Like Cheney and Harris, I may not agree with Tim Miller on everything but I agree with this:
As long as I live I will never fully comprehend it. There should have been a line of honest and wise men a mile long standing behind Cheney on Thursday. But their cowardice, their venality, their shameful abdication of responsibility only served to make this moment in Ripon more powerful.
Because instead of that mile long line of men, there stood two women with vanishingly little in common. There they were, in the place where an honest, abolitionist Republican party formed, in political unity, bound by a mutual love of country and a commitment to its best ideals.
Two women standing in the breach to protect the country from the men trying to tear it apart.
Two women alone, standing together for all of us.
I didn’t mention it in my Salon column about their campaign stop yesterday but I was impressed by something they did that I think is important. When Cheney introduced Harris she walked back and waited for her to come out and I expected them embrace there on the stage. But they didn’t. They shook hands and then walked back together to the front of the stage.
This one wasn’t about “joy.” It was a serious moment with both of them playing distinct roles as the leaders of different political factions coming together in one coalition to stop the march toward fascism. They acted like leaders.
I appreciated it. Two women alone, standing together for all of us. Hell yeah.
Fox guest on jobs report: "I thought there would be more red flags than a communist parade in this report, and there's not a single one. … There's not one data point in here that I can point to that is not good." pic.twitter.com/CVmMoleWuE
A month before the elections, this is the front page of the NYTimes. Has there ever been a moment in U.S. history when the disconnect between the strength of the economy and the American voters’ beliefs about the economy was this vast and consequential? pic.twitter.com/IikckmIYTG
Yes, and that was a tough call for the Biden-Harris administration. The bill passed with a tiny majority in the House and needed Harris vote in the Senate. They got huge grief from the economic mainstream over it being too big. It was a risk, but paid off hugely! https://t.co/TOmTq2GH7J
Senator, I don't want to get caught up on facts, but the share of American-born folks in their prime working years who have jobs is higher than at any point during the Trump administration, and indeed, it's the highest it's ever been since the BLS started publishing these numbers https://t.co/Nlzy73ce94pic.twitter.com/USnFFQnYNu
Check out this pattern. They drive it up and Democrats bring it down.
And they’ll do it again, all while braying about government spending and paying off their rich friends:
Trump’s budget is a mess. He has an array of tax cuts (largely benefitting the rich), only partially funded with a tariff that'll raise prices for everyday Americans, hitting low-earners the hardest. @Morning_Joepic.twitter.com/QA8lszqj2h
The economy is never perfect. There are always problems, mostly borne by the poor and working classes. But as economies go, this one is as strong as we’ve seen in many years. If it weren’t for the right wing propaganda machine and the reluctance of the media to admit this, people would have realized it sooner.
It’s morning in America, people! Wake the hell up!
Marjorie Taylor Greene made her MAGA bones as a conspiracy theorist on Facebook just six years ago so this isn’t surprising.
Does it seem to you that these people are getting nuttier by the day? The question is if it’s because they think they’re losing — or winning? I fear it’s the latter.
Maybe she can persuade a few swing voters to do the same
I once wrote that Liz Cheney was the most dangerous woman in America. I thought she could easily be the nominee in 2024 and believed that she’d be worse than her father because she was just as right wing but had served during the chaotic Trump era. I cautioned that “Democrats should work very hard to keep the loyalty of women who have left the GOP in recent years. Cheney or Haley could potentially get them back if the Dems are perceived to have failed them.”
I had come to the conclusion that it was likely that the first woman president would have to be a Republican because I didn’t think Independent men (and maybe some Democrats too) would vote for a Democratic woman, fearing that they just aren’t “tough enough.” Cheney was in the GOP leadership at the time and had made it up the ladder faster than anyone I could remember. She came into the job with a stellar Republican pedigree as the daughter of Dick “prince of darkness” Cheney and had backed Trump to the hilt. She was tough as nails and also seemed to be a pretty savvy politician. She worried me. A lot.
