The Political Junkie Thread

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I didn't watch Trump's speech last night, and I'm glad I didn't, because it might've killed me.

It was fatal for this newly installed Congressman.

Texas Rep. Sylvester Turner, the former mayor of Houston, has died suddenly at 70 years old, just two months after joining Congress.
...
According to Whitmire, Turner was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, after attending President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. He was later pronounced dead.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/new ... 12889.html

Very sad. What a way to go.

I did not watch it either. But his followers seemed to love it. Yes, he had a few decent moments. But many more bad ones. But they only focus on the good. Apparently all of them (particularly the evangelicals) have chosen to ignore the commandment that you shall have no other God. Because they worship Trump like a God.

I am becoming a broken record, but I actually am OK with the basic principles of some of what he is doing. Government has a lot of fat. We spend too many resources abroad. But he is doing it all in a very quick, overly aggressive way, and acting like a gigantic child in the process. The way he treated Zelensky was horrifying. You do not treat another human being like that. Full stop. Trump's followers argue that something has to change in Ukraine. I disagree, but, even if they are right, that is not how you achieve it.

[CameronBornAndBred]

^^^ Good post


In other news, while his speech killed the one congressman, Trump's oratory drove Speaker Johnson's Chief of Staff to drink. (And then unfortunately drive.)

Authorities say Hayden Haynes, chief of staff to House Speaker Mike Johnson, was arrested for DUI hours after President Donald Trump’s joint address to Congress.

https://www.witn.com/2025/03/05/house-s ... olice-say/

[AtlBluRew]

I didn't watch Trump's speech last night, and I'm glad I didn't, because it might've killed me.

It was fatal for this newly installed Congressman.

Texas Rep. Sylvester Turner, the former mayor of Houston, has died suddenly at 70 years old, just two months after joining Congress.
...
According to Whitmire, Turner was taken to the hospital on Tuesday, after attending President Donald Trump’s address to Congress. He was later pronounced dead.

https://www.yahoo.com/entertainment/new ... 12889.html

I didn’t watch either. Instead, I attended the Huntington Beach City Council meeting and took advantage of the 60 seconds* allotted to each citizen to denounce the all-MAGA Council and support Chris Kluwe. 47 citizens spoke up, and my guess is that 30 were on my side. It fell on deaf ears with this Council, but I genuinely believe that there’s no choice left but active resistance.

(*The city charter says that cities are to be allotted 3 minutes each, but you know MAGA and rules.)

[CameronBornAndBred]

I didn’t watch either. Instead, I attended the Huntington Beach City Council meeting and took advantage of the 60 seconds* allotted to each citizen to denounce the all-MAGA Council and support Chris Kluwe. 47 citizens spoke up, and my guess is that 30 were on my side. It fell on deaf ears with this Council, but I genuinely believe that there’s no choice left but active resistance.

(*The city charter says that cities are to be allotted 3 minutes each, but you know MAGA and rules.)

You're one of those professional protesters that Trump and Johnson have complained about, aren't you? Johnson has told his underlings to no longer have any town halls because the pro protesters will just disrupt the real needs and agenda.

[AtlBluRew]

I didn’t watch either. Instead, I attended the Huntington Beach City Council meeting and took advantage of the 60 seconds* allotted to each citizen to denounce the all-MAGA Council and support Chris Kluwe. 47 citizens spoke up, and my guess is that 30 were on my side. It fell on deaf ears with this Council, but I genuinely believe that there’s no choice left but active resistance.

(*The city charter says that cities are to be allotted 3 minutes each, but you know MAGA and rules.)

You're one of those professional protesters that Trump and Johnson have complained about, aren't you? Johnson has told his underlings to no longer have any town halls because the pro protesters will just disrupt the real needs and agenda.

As much as I would like to think that Trump and Johnson would complain about me, I haven’t earned that yet. My Congressman is a Democrat (Dave Min) but I think it will be important to show up at his town halls too. I suspect that MAGA will show up, and even if they don’t, politicians need to see new faces pressuring them into action.

I’ve been active in city politics in Atlanta, where I helped run a successful campaign for City Council President and worked with the Council and 2 Mayors on behalf of two clients with large city contracts, and at the state level in California, where I wrote some legislation and then made appearances to get it approved. I’ve never seen anything like these last two Huntington Beach council meetings, though. Attendees included at least one Proud Boy and a woman who gave 5 Nazi salutes. It was a raucous crowd and I think the all-MAGA council loved every minute of it. They literally wore MAGA hats to their swearing-in and campaigned as MAGA.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I’ve never seen anything like these last two Huntington Beach council meetings, though. Attendees included at least one Proud Boy and a woman who gave 5 Nazi salutes. It was a raucous crowd and I think the all-MAGA council loved every minute of it. They literally wore MAGA hats to their swearing-in and campaigned as MAGA.

That would drive me insane. Especially Nazi lady.

[CrazyNotCrazie]

I didn’t watch either. Instead, I attended the Huntington Beach City Council meeting and took advantage of the 60 seconds* allotted to each citizen to denounce the all-MAGA Council and support Chris Kluwe. 47 citizens spoke up, and my guess is that 30 were on my side. It fell on deaf ears with this Council, but I genuinely believe that there’s no choice left but active resistance.

