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babylonsister
babylonsister's Journal
babylonsister's Journal
July 15, 2020
more...
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2020/07/trump-is-rushing-to-slash-every-last-obama-era-environmental-rule/
Trump Slashed a Major Environmental Rule. That's Just the Beginning.
EVIL!! 
Trump Slashed a Major Environmental Rule. That’s Just the Beginning.
“If they meet their schedule, virtually every big ticket item will be across the finish line.”
Rebecca Leber
On Wednesday, President Trump achieved a longstanding goal in weakening environmental protection: The administration significantly narrowed the 50-year-old National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), a law that requires the government to study the impact of federal projects on the communities and wild areas around them. By skipping steps and shortening deadlines, these changes help to fast-track fossil fuel infrastructure like pipelines and highways, a move that leaves out the voices of poor neighborhoods and people of color on the pollution in their communities.
This move is the latest in a litany of rollbacks: The president’s agencies have already weakened more than 100 regulations for power plants, cars, and oil and gas operations—this spring, according to federal records, the EPA has completed 80 environmental regulations and rollbacks, many of them cutting climate pollution from cars, allowing more mercury and arsenic from coal-fired power plants, and limiting what waterways the federal government will regulate.
But the rest of this year will be unlike anything we’ve seen yet as the president pushes to deliver on his 2016 campaign pledge to essentially “get rid of” the Environmental Protection Agency.
snip//
Here are some of the big-ticket items that are left:
Allowing unrestricted climate emissions from oil and gas: One of the EPA’s first priorities when Trump took over was to stop requiring oil and gas operations to report their emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas. A proposed rule would completely stop oversight of methane from oil and gas operations on public lands.
Weakening oversight of how facilities dispose of toxic coal residue from coal-fired power plants: The EPA will let the companies dump their coal ash, arsenic- and mercury-laden residue left over from combustion, in unlined pits, making it more likely to seep into drinking water.
Letting newly built paper mills, auto factories, plastics production, and power plants get away with more pollution: Any new source for pollution has to apply for a number of permits from the EPA before beginning construction—but the EPA plans to narrow down the requirements for companies, allowing them to start building before they can even ensure their plans are safe.
Opening public lands and oceans to drilling—without paying back the taxpayer: The Department of Interior is especially busy over the next few months, finalizing a rule that lets oil and gas drillers burn off their excess gas without paying royalties. It is also rolling back reforms for offshore drilling put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, putting new parts of the Arctic on the table for future drilling. The Trump administration is trying to remove other obstacles to offshore drilling by also weakening protections for polar bears and Pacific walruses.
Limiting science in the EPA and Interior: The controversial rules at the EPA and Interior limit what science the agencies can use, setting requirements that exclude important air and water pollution research. By changing the studies the science-based agencies can use in their rulemaking, the administration makes it even easier to justify its rollbacks.
Weakening oversight of how facilities dispose of toxic coal residue from coal-fired power plants: The EPA will let the companies dump their coal ash, arsenic- and mercury-laden residue left over from combustion, in unlined pits, making it more likely to seep into drinking water.
Letting newly built paper mills, auto factories, plastics production, and power plants get away with more pollution: Any new source for pollution has to apply for a number of permits from the EPA before beginning construction—but the EPA plans to narrow down the requirements for companies, allowing them to start building before they can even ensure their plans are safe.
Opening public lands and oceans to drilling—without paying back the taxpayer: The Department of Interior is especially busy over the next few months, finalizing a rule that lets oil and gas drillers burn off their excess gas without paying royalties. It is also rolling back reforms for offshore drilling put in place after the 2010 Deepwater Horizon disaster, putting new parts of the Arctic on the table for future drilling. The Trump administration is trying to remove other obstacles to offshore drilling by also weakening protections for polar bears and Pacific walruses.
