Can we get an "Amen!" for Michigan?

In Michigan, Democrats came, saw, and conquered

Though I don't watch her show anymore, Rachel Maddow has spent considerable time over the past eight years explaining (and rightfully so) how Michigan has been a laboratory for implementing the republican game plan--everything on the GOP wish list, from passing a right to work (for less) law to privatizing government responsibilities, from taxing seniors and giving tax breaks to corporations to cutting working folks' pensions, the GOP has done here in Michigan.

No more.  Last week Michiganders delivered a gut punch to the republican agenda from top to bottom.  For the first time since I moved here nearly twenty years ago, Democrats will control the top three spots in our state--Governor (Gretchen Whitmer). Attorney General (Dana Nessel), and Secretary of State (Jocelyn Benson).  For the first time since 2010, Democrats will be on par with republicans for the U.S. House, with seven representatives each.  Also for the first time since I moved here, my U.S. House representative will be a Democrat (Elissa Slotkin).  While we didn't end republican control in our state legislature, we did end the republicans' super majority which means their agenda is done through at least 2022.  We added a Supreme Court seat, elected the first Muslim woman to the U.S. House (Rashida Tlaib), and passed propositions ending gerrymandering, implementing automatic voter registration, and legalizing marijuana.

I know I'm biased as Michigan is my adopted home, but the Democratic rout in Michigan has to be the most under reported story of the 2018 midterm elections.  In a state that is a must win for Donald Trump in 2020, we provided a blueprint for turning a recovering purple state blue again.  And it's a very progessive blueprint.

Michigan is a bellwether for 2020 because Michigan voters resoundingly found the republican experiment to be a massive failure.

Just like Donald Trump.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Traitor Mitch

This man has done more damage to our country than Donald Trump

Mitch McConnell wrote an op-ed for Fox News this week in which he called on Democrats to work with republicans in a bipartisan way for the good of the country.

Yessireee.

God what I wouldn't give for one, just one, Democratic member of Congress to stand before God and media and say, "Bipartisanship?  Mitch McConnell can go fuck himself."

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Goddamn right, it's a beautiful day

We won, we won, we won...

Forget the spin--Trump can claim victory because of the Senate and the media can claim it was a split decision, but all the evidence points to Tuesday being a humongous night for Democrats.  The House alone means that cuts to Social Security and Medicare, as well as a repeal of Obamacare, are dead.  We turned it around in Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and my home here in Michigan, and if we hold the states Hillary Clinton won in 2016, plus add those three, Donald Trump can move to Moscow or take a flying fuck at a rolling doughnut (either way I don't care).  The Democratic margin of victory of  +.9.2 is the largest in recent times (even beating Dems in 2006 and 2008 and republicans in 2010).  Even though we lost the Senate, our candidates garnered more votes than theirs.  And all of this despite electoral maps that were absolutely brutal for us this year.

Yes, we lost some races we would have liked to have won, and we may need to rethink strategies in Ohio and Florida (write them off and pour money into more likely winners?), but this election was a complete and total repudiation  (seriously, read the link, it'll make your day) of Donald Trump.

So celebrate (for about five minutes and get started on 2020):

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Just fucking vote

Fuckin' A, 110 percent...

There's a lot to be nervous about going into tomorrow's midterm elections...like basically the future of this experiment that we've been conducting surprisingly well for the last 242 years.

Like...will there be a blue wave?

Can we win the Senate?

What if the blue wave doesn't materialize?

What happens to the Mueller investigation?

What will the election's outcome mean for 2020?

In the end, try to remember that even if we don't win as many as we'd like, if we win just one more seat in the House than they do we can effectively end much of the Trump agenda (cuts to Medicare and Social Security will be dead, dead, dead).  Or that every governorship we win means that there's one more state where republicans will not be able to gerrymander its districts to their own advantage.  And that even if we just break even in the Senate, it still means republicans are going to have to tailor their agenda to make sure they can get 51 votes.