Needless to say, I was wrong about everything. Today Liz Cheney has been drummed out of the Republican Party and a Black, South Asian Woman from California, Kamala Harris, is running for president on the Democratic ticket. Yesterday, Liz Cheney appeared in Wisconsin and said “I tell you, I have never voted for a Democrat, but this year I am proudly casting my vote for VP Kamala Harris… We are not going back.”
I will admit this is not entirely comfortable. I’ve seen so little true political courage from Republicans in the last couple of decades, and especially in the last eight years, that I reflexively mistrust it. I’ve been on the other side of Liz Cheney on virtually every issue as long as I can remember and I’m sure I still am. And after all, she supported Trump for years and didn’t speak up when he demonstrated his unfitness both at home and abroad.
But unlike others in her party who either stood silent or spoke out briefly then retreated into their comfy partisan rabbit holes, Cheney drew the line at Trump’s attempt to overturn the election, his incitement of an insurrection and the Big Lie he perpetuates to this day. She became the voice of those Republicans who finally had enough of Trump and rejected the fascistic impulses that showed themselves in living color during that period between the election of 2020 and January 6th of 2021.
And while it may have been uncomfortable for me to see my chosen candidate bask in the warmth of a Liz Cheney endorsement, I would imagine it was just as uncomfortable for Cheney to campaign for a pro-choice, gun regulating, Obamacare loving, union backing, billionaire taxing, liberal Democrat. But she did it.
And for all of my distrust of her in the past, I believe she is entirely earnest when she exhorted those listening, “so help us right the ship of our democracy, so that history will say of us, when our time of testing came, we did our duty, and we prevailed because we loved our country more.”
It was a good speech and frankly moving to see the two strong women with polar opposite ideologies come together to oppose the narcissistic authoritarian who tried to stop the peaceful transfer of power and is promising to do even worse next time.
"So help us right the ship of our democracy, so that history will say of us, when our time of testing came, we did our duty, and we prevailed because we loved our country more." Proud to stand with @Liz_Cheney. https://t.co/GxKjmc9sJL
Her reason for doing this is simple. She believes that Donald Trump is an existential threat to the nation and the world and she became convinced of this when he openly defied the Constitution and staged an attempted coup. That so few of her allegedly patriotic Republican brethren didn’t draw that line is still shocking to me. I have to respect her for standing up against all of them when the cost to her was so high. The Republican Party as currently constituted, and as it will stay constituted for some time to come, Donald Trump or not, is never going to make Liz Cheney president.
The question a lot of Democrats are asking is why did the Harris campaign want Cheney to campaign with her in Wisconsin anyway? And apparently, some other Republican apostates including the former Trump staffer Cassidy Hutchinson, who testified before the January 6th Committee, will be holding events in the final days in the swing states. They have launched a new ad campaign aimed specifically at these voters.
It would seem they believe that there are some persuadable Independents and Republicans who could be moved by the type of argument Cheney made yesterday. This MSNBC segment featured some of those voters:
JD Vance’s unfortunate gaffe the other night in the debate in which he just could not say that Trump didn’t win the election reminded everyone of the stakes in this election once again and while they couldn’t have predicted it, Special Counsel Jack Smith dropping the new detailed brief on the case against Trump for his actions on January 6th only reinforced it.
According to The Bulwark’s Sarah Longwell who has been doing focus groups with Republican and Independent voters for the past year, there is, in fact, a group that is motivated by this topic. She points out that the reason Trump didn’t want the Smith documents unsealed is because he didn’t want January 6th to return as a “high salience issue this close to the election.” Reminding these voters about it is “the number one way to sort of push those voters back away from Trump.”
.@SarahLongwell25: “With swing voters and these sort of right-leaning independent soft GOP voters reminding them about January 6. That is the number one way to sort of push those voters back away from Donald Trump.” pic.twitter.com/mRoOX2njQv
— Republican Voters Against Trump (@AccountableGOP) October 2, 2024
The polling all shows that the race is very close in the battleground states which is terrifying. For whatever reason there are tens of millions of Republicans and Independents who still believe that Donald Trump was justified in plotting to overturn the election in defiance of the law and the constitution. Many of them don’t think that storming the capitol to stop the certification of the vote was any big deal either. But if there are a few swing voters out there who feel differently, it’s well worth going after them.
I realize that there are Democrats who really hate this strategy. In the past I’ve railed against it too, worrying about the Democrats compromising their values and beliefs. But this is different. Liz Cheney and the other anti-Trump Republicans coming forward to endorse her are doing it to stand against the criminal Donald Trump and the extremist, authoritarian agenda he is running on. Kamala Harris isn’t promising to back abortion bans or burn books about gay penguins to get their votes. It’s about turning back the tide of fascism whether its face is Trump, Vance or Ted Cruz. (Cheney endorsed Cruz’s opponent Colin Allred for just that reason.)
And Democrats need to remember that even as we are fighting to maintain some semblance of a working democracy, as shaky as it is, the stakes are extremely high and very personal for millions of vulnerable people who will pay the price if we don’t win. I think former Harry Reid aide and Democratic strategist Adam Jentleson said it best:
Beating Trump means building as big and broad a coalition as possible. It’s really that simple. The people who will suffer if he wins are counting on us to do it.
So thanks Liz and all the other Republicans who are pitching to help make that happen. The Democrats need every voter they can get.
MESA COUNTY, Colo. – On Thursday, Judge Matthew Barrett sentenced a defiant Tina Peters to 9 years behind bars on multiple charges – including felonies – for a data-breach plot amid false claims of voting machine fraud during the 2020 presidential election.
Peters, the former Mesa County Clerk was found guilty in August by a jury on seven of 10 counts including first-degree official misconduct, violation of duty, conspiracy to commit criminal impersonation along with other counts.
“You are no hero. You abused your position – and you’re a charlatan who used, and is still using your prior position to peddle a snake oil that’s been proven to be junk time and time again,” said Judge Barrett. “Your lies are well-documented and these convictions are serious. I’m convinced you’d do it all over again if you could.”Judge Barrett added: “You’re as defiant as a defendant as this court has ever seen.”
Peters, who was indicted in March 2022, was accused of copying hard drive images of election software in 2021, which ended up online and being discussed by Peters and others.
Before sentencing, Peters remained unapologetic. “I’ve never done anything with malice to break the law. I’ve only wanted to serve the people of Mesa County,” she said.
She’ll take her defiance to the grave. I’ve met plenty of people who are “dumb and proud of it,” but they were mostly harmless and simply uneducated. Trumpism takes that to a new and dangerous level.
Former President Donald Trump’s media company has forced out executives in recent days after internal allegations that its CEO, former Rep. Devin Nunes, is mismanaging the company, according to interviews and records of communications among former employees.
Several people involved with Trump Media believe the ousters are retaliation following what they describe as an anonymous “whistleblower” complaint regarding Nunes that went to the company’s board of directors.
The chief operating officer and chief product officer have left the company, along with at least two lower-level staffers, according to interviews, social media posts and communications between former staffers reviewed by ProPublica. The company, which runs the social media platform Truth Social, disclosed the departure of the chief operating officer in a securities filing Thursday afternoon.
ProPublica has not seen the whistleblower complaint. But several people with knowledge of the company said the concerns revolve around alleged mismanagement by Nunes. One person said they include allegations of misuse of funds, hiring of foreign contractors and interfering with product development.
How odd that Devin Nunes would mismanage the company considering he had absolutely no experience before he got the job. He was an excellent MAGA toady which is the only qualification for anyoneTrump hires but he doesn’t actually know how to do anything.
Truth Social is a joke and if Trump loses the election it will die the minute Trump cashes out which he will do the minute he gets the chance. (The stock was up to $16 yesterday from a low of $13 last week. It was at $66 last spring. A very typical Trump business performance.) And as usual, there are a number of pending lawsuits already from and against former employees. There will be more, no doubt.
