Kevin Koster commented on Hannity Angers His Former Colleagues By ‘Offering’ Bill O’Reilly ‘Go Back On Fox’
2019-11-29 18:59:15 -0500
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Bill O’Reilly is desperate to regain the perch he had at Fox News. He would love to be able to have a “triumphant return”, do another couple of seasons of his show and then assume the “elder statesman” position he’s been coveting for the past 5 years. So his pose of “Oh I don’t want to deal with Fox anymore” is a front. Put it this way – do you believe O’Reilly would rather be spending his days vlogging and having to beg for airtime from Glenn Beck, Newsmax and especially from Hannity? Back in the day, O’Reilly and Hannity were known to despise each other, as each thought they were the main guy at Fox News. It has to irk O’Reilly that he now must beg Hannity to include him on his radio show (and occasionally on his Fox News show), and I’m sure it irked him that Hannity made that comment.
O’Reilly didn’t just commit sexual harassment. He was a repeat offender who refused to change his ways, even after Fox News had paid out over 10 million dollars to settle multiple complaints. Granted, this culture started at the top with Roger Ailes, but O’Reilly took full advantage of the opportunity to harass to his heart’s content. O’Reilly wasn’t alone in this (The disgraced Eric Bolling comes to mind), but he appears to have been the most consistent in his terrible treatment of women at the workplace. And all of this was topped off by O’Reilly paying out 32 million dollars to legal analyst Lis Wiehl to settle an egregious harassment situation in 2017. So O’Reilly was no victim here. He was a serial perpetrator who was able to fly under the aegis of Roger Ailes (as Bolling tried to copycat) for 2 decades, but eventually was taken to task. It’s true that his situation with Andrea Mackris got media attention in the early 2000s, but that was actually triggered by O’Reilly himself when he tried to bully her into submission. If anything, O’Reilly learned in the early 2000s that he could get away with his predations if he was willing to pony up a little money sometimes. It wasn’t until 2017 that he was finally pushed out. I have a feeling that Fox News would very much like to rehire O’Reilly but prefers not to deal with the fallout of having more of their former personalities come out in public to denounce them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them wait a few more years and then try to bring O’Reilly back as that “elder statesman” – but I also expect Gretchen Carlson to immediately call them out the second they try it.
O’Reilly didn’t just commit sexual harassment. He was a repeat offender who refused to change his ways, even after Fox News had paid out over 10 million dollars to settle multiple complaints. Granted, this culture started at the top with Roger Ailes, but O’Reilly took full advantage of the opportunity to harass to his heart’s content. O’Reilly wasn’t alone in this (The disgraced Eric Bolling comes to mind), but he appears to have been the most consistent in his terrible treatment of women at the workplace. And all of this was topped off by O’Reilly paying out 32 million dollars to legal analyst Lis Wiehl to settle an egregious harassment situation in 2017. So O’Reilly was no victim here. He was a serial perpetrator who was able to fly under the aegis of Roger Ailes (as Bolling tried to copycat) for 2 decades, but eventually was taken to task. It’s true that his situation with Andrea Mackris got media attention in the early 2000s, but that was actually triggered by O’Reilly himself when he tried to bully her into submission. If anything, O’Reilly learned in the early 2000s that he could get away with his predations if he was willing to pony up a little money sometimes. It wasn’t until 2017 that he was finally pushed out. I have a feeling that Fox News would very much like to rehire O’Reilly but prefers not to deal with the fallout of having more of their former personalities come out in public to denounce them. I wouldn’t be surprised to see them wait a few more years and then try to bring O’Reilly back as that “elder statesman” – but I also expect Gretchen Carlson to immediately call them out the second they try it.
Kevin Koster commented on Chris Wallace Offers Thanksgiving Dinner Moderating Tips On Colbert
2019-11-29 05:52:55 -0500
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In all seriousness, there have been families and friends that have been ripped apart thanks to the vicious behavior of angry Right Wingers over the past couple of decades. When things got really nasty at the end of 2016 with all the gloating and attempted bullying, it was understandable that most sane people had to step away from the deplorables playing those games.
I would strongly recommend that Right Wingers not conduct their family dinners with loud dictates of how Pence’s childish spokesman is YOUR PRESIDENT and WE WON, YOU LOST SNOWFLAKE or any of that nonsense. Because that’s what set everyone’s teeth on edge. One can only turn the other cheek so long before one needs to just push away from the table and say goodbye.
I would strongly recommend that Right Wingers not conduct their family dinners with loud dictates of how Pence’s childish spokesman is YOUR PRESIDENT and WE WON, YOU LOST SNOWFLAKE or any of that nonsense. Because that’s what set everyone’s teeth on edge. One can only turn the other cheek so long before one needs to just push away from the table and say goodbye.
Kevin Koster commented on After Melania Trump Booed, Hatemonger Tomi Lahren Calls It ‘Despicable’ Not To ‘Respect People’
2019-11-27 20:33:06 -0500
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I suppose I shouldn’t be surprised at Lahren’s gall. I’d love to see how she responded to President Obama regularly being jeered and shouted at by angry Right Wing pundits, even during press events. I’d love to see what she said about Joe Wilson screaming “YOU LIE!” during a State of the Union Address.
