dailykos--2020-11-30--Southwest Florida and the Rooney Record, Part I: The Man

It was the day before early voting began .
The Florida October sun shone warmly on the Collier County Fairgrounds as hundreds of supporters of candidate Donald Trump packed onto the dusty field and filled the bleachers .
As with all Trump rallies , the atmosphere was part carnival , part circus , an eruption of exuberant excitement for what all knew was a doomed candidate who was nonetheless going into the last days of battle full of defiant energy .
But before the candidate spoke there was a lineup of other personalities and politicians .
Among them was the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congressional District of Florida , businessman Francis Rooney .
“ Once again , for the second time , we get to welcome our Republican nominee for president who may be our savior : Donald Trump , ” Rooney said in his Oklahoma twang .
A slight figure in rolled-up shirtsleeves , he stood amidst a sea of Trump signs and “ Make America Great Again ” hats .
After reminding the crowd to vote , he went on : “ Now our nominee , Donald Trump , is the only thing standing between @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s a thin red line between us and Hillary Clinton.
” The crowd erupted in chants : “ Lock her up !
Lock her up !
” Rooney laughed and shouted , “ Yes , lock her up !
” Trump , said Rooney , was the only thing protecting them from “ three or four horrible Supreme Court nominees who are going to plague us , plague our kids and plague our grandkids for the rest of our lives.
” He was also the only barrier against “ invasive , oppressive regulations @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that are going to make it impossible for people to start businesses and raise families and prosper like we ’ ve all been able to do since the Reagan revolution.
” He continued : “ We ’ ve had eight years of nonstop trampling on our Constitution , an abuse of executive power .
Hillary Clinton buys into every word of the Obama deal .
He ’ s mocked , he ’ s mocked our traditional American values and sneered at conservative God-fearing Americans .
He ’ s stealing our rights—right before our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ emphatically , desperately , “ We are at the breaking point !
We ’ ve got to take our country back !
” The crowd roared .
At stake , he continued , was whether the United States would remain an exceptional nation of opportunity and freedom “ or are we going to go the way of Europe : slow growth , big government pessimism , no people have kids because they ’ re pessimistic or even worse .
Are we going to go the way of authoritarianism ?
” Southwest Florida , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ country and “ could change the game .
We ’ re the redder than red region ” and could deliver the state to the Republican Party and Donald Trump .
Then he urged everyone to vote .
He finished the speech to boisterous cheers .
Rooney went on to win his congressional race and Donald Trump astounded the world—and himself—by being elected the 45th President of the United States .
Exactly four years later , Rooney was still in Congress .
But now he was a heretic and a pariah , remote and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and accusation and in Congress disgraced and exiled from a key Party position .
Most of all , he had publicly renounced Donald Trump as his savior .
He had questioned the creed and the doctrine and the infallibility of the man he ’ d once praised as the only protection for American freedom .
And when Donald Trump was defeated , Rooney , alone of all his fellow local Republicans , reached out to Joe Biden , the victor , and congratulated him .
“ All Americans need to come together in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on social media .
“ Our nation will only be successful if the new administration is.
” This was praise for the man who was once at the top of the Obama administration that Rooney charged was bringing authoritarianism .
Francis Rooney ’ s journey from believer to heretic is a great story of American politics .
But there is more , because Rooney was an active member of Congress who did change some things in Southwest Florida and in the nation ’ s capital .
What he achieved and what he attempted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and assessed so that the good can be a foundation and the bad can be healed .
In this four-part series , The Paradise Progressive will examine Francis Rooney ’ s two terms in Congress and the legacy he leaves .
It is not only a story of one man ’ s odyssey , it also illustrates the extent and limitations of what a member of Congress from Southwest Florida can and can not do .
It illuminates the enduring issues that face the region .
Lastly , it is important that Southwest @ @ @ @ @ @ @ man who held the region ’ s highest elected federal position and his actions during his two terms in office .
It is a long way from Muscogee , Oklahoma to Naples , Florida but that dusty Oklahoma town is where Francis Rooney began his journey on Dec. 4 , 1953 .
Rooney was the eldest of Laurence Francis and Lucy Turner Rooney ’ s six children .
The young Rooney was raised in a devoutly Catholic family and embarked on an education that most remarkably stayed entirely within Washington , DC ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with Georgetown Preparatory School , Georgetown University ( Bachelor of Arts , 1975 ) and Georgetown University Law Center ( Juris Doctor , 1978 ) .
Rooney had the good fortune to be born into a fourth-generation construction business , the Manhattan Construction Company , which was founded by Laurence Rooney in 1896 when Oklahoma was still a territory .
Manhattan Construction grew with Oklahoma , building schools , courthouses and , after Oklahoma became a state in 1907 , constructing two capitol buildings as the state ’ s capital moved .
When @ @ @ @ @ @ @ producing more oil than anywhere else in the United States .
Once it became a state and automobiles came into common use the oil industry boomed , ancillary business exploded and Manhattan Construction thrived and expanded .
As eldest son , Rooney took the helm of Manhattan Construction and in 1984 founded Rooney Holdings in Naples , Fla .
The company formally purchased Manhattan Construction as a subsidiary and expanded into other businesses like investments , real estate , electronics and insurance .
In addition to bread and butter work on bridges , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the construction company won major , prestigious contracts for the presidential libraries of George H.W .
Bush and George W. Bush and the Capitol Visitors Center , an enormous underground facility that provides screening and security while guiding visitors into the US Capitol .
All this made Rooney very , very rich .
In 2018 , the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call estimated his personal net worth at $ 22.6 million but other estimates range much higher .
The website OpenSecrets.org estimated it as $ 74.3 million in 2017 .
Whatever its exact @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him to build a massive mansion , currently estimated to be worth $ 29 million , on the water in Naples ’ swanky Port Royal neighborhood .
There he lived with his wife Kathleen , two sons , Larry and Michael , and daughter Kathleen .
In addition to a variety of charities , Rooney was a major contributor to Republican causes , giving $ 1 million to Restore Our Future , the super political action committee ( PAC ) of Massachusetts Gov .
Mitt Romney and over $ 2 million to Florida @ @ @ @ @ @ @ PAC and numerous other candidates and committees .