It's a cliche, but this is a marathon, not a sprint.

So don't get caught up in the future--fight the battle that we can fight tomorrow.

And just fucking vote.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Don't believe the hype

Most important election of your life

There is a subset of Democratic supporters who are convinced that sharing their hand wringing and the rending of their garments over recent polls that show the midterm elections tightening will drive more people to the polls in fear...but I'm not as convinced as they are.  As often as not, it ends up being a self-fulfilling prophecy, and the negativity ends up dragging us down.

Fuck the media--they're not interested in interpreting polls, they're interested in selling newspapers and getting people to watch their news shows.  And right now they're cherry picking poll results so they can do just that--they want me to be reading their newspapers over the next two weeks and being up at 11:30 pm watching Rachel Maddow on November 6th worrying over whether or not we'll win back control of the House. 

Let me remind you that the last two midterm elections that resulted in waves--2006 and 2010--the media was telling us that the election was tightening in the days before the the actual votes got counted...and both of them ended up being much bigger waves than the polls were showing.

Am I confident we will win?  God, no.  But I'll wager that the odds we win a solid majority in the House (and I wouldn't rule out the Senate--no one thought we'd take it in 2006 and a few upsets led the way to just that) are much better than that the republicans will retain a slight majority. 

There's enough of us who believe our 242 year experiment is worth continuing, and not nearly enough of us who want to turn it over to fascism.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

A ray of light

Average Americans need not apply

It's easy with the daily onslaught of bad news that's the hallmark of the Trump administration to not see the good that will result as more Americans wake up to the fact that the republican party is not taking the country in a direction a vast majority of Americans favor.  One such piece of good news is that Americans are finally waking up to the reality that the Supreme Court is a wholly owned subsidiary of the wealthy--a recent poll showed that more than 75% of Americans no longer had trust in the Supreme Court, and thanks to its barrage of decisions against the best interest of average Americans and in favor of corporate America, its prestige will continue to sink even lower.

Think about that--while many Americans have had their doubts about both houses of Congress and politicians, the Supreme Court has usually remained above the fray.  The ramifications of a solid majority of Americans no longer having faith in the institution are endless--somewhere down the line, as is done in many states, can it be possible that the Justices will be elected with term limits?  Never underestimate the anger of the powerless.

It is also becoming clearer to many Democrats that the way to advance our agenda is through the state courts, most of which, through being duly elected, can and will be held accountable for their decisions. 

Yes, it may take years and we will lose a number of battles along the way, but the prize is to win the war and with changing demographics and the utter madness of today's republican party, that prize is looking much more likely.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Let's bury the fuckers

This is the republican party

Not that we needed it, but today's events--bombs sent to President and Mrs. Obama, Bill and Hillary Clinton, CNN, and Eric Holder--plus yesterdays attempts on George Soros should embolden all of us on the left to do all we can to end the GOP's stranglehold on our government.  Make no mistake:  this week's acts show the true colors of today's republican party.  They've been fomenting this shit for decades now and it was only a matter of time before one of their own became unhinged.

If the FBI is able to find the culprit behind this act of domestic terrorism, despite all of the GOP's bullshit lies today, he or she will be a right wing nut job.  Period.

We have less than two weeks until the vote of our lives.  So vote like your life depends on it--because it very well may.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Trump's BFF

Excuse me, I have to vomit...

Donald Trump's best buddy, Vladimir Putin, gave his annual foreign policy speech this past Thursday, and in it he gloated that America's world dominance was declining due to too many mistakes.

Like electing Donald Trump?

On a related note, Putin also bragged about Russia's hypersonic missile system (which CNBC claims we have no defense against) being only months away from actuality...and a mere two days later, Trump vowed in a speech in Nevada to pull out of the INF treaty (it limits the range of missiles, much like Russia's noted above) opening up the arms race again just as Putin's missile system comes to fruition.