As for Melania Trump, she’s courted outrage on multliple occasions, but the one that really stands out is when she visited the US/Mexico border at the moment when the Pence White House’s outrages against immigrants and asylum seekers were squarely on the front pages of every newspaper in the country. At that moment of people trying to understand how the Pence White House could be so inhuman, Melania Trump distinguished herself by making a point of wearing a designer jacket emblazoned with the statement “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” S
As for Melania Trump, she’s courted outrage on multliple occasions, but the one that really stands out is when she visited the US/Mexico border at the moment when the Pence White House’s outrages against immigrants and asylum seekers were squarely on the front pages of every newspaper in the country. At that moment of people trying to understand how the Pence White House could be so inhuman, Melania Trump distinguished herself by making a point of wearing a designer jacket emblazoned with the statement “I REALLY DON’T CARE, DO U?” S
Kevin Koster commented on Hannity Teases Insider Knowledge Of Nunes’ Ukrainian Interactions, No Specific Allegations Refuted
2019-11-26 18:39:07 -0500
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Hannity appears to be panicking along with Nunes over the very real possibility of material about him getting into the public eye. One has to wonder what Parnas recorded to get both of these guys this frantic.
I also noted Hannity’s attempt to cheerlead the doomed Sandmann nuisance suits, which have been allowed to continue to discovery to confirm that the media coverage was protected under 1st Amendment conditions and that following that, they’ll be tossed back out of court again.
As I noted in the other thread, I tire of all this chest pounding by despicable men like Nunes and Hannity. If they really have some giant smoking gun, then bring it out and let everyone see it. Otherwise, there is no indication that they have anything other than their own hot air.
I also noted Hannity’s attempt to cheerlead the doomed Sandmann nuisance suits, which have been allowed to continue to discovery to confirm that the media coverage was protected under 1st Amendment conditions and that following that, they’ll be tossed back out of court again.
As I noted in the other thread, I tire of all this chest pounding by despicable men like Nunes and Hannity. If they really have some giant smoking gun, then bring it out and let everyone see it. Otherwise, there is no indication that they have anything other than their own hot air.
Kevin Koster commented on Democrat Michael Blake Stands Up To Fox: ‘Why The H**l Does Tucker Carlson Still Have A Job Here?’
2019-11-26 15:46:15 -0500
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Hemmer was clearly angry that he couldn’t get Blake to back down – and when he barked “Save it for later!” he clearly intended that to be a slapdown. Sadly for Hemmer, it went the other way.
I’ll add that Blake also called Hemmer on the fact that he cherry picked a President Obama quote without noting the rest of what was covered in the Politico article. (the full discussion where that quote is found is about having an intimate connection to Iowa voters, and he says even HE doesn’t have that anymore). There’s another line in that article where President Obama notes that in the day of Abraham Lincoln, he could have been a Republican. And then he notes that things have changed, and will continue to change. It would have been just as inaccurate of Hemmer to have cherry picked that line too, and I’m frankly surprised he didn’t try it.
I’ll add that Blake also called Hemmer on the fact that he cherry picked a President Obama quote without noting the rest of what was covered in the Politico article. (the full discussion where that quote is found is about having an intimate connection to Iowa voters, and he says even HE doesn’t have that anymore). There’s another line in that article where President Obama notes that in the day of Abraham Lincoln, he could have been a Republican. And then he notes that things have changed, and will continue to change. It would have been just as inaccurate of Hemmer to have cherry picked that line too, and I’m frankly surprised he didn’t try it.
Kevin Koster commented on Devin Nunes Dodges Questions About Parnas And Ukraine But Threatens To Sue CNN And Daily Beast
2019-11-26 15:23:59 -0500
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Nunes was mostly incoherent in this appearance, and in Hannity’s fawning prop-up for him later. From what I can tell of his behavior here, he appears to be panicking that his dark work is being exposed by Daily Beast and CNN. As a result, many of his statements were completely the reverse of reality.
Somehow, he’d like Fox News viewers to believe that his job on the committee is to look for “Democrat corruption”. That is NOT his job, and it is defamatory for him to say that it is. Next, he’d once again like to play the narrative that the GOP members’ behavior in constantly repeating conspiracy theory talking points somehow “destroyed” the actual work the committee has been doing regarding Pence’s childish spokesman and the president of Ukraine. As opposed to what everyone plainly saw in the hearings – that the GOP members embarrassed themselves and repeatedly had no answer when they were corrected by the witnesses. I did note that Nunes gloated about having used the GOP time in the hearings to play up those conspiracy theories and that he’s hoping to do more of that if he gets another chance. He noted that he’s had more public time to spread the smears, thanks to the Dems scheduling the hearings. Which of course goes right to the point we’ve already made – that the Right Wing has essentially used the hearing process to accomplish what they failed in their attempt to pressure the Ukrainians – they’ve been able to mainstream the Biden smears and confuse millions of Americans who haven’t read up on these materials.
I do find it interesting that angry Right Wingers seem to think that it’s a good idea to file these nuisance suits with giant price tags, when they were the ones accusing Americans of being too litigious. (As Ellen notes in this article) And yes, Nunes has a history of throwing these legal tantrums – including that cow suit. We saw the same thing with the despicable Sandmann lawsuits in Kentucky (which are barely being allowed to proceed to a limited discovery before they eventually peter out due to lack of real basis). And has anyone heard about how Eric Bolling is doing with that 50 million dollar lawsuit against Yashir Ali for having the temerity to report about Bolling’s own nasty behavior with the sexual harassment that got him fired from Fox News?
