Amaryllis
Amaryllis's JournalRNC on Ossoff race: We must protect our majority at all costs or risk getting Pres Trump impeached
Got this email from Daily Kos today that included a shot of a fundraising email the RNC sent out about Jon Ossoff:
First the RNC email shows a Daily Kos tweet stating that they raised over $1 million for Jon Ossoff in six weeks.
Then the text of the RNC request to send money:
"Help Protect Our Majority NOW!
We must protect our majority at all costs or we risk getting President Trump impeached.
The Democrats already said they would try to impeach him.
The only thing that stands between them and President Trump is you."
Donate here, etc.
This is the accompanying email Daily Kos sent:
"The response to our endorsement of Democrat Jon Ossoff is unprecedented. In just six weeks, Daily Kos readers have contributed an astonishing $1 million to Ossoff's campaign.
And now the GOP has taken notice: Check out this desperate email from the National Republican Congressional Committee that I've included, begging their donors to help "preserve our majority at all costs" because "we risk getting President Trump impeached." (They're not even two months into the Trump administration and they're already worried about getting impeached. )
The GOP is scared as hell they're going to lose this special election in Georgia. Can you chip in $5 to Democrat Jon Ossoff now?
Here's a quick refresher on this race in case you need one:
• This district was held by former GOP Rep. Tom Price, who resigned his seat in Congress after being appointed Trump's secretary of Health and Human Services—aka the GOP point man on killing Obamacare
• Jon Ossoff is an investigative filmmaker who worked for civil rights legend—and Trump antagonist—Rep. John Lewis
• This is a red district where Trump is deeply unpopular: Mitt Romney won here 61-37 in 2012, but Trump won by just a single point, 48-47—a stunning 23-point collapse for the GOP
• One Republican super PAC has already announced a massive $1 million attack ad campaign against Ossoff
• The election is being cast as the first real referendum on Trump, and a Democratic victory here would send shockwaves through Congress, confirming the GOP's deepest fears that Trump is sinking their party and potentially upending the congressional GOP's efforts to repeal Obamacare
• The election is scheduled for April 18—that's just 39 days away!—with a runoff set for June 20 if no candidate captures a majority in the first election
All eyes are on Georgia. Chip in $5 to Democrat Jon Ossoff now.
Daily Kos
Bernie on Trump & the resistance - advice for those who are scared: Despair is not an option
Bernie Sanders on Trump and the resistance: 'Despair is not an option'
Guardian
Friday, March 10
snip
“These are very scary times for the people of the United States, and … for the whole world. We have a president who is a pathological liar. Trump lies all of the time.” And Sanders believes the lying is not accidental: “He lies in order to undermine the foundations of American democracy.” Take his “wild attacks against the media, that virtually everything the mainstream media says is a lie.” Or Trump’s denigration of one of George W Bush’s judicial appointees as a “so-called judge”, and his false claims that up to 5 million people voted illegally in the election. Such statements, which Sanders calls “delusional”, are meant to lead to only one conclusion, he says: “that the only person in America who stands for the American people, who is telling the truth, the only person who gets it right, is the president of the United States, Donald Trump. That is unprecedented in American history.”
He travels even deeper into dystopian territory when I ask what, in his view, Trump’s endgame might be. “What he wants is to end up as leader of a nation that has moved a significant degree towards authoritarianism; where the president of the United States has extraordinary powers, far more than our constitution has provided for.”
snip
Thankfully, that’s not the end of the narrative. Sanders is too driven a person, too committed to his own worldview, to leave us dangling in a dystopian fog. And with reason: he remains a formidable force to be reckoned with. Though he’s less in the conversation these days than he was at the height of his epic battle with Clinton, no one should make the error of thinking that Sanders is done.
snip
Stand up and fight: it’s classic Bernie Sanders. And it brings us back to the original quandary: how to respond to the authoritarian threat that is Trump. What word of advice would he give a young person, a twentysomething who is scared and who feels that their country is moving against them? What should they do?
“This is what they should do,” he says, pumping out the Bern. “They should take a deep reflection about the history of this country, understand that absolutely these are very difficult and frightening times. But also understand that in moments of crisis, what has happened, time and time again, is that people have stood up and fought back. So despair is absolutely not an option.”
Much more here:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/10/bernie-sanders-interview-trump-democratic-party-resistance?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=216791&subid=20993289&CMP=GT_US_collection
Anyone familiar with this site? www.putintrump.org
Some highly credentialed people involved in this. I never heard of it before today. Lots of info on Trump/Putin connection. They were around before the election trying to sound the alarm.
About This Project
The Putin-Trump project is funded by the Progress for USA Political Action Committee. This PAC is funded by supporters who believe this issue is centrally important to American Democracy. It was launched by Internet entrepreneur Rob Glaser, founder of RealNetworks and an early employee at Microsoft.
The Putin-Trump Editorial Director is Bill Buzenberg, former head of the Center for Public Integrity, a Pulitzer Prize winning investigative news organization, and vice president of news for both National Public Radio and Minnesota Public Radio / American Public Media.
OUR MISSION
WE BELIEVE DONALD TRUMP’S LAVISH PRAISE OF RUSSIAN PRESIDENT VLADIMIR PUTIN, HIS CRITICISM OF OUR STRATEGIC NATO ALLIANCE, AND HIS CAMPAIGN STAFF’S CLOSE FINANCIAL TIES TO PRO-RUSSIAN POLITICIANS IN UKRAINE PUT OUR NATIONAL SECURITY INTERESTS AT RISK.
What is behind Trump’s unprecedented dalliance with a dictator? Why would he give a free pass to Russia’s annexation of the Crimea and possible moves against the Baltic States who are members of the NATO Alliance? We seek to publish the answers to these troubling questions, while calling attention to this very real threat to American democracy. Trump’s repeated views go against 70 years of bipartisan foreign policy consensus. We want to raise questions about Trump’s policy pronouncements and provide answers for the vast numbers of American voters we believe share our national security concerns.
http://www.putintrump.org/about/
FBI Director James Comey meets with Congress 'Gang of Eight'- Just out on CNN
Washington (CNN)FBI Director James Comey spent Thursday afternoon on Capitol Hill meeting with the eight lawmakers who have access to the most highly classified information, sources told CNN.
snip
Comey's visit comes after Schiff accused the FBI director of stonewalling House members in a briefing last week and both Schiff and Nunes aired their concerns that Comey had been withholding information from the group through last year.
Lawmakers have amped up their investigations into Russia's interference in the US elections and communications with the campaign of President Donald Trump. The House Intelligence Committee set an aggressive timeline of gathering intelligence by March 17 and hosting its first public hearing March 20.
Trump's own accusations that he was wire-tapped by the administration of former President Barack Obama only added fuel to the fire -- Republican lawmakers largely stepped away from Trump's unverified allegations, but lawmakers have said they plan to investigate whether surveillance of Trump's Manhattan headquarters was conducted last year.
Meanwhile, some Democrats said they may be ready to issue subpoenas for Trump's tax returns in order to find more answers in their continuing investigations.
Sources on the Senate Intelligence Committee said they want all the potential Trump associates who allegedly spoke with Russian officials to testify before the committee. This includes former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and former adviser Carter Page. It's unclear when they would come before the committee, but senators say they haven't ruled out the prospect of subpoenas if those Trump associates don't comply.
This is partly because senators who have gone to CIA headquarters in Langley said they have reviewed information about the extent of the aggressive Russian attacks trying to influence the US election. But the senators have not yet pieced together the information to determine any potential collusion between Trump associates and Russian officials.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, a veteran Democrat on the intelligence panel, said she wants Trump's tax returns as part of this investigation.
"The tax returns become a primary lead into a Russia connection -- and that would be Russian money in his businesses. He's visited Russia six times by his own voice on television. Who knows what the situation is?"
Warner told CNN that the Senate committee is getting access to classified intelligence usually reserved for the "Gang of Eight," part of an effort to dig deeply into the issue of Russia's meddling with the US election last year.
http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/09/politics/fbi-director-james-comey-meets-with-congress-gang-of-eight/
Sounds like tax returns release is not too far off...
Is there a way to post a PDF to a thread? I have something i'd like to post that is too long
to just copy and paste.
thanks!
Great Rachel interview -Rep.Swalwell of House Intel makes case for independent Russia investigation
The Rachel Maddow Show 3/8/17
Rep Swalwell makes case for independent Trump Russia inquiry
Congressman Eric Swalwell, who sits on the House Intelligence Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about his advocacy for an independent commission to investigate Donald Trump's ties to Russia.
Lots of great info. He is very impressive. I feel much better knowing he and Schiff are both on house intel.
http://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow/watch/rep-swalwell-makes-case-for-independent-trump-russia-inquiry-893668931857
Also, Swalwell has a whole page on his website devoted to Trump/Russia connections that he posted to educate his constituents to help them connect the dots.
https://swalwell.house.gov/issues/russia-trump-his-administration-s-ties
Here is thread with one of his charts:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=8767795
Do you know what former Obama lawyers are doing to protect us & how to help? Required reading.
This is a group of former administration lawyers and constitutional litigators who are taking critical action, but it requires an engaged and informed public. Please sign up for their email list!
Here is what they are and what they are doing:
What is United to Protect Democracy?
United to Protect Democracy is a nonpartisan nonprofit with an urgent goal: to hold the President and the Executive Branch accountable to the laws and longstanding practices that have protected our democracy through both Democratic and Republican Administrations. We have seen an unprecedented tide of authoritarian-style politics sweep the country that is fundamentally at odds with the Bill of Rights, the constitutional limitations on the role of the President, and the laws and unwritten norms that prevent overreach and abuse of power. The only limits to prevent a slide away from our democratic traditions will be those that are imposed by the Courts, Congress, and the American people.
Who Are We?
United to Protect Democracy was conceived by a group of former White House and Administration lawyers and experienced constitutional litigators, all with a deep understanding of how the federal government works. As we were the ones tasked with implementing and enforcing the norms that have constrained presidential power for decades, we know what those guardrails are and when those in power may be tempted to violate them. As we defended past presidents against legitimate oversight and illegitimate attacks, we also know how to leverage tools outside government to prevent the exploitation of power within it. One thing that we know about those tools, however, is they require an engaged public—they require all of us to unite to make them effective.
What Will United to Protect Democracy Do?
We will monitor, investigate, report on, organize and litigate against any action taken by the Executive Branch that could erode the rules, practices and freedoms that underpin our ability as a self-governing people to hold our leaders accountable. In short, we will unite with Americans from all backgrounds to use every tool at our disposal to protect our democracy.
https://unitedtoprotectdemocracy.org/about/
This is an email they just sent March 8:
In recent days, there have been numerous reports of White House conversations with the FBI and Department of Justice (DOJ) that raise serious questions about whether the White House is interfering with the traditional independence of those agencies. Any interference in the independent exercise of law enforcement is a profound threat to our democracy.
You signed up for this list to find out about threats to our democracy and what we can do about them. So we’ve prepared a full briefing — just as we would have done for White House staff — on what rules have historically governed White House communications with law enforcement agencies. The full memo is at the bottom of this email; it makes a few key points:
• For forty years, across Republican and Democratic Administrations, White Houses have abided by written policies to prevent the act or appearance of the White House inappropriately interfering in law enforcement functions.
• Reported contacts by the current White House Chief of Staff, the White House Counsel, and other political staff at the White House appear to violate these long-standing policies.
• In order to demonstrate commitment to protecting the traditions of American democracy and upholding the rule of law, the Trump White House must publicly issue a policy on agency contacts that makes clear it will abide by decades of policy and democratic norms.
Since an informed public is an autocrat’s worst enemy, the first thing we need to do is educate more Americans about these rules.
If you know people who would appreciate the briefing below and more like it please forward this email to them and ask them to sign up to unite with us here:
https://unitedtoprotectdemocracy.org/
If enough of us share it, we’ll demonstrate that Americans care about these rules, we’ll build pressure on the White House to abide by them, and we’ll give reporters (who we’re also sharing this with) even more cause to ask the White House to disclose its policy to address our concerns.
But that's not all. We are also filing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests to find out just what contacts governed by this policy have taken place, and will continue to do so to ensure these longstanding norms are followed.
The outpouring of support we’ve seen for Protect Democracy’s mission has been inspiring — demonstrating that countless Americans are concerned about threats to our democracy and are prepared to stand up and protect it. Let’s share the memo and grow that movement.
In hope,
The United to Protect Democracy Team
NOTE: The briefing they are referring to is too long to copy here. They will send it if you sign up for their email list. If anyone knows a way to attach a PDF, I could make it into one. I don't know how to do that on DU. But this is some very important stuff.
Edit: Just realized I overlooked a link to the entire brief in the (very long) email:
White House Communications with the DOJ and FBI
https://unitedtoprotectdemocracy.org/agencycontacts/?ct=t%28Agency_Contacts_Email_GROUP+B%29
Edited to add this article for more info:
http://www.politico.com/story/2017/02/obama-trump-lawyers-worst-case-235280
Obama lawyers form 'worst-case scenario' group to tackle Trump
Fearful the new administration will abuse its power, the former president’s lawyers are uniting to fight back.
