With Mary Angela. Better Politics. Better Living. Wellness.
I had an amazing conversation with the fabulous, managing editor of Crooks & Liars, Karoli Kuns. We discussed Kamala Harris, the horrific behavior towards her by actor, James Woods, her successful Town Hall and much more! Stay tuned
In the meantime, here is the article regarding Kamala and James Woods’ horrendous tweets. We can expect more awful behavior in this primary season, unfortunately.
Mary Angela sat down with the fantastic journalist, Elizabeth King. We discussed her latest piece regarding the far right-wing, the lack of law enforcement to act even when they’ve had knowledge of the problem for years. Elizabeth has bylines in Splinter, Rolling Stone, The Nation among many outlets and is also a contributing writer for Pacific Standard. A must-listen!
Not only has Judge Kavanaugh lied about documents, Miranda on and on, but it has also come out he (allegedly) is a predator — straight out of a scene from a John Hughes movie, like “Sixteen Candles”. So, to the party of “family values”, my question is this: are lying and assault “family values”?
Apparently these are behaviors that are fine if you’re a regressive Republican. Senator Collins (ME), when asked what she thinks of the new allegations of sexual assault by Kavanagh in the 80s, didn’t have much to say. Just stammering as she tried as fast as she could to get away from the reporter, “It really isn’t fair the way either of them handled this”, meaning, the victim didn’t “handle it well”.
Regarding Senator Collins:
Collins, a key swing vote in the Supreme Court fight, questioned why Democrats had waited for weeks to come forward with the allegation, arguing it wasn’t “fair” to either Kavanagh or Christine Blasey Ford, who alleges that Kavanaugh sexually assaulted her in the early 1980s.
“What is puzzling to me is the Democrats, by not bringing this out earlier, after having had this information for more than six weeks, have managed to cast a cloud of doubt on both the professor and the judge,” Collins told The New York Times.
Collins asked if Democrats believed Ford, “why didn’t they surface this information earlier,” and if they didn’t believe Ford, “why did they decide at the 11th hour to release it?”
“It is really not fair to either of them the way it is was handled,” Collins said.
Collins’s comments come after Ford spoke publicly about the alleged incident for the first time during an interview with The Washington Post that was published on Sunday.
Needless to say, Kavanaugh has zero business on that bench. And if these “moderate” Republicans like Collins and Murkowski don’t step up for Roe, for this old-fashioned concept of doing the right thing, to not throw a VICTIM OF ASSAULT under the bus in the name of confirming one of their own, we are really in trouble.
In this piece from The Washington Post, as I’ve been saying for months, proof that the progressive base of the Democratic Party is happening: Take a look at the main people vying for the Democratic nomination for POTUS.
As just the latest example, both Cory Booker (D-NJ) and Kamala Harris (D-CA) showed a hell of a lot of moxie when it came to the Kavanaugh hearings:
Booker and Harris, two of the Democratic Party’s most prominent African Americans, took the headline-grabbing but shaky steps to put their opposition to Trump and Kavanaugh on full display for the country.
The jockeying by the two came amid a clamor by a liberal base demanding resistance to Trump’s agenda and nominees at all costs and under a glaring national spotlight exposing every stumble. At the same time, the bare-knuckle brawling has divided Democrats, frustrating moderates >acing tough reelection bids in states Trump won handily.
Now, in the same article, check out this quote from the centrist of centrist “Democrats”, Joe Manchin (D-WV):
“It’s not who I am,” said Sen. Joe Manchin III (D-W.Va.), who observed the questioning by Democrats and Republicans at the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing and has indicated he is open to voting for Kavanaugh.
I always say that pressure works. I use the example of Medicare For All in both chambers to illustrate my point. The majority of the Democratic caucus in the House are cosponsors to H.R. 676 and in the senate, we have sixteen. The main names we see that are clearly going to go for the nomination for POTUS are cosponsors for Senator Sanders’ Medicare For All bill. As outlined in Business Insider:
Bernie Sanders is getting some serious support in his push to reform the US healthcare system.
Sanders on Wednesday will roll out a Medicare-for-all bill, which aims to extend the Medicare program, federally funded insurance for people over the age of 65, to all Americans.
A single-payer healthcare push has previously been well outside the mainstream for most Democrats. But Sanders’ legislation has picked up support from high-profile Democrats.
The latest Democratic senator offering support is Kirsten Gillibrand of New York.
“Health care is a right, not a privilege,” Gillibrand tweeted Tuesday. “This week, I’ll proudly join Senator @ Bernie Sanders to co-sponsor Medicare for All.”
Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey also offered support for Sanders’ legislation this week.
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“I’m signing onto Medicare-for-all, which I’m excited to do this week,” Booker said in an interview with NJTV on Monday. “Sen. Sanders, myself, and some others are going to be announcing some legislation this week along with some of my other colleagues.”Booker, who has been floated as a possible contender for the Democratic presidential nomination in 2020, said Obamacare was just a “first step” in securing healthcare for all Americans.
