Author: Andrew Bradford

Proud progressive journalist and political adviser living behind enemy lines in Red America.

Categories
Elections GOP Polls

Ron DeSantis’ Political Future Looks More Uncertain Than Ever

There was a time not so long ago when Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis was seen by many in the GOP as a rising star who might even have a chance at one day becoming president of the United States.

But those days are long gone. DeSantis has repeatedly mishandled the COVID pandemic in his state, causing his support among senior citizens (a key voting block in the Sunshine State) to wane right as he’s gearing up to seek a second term in office next year.

And now more bad news has arrived for DeSantis in the form of a poll from St. Pete Polls which shows him running dead even with the likely Democratic nominee, Florida Agriculture Commissioner Nikki Fried.

According to the poll — which was commissioned by Florida Politics — DeSantis looks vulnerable:

“The poll found the incumbent Republican Governor and the potential Democratic challenger both taking about 45% of the vote. A close look shows DeSantis winning 45.2% to Fried’s 44.6%, a difference far smaller than the survey’s 2.2% margin of error.

“The poll finds DeSantis holding 76% Republican support, while Fried has less than 72% among Democrats, showing the incumbent performing better with his own base. But 46% of independents favor Fried, compared to 42% who prefer DeSantis.”

In a closely divided state like Florida, independent voters are the key to winning, and they favor Fried, which is very bad news for DeSantis, who has also been an ardent and vocal supporter of failed, one-term former President Donald Trump. Trump is not seen positively in much of the country, especially among independent voters or the elderly. That raises a larger question: With Trump now calling Florida his home and holed up at Mar-a-Lago, could DeSantis’ connections to the former president be politically detrimental to him as he seeks reelection?

If Fried does indeed announce a run for governor and become the Democratic nominee, she would be a formidable opponent for DeSantis, whose popularity is falling.

Even though the 2022 election is still over a year and a half away, polls are clearly showing that DeSantis can be beaten. And given his own propensity for making the wrong decision no matter the issue, his popularity will likely continue to decrease.

Florida may be on the verge of turning blue. That’s very bad news for the entire Republican Party.

 

Categories
GOP History Racism

Mitch McConnell Gets Taken To The Woodshed For Trying To Paper Over The GOP’s Racist History

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) thought he’d try and rewrite the history of his party on Tuesday, but he immediately got smacked down by the facts about the GOP which are written in bigotry and hatred.

During a debate on whether or not to eliminate the filibuster in the U.S. Senate, McConnell said the procedure — through which one senator can bring all business in the upper chamber to a screeching halt — had not been used in the past (by Republicans) to delay passage of civil rights legislation in the 1950s:

“It has no racial history at all. None. There’s no dispute among historians about that.”

That’s a lie, and McConnell said it knowing damn well it was a lie.

History shows that the longest filibuster ever held in the Senate was made by the blatantly racist GOP Sen. Strom Thurmond in opposition to the Civil Rights Act of 1957, speaking continuously for 24 hours and 15 minutes to prevent black Americans from having the same rights as whites.

Steven S. Smith, a political scientist at Washington University in St. Louis, explained the use of the filibuster by Republicans during the bad old days:

“The histories of the filibuster, civil and voting rights, and race in America are intertwined.”

How racist is the history of the Senate filibuster? It was once used to block anti-lynching bills. That is the shameful past of the procedure McConnell tried to paper over.

Fortunately, however, former U.S. Attorney Joyce Vance of Alabama was quick to counter McConnell, noting:

When he started getting criticism, McConnell’s office tried to walk back what he’d said:

For those who aren’t familiar with the full history of the Republican Party, it was once the Party of Lincoln. But then Richard Nixon was elected, followed by Ronald Reagan (who railed against “welfare queens” in a blatant attack on African-American women), and later was the party of choice for Donald Trump, who called Mexican immigrants “rapists” and suggested that anyone who dared to protest was a hoodlum or an “animal.” The GOP has become the party of bigotry and racial hatred. And the filibuster is part of that legacy, despite what McConnell or any other revisionist historian tries to assert.

How can you tell when someone is a racist? When they deny their own past, their support of bigots, and their cozy relationship with neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and white separatists.

Nice try, Mitch, but you’re just as full of shit as ever. And you’re also a terrible liar.

Categories
Social Media

Cardi B Outrages Conservatives By Posting Lewd Photos Of Melania Trump On Twitter

Perhaps you heard about how deeply upset some right-wingers were with a performance by Cardi B when she performed the song “WAP” at an awards show in a manner that some found objectionable, even though it was well within the parameters of what’s allowed on television.

However, rather than turn the channel and mind their own business, people such as Candace Owens took to social media and began whining as if someone had just plunged hot daggers into their eyes and then danced in celebration. Owens posted this:

And that, according to The Independent, is where things got really interesting:

“Naked photos of Melania Trump published on Twitter by Cardi B during a clash over her Grammys performance don’t violate the company’s terms of service, according to a company spokesperson.