I also find it interesting that Nunes appears to be conflating civil and criminal litigation. In one breath, he says he’s going to file nuisance civil lawsuits against CNN and Daily Beast, which would likely be tossed out since CNN reached out to him for comment before publishing and he responded by sneering at them. In another breath, he seems to be saying he wants to file criminal charges against CNN – but he doesn’t say what those charges would be or why anyone should believe him about this. Essentially, this just sounds like him huffing and puffing and holding his breath to no effect.
If Nunes really has some major incriminating material here, he should stop making these bizarre threats and simply show what he has. Same thing with Giuliani and his supposed secret Biden file that he’s keeping in his safe for some reason. This kind of thing frankly gets tiring – it’s the same routine every time – these guys get caught behaving badly and their response is to threaten the people who had the temerity to expose it.
I’ll also note that while Nunes is talking about media players somehow breaking laws by talking to someone who’s been indicted or prosecuted, he’s leaving out the parts where Fox News has happily done multiple interviews with George Papadopoulos, and was only too happy to talk to Roger Stone until the judge in the latter case warned him to stop that.
At the same time, let’s keep in mind that Lev Parnas’ attorney has not only offered to have his client testify in front of Congress as to what he knows – he’s also turned over VIDEO AND AUDIO RECORDINGS of Giuliani and Trump discussing these activities. That’s the kind of thing that could have a significant impact – along the lines of the White House tapes during the Watergate investigation.
The more likely result coming from what we’re seeing here is that Nunes will be brought before the Ethics Committee in the House and required to explain himself. Most likely, he won’t be thrown out or forced to resign – but this situation could very well end his status as a committee chair or ranking member and could even lead to the GOP finding someone else to run for his spot next year. Given how serious this is for Nunes, it’s not a surprise to see him panicking in this way.
Somehow, he’d like Fox News viewers to believe that his job on the committee is to look for “Democrat corruption”. That is NOT his job, and it is defamatory for him to say that it is. Next, he’d once again like to play the narrative that the GOP members’ behavior in constantly repeating conspiracy theory talking points somehow “destroyed” the actual work the committee has been doing regarding Pence’s childish spokesman and the president of Ukraine. As opposed to what everyone plainly saw in the hearings – that the GOP members embarrassed themselves and repeatedly had no answer when they were corrected by the witnesses. I did note that Nunes gloated about having used the GOP time in the hearings to play up those conspiracy theories and that he’s hoping to do more of that if he gets another chance. He noted that he’s had more public time to spread the smears, thanks to the Dems scheduling the hearings. Which of course goes right to the point we’ve already made – that the Right Wing has essentially used the hearing process to accomplish what they failed in their attempt to pressure the Ukrainians – they’ve been able to mainstream the Biden smears and confuse millions of Americans who haven’t read up on these materials.
I do find it interesting that angry Right Wingers seem to think that it’s a good idea to file these nuisance suits with giant price tags, when they were the ones accusing Americans of being too litigious. (As Ellen notes in this article) And yes, Nunes has a history of throwing these legal tantrums – including that cow suit. We saw the same thing with the despicable Sandmann lawsuits in Kentucky (which are barely being allowed to proceed to a limited discovery before they eventually peter out due to lack of real basis). And has anyone heard about how Eric Bolling is doing with that 50 million dollar lawsuit against Yashir Ali for having the temerity to report about Bolling’s own nasty behavior with the sexual harassment that got him fired from Fox News?
I also find it interesting that Nunes appears to be conflating civil and criminal litigation. In one breath, he says he’s going to file nuisance civil lawsuits against CNN and Daily Beast, which would likely be tossed out since CNN reached out to him for comment before publishing and he responded by sneering at them. In another breath, he seems to be saying he wants to file criminal charges against CNN – but he doesn’t say what those charges would be or why anyone should believe him about this. Essentially, this just sounds like him huffing and puffing and holding his breath to no effect.
If Nunes really has some major incriminating material here, he should stop making these bizarre threats and simply show what he has. Same thing with Giuliani and his supposed secret Biden file that he’s keeping in his safe for some reason. This kind of thing frankly gets tiring – it’s the same routine every time – these guys get caught behaving badly and their response is to threaten the people who had the temerity to expose it.
I’ll also note that while Nunes is talking about media players somehow breaking laws by talking to someone who’s been indicted or prosecuted, he’s leaving out the parts where Fox News has happily done multiple interviews with George Papadopoulos, and was only too happy to talk to Roger Stone until the judge in the latter case warned him to stop that.
At the same time, let’s keep in mind that Lev Parnas’ attorney has not only offered to have his client testify in front of Congress as to what he knows – he’s also turned over VIDEO AND AUDIO RECORDINGS of Giuliani and Trump discussing these activities. That’s the kind of thing that could have a significant impact – along the lines of the White House tapes during the Watergate investigation.
The more likely result coming from what we’re seeing here is that Nunes will be brought before the Ethics Committee in the House and required to explain himself. Most likely, he won’t be thrown out or forced to resign – but this situation could very well end his status as a committee chair or ranking member and could even lead to the GOP finding someone else to run for his spot next year. Given how serious this is for Nunes, it’s not a surprise to see him panicking in this way.