“What we have right now is a country where just because of your wealth, it will depend on whether you have healthcare or not,” Booker continued. “You should not be punished because you are working-class or poor and be denied healthcare. I think healthcare should be a right to all.”
Booker’s announcement comes after other high-profile Democrats said they would cosponsor the bill.
Sen. Kamala Harris, who also has been floated as a 2020 contender, said at a town hall late last month that she would also co-sponsor the bill.
“This is about understanding, again, that healthcare should be a right, not a privilege. And it’s also about being smart,” Harris said.
In Senator Sanders’ Raise the Wage Act (S.1242), there they all are: Booker, Warren, Harris, Gillibrand. It’s almost as if the energy and excitement of the Sanders campaign of 2016 changed the conversation.
And according to ProgressivePunch, all are always within the top 12 of the most progressive in the senate. Voting records do matter. Are they the entire story? No, but a major data point that one can’t just toss in a river.
We can stay cynical or keep pushing left. We choose to be blind democrats or INFORMED democrats/left-leaning independents. Either way, someone is going to win that nomination, and from what I can tell, pressuring from the left appears to be working. Getting involved with outside groups and/or working within the Democratic Party — I have said before, I don’t care how they get to the right positions — JUST AS LONG AS THEY GET THERE.
In today’s continuation of the hearings of Judge Kavansugh, to the U.S. Supmeme Court, Senator Booker (D-NJ) has what he called his “Spartacus moment”. While it was becoming more and more apparent that Kavanaugh wasn’t delivering all the documents necessary, Senator Booker wasn’t having it.
As reported by CNN:
Booker, a potential 2020 presidential candidate with an incentive to make a splash in the hearing, said he took the action as an act of civil disobedience after warning that the American people were being deprived crucial information about Kavanaugh’s past.
“I understand the penalty comes with potential ousting from the Senate. … I openly invite and accept the consequences of my team releasing that email right now,” Booker said.
“This is about the closest I’ll probably ever have in my life to an ‘I am Spartacus’ moment,” he added, after describing the Republican Party’s handling of document production for the hearing as “a bit of a sham.”
I recorded a bit of Senator Booker:
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Now, I’ve watched Cory Booker for years. As a charter school shill in Newark, taking cash from the pharmaceutical industry. He clearly wants to run for POTUS as his positions have definitely been more progressive. I check voting records every day. Booker is usually in the top 5 most progressive, that’s a reality.
We are facing an extreme right-wing SCOTUS. So for today, I’m very proud to say Senator Booker represents me in New Jersey. We can stay cynical about his pro-corporate stances — I’ll stay on him, so should you. REGARDLESS if he’s just doing what he did today, or signing his name to bills like Sanders’ Medicare For All, does it really matter how he got there? As long as he (and others) GET THERE — go left.
So, thank you, Cory Booker. You took a stand.
So, as most of us have seen the “anonymous resistor” Op-Ed via the New York Times, in case you missed it, here’s an excerpt:
President Trump is facing a test to his presidency unlike any faced by a modern American leader.
It’s not just that the special counsel looms large. Or that the country is bitterly divided over Mr. Trump’s leadership. Or even that his party might well lose the House to an opposition hellbent on his downfall.
The dilemma — which he does not fully grasp — is that many of the senior officials in his own administration are working diligently from within to frustrate parts of his agenda and his worst inclinations.
Well, speculation as who wrote that essay have run wild. Mike Pence is one, John McCain is another (what?), and who the hell knows who will be next up for consideration.
What I DO know is this: The hearings of Kavanaugh have begun. He’s not handing over all the necessary documentation. His answers from everything to abortion and if a president is above the law — questionable at best. A reminder: A LIFETIME APPOINTMENT.
So, as Trump in typical fashion is furiously tweeting his thoughts of lunacy, and more troubling, as the fourth estate — the press — is so incredibly obsessed over that Op-Ed, remember this, class: Decades of progressive change could come to an end even be overturned with the confirmation of Kavanaugh (look at the opinion of Gorsuch already — anti-worker), we cannot afford to indulge Trump’s narcism.
Stay on top of flipping congress. And stay on top of these SCOTUS hearings. Long after Trump is gone, his literal re-shaping of SCOTUS will live on, to horrendous consequences.
I posted this on Instagram. Call it corny, maybe it is. As we watch in horror, Republicans ram down Kavanaugh down our throats, I was thinking about what I’ve been doing on a daily basis for a while now. I call “the dailies”
All of this sounds like a lot, it isn’t. When one gets into a routine, it becomes a habit. Like anything else. I cannot express what a difference doing all of what I outlined on a daily basis has made in my life.
So, in this age of Trump, this horrific stunt the GOP is pulling RIGHT NOW regarding Kavanaugh, the absolute greed of the Republicans aiding and abbeting Trump — one could go on forever. I heard in today’s SCOTUS hearing, Senator Dick Durbin say, “When I go home to Illinois, for the first time in my 30 years in congress, I have people pull me off to the side and ask, ‘Senator, are we going to be O.K.?’”. That literally moved me to tears. I don’t have the answer — clearly. But what I know is this: We cannot be effective activists if we are not taking care of ourselves. It’s impossible.
