US Politics Mega-Blog - Page 94

On December 04 2018 03:43 iamthedave wrote:
It seems to me it'll be hard for anyone but Bernie to be the nominee. Most of the rest of those guys are the veterans of losing races against GOP senators in the mid-terms, which doesn't strike me as a sterling platform for the Presidency, and Cortez is surely too young.

On December 04 2018 04:37 xDaunt wrote:

Like I said previously, I doubt that the eventual nominee will be someone who is currently being hyped and actively discussed, particularly all of these lightweight senators. I'd look to the democrat governor ranks instead. Hickenlooper, in particular, is someone that I'll be watching with interest.

On December 04 2018 06:17 Howie_Dewitt wrote:

Can you give the uninformed a run-down on why you think Hickenlooper would be so successful?

On December 04 2018 01:29 GreenHorizons wrote:The media/donors are trying hard with somewhat inexplicable hyping of Beto, likely because they'd really prefer not to have to run Kamala on the top of the ticket. The idea being that Bernie eats her progressive support and Beto eats her more conservative/pro israel/pro O&G support then he can eat Bernie's southern white support. It's the best plan they've come up with to split Bernie's support without just splitting their own. A Warren run is probably in the cards too as she's one of the few potential candidates that could legitimately pull some of Bernie's primary voters.

On December 04 2018 07:28 Womwomwom wrote:


Beto is getting hyped, much like previous young white man who overperformed in red state Jason Kander, because he's a capable campaigner who has shown to be able to drive small donations and turnout younger demographics. I really think you're overthinking why everyone talking about Beto. The Democratic Party most definitely is garbage at media relations so I really doubt they could pull something as diabolical as you're suggesting.

If we're being cynical about Kamala, people don't take her chances seriously because they figure that she'll be unable to beat back any questions about her inadequacies. She's a minority childless woman who has past inadequacies with regards to her position on justice matters. Seriously speaking, Beto doesn't need to exist to make Kamala's own presidential candidate chances to be a long shot.

On December 04 2018 06:45 xDaunt wrote:


(Plug your ears, GH)

Hickenlooper is a pro-business, moderate democrat who had a successful, two-term tenure in Colorado. He's going to draw a stark contrast with all of the rabid leftists from the Senate who are contemplating running. More importantly, he can credibly pick up the support of the Democrat donor base. If the goal is to knock off Trump, I think that Hickenlooper draws a much better contrast with Trump than anyone else whose name is floating around currently.

On December 04 2018 08:38 GreenHorizons wrote:


Beto is pretty bad and if Bernie had anywhere near the relationship with O&G that Beto does that's all the media would talk about, not hyping him. You seem to misunderstand the dynamics at play as I see them. The Democratic party/media doesn't call the shots, their donors do. It's not "diabolical" either. They are just wealthy powerful people that want to ensure more wealth and power at the expense of their fellow humans.

On December 04 2018 09:29 Womwomwom wrote:


Again, you're seriously overthinking the dynamics at play here. What I get from your post is that you're suggesting the donors are lying hits against Bernie/Kamala via this Beto push but it is really is much simpler than that. A lot of people like Beto because he's a young white man who overperformed in a heavy Republican state by collecting an obscene amount of small donations nationwide and pushing younger voter participation in a state known for its pathetically low Democratic Party turnouts. That's literally it.

The donors might like Beto for his conservative positions on a lot of matters but the general people aren't irrationally hyped because the donors are calling the shots. We've seen the exact same thing play out with Jason Kander, the only difference is that he had a much lower profile race than Beto had, considering he wasn't running against Ted Cruz and wasn't running for a senate seat.

The police chief in Springfield, Missouri, has apologized to the city's sexual assault victims and ordered changes in how the department handles sex crimes cases. The reaction follows a CNN investigation into rape kit destruction that highlighted the agency's practices, which experts called "disturbing."

Springfield Police Chief Paul Williams offered the apology in a video posted on social media and invited victims to contact him if they felt their assaults were "not investigated appropriately."
He told local journalists that the department will no longer give sex crimes victims a 10-day deadline to respond to investigators or face the closure of their cases.

He also pledged that the department would stop giving victims so-called prosecution declination waivers, a practice long discouraged by the International Association of Chiefs of Police. CNN found Springfield officers gave victims these forms soon after they reported being assaulted and before investigations were complete, effectively ending cases.

The CNN investigation "Destroyed," which published Thursday, revealed that 25 law enforcement agencies in 14 states destroyed 400 rape kits tied to cases in which the statutes of limitations were still running or there was no time limit to prosecute.

The number is likely higher. CNN surveyed 207 law enforcement agencies; there are an estimated 17,000 in the country. CNN's analysis was based on records provided by the departments that reported destroying kits.

On December 05 2018 01:12 iamthedave wrote:
https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/12/04/coup-protests-engulf-wisconsin-capitol-outgoing-scott-walker-and-gop-move-cripple

Is this really as is reported here or is this some partisan complaining? If it is as advertised, is there anything the incoming governor can do about it?

The fate of The Weekly Standard, the conservative magazine that has staked out a position as a publication on the right still critical of President Donald Trump, is uncertain, Editor-in-Chief Stephen Hayes told staff in a series of phone calls Tuesday, according to two people familiar with the matter.

The magazine's precarious position comes after its leadership spent months searching for a buyer, the people told CNN.

The people explained that The Weekly Standard's leadership had butted heads with MediaDC, the current parent company of the magazine, and that the two parties had agreed to allow Hayes to search for a new owner.

However, MediaDC recently informed The Weekly Standard's leadership that the company was no longer interested in a sale, the people said.

Instead, Ryan McKibben, the chairman of MediaDC, asked to meet with Hayes in a meeting tentatively scheduled for late next week, the people said. McKibben, they said, also requested the entire staff of The Weekly Standard be made available following the meeting.

That request, coupled with MediaDC's Monday announcement that its other conservative news organization, The Washington Examiner, would be expanding its magazine into a weekly publication, has left The Weekly Standard's leadership worrying about the future of the magazine.
Employees at the magazine are bracing for the worst, multiple people familiar with the matter told CNN.

Alex Rosenwald, a spokesperson for MediaDC, told CNN in a phone call on Tuesday morning that he was not aware of The Weekly Standard's situation. Rosenwald said he was focused only on the marketing for the just-announced Washington Examiner Magazine. Rosenwald did not respond to an email or phone call on Tuesday afternoon requesting comment after CNN had learned of Hayes' phone calls to staffers.

Hayes also did not respond to emails on Monday and Tuesday requesting comment.
The Weekly Standard was founded in 1995 by Bill Kristol and Fred Barnes. During the presidency of George W. Bush it was widely considered to be aligned with the administration and larger forces of neoconservatism.

Under Hayes' leadership, The Weekly Standard has remained steadfast in its criticism of Trump. Supporters of Trump have lashed out at The Weekly Standard and its influence in Republican circles has dwindled.

But while The Weekly Standard's influence in Republican politics has declined, its web traffic has increased, people familiar with the data said.

The magazine has also earned praise for some of the recent work it has done. In November, for instance the magazine published audio of Republican Congressman Steve King telling attendees at a campaign event in Iowa that "there's plenty of dirt" coming from Mexico, apparently referring to Mexicans themselves.

On December 05 2018 07:47 xDaunt wrote:
We're starting to run out of Never Trumpers:



Source.

I've known about this for a while now. A buddy of mine toyed with the idea of buying The Weekly Standard at one point and gave me the low down on its financial and business state. The magazine is toast. Kristol has so damaged the brand that I doubt that it has any value anymore. And like I mentioned previously in the main thread, I had the opportunity to see Hayes speak at an event earlier this year. The man was an utter disappointment.

Anyway, Trump has taken yet another scalp. Good riddance to the neoconservatives.

On December 05 2018 11:07 Doodsmack wrote:


Donald Trump now represents the Republican Party.