“The rapper posted a full-frontal nude photo of the former first lady as her clash with conservative commentator Candace Owens spilt over from Fox News onto Twitter.

“A spokesperson for Twitter told The Independent that while the company has a non-consensual nudity policy that would see an account immediately suspended, images previously published with the person’s consent would not be against those rules.”

In response, Cardi B wrote this:

No! Candy, men treat women on how a woman allows a man to treat them.I mean look at Melania she was a porn star however she didn’t allowed Trump to treat her as so or shame her for her passed and made her into a First Lady & the mother of his child

I don’t know why candy is so bothered by WAP.I was just inspired by our former First Lady ?. Anyways congrats on your new show I hope you speak more about WAP I need it to reach a new Audience to go 6x platinum. Any exposure will help .Love you candy 

Here’s a sample of the photos Cardi B posted:

https://twitter.com/iamcardib/status/1371970277152727040?s=20

Melania Trump once worked as a nude model. That’s just a fact. And yet you don’t hear conservatives raising holy hell about that, do you? But when a grown woman (who also happens to be African-American) dares to dance or perform in a suggestive way, suddenly a different standard applies.

It’s hard to know which to be more upset about, the hypocrisy or the blatant racism. Conservatives specialize in both.

 

Categories
Donald Trump Social Media WTF?!

Matt Gaetz Gets Humiliated After Calling Trump The ‘Gold Standard’ Of Presidents

Even though he will go down in history as a failed, one-term president who was the only man in U.S. history to be impeached not once, but TWICE, there remain many Republicans who still retain their slavish devotion to Donald Trump.

 

One of those badly deluded idiots is Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) who seems to get weak in the knees anytime the Donald opens his fat mouth and pukes out more hatred and derision.

Gaetz is still kissing Trump’s fat ass, firing off a tweet that’s little more than a sycophantic cry for help:

Gold standard? Just because Trump has gaudy gold fixtures in his bathroom doesn’t mean he’s actually accomplished anything. He sure as hell didn’t do anything productive as president, managing to destroy the economy with his half-assed response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Silver Alert? What does that even mean? Sounds like Gaetz is trying to make fun of Biden’s age, but the current president just signed a historic $1.9 relief bill that will put money in the pockets of Americans and help give a boost to the economy.

It didn’t take long before Gaetz was hit with a tsunami of mockery and riducule:

https://twitter.com/main_state/status/1370024804577767425?s=20
https://twitter.com/carminecurrency/status/1370098628853911557?s=20

https://twitter.com/AshwellBarry/status/1370117734630109191?s=20
 

Categories
Donald Trump U.S. Senate

Former Solicitor General Has A Fascinating Theory For Why Lindsey Graham Continues To Kiss Trump’s A*s

Why does Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) remain so fervently loyal to Donald Trump? The failed, one-term president can’t do anything for Graham politically, and the South Carolina senator isn’t even up for reelection until 2026.

Could it be that Graham is trying to cover his ass legally, because he knows that his neck is on the line when it comes to a legal matter that Trump is also facing?

Neal Katyal, who served as acting Solicitor General in the Obama administration, had some thoughts on the matter that he shared Monday on MSNBC.

Pointing to the investigation being conducted by Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis into efforts Trump made to get election totals in the Peach State overturned by calling Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Katyal noted that Graham also tried to meddle in the Georgia election:

“Racketeering is often really about violent crimes like murder or kidnapping, but Georgia defines it more broadly to include false statements made to state officials.

“And here Trump does have a defense. “What he’s going to say is ‘I wasn’t falsifying information, I genuinely believed I had won the election.’ Now ordinarily, that kind of defense wouldn’t pass the smell test, but when you’re dealing with delusion of grandeur Donald, maybe he’s got a defense there.”

Katyal then theorized that Graham and others who are part of the larger conspiracy to meddle in the Georgia election may be looking for a way to flip on Trump, cooperate with prosecutors, and save their own skins:

“The investigation is not just about Trump. It’s also about Lindsey Graham, Rudy Giuliani, the former U.S. Attorney, Mr. Byung Pak and some others. And any of those folks can flip on Trump.

“Why is (Graham) still paling around with Donald Trump? Well, one shouldn’t rule out … the possibility that he might be paling around with Donald Trump because he’s hoping Trump will let something slip that Lindsey Graham can use in exchange for a deal.”

Think about it: Graham doesn’t want to be indicted and face a trial in Georgia. And he certainly doesn’t want to do 20 years in a Georgia prison for racketeering.

If indeed Graham does make a deal and agree to testify against Trump, the Donald could be in a world of hurt.

Here’s Neal Katyal on MSNBC: