rawstory--2020-02-04--Manchester Divided: A political history in 3 New Hampshire primaries

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If it is difficult to calculate the impact that a single primary can have on the trajectory of a nation , it was even harder to gauge a primary ’ s significance before the 1970s , when their results were so loosely tied to how candidates were nominated at party conventions .
So it ’ s important to consider those old contests with a pound of salt @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first-in-the-nation primary 100 years ago in 1920 , to the Granite State ’ s notably unique primary in 1952 .
Shaping the course of history At this point in 1952 , incumbent President Harry Truman was on the fence about seeking another term , and other big-name Dems were unwilling to succeed his increasingly unpopular presidency .
After deriding the contest ’ s significance , though , Truman entered his name into the New Hampshire primary .
At the same time , Dwight Eisenhower was extremely popular across the political spectrum .
Truman @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Forces general to run as a Democrat , but Eisenhower declined , feeling more aligned with the Republicans despite never having held elected office .
Meanwhile , the frontrunner for the GOP nomination was Robert A. Taft , an ardent conservative who ran in staunch opposition to the New Deal and supported a more isolationist foreign policy .
“ Tiny New Hampshire is normally little more than a speck on the politicians ’ map of the U.S. , ” Time wrote before the primary .
“ But last week politicians and pundits from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fine tuning to get a good , 21-in .
view of what is going on there .
On March 11 , New Hampshire will have the first presidential preference primary of 1952.
” Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver , a coonskin cap-donning progressive populist famous for campaigning on the back of a dogsled , defeated Truman with nearly 55 % of the vote .
Less than a month later , Truman formally declined an opportunity to seek the party ’ s nomination .
On the Republican side , Eisenhower coasted to victory , beating @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on to win 12 of the 15 primaries in 1952 .
But that didn ’ t help him at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago , where Illinois Gov .
Adlai Stevenson was recruited and nominated , despite not winning a single primary .
Taft and Eisenhower went on to split most of the remaining primaries .
Following a “ bitterly divided convention , ” Eisenhower narrowly emerged as the nominee .
With Richard Nixon as his running mate , the general went on to crush Stevenson in the general election .
Less @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the biggest landslide in American history , President Lyndon B. Johnson ’ s presidency was sputtering out of control .
The popularity of his ambitious “ Great Society ” domestic agenda was being bogged down by large-scale race riots at home and an increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam .
By the time of the New Hampshire primary , close to 1,000 Americans were being killed in Vietnam every month .
Six months after John F. Kennedy ’ s assassination , Johnson enjoyed approval ratings as high as 75 % .
By 1968 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Despite an emerging energized left , there was little support for unseating Johnson from the Democratic establishment .
Until New Hampshire … Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy emerged as the president ’ s lone challenger early in the Democratic primaries .
Running on an anti-war platform , McCarthy captured youth support , and invested much of his campaign ’ s resources on New Hampshire .
The student-led ground game in the Granite State took the region ( and the political world ) by storm .
With the nomination process traditionally driven by party machines @ @ @ @ @ @ @ state into a ground zero for an antiwar grassroots movement reimagined the function of electoral politics in America .
Activist Sam Brown worked as the top youth coordinator for the McCarthy campaign .
In The War Within by Tom Wells , Brown said working on the campaign gave him “ an opportunity and gave an excuse to walk up to people ’ s doors and say , ‘ Hi .
I ’ m Sam Brown .
I ’ m here because I ’ d like to talk to you about the war in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ result was a defeat on paper .
But McCarthy ’ s strong showing—securing 42 % of the vote—elevated his status as a viable candidate .
More significantly , it opened the floodgates of doubt over Johnson ’ s status .
Days later , Bobby Kennedy , then a senator from New York , joined the field against the incumbent .
On March 31 , less than a month after the close result in New Hampshire , Johnson declared in a televised address that , given the turmoil both domestically and abroad , “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will not accept , the nomination of my party for another term as your president.
” McCarthy and Kennedy went on to run a spirited campaign , splitting most of the 12 remaining states holding primaries in 1968 .
But the election process was tragically upended at the campaign ’ s end , when Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan after his win in California .
A legendarily chaotic and violent convention in Chicago ended with the Democratic Party nominating Vice President Hubert Humphrey , who had stayed out of the primary process @ @ @ @ @ @ @ general election to Eisenhower ’ s former VP Richard Nixon .
If any standout moment forecast the modern Republican Party ’ s lunge to the right , it was the 1992 New Hampshire primary .
It was the first time in the modern political alignment that an elected Republican president faced a challenger from his own party , putting establishment conservatism on trial at a time of economic instability .
President George H.W .
Bush had enjoyed strong approval ratings through most of his first three years in office .
But by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to plummet .
At the same time , Bush faced a conservative backlash for famously soiling his 1988 campaign pledge of “ no new taxes.
” Pat Buchanan launched his political career as a writer and adviser for Richard Nixon , devising his “ silent majority ” strategy to win over working-class voters uneasy with a radicalizing counterculture on the left .
He developed his right-wing credentials as a conservative commentator in the years after his political work .
“ My friends , we come to New Hampshire at a crossroads in our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ said .
“ [ Bush ] is yesterday and we are tomorrow .
He is a globalist and we are nationalists .
He believes in some Pax Universalis ; we believe in the Old Republic .
He would put American ’ s wealth and power at the service of some vague New World Order ; we will put America first.
” Buchanan ’ s populist attacks were met mostly with Bush ignoring his opponent ’ s existence .
But Bush campaigned hard in New Hampshire , and surrogate Arnold Schwarzenegger even managed to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , asking voters to “ send a message to Pat Buchanan : Hasta la vista , baby.
” After strong early results for the insurgent , Bush held on for a close win .
But only after Buchanan managed a respectable 38 % of the vote .
In the Democratic primary , meanwhile , Bill Clinton overcame rumors of an extramarital affair to run a strong second to Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas .
Clinton went on to win the nomination with ease .
Buchanan never outperformed his New Hampshire showing , but he @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the primaries , finishing with close to 3 million votes .
Buchanan endorsed Bush , and gave a hard-right repudiation of his Democratic opponent at the Republican convention in Houston .
“ Friends , this is radical feminism , ” Buchanan said in his convention speech .
“ The agenda Clinton & Clinton would impose on America—abortion on demand , a litmus test for the Supreme Court , homosexual rights , discrimination against religious schools , women in combat—that ’ s change , all right .
But it is not the kind @ @ @ @ @ @ @ not the kind of change America needs .
And it is not the kind of change we can tolerate in a nation that we still call God ’ s country.
” Clinton defeated Bush and independent Ross Perot in the general election .
This article was produced by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism as part of its Manchester Divided coverage of political activity around New Hampshire ’ s first-in-the-nation primary .
Follow our coverage @ BINJreports on Twitter and at binjonline.org/manchesterdivided , and if you want to see more citizens agenda-driven reporting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ article was paid for by Raw Story subscribers .
Not a subscriber ?
Try us and go ad-free for $ 1 .
Prefer to give a one-time tip ?
Click here .

