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John Nichols
@NicholsUprising
. . . . Tom Paine. Quaker. Latest book (w/Sen. Bernie Sanders): NYT bestseller It’s OK to be Angry About Capitalism.
John Nichols’s posts
An estimated 1.7 million people are marching in Hong Kong for democracy. This should inspire Americans to step up!
0:43
From
True Hindusthani 
They travelled to D.C.
They slept outside in wheelchairs.
They were arrested.
They never lost faith.
They saved Medicaid.
The new prime minister of Iceland is Katrín Jakobsdóttir: a 41-year-old democratic socialist, feminist, anti-militarist who says Iceland will expand its health-care system, "go farther than the Paris Accord" in fighting climate change and strive for increased gender equality.
No president has ever lived so long, or used his years so honorably, as Jimmy Carter, who today turns 96.
Coup plotters came to Mike Pence with a plan to overturn the 2020 presidential election. He did not go public to expose the scheme. He did not alert the FBI or other authorities. He called Dan Quayle for advice on whether he could go along with the coup.
Not Gonna Be Senator, with Not Gonna Be Governor and Not Gonna Be President.
California Gov. Jerry Brown took office in 2011 with a $27 billion deficit. He won voter support for huge tax hikes on the rich in 2012, and voters reauthorized them in 2016. Brown leaves office w/a $6.1 billion surplus.
Take a note: Taxing the rich works.
Huge round of applause in Dubuque Precinct 9A as backers move as a group to caucus with group.
The first great quote of the #coronavirus era comes from : “I’m dealing with a fucking global crisis.”
twitter.com/betteporter202
Jerry Brown retires as the most successful governor in modern US history.
When he was elected in 2010, California had a $27B deficit and was considered ungovernable.
Now it has $16B in reserves and is booming.
What did Brown do right? He taxed the rich.
thenation.com/article/how-je
If you want to know why the Twitter feed suddenly got edgy, cool and devastatingly effective, here’s the answer. They gave the controls to someone from Jersey!
Mitch McConnell claims gas prices are high because Biden’s waging “a holy war against American fossil fuels.”
Actually, prices are high because of oil company price gouging. And when the House voted to crack down on it, McConnell BLOCKED Senate action.
Cornel West is such a brilliant teacher that, in less than a minute, he got Tucker Carlson to recognize the genius of democratic socialism.
0:45
From 
A socialist from NYC
A socialist from NYC
The free market is so efficient that it prepared us for a pandemic by:
— failing to produce enough tests
— failing to produce enough face masks
— failing to produce enough respirators
— failing to produce a retirement system that is resilient in the face of volatile markets
Latest Polls:
New Hampshire (CNN): in first place.
Iowa (NYT): Sanders in second place.
Nevada (CNN) Sanders tied for first.
California (KQED) Sanders in second.
seems to be surging.
Wins the most votes in Iowa. ✔️
Wins the most votes in New Hampshire. ✔️
Leads the national polls in race for Democratic nomination. ✔️
Leads Trump in national and key state matchups for November. ✔️
Golly, just might be electable.
Trump:
* ordered Pence to skip Zelenskyy’s inauguration
* refused for months to meet with Zelenskky
* blocked military aid for Ukraine
* blackmailed Ukrainians for political purposes.
Every congressional Republican but Mitt Romney said: That’s cool.
Dallas Morning News endorses
Houston Chronicle endorses #BetoORourke
San Antonio Express News endorses
Fort Worth Star-Telegram endorses #BetoORourke
Something is happening in Texas.
thenation.com/article/beto-o
Trump tells FL crowd to look at what happened "last night in Sweden."
Swedes have no idea what he's talking about.
twitter.com/SteveKopack/st
New poll: More than 60% of women now back impeaching Trump and removing him from office.
May: 51% for impeachment and removal.
October: 56% for impeachment and removal.
November: 61% for impeachment and removal.
Joe Manchin is doing more than Donald Trump, Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy—combined—to cost Democrats control of Congress in 2022.
When she got to Congress, made it her mission to #ImpeachDonaldTrump. She was criticized as too outspoken, too determined, too aggressive. Now that impeachment is happening, Tlaib deserves respect for being right—and WAY ahead of the curve.
thenation.com/article/rashid
If I’m not mistaken, , who I believe is a contender for the Democratic presidential nomination, was active in the 1960s, the 1970s and the 1980s, serving as the mayor of his state’s largest city, seeking state and federal office, and does not have these problems.
Quote
"There is literally no Democrat who ... is Joe Biden's age, who was active in the '70s and '80s, who would not have these problems. Bill Clinton ... talked about William Fulbright being his mentor," @jonahNRO says about the pushback on Biden working w/ segregationists #MTP
Democrats who are reluctant to impeach might want to take note of the reaction from voters in Republican ’s district to the congressman’s embrace of the constitutional remedy: a boisterous and sustained standing ovation.
Let down by politicians.
Let down by judges.
Forced to choose between protecting themselves and their right to vote.
They have come, wearing masks and their faith in democracy, to cast ballots in a Wisconsin election that should have been postponed.
1:01
From
Nick Corasaniti
This week, added 126 delegates to his total—which is now 725.
That’s less than Biden’s 878. Biden has the advantage going forward. But it’s absurd to suggest that a candidate who’s steadily adding to his delegate total as Sanders is—up 17% in one week—should quit.
This morning’s NH Democratic Primary poll from is going to get a lot of attention. It shows moving into a big lead:
-Sanders 29%
-Buttigieg 17%
-Biden 14%
-Warren 13%
-Klobuchar 6%
-Yang 5%
-Gabbard 5%
-Steyer 2%
Sanders is +14 since December.
Memo to Democrats: New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy ran for re-election as an unapologetic progressive—building a multiracial, multiethnic campaign with a forward-looking message. He’s way ahead in early returns.
Donald Trump’s transformation of the Republican Party:
2017: Trump and Pence take office.
2018: Republicans lose the House.
2020: Republicans lose the presidency.
2021: Republicans lose the Senate.
John Kasich is telling Democrats that progressives are the party’s problem.
But:
1. Kasich is an anti-choice, anti-labor Republican.
2. Kasich is attacking the people who played pivotal roles in flipping WI, MI and PA.
3. Kasich failed to flip Ohio.
In a frank interview with , warns that, unless Democrats boldly advance an economic and social and racial justice agenda in 2021, the threat posed by Trump’s totalitarian politics will return in ever more dangerous forms.
If Democrats want to push back against the mounting threats to the 2020 vote count from Trump and his associates, they need to play hardball. Start with an immediate House vote to impeach AG William Barr for abusing his position to assault democracy.
She opposed war, racism, sexism & inequality. She stood up to right-wing Republicans and compromising Democrats. She demanded a new Democratic Party, and a new America. She won and lost. But she never backed down, and Shirley Chisholm never abandoned hope. thenation.com/article/shirle
Never forget that when Republicans had a chance to impeach and convict Donald Trump for blackmailing Volodymyr Zelensky, 195 GOP House members and 52 GOP Senators refused to do so.
When it mattered, they abandoned #Ukraine and the U.S. Constitution.
Who won the night?
Let’s review:
Robust #DemocraticDebate performance ✔️
Endorsement from ✔️
Announcement of coming endorsements from and ✔️
Gonna have to give this one to
thenation.com/article/bernie
Thousands greet on the University of New Hampshire campus on #NHprimary2020 eve. This is the largest crowd for a Democratic presidential contender in this campaign.
0:25
Listen to saying it’s #TimeToImpeach.
Listen to and and calling for an #Impeachment inquiry.
This is the the sound of Congress coming to life and finally pushing back against a lawless and imperial presidency.
thenation.com/article/congre
Quinnipiac Poll:
83% of Ds don’t agree D Party has moved too far left
52% of independents don’t agree D Party has moved too far left
63% of women don’t agree D Party has moved too far left
83% of African Americans don’t agree D Party has moved too far left
They’re right.
The Village Voice was exposing Donald Trump when no one else was paying attention.
Senator just won
33,142 votes in the Kansas primary. He picked up another 10 — yes, 10 — delegates to the Democratic National Convention.
Sen. Ron Johnson wanted to give Mike Pence lists of fake electors for the states of Wisconsin and Michigan. If he had succeeded, and if Pence had gone along with the scheme, Johnson would have disenfranchised more than 1.6 million of his own constituents.
Outside Trump Tower, a bus driver signals his approval for protests against an awful presidency with the clenched fist of solidarity!
Trump starts Election Day by missing 7 am live hit on Fox & Friends, leaving hosts scrambling to fill time.
Usual chaos.
VERSUS
Biden starts his Election Day by showing up right on time for morning mass at St. Joseph on the Brandywine.
Usual dignity.
0:18
From
Jennifer Epstein
“Susan Collins claiming she was ‘misled’ by party-boy Brett Kavanaugh is absurd. She knew and simply caved to pressure. Did not have the courage of her convictions. Her legacy is permanently stained.”