Kevin Koster commented on Rick Perry And Fox & Friends Agree: Trump Is ‘The Chosen One,’ Sent By God To Do Great Things
2019-11-25 23:28:46 -0500
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When this miserable epoch of our history is finished, we’re going to wonder about how we could let things get this ridiculous. Let’s think about this for a second. Rick Perry, who embarrassed himself as a would-be “serious” presidential candidate when he couldn’t even remember all the names of the cabinet departments he wanted to eliminate and nervously tittered out an “Ooops!”. (Education, Commerce, Energy plus the EPA as a bonus.) Rick Perry, who then tried to rebrand himself as deeply intellectual by wearing glasses in public. Rick Perry, who was indicted for a blatant abuse of power and only escaped conviction by spending 2 million dollars on attorneys to obfuscate and confuse the case. Rick Perry, who was then put in charge of one of the very cabinet departments he’d sworn to eliminate and then tried to use the position to enrich himself and his buddies. That Rick Perry?
I don’t know which is more bizarre. That he wants us to take his supposed deep spirituality about his grafting seriously? That Fox News hosts appear to be lapping up that supposed deep spirituality? Or that many Fox News viewers are willing to buy it too? This is the sort of thing that makes Americans embarrassed for the state of their country.
I don’t know which is more bizarre. That he wants us to take his supposed deep spirituality about his grafting seriously? That Fox News hosts appear to be lapping up that supposed deep spirituality? Or that many Fox News viewers are willing to buy it too? This is the sort of thing that makes Americans embarrassed for the state of their country.
Kevin Koster commented on Sen. Kennedy: Nobody Knows If Russia Or Ukraine Was Responsible For Hacking DNC Computers
2019-11-25 22:01:23 -0500
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I would be very happy to see the Dems take several such Senate seats, starting with Kansas and continuing with Kentucky and South Carolina.
Kevin Koster commented on Giuliani Attacks Fox News, State Dept. And DOJ, Warns Of ‘Insurance’ If Trump Betrays Him
2019-11-24 10:33:49 -0500
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It’s more than interesting to watch these despicable men beginning to openly panic about what’s coming next for them. Between Giuliani and Bolton, I’m unsure which one is more of a loose cannon for the Pence White House. And let’s not forget Pompeo trying to find an exit ramp for himself.
With Bolton, it’s sadly unlikely that he’ll actually do anything – he’s always been more bluster than anything else. But he could blow this entire situation up in a heartbeat if he releases what he certainly has – documents showing the craven work that the Pence White House was trying to do in Ukraine.
With Giuliani, it’s looking more and more likely that he could be indicted on multiple charges – which will be a sad ending to his career. But it’s an ending he openly chose for himself. The question is whether he goes the Manafort “good soldier” route and keeps his mouth shut (not likely given his frantic need for attention) or whether he starts blabbing about how much Pence and his childish spokesman knew about Giuliani’s dark work. He could even add to the dumpster fire building around Devin Nunes.
The wildest part about all of Giuliani’s whacked obsession with Joe Biden is that he has the man backwards. Biden’s history isn’t one of graft and viciousness. It’s one of constantly compromising and acting like he knows better. Which is why the Ukrainian attempt to influence him failed. The Burisma guys thought they could buff their tarred image by hiring Biden’s son to show they were on the up and up and to curry favor. Instead, the whole thing backfired on them when Biden refused to play. It’s no wonder that they’re angry with him. But if they had anything on Biden, it would have come out when the actual prosecutor was hired following Shokin’s dismissal. Instead, the investigation showed the Bidens did nothing wrong. And what this situation is revealing more than anything else is just how terrified the Pence White House is of running against Joe Biden next year.
With Bolton, it’s sadly unlikely that he’ll actually do anything – he’s always been more bluster than anything else. But he could blow this entire situation up in a heartbeat if he releases what he certainly has – documents showing the craven work that the Pence White House was trying to do in Ukraine.
With Giuliani, it’s looking more and more likely that he could be indicted on multiple charges – which will be a sad ending to his career. But it’s an ending he openly chose for himself. The question is whether he goes the Manafort “good soldier” route and keeps his mouth shut (not likely given his frantic need for attention) or whether he starts blabbing about how much Pence and his childish spokesman knew about Giuliani’s dark work. He could even add to the dumpster fire building around Devin Nunes.
The wildest part about all of Giuliani’s whacked obsession with Joe Biden is that he has the man backwards. Biden’s history isn’t one of graft and viciousness. It’s one of constantly compromising and acting like he knows better. Which is why the Ukrainian attempt to influence him failed. The Burisma guys thought they could buff their tarred image by hiring Biden’s son to show they were on the up and up and to curry favor. Instead, the whole thing backfired on them when Biden refused to play. It’s no wonder that they’re angry with him. But if they had anything on Biden, it would have come out when the actual prosecutor was hired following Shokin’s dismissal. Instead, the investigation showed the Bidens did nothing wrong. And what this situation is revealing more than anything else is just how terrified the Pence White House is of running against Joe Biden next year.
Kevin Koster commented on Shepard Smith Blasts ‘Garbage And Lies Masquerading As News’ In First Public Speech Since Leaving Fox News
2019-11-25 03:56:32 -0500
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I wonder if Mr. White is aware of where he is posting his trolling comments.
But I do find it interesting that angry Right Wingers feel they must sling the insults and labelling. One would think that Mr. White feels emboldened by the comments of Pence’s childish spokesman to just let that inner hater fly.
But I do find it interesting that angry Right Wingers feel they must sling the insults and labelling. One would think that Mr. White feels emboldened by the comments of Pence’s childish spokesman to just let that inner hater fly.
Kevin Koster commented on Cavuto Defends Colleague Wallace From Trump Smear
2019-11-24 11:12:33 -0500
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Bemused makes a good point we need to remember.
The start of the current refusal to work across the aisle did not begin with Trump squeaking through the swing states in 2016. (And the current situation hasn’t been one of obstruction – it’s been one of angry Right Wingers trying to ram through truly horrible appointees and policies and the Dems doing anything they could to try to deal with it.)
I would argue that the collapse of cooperation began during the Reagan Administration, and could even be seen to have begun during Nixon. Because much of Reagan and both Bushes’ people were from the Nixon team. When they got power again in 1981, they immediately moved to consolidate what they had – appointing despicable people like Haig, Meese, Watt, and the risible Anne Gorsuch, and establishing the infamous litmus test for appointing Far Right judges. (The test was built after the Right Wing was disappointed by Warren Burger, who was a solid Republican but who didn’t completely rule that way on the bench. So the Right Wing worked to be sure that judicial appointees would be examined a LOT more closely.)
When Reagan’s White House was exposed for massive corruption and appropriately investigated (with many people being indicted and jailed), the Right Wing was triggered. So when Bill Clinton had the temerity to win in 1992 (really thanks to Ross Perot deliberately spoiling the race for Bush), the Right Wing went after him with guns blazing. ANYTHING Clinton did that could justify an investigation or an impeachment was leapt at, until he was finally stupid enough to lie under oath about his unfaithfulness and stupid enough to pressure others to be quiet about it. At the same time, the Republicans had regrouped under Newt Gingrich, who made clear that he didn’t just see the Democratic Party as debate opponents. He saw the Democrats as ENEMIES and he treated them as such. Once Gingrich became the Speaker, he worked to block anything and everything that Clinton tried to do unless it was completely on Gingrich’s terms. The same approach was taken by Republicans in the Senate. So hundreds of judicial appointees were effectively blocked from consideration, including Elena Kagan. Instead, the Republicans focused themselves on impeaching Clinton in an act of outright hatred. I note that Mitch McConnell voted to convict Clinton in that impeachment, and that Lindsey Graham voted in the House for three of the articles. When Clinton’s second term ended, all of his pending appointments lapsed, just as the Republicans had hoped.
When W took office after the contested 2000 election, the same angry Right Wingers who had been blocking appointees and legislation during Clinton’s years suddenly demanded that the Democrats confirm a whole raft of terrible appointees. The Dems responded by mostly caving in as usual, but they did hold the line against a few really bad judges. They still allowed despicables like Ashcroft, Rumsfeld and Norton to take office and do real damage within their departments. The Dems also allowed two terrible Supreme Court appointments in Roberts and Alito to go through, despite obvious bias on both men’s parts. The real legacy of the W White House, past those court appointments, was the collapse of the US economy under the weight of graft and greed, and the creation of ISIS and other extreme militant groups in the Middle East thanks to the viciousness of our actions there.
When President Obama took office, Bemused is correct to note that the Republicans publicly stated that their intention was to block every single thing that the Democrats did. I would only note that McConnell didn’t come up with this on his own. He was instructed to do so by Newt Gingrich at the infamous leadership meeting held while President Obama’s massive inauguration was happening. The intention was to make sure that the Dems would have to fight dearly to get anything done, and that the Republicans could just lay back and campaign on whichever outcome happened. If the Dems got anything accomplished, it would be the hardest and most unpleasant roads to get there. The GOP could then campaign either that the Dems couldn’t get anything done (the preferred outcome) or that if anything got through, that the GOP didn’t vote for it. This extended to the court appointments again – and President Obama was only able to get two appointments to the Supreme Court done before the Senate switched to the GOP in 2014. Because of constant GOP obstruction in the Senate over every single court appointee, Harry Reid revised the voting rules to allow the Dems to start getting judges into long-vacant positions in 2013-14. Once the GOP took the Senate, that door was closed and it was clear that McConnell would block everything and everyone he could.
Which brings us to the current miserable epoch, when the Pence White House and McConnell have worked happily to ram through as many terrible judges as they could, including a stolen Supreme Court seat.
If I see any change at all in the current configuration, it’s not in the fact of the obstruction – it’s in the zeal with which the Right Wingers are doing it. It’s in the level of anger they are showing. I’ve heard of sore losers before, but never a sore winner. From the moment that Trump squeaked through three years ago, we’ve been seeing these guys really work to rub everyone’s noses in it.
The start of the current refusal to work across the aisle did not begin with Trump squeaking through the swing states in 2016. (And the current situation hasn’t been one of obstruction – it’s been one of angry Right Wingers trying to ram through truly horrible appointees and policies and the Dems doing anything they could to try to deal with it.)
I would argue that the collapse of cooperation began during the Reagan Administration, and could even be seen to have begun during Nixon. Because much of Reagan and both Bushes’ people were from the Nixon team. When they got power again in 1981, they immediately moved to consolidate what they had – appointing despicable people like Haig, Meese, Watt, and the risible Anne Gorsuch, and establishing the infamous litmus test for appointing Far Right judges. (The test was built after the Right Wing was disappointed by Warren Burger, who was a solid Republican but who didn’t completely rule that way on the bench. So the Right Wing worked to be sure that judicial appointees would be examined a LOT more closely.)
When Reagan’s White House was exposed for massive corruption and appropriately investigated (with many people being indicted and jailed), the Right Wing was triggered. So when Bill Clinton had the temerity to win in 1992 (really thanks to Ross Perot deliberately spoiling the race for Bush), the Right Wing went after him with guns blazing. ANYTHING Clinton did that could justify an investigation or an impeachment was leapt at, until he was finally stupid enough to lie under oath about his unfaithfulness and stupid enough to pressure others to be quiet about it. At the same time, the Republicans had regrouped under Newt Gingrich, who made clear that he didn’t just see the Democratic Party as debate opponents. He saw the Democrats as ENEMIES and he treated them as such. Once Gingrich became the Speaker, he worked to block anything and everything that Clinton tried to do unless it was completely on Gingrich’s terms. The same approach was taken by Republicans in the Senate. So hundreds of judicial appointees were effectively blocked from consideration, including Elena Kagan. Instead, the Republicans focused themselves on impeaching Clinton in an act of outright hatred. I note that Mitch McConnell voted to convict Clinton in that impeachment, and that Lindsey Graham voted in the House for three of the articles. When Clinton’s second term ended, all of his pending appointments lapsed, just as the Republicans had hoped.
When W took office after the contested 2000 election, the same angry Right Wingers who had been blocking appointees and legislation during Clinton’s years suddenly demanded that the Democrats confirm a whole raft of terrible appointees. The Dems responded by mostly caving in as usual, but they did hold the line against a few really bad judges. They still allowed despicables like Ashcroft, Rumsfeld and Norton to take office and do real damage within their departments. The Dems also allowed two terrible Supreme Court appointments in Roberts and Alito to go through, despite obvious bias on both men’s parts. The real legacy of the W White House, past those court appointments, was the collapse of the US economy under the weight of graft and greed, and the creation of ISIS and other extreme militant groups in the Middle East thanks to the viciousness of our actions there.
When President Obama took office, Bemused is correct to note that the Republicans publicly stated that their intention was to block every single thing that the Democrats did. I would only note that McConnell didn’t come up with this on his own. He was instructed to do so by Newt Gingrich at the infamous leadership meeting held while President Obama’s massive inauguration was happening. The intention was to make sure that the Dems would have to fight dearly to get anything done, and that the Republicans could just lay back and campaign on whichever outcome happened. If the Dems got anything accomplished, it would be the hardest and most unpleasant roads to get there. The GOP could then campaign either that the Dems couldn’t get anything done (the preferred outcome) or that if anything got through, that the GOP didn’t vote for it. This extended to the court appointments again – and President Obama was only able to get two appointments to the Supreme Court done before the Senate switched to the GOP in 2014. Because of constant GOP obstruction in the Senate over every single court appointee, Harry Reid revised the voting rules to allow the Dems to start getting judges into long-vacant positions in 2013-14. Once the GOP took the Senate, that door was closed and it was clear that McConnell would block everything and everyone he could.
Which brings us to the current miserable epoch, when the Pence White House and McConnell have worked happily to ram through as many terrible judges as they could, including a stolen Supreme Court seat.
If I see any change at all in the current configuration, it’s not in the fact of the obstruction – it’s in the zeal with which the Right Wingers are doing it. It’s in the level of anger they are showing. I’ve heard of sore losers before, but never a sore winner. From the moment that Trump squeaked through three years ago, we’ve been seeing these guys really work to rub everyone’s noses in it.
Kevin Koster commented on Impeachment Hearing, Day Five - Fiona Hill and David Holmes Testify - Live Streaming
2019-11-21 17:00:30 -0500
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They’re doing that so they can have nice clips on Fox News and Rush Limbaugh’s radio show. They never had any intention of listening to these witnesses. Look what happened with David Holmes when was pointing the facts out to Jim Jordan today. Jordan just smirked and talked over him, even after being repeatedly chastised by Schiff. Because he didn’t care what Holmes had to say. Jordan’s purpose had already been served.
What we’ll see over the next couple of weeks will be a round robin of Right Wing bloviating about how the Dems didn’t prove anything and about how this really should be about the Bidens, Burisma and all the nonsense they can spew about Ukraine in 2016. Which will allow the Right Wing to keep its counter narrative alive up into the election campaign, to hopefully depress turnout in the swing states as voters shrug their shoulders and assume, once again, that everybody is corrupt.
It is my fervent hope that enough swing state Dems have had enough of this viciousness for us to be able to see a positive change next year. We are all depending on it. If those voters stay home again and allow Mike Pence to wreak four more years of havok, I honestly don’t believe we’d recognize the country afterward.
What we’ll see over the next couple of weeks will be a round robin of Right Wing bloviating about how the Dems didn’t prove anything and about how this really should be about the Bidens, Burisma and all the nonsense they can spew about Ukraine in 2016. Which will allow the Right Wing to keep its counter narrative alive up into the election campaign, to hopefully depress turnout in the swing states as voters shrug their shoulders and assume, once again, that everybody is corrupt.
It is my fervent hope that enough swing state Dems have had enough of this viciousness for us to be able to see a positive change next year. We are all depending on it. If those voters stay home again and allow Mike Pence to wreak four more years of havok, I honestly don’t believe we’d recognize the country afterward.
Kevin Koster commented on Democratic Presidential Candidates Debate - Open Thread
2019-11-20 23:11:40 -0500
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I wouldn’t break out the champagne yet re next November. I would push as hard as possible to motivate EVERYONE to vote, particularly in the swing states. Assume that every deplorable is going to vote early and often because they will. Assume that you cannot count on your neighbor to vote. If you’re going to assume, then assume that it’s up to you and that you should vote like your life depends on it. Because it does.
If people show up all over the place and vote, we have a chance to elect a new president and to change the majority in the Senate, and we absolutely need to do both things. If a President Castro were to take office but still be facing a GOP majority in the Senate, we can guarantee that not only will no legislation get passed, but no appointees would likely be confirmed.
In the event that the Dems show up to vote across the country, and in the event that they somehow wind up with majorities in both houses plus the White House, I’d recommend a 100 Days strategy. I’d say that the Congress and the new White House should work to accomplish the following within that first hundred days:
1. Pass DACA, essentially in the form that President Obama started it, with none of the bigoted conditions the Right Wing has tried to demand in exchange for not throwing all the DACA enrollees out of the Us;
2. Pass the payroll tax modifications that have been recommended for the past 20 years to stabilize Social Security and Medicare (ie lifting the cap and making a minute adjustment to the employer side). This would end the whole Right Wing discussion of gutting those programs for another few decades;
3. Pass an adjustment to the federal tax code to fix the vindictive tax hikes the GOP inflicted in 2018, restoring the individual exemptions and deductions for itemizers including the state tax deduction, and raising the corporate tax rate to 30%;
4. Confirm a series of sane judges to multiple vacancies, as a first step toward correcting the horrifying trend of the Pence White House’s terrible appointments;
5. Begin the long process of cleaning up the mess across the executive branch, beginning with the appointment of dedicated professionals who care about the work their departments do to help ordinary people. Which will be a huge breath of fresh air after the series of gargoyles inflicted on these departments by Pence, most of whom being people who don’t even think their department should even exist.
How’s that for a start?
If people show up all over the place and vote, we have a chance to elect a new president and to change the majority in the Senate, and we absolutely need to do both things. If a President Castro were to take office but still be facing a GOP majority in the Senate, we can guarantee that not only will no legislation get passed, but no appointees would likely be confirmed.
In the event that the Dems show up to vote across the country, and in the event that they somehow wind up with majorities in both houses plus the White House, I’d recommend a 100 Days strategy. I’d say that the Congress and the new White House should work to accomplish the following within that first hundred days:
1. Pass DACA, essentially in the form that President Obama started it, with none of the bigoted conditions the Right Wing has tried to demand in exchange for not throwing all the DACA enrollees out of the Us;
2. Pass the payroll tax modifications that have been recommended for the past 20 years to stabilize Social Security and Medicare (ie lifting the cap and making a minute adjustment to the employer side). This would end the whole Right Wing discussion of gutting those programs for another few decades;
3. Pass an adjustment to the federal tax code to fix the vindictive tax hikes the GOP inflicted in 2018, restoring the individual exemptions and deductions for itemizers including the state tax deduction, and raising the corporate tax rate to 30%;
4. Confirm a series of sane judges to multiple vacancies, as a first step toward correcting the horrifying trend of the Pence White House’s terrible appointments;
5. Begin the long process of cleaning up the mess across the executive branch, beginning with the appointment of dedicated professionals who care about the work their departments do to help ordinary people. Which will be a huge breath of fresh air after the series of gargoyles inflicted on these departments by Pence, most of whom being people who don’t even think their department should even exist.
How’s that for a start?
Kevin Koster commented on Lt. Col. Vindman Demands Fox News Retract Its Espionage Smears
2019-11-20 22:42:26 -0500
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I think we can count on Carlson, Ingraham and the gang to double down on the cheap shots, and to play the victim about it. They’ll say that Vindman is trying to restrict their right to free speech and they’ll effectively dare him to sue.
Kevin Koster commented on Impeachment Hearing, Day Four - Gordon Sondland Testifies
2019-11-20 22:49:14 -0500
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In spite of nearly all of the pillars of their defense notions being wiped out today, Fox News is playing that one soundbite of “I want nothing” and they’re using the quick clips of Jordan and the others screaming and pounding the table while announcing their conspiracy theories. All completely predictable.
This will now down to whether the Dems can turn out their voters in the swing states or if the GOP will succeed in depressing the turnout again. Both sides will use this situation to rally their respective bases, just as both sides will use the Kavanaugh ram. I fully expect to see Pence’s childish spokesman gloating for much of next year at having headed off the whole thing the second it hit the Senate.
This will now down to whether the Dems can turn out their voters in the swing states or if the GOP will succeed in depressing the turnout again. Both sides will use this situation to rally their respective bases, just as both sides will use the Kavanaugh ram. I fully expect to see Pence’s childish spokesman gloating for much of next year at having headed off the whole thing the second it hit the Senate.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox Host Gutfeld Urges Viewers Not To Watch Impeachment Hearings Fox Is Airing
2019-11-19 13:41:12 -0500
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I honestly don’t know that Gutfeld’s opinion about anything matters. Is there anyone who cares what he thinks about what TV shows he wants to watch? Perhaps his time might better be spent dealing with the massive sexual harassment situation that developed with Tyrus. Given that Gutfeld’s weekend show is where Tyrus is usually seen on the network, one would think Gutfeld would have some idea what was going on…
Kevin Koster commented on After Trump’s Unscheduled Visit To Hospital, Pirro And Grisham Gush Over His ‘Almost Superhuman’ Health
2019-11-18 13:53:04 -0500
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It’s typical of Fox News that they would frantically lie to paper over this sudden hospital visit. Particularly when they spent so much time in 2016 jumping up and down about how they thought Hillary Clinton was hiding a “secret illness”.
Given that we cannot trust the Pence White House to say the truth about anything, we really have no way of knowing whether it was severe chest pains or something else that motivated Pence’s childish spokesman to suddenly run to Walter Reed. But we do know that it would have had to be severe for him to do this with no notice. This is a man who doesn’t like doctors and is a germaphobe. And also a man who has noticeably gained a massive amount of weight in the past three years and does not exercise. I’m honestly shocked that this is the first time he’s been forced to see a doctor about it.
If Trump were to keel over today, it would not really change anything at the Pence White House anyway, given that Pence sets all the policy. So I don’t see that anything would change until we hopefully vote Pence out next November.
And I’ll finally note that I have no personal preference about what happens with the health of Pence’s childish spokesman. I don’t wish good or ill to him. I do feel sorry for him, given the tremendous negativity he’s generated for everyone, but I don’t empathize with him. If he’s suffering, it’s nothing compared to the suffering he’s gleefully caused others. And if he’s worried about his healthcare, then maybe he can take that up with the millions of people whose coverage he’s been taking away.
Given that we cannot trust the Pence White House to say the truth about anything, we really have no way of knowing whether it was severe chest pains or something else that motivated Pence’s childish spokesman to suddenly run to Walter Reed. But we do know that it would have had to be severe for him to do this with no notice. This is a man who doesn’t like doctors and is a germaphobe. And also a man who has noticeably gained a massive amount of weight in the past three years and does not exercise. I’m honestly shocked that this is the first time he’s been forced to see a doctor about it.
If Trump were to keel over today, it would not really change anything at the Pence White House anyway, given that Pence sets all the policy. So I don’t see that anything would change until we hopefully vote Pence out next November.
And I’ll finally note that I have no personal preference about what happens with the health of Pence’s childish spokesman. I don’t wish good or ill to him. I do feel sorry for him, given the tremendous negativity he’s generated for everyone, but I don’t empathize with him. If he’s suffering, it’s nothing compared to the suffering he’s gleefully caused others. And if he’s worried about his healthcare, then maybe he can take that up with the millions of people whose coverage he’s been taking away.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox News Democrat Urges Pelosi To ‘Jump Off The Impeachment Bandwagon’
2019-11-18 13:46:18 -0500
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It’s nice that Areu has an opinion. It’s nice that Fox News pays her to say her opinion. It’s typical that Fox News would then trumpet her personal opinion as though it was indicative of anyone else. Cavuto is of course lying when he states that “a good many” Dems feel as Areu does.
She’s also wildly mistaken in her statements. As a simple primer for her, the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings were constitutionally mandated. Would she have preferred for Kavanaugh to just have been rammed onto the Supreme Court without even a hearing? And did she think confirmation hearings would have been “a waste of time” for Merrick Garland?
But the simplest truth here is that Areu’s personal opinion isn’t just wrong – it’s irrelevant. Fox News can trumpet her all they want, just like they did with Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen shamefully demanding that President Obama not run for re-election in 2012. It won’t make a difference. And history will record these many attempts by Fox News to rewrite it.
She’s also wildly mistaken in her statements. As a simple primer for her, the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings were constitutionally mandated. Would she have preferred for Kavanaugh to just have been rammed onto the Supreme Court without even a hearing? And did she think confirmation hearings would have been “a waste of time” for Merrick Garland?
But the simplest truth here is that Areu’s personal opinion isn’t just wrong – it’s irrelevant. Fox News can trumpet her all they want, just like they did with Pat Caddell and Doug Schoen shamefully demanding that President Obama not run for re-election in 2012. It won’t make a difference. And history will record these many attempts by Fox News to rewrite it.
Kevin Koster commented on Sean Hannity Smears Yovanovitch: “Self-Important Very Narcissistic Diplomat Snowflake"
2019-11-18 13:57:16 -0500
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Given that Pence is already the statesman in the White House, it would make no difference if he were to be publicly acknowledged for the vicious work he’s already doing.
I continue to be amazed at how panicked the Right Wing is becoming over these hearings. One would think they’d quiet down a bit if they wanted us to think they were just bored and disinterested.
And I have to thank Michela for the comic posting. I needed a laugh and that was a good one.
I continue to be amazed at how panicked the Right Wing is becoming over these hearings. One would think they’d quiet down a bit if they wanted us to think they were just bored and disinterested.
And I have to thank Michela for the comic posting. I needed a laugh and that was a good one.
Kevin Koster commented on Fox News Video Impeachment Hearing Video Omits Democratic Questions And Yovanovitch Statement
2019-11-15 20:48:00 -0500
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I wouldn’t be surprised if Nunes was told to pull that stunt by someone at Fox News. It was frankly nonsensical – the one thing I wish Schiff would have done a little different would have been to simply note that Stefanik was going to have time during the individual questioning period, and that Nunes could have donated his question time from then to her.