He served other political causes , mainly in a fundraising capacity .
In another expression of his political conservatism , his company built the headquarters of the Koch brothers-funded Cato Institute think tank in Washington , DC .
In 2005 , Rooney was appointed ambassador to the Holy See , the diplomatic arm of the Vatican , by President George W. Bush .
Not only did the appointment make sense given Rooney ’ s education , faith and prodigious political donations , but Rooney had @ @ @ @ @ @ @ extensive international business dealings in Mexico , the Bahamas and Central America , where he was on the advisory board of the Panama Canal Authority .
From all accounts his three years as ambassador were successful—there were no major bilateral crises between the United States and the Vatican during his tenure—and he wrote a book about it and Vatican foreign policy called The Global Vatican .
After returning to the United States in 2008 , Rooney could have easily lived extremely well in Naples , tended to his businesses , donated to his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ private citizen .
But in 2016 came an opening for a seat in the United States Congress and Rooney decided to grab it .
When Republican Rep. Curt Clawson decided to step down after one term in Congress representing Florida ’ s 19th Congressional District , three men leapt into the breach : Chauncey Goss , the son of former Rep. Porter Goss , who had represented Southwest Florida in Congress from 1993 to 2004 ; Dan Bongino , a conservative commentator ; and Rooney .
The contest took place against the backdrop @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the angry , racist , demagogue and proud outsider , who kept smashing Republican establishment figures in primary after primary in his quest for the nomination .
In many ways , the 2016 Republican primary in Southwest Florida mirrored the national contest : an establishment scion of an entrenched family—Goss—was running against a populist , outsider businessman who proudly pointed out that he had no prior elected experience .
( Rooney conveniently downplayed his previous diplomatic service , his establishment academic credentials and the fact that he ’ d given generously to centrist @ @ @ @ @ @ @ like Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney . )
Rooney poured an estimated $ 4 million into the race , running television ads that touted his business prowess , lack of political baggage and commitment to “ conservative values.
” In the end , it paid off .
Rooney won the Aug. 30 primary with 52.7 percent of the vote against Goss ’ 29.9 percent and Bongino ’ s 17.4 percent .
Rooney closely allied himself with Donald Trump ’ s candidacy and attitudes .
It was during his run for the general election @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Collier County fairgrounds , praised him as a savior and called for Hillary Clinton to be locked up .
( Also sharing the stage at that rally—and immediately preceding Rooney as a speaker—was Byron Donalds , who was running for Florida state House District 80 . )
Rooney sailed on to a general election victory against Democrat Robert Neeld with 65.9 percent of the vote to Neeld ’ s 34.1 percent , a result reflective of the 19th Congressional District ’ s party registrations .
It was a smashing victory for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Against all expectations , Donald Trump had beaten the odds and become President .
Republicans took the House of Representatives and the US Senate .
Rooney would be going to the nation ’ s capital on behalf of Southwest Florida .
The world seemed the Republicans ’ oyster .
What kind of a pearl would it produce ?

The Paradise Progressive History November 29, 2020 8 Minutes
Nov. 29, 2020 by David Silverberg
It was the day before early voting began. The Florida October sun shone warmly on the Collier County Fairgrounds as hundreds of supporters of candidate Donald Trump packed onto the dusty field and filled the bleachers.
As with all Trump rallies, the atmosphere was part carnival, part circus, an eruption of exuberant excitement for what all knew was a doomed candidate who was nonetheless going into the last days of battle full of defiant energy.
But before the candidate spoke there was a lineup of other personalities and politicians. Among them was the Republican candidate for Congress for the 19th Congressional District of Florida, businessman Francis Rooney.
“Once again, for the second time, we get to welcome our Republican nominee for president who may be our savior: Donald Trump,” Rooney said in his Oklahoma twang. A slight figure in rolled-up shirtsleeves, he stood amidst a sea of Trump signs and “Make America Great Again” hats.
After reminding the crowd to vote, he went on: “Now our nominee, Donald Trump, is the only thing standing between us and Hillary Clinton. It’s a thin red line between us and Hillary Clinton.”
The crowd erupted in chants: “Lock her up! Lock her up!” Rooney laughed and shouted, “Yes, lock her up!”
Trump, said Rooney, was the only thing protecting them from “three or four horrible Supreme Court nominees who are going to plague us, plague our kids and plague our grandkids for the rest of our lives.” He was also the only barrier against “invasive, oppressive regulations” and “a bunch of taxes that are going to make it impossible for people to start businesses and raise families and prosper like we’ve all been able to do since the Reagan revolution.”
He continued: “We’ve had eight years of nonstop trampling on our Constitution, an abuse of executive power. Hillary Clinton buys into every word of the Obama deal. He’s mocked, he’s mocked our traditional American values and sneered at conservative God-fearing Americans. He’s stealing our rights—right before our eyes!”
Then he yelled, emphatically, desperately, “We are at the breaking point! We’ve got to take our country back!” The crowd roared.
At stake, he continued, was whether the United States would remain an exceptional nation of opportunity and freedom “or are we going to go the way of Europe: slow growth, big government pessimism, no people have kids because they’re pessimistic or even worse. Are we going to go the way of authoritarianism?”
Southwest Florida, he said, is God’s country and “could change the game. We’re the redder than red region” and could deliver the state to the Republican Party and Donald Trump. Then he urged everyone to vote.
He finished the speech to boisterous cheers.
That speech occurred on Oct. 23, 2016.
Rooney went on to win his congressional race and Donald Trump astounded the world—and himself—by being elected the 45th President of the United States.
Exactly four years later, Rooney was still in Congress. But now he was a heretic and a pariah, remote and removed from constituents, retiring amidst recrimination and accusation and in Congress disgraced and exiled from a key Party position.
Most of all, he had publicly renounced Donald Trump as his savior. He had questioned the creed and the doctrine and the infallibility of the man he’d once praised as the only protection for American freedom.
And when Donald Trump was defeated, Rooney, alone of all his fellow local Republicans, reached out to Joe Biden, the victor, and congratulated him. “All Americans need to come together in supporting President-elect Biden,” he wrote on social media. “Our nation will only be successful if the new administration is.” This was praise for the man who was once at the top of the Obama administration that Rooney charged was bringing authoritarianism.