Limiting science in the EPA and Interior: The controversial rules at the EPA and Interior limit what science the agencies can use, setting requirements that exclude important air and water pollution research. By changing the studies the science-based agencies can use in their rulemaking, the administration makes it even easier to justify its rollbacks.
more...
https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2020/07/trump-is-rushing-to-slash-every-last-obama-era-environmental-rule/
July 15, 2020
People Also Refused to Wear Masks in 1918—and 675,000 Died
When it comes to masks, history is repeating itself.
J. Alexander Navarro, The Conversation
Published Jul. 15, 2020 5:16AM ET
snip//
I’ve researched the history of the 1918 pandemic extensively. At that time, with no effective vaccine or drug therapies, communities across the country instituted a host of public health measures to slow the spread of a deadly influenza epidemic: They closed schools and businesses, banned public gatherings and isolated and quarantined those who were infected. Many communities recommended or required that citizens wear face masks in public—and this, not the onerous lockdowns, drew the most ire.
In mid-October of 1918, amidst a raging epidemic in the Northeast and rapidly growing outbreaks nationwide, the United States Public Health Service circulated leaflets recommending that all citizens wear a mask. The Red Cross took out newspaper ads encouraging their use and offered instructions on how to construct masks at home using gauze and cotton string. Some state health departments launched their own initiatives, most notably California, Utah and Washington.
Nationwide, posters presented mask-wearing as a civic duty—social responsibility had been embedded into the social fabric by a massive wartime federal propaganda campaign launched in early 1917 when the U.S. entered the Great War. San Francisco Mayor James Rolph announced that “conscience, patriotism and self-protection demand immediate and rigid compliance” with mask wearing. In nearby Oakland, Mayor John Davie stated that “it is sensible and patriotic, no matter what our personal beliefs may be, to safeguard our fellow citizens by joining in this practice” of wearing a mask.
Health officials understood that radically changing public behavior was a difficult undertaking, especially since many found masks uncomfortable to wear. Appeals to patriotism could go only so far. As one Sacramento official noted, people “must be forced to do the things that are for their best interests.” The Red Cross bluntly stated that “the man or woman or child who will not wear a mask now is a dangerous slacker.” Numerous communities, particularly across the West, imposed mandatory ordinances. Some sentenced scofflaws to short jail terms, and fines ranged from $5 to $200.
Passing these ordinances was frequently a contentious affair. For example, it took several attempts for Sacramento’s health officer to convince city officials to enact the order. In Los Angeles, it was scuttled. A draft resolution in Portland, Oregon led to heated city council debate, with one official declaring the measure “autocratic and unconstitutional,” adding that “under no circumstances will I be muzzled like a hydrophobic dog.” It was voted down.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/people-also-refused-to-wear-masks-during-the-1918-influenza-pandemic-and-675000-died
People Also Refused to Wear Masks in 1918--and 675,000 Died
People Also Refused to Wear Masks in 1918—and 675,000 Died
When it comes to masks, history is repeating itself.
J. Alexander Navarro, The Conversation
Published Jul. 15, 2020 5:16AM ET
snip//
I’ve researched the history of the 1918 pandemic extensively. At that time, with no effective vaccine or drug therapies, communities across the country instituted a host of public health measures to slow the spread of a deadly influenza epidemic: They closed schools and businesses, banned public gatherings and isolated and quarantined those who were infected. Many communities recommended or required that citizens wear face masks in public—and this, not the onerous lockdowns, drew the most ire.
In mid-October of 1918, amidst a raging epidemic in the Northeast and rapidly growing outbreaks nationwide, the United States Public Health Service circulated leaflets recommending that all citizens wear a mask. The Red Cross took out newspaper ads encouraging their use and offered instructions on how to construct masks at home using gauze and cotton string. Some state health departments launched their own initiatives, most notably California, Utah and Washington.
