Paul Revere by Cyrus Dallin, North End, Boston

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Thursday, April 29, 2021

President Biden's Address to Congress


My fb friend, Lee Arnold's take on last night:

 

President Biden made clear tonight the era of big government is back, and he wants the wealthiest Americans to pay for it. 

Why it matters: As he moves beyond his first 100 days, the president has to find a way to sell a more aggressive part of his agenda. He talked about expanded health care, education and tax credits, but he promised the middle class wouldn't have to pay the bill. He said the rich would pick up the tab, because the middle class is "already paying enough.” 

"Twenty million Americans lost their jobs in the pandemic — working- and middle-class Americans," Biden said. "At the same time, roughly 650 billionaires in America saw their net worth increase by more than $1 trillion." "My fellow Americans, trickle-down economics has never worked. It’s time to grow the economy from the bottom up and the middle out." 

Between the lines: Biden was surrounded by historic firsts. He opened by noting he was backed by Vice President Kamala Harris and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. "Madam Speaker, Madam Vice President," he said, "no president has ever said those words from this podium. No president has ever said those words, and it's about time.” 

He added whole sections to his prepared text, a deviation from his stick-to-the-script approach to the first 100 days. 

In one noteworthy moment, he thanked Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell for leading the effort to name a cancer bill after the president's late son, Beau Biden. 

In another, he warned China is "deadly earnest on becoming the most significant, consequential nation in the world." 

The bottom line: Biden pitched most of his non-COVID proposals with a common refrain: jobs, jobs, jobs.

***************************


Biden has now assumed the mantle of The Great Communicator. Boy, does he know how to deliver a speech -- not with great oratorical flourishes, but in a (mostly) quiet, avuncular tone that helps communicate his message brilliantly to all Americans. 

As for the substance of the message itself, it is everything I had hoped to hear from a Democratic president. Biden touched on every issue our country desperately needs to address at this juncture (the pandemic, climate change, voting rights, creating jobs, fighting racial injustice, gun safety, immigration reform, and so much more) and talked about each of these issues in a way everyone can understand. 

And (what a relief) Biden's speech wasn't about him. Not one bit. It was about us, our needs, our abilities, our aspirations. The question is, how much misinformation and hate-filled lies can the Republicans and their 24/7 enablers at Fox and other TV and radio outlets spew to their constituents to drown out Biden's honest, candid, reasonable, and can-do message? 

 If I understand correctly, fully implementing Biden’s agenda would do nothing more than bring America up to speed with the rest of the developed world. 

The twenty-first century will belong to China because the Republicans (and some Democrats) refuse to leave the nineteenth.








46 comments:

skudrunner said...

I thought the speech was a bright light for a path to move forward. He addressed where he came from and how he arrived at a place he never thought possible. Gave hope that the American dream can still be achieved and the future looks promising but challenging.

Paula said...

Question: What else do you call a President whose Major Policy Proposals poll between 70% and 85% Popular if not a Centrist?

Republicans in DC might be unified in their opposition and whining about "divisive policies" but the rest of the Country is on board the Biden Train by ridiculous majorities.

Even people who believe Biden stole the Presidency like what he is doing with it.

Last night 85% approved of Biden's latest proposals.

I wish Republicans luck running on the wrong side of an 85/15 proposition with no alternative to offer beyond "Say No to Everything but Tax Cuts for The Wealthy".

Anonymous said...

Senator Tim Scott last night:

"I know what it feels like to be pulled over for no reason. To be followed around a store while I'm shopping..."

Also Sen. Scott last night:

"You know this stuff is wrong. Hear me clearly: America is not a racist country."

Dave Miller said...

Anon... regarding Tim Scott, and I'm not a big fan, what I think he was saying is this...

There are racist people in America. But, the heart of America is not racist.

Here's the rub for GOP. As long as racism is confined to the individual, there is nothing government, in a free speech country, can do. No matter how odious. But, if racism is rooted in the system, then we change the system. Change how the system operates.

And as everyone here knows, the GOP is always going to stand on the individual, which in their minds, precludes government action.

Thus, what else could Sen. Scott say?

Dave Miller said...