Patrick Cochran, Boston Institute of NonProfit Journalism

If it is difficult to calculate the impact that a single primary can have on the trajectory of a nation, it was even harder to gauge a primary’s significance before the 1970s, when their results were so loosely tied to how candidates were nominated at party conventions. So it’s important to consider those old contests with a pound of salt, from the initial foray as the first-in-the-nation primary 100 years ago in 1920, to the Granite State’s notably unique primary in 1952.
Shaping the course of history
At this point in 1952, incumbent President Harry Truman was on the fence about seeking another term, and other big-name Dems were unwilling to succeed his increasingly unpopular presidency. After deriding the contest’s significance, though, Truman entered his name into the New Hampshire primary.
At the same time, Dwight Eisenhower was extremely popular across the political spectrum. Truman had attempted to recruit the former Allied Forces general to run as a Democrat, but Eisenhower declined, feeling more aligned with the Republicans despite never having held elected office.
Meanwhile, the frontrunner for the GOP nomination was Robert A. Taft, an ardent conservative who ran in staunch opposition to the New Deal and supported a more isolationist foreign policy.
“Tiny New Hampshire is normally little more than a speck on the politicians’ map of the U.S.,” Time wrote before the primary. “But last week politicians and pundits from coast to coast were carefully adjusting their fine tuning to get a good, 21-in. view of what is going on there. On March 11, New Hampshire will have the first presidential preference primary of 1952.”
On election day, both parties yielded stunning results.
Tennessee Sen. Estes Kefauver, a coonskin cap-donning progressive populist famous for campaigning on the back of a dogsled, defeated Truman with nearly 55% of the vote. Less than a month later, Truman formally declined an opportunity to seek the party’s nomination.
On the Republican side, Eisenhower coasted to victory, beating Taft by 25 points.
Kefauver went on to win 12 of the 15 primaries in 1952. But that didn’t help him at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago, where Illinois Gov. Adlai Stevenson was recruited and nominated, despite not winning a single primary.
Taft and Eisenhower went on to split most of the remaining primaries. Following a “bitterly divided convention,” Eisenhower narrowly emerged as the nominee. With Richard Nixon as his running mate, the general went on to crush Stevenson in the general election.
The antiwar primary
Less than four years after winning reelection in the biggest landslide in American history, President Lyndon B. Johnson’s presidency was sputtering out of control.
The popularity of his ambitious “Great Society” domestic agenda was being bogged down by large-scale race riots at home and an increasingly unpopular war in Vietnam. By the time of the New Hampshire primary, close to 1,000 Americans were being killed in Vietnam every month.
Six months after John F. Kennedy’s assassination, Johnson enjoyed approval ratings as high as 75%. By 1968, they had plummeted into the 30s.
Despite an emerging energized left, there was little support for unseating Johnson from the Democratic establishment. Until New Hampshire …
Minnesota Sen. Eugene McCarthy emerged as the president’s lone challenger early in the Democratic primaries. Running on an anti-war platform, McCarthy captured youth support, and invested much of his campaign’s resources on New Hampshire.
The student-led ground game in the Granite State took the region (and the political world) by storm.
With the nomination process traditionally driven by party machines and dealmakers, turning the first primary state into a ground zero for an antiwar grassroots movement reimagined the function of electoral politics in America.
Activist Sam Brown worked as the top youth coordinator for the McCarthy campaign. In The War Within by Tom Wells, Brown said working on the campaign gave him “an opportunity and gave an excuse to walk up to people’s doors and say, ‘Hi. I’m Sam Brown. I’m here because I’d like to talk to you about the war in Vietnam—and about Gene McCarthy.’”
The result was a defeat on paper. But McCarthy’s strong showing—securing 42% of the vote—elevated his status as a viable candidate. More significantly, it opened the floodgates of doubt over Johnson’s status.
Days later, Bobby Kennedy, then a senator from New York, joined the field against the incumbent. On March 31, less than a month after the close result in New Hampshire, Johnson declared in a televised address that, given the turmoil both domestically and abroad, “I shall not seek, and I will not accept, the nomination of my party for another term as your president.”
McCarthy and Kennedy went on to run a spirited campaign, splitting most of the 12 remaining states holding primaries in 1968. But the election process was tragically upended at the campaign’s end, when Kennedy was assassinated by Sirhan Sirhan after his win in California.
A legendarily chaotic and violent convention in Chicago ended with the Democratic Party nominating Vice President Hubert Humphrey, who had stayed out of the primary process altogether. Humphrey then lost a narrow general election to Eisenhower’s former VP Richard Nixon.
Dawn of a realignment
If any standout moment forecast the modern Republican Party’s lunge to the right, it was the 1992 New Hampshire primary. It was the first time in the modern political alignment that an elected Republican president faced a challenger from his own party, putting establishment conservatism on trial at a time of economic instability.
President George H.W. Bush had enjoyed strong approval ratings through most of his first three years in office. But by the fall of 1991, those numbers began to plummet. At the same time, Bush faced a conservative backlash for famously soiling his 1988 campaign pledge of “no new taxes.”
Pat Buchanan launched his political career as a writer and adviser for Richard Nixon, devising his “silent majority” strategy to win over working-class voters uneasy with a radicalizing counterculture on the left. He developed his right-wing credentials as a conservative commentator in the years after his political work.
In late 1991, Buchanan announced a challenge to Bush.
“My friends, we come to New Hampshire at a crossroads in our country’s history,” Buchanan said. “[Bush] is yesterday and we are tomorrow. He is a globalist and we are nationalists. He believes in some Pax Universalis; we believe in the Old Republic. He would put American’s wealth and power at the service of some vague New World Order; we will put America first.”
Buchanan’s populist attacks were met mostly with Bush ignoring his opponent’s existence.
But Bush campaigned hard in New Hampshire, and surrogate Arnold Schwarzenegger even managed to insert a cheesy swipe at the challenger, asking voters to “send a message to Pat Buchanan: Hasta la vista, baby.”
After strong early results for the insurgent, Bush held on for a close win. But only after Buchanan managed a respectable 38% of the vote.
In the Democratic primary, meanwhile, Bill Clinton overcame rumors of an extramarital affair to run a strong second to Massachusetts Sen. Paul Tsongas. Clinton went on to win the nomination with ease.
Buchanan never outperformed his New Hampshire showing, but he continued to run a respectably distant second through the primaries, finishing with close to 3 million votes.
Buchanan endorsed Bush, and gave a hard-right repudiation of his Democratic opponent at the Republican convention in Houston.
“Friends, this is radical feminism,” Buchanan said in his convention speech. “The agenda Clinton & Clinton would impose on America—abortion on demand, a litmus test for the Supreme Court, homosexual rights, discrimination against religious schools, women in combat—that’s change, all right. But it is not the kind of change America wants. It is not the kind of change America needs. And it is not the kind of change we can tolerate in a nation that we still call God’s country.”
Clinton defeated Bush and independent Ross Perot in the general election.
This article was produced by the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism as part of its Manchester Divided coverage of political activity around New Hampshire’s first-in-the-nation primary. Follow our coverage @BINJreports on Twitter and at binjonline.org/manchesterdivided, and if you want to see more citizens agenda-driven reporting you can contribute at givetobinj.org.