Nationwide, posters presented mask-wearing as a civic duty—social responsibility had been embedded into the social fabric by a massive wartime federal propaganda campaign launched in early 1917 when the U.S. entered the Great War. San Francisco Mayor James Rolph announced that “conscience, patriotism and self-protection demand immediate and rigid compliance” with mask wearing. In nearby Oakland, Mayor John Davie stated that “it is sensible and patriotic, no matter what our personal beliefs may be, to safeguard our fellow citizens by joining in this practice” of wearing a mask.
Health officials understood that radically changing public behavior was a difficult undertaking, especially since many found masks uncomfortable to wear. Appeals to patriotism could go only so far. As one Sacramento official noted, people “must be forced to do the things that are for their best interests.” The Red Cross bluntly stated that “the man or woman or child who will not wear a mask now is a dangerous slacker.” Numerous communities, particularly across the West, imposed mandatory ordinances. Some sentenced scofflaws to short jail terms, and fines ranged from $5 to $200.
Passing these ordinances was frequently a contentious affair. For example, it took several attempts for Sacramento’s health officer to convince city officials to enact the order. In Los Angeles, it was scuttled. A draft resolution in Portland, Oregon led to heated city council debate, with one official declaring the measure “autocratic and unconstitutional,” adding that “under no circumstances will I be muzzled like a hydrophobic dog.” It was voted down.
more...
https://www.thedailybeast.com/people-also-refused-to-wear-masks-during-the-1918-influenza-pandemic-and-675000-died
July 15, 2020
They also provided this helpful chart for distinguishing between the recent Republican presidents.
And unlike some on the right, Rick Wilson doesn't delete his old tweets, apparently.
Colbert's Cartoon Team Take The Piss Out Of Rick Wilson & The Lincoln Project
Ouch!!
https://crooksandliars.com/2020/07/colberts-cartoon-team-take-piss-out-rick
Video @ link~
7/15/20 7:06am
Colbert's Cartoon Team Take The Piss Out Of Rick Wilson & The Lincoln Project
"Inside the Hill's most uncomfortable interview yet, the hosts confront Rick Wilson on his past tweets as well as The Lincoln Project's George W. Bush alum and overhead spending." Brutal.
By Ed Scarce
If you watch closely, about half way through this interview, Rick Wilson gets angry and you wonder if he's just going to get up and leave. He doesn't, but you can just tell he's seething inside. Their argument that Wilson and the rest of the Lincoln Project are just another bunch of savvy grifters, looking to make quick money working against a failed administration that devastated the United States in Trump, as opposed to working for a failed administration that devastated the United States in George Bush has real resonance among liberals. And Rick Wilson didn't like that one little bit. No sir, he did not.
Source: The Week
It doesn't appear Rick Wilson, the longtime Republican strategist who helps run The Lincoln Project super-PAC, knew he was walking into an ambush when he agreed to speak with the cartoon news anchors on CBS's Tooning Out the News, executive produced by Stephen Colbert. The Lincoln Project has been received warmly by many on the left for its ruthless savaging of President Trump. And the interview started out in that vein — until Wilson called Trump "a whining bitch addicted to Twitter," and "Inside the Hill" cartoon anchor Sarah Sabo (Maureen Monahan) jumped in, deadpanning: "Yes, he is a bitch. That is the biggest insult, comparing someone to a woman — I hate us."
Co-anchor Richard Ballard (Addison Anderson) started the battering in earnest by noting that seven members of The Lincoln Project's leadership (though not Wilson) are alumni of George W. Bush's campaign, adding, "I gotta say, we really miss Bush: He always did what was right for the country — and that country being Saudi Arabia." Things got increasingly uncomfortable from there, with Ballard, Sabo, and their color commentators highlighting Wilson's past tweets about liberals then digging into The Lincoln Project's use of its millions in donations.
The coup de grâce was with a Lincoln Project–style video on the "savvy grifters" at The Lincoln Project. Wilson did not appear amused, but there was a slightly lighter moment at the end.