Skud said... "I thought the speech was a bright light for a path to move forward. He addressed where he came from and how he arrived at a place he never thought possible. Gave hope that the American dream can still be achieved and the future looks promising but challenging."

Yes Skud he did. And while people can argue about the hows, he provided a way to pay for it at least as effective as Republicans have been using for years as it relates to tax cuts.

He, like Reagan before him, and other GOP Presidents, said the changes he wants will pay for themselves.

Let's see the alternatives from the GOP, because doing nothing really is not an option.

Dave Miller said...

Skud said... "I thought the speech was a bright light for a path to move forward. He addressed where he came from and how he arrived at a place he never thought possible. Gave hope that the American dream can still be achieved and the future looks promising but challenging."

Yes Skud he did. And while people can argue about the hows, he provided a way to pay for it at least as effective as Republicans have been using for years as it relates to tax cuts.

He, like Reagan before him, and other GOP Presidents, said the changes he wants will pay for themselves.

Let's see the alternatives from the GOP, because doing nothing really is not an option.

Dave Miller said...

Shaw... I was stunned last night.

President Biden gave probably the best speech of his life.

He laid out his vision, and explained how he would pay for it.

The ball, IMO, is now in the Republican's court.

Dave Miller said...

No tax increases, understood as money coming out of paychecks and being sent directly to the IRS, for couples making less that $400,000.00.

A plan to make an additional 4 years of education available to every person in America.

And a plan to pay for it.

For 4 years the GOP has spent us into debt, like the Dems before them, so how can they now credibly claim to be "conservative fiscal small government leaders?"

skudrunner said...

Paula, Biden has popularity for his managing the distribution of the vaccine that he had nothing to do with. His massive social spending is not that popular. Do some research. Of course his tax the rich to pay for it is popular but the truth is everyone will pay with higher costs on everything. Raising taxes on corporations is a popular idea because most people don't realize that taxes are a pass through to the user.

Bluebullamerica said...

It was a very good speech and it should put an end to the absurd lie from the right about 'sleepy Joe Biden' and that he is some dottering old man. The speech, clearly showed that meme to be an out and out lie. Not that it will stop some on the right from using it, just as they are still repeating the much debunked Big Lie or that VP Harris was selling her books to children when she visited the border. (Shakes head).
I have hope that the GOPQ will not so it usual routine of "Just say NO" and offer NOTHING of their own. Also, if and when they start whining about the costs, they can shove it hard. After saying nothing about the huge amount of wasted money King Clorox spent, almost none of which helped average Americans, they can stuff their phony outrage all the way up you know where.

Ducky's here said...

So skud consider this scenario: a corporation can raise prices to recover the taxes but in doing so loses market share to a competitor who doesn't raise prices. I submit that corporate taxes are not a simple pass through and to believe so is believing something as simplistic as the Laffer curve.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Prakash Nagarkatti, vice president for research at the University of South Carolina, told USA Today that "there was total lack of planning at the state level for mass vaccination, and the federal government under Trump did not help the states overcome the hurdles."

In September, the Trump administration announced a general strategy to distribute the vaccine which included deliveries to states and, later, pharmacy chains. A partnership with CVS and Walgreens administered vaccines in some long-term care facilities.

The closest thing to a federal plan was the playbook the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention gave states to help them create their own distribution plans.

States wrote broad plans and submitted them in October. They lacked important details , such as how many doses they would get and when. (At the time, no vaccines were approved.)


The Trump administration got the Warp Speed going to develop vaccines (Pfizer did NOT participate in the Trump administration's "Warp Speed" program), so he gets props for that, but there was no efficient plan in place for getting the vaccines into the arms of the American people.

Shaw Kenawe said...

skud, the cost of EVERTHING will go up even without implementing President Biden's plan.

The question is do we want to invest in America -- which desperately needs it. We all know that, and we all know that " trickle down" does not work. Trump and his pals in Congress made Billionaire tax cuts permanent, but the tax cuts for the middle class will end. People are still making $7.50 minimum wage, but the cost of food and other things have increased. Someone's making money and it isn't the middle class. Billionaires have seen increases in their wealth, everyone else has been stagnant.

Should this country and its government continue to make the 1% billionaires wealthy while the rest of the 99% languish because people believe doing nothing, for fear of the cost, will be the best way to solve our increasing income inequality?

I believe in investing in America because in the long run it will make us stronger, healthier, and financially sound.

Unless you're making over $400K a year, you don't have to worry about paying more in taxes. Biden wants to increase corporate taxes to a couple of points more than they were when Trump came in office. Pres. Biden's plan would raise the corporate tax rate to 28 percent from 21 percent. The administration said the increase would bring America’s corporate tax rate more closely in line with other advanced economies and reduce inequality. It would also remain lower than it was before the 2017 Trump tax cuts, when the rate stood at 35 percent.

Dave Miller said...

Skud said... "Biden has popularity for his managing the distribution of the vaccine that he had nothing to do with."

Well Skud, your generosity of above was short lived. Why could you not just leave it at... Biden has popularity for his managing the distribution of the vaccine.?

I spoke last week to a longtime friend who is a nurse and a Trump voter. As we spoke about vaccines we both hit on this...

Why can't people just acknowledge that President Trump and his Admin worked hard to get us a vaccine in record time. And President Biden and his Admin worked hard to make sure that vaccine could be distributed nationally, quickly and efficiently.

We don't always need to slam the other. The fact that we have a vaccine now, and ppl in every state can go and get their shot, free of cost, is because of the work of BOTH administrations.

No need to slam Trump, or Biden on that.


Dave Miller said...

Shaw... as for prices.

Will things go up? Yes they will.

Because the US right now is like that house you've lived in for 40 years. It all worked "fine" for you. The little drip in the sink, no problem. The small area where the floor sags? I can live with it. The space under the front door? I can put a towel there. And do I really need all four burners on my stove?

But at some point the bill comes due on years of deferred maintenance.

That's the US right now. The gas tax has failed to keep pace with the needed R & M on our roads and bridges. As the world shifts to an internet connected world, we need to make sure our fellow citizens in the rural areas have access to fast, reliable network. This alone could help revitalize rural communities where online workers could buy homes cheaply, live and provide badly needed tax revenues in those areas.

The list goes on and on.

But we need to renovate our house. A house that has not seen real investment in years. Yes, we've made the mortgage payment, but the place needs more than just a coat of paint.

I think Biden sees that. Normally we would depend on a quality opposition to provide a buffer against the tendency of one party to reach too far. But sadly we don't have a real opposition right now. So I am concerned, but not so much that I'd say no, given the GOP alternative of nothing.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Dave, I was surprised as well, and hopeful. It would be great for our country if the Republicans would work with Biden to get his program passed, but they seem to be stuck in the same Party of NO! mentality they stuck with during the Obama years.

Paula It's the Congressional Republicans who refuse to work with President Biden, not the American people -- the American people are on board with Pres. Biden.

Anonymous @10:52AM I like to think what Dave said is true -- that Sen. Scott meant the "heart" of America is not racist. But the history I've read of how our state and federal governments have treated POC, leads me to the sad conclusion that we are a racist country. people are wonderful, but we all know and history has shown us that given the chance to live up to our ideals --"All men/women are created" equal [under the law]" -- we often, too often, fail.

And no, just because America elected a bi-racial president twice and a bi-racial vice president once doesn't mean we've overcome racism. Remember that half the country detested Barack Obama, called him a monkey and other racist names, and are doing the same with Kamala Harris. I base my opinion on those markers.

Shaw Kenawe said...

My comment should have said "Individual people are wonderful..."

Somehow "Individual" got deleted.

skudrunner said...

Rev, According to joey he did it all by himself so I agree it would be nice to acknowledge both sides but that won't happen because of trumps ego and joeys handlers.

OTG started the great divide and it has expanded ever since. It is beneficial for the left to push racism to enhance the divide. Are there racists in this country, yes and the racists are of different colors. Systemic racism is a catchy phrase that lumps people into common thinking and that is simply not true. Now we have the leftist media calling Scott uncle Tim because he doesn't adhere to joeys pronouncement that blacks can't think for themselves.