Some word of the departures became public earlier this week when former Trump Media employee Alex Gleason said in a social media post that “Truth Social in shambles. Many more people fired.”
It’s been a week. Thursday was the first day since the morning Helene’s winds hit that I’ve been able to load web pages. (An email bleep from the phone at 5:30 a.m. announced the news.) I thought I’d be able to provide a more coherent update this morning but the signal that was strong here yesterday is weaker this morning. I’m just beginning to see images those of you outside have seen all week. Friends who live on ridgetops seem to have had better luck. I see now that they’ve been on FB for a few days. Asheville Watchdog has an explainer for why cell service went out across WNC.
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So I’ve been in a news blackout since early last Friday morning except for local public radio. That’s filled with daily press conferences (and repeats) and updates from officials from ours and surrounding counties. The local volunteer effort has been massive.
This is an effort led by my friend, our Register of Deeds.
You know it’s a disaster zone when World Central Kitchen shows up. I’ve donated to them for years (hint, hint). Never expected to be eating their food. Brought WCK meals back to an aging neighbor who’d been eating bologna out of his five-day-dead refrigerator. (His power is back. Mine is not.)
Digby passed along this post from José Andrés about some of the disinfo that’s going around. And conspiracy theories. Ex: Why did it take FEMA days to get here? The mayor reports FEMA had boots on the ground last Thursday before the storm hit.
This is a lie! Actually @nationalguard has an amazing operation out of Asheville….thousands of them! More helicopters I’ve ever seen in an operation….tones of goods dropped….I see civilian planes landing, civilian helicopters delivering. As @WCKitchen helicopter no issues! https://t.co/PHTIv7YO6gpic.twitter.com/J2c8tiQeGt
I expect what this dude above says he’s done he’s done. That doesn’t mean no one else is busy bringing rescue and relief supplies to people stuck in remote coves cut off by road. But there are thousands of those scattered across 25 counties (1/4 of the state). If he and his buddies are the first to arrive at one, good on them. But I’ve seen Chinooks and Blackhawks in the skies for days as well as civilian choppers. The effort is massive. WCK is loading SUVs full of meals and delivering them I know not where across the county and the region (by helicopter as well).
I can’t speak for those cut off in remote valleys. Or for my friend, Canton’s Mayor Zeb Smathers (about a half hour west). But a few personal observations from a guy in the most accessible city in the region. Friends and relatives keep offering aid. How can we help? What do you need?
People want to help. That’s wonderful. But unless you have special skills in disaster relief, your best bet is to stay home and donate to some of the relief groups Digby linked to. We’re already awash in relief supplies on street corners and in parking lots.
To avoid a darkened traffic signal the other day, I cut through a closed Fresh Market parking lot. There were two tractor trailers filled with cases of bottled water volunteers were giving out. A guy practically threw a case at me. (I now have four cases of bottled water I haven’t touched.)
Earlier, I took an aerial tour over Western North Carolina to survey the damage. What I saw was heartbreaking.
But back on the ground, we’re witnessing neighbors helping neighbors, volunteers and workers standing side-by-side, people leaning on each other.
There are pallets of water at Home Depot (it’s open and powered up). A religious group had trailers parked in their lot. One of their volunteers offered me a meal from a stack in her shopping cart. I felt bad not taking one. I’d just had lunch courtesy of José Andrés and my own past donations. And I’m pretty sure that was President Joe Biden and Gov. Roy Cooper who flew over in an Osprey flanked by gunships.
The grocery stores here in town are opening back up. The real needs are in remote areas you won’t help by sending supplies into the city except to shelters and collection points for them. Donate to the people who know what’s needed instead.
Otherwise, Asheville’s water system is down for weeks. “Catastrophically damaged.” So back to bottled water. Relatives and friends want to send in bottled water. The real water problem is for flushing and bathing and washing clothes. And unless you can install a spring in my front yard, bottles of water won’t help. We’re out collecting flushing and bathing water in containers filled from lakes, springs and drain pipes.
And I sprained my right foot while canvassing last week just before the rains arrived. So I’m not much good for volunteerism requiring much lifting, walking or standing just now. It’s been a week.
I’ve directed one thousand military personnel from Fort Liberty to help the North Carolina National Guard provide critical supplies to isolated communities.
We’ve deployed 67 Starlink satellites so that folks in places like Canton can call for help and reach their loved ones.…
Bruce Springsteen has endorsed Kamala Harris for president: “Donald Trump is the most dangerous candidate for president in my lifetime. His disdain for the sanctity of our Constitution, the sanctity of democracy, the sanctity of the rule of law and the sanctity of the peaceful… pic.twitter.com/Uwoa3yj1FE
Trump has been lying about the Biden administration’s response to Hurricane Helene, claiming that they are ignoring Republican areas to favor their own voters. It’s nonsense of course.
But E&E News by Politico has found new evidence that that is exactly what Trump did when was president:
But a review of Trump’s record by POLITICO’s E&E News and interviews with two former Trump White House officials show that the former president was flagrantly partisan at times in response to disasters and on at least three occasions hesitated to give disaster aid to areas he considered politically hostile or ordered special treatment for pro-Trump states.
Mark Harvey, who was Trump’s senior director for resilience policy on the National Security Council staff, told E&E News on Wednesday that Trump initially refused to approve disaster aid for California after deadly wildfires in 2018 because of the state’s Democratic leanings.
But Harvey said Trump changed his mind after Harvey pulled voting results to show him that heavily damaged Orange County, California, had more Trump supporters than the entire state of Iowa.
“We went as far as looking up how many votes he got in those impacted areas … to show him these are people who voted for you,” said Harvey, who recently endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris alongside more than 100 other Republican former national security officials.
The exchange — not previously reported — drew a dumbfounded response on social media Thursday from President Joe Biden, who summed up Trump’s attitude as: “You can’t only help those in need if they voted for you.”
“It’s the most basic part of being president, and this guy knows nothing about it,” Biden posted on X, reacting to a tweet about an earlier version of this article.
Tina Peters, just sentenced to 9 years in prison, told the judge that people who want her to go to prison are in trouble because God doesn’t like people messing w/his kids & she is a child of God. She then said she couldn’t go to prison because she sleeps on a special mattress. pic.twitter.com/vKI1iOvdfG
The former Mesa, Colorado Clerk who was in charge of administering the 2020 election in that county was sentenced today by Judge Matthew Barrett to a total of 9 years in prison for illegally hacking voting systems in her care and tampering with voting data.
Peters is a close ally and friend of Mike Lindell and was carrying out her efforts to attempt to prove that Donald Trump won the 2020 election due to fraud with voting machines. Despite being the person who facilitated, encouraged, and initiated Peters’s criminal conduct, Lindell was conspicuously absent from the hearing and did not speak on her behalf.
Peters was convicted by a jury in August of 7 of the 10 criminal counts against her. Peters allowed access to confidential voter data to private individuals affiliated with Lindell, one illegally entered into the offices using the identity of authorized software engineer with the county. The innocent person whose identity was stolen was under investigation for months because of Peters’ fraud.
Peters remained unrepentant and unapologetic during and after the trial, asserted that she did nothing wrong. Law enforcement investigators, prosecutors, a jury and a judge disagreed. After she was convicted, she claimed that the Deep State rigged her trial because the judge didn’t allow her to present evidence that people in Serbia rigged our 2020 election.
On some level you have to feel sorry for someone like this. She has been brainwashed by MAGA and she foolishly acted on the propaganda she received. On the other hand, this woman has shown herself to be a real piece of work.
A lot of people are paying for Donald Trump’s Big Lie. I wonder if they’re ever going to realize they were duped by the man who is still walking free and may never pay any price for it?
At Mar-a-Lago in 2022, Trump called Tina Peters a “rock star,” praised her work investigating his false election claims, and said he would look at endorsing her.
Peters was just sentenced to 9 years in prison for illegally hacking voting systems.