Co-anchor Richard Ballard (Addison Anderson) started the battering in earnest by noting that seven members of The Lincoln Project's leadership (though not Wilson) are alumni of George W. Bush's campaign, adding, "I gotta say, we really miss Bush: He always did what was right for the country — and that country being Saudi Arabia." Things got increasingly uncomfortable from there, with Ballard, Sabo, and their color commentators highlighting Wilson's past tweets about liberals then digging into The Lincoln Project's use of its millions in donations.
The coup de grâce was with a Lincoln Project–style video on the "savvy grifters" at The Lincoln Project. Wilson did not appear amused, but there was a slightly lighter moment at the end.
They also provided this helpful chart for distinguishing between the recent Republican presidents.
And unlike some on the right, Rick Wilson doesn't delete his old tweets, apparently.
Rick Wilson
@TheRickWilson
·
Mar 18, 2010
Dear Nutroots lefties: You are Barack Obama's bitch. You are pathetic little whores satisfied with crumbs and head-pats.
@TheRickWilson
·
Mar 18, 2010
Dear Nutroots lefties: You are Barack Obama's bitch. You are pathetic little whores satisfied with crumbs and head-pats.
July 15, 2020
Even faux wasn't impressed, and their mention of President Obama
tickles me, because you know who will go ballistic. My silver lining for the day.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1283180368594718721
July 14, 2020
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/07/14/trump-press-conference-disaster-biden.html
Posted on Tue, Jul 14th, 2020 by Jason Easley
In Press Conference Disaster, Trump Claims Florida Yard Signs Mean He’s Beating Biden
Trump claimed during his press conference, that the presence of a number of yard signs in Florida means that he is beating Joe Biden.
Trump said, “I think we have really good poll numbers. They’re not suppression polls. They’re real polls. You look at the intercoastal in Florida. You look at the lakes. You see thousands and thousands of boats with Trump signs, American signs. You’ve got the Trump/Pence signs. You look at bikers for miles and miles riding with their signs.”
Trump went on to claim that 2020 is just like 2016, even though they are completely different elections and he is running against a different opponent.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1283165339367477248
Pointing to yard signs, and bikers is the sort of desperate grasping for positive omens that losing candidates do. Trump couldn’t fill up a building red-state Oklahoma, and he had to cancel another rally in New Hampshire. The reality is that Trump is losing. 2020 isn’t 2016, and he is making a gigantic blunder by thinking that he can run the same election strategy and win.
Trump’s press conference was a rant filled disaster. It was really a campaign rally disguised as a press conference.
Trump is losing and the stench of desperation is only growing around his behavior.
In Press Conference Disaster, Trump Claims Florida Yard Signs Mean He's Beating Biden
https://www.politicususa.com/2020/07/14/trump-press-conference-disaster-biden.html
Posted on Tue, Jul 14th, 2020 by Jason Easley
In Press Conference Disaster, Trump Claims Florida Yard Signs Mean He’s Beating Biden
Trump claimed during his press conference, that the presence of a number of yard signs in Florida means that he is beating Joe Biden.
Trump said, “I think we have really good poll numbers. They’re not suppression polls. They’re real polls. You look at the intercoastal in Florida. You look at the lakes. You see thousands and thousands of boats with Trump signs, American signs. You’ve got the Trump/Pence signs. You look at bikers for miles and miles riding with their signs.”
Trump went on to claim that 2020 is just like 2016, even though they are completely different elections and he is running against a different opponent.
https://twitter.com/i/status/1283165339367477248
Pointing to yard signs, and bikers is the sort of desperate grasping for positive omens that losing candidates do. Trump couldn’t fill up a building red-state Oklahoma, and he had to cancel another rally in New Hampshire. The reality is that Trump is losing. 2020 isn’t 2016, and he is making a gigantic blunder by thinking that he can run the same election strategy and win.
Trump’s press conference was a rant filled disaster. It was really a campaign rally disguised as a press conference.
Trump is losing and the stench of desperation is only growing around his behavior.
July 14, 2020
7/14/20 1:43pm
Republican Lawmaker Tests Positive For COVID-19 Just Days After Urging Schools To Reopen
Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) said last Thursday, "It's about making sure that we mitigate the risks which we can easily do, we can take care of the students, we can take care of the teachers."
By Ed Scarce
I'm not sure that I'd pay much heed to a man who says we can easily mitigate the risks for children to attend school, and then a few days later tests positive for COVID-19.
Source: Washington Post
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ec5iEioXsAUQhmQ?format=jpg
https://twitter.com/i/status/1281317023818137600
Republican Lawmaker Tests Positive For COVID-19 Just Days After Urging Schools To Reopen
https://crooksandliars.com/2020/07/republican-lawmaker-tests-positive-covid7/14/20 1:43pm
Republican Lawmaker Tests Positive For COVID-19 Just Days After Urging Schools To Reopen
Rep. Morgan Griffith (R-VA) said last Thursday, "It's about making sure that we mitigate the risks which we can easily do, we can take care of the students, we can take care of the teachers."
By Ed Scarce
I'm not sure that I'd pay much heed to a man who says we can easily mitigate the risks for children to attend school, and then a few days later tests positive for COVID-19.
Source: Washington Post
Rep. H. Morgan Griffith, a Virginia Republican and Freedom Caucus member who days ago urged schools to reopen in the fall, announced Tuesday that he has tested positive for the novel coronavirus.
The news was posted on Griffith’s Twitter account.
“Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today was informed that he tested positive for COVID-19,” the tweet said. “Upon developing possible symptoms, he took the test over the weekend and has since been self-isolating. Although he does not currently have significant symptoms, he will continue to self-isolate as he performs his duties on behalf of Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District.”
Griffith, who has represented the rural southwestern Virginia district since 2011, said he was feeling fine, speaking in a brief phone interview Tuesday afternoon while he was monitoring a committee hearing.
“The quote stands for itself. I’m fine,” he said. “I don’t feel bad.”
On Thursday, Griffith stood in the middle of a group of fellow Freedom Caucus members at a news conference outside the Capitol as they called for schools to reopen. Griffith, standing shoulder to shoulder with the others, wore a pink mask but removed it while speaking. Others in the group were maskless.
The news was posted on Griffith’s Twitter account.
“Congressman Morgan Griffith (R-VA) today was informed that he tested positive for COVID-19,” the tweet said. “Upon developing possible symptoms, he took the test over the weekend and has since been self-isolating. Although he does not currently have significant symptoms, he will continue to self-isolate as he performs his duties on behalf of Virginia’s Ninth Congressional District.”
Griffith, who has represented the rural southwestern Virginia district since 2011, said he was feeling fine, speaking in a brief phone interview Tuesday afternoon while he was monitoring a committee hearing.
“The quote stands for itself. I’m fine,” he said. “I don’t feel bad.”
On Thursday, Griffith stood in the middle of a group of fellow Freedom Caucus members at a news conference outside the Capitol as they called for schools to reopen. Griffith, standing shoulder to shoulder with the others, wore a pink mask but removed it while speaking. Others in the group were maskless.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ec5iEioXsAUQhmQ?format=jpg
https://twitter.com/i/status/1281317023818137600
July 14, 2020
The Trump Administration Orders Hospitals to Bypass the C.D.C. with Key Virus Data
The Trump Administration Orders Hospitals to Bypass the C.D.C. with Key Virus Data
The Trump administration ordered hospitals to bypass the C.D.C. and send key virus data to a Washington database, alarming health officials.
snip//
The Trump administration has ordered hospitals to bypass the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and, beginning on Wednesday, send all coronavirus patient information to a central database in Washington — a move that has alarmed public health experts who fear the data will be distorted for political gain.
The new instructions are contained in a little-noticed document posted this week on the Department of Health and Human Services’ website, Sheryl Gay Stolberg reports. From now on, H.H.S., and not the C.D.C., will collect daily reports about the patients that each hospital is treating, how many beds and ventilators are available, and other information vital to tracking the pandemic.
Officials say the change will streamline data gathering and assist the White House coronavirus task force in allocating scarce supplies like personal protective gear and the drug remdesivir. Some hospital officials welcome the move, saying it will relieve them of responding to requests from multiple federal agencies.
But public health experts have long expressed concerns that the administration is politicizing science and undermining the disease control centers; four former C.D.C. directors, spanning both Republican and Democratic administrations, said as much in an opinion piece published Tuesday in The Washington Post. The data collection shift reinforced those fears.
more...
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/14/world/coronavirus-updates.html
July 14, 2020
GOP Sen. Kennedy Says Opponents Of Reopening Schools ‘Can Kiss My A**’
By Cristina Cabrera
July 14, 2020 12:15 p.m.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) went off on a rant on Monday night about those who oppose having schools reopen in the fall amid the COVID-19 outbreak, which has worsened dramatically in the U.S. over the past several weeks.
During an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Kennedy repeated President Donald Trump’s talking point that claims people who want the schools to remain closed are seeking a “political advantage.”
Kennedy did not specify whom he accused of keeping the schools closed for political reasons, nor did he provide examples of anyone doing so (neither has Trump).
snip//
https://twitter.com/i/status/1283048321507110913
GOP Sen. Kennedy Says Opponents Of Reopening Schools 'Can Kiss My A**'
https://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/gop-kennedy-opponents-reopening-schools-kiss-my-assGOP Sen. Kennedy Says Opponents Of Reopening Schools ‘Can Kiss My A**’
By Cristina Cabrera
July 14, 2020 12:15 p.m.
Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) went off on a rant on Monday night about those who oppose having schools reopen in the fall amid the COVID-19 outbreak, which has worsened dramatically in the U.S. over the past several weeks.
During an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Kennedy repeated President Donald Trump’s talking point that claims people who want the schools to remain closed are seeking a “political advantage.”
“They’re using our kids as political pawns, and to them I say unashamedly they can kiss my ass,” the GOP senator said.
“That’s wrong to do that to the kids of America,” he continued. “Not the people in good faith, but those who are just enjoying the chaos because they think it’s going to help them in November.”
“That’s wrong to do that to the kids of America,” he continued. “Not the people in good faith, but those who are just enjoying the chaos because they think it’s going to help them in November.”
Kennedy did not specify whom he accused of keeping the schools closed for political reasons, nor did he provide examples of anyone doing so (neither has Trump).
snip//
https://twitter.com/i/status/1283048321507110913
July 14, 2020
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/no-one-wants-to-go-to-trump-republican-convention-covid-florida
Republican National Convention
Sad: No One Wants to Go to Trump’s COVID Convention
Several top Republicans say they won’t attend the Republican convention in Florida. “Everybody just assumes no one is going,” said one.
By Eric Lutz
July 14, 2020
Last month, Donald Trump promised to return to the campaign trail in a big way. Close to a million people had requested tickets for his comeback rally, he bragged, necessitating accommodations for an overflow crowd. In the end, only about 6,000 people turned out and the president aired his grievances before a sea of empty seats. Trump was infuriated and embarrassed. But at least a president who thrives on pageantry had his Republican convention to look forward to.
Now, however, even that event seems to be falling apart. With coronavirus taking a particularly hard toll on Florida, the host of next month’s shindig, a growing number of prominent Republicans are announcing plans to stay home. Already a handful of Republicans had announced they would not attend, either because of the threat of infection or, in the case of Mitt Romney, because his criticism of the president has made him a persona non grata. On Monday, the New York Times reported four more planned no-shows: Senators Roy Blunt and Pat Roberts and Florida Representatives Francis Rooney. Even more appear to be on the fence about the whole thing, including Marco Rubio of Florida; John Thune, the number two Republican in the Senate; and Liz Cheney, who has been increasingly critical of Trump as of late. “Everybody just assumes no one is going,” Illinois Representative Darin LaHood, an honorary state co-chair of the Trump campaign who has RSVP’d no to the convention, told the Times.