Rev, You are correct that we have needed massive infrastructure spending for decades. I think it would be acceptable to everyone if it was the bill was for classic infrastructure instead of social engineering. With the push to electric vehicles how are we going to pay for roads unless we have a mileage tax. All of these great ideas are fine but there are tons of unintentional consequences. The idea that only the rich will pay for the great give away has about as much truth as Mexico will pay for the wall.

Bluebullamerica said...

Look Skidmark, you guys screamed that 'trickle down' would help everyone. It failed miserably, yet you tried it a second time and guess what? It failed again miserably. You Republiclowns have been responsible for 7 of the last 9 recessions so I put as much stock into a conservatives economic ideas as I do in Ouija boards and crystals.
Also, I don't need to hear from a white guy that systemic racism doesn't exist. You should try driving while black or brown or red sometime. It's not a fun experience, trust me. So I'll take your word on mayonnaise or square dancing but not about the state of racism in America. Period.

Les Carpenter said...

My gawd! I'm speechless skud (as jaw drops).

Dave Miller said...

Skud said... "OTG started the great divide and it has expanded ever since."

I'm assuming you mean President Obama.

Yes, Skud he did. When in 2012 he had to audacity to believe a black man with different life experiences than white folks could be president. When he questioned why police would arrest a Harvard professor for breaking into his own house and being mad at the cops for hassling him. When he identified with the shooting of a black student.

And on and on.

And yet President Obama and his wife and family took the Jackie Robinson approach to so much of daily attacks, quietly turning the other cheek. The cartoonish racialized "art" seen to this day on the Mothership. The name calling in the Capitol. The berating for a tan suit, his feet on the desk.

Obama was called “uppity” by one GOP lawmaker, “boy” by another and “subhuman” by a GOP activist. He was been depicted as a bone-through-the-nose witch doctor by opponents of his health-care reform bill, as a pair of cartoon spook eyes against a black backdrop by an aide to a GOP lawmaker, and as an ape by many.

Yes Skud, you are right. We'd never seen such treatment of black people before President Obama.

Man... what planet have you been living on? The only real difference between now and before his term is that now you folks on the Mothership have no reason to temper your racist ideology, thoughts, and supposed humor when you're in public.

Because the party you support is no longer closeted... they are out, proud and open with their hate.

Dang that Obama for daring to run for president while black. Because as you all explain it, that is the root cause of all this right now.

Before you get too upset and fire off some sort of response to the above, I don't want one.

But I would 100% absolutely love you to answer this question posed by columnist Leonard Pitts and to this day, every time I ask it, left unanswered by conservatives or Republicans.

Let's assume during the Obama years none of what I cited was racism, just badly understood by us "too sensitive" latte drinking liberals... That, just as national conservative leaders said for years, there has been no racism towards President Obama from conservatives and those leaders themselves.

Then... what would racism towards President Obama, his wife and his kids have looked like?

Maybe you'll be the first I've seen to take a shot at an actual answer, devoid of snark.

skudrunner said...

Blueballs, What does trickle down economics have to do with the infrastructure/social engineering bill. Seven of the last recessions republicans were responsible for, seriously you believe that. Sub prime mortgages were the cause of the last recession and you can look to two crooks and one idiot for backing the root cause.

Saying systemic racism is a great motto and gives a reason for failure. It has worked well for the dems for a number of years and it seems to be their theme song. Say racist and the conversation ends so people who use that don't have to show what they don't know.

Jerry said...

It was a typical Democratic speech with emphasis on our problems today. The reality was staggering, but the country is not used to such direct honesty. The spending he is asking for is also staggering, but at least it is going to help the people, build the country, and prepare us for a promising future. I doubt his tax hikes on the rich and corporations will be enough to cover his spending and he should ask for more, but even the Democrats are starting to shy away from more tax hikes. We can't fix everything at once, but the decades of neglect certainly call for Biden's spending plans. We are so far behind we need a huge effort and we need to do it now before Biden losses majority in the Congress.

Dave Miller said...

Skud... skud, skud, skud...

What social engineering is Biden proposing? Specifically. Can you cite some real examples?

Conservatives have been tossing that term around, but I'm waiting to hear some concrete examples of all that engineering he's proposing.