And again, I’ll say what I always say: WE MUST FLIP CONGRESS. I’d argue, aside from the absolute travesty that Trump is even occupying the White House — the midterms of 2018 are one of the most critical elections ever in this country. This experiment, we call democracy. This experiment: America.
I was tagged in a tweet as was Ana Kasparian from The Young Turks. A great video compilation was done to clearly show how wrong Jimmy Dore is — and he is A LOT.
While, I admit, my feelings regarding the likes of Dore are harsher than some; the responses to my reply (SCOTUS, DeVos, Sessions, a right wing executive combined with a right wing congress — NO), were the same “demext” nonsense drivel I’ve seen for over two years.
It’s tiring. It’s exhausting. And frankly, AT THIS POINT if one cannot see that we are staring at fascism, I’m at a loss.
I truly don’t know how many shows I can do on lushleft.com —- I’ve had the honor of interviewing VERY progressive Democratic candidates (yay, Rashida Tlaib or Liz Watson!) and what I know for sure, all of these policies that the left purports to want cannot happen unless we FLIP CONGRESS — and vote Democrat for POTUS in 2020.
That’s just the way it is, kids. I don’t make up the rules. It’s called civics class.
Again, I believe in an “inside/outside” strategy. Pressure left. AND acknowledge when elected Democrats do the right things.
But the very notion that one is a “centrist” or a “neolib” because they’d much rather be fighting Clinton and her actual centrist tendancies than the horror-show that is Trump, is laughable.
And I can’t help but notice, all the new stars loved by the left, like Ocasio-Cortez ARE RUNNING AS DEMOCRATS.
Probably because people like her and Julia Salazar, and too many to name — GET IT.
And with that, I’ll end with this: How come none of these “demexit” types never go after TRULY horrendous “Democrats” like Kyrsten Sinema? Ever look at her voting record? Hideous.
I went to a rally today put on my MoveOn and other organizations. It was small, but passionate! Everyone that was there feels horrified by Trump’s new pick for SCOTUS, Kavanaugh.
Here’s me at a rally today in Warwick, NY. People were there with signs like the one I am holding: Save Healthcare. People were also there because Kavanaugh, as the right wing extremist that he is, will be the the number needed on the Supreme Court to overturn Roe. Here’s The Boston Globe:
“Make no mistake — Kavanaugh will vote to overturn Roe. He may not say so directly during the confirmation process, but his writings and his legal opinions speak clearly enough, if you can read between the lines of judicial code”.
I have no idea what impact these protests will do. I always quote, historian and professor, Harvey J. Kaye: “We are radicals at heart”. Remember that. As Americans, the majority of us want progress. In a poll reported by NBC 67 % of this country want Roe in place. Further, Kavanaugh is a disaster for worker’s rights, essentially anything that represents progress in this country. He’s a far right wing reactionary. Make no mistake.
I’ve discussed that self-care matters. It does Because I’m doing what I call “the dailies”, journaling, meditation, yoga, etc., I was able to get to that rally today. Now, does my showing up to that rally make a difference? Obviously not, taken on its own. But if masses of us SHOW UP, then pressure will have an impact.
I will continue doing all I can. Organizations like MoveOn, Working Families Party, Naral, Planned Parenthood and more are a great way to get involved. We need you. The country needs you.
And I’ll end this by saying what I always say: we must flip congress. Note: I was in a coffee shop today while in Warwick, NY. A woman noticed my sign and all she said was, “everyone needs to get off their ass and vote Democrat. The Republicans are harming this country and enough is enough”.
I couldn’t agree more.
I love this tweet by someone I’ve considered a teacher for almost three decades, Marianne Williamson. In this age of Trump and as many are engaging in activism, I am finding it’s more crucial than ever to engage in SELF CARE.
This isn’t selfish, in fact, it’s one of the most impactful and powerful things one can do. I can only speak from the activities I do every day. I journal, meditate, even ten minutes of yoga or pilates. I journal around programs that I personally know work. For me, Al-Anon is highly effective. But I have to show up and “work the program”. I understand fully that 12-step programs aren’t for everyone. Find something that speaks to you.
Setting healthy boundaries is vital. We do not have to engage with someone who doesn’t respect who we are or speaks to us in an ongoing disrespectful manner. That’s both dishonoring to us, but to them if we allow this. I choose on a daily basis to not allow this. Now, in the past, I would argue and respond in an equally angry way. That was my defenses kicking in, stemming from core unresolved childhood wounds. I can now set boundaries (and do!) with love.
Showing up every day FOR OURSELVES as if we matter is not selfish. To be an activist in this age of Trump we must take care of ourselves first. Think of it this way, we cannot do a job adequately if we are running very low on supplies. Self-care is replenishing our supply.