rawstory--2020-02-04--Susan Collins opposes censure of Trump because it wasn’t proposed earlier

Sen. Susan Collins on Tuesday announced she would be voting to acquit President Donald Trump .
Following her speech , @ @ @ @ @ According to Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis , Collins said she would not be considering censure @ @ @ @ @ earlier .
She also explained that she believes Trump has been reprimanded , even though @ @ @ @ @ vote to acquit on Wednesday .
Collins has been harshly criticized for her announcing she @ @ @ @ @ Trump accountable .

And the alleged perpetrators in both counties are facing felony charges.
The similarity of events in Mesa County and Coffee County were of particular interest to Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold, who has been vocal about the need for vigilance against “insider threats” to election systems. In response to the Georgia indictment, Griswold said such threats, as the nation heads into a new election year in which Trump is the leading GOP candidate for president, remain active.
“I strongly believe Coloradans and Americans deserve and need to know ongoing attempts to steal elections,” Griswold told Colorado Newsline.
The Georgia indictment, which came from a Fulton County grand jury, charged Trump and 18 members of his inner circle on 41 counts. Two defendants with Colorado ties are named in the indictment — Trump attorneys John Eastman, who at the time of the alleged criminal activity was a visiting scholar at the University of Colorado Boulder and currently represents the Colorado Republican Party in a lawsuit against Griswold, and Jenna Ellis, who until recently lived in Colorado and, though she was censured this year over election falsehoods, remains licensed to practice law in the state.
The indictment, which charges each of the defendants with racketeering, among other counts, says that after Trump lost the election the defendants “refused to accept that Trump lost, and they knowingly and willfully joined a conspiracy to unlawfully change the outcome of the election in favor of Trump.”
Part of that alleged conspiracy involved Misty Hampton, who in 2020 was the Coffee County elections supervisor. Starting on Jan. 7, 2021 — the day after the Jan. 6 insurrection — Hampton, Trump lawyer Sidney Powell and other co-conspirators broke into the county’s Dominion machines and improperly accessed voter data, according to the indictment. Hampton “allowed” co-conspirators into private areas of the elections office.
About four months later, then-Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters committed an almost identical criminal act, according to prosecutors. The Republican clerk allegedly allowed digital copies of the Mesa County election system server’s software and other sensitive information to be made and disseminated. The case against Peters began with an investigation by Griswold’s office.
Though different people are thought to have been involved in the Colorado and Georgia security breaches, the sweeping indictment out of Fulton County speaks of a wide-ranging conspiracy that involved alleged criminal acts “in other states” and 30 unindicted unnamed co-conspirators. Griswold noted that the breaches occurred as part of national election-denial efforts by figures such as MyPillow CEO Mike Lindell and former Overstock.com CEO Patrick Byrne, both of whom have ties to Peters. Byrne in a video appeared to acknowledge his own involvement in the Mesa County case.
“Make no mistake, there was a national conspiracy to breach Mesa County’s voting equipment. That has always been very clear. Patrick Byrne admitted his complicity on a video and posted it to Twitter,” Griswold said.
Asked if the Fulton County indictment had any bearing on the Peters case, which does not involve the kind of far-ranging racketeering charges brought in Georgia, Mesa County District Attorney Dan Rubinstein, whose office is prosecuting the case against Peters, wrote in a text, “We will not be amending our charges, as we want to avoid any further delays and are eager to get our case before a jury.”
Peters did not respond to a text seeking comment.
The parties are due in early September to establish a trial date.
Elbert County was also the site of an election system security breach facilitated by the county’s own top election official. In that case, Colorado election denier Shawn Smith, who was part of the Trump mob that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 and works on “election integrity” efforts for the Lindell-funded Cause of America, helped then-Clerk Dalls Schroeder, a Republican, copy sensitive voter information.
Similar security breaches also occurred in three Michigan counties.
Griswold, a Democrat, said such breaches don’t alter election outcomes. But they serve other purposes, such as spreading disinformation.
“I’m absolutely concerned,” Griswold said. “The purpose of the ‘big lie’ is to create chaos, and chaos is definitely part of local election administrators trying to undermine the election process from within. I am increasingly concerned all across the nation about insider threats.”
Colorado has taken steps, such as passage of Griswold-backed protections against “insider threats,” that put the state in a better position to maintain election security, she said.


rawstory--2020-03-30--Here’s why conservatives really oppose federal aid for the ‘undeserving’

There is a singular and profound question that tugs at the sleeve of even the most sober analyst pondering the federal response to coronavirus .
To wit , what the hell is it with these people ?
Although he ’ s since backed off the proposal Michael Gerson couldn ’ t figure out why Trump would decide to re-open the nation on Easter : Likewise , Paul Waldman is baffled by Lindsey Graham ’ s attacks on nurses : “ You know , the ones who right now are risking their lives to treat coronavirus patients , and are in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ because their hospitals have run out of protective gear.
” John Stoehr is equally befuddled by Graham , who was joined by Rick Scott , Tom Scott , and Ben Sasse in attacking the third coronavirus relief bill because it had the audacity to toss in a measly $ 600 extra in unemployment compensation .
John has a theory about conservative ideology behind the senators ’ performative opposition : It goes almost without saying that there ’ s more than a little connection between conservative economic ideology and conservative racial ideology .
Part @ @ @ @ @ @ @ opposition to the undeserving receiving federal largesse , with “ undeserving ” being more or less explicitly defined by skin tone , depending on who ’ s talking at the moment .
It ’ s possible to read the senators ’ rear-guard action as nothing more than an attempt to signal to the Trump-hoodooed base that their white bona fides were all in place , despite their inability to limit the bill ’ s direct relief to white working-class domestic automobile-driving Red Man chewers .
You can ’ t win ’ em all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ big city folks too , you know .
As deep as the scar of racism runs in American society , though , there ’ s something even deeper at work here .
Stoehr is right to point out the economic hierarchicalism that pervades this attitude .
Somewhere along the way , Republicans went from Reagan ’ s belief that maybe the government should step off the necks of the wealthy a little , to Trump ’ s brag that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it , to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ should reopen to save the stock market , even if it meant potentially hundreds of thousands of deaths .
Some of them really seem to believe that rich people are better than everybody else .
I suppose the “ to be fair ” part of this is to say that Congressional Republicans believe it ’ s important to fuel industries that employ thousands directly or provide the economic underpinnings of those who do , but this is a paper-thin rationalization .
The trade-off for taking care of average working people was always going @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the rich .
It doesn ’ t take much to work that out .
But where does the instinct for class warfare come from ?
I think Stoehr is right to frame his argument in religious terms : heavenly import , sacrilege , faith and ideology , which is faith ’ s steely cousin .
A number of years ago , I was chatting with the theologian Walter Brueggemann ’ s then-wife Mary on a Sunday morning .
She told me she ’ d been bemoaning some bit of racial egregiousness or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him why he thought people had to be this way .
“ There are two kinds of people in the world , ” he replied .
“ Those who don ’ t see an order to the universe , and those who really want to see one.
” That ’ s about the size of it .
Some people just want to know the names of all those they ’ re better than , to paraphrase a singer .
And some of them , like the current occupant of the Oval Office , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ game : either you ’ re on top , or you ’ re a loser .
There are no alternatives .
This kind of domination play runs counter to the stated teachings of most of the religions Americans subscribe to , but let ’ s not kid ourselves .
You can find elements of social and economic hierarchalism in all the major faiths , despite their loving concern for the neighbor .
For as long as humans have pondered God or gods , there have been those who have been willing to invoke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the top of the social heap .
In fact , as Brueggemann points out in his most famous book , faith in a god who doesn ’ t guarantee the social order is forever an anomaly .
This is where religion turns the corner into ideology , just at the cusp of moving from gratitude for the blessings one has received to thinking the less fortunate deserve to be that way .
I ’ ll leave it to readers to decide if this is a necessary development of faith , or a form @ @ @ @ @ @ @ about it is how naked it is .
Graham , the two Scotts , and Sasse have simply abandoned anything but the thinnest fig leaf of moral justification , and a mighty incoherent fig leaf at that .
It ’ s as if the good Lord found them in the garden chomping away on an apple and without bothering to stop chewing they responded , “ Buzz off , old man .
We ’ re worried about our donor base.
” What is wrong with these people ?
God knows .
This article @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
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Daniel Schultz, Religion Dispatches @ Raw Story

There is a singular and profound question that tugs at the sleeve of even the most sober analyst pondering the federal response to coronavirus. To wit, what the hell is it with these people? Although he's since backed off the proposal Michael Gerson couldn't figure out why Trump would decide to re-open the nation on Easter:
To be sacrilegious requires some recognition of what is actually sacred — a type of knowledge Trump has never displayed. To him, choosing Easter must have been like selecting Independence Day or Arbor Day or Groundhog Day — a useful date on which to hang a ploy.
Likewise, Paul Waldman is baffled by Lindsey Graham's attacks on nurses: "You know, the ones who right now are risking their lives to treat coronavirus patients, and are in some cases forced to wear trash bags because their hospitals have run out of protective gear."
John Stoehr is equally befuddled by Graham, who was joined by Rick Scott, Tom Scott, and Ben Sasse in attacking the third coronavirus relief bill because it had the audacity to toss in a measly $600 extra in unemployment compensation. John has a theory about conservative ideology behind the senators' performative opposition:
That interpretation is this: The rich can be trusted with public money, but not so everyone else. It’s OK to give Boeing tens of billions of dollars in relief aid. It’s OK to give corporations access to unlimited and cheap money from the Federal Reserve. But it’s not OK to give normal people an extra $600 a week, people who are at the same time being coaxed by billionaires into going back to work even at the risk of death.
It goes almost without saying that there's more than a little connection between conservative economic ideology and conservative racial ideology. Part of the performance in modern conservatism is opposition to the undeserving receiving federal largesse, with "undeserving" being more or less explicitly defined by skin tone, depending on who's talking at the moment.
It's possible to read the senators' rear-guard action as nothing more than an attempt to signal to the Trump-hoodooed base that their white bona fides were all in place, despite their inability to limit the bill's direct relief to white working-class domestic automobile-driving Red Man chewers. You can't win 'em all, sometimes you gotta help those big city folks too, you know.
As deep as the scar of racism runs in American society, though, there's something even deeper at work here. Stoehr is right to point out the economic hierarchicalism that pervades this attitude. Somewhere along the way, Republicans went from Reagan's belief that maybe the government should step off the necks of the wealthy a little, to Trump's brag that he could shoot someone on Fifth Avenue and get away with it, to the more up-to-date proclamation that the economy should reopen to save the stock market, even if it meant potentially hundreds of thousands of deaths. Some of them really seem to believe that rich people are better than everybody else.
I suppose the "to be fair" part of this is to say that Congressional Republicans believe it's important to fuel industries that employ thousands directly or provide the economic underpinnings of those who do, but this is a paper-thin rationalization. The trade-off for taking care of average working people was always going to be shoveling large stacks of cash at the rich. It doesn't take much to work that out.
But where does the instinct for class warfare come from? I think Stoehr is right to frame his argument in religious terms: heavenly import, sacrilege, faith and ideology, which is faith's steely cousin.
A number of years ago, I was chatting with the theologian Walter Brueggemann's then-wife Mary on a Sunday morning. She told me she'd been bemoaning some bit of racial egregiousness or another to her husband, and asked him why he thought people had to be this way. "There are two kinds of people in the world," he replied. "Those who don't see an order to the universe, and those who really want to see one."
That's about the size of it. Some people just want to know the names of all those they're better than, to paraphrase a singer. And some of them, like the current occupant of the Oval Office, see the world as a profoundly zero-sum game: either you're on top, or you're a loser. There are no alternatives.
This kind of domination play runs counter to the stated teachings of most of the religions Americans subscribe to, but let's not kid ourselves. You can find elements of social and economic hierarchalism in all the major faiths, despite their loving concern for the neighbor. For as long as humans have pondered God or gods, there have been those who have been willing to invoke the sacred to justify their position at the top of the social heap.
In fact, as Brueggemann points out in his most famous book, faith in a god who doesn't guarantee the social order is forever an anomaly. This is where religion turns the corner into ideology, just at the cusp of moving from gratitude for the blessings one has received to thinking the less fortunate deserve to be that way.
I'll leave it to readers to decide if this is a necessary development of faith, or a form of idolatry. The truly interesting thing about it is how naked it is. Graham, the two Scotts, and Sasse have simply abandoned anything but the thinnest fig leaf of moral justification, and a mighty incoherent fig leaf at that. It's as if the good Lord found them in the garden chomping away on an apple and without bothering to stop chewing they responded, "Buzz off, old man. We're worried about our donor base."
What is wrong with these people? God knows.


rawstory--2020-04-03--Jared Kushner ripped by NYT columnist: He will ‘get us all killed’ with his incompetence

On Thursday , writing for The New York Times , columnist Michelle Goldberg laid into President Donald Trump ’ s son-in-law Jared Kushner , who appeared at the day ’ s coronavirus press conference to blame states for the federal government ’ s slow response .
“ Reporting on the White House ’ s herky-jerky coronavirus response , Vanity Fair ’ s Gabriel Sherman has a quotation from Jared Kushner that should make all Americans , and particularly all New Yorkers , dizzy with terror , ” wrote Goldberg .
“ According to Sherman , when New York ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state would need 30,000 ventilators at the apex of the coronavirus outbreak , Kushner decided that Cuomo was being alarmist .
‘ I have all this data about I.C.U .
capacity , ’ Kushner reportedly said .
‘ I ’ m doing my own projections , and I ’ ve gotten a lot smarter about this .
New York doesn ’ t need all the ventilators . '
” “ Even now , it ’ s hard to believe that someone with as little expertise as Kushner could be so arrogant , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ succeeded at exactly three things in his life .
He was born to the right parents , married well and learned how to influence his father-in-law .
Most of his other endeavors — his biggest real estate deal , his foray into newspaper ownership , his attempt to broker a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians — have been failures.
” “ The journalist Andrea Bernstein looked closely at Kushner ’ s business record for her recent book ‘ American Oligarchs : The Kushners , the Trumps , and the Marriage @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to people on all sides of his real estate deals as well as those who worked with him at The New York Observer , the weekly newspaper he bought in 2006 , ” wrote Goldberg .
“ Kushner , Bernstein told me , ‘ really sees himself as a disrupter.
’ Again and again , she said , people who ’ d dealt with Kushner told her that whatever he did , he ‘ believed he could do it better than anybody else , and he had supreme confidence in his own abilities @ @ @ @ @ @ @ didn ’ t know what he was talking about . '
” “ It ’ s hard to overstate the extent to which this confidence is unearned , ” continued Goldberg .
“ Kushner was a reportedly mediocre student whose billionaire father appears to have bought him a place at Harvard .
Taking over the family real estate company after his father was sent to prison , Kushner paid $ 1.8 billion — a record , at the time — for a Manhattan skyscraper at the very top of the real estate market @ @ @ @ @ @ @ project became a crushing burden for the family business .
( Kushner was able to restructure the debt in 2011 , and in 2018 the project was bailed out by a Canadian asset management company with links to the government of Qatar . )
He gutted the once-great New York Observer , then made a failed attempt to create a national network of local politics websites.
” “ On Thursday , Governor Cuomo said that New York will run out of ventilators in six days , ” wrote Goldberg .
“ Perhaps Kushner @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I don ’ t think the federal government is in a position to provide ventilators to the extent the nation may need them , ’ Cuomo said .
‘ Assume you are on your own in life.
’ If not in life , certainly in this administration.
” You can read more here .