Is it Pre K school or two additional years of post high school education, trade school included, for anyone who wants to study? I thought education was a value in the US.

Is it providing quality day care for parents who feel they need to have two parents working and thus cannot afford to stay home themselves?

Is it pushing America to consider raising the minimum wage so a young person can be independent on that salary and start his or her adult life outside of the parent's house?

Is it an acceptance of a reality that America is going to transition, for many, towards cars made with non combustion engines? And as such, moving us to prepare ahead of time rather than wait?

You see, Biden is not saying every American must partake in any of these things. He's proposing them for the people here in our country who want, or believe they need these types of options.

People will always have the option to exercise their freedoms and choose differently. They can choose to not send their kids to Pre K schools. They can choose to not take classes at community and trade colleges. They can continue to choose internal combustion engines, just like horse and buggy drivers did a century ago.

And they can choose to work for sub par wages all day long if they want. As happens in the fields of California, I am sure in the south there are plenty of farmers who will gladly employ people at less than the minimum wage, so they can pay cash and not a check.

Vast majorities of Americans want these options.

The problem is the GOP does not want the government to be helping provide them. And is not offering an alternative vision of help to our people. Instead they, like you, are just offering snide remarks, not aimed at solutions, rather, aimed at further dividing America.

Bluebullamerica said...

SKidmark, you're naive to blame the entire recession (almost depression) on sub prime mortgages while totally ignoring the fact that we had giant tax cuts for the uber rich at the same time as we were wasting more than a trillion dollars on a war based on lies (Iraq). And yes, 7 of the last 9 recessions happened under Republiscum control in DC. Try doing a little research, Skippy.

Again, a white guy explaining racism to a minority? Hysterical and more of your usual BS.
You're dismissed, Skippy.

skudrunner said...

Rev, As we have seen from the liberals attacking Tim Scott racism is a bullet used by both parties. Joey has now coined the phrase jim crowe 2 because the liberals don't want people to provide an ID to vote. Voter ID is supported by 63% of Americans but now the DNC have deemed it racist. When a black person says I hate whites does that make them a racist.

As you know I never said there was no racism before OTG but every thing said against him was racists. He was weak with Syria and objections were because of racism, he was a special interest president but everything said against him was because of his race. He didn't start the great divide but he sure took advantage of it and saw to it's expansion.

It is unfortunate that the media describes every person by their race instead of by the incident. Until we quit defining everyone by the color of their skin racism will prevail. It is advantages for the liberals to push racism because those who aren't racists stay quiet and afraid of being attacked.

Mike said...

I agree with Jerry.

Rational Nation USA said...

Cancel Culture which is promoted by Leftists who seek to destroy lives by waging a war as a excuse to abuse citizens who don't conform to the Leftist’s Police State.

Today any Man is likely to lose his career for saying anything even slightly offensive to Women. Of course, I’m not referring to someone who has gone to far, or who has “Assaulted” a Women either Physically, Verbally, or Sexually. And I’, not speaking about Domestic Violence -by assault by a Husband or a Boyfriend
80% of Americans believe that cancel culture is a problem in this country but we won’t stand up to the 20% who tell us otherwise. Enough is enough!
Cancel Culture is a way of organizing a movement to get someone fired or demanding someone take action or suffer some sort of consequence because they have offended your political views or feelings. Before it was just Letter Writing, or BoyCotting, but now it has gone full Circle and they just want it to be ENDED, PERIOD! It has gone beyond what is acceptable. I have three words for Cancel Culture “Knock It Off”

We’ve got to stop using the nondescript words and phrases imposed upon us by those whose entire mission is to destroy our country. These destroyers are not progressives or liberals — they are communists. Their plan is no different from that of the old Soviet Union, which is worldwide domination.
The impeachments against Donald Trump didn’t work out for the communists the first time around because no one would take their advice and “rise up” or “overthrow.” This was particularly true in America, where there were no “class struggles” beyond those created by communists as a strategy to divide us and conquer us. So, they re-tooled. All that you see in our society today is a new concerted effort to achieve what the communist states could not accomplish over 72 years, not even after murdering tens of millions of innocents.

After cheating the Election, the Left has gone full Fascist..

This is what happens when the loony tunes stupid shit liberal nut jobs take over a party
Our worry should be that these modern-day communists have been so successful in the land of the free. We must measure their success by observing our city, state, and national governments. Who is Biden, and what does he propose? Who runs Portland, Minneapolis, Detroit, Baltimore, and what are their ideas? The “race card” has become their primary tool to energize their growing base — that and the brainwashing inside our taxpayer-funded schools.
We must repudiate this nonsense of a “progressive” party. They are not progressive; let’s stop calling them that. Nor are these people “liberal.” Neo-Marxists have hijacked these two terms to mask who they really are. Let us stop cooperating with these new-age communists to hide what they truly believe. Let’s begin calling them what they are: communists. They believe the same things Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and Pol Pot believed. Our fathers and grandfathers stood up to communists to preserve our Republic; should we be less vigilant in safeguarding America — if not for ourselves, then for our children and grandchildren?
Foremost of the many reasons to criticize “cancel culture” is that the grounds for cancellation change constantly. People who were considered politically correct yesterday are today’s racists and Fascists.

Dave Miller said...

Thanks Fuzzy Slippers, or are you Suzanne with a slightly different avatar? Either way, like "her" you too are unable to stay on topic, back anything up with evidence and struggle mightily with basic grammar.

When you get some real evidence on election fraud, come back and share it. Because to date, you, like even the lawyers who have been thrown out of courts across America for incompetence, have so far failed to show anything even remotely resembling true, objective facts, or evidence.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Fuzzy Slippers or Suzanne,

That’s a lot of words for, ”I’m still po’d that Trump lost!

LOL!!!

Bluebullamerica said...

"Cancel Culture"? You mean like cancelling out the votes of Democrats like your side tried (and is still trying) to do? You mean like burning NFL gear because you don't like how some of the players expressed their opinions? Or perhaps you mean like trying to outlaw peaceful protests if they disagree with your ideas or your disgusting party? Face it, 'cancel culture' is the modern version of Republiclowns "welfare moms driving fancy cars and using food stamps" that you folks were dwelling on in the 80's and 90's. It's the new 'war on Christmas' that you tried to peddle for decades that fell flat due to it's absurdity. It's the new drive the Dixie Chicks off the airwaves and then whine that right wingers in Hollywood are treated unfairly.
I'm more than a little sick of all the phony, made-up outrages you damn right wingers keep coming up with. Put a sock in it, already. You lost - get over it.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Skud, your friends over at the Mother Ship routinely refer to people of color as "vermin," "monkeys," "primates," etc. I've documented it. Also one of the Captain's frequent commenters called for the assassination of Barack Obama while he was president. I have that documented as well. Now those folks are not ALL of America, but they are Trumpers and a part of America that uses racist language to describe an ENTIRE race of people.

That is the very definition of racism. Trump was a racist just as those folks on the Mother Ship are racist. And it doesn't matter if they claim they have black "friends," or admire people like Candace Owens and Tim Scott. I'd like to see if one of them would use those words to describe African-Americans in front of either of those people. Again, I remind you that those folks use those racist terms when discussing black people and problems in black communities.

skudrunner said...

Ms Shaw, when you refer to alllll the people on the mother ship are you referring to all dozen of them? When LeBron said that you are next about the cop was he speaking for all leftists or just the radical ones. Broad brushes just don't work well for getting an idea across.

Anonymous said...

The thing about Bidens address was, perhaps in part of the limits on the size of the audience because of demented donnies covid disaster, that it actually harkened back to FDR's Fireside chats here he spoke with common sense and delivered it with a calm and reasoned demeanor to the American people.
Unlike so many where the address was only focussed on "the room" while looking for next applause line.
With reason, logic and sanity he presented a pathway out of the swamp that past thuglican usurpers ( loose popular vote=usurper) have led the country deeper and deeper into knowing that inspiring fear is their only agenda.

Les Carpenter said...

Not the Real Fuzzy Slippers.

Dave Miller said...

Skud asked... referring to the crew of the Mothership... "are you referring to all dozen of them?"

Such an interesting question Skud... on one level, of course Shaw, I suspect most others here and myself included are speaking of the 12 or so who comment there. you inclyded.

But we are also speaking of many other ppl we all know and with whom we interact daily who hold those very same views. Look, the GOP is in the process of a purge of people like Liz Cheney or Mitt Romney who calls himself an "Extreme Conservative!" Why? Not because they voted against any important bills the GOP put forth, but because his heart told him we needed a president with a better sense of morality.

Mitt Fricken' Romney did not oppose a single policy of President Trump. Not. One.

But he's now an as*ho#e to not just the crew of the Mothership, but to many GOP voters around the country.

The Mothership crowd and like minded travelers elsewhere represent that 60% of the party you mostly support who do not believe President Trump lost the election in November, are tearing the country apart. Bit by bit.

You keep trying to call us on "broad brush" characterizations. If we're wrong, Point us to the current members of the GOP, past supporters of President Trump who will say he lost the election.

You're defending a party gone crazy. And not worthy of the mantle of the once great party of Lincoln.

Bluebullamerica said...

Standing at my desk and applauding Dave Miller. Well said, Sir.

skudrunner said...

Rev, Again broad brush and polls are dependent on the questions asked. I do question the 60% you refer to. He lost the election according to all counts. Was it a fair election will never be answered to everyone's satisfaction.

I do question joeys stand on covid and the vaccine. He has preached believe the science and the vaccine works while at the same time addressing a limited number of members of congress who have all been vaccinated and still wear masks while distancing from each other. Sends a questionable message about the effectiveness of the vaccine doesn't it.

Tearing the country apart has been happening for over a decade so you really have a hard time pinning it on one person or event.

Shaw Kenawe said...

SKUD: "Was it a fair election will never be answered to everyone's satisfaction."

This is how a cultist speaks of the 2020 election. Everyone, including Trump's own AG, confirmed that there was no fraud committed that would have changed the election. Every single case the Trumpers brought before the courts, 60 of them, WERE THROWN OUT because there was NO MERIT. Even Trump's lawyers, in front of the courts, said THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF FRAUD.

You keep repeating the Big Lie that we can never discover if it was a fair election. But the truth is WE CAN, AND WE DID. And Joe Biden won. For you to continue to doubt this fact means you and your friends over at the Mother Ship DON'T BELIEVE IN AMERICAN DEMOCRACY.

What do you believe in? It appears you believe in supporting a liar, a cheat, and a fraud who incited an armed mob to attack the US Capitol and overthrow an election.

Those are facts. That happened. There was no fraud and Trump lost. Period.



skudrunner said...

Ms Shaw, There is a big difference between fair and fraud. What I believe is we need an honest process in our election system. We have had absentee voting for decades but that required people to do something now all you need to do to vote is mark a ballot sent to you and put it in the mailbox. The majority of people want to require ID to vote yet there is a certain group who sees that as suppression because there are those three people who don't have an ID and do not want to take the trouble to get one even when it is free.

Shaw Kenawe said...

Skud

The fact is that even with voter IDs in place, there will be SOME who will cheat at voting.

America is the THIRD most populous country in the world, behind China and India! We'll always have people who'll lie and cheat. Even with voter ID. Studies have been made again and again and again and they've found, even with no voter ID, that voter fraud was MINISCULE as a percentage of our voting population. MINISCULE. That means not enough to affect the outcome of a presidential election! So why does the GQP continue to make voting harder for minorities?

Over the past few elections, minorities have gone to the polls to vote in greater numbers. Look at what happened in Georgia! a red state! And after Georgia sent two Democrats to the Senate and gave Joe Biden its electoral votes, the state government decided to make voting more difficult in minority areas. Do you think there's a cause and effect going on there?

Every state controls its election requirements and processes.

Georgia’s new voting law, and one takeaway stands above all others: The Republican legislature and governor have made a breathtaking assertion of partisan power in elections, making absentee voting harder and creating restrictions and complications in the wake of narrow losses to Democrats.

The New York Times has examined and annotated the law, identifying 16 provisions that hamper the right to vote for some Georgians or strip power from state and local elections officials and give it to legislators.

"Republicans passed and signed the 98-page voting law following the first Democratic victories in presidential and Senate elections in Georgia in a generation. President Biden won the state by just 11,779 votes out of nearly five million cast. The new law will, in particular, curtail ballot access for voters in booming urban and suburban counties, home to many Democrats. Another provision makes it a crime to offer water to voters waiting in lines, which tend to be longer in densely populated communities.

skudrunner said...

I have read the election law for GA and it is less restrictive than NY and 31 other states. It is a nice narrative for the dems to preach because few people will go to the trouble of reading it.

I am glad to see you admit there is voter fraud. I favor a a voting law that says show up at any polling place, present a picture ID and cast your vote or request an absentee ballot one month before the election. Would never happen because it requires everyone to do something to vote and that seems to be out of vogue.

Shaw Kenawe said...

skud: "I have read the election law for GA and it is less restrictive than NY"

You couldn't have read the laws of both GA and NY because that's an incorrect statement.

In some cases GA's laws are less restrictive; in other cases it is not. In some cases NY's laws are more restrictive (and are being lifted and brought up to date)' in some cases they are not.

Making a blanket statement like that serves no purpose except to make you feel like you've scored points. Voting laws in individuals states are a mixed bag. One blanket statement doesn't make for accuracy.

READ THIS FOR ACCURACY

Shaw Kenawe said...

As for your remark on voter fraud:

"In April 2020, a voter fraud study covering 20 years by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology found the level of fraud "exceedingly rare" since it occurs only in "0.00006 percent" of instances nationally, and, in one state, "0.000004 percent. Given this tiny
incident rate for voter impersonation fraud, it is more likely, the report noted, that an American “will be struck by lightning than that he will impersonate another voter at the polls.”

Courts Agree: Fraud by Voters at the Polls is Nearly Non-Existent

The Fifth Circuit, in an opinion finding that Texas’s strict photo ID law is racially discriminatory, noted that there were “only two convictions for in-person voter impersonation fraud out of 20 million votes cast in the decade” before Texas passed its law.

In its opinion striking down North Carolina’s omnibus restrictive election law —which included a voter ID requirement — as purposefully racially discriminatory, the Fourth Circuit noted that the state “failed to identify even a single individual who has ever been charged with committing in-person voter fraud in North Carolina.”

Even the Supreme Court, in its opinion in Crawford upholding Indiana’s voter ID law, noted that the record in the case “contains no evidence of any [in-person voter impersonation] fraud actually occurring in Indiana at any time in its history.” Two of the jurists who weighed in on that case at the time — Republican-appointed former Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens and conservative appellate court Judge Richard Posner — have since announced they regret their votes in favor of the law, with Judge Posner noting that strict photo ID laws are “now widely regarded as a means of voter suppression rather than of fraud prevention.”


skudrunner said...

Key wording
Courts Agree: Fraud by Voters at the Polls is Nearly Non-Existent

What about couch voters which was not part of the report. How is requiring voter ID racially discriminatory. Of course everything now is race but since everyone can get an ID free what is discriminatory about proving who is voting. This will work for most of the country with the exception of Chicago where the vote early, vote often is law.

Bluebullamerica said...

Couch voters? Is it only couches you folks on the radical right have a problem with or does that include desk chairs and ottomans?

Many people on the Reservation have only Tribal identification, and tribal drivers licenses. Some, especially older folks there rarely if ever leave the rez. My grandmother never set foot off Rez so she'd be blocked from voting under these discriminatory new Repub laws. Even though her (my) family was here thousands of years before your family washed ashore.
As usual, you're overlooking some of the most egregious parts of these new restrictions. Reducing the number of drop boxes - or getting rid of them completely. Eliminating early voting on Sundays -- a direct slap at black voters who've long used "souls to the Polls" events from churches. Making it illegal to provide water to people waiting in the hot sun sometimes for hours! What sick mind thought that was a good idea? The entire thing is just more of the usual Republiscum racist crap to try desperately to stay in power and everyone knows it.
You can stop trying to sell us bullshit, Skid. Our gardens are fine without any more of it.