We. Would. CRY.: US Politics, July 2022

94 percent of Democrats under the age of 30 said they would prefer a different presidential nominee.

And we'll probably get Hillary again.

Bernie Sanders punches through the top of straw boater campaign hat.

Hi, it me, #youthvote observer for 15+ years. Two truths:

1) @JoeBiden is unpopular with young people, and he should do more on climate, abortion, economy, debt to help fix.

2) @JoeBiden was just as unpopular in Feb 2020 w/ youth as he is today. NYT poll is not new info. https://t.co/shD4iRfiRt pic.twitter.com/FURU1FFswy

— Ben Wessel (@BenWessel) July 11, 2022

The 45% approval for the first six months when he was actually President might be a more useful reference point than when he was losing in Iowa, though.

eh, depends on whether you're going into an election or not.

"He should do more on climate, abortion, economy, debt"

Like what? He's been neutered by his own party.

Idk seems like he could do more to steer his party in the right direction, Trump seemed to have no problem doing so

except when it came to repealing Obamacare

Idk seems like he could do more to steer his party in the right direction, Trump seemed to have no problem doing so

― frogbs, Monday, July 11, 2022

selectively lowering taxes for the rich and fucking everyone else, energizing a game show-level concept of politics, consistently working to undermine democracy, and deliberately exacerbating political conflict is not steering the party in the right direction, though

well depends what you mean by right

A Fulton County judge ordered U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., to testify before a special grand jury in Fulton County next month.

Graham is one of eight people jury members subpoenaed last week. Graham said he would fight the subpoena.

On Monday, the judge declared Graham a “necessary witness” to the investigation.

This is another step in a long legal process of getting Graham down from Washington to testify.

That new order says the grand jury needs to hear about Graham’s two alleged phone calls to Georgia’s secretary of state, Brad Raffensperger.

In the order, Fulton County Superior Judge Robert McBurney said the “court finds that Lindsey Graham is a necessary and material witness” in the special grand jury’s investigation into potential criminal interference in Georgia’s 2020 election.

The new order also requires Graham to come testify in August.

The grand jury subpoenaed Graham at the same time it also subpoenaed former Trump attorney Rudy Giuliani and others who were at a December 2020 state Senate subcommittee hearing.

“Excuse me, Mr. Mayor. Can you talk about what you’re going to testify about today?” Channel 2 political reporter Richard Elliot asked Giuliani at the time.

“Not right now,” Giuliani said.

Good thread on the limitations of Pete Buttigieg (or anyone else) going on Fox.

1/ So, I just want to point something out about Sec. Buttigieg's answer on Fox News Sunday yesterday. The good one that is making the rounds today.

Yes, it was a good answer. But, I think what most people don't realize is what happens after an answer like that...

— Angelo Carusone (@GoAngelo) July 12, 2022

What is Lindsey's argument against testifying? Is it literally just "But I would drop myself in it because I did big crimes"?

i'm pretty sure his excuse is whatever the republican word for the phrase "cosa nostra" would be these days

Yeah, got me. He can't even cite executive privilege (I mean, he *did*, but ...) because he reportedly said around the time that he was working in his capacity as a senator! So who knows. As always, until any of these subpoenas are actually enforced he can probably just run out the clock. Personally, if I had known subpoenas were actually optional I would have gotten a lot more crimes done in my lifetime.

I think he' trying to hang his hat (or his whatever) on the Speech and Debate Clause of Article I of the Constitution.

*he's

America needs more Japanese style political engagement.

Well, Liz Cheney does come from a line of politicians prone to popping people in the face ...

Some of these lunatics, Flynn, Powell, Pillow guy, people like that, I don't understand how they are even able to function without, I don't know, falling into a manhole, sticking a fork in an outlet, or shooting themselves in the foot (literally) or something.

Pillow guy surrounded by pillows at all times, iirc.

Man, all these online fuckos...

the Back the Blue people, everyone pic.twitter.com/5T2JrtULar

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) July 12, 2022

New RATM lyrics just dropped

Lol Josh

whoops

Liz Cheney says Trump tried to call someone after the last Jan 6 hearing (she didn't name the person, but said they hadn't yet appeared publicly). This person didn't answer, but told their lawyer, who told the committee, who told the DOJ 👀

— David Mack (@davidmackau) July 12, 2022

there was a moment maybe 40-50 minutes in where Sidney Powell answers a question and goes for her Diet Dr. Pepper that was hilarious.

Biden nominates 5 new judges; does not nominate the anti-abortion judge everybody was pissed about

U.S. President Joe Biden on Tuesday nominated five new federal judges, but did not at this time move forward with a plan opposed by a growing number of Democrats and progressives to appoint a Republican abortion opponent to a judgeship in Kentucky.

The latest nominees include Cindy Chung, a prosecutor Biden previously picked to serve as the U.S. attorney for Pittsburgh and is now seeking to make the first Asian American ever on the Philadelphia-based the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

Biden also named four nominees for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, including two state court judges in Philadelphia who previously worked as public defenders representing indigent defendants.

Those two nominees are Judges Mia Perez and Kai Scott. The other two nominees are Kelley Hodge, a partner at the law firm Fox Rothschild, and John Murphy, a partner at Baker & Hostetler.

Not on Biden's latest nominees list was Chad Meredith, a Republican former Kentucky solicitor general who the White House planned on June 24 to nominate to a judgeship despite his record defending abortion restrictions.

Latest update of this, w mention at the end of stuff already somewhere on the public record---but several striking excerpts, in hearings and this summary, nonetheless:

The hearing on Tuesday focused on the loose affiliations between Trump, his informal political advisers, and members of far-right militia groups like the Oath Keepers and the Proud Boys.
The committee walked through snippets of witness depositions, court documents, previously unseen emails and other materials, to make the case that Trump coyly courted these militants and saw them as his troops on the ground, to pressure Congress to overturn the 2020 election.

Stephen Ayres looks like what happens if Joe Pera's character gets inevitably radicalized by his girlfriend.

so uh is Trump actively tampering with witnesses? fuckin hell, he's just begging to get thrown in jail, knowing it'll never happen

Maybe he just accidentally butt tampered them.

lol, the fuck?

.@jaketapper: "One doesn't have to be brilliant to attempt a coup."
John Bolton: "I disagree with that, as someone who has helped planned coups d'etat—not here, but you know, other places—it takes a lot of work." pic.twitter.com/y07V1Fo81y

— Natasha Bertrand (@NatashaBertrand) July 12, 2022

lol

And this dude, I don't know what his deal really is, and don't really care, but at the very least this indicates he's the rare person in this whole imbroglio who has been getting good advice, legal or otherwise:

Another extraordinary moment: Stephen Ayres approached former USCP Dunn, Fanone, Gonnell - and apologized: pic.twitter.com/GBqJ5yIqJt

— Jacqueline Alemany (@JaxAlemany) July 12, 2022

We completely disavow groups like the Oath Keepers and in no way condone their hateful ideology.

— DESCENDENTS (@descendents) July 12, 2022

they're just squares going nowhere (but jail)

I’m only part way through this hearing but

THEY HAD AN INSURRECTION WEBSITE

lmao she rules

https://t.co/n33j69IORv pic.twitter.com/ZK3RFVXeMo

— Ilhan Omar (@IlhanMN) July 12, 2022

CIA agent mad that Bolton is stealing coup valor. beautiful https://t.co/Z2nBvLot35

— Alex Press (@alexnpress) July 12, 2022

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLQ8Xbau9dk

Why the fuck is Louis DeJoy still at the Post Office?

Because of how hard it is to remove him

It was my understanding that excuse no longer holds water as they actually have the votes now to remove him. Instead Biden’s wife did a photo-op with him to introduce the Nancy Reagan stamp.

picked by governors right? it’s not a position on par w a Justice obv, but they really got a special type of guy in there huh

The votes on the USPS board, that is.

In case you wanted to quote today’s hearing

https://www.npr.org/2022/07/12/1111123258/jan-6-committee-hearing-transcript?fbclid=IwAR0QIpSYYFGSNPibb64GonmPfSlbv_CQDnDVlU-jFCUEwAtAuwmMu_DVA58

A keeper re: the Oath Keepers: "I think we need to quit mincing words and just talk about truths, and what it was going to be was an armed revolution. I mean, people died that day. Law enforcement officers died this day. There was a gallows set up in front of the Capitol. This could have been the spark that started a new civil war, and no one would have won there. That would have been good for no one."

Good for no one but the ratings, amirite?

Not quite that simple, though Biden did make strategic nominees that could make it eventually happen. But he can't do it himself

https://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/amp/shows/maddow/blog/rcna28689