On Thursday, writing for The New York Times, columnist Michelle Goldberg laid into President Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner, who appeared at the day's coronavirus press conference to blame states for the federal government's slow response.
"Reporting on the White House’s herky-jerky coronavirus response, Vanity Fair’s Gabriel Sherman has a quotation from Jared Kushner that should make all Americans, and particularly all New Yorkers, dizzy with terror," wrote Goldberg. "According to Sherman, when New York’s governor, Andrew Cuomo, said that the state would need 30,000 ventilators at the apex of the coronavirus outbreak, Kushner decided that Cuomo was being alarmist. 'I have all this data about I.C.U. capacity,' Kushner reportedly said. 'I'm doing my own projections, and I've gotten a lot smarter about this. New York doesn’t need all the ventilators.'"
"Even now, it’s hard to believe that someone with as little expertise as Kushner could be so arrogant," wrote Goldberg. "Kushner has succeeded at exactly three things in his life. He was born to the right parents, married well and learned how to influence his father-in-law. Most of his other endeavors — his biggest real estate deal, his foray into newspaper ownership, his attempt to broker a peace deal between the Israelis and the Palestinians — have been failures."
"The journalist Andrea Bernstein looked closely at Kushner’s business record for her recent book 'American Oligarchs: The Kushners, the Trumps, and the Marriage of Money and Power,' speaking to people on all sides of his real estate deals as well as those who worked with him at The New York Observer, the weekly newspaper he bought in 2006," wrote Goldberg. "Kushner, Bernstein told me, 'really sees himself as a disrupter.' Again and again, she said, people who'd dealt with Kushner told her that whatever he did, he 'believed he could do it better than anybody else, and he had supreme confidence in his own abilities and his own judgment even when he didn't know what he was talking about.'"
"It’s hard to overstate the extent to which this confidence is unearned," continued Goldberg. "Kushner was a reportedly mediocre student whose billionaire father appears to have bought him a place at Harvard. Taking over the family real estate company after his father was sent to prison, Kushner paid $1.8 billion — a record, at the time — for a Manhattan skyscraper at the very top of the real estate market in 2007. The debt from that project became a crushing burden for the family business. (Kushner was able to restructure the debt in 2011, and in 2018 the project was bailed out by a Canadian asset management company with links to the government of Qatar.) He gutted the once-great New York Observer, then made a failed attempt to create a national network of local politics websites."
"On Thursday, Governor Cuomo said that New York will run out of ventilators in six days," wrote Goldberg. "Perhaps Kushner's projections were incorrect. 'I don’t think the federal government is in a position to provide ventilators to the extent the nation may need them,' Cuomo said. 'Assume you are on your own in life.' If not in life, certainly in this administration."
You can read more here.


rawstory--2020-04-03--Texas is next: Epidemiologist explains how the state acted too slowly on coronavirus

The state of Texas could be the next COVID-19 hotspot , an epidemiologist warned on Thursday .
“ California Gov @ @ @ @ @ sweeping statewide stay-at-home order on March 19 , ” ABC News reports .
“ On @ @ @ @ @ took a much slower approach , with Gov .
Greg Abbott finally instituting an order @ @ @ @ @ on March 31.
” “ I think Texas is going to be the next hot @ @ @ @ @ see the cases starting to increase , it is start of an exponential rise , @ @ @ @ @ “ Any intervention we do now will take weeks to see the impact , ” @ @ @

The state of Texas could be the next COVID-19 hotspot, an epidemiologist warned on Thursday.
"California Gov. Gavin Newsom issued a sweeping statewide stay-at-home order on March 19," ABC News reports. "On the other hand, Texas took a much slower approach, with Gov. Greg Abbott finally instituting an order to close all non-essential businesses on March 31."
ABC News interviewed Dr. John Brownstein, an epidemiologist at Boston Children’s Hospital.
"I think Texas is going to be the next hot spot. We can already see the cases starting to increase, it is start of an exponential rise," Dr. Brownstein explained.
"Any intervention we do now will take weeks to see the impact," he noted.


rawstory--2020-04-04--Walmart will limit number of shoppers allowed in stores during coronavirus pandemic

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Although Democrats control majorities in the state legislature, Oregon has special rules that require a supermajority of lawmakers be present for a quorum to conduct business. As a consequence, the Republican minority has power to block consideration of bills on everything from abortion to climate action by simply walking out of the Capitol and not attending the voting sessions, and they have done so repeatedly.
Tensions have flared up over this practice; in 2019, then-Gov. Kate Brown threatened to have state police round up and retrieve absent Republican lawmakers, prompting state Sen. Brian Boquist to threaten to shoot troopers who tried to do so.
After years of these stalemates, voters approved Measure 113 in 2022, which states that any lawmaker who has 10 or more unexcused absences will be prohibited from running for re-election. Even after the law was approved, Republicans continued to boycott meetings.
READ MORE: ‘They blew up my life’: Fox News, a hidden camera and threats to an Indiana school administrator.
The absent lawmakers have threatened to sue over Measure 113 if it is enforced, and recruited an attorney who has argued that the exact wording of the measure, saying it bars a re-election campaign "following the election after the member’s current term is completed," technically means they can still run, because re-election takes place during a member's "current" term, not after. Griffin-Valade, however, rejected this argument, saying that it runs contrary to the clear intent of the law.
According to the report, nine total Republican lawmakers would be barred from running under Measure 113, including state Senate Minority Leader Tim Knopp, as well as Boquist, who changed his party affiliation to independent in 2021. Six of those lawmakers, including Knopp and Boquist, have only one year left in their term.