The Secret Republican Economic Agenda

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The devious and evil Republican economic plan:

(1) Give massive tax breaks to corporations and the super-rich... the last people in the world who actually need a tax cut
(2) Deliberately cause a massive deficit and crash the economy (primarily as a result of the above tax cuts)
(3) When the public becomes outraged about the resulting hardships, falsely claim that the reason for their hardship is the money that we spend on entitlement programs
(4) Mislead the public into believing that everything will be fine, if we get rid of Social Security, MediCare, MedicAid, etc.
(5) If they get enough support for the above, they try to take away those entitlement programs and then privatize them
(6) Their goal: an America in which the poor and the middle class are totally dependent upon the wealthy for our well-being

This has been the Republican plan for the past 50 years. Every time that they've had the opportunity to pull  this crap, they have done so. Don't be fooled again, America.



*VOTE BLUE*

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Impeaching Donald Trump

Impeachment means having the power to subpoena Trump's financial records, his tax returns, the power to call witnesses and the ability to forward their findings to the courts. Richard Nixon knew this, and that was why he resigned -- before the House had the chance to impeach him back in 1974. Nationwide support for Trump will plummet and the federal and state courts will immediately file criminal charges against him. He'll be so buried under legal wrangling, that his presidency will effectively grind to a halt. So you see, we don't need the Senate. And for all we know, a bunch of Republican senators could turn against him, once Trump's crimes become a matter of public record. Trump only gets to be president until 2020... but the Republican senators have their future political careers to consider. You can bet that many of them will desert Trump, like rats from a sinking ship.

I'm posting this for all of the ignorant Trumptards out there, who believe that holding the Senate will protect Trump. Sorry, but no it won't.

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Here's another one, having a Republican governor in a blue state causing things to get deadlocked.

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Or... the attempts by the GOP to disenfranchise voters in Georgia and the Dakotas, with ridiculous new voter registration laws
that are clearly intended to make it much more difficult for blacks and native Americans to vote.

This is the only way the GOP can win anymore, folks. Their party is down to being 24% of all registered voters and that number keeps dropping every single year.

They simply don't have the numbers anymore to win honestly. And so... they cheat and break the law. Sure, they end up losing in court cases, but by the time those cases are settled, the election has already passed. The behavior of the Republicans is pure thuggery and it's revolting.

I sometimes wonder how much longer it will be, before people take to the streets armed with knives and guns. And Molotov cocktails... and pipe bombs... and who knows what else. It's happened before... just ask anyone who was alive back in the years between 1968 and 1975.

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Don't forget that with enough states with majority Republican rule, they can call for a Constitutional convention...and change the rules however they like:

https://www.alternet.org/right-wing/wisconsin-latest-red-run-state-call-rewriting-constitution
https://www.alternet.org/right-wing/billionaire-backed-movement-dangerously-close-calling-constitutional-convention
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/kochs-bankroll-movement-rewrite-constitution
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/wisconsin-pin-hand-grenade-billionaire-and-corporate-funded-coup-rewrite
https://www.alternet.org/news-amp-politics/right-wing-billionaires-have-project-going-rewrite-our-constitution-and-they-are
https://www.alternet.org/activism/verge-constitutional-collapse
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Article_V_convention
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Second_Constitutional_Convention_of_the_United_States
https://conventionofstates.com/
https://www.commoncause.org/resource/u-s-constitution-threatened-as-article-v-convention-movement-nears-success/
https://splinternews.com/right-wing-billionaires-are-buying-themselves-a-new-con-1793960357
https://www.alec.org/article/arizona-calls-the-first-convention-of-states-since-1861/

From the Common Cause site:

Why the Article V Convention Process is a Threat

As outlined in Common Cause's 2015 report, The Dangerous Path: Big Money's Plan to Shred the Constitution, a constitutional convention is open to many problems, including:

    THREAT OF A RUNAWAY CONVENTION: There is nothing in the Constitution to prevent a constitutional convention from being expanded in scope to issues not raised in convention calls passed by the state legislatures, and therefore could lead to a runaway convention.
    INFLUENCE OF SPECIAL INTERESTS: An Article V convention would open the Constitution to revisions at a time of extreme gerrymandering and polarization amid unlimited political spending. It could allow special interests and the wealthiest to re-write the rules governing our system of government.
    LACK OF CONVENTION RULES: There are no rules governing constitutional conventions. A convention would be an unpredictable Pandora's Box; the last one, in 1787, resulted in a brand-new Constitution. One group advocating for a "Convention of States" openly discusses the possibility of using the process to undo hard-won civil rights and civil liberties advances and undermine basic rights extended throughout history as our nation strove to deliver on the promise of a democracy that works for everyone.
    THREAT OF LEGAL DISPUTES: No judicial, legislative, or executive body would have clear authority to settle disputes about a convention, opening the process to chaos and protracted legal battles that would threaten the functioning of our democracy and economy.
    APPLICATION PROCESS UNCERTAINTY: There is no clear process on how Congress or any other governmental body would count and add up Article V applications, or if Congress and the states could restrain the convention's mandate based on those applications.
    POSSIBILITY OF UNEQUAL REPRESENTATION: It is unclear how states would choose delegates to a convention, how states and citizens would be represented in a convention, and who would ultimately get to vote on items raised in a convention.
    UNCERTAIN RATIFICATION PROCESS: A convention could try to re-define the ratification process (which currently requires 38 states to approve any new amendments) to make it easier to pass new amendments, including those considered at the convention. This happened in 1787, when the convention changed the threshold necessary for ratification.

Simply put, an Article V constitutional convention is a dangerous and uncontrollable process that would put Americans' constitutional rights up for grabs.

At a time when extreme gerrymandering has created unprecedented polarization and big money buys access and influence for a few very wealthy special interests, a new constitutional convention would lead to chaos; the interests of everyday Americans would be shut out of the ultimate closed-door meeting. There would be no way to limit the scope of a constitutional convention and no way to guarantee that our civil liberties and constitutional process would be protected.

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From the Common Cause site:

Heh... I don't talk about it much, but I've been an active member of Common Cause for more than 20 years (and counting).

We recently won an important lawsuit to put an end to Republican gerrymandering in Carolina. The lawyers have filed similar suits in other states.

Well, the GOP would need... what... a three-fifths majority of the states, to ratify the Constitution..? I forget the particulars. I don't think they'll have the numbers.

Anyway... do you remember about 8 or so years ago, when I predicted "In about 10 to 15 years, we could be looking at violence in the streets in America." (?)

A lot of you felt that I was being premature with that prediction, as I recall. I'm not trying to gloat, or anything like that. I was just wondering if anyone had recently started to think along the same lines. Every day, the hostility in this country is ramping up. As for me, I obviously had no idea about Donald Trump, back when I made that prediction. I was simply basing it upon what I perceived as being an emerging, highly polarized and tribal mentality which, in recent years, has gotten enormously worse than it was back then.

I definitely didn't expect things to become this inflamed, this fast. At this point, I don't see any reason to junk that prediction... if anything, it's looking more and more like a sure thing. And 2020 will be about ten years after I made the prediction, so here we go. Given the way things are deteriorating, the 1968 Democratic convention riot could look like a folk dance, in comparison to what may be coming in 2020.

But anyway, if the GOP pushes America any further than they already have, then we're looking at the late 60's and early 70's all over again. In which case, I'll wind this up with something else that I used to say a lot, years ago:

BUY GUNS. AND LEARN HOW TO USE THEM.


IMHO, the days for liberals to be soft pacifists are over. When they go low, we need to start kicking them in the teeth. I'm not in favor of violence... but I'm even less in favor of being walked all over by unscrupulous Nazi bastards.

Glad I live in the rural desert. When this country explodes... and I still think it will... I'm living way off the radar, so to speak. So if any of you want someplace safe to hide... LOL. Just bring some cute girls with you.

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Trump's actual accomplishments:

(1) Stealing the 2016 election, with the help of the Russians and the Saudis
(2) Dividing America and promoting racism and white supremacy
(3) Giving billionaires and corporations unnecessary tax cuts
(4) Ballooning the deficit and killing job growth
(5) Laughably taking credit for the economic growth and job growth created by Barack Obama
(6) Ripping innocent babies from their mothers arms at the border and locking them in cages like dogs
(7) Forcing an allegedly alcoholic serial rapist onto the Supreme Court (Kavanaugh), who has vowed to overturn Roe vs. Wade
(8} Supporting a Saudi cover-up of the brutal murder of an American journalist
(9) Lying, lying, lying CONSTANTLY to the American people

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My initial reaction to the mail bombs which have been sent to Donald Trump's perceived enemies:

First of all, let's call these suspicious mail bombs what they are: acts of domestic terrorism. That is not an overstatement. It is not an exaggeration. It is TERRORISM, in every sense of what that word means.

But it is not going to work out well for Trump and the Republican party. Not at all.

Once again, the far-right shoots themselves in their own foot. The effect of these acts of terrorism will NOT help Trump and the Republicans. Exactly the opposite: Trump and the GOP are making America less safe. Donald Trump openly encourages violence... he has even gone so far as to say that he will pay for someone's legal defense, if that person commits an act of violence against Trump's perceived enemies. Well, now we see it happening. A vote for the Republicans is a vote for an increased level of division and violence in America. It is clearly true and we must all keep this in mind when we vote in the midterms. No matter what your political leanings might be, no one wants to live in a divided and violent country.

VOTE BLUE



PS -- I am not a Democrat. I abandoned the Democratic party back in the year 2000. But this year, I will be voting a straight Democratic ticket. I want this country to be unified again... and there is no way for us to achieve that goal, so long as Trump and the Republicans remain in power. They have been encouraging division and hostility for many years, and We The People must put a stop to their toxic and threatening agenda.

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Hillary and George Soros did this..!!! They used chimpanzees to deliver the bombs. NO REALLY... THEY DID..!!! They have a secret laboratory and they used alien technology to do brain surgery on the chimps, to make them smarter. Goddamn it, I'm telling you the truth..!!! Liberal brain-altered chimpanzees did this..!!! I've heard that there are hundreds more of those alien chimps, hidden within the migrant caravan..!!! THIS IS SERIOUS..!!! They're coming to invade us..!!! They'll try to touch our nipples, too..!!! We're all gonna die..!!!

Hey... if anybody needs me, then I'll be over in the corner... masturbating furiously to a photo of Ivanka.

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Hey... if anybody needs me, then I'll be over in the corner... masturbating furiously to a photo of Ivanka.

At least that gives you one thing in common with our illustrious "president"...

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Oh... and did you see that they caught the guy who sent those bombs..?

Turns out that he is, indeed, a right-wing wacko and an ardent Trump supporter.
He was trying to curry favor with Emperor Trump. Check out all of his tweets and
his loony Facebook crap. All of it is pure Alex Jones.

I rest my case.

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Today, another insane right-wing extremist entered a temple in Pittsburgh, PA and murdered 11 Jewish Americans in cold blood.

His reasoning..? He feels that Trump is being prevented from doing a good job, because he is surrounded by Jewish liberals. That is really what this psychopath has said. So he decided to murder a bunch of innocent Jews, all of whom had nothing whatsoever to do with Trump.

...

As I keep saying to y'all: BUY GUNS -- AND LEARN HOW TO USE THEM.

I've been saying that for about a decade now... right here on this Forum. I've been saying it because I have been expecting things to become increasingly violent in the streets of America. I had no idea about Trump, back when I first started giving that advice... I was instead motivated by my perception that this country is becoming increasingly tribal and irrational.

The police can't be everywhere at once, so relying upon the police to protect you at all times is simply not a realistic expectation. You may hate guns... hell, I kinda hate guns, too... but as I have said before: the only thing worse than a gun is not having a gun when you need it.

Oh... if anyone is wondering what the best choice of gun is for home defense, there are many options... but I'd like to recommend a Remington tactical shotgun. Police SWAT teams use the very same gun in many places. At close range, you can't miss and at REALLY close range, you can practically blow someone in half with it. Keep it away from children, obviously. Lock it in a closet along with some shells and then keep the key hidden, but accessible. The last thing that any of us want is an accident with a shotgun... it almost never turns out well. But if home defense is your goal, then it will be very handy in a crisis.

This is going to get worse before it gets better. Donald Trump actually encourages this type of behavior in his followers... either directly, or by simply remaining inactive when these tragic events of right-wing extremism occur. To his followers, this is basically the same as Trump giving them the green light to run out and start committing atrocities against liberals and Democrats. And ethnic minority groups. And women. And everyone else that they feel is somehow an enemy of Donald Trump.

At this point, anyone who continues to support Donald Trump is the modern equivalent of a Nazi brownshirt.

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It getting like clockwork with how often these shootings occur.

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It getting like clockwork with how often these shootings occur.

I don't know what else people expected. The Terrorist in Chief is encouraging this environment of hate, fear and division within America. To date, 71% of all violent hate crimes in America have been committed by right-wing extremists... all of whom are Trump supporters, and all of whom no doubt felt emboldened by Trump and his hateful rhetoric. Trump has basically given the green light to these psychos, and he looks the other way after they commit these acts of extreme violence. It no doubt feeds Trump's ego to see all of this happening.

I know of someone else whose ego was fed in such evil ways. Donald Trump is the modern reincarnation of Adolph Hitler. Anyone who thinks that this assertion is extreme should simply read Hitler's book Mein Kampf. You'll find so many parallels between Hitler's methods and Trump's that you'll wonder why we, as a nation, didn't see this coming.

The Dems need to retake the House. Then we need to impeach Donald Trump. And then we need to shove so much legal paperwork up Trump's fat, Nazi ass that he'll be shitting confetti for a year. 

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Republican Congressman Jeff Fortenberry is apparently not very popular within his own district. Take a look...



Well okay, so it's a little childish. But I was a young man once and I will confess to pulling similarly sophomoric pranks in my day. That's a yard sign that some unknown pranksters decided to have a bit of fun with.

What is interesting to me here is that a local college professor who clicked the "Like" button when he saw the above photo posted on Facebook, was actually called on the phone and harassed by one of Fortenberry's staff members in Washington. Merely because the professor liked the image. No other reason. Fortenberry's operative even went so far as to threaten the professor. It's all been recorded (the professor recorded the phone call).

Big Brother-ism at its finest. 

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And tomorrow is the moment of truth.

Do the American people finally begin to wake up and start the arduous process of rejecting Republican misrule, by voting out as many of these dickless, Trump-enabling cocksuckers as humanly possible?

Or do they confirm the nation's slow slide into quasi-fascist kakistocracy, continuing environmental degradation and accelerating impoverishment of the 99 percent, by voting Repuke or not voting at all?

As for me, I already voted my straight Democratic ticket and sent that fucker in last week. I really had to hold my nose to vote for Kyrsten Sinema (almost as much as when I voted for Hillary Clinton, back in 2016)...she's voted with Trump 61% of the time and proudly crows her "bipartisanship" bona fides. But that's better than Martha McSally's ("my" congresswoman) 91% pro-Trump voting record...so I bypassed the Green candidate I would have voted for in a less consequential year (and who dropped out of the race and endorsed Sinema anyway). Of course I will never know if my ballot got mysteriously lost somehow...or my vote magically changed to McSally...this is Arizona after all, home of Secretary of State Michele Reagan...whose obvious partisan rigging of the 2016 election (mostly through massive "reorganization" and "consolidation" of polling places) embarrassed even the Republicans (due to its obviousness, not its moral bankruptcy), and may have thrown the election here to Trump (he only carried the state by three percentage points).

I really, really hope we get that blue wave. Any outcome other than the Democrats taking AT LEAST the House (which would enable them to at least theoretically obstruct much of Trump's agenda, not accounting for the well-documented spinelessness of Democratic leadership) would be...let's go with a vast understatement and say...disappointing. And if Trump wins in 2020, well...let's just say liberals may find a new appreciation for the Second Amendment. Because the shit would be hitting the fan with unprecedented volume and thickness at that point (unprecedented since the 1930s in Europe anyway). I'm certainly planning to buy a gun very soon...

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I really, really hope we get that blue wave.

Well, if early voting is any indication, then you already have a blue wave.   

Democrats are already outperforming Republicans by a comfortable margin in most states... including a few states that I never would have expected to vote blue (Florida, for example).

Younger voters tend not to vote early, and we're seeing a record number of voter registrations among Millennials, so tomorrow just might be a slaughter for the Dems.

I think the House is a sure thing and I'm even going to predict that the Dems pick up a minimum of 40 House seats tomorrow. They only need 24 to regain control.

Now then... none of this shit means a damn thing if you people don't do the following:

GET THE FUCK OUT THERE AND VOTE VOTE VOTE

Vote for the Democrats if you want the following:

(1) Better health care, such as MediCare for all.
(2) Not only more jobs, but BETTER jobs that pay higher salaries.
(3) Checks and balances upon the evil Republicans in Congress.
(4) IMPEACHMENT OF DONALD TRUMP IN 2019.
(5) More attention paid to the ravages of climate change.
(6) A decisive move toward clean and renewable energy.

Or, vote for the Republicans if you want...

(1) Women and minorities to be marginalized and systematically mistreated.
(2) Big tax cuts for billionaires that are already bankrupting America.
(3) Donald Trump to continue getting away with his crimes, both past and present.
(4) Violence in the streets of America... which we are already seeing, and it will definitely get much worse.
(5) Climate change and our effects upon it to be ignored.
(6) Continued reliance upon toxic fossil fuels.

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Woooooooo hooooooo...!!!   

THE DEMOCRATS WIN THE HOUSE


Now we can subpoena Trump's tax returns. If they find enough dirt, impeachment is sure to follow.

A number of Republicans in the Senate will probably turn against Trump, just to protect their own political futures.

Removing Trump from office is a very real possibility in 2019.

It's party time, fellow liberals..!!!