, believing that would help them win elections. And there is no better example than Newt Gingrich.
Decades before Gingrich was a Trump-adoring Fox News bloviator, he was speaker of the House. And before that he was a bomb-thrower. In fact, he became speaker partly because he weaponized hate. Elected in 1978, Gingrich was a back-bencher in the House of Representatives, when the Republicans appeared to be in a permanent minority. His strategy was to blow-up his own party so he could take control and lead it to the majority—and one of his big ideas was that the GOP, in order to succeed, had to create more division within the national discourse.
He established a political action committee called GOPAC to help Republican candidates across the country become more effective campaigners. And in 1990, the group distributed to GOP contenders a pamphlet called “Language: A Key Mechanism of Control,” which encouraged the candidates to “speak like Newt”—that is, to rely upon sharp and divisive rhetoric. It presented a list of 30 “optimistic positive” words to use, including “freedom,” “truth,” and “family.” It also provided a list of “contrasting” words: “crisis,” “decay,” and “red tape.” And this second list recommended going to extremes. Republican candidates, it noted, should call Democrats “shallow,” “radical,” “incompetent,” “pathetic,” “sick,” “bizarre,” and “traitors.” Gingrich’s group was urging GOPers to engage in all-out rhetorical war, going beyond arguing over policies to engaging in the politics of personal destruction. Which was one of Gingrich’s own favorite tools. (The good Newt loved to talk about policy; the bad Newt embraced and relished hostile name-calling and discordant combat.)
snip//
The GOP has made use of race-driven and hate-propelled demagoguery since the early 1960s. But it was mostly done so in a manner that preserved deniability and that would be acceptable at the country club. To a certain degree, Gingrich changed that. But Trump, the owner of several country clubs, has decided that in his world no niceties at all are needed. He has essentially said to the party, “Thanks for the lift, fellows, I’ll take it from here.” And he sees no reason to pretend. His campaign is about race and hate. He is not an aberration. He is the logical outcome of decades of Republican politics. He has exposed the party’s dark soul. And now he is its soul.
David Corn: Donald Trump's Politics of Hate Began With a "Cynical and Evil" GOP Memo
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/07/donald-trumps-politics-of-hate-began-with-a-cynical-and-evil-gop-memo/2 hours ago
Donald Trump’s Politics of Hate Began With a “Cynical and Evil” GOP Memo
Thanks, Newt Gingrich.
David Corn
Washington, DC, Bureau ChiefBio | Follow
Donald Trump’s outburst of nativistic racism—viscerally and putridly displayed by his “go back” tweet-attack on four congresswoman who are people of color and the subsequent and shocking (even for Trump) “send her back” rally in North Carolina on Wednesday night—has been a clarifying moment. It seems the culmination of his years-long effort to fashion a politics of white identity, racial resentment, and hatred, even though a new bottom will likely be hit tomorrow, or the next day, or the following week. And Trump’s bigotry and demagoguery is now in full public view, undeniably the lifeblood of the Republican Party. As Trump rants and fuels the flames of animus and malice, party operatives zap out emails attacking “deranged” Democrats and falsely asserting, “The socialist Democrats continue to make anti-Semitism a core tenet of their unhinged platform.” Trump is leading a crusade of fear, loathing, and lies and preying on prejudice and ignorance. But our racist president didn’t reach this dangerous position on his own. He is following a path—and perhaps turning it into a superhighway—established long ago by the party he now helms.
The few Republicans and conservatives tut-tutting Trump’s rampage of racist rancor ought to know that the history is clear: their party has been exploiting bigotry and acrimony for decades. There was Richard Nixon’s Southern Strategy, which aimed to attract white voters opposed to civil-rights advances. Ronald Reagan famously campaigned against “welfare queens” and hailed “states’ rights”—barely coded language deployed to achieve the same results.
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The pattern is obvious: the guys at the top of the Republican Party have long tried to take advantage of racial conflict and political divisiveness. At times, they have even encouraged it, believing that would help them win elections. And there is no better example than Newt Gingrich.
Decades before Gingrich was a Trump-adoring Fox News bloviator, he was speaker of the House. And before that he was a bomb-thrower. In fact, he became speaker partly because he weaponized hate. Elected in 1978, Gingrich was a back-bencher in the House of Representatives, when the Republicans appeared to be in a permanent minority. His strategy was to blow-up his own party so he could take control and lead it to the majority—and one of his big ideas was that the GOP, in order to succeed, had to create more division within the national discourse.
He established a political action committee called GOPAC to help Republican candidates across the country become more effective campaigners. And in 1990, the group distributed to GOP contenders a pamphlet called “Language: A Key Mechanism of Control,” which encouraged the candidates to “speak like Newt”—that is, to rely upon sharp and divisive rhetoric. It presented a list of 30 “optimistic positive” words to use, including “freedom,” “truth,” and “family.” It also provided a list of “contrasting” words: “crisis,” “decay,” and “red tape.” And this second list recommended going to extremes. Republican candidates, it noted, should call Democrats “shallow,” “radical,” “incompetent,” “pathetic,” “sick,” “bizarre,” and “traitors.” Gingrich’s group was urging GOPers to engage in all-out rhetorical war, going beyond arguing over policies to engaging in the politics of personal destruction. Which was one of Gingrich’s own favorite tools. (The good Newt loved to talk about policy; the bad Newt embraced and relished hostile name-calling and discordant combat.)
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The GOP has made use of race-driven and hate-propelled demagoguery since the early 1960s. But it was mostly done so in a manner that preserved deniability and that would be acceptable at the country club. To a certain degree, Gingrich changed that. But Trump, the owner of several country clubs, has decided that in his world no niceties at all are needed. He has essentially said to the party, “Thanks for the lift, fellows, I’ll take it from here.” And he sees no reason to pretend. His campaign is about race and hate. He is not an aberration. He is the logical outcome of decades of Republican politics. He has exposed the party’s dark soul. And now he is its soul.
July 18, 2019
Restaurant in Greenville, Where Donald Trump's 'Send Her Back' Rally Was Held, Donates 100% of Proceeds to Help Immigrants
By Chantal Da Silva On 7/18/19 at 10:35 AM EDT
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump held a 2020 campaign rally in North Carolina that saw supporters chanting the words "send her back" after the U.S. leader renewed his racist attacks on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar. The owner of a restaurant in that city has now revealed he will be donating 100 percent of the proceeds made that day to efforts to support immigrants
In a Facebook post ahead of Trump's rally, Matthew Scully, who owns The Scullery restaurant in Greenville, shared a photo of a sign placed in his restaurant's window announcing that "100% of today's sales will be donated to [the] American Immigration Council in order to help with the immigration crisis at our southern border and to celebrate our diverse community."
Scully could not have known when he posted the sign in his restaurant's window, however, that Trump would escalate his attacks on Omar, as well as fellow progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, who the U.S. leader had tweeted on Sunday should "go back" to the "crime-infested places from which they came."
more...
https://www.newsweek.com/north-carolina-restaurant-owner-donates-proceeds-immigration-1449992?fbclid=IwAR0OaAlc-kfERZXbbG8LbG8poM0lD5MdjSEI8qhCQmnO0fejrMWc8FoukMk
Restaurant in Greenville...Donates 100% of Proceeds to Help Immigrants
Restaurant in Greenville, Where Donald Trump's 'Send Her Back' Rally Was Held, Donates 100% of Proceeds to Help Immigrants
By Chantal Da Silva On 7/18/19 at 10:35 AM EDT
On Wednesday, President Donald Trump held a 2020 campaign rally in North Carolina that saw supporters chanting the words "send her back" after the U.S. leader renewed his racist attacks on Democratic Rep. Ilhan Omar. The owner of a restaurant in that city has now revealed he will be donating 100 percent of the proceeds made that day to efforts to support immigrants
In a Facebook post ahead of Trump's rally, Matthew Scully, who owns The Scullery restaurant in Greenville, shared a photo of a sign placed in his restaurant's window announcing that "100% of today's sales will be donated to [the] American Immigration Council in order to help with the immigration crisis at our southern border and to celebrate our diverse community."
"I had already been thinking about the president and especially about his comments over the past couple of days and it's just sort of difficult to wrap your head around it," Scully told Newsweek. "It brought up negativity and division in our community...and that's just kind of hard to sit and watch," he said. "So, we just thought this would be an opportunity to spread a positive message."
Scully could not have known when he posted the sign in his restaurant's window, however, that Trump would escalate his attacks on Omar, as well as fellow progressive Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Rashida Tlaib and Ayanna Pressley, who the U.S. leader had tweeted on Sunday should "go back" to the "crime-infested places from which they came."
more...
https://www.newsweek.com/north-carolina-restaurant-owner-donates-proceeds-immigration-1449992?fbclid=IwAR0OaAlc-kfERZXbbG8LbG8poM0lD5MdjSEI8qhCQmnO0fejrMWc8FoukMk
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Gender: FemaleHometown: NY
Home country: US
Current location: Florida
Member since: Mon Sep 6, 2004, 09:54 PM
Number of posts: 171,051