—
Mainer
The endorsement is a:
1. Boost for when she needs it most
2. Blow for , who’s battling for same folks as Warren
2. Bad blow for , who needed it
3. Crushing blow for , who really needed it
4. No big deal for
Eric Boehlert, a savvy commentator on the failures of corporate media, and a bold critic of right-wing bias in broadcasting, has died at age 57. A skilled reporter and a fierce analyst, shaped our understanding of how dishonest media creates dysfunctional politics.
Trump's percentage of the popular vote is now below that of Mitt Romney in 2012. He has absolutely NO mandate. thenation.com/article/hillar
There was no more experienced, more serious journalist on than White House correspondent . So, of course, Harwood’s been let go by the network. Why? He was under the mistaken impression that speaking truth to power still matters at .
1:10
“I came here to put country first...”
— on why she has proposed an impeachment inquiry
thenation.com/podcast/rashid
If chooses to keep running his presidential race, that’s fine. If he decides to run for the Senate, that’s fine. As long as he keeps driving to distraction, Beto can run whatever race he likes.
thenation.com/article/beto-o
Funny, I was just thinking that presidents should be required to learn English and pass a civics exam.
Cool. Can we start by getting the kids out of your father’s border cages?
Quote
WI statutes say vacancies for legislative seats “shall be filled as promptly as possible by special election.”
Scott Walker is refusing to call special election.
If he gets away with it, thousands of Wisconsinites will be unrepresented for a full year.
thenation.com/article/scott-
These responses from represent a rare and important pushback by a major figure in our politics against the way in which the media uses empty language to diminish the significance of acts of war by presidents who disregard the Constitution.
0:36
From
Currie Dobson
In Michigan, won:
83% of 18-24 vote
81% of 25-29 vote
62% of 30-39 vote
51% of 40-49 vote.
When he debates on Sunday, Sanders will speak on before of voters Ds will need in November—and the ideas that inspire those voters.
The most important speech Hillary Clinton delivered during the 2016 campaign was on the importance of judicial selection and the Supreme Court. Yet it was largely neglected by media. Four years later, her words are not just prescient. They’re haunting.
“If I’m elected you won’t lose one plant, you’ll have plants coming into this country, you’re going to have jobs again, you won’t lose one plant, I promise you that.”
— Donald Trump addressing MI autoworkers 2016
5 plants to close, 14K layoffs
— GM 2018 thenation.com/article/gm-pla
“We establish no religion in this country. We command no worship. We mandate no belief, nor will we ever. Church and state are and must remain separate.”
— Ronald Reagan
Think about it: Reagan would be too rational for today’s Christian nationalist GOP.
This is what an opposition party is supposed to sound like.
twitter.com/handleyzo/stat
Postal workers got us through 2020 by delivering life-saving medicine and democracy-saving ballots.
In 2021, a new administration and Congress must:
1. Lift the pre-funding burden
2. Free USPS to compete
3. Implement Postal Banking
4. Treasure USPS!
The next time that some pundit or politician starts whining about the fact that dared to note Cuba’s accomplishments in health care, remind them that—when Italy was crying out for help—a plane load of Cuban doctors arrived to fight #COVID19
0:38
From
JoseCarlosRguez
The tragedy of is that no one can seriously describe his Senate career as "decades of public service." Unable to adapt to modern politics, he became an unthinking automaton for Wall St. and a robotic partisan when the excesses of R presidents needed to be challenged.
Texas Democratic legislators headed to DC to deliver a message to congressional Democrats: Get moving on the For The People Act and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act.
The crowds keep getting bigger. This is a significant political development. He is generating the sort of enthusiasm—in a key state: California—that is usually seen on the eve of a major primary. If Sanders sustains this energy, it changes every 2020 calculation.
After Kyle Rittenhouse’s testimony, I am no closer to understanding how exactly an assault rifle fit into his plan to provide medical aid in Kenosha.
Congressional courage award this week goes to Montana Senator — a targeted Democrat in a state that backed Trump. Tester took the lead in blocking Trump’s VA pick and voted against approving war-hawk Mike Pompeo as Secretary of State. Other Ds buckled. Tester didn’t.
Something tells me Minnesota may not be in the bag for Amy Klobuchar.
0:21
From
esme murphy
Huge crowd welcomes on her arrival home in Minnesota! This is the part of America that welcomes immigrants, and then sends them to Congress.
I’m a Wisconsinite.
But, today, we are all Minnesotans!
0:24
From
Tom Hauser
Traveling across the US at an urgent pace, @Ocasio2018 seeks not to promote herself but to promote a movement and its candidates. This is a new politics. It does not win every race, but it wins vital ones... and it builds toward future victories. thenation.com/article/the-al
60 Minutes: “If #BrettKavanaugh is shown to have lied to the committee, nomination’s over?”
Jeff Flake: “Oh, yes.”
Chris Coons: “I would think so.”
Brett Kavanaugh lied to the committee. Repeatedly.
This is not an unresolved or debatable point.
thenation.com/article/note-t
“I happen to believe that Henry Kissinger was one of the most destructive secretaries of state in the modern history of this country."
—
Quote
“(There) is renewed effort to canonize Robert E. Lee... But one thing–one terrible fact–militates against this and that is the inescapable truth that Robert E. Lee led a bloody war to perpetuate slavery.”
— W.E.B. Du Bois
The Crisis, March 1928
I interviewed about refugee issues and she spoke of providing facts and information in order to break through the lies and spin. Trump twisted ’s words to try and suggest she was speaking with contempt about working people.
Trump is lying.
thenation.com/article/donald
Most Delicious Notion of 2018:
If Donald Trump’s GOP loses control of the House, the new chairperson of the powerful Financial Services Committee (with its subpoena powers and oversight authority to examine Trump family financial wrongdoing) is likely to be:
Maxine Waters.
US Rep. recognizes a pattern:
“Kentucky has ONE polling place for 616,000 voters.
Mitch McConnell has allowed the bill to restore the Voting Rights Act to sit on his desk for months to reap the benefits.
THIS IS CLEAR VOTER SUPPRESSION.”
“But I know a change is gonna come, oh yes it will...”
Cora Harris, ’s stepdaughter, listening to the victory speech on Tuesday night. Beautiful image from Sarah Rice for The New York Times.
The surge continues. A new CNN/UNH poll of likely New Hampshire among Democratic primary voters has it:
Sanders 25%
Biden 16%
Buttigieg 15%
Warren 12%
Klobuchar 6%
Gabbard 5%
Yang 5%
Rest at 2% or below
Sanders has gone from 19% in July to 21% in Oct. to 25% now.
At midnight, the military-industrial complex about which Dwight Eisenhower warned 58 years ago will be fully realized. A 31-year employee of Boeing—who joined Trump’s team with no military or foreign policy experience—will take charge of the Pentagon.
thenation.com/article/patric
On behalf of Wisconsin, I think it is reasonable to mention at this point that Ron Johnson was born in Minnesota.
2:33
From
Meet the Press
Brinley Newton-John, the father of #OliviaNewtonJohn, was an British intelligence officer who worked on the Enigma project and was responsible for the apprehension of Nazi leader Rudolph Hess during the WWII. Her mother, Irene Born, was a Jewish refugee from Germany.
Donald Trump never bothered to read the Constitution. He paid no attention to his oath of office. He thought he could write his own rules. He didn’t ever imagine he would face accountability. He didn’t see Jamie Raskin coming. He won’t know what hit him.
With 97% of precincts counted in #IowaCaucus results, is now more than 2,500 votes ahead of .
Sanders is more than 10,000 votes ahead of , and more than 20,000 votes ahead of .
Pennsylvania Senate Race:
John Fetterman 46%
Dr. Oz 37%
Fetterman is pulling ahead by running strong in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh AND by polling way better than Democrats usually do in rural counties where he has gone out of his way to campaign.
(USA Today/Suffolk Poll)
The depositions would be unsettling. But the notion of a newspaper with sweeping discovery powers going after Roy Moore is rather delicious.
Quote
NEW: Roy Moore said tonight in Huntsville at a closed-press gathering that the Washington Post published false allegations against him--"for which they will be sued."
Please
Do
Not
Let
Rahm
Emanuel
Infuse
Another
Democratic
Administration
With
Toxic
Neoliberalism
BREAKING: More than a dozen groups with histories of working on ethics and accountability issues have called on Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer to utilize a 14th amendment strategy to disqualify Donald Trump from ever again holding the presidency.
“Pro-Life” would be 20 Sandy Hook students starting high school.
When dozens of Jewish activists were preparing to be arrested for blocking the ICE facility in Elizabeth, NJ, they heard singing and shofars — as dozens and dozens more arrived to join the line.
#JewsAgainstICE
#NeverAgainMeansNeverAgain
0:45
From
Rafael Shimunov
Mike Bloomberg’s campaign gripes that it is “insulting” when says: “He is spending hundreds and hundreds of millions of dollars to buy the election. There’s something wrong with that.”
It’s not insulting.
It’s true.
If Trump fires Mueller, the American people will have to take a lesson from the South Koreans -- who in 2016 poured into the streets and rallied, marched and protested until a corrupt president was impeached and forced from office.
thenation.com/article/if-tru