(*The city charter says that cities are to be allotted 3 minutes each, but you know MAGA and rules.)

You're one of those professional protesters that Trump and Johnson have complained about, aren't you? Johnson has told his underlings to no longer have any town halls because the pro protesters will just disrupt the real needs and agenda.

As much as I would like to think that Trump and Johnson would complain about me, I haven’t earned that yet. My Congressman is a Democrat (Dave Min) but I think it will be important to show up at his town halls too. I suspect that MAGA will show up, and even if they don’t, politicians need to see new faces pressuring them into action.

I’ve been active in city politics in Atlanta, where I helped run a successful campaign for City Council President and worked with the Council and 2 Mayors on behalf of two clients with large city contracts, and at the state level in California, where I wrote some legislation and then made appearances to get it approved. I’ve never seen anything like these last two Huntington Beach council meetings, though. Attendees included at least one Proud Boy and a woman who gave 5 Nazi salutes. It was a raucous crowd and I think the all-MAGA council loved every minute of it. They literally wore MAGA hats to their swearing-in and campaigned as MAGA.

MAGA hat = dunce cap - it is a way of publicly advertising one's stupidity

Thank you for standing up. More of us should be doing this and not letting them intimidate us.

[CameronBornAndBred]

I find this interesting. I think Pete would be better to take a stab at the Senate, and then go for the White House. His highest elected office to date is Mayor, and that will hang over him until he can prove he can do better. In his one shot so far, he didn't prove it.
Buttigieg has decided to not run for the Senate, but keep 2028 open.

https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/13/politics ... index.html

[CameronBornAndBred]

Interesting. (I actually thought they were done with all of these nominations, but I guess not.)

Discussions are being held on whether Representative Elise Stefanik should step away from her nomination to be President Donald Trump's U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a White House official said on Thursday.

Pulling her from the nomination would be done in part because of concern about Republicans' tight majority in the House of Representatives, which she would leave if confirmed for the post.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/elise-stefan ... 25961.html

[CameronBornAndBred]

^^ it's official and someone other than Stefanik will be UN ambassador.

[OPK]

^^ it's official and someone other than Stefanik will be UN ambassador.

Tucker Carlson, come on down.

[CameronBornAndBred]

^^ it's official and someone other than Stefanik will be UN ambassador.

Tucker Carlson, come on down.

Dems would likely enjoy that. Midterms are still a ways off, but the GOP shine is quickly becoming dull, from their own doing, of course. Amateurs in professional jobs are being noticed for how badly that's working out, and it's reflected at the polls.

One election to replace Trump's security advisor is looking very iffy. Another election is already a loss for the GOP.

Republicans have signaled concerns about the Florida congressional race to replace Waltz. His former district includes Daytona Beach and Saint Augustine, which Trump won by 30 percentage points in 2024. The GOP candidate, Randy Fine, has been out raised in cash significantly by Democratic nominee Josh Weil, a math teacher.

Meanwhile, in a sign of Democratic enthusiasm amid Republican control in Washington, Democrat Dan Goughnour won a Pennsylvania state Senate special election Tuesday in a district outside of Pittsburgh that Trump won by 15 percentage points.

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics ... 3e08&ei=97

[CrazyNotCrazie]

Interesting. (I actually thought they were done with all of these nominations, but I guess not.)

Discussions are being held on whether Representative Elise Stefanik should step away from her nomination to be President Donald Trump's U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, a White House official said on Thursday.

Pulling her from the nomination would be done in part because of concern about Republicans' tight majority in the House of Representatives, which she would leave if confirmed for the post.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/elise-stefan ... 25961.html

So who has been ambassador to the UN for the last two months? She is a fake two-faced suckup. Her district was very comfortably Trump. But I'm not sure how the rules work - would the governor (a Dem) get to appoint the replacement until one was elected?

[acdevil]

She’s lucky she didn’t resign her seat in congress like Gaetz did.

But she did lose all her Republican Party leadership spots. She deserves it for going full MAGA

[CameronBornAndBred]

Congratulations to Cory Booker for making the longest inconsequential speech of all time.
Yapping for 24 hours and 18 minutes, nobody will remember what he talked about, if they even knew in the first place.

How fitting he did it on April Fools Day.

[AtlBluRew]

Congratulations to Cory Booker for making the longest inconsequential speech of all time.
Yapping for 24 hours and 18 minutes, nobody will remember what he talked about, if they even knew in the first place.

How fitting he did it on April Fools Day.

I’ll remember that as Booker closed in on the record he paid a beautiful tribute to John Lewis. Tears welled up in my eyes. I’ll remember that finally, a Democratic Senator did something serious in hopes of inspiring others to dramatic action. And he did it by speaking substantively the entire time. No Green Eggs and Ham, no encyclopedias.

Unfortunately I will also remember that the Senate’s first piece of business when Booker yielded the floor was a unanimous consent on a Trump nominee, and not a single Democrat thought to delay it at least a day. It was just business as usual.

I hope that many of us will be out there on April 5, and as many times as it takes.

[acdevil]

What’s on the 5th?

[CameronBornAndBred]

What’s on the 5th?

We celebrate moving on to the championship?