Francis Rooney’s journey from believer to heretic is a great story of American politics.
But there is more, because Rooney was an active member of Congress who did change some things in Southwest Florida and in the nation’s capital. What he achieved and what he attempted to achieve need to be objectively evaluated and assessed so that the good can be a foundation and the bad can be healed.
In this four-part series, The Paradise Progressive will examine Francis Rooney’s two terms in Congress and the legacy he leaves. It is not only a story of one man’s odyssey, it also illustrates the extent and limitations of what a member of Congress from Southwest Florida can and cannot do. It illuminates the enduring issues that face the region. Lastly, it is important that Southwest Florida have a detailed history of the man who held the region’s highest elected federal position and his actions during his two terms in office.
(In a spirit of full disclosure, be aware that this author served as the communications director for Rooney’s 2018 Democratic opponent, David Holden and as such conducted and collected opposition research, helped formulate strategy and messaging and worked very hard to oust Rooney from his seat. But this current series is meant as an evaluation, not a settling of scores. It is intended to be rigorously, factually accurate and as dispassionate in its analysis as possible, while coming from a liberal, progressive political perspective. As part of the author’s due diligence and in a spirit of fairness, he reached out to Rep. Rooney’s office with over 30 questions seeking his input, reactions and insights and to give him the opportunity to present his viewpoint. No acknowledgement or response was received. All reporting was done from public sources.)
Oklahoma origins
It is a long way from Muscogee, Oklahoma to Naples, Florida but that dusty Oklahoma town is where Francis Rooney began his journey on Dec. 4, 1953.
Rooney was the eldest of Laurence Francis and Lucy Turner Rooney’s six children.
The young Rooney was raised in a devoutly Catholic family and embarked on an education that most remarkably stayed entirely within Washington, DC’s Jesuit Georgetown school system, starting with Georgetown Preparatory School, Georgetown University (Bachelor of Arts, 1975) and Georgetown University Law Center (Juris Doctor, 1978).
Rooney had the good fortune to be born into a fourth-generation construction business, the Manhattan Construction Company, which was founded by Laurence Rooney in 1896 when Oklahoma was still a territory.
Manhattan Construction grew with Oklahoma, building schools, courthouses and, after Oklahoma became a state in 1907, constructing two capitol buildings as the state’s capital moved. When it was a territory Oklahoma was already producing more oil than anywhere else in the United States. Once it became a state and automobiles came into common use the oil industry boomed, ancillary business exploded and Manhattan Construction thrived and expanded.
As eldest son, Rooney took the helm of Manhattan Construction and in 1984 founded Rooney Holdings in Naples, Fla. The company formally purchased Manhattan Construction as a subsidiary and expanded into other businesses like investments, real estate, electronics and insurance. In addition to bread and butter work on bridges, buildings, stadiums and oil pipelines, the construction company won major, prestigious contracts for the presidential libraries of George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush and the Capitol Visitors Center, an enormous underground facility that provides screening and security while guiding visitors into the US Capitol.
All this made Rooney very, very rich. In 2018, the Capitol Hill newspaper Roll Call estimated his personal net worth at $22.6 million but other estimates range much higher. The website OpenSecrets.org estimated it as $74.3 million in 2017. Whatever its exact figure, it was enough to enable him to build a massive mansion, currently estimated to be worth $29 million, on the water in Naples’ swanky Port Royal neighborhood. There he lived with his wife Kathleen, two sons, Larry and Michael, and daughter Kathleen.
In addition to a variety of charities, Rooney was a major contributor to Republican causes, giving $1 million to Restore Our Future, the super political action committee (PAC) of Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney and over $2 million to Florida Gov. Jeb Bush’s super PAC and numerous other candidates and committees. He served other political causes, mainly in a fundraising capacity. In another expression of his political conservatism, his company built the headquarters of the Koch brothers-funded Cato Institute think tank in Washington, DC.
In 2005, Rooney was appointed ambassador to the Holy See, the diplomatic arm of the Vatican, by President George W. Bush. Not only did the appointment make sense given Rooney’s education, faith and prodigious political donations, but Rooney had some experience of international relations given his extensive international business dealings in Mexico, the Bahamas and Central America, where he was on the advisory board of the Panama Canal Authority.
From all accounts his three years as ambassador were successful—there were no major bilateral crises between the United States and the Vatican during his tenure—and he wrote a book about it and Vatican foreign policy called The Global Vatican.
After returning to the United States in 2008, Rooney could have easily lived extremely well in Naples, tended to his businesses, donated to his charities, grown richer and remained a private citizen. But in 2016 came an opening for a seat in the United States Congress and Rooney decided to grab it.
Into the arena
When Republican Rep. Curt Clawson decided to step down after one term in Congress representing Florida’s 19th Congressional District, three men leapt into the breach: Chauncey Goss, the son of former Rep. Porter Goss, who had represented Southwest Florida in Congress from 1993 to 2004; Dan Bongino, a conservative commentator; and Rooney.
The contest took place against the backdrop of the rise of Donald Trump, the angry, racist, demagogue and proud outsider, who kept smashing Republican establishment figures in primary after primary in his quest for the nomination.
In many ways, the 2016 Republican primary in Southwest Florida mirrored the national contest: an establishment scion of an entrenched family—Goss—was running against a populist, outsider businessman who proudly pointed out that he had no prior elected experience. (Rooney conveniently downplayed his previous diplomatic service, his establishment academic credentials and the fact that he’d given generously to centrist Republicans being felled by Donald Trump, like Jeb Bush and Mitt Romney.)
Rooney poured an estimated $4 million into the race, running television ads that touted his business prowess, lack of political baggage and commitment to “conservative values.”
In the end, it paid off. Rooney won the Aug. 30 primary with 52.7 percent of the vote against Goss’ 29.9 percent and Bongino’s 17.4 percent.
Rooney closely allied himself with Donald Trump’s candidacy and attitudes. It was during his run for the general election that he shared the stage with Trump at the Collier County fairgrounds, praised him as a savior and called for Hillary Clinton to be locked up. (Also sharing the stage at that rally—and immediately preceding Rooney as a speaker—was Byron Donalds, who was running for Florida state House District 80.)