The Republican convention has already been upended once by the pandemic, relocated to Florida after Charlotte, North Carolina, couldn’t guarantee a gathering space for thousands of people. Democrats pushed their Milwaukee convention back from July to August, but even plans for smaller satellite gatherings seem uncertain with the coronavirus situation going from bad to worse. Trump, by contrast, clearly resents the prospect of missing out on a chance to throw a big party in his honor, and has pushed for the event to go forward, virus be damned. But reality may get in the way: Jacksonville now mandates face masks and other precautions, which will improve public safety but undermine the image Trump had hoped to project of a country on the other side of the crisis. Floridians themselves are unenthused at the prospect of playing host. A surge of new infections is making many Republicans, including Chuck Grassley, squeamish about attending. And Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic, along with the escalation of his racist culture wars, may lead some vulnerable Republicans to want to keep their distance; Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, both noted for their “disappointment” with the president, have each said they do not plan to attend.
Trump’s true believers have no compunction about potentially sacrificing their lives for the sake of the president’s ego. “It’s a risk you have to take,” Morton Blackwell, an 80-year-old RNC member from Virginia, told the Times. “You take risks every day. You drive down the street and a cement truck could crash into you. You can’t not do what you have to do because of some possibility of a bad result.” But many Republicans are less cavalier; even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has wavered about the idea of having a convention at all. “We will have to wait and see how things look in late August to determine if we can safely convene that many people,” he said last week.
It’s not just COVID gumming up the works. Republicans are scrambling to raise money and plan the event on a short timeline, a daunting task made more challenging by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is said to be sabotaging RNC fundraising efforts because of a dispute with his former campaign manager, now an informal adviser to convention planners. The governor’s allies denied any bad blood. But the increasingly dire situation in his state has nevertheless forced DeSantis into a bind. Giving Trump what he wants will likely further erode his standing with constituents who want him to take the virus seriously. But forcing public safety measures on the convention will almost certainly draw even more ire from the president. As Mitch Ceasar, Florida's former Democratic Party chairman, told NBC News, “I wouldn't want to be on that call to Trump.”
Sad: No One Wants to Go to Trump's COVID Convention
https://www.vanityfair.com/news/2020/07/no-one-wants-to-go-to-trump-republican-convention-covid-florida
Republican National Convention
Sad: No One Wants to Go to Trump’s COVID Convention
Several top Republicans say they won’t attend the Republican convention in Florida. “Everybody just assumes no one is going,” said one.
By Eric Lutz
July 14, 2020
Last month, Donald Trump promised to return to the campaign trail in a big way. Close to a million people had requested tickets for his comeback rally, he bragged, necessitating accommodations for an overflow crowd. In the end, only about 6,000 people turned out and the president aired his grievances before a sea of empty seats. Trump was infuriated and embarrassed. But at least a president who thrives on pageantry had his Republican convention to look forward to.
Now, however, even that event seems to be falling apart. With coronavirus taking a particularly hard toll on Florida, the host of next month’s shindig, a growing number of prominent Republicans are announcing plans to stay home. Already a handful of Republicans had announced they would not attend, either because of the threat of infection or, in the case of Mitt Romney, because his criticism of the president has made him a persona non grata. On Monday, the New York Times reported four more planned no-shows: Senators Roy Blunt and Pat Roberts and Florida Representatives Francis Rooney. Even more appear to be on the fence about the whole thing, including Marco Rubio of Florida; John Thune, the number two Republican in the Senate; and Liz Cheney, who has been increasingly critical of Trump as of late. “Everybody just assumes no one is going,” Illinois Representative Darin LaHood, an honorary state co-chair of the Trump campaign who has RSVP’d no to the convention, told the Times.