By Edward-Isaac Dovere
02/23/17 0
Rachel Maddow Perfectly Explains Why The People Will Have To Bring Down Trump Themselves
With all of the Congressional investigations being controlled by Republicans affiliated with the Trump campaign, MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow showed why it would be up to the people and the press to find the answers on the Russia scandal that could bring down Trump.
Maddow said,
Does this mean that we are finally going get access to what he knows? That we are finally going to get hear what backs this up? Is the Senate Intelligence Committee going to call him and have him testify like NBC reported late last week? Well, we called the Senate Intelligence Committee tonight, and they told us no, probably not. The press secretary to the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee told us, ‘It is not at all likely. At least, not at this moment.’ Christopher Steele is back. He’s alive. He’s out there. You guys investigating this wanna talk to him?
So far, it is us as American citizens. It is us in the press who are connecting the dots on this story, who are figuring this out. Do we have any reason to believe that any government official investigation into this scandal is doing the same? Honestly, it is a DOJ controlled by a Trump campaign official, or it’s two intelligence committees each controlled by a Trump, campaign official. Support your free press. It is really starting to feel like we’re going to have to do this ourselves."
The statements from the Republicans leading the intelligence committees that they will look at Trump’s allegation that Obama wiretapped him strongly suggest that the Congress can’t be trusted to do an independent investigation. With Jeff Sessions looming over the DOJ, it is unlikely that the FBI will be able to conduct an independent investigation.
If you want to understand why Democrats are demanding a special prosecutor, look no further than who is overseeing the investigations.
There is a giant scandal hanging over this White House. It is the kind of scandal that ruins a president and his party.
Republicans have a vested interest in protecting Trump.
They might be able to bury this scandal in Congress, but they can’t stop the free press and the American people from uncovering and spreading the truth.
Includes videos.
http://www.politicususa.com/2017/03/08/rachel-maddow-perfectly-explains-people-bring-trump.html
President Donald Trump is the most powerful cornered animal in the world (Guardian)
For all his inconstancy of character, Donald Trump is a master manipulator. He rose to political prominence by slandering Barack Obama. He rode the birther myth as far as it would go – before brazenly jettisoning it with the insistence that it was all the handiwork of Hillary Clinton.
Now once again, he seeks to buoy his political fortunes by attacking Obama. Perhaps what is so striking about the tweets is not their desperation, but their cynicism. In exclaiming “This is McCarthyism!”, Trump said something deeply revealing – only about himself. McCarthyism was never in the first instance about wiretapping. It was about defaming public officials with charges of treason without a shred of evidence. Sounds familiar, no?
Equally revealing was Trump’s tweet: “I’d bet a good lawyer could make a great case out of the fact that President Obama was tapping my phones in October, just prior to Election!” As Trump well knows, a good lawyer can make a case out of anything.
In the 1970s, after the justice department accused the Trump Corporation of racially discriminatory rental policies, Trump hired Roy Cohn. This was a man who, as a young lawyer, had assisted Joseph McCarthy’s red-baiting. On Trump’s behalf, Cohn countersued the government for $100m, a tactic Trump absorbed and has practiced throughout his career: when on the defensive, attack.
Concerned about congressional investigations into contact between his campaign and the Russians? Make a groundless charge of wiretapping against Obama and insist that the allegations be included in the investigations.
MOre:
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/mar/06/president-donald-trump-most-powerful-cornered-animal-world?utm_source=esp&utm_medium=Email&utm_campaign=GU+Today+USA+-+Collections+2017&utm_term=216338&subid=20993289&CMP=GT_US_collection
A sincere request to those posting stuff you are watching on TV...
Thread titles such as "XXX just dropped a bombshell", "XXX is on fire", "I can't believe what XXX just said", etc., with no other info are ... frustrating, to say the least, and leave many without a clue.
Not all of us are glued to MSNBC all day. I do not have television. I need to wait till it is online to watch and sometimes there is not enough info posted to make searching easy. Sometimes the post does not even list whose show you are watching.
I know it can be very exciting to see real journalism on such critical topics as we are facing now, but PLEASE put enough context that we know what you are talking about so:
1. we are not totally clueless what you are talking about, are not left out, and can join the discussion, and
2. we have enough info to know if we want to go search for the segment, and to find it easily if we do want to search for it.
Thank you. 
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