Tag Archives: Rand Paul

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ThinkProgress ~~ the GOP


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Today’s GOP, In Two Numbers

Last week, President Obama laid out a sweeping agenda to combat income inequality, strengthen the middle class, and extend ladders of opportunity to those striving to enter it. He also challenged the GOP to put forward their own ideas instead of just rejecting whatever he proposes. We have yet to see any new ideas from the Republicans but their opposition to the president’s agenda of economic empowerment is still going strong.

Two numbers perfectly illustrate the almost cruel indifference shown by today’s GOP toward the concerns of the millions of Americans who are struggling to get by:

  • 4,831,590: That is the number of low-income Americans who will not receive health coverage through Medicaid simply because Republican governors and legislatures are refusing to expand the program under the Affordable Care Act. Because the expansion is almost entirely paid for by the federal government, states refusing to expand the program will forego billions in tax dollars, even as providers remain on the hook for uncompensated care provided to the uninsured. Texas will lose out on more than $9 BILLION, while Florida is leaving more than $5 BILLION on the table.

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  • 1,300,000: That is the number of unemployed Americans who will immediately lose their benefits come January if Republicans in Congress refuse to extend long-term unemployment benefits, which would be an unprecedented move during a period of persistently high unemployment.  The number who stand to lose their benefits would climb to 3.6 MILLION by the end of 2014. In addition to unnecessarily causing added misery for millions of struggling families, letting the extended benefits lapse would also deal a blow to the economy to the tune of 240,000 lost jobs as well as reduced growth. Over the weekend, Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) tried to justify the GOP’s intransigence by making the bizarre argument that extended benefits are somehow harmful to the unemployed and do them a “disservice.”

BOTTOM LINE: If Republicans want to appeal to a broader group of Americans, they should stop putting politics ahead of people. The policies Republicans are pursuing will needlessly punish millions of Americans who can least afford it.

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55 years for marijuana ?

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My brother Weldon was given a mandatory minimum sentence for a nonviolent marijuana offense that even the judge disagrees with.

Sign my petition and join the growing bipartisan support demanding President Obama to pardon my brother.

My brother Weldon is a talented musician, producer, and loving father. But for the past ten years his kids have grown up without their dad because he’s serving a mandatory 55 year sentence in prison for a nonviolent marijuana offense.

Weldon’s judge wanted to sentence him to just one day in prison for three small-time marijuana sales, but because an informant testified that he saw a gun, which wasn’t used or displayed, federal law forced him to issue a mandatory minimum 55 year sentence. The judge called it “unjust, cruel, and irrational.” But he had no choice.

The judge is hopeful that justice can still be served for my brother — he wrote a letter that strongly recommends President Obama commute Weldon’s sentence, and over 100 people signed his request in support — including former U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno and a prominent Republican Senator.

I started a petition on Change.org because I believe the momentum to free Weldon could pressure the President to grant him clemency. Please sign my petition asking Pardoning Attorney Rodgers to recommend that President Obama commute the remainder of Weldon’s sentence.

Weldon made the mistake of selling marijuana and deserves to serve some time, but his sentence is longer than those imposed for three aircraft hijackings, three second-degree murders, three kidnappings, and three rapes. Now, significant public support for the President to pardon him is the only chance Weldon has of getting out of prison before he’s 70 years old.

Not a day goes by that I don’t miss my brother. I can’t stand seeing his kids miss their father because he made one mistake and is now paying an unfairly high price for it. And I’m not the only one who thinks so.

Join thousands of others who have signed my petition on Change.org demanding that federal Pardon Attorney Rodgers approve the request of Weldon’s judge and recommend his clemency request to President Obama. Click here to sign. 

Thank you for your support.

Lisa Angelos

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From Bad to Worse

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GOP’s August Woes Continue

From birther eruptions to lonely diatribes against immigration reform to doubling down on their anti-science climate denialism, things are just not going very well out there for Republicans this August.

Here’s the latest news on Republicans’ long, hot August:
•GOP can’t turn off the climate science crazy: Salon’s Brian Beutler writes, “Going into August recess, GOP leaders were really hoping its members of Congress wouldn’t yield to a shared tendency to talk about climate science…To no one’s surprise, though, that’s a bit like hoping the scorpion won’t sting the frog. Already this month, several House Republicans have given in to their nature.”
•GOP Congressman calls for government shutdown unless Congress ‘defunds Obamacare this year’:
During a town hall meeting in a tony suburb outside Sacramento on Tuesday, McClintock brought up the upcoming continuing resolution, which is necessary to keep government open but which many conservatives are targeting as a venue for another showdown over Obamacare. McClintock told the audience that he will vote against the continuing resolution — and thus for a government shutdown — unless the bill “defunds Obamacare this year.”
•Rand Paul: ‘I don’t think there is any particular evidence’ of black voters being prevented from voting: Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), a tea party senator with a long history of opposition to civil rights laws, told an audience in Louisville, Kentucky on Wednesday that there is no evidence of black voters being excluded from the franchise.
•GOP Congressman argues against multiculturalism: ‘There’s only one race here, it’s the American race’: Rep. Tom McClintock (R-CA) took a strong stand against multiculturalism at a town hall meeting, arguing that immigrants need to shed their culture, become “the American race,” and if they’re unwilling to do so, “reevaluate” whether they want to be in this country in the first place. Fielding questions about immigration reform, McClintock told the audience on Tuesday evening that he worries current generations of immigrants aren’t assimilating like in the past but instead retaining the culture from their native land. “There’s only one race here, it’s the American race,” he implored to constituents.
•Rep. Steve King says Latino immigrants are from a ‘violent civilization,’ will bring ‘more violence’ to America:
Rep. Steve King (R-IA) launched a vicious tirade against individuals from Latin America, claiming that the population gets more violent as one moves further south in Latin America
•Huge crowd turns out to pressure House GOP leader to back pathway to earned citizenship: A crowd of at least 1,000 people turned out today at a town hall meeting in the district of Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), the third-ranking GOP leader in the House of Representatives.
•Almost nobody shows up at Steve King’s anti-immigration reform “rally”: Rep. Steve King (R-IA) held a rally on Monday to oppose the immigration reform effort taking place on Capitol Hill, but no one, it seems, felt like going.
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CREDIT: Politico’s @seungminkim

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10 Crazy Things the Right Did


By  ThinkProgress War Room   It’s been another week of the insane, inane, and outright offensive. Here’s your top ten:

  1. Pennsylvania governor can’t find any Latinos to work for him. Gov. Tom Corbett (R-PA) told a Spanish-language newspaper this week that he didn’t have any Latinos working for him. There are approximately 18,000 Latinos just in the Harrisburg, PA area alone.
  2. Pennsylvania governor remembers single Latino who works for him. A day after saying he didn’t have any Latinos working for him, Corbett suddenly remembered a single Latino appointee working in his administration.
  3. Conservatives freak out over Boy Scouts decision to admit gays. Here’s the ten best conservative freak-outs over the group’s decision to admit gay scouts while maintaining a ban on gay leaders.
  4. Tea Party congressman mansplains his anti-abortion views. Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX), speaking at a hearing about an unconstitutional ban on abortion after 20 weeks that House Republicans are championing, told a witness that she should’ve been forced to wait and give birth rather than have an abortion even though her fetus had no brain function.
  5. Top Republican called Obama’s national security speech “a victory for terrorists.” The comments were made by Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA), the top Republican on the Senate Intelligence Committee. Chambliss defeated a decorated, triple amputee veteran in 2002 by running an ad juxtaposing his opponent with images of Osama bin Laden.
  6. Texas GOP continued its obsession with limiting women’s rights. The Texas GOP introduced another 24 anti-abortion bills this year, but thankfully none of them advanced.
  7. This man could be the next Lieutenant Governor of Virginia. Virginia Republicans nominated an extremely anti-gay, anti-abortion minister who has a long history of making insensitive and inflammatory comments. Here’s his 20 craziest tweets.
  8. RNC chair melts down. In an effort to attack the president, RNC Chairman Reince Priebus threw out attacks so over the top that the Morning Joe crew called him out.
  9. GOP senator says implementing Obamacare is just like an illegal coverup. Because of her efforts to implement Obamcare, Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-TN) likened Health & Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to convicted criminal Oliver North.
  10. GOP senator defends Apple’s efforts to avoid billions of dollars in U.S. taxes. Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY), in a move reminiscent of Rep. Joe Barton’s infamous apology to BP in the wake of its disastrous oil spill, apologized to top Apple officials for being called in front of the Senate to explain how they use complex structures and gimmicks to avoid paying U.S. taxes.
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huge developmen​t …Crystal King, DSCC Political Director


News just broke that a major Tea Party organization has created a new “Super PAC” to elect extreme right-wing candidates like Rand Paul and Jim DeMint. I put together a quick memo below about the major threat this poses to our 2012 plans.

This is a huge development that we will watch closely. But we can’t take them on unless everyone pitches in before this deadline.

Please contribute $5 to fight against this extreme group before midnight Sept. 30. Meeting this goal just got a lot more crucial to keeping the Tea Party from taking over the Senate.
WWW.DSCC.ORG

TO: Grassroots Activists
FROM: Crystal King, Political Director

PROBLEM: Yesterday, a major Tea Party group announced the launch of a SuperPAC, “FreedomWorks for America.” This group is planning a $20 million campaign dedicated to electing candidates in the mold of Jim DeMint and Rand Paul. They could spend even more. Thanks to the Citizens United decision, this PAC can spend unlimited money attacking our candidates.

THIS IS DIFFERENT: Unlike many other organizations, this well-funded group will focus on the most extreme, right-wing candidates. In fact, the PAC is already pledging support for Tea Party-Republican Senate candidates in Texas, Arizona and Florida.

IF THEY WIN: The Tea Party takes over the Senate, just like the House. The current Senate firewall blocking their dangerous agenda would be gone. Led by FreedomWorks’ new senators, they would end Medicare, privatize Medicaid, stop unemployment benefits, repeal health care reform, roll back civil rights, and shutter the EPA.

HOW WE WIN: Fulfill every fundraising goal, especially the one coming at midnight on Sept. 30. It’s the only way we can fight them head-to-head in every state. Otherwise, we hand over states – and likely the majority – to the GOP.

WHY: Because the DSCC is currently protecting 23 seats, under a razor-thin four-seat majority. We have to meet monthly budgets to stay ahead of the Republicans. Also, if the GOP gains a fundraising advantage, it can create runaway momentum before campaign season even starts.

WHAT YOU CAN DO: More than 90% of the DSCC’s contributions come from grassroots supporters. We absolutely can’t hold the Senate without your help. Please give $5, $10 or whatever you can. We still need to raise $465,000 by midnight Friday to stop the Tea Party takeover.   WWW.DSCC.ORG