The Republican convention has already been upended once by the pandemic, relocated to Florida after Charlotte, North Carolina, couldn’t guarantee a gathering space for thousands of people. Democrats pushed their Milwaukee convention back from July to August, but even plans for smaller satellite gatherings seem uncertain with the coronavirus situation going from bad to worse. Trump, by contrast, clearly resents the prospect of missing out on a chance to throw a big party in his honor, and has pushed for the event to go forward, virus be damned. But reality may get in the way: Jacksonville now mandates face masks and other precautions, which will improve public safety but undermine the image Trump had hoped to project of a country on the other side of the crisis. Floridians themselves are unenthused at the prospect of playing host. A surge of new infections is making many Republicans, including Chuck Grassley, squeamish about attending. And Trump’s mishandling of the pandemic, along with the escalation of his racist culture wars, may lead some vulnerable Republicans to want to keep their distance; Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, both noted for their “disappointment” with the president, have each said they do not plan to attend.
Trump’s true believers have no compunction about potentially sacrificing their lives for the sake of the president’s ego. “It’s a risk you have to take,” Morton Blackwell, an 80-year-old RNC member from Virginia, told the Times. “You take risks every day. You drive down the street and a cement truck could crash into you. You can’t not do what you have to do because of some possibility of a bad result.” But many Republicans are less cavalier; even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has wavered about the idea of having a convention at all. “We will have to wait and see how things look in late August to determine if we can safely convene that many people,” he said last week.
It’s not just COVID gumming up the works. Republicans are scrambling to raise money and plan the event on a short timeline, a daunting task made more challenging by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who is said to be sabotaging RNC fundraising efforts because of a dispute with his former campaign manager, now an informal adviser to convention planners. The governor’s allies denied any bad blood. But the increasingly dire situation in his state has nevertheless forced DeSantis into a bind. Giving Trump what he wants will likely further erode his standing with constituents who want him to take the virus seriously. But forcing public safety measures on the convention will almost certainly draw even more ire from the president. As Mitch Ceasar, Florida's former Democratic Party chairman, told NBC News, “I wouldn't want to be on that call to Trump.”
July 14, 2020
Pelosi "absolutely" would skip August recess to reach coronavirus stimulus deal
Fadel Allassan
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNN on Tuesday she would "absolutely" be willing to forego the House's August recess to reach a deal for another relief package to help the country battle the health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus.
The big picture: Pelosi indicated the package would earmark money for coronavirus testing and contact tracing, as well as assistance for state and local governments whose budgets are in dire financial straits due to revenue shortfalls caused by the recession.
What she's saying:
The other side: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that Senate Republicans will open negotiations with Democrats once they finish their own proposal for the next round of stimulus next week.
Pelosi "absolutely" would skip August recess to reach coronavirus stimulus deal
https://www.axios.com/pelosi-august-recess-coronavirus-stimulus-23cf2875-a38e-4a4a-bf73-d5ebbfaad770.htmlPelosi "absolutely" would skip August recess to reach coronavirus stimulus deal
Fadel Allassan
Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told CNN on Tuesday she would "absolutely" be willing to forego the House's August recess to reach a deal for another relief package to help the country battle the health and economic crises caused by the coronavirus.
The big picture: Pelosi indicated the package would earmark money for coronavirus testing and contact tracing, as well as assistance for state and local governments whose budgets are in dire financial straits due to revenue shortfalls caused by the recession.
What she's saying:
"Oh we absolutely have to. We also have to come to an agreement. The timetable is the timetable of the American people needing their unemployment insurance, their direct payments, their assistance for rent and mortgage foreclosure, forbearance in terms of that. And we need it for states and localities to be able to pay their employees who are meeting the needs of their constituents. And you know what, we need it to open the economy by testing, tracing, treating, isolating."
The other side: Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said Monday that Senate Republicans will open negotiations with Democrats once they finish their own proposal for the next round of stimulus next week.
"We shouldn’t lightly add more to the national debt, but I’m predicting that we will have one more rescue package, which we’ll begin to debate and discuss next week," McConnell said at a press conference.
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