Rooney sailed on to a general election victory against Democrat Robert Neeld with 65.9 percent of the vote to Neeld’s 34.1 percent, a result reflective of the 19th Congressional District’s party registrations.
It was a smashing victory for all concerned, both locally and nationally. Against all expectations, Donald Trump had beaten the odds and become President. Republicans took the House of Representatives and the US Senate. Rooney would be going to the nation’s capital on behalf of Southwest Florida.
The world seemed the Republicans’ oyster. What kind of a pearl would it produce?
Coming Tuesday: The Believer
Coming Thursday: The Heretic
Coming Friday: The Legacy
Liberty lives in light
©2020 by David Silverberg


dailykos--2020-11-30--Is 2020 a Watershed?

Is 2020 a Watershed?

Maybe 2020 is a turning point – one that won ’ t be clearly visible until the future .
Maybe it marks the end of the four-decade epoch when the white evangelical “ religious right ” had enough power to tip American elections to the GOP .
White evangelicals fought fiercely for Republicans this year .
They gave about 80 percent of their votes to President Trump , and strongly favored conservatives in state elections .
These born-again fundamentalists have shrunk to only 15 percent of America ’ s population , yet they ’ re so politically intense that they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the polls .
Undoubtedly , they tipped some marginal states to the GOP , causing early Democratic consternation on election night .
But they couldn ’ t swing the whole nation .
And maybe – with the relentless decline of religion – they never can do so again .
Let us hope .
The rise and fall of right-wing , born-again politics is a significant episode in America ’ s history .
Until after World War II , many fundamentalists shunned government , choosing to ignore this world and focus on heaven @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – the most racist element of society , some research says – were jolted by several breakthroughs that threatened their vision of America as a Christian “ city on a hill ” favored by God .
Victories by the civil rights movement and integration of public schools upset conservative white believers .
So did the loss of tax exemption by Bob Jones University , a fundamentalist school that first banned blacks , then forbade interracial dating .
Removal of school prayer in the 1960s – followed by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision @ @ @ @ @ @ @ – and gays coming out of the closet – and the sexual revolution with racy magazines and Hollywood movies – and the end of censorship and “ blue laws ” – these and more made white evangelicals feel that their country had turned against them .
It drove them into politics .
First , evangelist Jerry Falwell launched the Moral Majority to mobilize redneck religion behind the Republican Party .
Then evangelist Pat Robertson followed with the Christian Coalition .
Election after election , born-again white faith was turned into a huge political @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spur this powerhouse to elect Ronald Reagan president in 1980 .
Later , it put George W. Bush into the White House .
In their heyday , by the 1990s , white evangelicals were one-fourth of America ’ s population .
Their soaring political clout meshed well with the “ southern strategy ” of former President Richard Nixon , who exploited Dixie racism to shift Sunbelt states to the GOP .
The combination of Jesus and white supremacy produced a conservative political juggernaut .
However , a demographic tide began to flow left @ @ @ @ @ @ @ People who say their faith is “ none ” became an amazing sociological phenomenon , suddenly doubling in the 1990s , then climbing rapidly to one-fourth of the populace .
Among young adults under forty , the churchless ratio is much higher .
This godless group generally holds compassionate , liberal political views and has become the biggest faith segment in the Democratic Party base .
Meanwhile , religion suffered relentless decline .
White evangelicals fell from one-fourth to only 15 percent of the public .
Respected “ mainline ” Protestants lost enormously @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pedophile scandals .
Rising ‘ nones ” and sinking born-agains have far-reaching political implications – boosting Democrats and eroding the GOP .
Numerous researchers have traced this sociological shift .
Was 2020 a watershed point , when the “ religious right ” slipped too far downhill to be a decisive factor in forthcoming elections ?
Keep your fingers crossed and hope that the future will confirm this blessed prospect .

Is 2020 a Watershed?
By James A. Haught
Maybe 2020 is a turning point – one that won’t be clearly visible until the future. Maybe it marks the end of the four-decade epoch when the white evangelical “religious right” had enough power to tip American elections to the GOP.
White evangelicals fought fiercely for Republicans this year. They gave about 80 percent of their votes to President Trump, and strongly favored conservatives in state elections. These born-again fundamentalists have shrunk to only 15 percent of America’s population, yet they’re so politically intense that they were 28 percent of voters who went to the polls. Undoubtedly, they tipped some marginal states to the GOP, causing early Democratic consternation on election night. But they couldn’t swing the whole nation. And maybe – with the relentless decline of religion – they never can do so again. Let us hope.
The rise and fall of right-wing, born-again politics is a significant episode in America’s history. Until after World War II, many fundamentalists shunned government, choosing to ignore this world and focus on heaven and hell instead. But white evangelicals – the most racist element of society, some research says – were jolted by several breakthroughs that threatened their vision of America as a Christian “city on a hill” favored by God.
Victories by the civil rights movement and integration of public schools upset conservative white believers. So did the loss of tax exemption by Bob Jones University, a fundamentalist school that first banned blacks, then forbade interracial dating.
Removal of school prayer in the 1960s – followed by the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision – coupled with the rise of feminism – and gays coming out of the closet – and the sexual revolution with racy magazines and Hollywood movies – and the end of censorship and “blue laws” – these and more made white evangelicals feel that their country had turned against them. It drove them into politics.
First, evangelist Jerry Falwell launched the Moral Majority to mobilize redneck religion behind the Republican Party. Then evangelist Pat Robertson followed with the Christian Coalition. Election after election, born-again white faith was turned into a huge political machine. GOP strategist Karl Rove helped spur this powerhouse to elect Ronald Reagan president in 1980. Later, it put George W. Bush into the White House.
In their heyday, by the 1990s, white evangelicals were one-fourth of America’s population. Their soaring political clout meshed well with the “southern strategy” of former President Richard Nixon, who exploited Dixie racism to shift Sunbelt states to the GOP. The combination of Jesus and white supremacy produced a conservative political juggernaut.
However, a demographic tide began to flow left. America started losing its religion. People who say their faith is “none” became an amazing sociological phenomenon, suddenly doubling in the 1990s, then climbing rapidly to one-fourth of the populace. Among young adults under forty, the churchless ratio is much higher. This godless group generally holds compassionate, liberal political views and has become the biggest faith segment in the Democratic Party base.
Meanwhile, religion suffered relentless decline. White evangelicals fell from one-fourth to only 15 percent of the public. Respected “mainline” Protestants lost enormously, and Catholics were battered by never-ending pedophile scandals.
Rising ‘nones” and sinking born-agains have far-reaching political implications – boosting Democrats and eroding the GOP. Numerous researchers have traced this sociological shift.
Was 2020 a watershed point, when the “religious right” slipped too far downhill to be a decisive factor in forthcoming elections? Keep your fingers crossed and hope that the future will confirm this blessed prospect.


dailykos--2020-12-01--Fifty Days with an A Hole - Good News Roundup, Bluesday, December 1st, 2020

Good Morning NNNE and thanks 4 bringing the GNR to DK on this DEC. 1 .
You ’ re right , only 50 days to go .
Its a gloomy prospect but looking back to Election day we knew it would be a 78 day transition , so we ’ ve made it better than 1/3 .
More importantly the Bunker Boy has utterly wasted 1/3 of his time left to rant , rage and fund-raise ( $ 170 million ?
?
? )
off of his post-election antics , whining , complaints and conspiracy theories .
( For complete @ @ @ @ @ @ @ who said the REAL reason Trump is re-instating the firing squad for executions is so WHEN he arrests Hillary , Chelsea , Joe , Jill , Hunter , Nancy , Chuck , the LT. Gov .
of PA , and the entire Georgia cabinet , he can run them through their show trials and get them stood up against a wall before January 20th…..when he starts his 2nd term .
TOLD YOU it was lunacy… ... ) All the time 45 has wasted on that means he has NOT started a nuclear war @ @ @ @ @ @ @ appointed Melania Chief Compassion Officer , or gotten in the way of the vaccine roll outs .
These are all GOOD THINGS ( albeit of a negative character ) and we ’ re still safe and here .
Now lets NOT point this out to him and tiptoe to the end of this week and take a few more days off the calendar…… > > » The Biden campaign announced they would like to have Neera Tanden serve as director of OMB ( Office of Management and Budget ) .
She is ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experienced and has some well-thought out plans of how we can move toward universal health care in the US ( her keyword is ‘ Medicare Extra ’ ( a public option with lots of muscular additions . )
Naturally , this means GOP Senators already say they will vote against her confirmation .
Unnaturally , this means vocal members of the political Left already say since it doesn ’ t enact every jot and tittle of ‘ Medicare For All ’ on January 21st of 2021 , and that it leaves health insurance @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Japan , Germany , France , England , Switzerland , etc . )
that they too oppose Tanden ’ s nomination .
SIgh…….there are days…… .
December 1st , freshly minted for your enjoyment and sprinkled with Good and Goofy days like snowflakes from prior December 1sts .
1135 London King Henry I ( Beauclerc ) of England died .
He had decreed that the standard linear measure of one foot be a third the length of his arm which was 36 inches .
( Dang .
If only he ’ d have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been 3.37 inches longer and then divided by 100 , we could have moved the metric system centuries ago . )
He was also the 1st known English king able to read .
( Latin ?
French ?
Lord knows how mangled written English might have been 70 years after the Norman invasion….. ) 1709 Hollescahu , Moravia ( now Czech Republic ) Birth of Franz Xaver Richter , composer .
Recalled as Frantisek in Czech and Francoise in France , was a versatile a composer as his forms of first name @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Mozart heard one of his masses and called a “ charming work ” -- -- a very unusual adjective for a Mass ) , he was classically trained in Vienna , although by whom and where has never been accurately determined .
But at about age 30 he received a post in the village of Kempten as kappelmeister .
Somewhere in there he traveled to Paris and had 12 of his symphonies published , moved to Mannheim as a singer , then still later to Strasbourg in France .
Produced over 80 symphonies @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Haydn-style ) , several church pieces and a body of chamber music , all more popular in England , France and Holland than in German quarters .
1870 Near San Francisco .
With a regular rotation of every 30 seconds , the Point Reyes Lighthouse came on station .
It was built on the foggiest point of the entire Pacific coast , and guided ships safely to San Francisco .
Stayed in service until 1975 .
1887 Across England .
As was customary , the came out today , with the typical collection @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the short stories included today was from the pen of Mr. A.C. Doyle .
It was a something of a mystery entitled and featured an intrepid detective named Sherlock Holmes .
It was the first appearance in print for both Doyle and Holmes .
Received enough notice that in 1891 a London magazine called ‘ The Strand ’ began publishing more of Holmes ’ adventures , making the detective into a phenomenon .
1891 Springfield , MA At the YMCA in town Dr. James Naismith , a Canadian and a teacher of physical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his charges in to try out a .
A janitor had been unable to find fruit boxes as Naismith had requested and instead had hung a peach basket ten feet up on each end wall .
So instead of being christened ‘ boxball ’ the game and sport has come down to us as ‘ basket-ball.
’ ( After each successful shot the game stopped while someone climbed a ladder to get the ball out the basket .
A few weeks later they knocked the bottoms out to give the game some flow @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Jersey Motion pictures had been around for a few years and the very earliest newsreels were getting started .
Still , once the novelty of seeing things captured in motion and reproduced wore off , interest flagged .
On this day Edwin Porter changed all that .
He was a cameraman for Thomas Edison ’ s photographic studio .
He put together a 12-minute film that featured 3 key elements combined for the first time : editing , a chase scene , and Western costumes : Porter shot many of the scenes in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ pairs of actors , but then cut and spliced them for certain effects .
This let him develop multiple plot ideas ( Will the robbers get the money ?
Will the railroad men fight them off ?
What about the damsel in distress ?
Is that handsome young man really a hero who might save the day ? )
One clip showed an outlaw in close-up pointing his pistol right at the camera lens .
Audiences screamed in fright that they were being shot as he pulled the trigger .
An industry ( @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and an art form were born .
1929 Atlanta , GA Although versions of a game called ‘ lotto ’ go back to Italy in the 1500s , the French started playing a game in the mid-1700s with cards with boxes on them arranged in 3 rows and nine columns , with numbers printed on some of the spaces .
A caller would call out numbers .
By the 1920s in America of Pittsburgh had designed a typical 5 x5 card with a free space in the middle .
On this day Edwin @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and was amazed how people would by bingo cards for a nickel apiece and sit down , hoping to win a kewpie doll or other silly item .
He printed up packs of 12 or 24 cards and sold them as ‘ lucky ’ , spreading the game far and wide .
Church basements and American Legion posts would never be the same .
1955 Montgomery , Alabama After rising racial tensions across the South , the nascent Civil Rights movement executes a plan .
42-year-old Rosa Parks , a seamstress and secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Montgomery NAACP , boards a city bus driven by She deliberately sits down in the “ white section ” of the bus and despite a request from a white , male passenger and then orders from Blake and some passengers , refuses to move to the back and sit in the “ colored ” section .
She is arrested , then bailed , then tried under a city segregation ordinance .
Touches off a year-long bus boycott by the black community ( over 1/3 of the ridership ) that shatters the finances of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city budget .
( Resurrects the Reconstruction-era streetcar boycotts that swept the South in the 1870s & 1880s , resulting in reserved seats by race in the first place . )
Watershed victory for Civil Rights and a long stride forward for America to live up to her ideals and live down her shame .
1987 Shores of the English Channel .
With bands playing and speeches and appropriate pomp and style and ceremonial shovels , French and British officials on this day , break ground for the “ Chunnel ” , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ England to Europe .
( This to overcome the last effects of the last Ice Age . )
The project as an idea has been around for centuries , but it took until now for both the politics and the engineering ability to align .
.
1990 After three solid years of digging to this day , British and French workers finally meet under both water and ground .
They knock through a passage in a service tunnel large enough to walk through and shake hands .
May all your News be good @ @ @ @ @

Hi everyone! Welcome to December. We know the republicans will continue to try to poison the country against incoming President Joe Biden. We’ll continue to resist their depredations. But, for the most part December will be all about counting down the days until sanity, coherence, empathy, honest, sobriety and pets return to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
The whiner-in-chief is still behaving badly. This will continue. Ho hum. He becomes more and more irrelevant every day. Arizona certified its vote yesterday. All the swing states have now certified their votes. The only thing tRump has succeeded at doing is displaying just how much of a petulant, selfish, boorish person he has been since his father first withheld affection. Of course, he’s trying to shoehorn in a few bits of last minute grifting that hopefully will include some extra indictments down the road.
The other thing going on in the NNNE household is we’ve got Georgia on our minds. I’ve sent Raphael and Jon a few rubles to help counteract the dirty money lined up behind the the shady traders (or traitors if you prefer). Perdue and Loeffler epitomize entitled snots who think they are exempt from following rules or ethical guidelines (Sound familiar?). Without tRump to drag the MAGAots off their couches and out of their meth labs, I’m guessing a lot of the republican carrion feeders will be staying home. We’ve still got a decent shot to emasculate McConnell this cycle. I wonder if Jone Ernst would be willing to do the honors. She’s bragged a lot about having the relevant experience.
Now that the media (including Fox) is making fun of tRump’s claims of voter fraud, the high anxiety or the last four years is dissipating even more. We’ll still have to work hard to undo the damage, but we’ve taken the first step to making our country whole again. Rest up a bit. Try to relax. Keep paying attention, but don’t let it consume you. In fifty days the world will be a much better place.
Tyrannis sedito. Sic semper tyrannis.
Up the Resistance
Let’s take a quick look a how a real president sounds while we wait for one to return to office.
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Let’s look at some headlines
On Wisconsin
Biden is becoming the winningest president in US history. He won on November 3rd and he’s reeled off a 39 and 1 record since. He’s got a better record in Pennsylvania than the Steelers and Eagles combined (although the Steelers are at this moment undefeated). He’s now won more often in Michigan than Ohio State. And so on...
Mother Jones: Trump Campaign Spends Millions—to Confirm Biden Won Wisconsin
The presidential election may be over, but the Trump campaign is fundraising like it’s 2019. Over the past 24 hours, 13 different email appeals from the campaign have flooded my inbox. In the weeks since the election, they’ve arrived almost like clockwork every two hours. Sometimes they offer a mystery gift. Other times, they criticize me for my lack of loyalty to the campaign, like this one from Eric Trump: The appeals are frantic, desperate calls to help fund the campaign’s legal efforts to “defend the election from the radical left, the FAKE NEWS media, and BIG TECH.” Of course, most of the money raised through such appeals will go to helping Trump retire campaign debt, of which he had more than $1 million as of October 14. But even if some of it really does go to Trump’s doomed efforts to overturn the election through litigation and recounts, potential donors might want to think twice about how the campaign is spending its resources before sending any money.
A View from the Right
I never thought I’d link to the National Review. But, what the hell, even the seat of what passes for conservative wisdom doesn’t think very much of Donnie’s shenannigans.
National Review: Trump’s Disgraceful Endgame
President Trump said the other day that he’d leave office if he loses the vote of the Electoral College on December 14. This is not the kind of assurance presidents of the United States typically need to make, but it was noteworthy given Trump’s disgraceful conduct since losing his bid for reelection to Joe Biden on November 3. ... Almost nothing that the Trump team has alleged has withstood the slightest scrutiny. In particular, it’s hard to find much that is remotely true in the president’s Twitter feed these days. It is full of already-debunked claims and crackpot conspiracy theories about Dominion voting systems. Over the weekend, he repeated the charge that 1.8 million mail-in ballots in Pennsylvania were mailed out, yet 2.6 million were ultimately tallied. In a rather elementary error, this compares the number of mail-ballots requested in the primary to the number of ballots counted in the general. A straight apples-to-apples comparison finds that 1.8 million mail-in ballots were requested in the primary and 1.5 million returned, while 3.1 million ballots were requested in the general and 2.6 million returned. Flawed and dishonest assertions like this pollute the public discourse and mislead good people who make the mistake of believing things said by the president of the United States.
Another One Gone
Good riddance to bad cess. May all the other charlatans, frauds, grifters, crooks, racists, bigots and (R)s not already mentioned currently befouling the halls of our government follow suit immediately.
CNN: Dr. Scott Atlas resigns from Trump administration
Washington (CNN)Dr. Scott Atlas, a highly controversial member of the White House's coronavirus task force, has resigned from his post in the Trump administration. A source familiar with what happened told CNN that Atlas turned in his resignation letter to President Donald Trump on Monday. As a special government employee, Atlas had a 130-day window in which he could serve and that window was technically coming to a close this week. Atlas tweeted out a photo of his resignation letter later Monday. In the letter, he said his "advice was always focused on minimizing all the harms from both the pandemic and the structural policies themselves, especially to the working class and the poor." "I sincerely wish the new team all the best as they guide the nation through these trying, polarized times," he wrote, apparently referring to President-elect Joe Biden's incoming coronavirus team.
Remember This Asshole?
There’s a real chickens coming home to roost vibe about what’s happening at the NRA. From my point of view they can’t implode fast enough.
Rolling Stone: NRA Chief Pays Back $300,000 in Illicit Gains: Report
National Rifle Association CEO Wayne LaPierre has returned nearly $300,000 to the gun group, in repayment of illicit personal gains, according to an explosive report in the Washington Post. The Post details new tax filings, obtained from the NRA, in which the gun group reportedly admits to a “significant diversion of its assets” — including in the form of “excess benefits” paid out to LaPierre and a handful of other officers. According to the Post, that term is used by the IRS “to describe executives’ enriching themselves at the expense of a nonprofit.” The money returned by La Pierre reportedly covers personal travel expenses from 2015 to 2019 that were billed to the gun group. The documents do not detail the specific trips in question nor when LaPierre paid the money back. Despite the eye-popping six-figure sum, a spokesperson for the NRA made clear that LaPierre’s overall travel budget was much larger, and insisted “the vast majority of Mr. LaPierre’s travel was undertaken in strict compliance with NRA policy.” The new NRA disclosures appear to constitute a formal admission of financial mismanagement, which the gun group had denied under months of mounting pressure. In August, following a lengthy investigation, Letitia James, the Attorney General of New York, filed a civil suit seeking to dissolve the organization, alleging the NRA had grown rotten from “a culture of self-dealing, mismanagement, and negligent oversight.” To James’s mind, LaPierre’s repayment represents a drop in the bucket. She told the Post that the $300,000 is “just a fraction of the millions he personally profited from,” and she accused LaPierre and his deputies of having raided “NRA coffers to fund lavish lifestyles that included private jets, pricey vacations, expensive meals and no-show contracts.” The Wall Street Journal recently reported that LaPierre is being investigated by the IRS for “possible criminal tax fraud related to his personal taxes.” LaPierre declined to comment to the Post.
A Little Bit of Andy
It wouldn’t be an NNNE GNR without some sarcasm from Andy Borowitz.
The New Yorker: The Borowitz Report: Trump Tries to Prove He Is Fitter Than Biden by Playing Fetch with Pence on White House Lawn
WASHINGTON (The Borowitz Report)—In an attempt to demonstrate that he is in better physical condition than President-elect Joe Biden, Donald J. Trump spent part of Monday morning playing fetch with Mike Pence on the White House lawn. The press corps was invited to the event, at which Trump, seated on a golf cart, hurled tennis ball after tennis ball at his Vice-President, who obediently retrieved them. At one point in the demonstration, Pence paused to praise his boss’s “amazing stamina.”
Real Good News
This is just plain great news. I hope they can bring it to the masses soon.
Good News Network: Revolutionary CRISPR-based Genome Editing System Destroys Cancer Cells ‘Permanently’ in Lab
Researchers at Tel Aviv University have demonstrated that the CRISPR genome editing system is very effective in treating metastatic cancers, a significant step on the way to finding a cure for cancer. In a paper published this week, the researchers demonstrated a novel lipid nanoparticle-based delivery system that specifically targets cancer cells—and co-author Prof. Dan Peer said it’s the first study in the world to prove that the CRISPR/Cas9 can be used to treat cancer effectively in a living animal. “It must be emphasized that this is not chemotherapy. There are no side effects, and a cancer cell treated in this way will never become active again,” said Peer, the VP for R&D and Head of the Laboratory of Precision Nanomedicine at the Shmunis School of Biomedicine and Cancer Research.
Musical Interlude
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WineRev’s History Lesson
Our resident history professor’s always interesting history lesson will appear here as soon as I notice he’s posted it in the comment section. Until then look for it in the comment section.
Take it away, WineRev!
Good Morning NNNE and thanks 4 bringing the GNR to DK on this DEC. 1. You’re right, only 50 days to go. Its a gloomy prospect but looking back to Election day we knew it would be a 78 day transition, so we’ve made it better than 1/3. More importantly the Bunker Boy has utterly wasted 1/3 of his time left to rant, rage and fund-raise ($170 million???) off of his post-election antics, whining, complaints and conspiracy theories. (For complete lunacy, I liked the one wacko who said the REAL reason Trump is re-instating the firing squad for executions is so WHEN he arrests Hillary, Chelsea, Joe, Jill, Hunter, Nancy, Chuck, the LT. Gov. of PA, and the entire Georgia cabinet, he can run them through their show trials and get them stood up against a wall before January 20th…..when he starts his 2nd term. TOLD YOU it was lunacy…...) All the time 45 has wasted on that means he has NOT started a nuclear war, painted the White House gold, appointed Melania Chief Compassion Officer, or gotten in the way of the vaccine roll outs. These are all GOOD THINGS (albeit of a negative character) and we’re still safe and here. Now lets NOT point this out to him and tiptoe to the end of this week and take a few more days off the calendar…… >>» The Biden campaign announced they would like to have Neera Tanden serve as director of OMB (Office of Management and Budget). She is (of course) well-credentialed, competent and experienced and has some well-thought out plans of how we can move toward universal health care in the US (her keyword is ‘Medicare Extra’ (a public option with lots of muscular additions.) Naturally, this means GOP Senators already say they will vote against her confirmation. Unnaturally, this means vocal members of the political Left already say since it doesn’t enact every jot and tittle of ‘Medicare For All’ on January 21st of 2021, and that it leaves health insurance companies in existance (just like in Japan, Germany, France, England, Switzerland, etc.) that they too oppose Tanden’s nomination. SIgh…….there are days……. December 1st, freshly minted for your enjoyment and sprinkled with Good and Goofy days like snowflakes from prior December 1sts. 1135 London King Henry I (Beauclerc) of England died. He had decreed that the standard linear measure of one foot be a third the length of his arm which was 36 inches. (Dang. If only he’d have been taller, so his arm would have been 3.37 inches longer and then divided by 100, we could have moved the metric system centuries ago.) He was also the 1st known English king able to read. (Latin? French? Lord knows how mangled written English might have been 70 years after the Norman invasion…..) 1709 Hollescahu, Moravia (now Czech Republic) Birth of Franz Xaver Richter, composer. Recalled as Frantisek in Czech and Francoise in France, was a versatile a composer as his forms of first name. Noted for his church music (Mozart heard one of his masses and called a “charming work”----a very unusual adjective for a Mass), he was classically trained in Vienna, although by whom and where has never been accurately determined. But at about age 30 he received a post in the village of Kempten as kappelmeister. Somewhere in there he traveled to Paris and had 12 of his symphonies published, moved to Mannheim as a singer, then still later to Strasbourg in France. Produced over 80 symphonies in all (of the shorter, Haydn-style), several church pieces and a body of chamber music, all more popular in England, France and Holland than in German quarters. 1870 Near San Francisco. With a regular rotation of every 30 seconds, the Point Reyes Lighthouse came on station. It was built on the foggiest point of the entire Pacific coast, and guided ships safely to San Francisco. Stayed in service until 1975. 1887 Across England. As was customary, the Beeton’s Christmas Annual came out today, with the typical collection of stories and advertisements. One of the short stories included today was from the pen of Mr. A.C. Doyle. It was a something of a mystery entitled “A Study in Scarlet” and featured an intrepid detective named Sherlock Holmes. It was the first appearance in print for both Doyle and Holmes. Received enough notice that in 1891 a London magazine called ‘The Strand’ began publishing more of Holmes’ adventures, making the detective into a phenomenon. 1891 Springfield, MA At the YMCA in town Dr. James Naismith, a Canadian and a teacher of physical education at a local academy, brought his charges in to try out a new game Naismith had invented . A janitor had been unable to find fruit boxes as Naismith had requested and instead had hung a peach basket ten feet up on each end wall. So instead of being christened ‘boxball’ the game and sport has come down to us as ‘basket-ball.’ (After each successful shot the game stopped while someone climbed a ladder to get the ball out the basket. A few weeks later they knocked the bottoms out to give the game some flow.) 1903 Menlo Park, New Jersey Motion pictures had been around for a few years and the very earliest newsreels were getting started. Still, once the novelty of seeing things captured in motion and reproduced wore off, interest flagged. On this day Edwin Porter changed all that. He was a cameraman for Thomas Edison’s photographic studio. He put together a 12-minute film that featured 3 key elements combined for the first time: editing, a chase scene, and Western costumes: "The Great Train Robbery," Porter shot many of the scenes in one go along with several close-ups and pairs of actors, but then cut and spliced them for certain effects. This let him develop multiple plot ideas (Will the robbers get the money? Will the railroad men fight them off? What about the damsel in distress? Is that handsome young man really a hero who might save the day?) One clip showed an outlaw in close-up pointing his pistol right at the camera lens. Audiences screamed in fright that they were being shot as he pulled the trigger. An industry (Nickelodeons went from dying to thriving) and an art form were born. 1929 Atlanta, GA Although versions of a game called ‘lotto’ go back to Italy in the 1500s, the French started playing a game in the mid-1700s with cards with boxes on them arranged in 3 rows and nine columns, with numbers printed on some of the spaces. A caller would call out numbers. By the 1920s in America Hugh Ward of Pittsburgh had designed a typical 5 x5 card with a free space in the middle. On this day Edwin Lowe went to a carnival in Atlanta and was amazed how people would by bingo cards for a nickel apiece and sit down, hoping to win a kewpie doll or other silly item. He printed up packs of 12 or 24 cards and sold them as ‘lucky’, spreading the game far and wide. Church basements and American Legion posts would never be the same. 1955 Montgomery, Alabama After rising racial tensions across the South, the nascent Civil Rights movement executes a plan. 42-year-old Rosa Parks, a seamstress and secretary as well as a member of the Montgomery NAACP, boards a city bus driven by James Blake. She deliberately sits down in the “white section” of the bus and despite a request from a white, male passenger and then orders from Blake and some passengers, refuses to move to the back and sit in the “colored” section. She is arrested, then bailed, then tried under a city segregation ordinance. Touches off a year-long bus boycott by the black community (over 1/3 of the ridership) that shatters the finances of the bus company and wreaks havoc with the city budget. (Resurrects the Reconstruction-era streetcar boycotts that swept the South in the 1870s & 1880s, resulting in reserved seats by race in the first place.) Watershed victory for Civil Rights and a long stride forward for America to live up to her ideals and live down her shame. 1987 Shores of the English Channel. With bands playing and speeches and appropriate pomp and style and ceremonial shovels, French and British officials on this day, break ground for the “Chunnel”, a train and road tunnel to connect England to Europe. (This to overcome the last effects of the last Ice Age.) The project as an idea has been around for centuries, but it took until now for both the politics and the engineering ability to align. Double Header Date and Same Entry . 1990 After three solid years of digging to this day, British and French workers finally meet under both water and ground. They knock through a passage in a service tunnel large enough to walk through and shake hands. May all your News be good, comforting and inspiring. Shalom.
On the Lighter Side
Quote(s) of the Day I will remember this, thought Ender, when I am defeated. To keep dignity, and give honor where it's due, so that defeat is not disgrace. And I hope I don't have to do it often. ― Orson Scott Card, Ender’s Game I never thought of losing, but now that it's happened, the only thing is to do it right. That's my obligation to all the people who believe in me. We all have to take defeats in life. ― Muhammad Ali Anyone can deal with victory. Only the mighty can bear defeat. ― Adolf Hitler Required Pet Photo I’m looking down on creation and urging you to get a move on. Closing Notes