Putin must be a hell of a fiddle player--because he's playing Trump like a maestro.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

My Angry Liberal Mob check must be in the mail

It's all the republicans have got--bullshit 

In a last ditch effort to save their pathetic asses, republicans are running on the platform that only they stand between ordinary Americans and a Paid Angry Mob of Liberals (read blacks, Latinos, Muslims, and women)...which would be merely pitiful if it weren't for a recent study that showed almost two-thirds of the terrorist attacks in America are committed by right wing extremists.

Over the last generation, the biggest threat to Americans has been the republican party--from their fealty to the NRA to their union busting to their racism to their misogyny to their war on the poor to their fellating of the rich to their collusion with Russia, there is no group that has done more damage to Americans than the republican party and the pawns who have cast their votes for them.

Frankly, considering everything they have done to us, they should be relieved we're merely screaming in the streets instead of going absolutely medieval on their asses.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Yes, republicans are this stupid

Truer words, friends, truer words...

So...two republican volunteers walk into a Democratic campaign headquarters and pretend they're Communists--and, no it's not the opening line to a joke.  It actually happened at the offices of Arizona congressman and incumbent Democrat Tom O'Halleran, as perpetrated by two less than intelligent volunteers for congressional wannabe and pathetic republican, Wendy Rogers (which her campaign denied it was a part of--wink, wink, nudge, nudge).  It's not particularly hard to do, but if you enjoy watching republicans being made to look like idiots, click on the link and watch O'Halleran's Finance Director Lindsay Coleman return the $39.68 "donation."

You have to wonder about the quality of the students at the University of Northern Arizona (where the two perpetrators are enrolled), considering that they're working a campaign tactic--"Ooh, scary! Communists!"--that no one has much cared about since, oh, the 90's, and is especially weak kneed considering their Fuhrer, Donald Trump, recently walked out of a meeting in Helsinki with noted communist and Russian President Vladimir Putin with Putin's cum stains splattered all over his tie.

Did I mention that they tried to pass themselves off as a Latino and a Muslim?  The horror!

Swear to God, considering the stupidity of their supporters, it's a miracle republicans can even get to the fucking polls to vote.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Thanks, Mitch!

Mitch McConnell, traitor and rape advocate

Seems that Mitch McConnell has written off the House and is trying to save the Senate by motivating white American males to turn out in Democratic held seats in red states by going all in to confirm sexual offender and perjurer Brett Kavanaugh to the U.S. Supreme Court.

Perhaps McConnell should ask Todd "Legitimate Rape Doesn't Result In Pregnancy" Akin (crushed by Claire McCaskill in 2012 in red state Missouri) and Richard "Rape Pregnancies Were Intended by God" Mourdock (beaten easily by Joe Donnelly in red state Indiana in 2012) how defending sexual assault works as a strategy in Senate elections.

Or better yet, we can win the Senate this November and McConnell can crawl back into whatever shithole it was his pathetic ass came out of in Kentucky.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Winnin' with Democratic women

Sisters are doing it for the Democratic Party

With the utter shit show the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation process has become for republicans (especially for Iowa Senator  Shitheel Chuck Grassley--he can forget the Aw, Shucks, I'm Just Like Your Grandpa routine, as he's now officially a Misogynistic Sexual Assault Enabler), it's not all that surprising that a poll from the L.A. Times shows Democrats with a 62% to 34% advantage among women for the upcoming midterm elections.

There might be enough white Americans for republicans to overcome losing 90% of the African-American vote and 75% of the Latino vote regularly, but there aren't nearly enough white American men for republicans to survive losing over 60% of women.  While I'm sure the republican party will survive in some form, they are pretty much on their way to joining the Whigs in the ash heap of American history.

And the sooner the better--any party choosing a pig like Brett Kavanaugh to be the hill they die on isn't interested in making America great any time soon.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Baba O'Rourke

Who knew there were cool kids in Texas?

If you haven't been following the race between Democrat Beto O'Rourke and republican turd Ted Cruz for the U.S. Senate seat from Texas, you are missing one of the most inept campaigns ever run by a republican candidate.  So far, the Cruz team has sent forth critiques of O'Rourke because he a) eats at Whataburger (Texas fast food restaurant for those not familiar) b) drinks beer, c) played in a rock band when he was in college, and d) occasionally drops an f bomb.

The horror!

But the good news for the Cruz campaign is that they now have footage of O'Rourke going to Whataburger after his debate with Cruz last week, and while in the car he says the Who's "Baba O'Riley" is the best song ever (no arguments from me) and actually plays...air drums:

Mr. O'Rourke is running a hell of a campaign and some folks are already talking about him running for President eventually.  That talk might be a bit premature, but if he does, he's got my vote--hell, I'll even play air guitar in his air band...

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Anyway you look at it you lose

Republican = FUCKED

While republicans will probably still get to seat Brett Kavanaugh on the Supreme Court, it's hard to see how this is anything but a loss for their party.  Women--already exceedingly pissed and voting increasingly Democratic--are going to be even more irate in lieu of a man sitting on the Supreme Court who a) will most likely vote to overturn Roe v. Wade, and b) is probably a rapist.  Which will likely lead to an even bigger blue wave than currently anticipated.

It's hard to see how Susan Collins' career survives this--she's always positioned herself as a moderate republican and now the truth is out:  she's little more than a toadie for the republican party and she is more than happy to vote to give a monster a lifetime appointment to the Supreme Court to keep her party's leaders happy.  Maine Democrats have to be chomping at the bit to run against her in 2020--helped along by the more than a million dollars that have already been raised for her as yet unknown challenger.

Likewise, there has to be a smart Iowan out there who has witnessed an increasingly inept Chuck Grassley and just might like to point out how out of touch he is with Iowa women now that he has a) voted against the Violence Against Women Act, b) soon to have voted twice to put a sexual deviant on the Supreme Court (Clarence Thomas being the first), and c) hired a man fired for sexual harassment to be a spokesman.  Time to put ol' Chuck out to pasture.

Of course, republicans could pull Kavanaugh's nomination--and depress their base just prior to the mid terms.

In the end, the nomination of Brett Kavanugh for the Supreme Court will likely go down as one of the most colossal political blunders in recent memory--right up there with nominating Donald Trump to be your party's leader....

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Out with the old, in with the new

Even more ass kicking in November?

Lost in the (much deserved) celebration last week when six out of the eight traitorous Democrats who had been caucusing with republicans in the New York Senate lost their primary bids, is that not only is this good for the state of New York but it's good for all Democrats.

Liberals have been trying to oust the eight since they first began caucusing as the IDC (Independent Democratic Cocksuckers Conference) with the republican party in 2013 without any luck.  But thanks to Donald Trump's record unpopularity, left-leaning Democrats are turning out in droves and defeating weak-kneed Democrats.  Three of the victories were considered upsets/surprises, which to me means pollsters are underestimating the turnout of our bluest supporters.

And as an added bonus, it's another nail in the coffin (admittedly it's was pretty much filled with nails already) of Andrew Cuomo and any national aspirations he may have.  Cuomo often supported the IDC, and while he won his primary, he can't be filled with a lot of hope for his political future when so many of his like-minded turncoats got sent packing.

We'll see how this plays out in November, but for now it's another very good sign in a year of very good signs.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Deliver me from the days of old

What's that Grandpa?

With new polls showing Beto O'Rourke and Ted Cruz in a virtual tie for the U. S. Senate seat from Texas, in utter desperation the Texas GOP sent out a tweet warning Texas voters that O'Rourke used to be...in a rock and roll band.

The horror!

Next thing you know, they'll be sending out tweets warning Texans that Democratic women wear pants, some of us actually use that newfangled Internet thingie, and that we, gulp, have sex for fun not just procreation.

Because, you know, the Democratic Party is where the wild things are.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

You go right on ahead and do that

I like this plan of action!

Apparently the graphic posted above is one that Trump's supporters have been sending out in lieu of the convictions of Paul Manafort and Michael Cohen, and I have to admit that I like it very much.  I really hope they do continue not caring!

Because the rest of us, well, we're going to keep right on caring about the rule of law and what it really means to be an American and not some common hoodlum.  And we're going to take that caring right into November and take back the House and the Senate.  And in two years, while they're still not busy caring, we're going to keep right on caring until we have all three branches of government and begin to once again do the work of the American people and not the pampered wealthy elite.

And then all you nitwits who supported the racist pervert can return to the land of Oblivion where you so rightfully belong.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

A few of my favorite things

Are the hills really alive?

Every so often I come across political items of interest, send them to myself, and then delete them for lack of anything more interesting to say than has already been said--but it's dawned on me lately that even if my aging mind has nothing clever to add, it doesn't mean their cleverness shouldn't be shared:

1. A Canadian writer notes that he never thought he'd live long enough (he's 70) to see a time when Canadians would be "...wealthier, healthier, better educated, happier, and more secure than the average American..." but he has.  The culprit?  The republican dominated Supreme Court, which has declared open season on workers, and given their corporate overlords victory after victory.  Thanks guys!  And another reason to denounce the nomination of Brett Kavaugh, who will fit right into the corporately controlled Roberts court.
2. A tweet from Tay Zonday pretty much sums up being poor in America--poverty does indeed charge interest.  And one hell of a lot of the interest is poor health--up to and including death.  One of these days enough Americans will wake up and realize that the true tragedy of poverty is that it only begets even more poverty.
3. And speaking of poverty...the great Paul Krugman had a piece a short while ago in which he argues that Trump and republicans War on the Poor isn't a bug of their philosophy but a feature.  And that it's driven by simple cruelty.  Judging from what I've seen of Trump, republican politicians across the country, and many Trumpskis, I think his analysis is spot on.
4. While I usually think Dana Milbank is another in a long line of putz pundits who have absolutely no clue about the real world implications of republican policies, I do think he hit the nail on the head in this piece--republicans may have gotten what they wanted with their tax cuts and Supreme court nominees, but the backlash is likely to be ugly.  You can only shortchange the will of the people for so long before they give you a big old boot to the head (aka, payback is a motherfucker...).

There...now I don't feel so bad....

Fuck Donald Trump,

emaycee

The real party of patriotism

Fuckin' A, buddy!

While Steny Hoyer was giving a fervent speech on protecting our votes as Congress was debating an amendment to allot more money for cybersecurity for our upcoming midterm elections, republican traitors sat on their hands, so, so happy to let Russia take over our country, while the true American patriots, the Democratic Party, cheered and chanted "USA! USA! USA!"  This is truly a fight for the soul of our country, and Democats are proving again and again that they are up to the challenge of ensuring we remain the United States of America and not the United States of Putin's Puppets.

Thanks to republicans, the amendment did not pass, but as I watched the Dems chanting I couldn't help but think, "Who's your daddy now, motherfuckers?"

Enjoy:

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee

Same as the old boss

Time for a spine transplant...

"We want history to record that we stood up, that we pushed back, that we fought.  If you see anybody in that cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they're not welcome anymore, anywhere!"--Maxine Waters

As Maxine Waters courageously calls for Democrats to engage in civil disobedience to try and stop the creeping authoritarianism that Donald Trump and the republican party are emboldening, Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi are firing up their Democratic supporters by telling them that in spite of all evidence to the contrary that we should remain civil and hope against hope that the republicans will be nice, too.

In a couple of words...go fuck yourselves.  We're fighting for the very soul of this country and you want nothing more than to set us up for even more failure?  Get fucking real.

I'll be saying this a lot over the next few months, but if Democrats want us to fight for them, they need to be out there fighting for us.

And Schumer and Pelosi aren't exactly filling me with a whole lot of hope.

Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee