In Case You Missed It (v117)

Finally - a busy writing week!

It's been a long time - just shy of a full year - since I had a week with enough posts to warrant a recap. Hopefully, it's the start of a regular posting habit.  In case you missed anything, here's what made it out of my head. 

I started and ended the week with a Quick Take post. The first was about Rep. Brandon Williams, my congressman, and how far off base he was when he dropped a Bible verse to recognize Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and then went about as far away from what the verse was about as one could possibly go when he talked about immigration. 

I'm not a religious person, but that doesn't stop me from looking up verses when I see them, particularly when they're offered up by politicians. As I interpret Isaiah 58, the basic question is "Aren't we doing enough?" and the answer is, pretty much, "No - you're not,"  if you continue to oppress others, finger-point and speak ill of them, and deny them food and shelter. 

Next up? Visits to the Sunday School classrooms, including chats with That Guy from Vermont (CNN State of the Union), Florida Man Ron DeSantis (This Week), and Joe Manchin (Face the Nation). 

 

Sanders thinks folks will eventually rally around Biden, but it's tough given the way things are going with Israel and what's happening in Gaza.

You cannot give billions of dollars to a country that ignores your wishes, violates international law. So, I would hope that the president follows through on his concerns and says to Netanyahu, this is unacceptable. You're not getting a nickel more from the United States unless you radically change course. We're not going to see hundreds and hundreds of thousands of children starved to death.

Manchin was asked whether he'll vote for Joe Biden; here's what he had to say about that.

I love my country too much to vote for Donald Trump. I love my country too much. And I think it would be very detrimental to my country.

In your Extra Credit, we heard from former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, a Republican, and David Axelrod, who made a name for himself during the Obama years. It was fun to hear their thoughts on Iowa, offered the day before the caucuses. 

Hogan noted that Donald Trump was going to win, but noted

I don't think it matters that much, because, for the past 24 years, the winner of the Republican Caucus in Iowa has not been the nominee. So it's really about the fight for second place.

And while he had good things to say about Nikki Haley's chances, Axelrod thought she had some things to be concerned about, notably polling showing a distinct lack of enthusiasm from her supporters.

... 49% of Donald Trump's supporters said they were extremely enthusiastic about voting for him, 23% of Ron DeSantis'. For Haley, that number was 9%. 

Turns out he was right. 

 I was Wondering on Wednesday about more abusive legislation on tap for Florida, where

the state legislature continues to attack people and things they don't like. Among the latest proposed bills is one that would effectively end legal recognition of trans people.

 When I first heard about this last week, it was in the context of driver's licenses and a required gender affidavit - and I couldn't help wondering if trans people were really worse drivers than anyone else.

That wasn't the reason - but it's only almost as silly as the reason suggested by one of the sponsors, which I included in the post.  

A fun bit of wondering was inspired by the tourism folks in Lexington, KY, who are looking to the Final Frontier for visitors. I'm not sure they thought the whole thing through, but you can decide for yourself. 

And finally, there was the second Quick Take, about endorsements and how they're treated by the media. When Sen. Tim Scott endorsed Trump yesterday, the media was all gaga over how important it was. It's not, really, if you consider this:  

According to the folks at 538, as of January 14th, Trump had picked up 185 endorsements,

including nine governors, 24 senators, and 116 U.S. representatives. By comparison, only 22 of them had endorsed Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis or former U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley. 

Help me understand: did Trump need Scott's endorsement, or did Scott make the endorsement for his own purposes? Why can't the media discern the difference, and report on it appropriately?

That's last week in a nutshell; be sure to check back this week for our regular features, and maybe a few extras.

Sunday School 1/14/24: Extra Credit

 For your Extra Credit this week, I eavesdropped as  Democrat political operative David Axelrod and Larry Hogan, former GOP governor of Maryland, chatted with Jake Tapper in the CNN State of the Union classroom.  

It's interesting, now that we know the results of the Iowa caucus (Trump won, DeSantis was a distant second, and Haley was a close third), to hear their take on things.

Tapper asked Hogan who he wanted to win, and what the path to the nomination looked like for that person. Obviously, Hogan knew that it was "pretty clear that Donald Trump is going to win Iowa," but he also said

I don't think it matters that much, because, for the past 24 years, the winner of the Republican Caucus in Iowa has not been the nominee. So it's really about the fight for second place.

DeSantis, he said, put a lot of effort into Iowa, but he sees Nikki Haley as the one with the momentum. That matters, he said, because "what this race is really all about is to try to nominate the strongest possible nominee for November." Haley has the momentum, Hogan said.

...she has the potential of moving into second place, although it be at a distant second place, which gives her momentum heading into New Hampshire, where she's only seven points down. 

Tapper asked if that was an endorsement.  

I think we want to have the strongest possible nominee in November. Polls show that that is Nikki Haley, that she's 17 points ahead of Joe Biden, and it's a toss-up with Trump and Biden, and DeSantis is losing. So, yes, I think it's time for the party to get behind Nikki Haley. My friend Chris Christie dropped out of the race in New Hampshire. I appreciate his effort. But I believe that Nikki Haley is the strongest chance for us to put forth our best possible candidate for November.

Axelrod said that if DeSantis finished third, "he will be on his way back to Tallahassee, rather than New Hampshire," given the amount of time and money spent in Iowa. He also said if he were Haley, he'd be concerned about polling.  She was in second place, but "every other number would be a little concerning.," 

... 49% of Donald Trump's supporters said they were extremely enthusiastic about voting for him, 23% of Ron DeSantis'. For Haley, that number was 9%. And you have to ask yourself, if you're not terribly enthusiastic, are you going to drag yourself out on a night like this?

Also, "...half her support comes from independents and Democrats who say they're going to vote in the Republican caucuses."

Are they going to drag themselves out on a bitterly cold night to sit through two hours of discussion to cast a vote for Nikki Haley? It may happen. It could happen, but it looks worrisome to me...

And, he said if she doesn't beat DeSantis, in New Hampshire "the perception will be that she missed her mark." 

Tapper switched gears to the issue of a third party entering the fray. He noted that Hogan had stepped down from the leadership of No Labels, and asked if he was "exploring a run for president" on a No Labels ticket. 

Hogan admitted his move had "created a whole lot of speculation," but he didn't mean for that to happen, and his position on running hasn't changed.

I'm focused on trying to nominate the strongest possible Republican we can, which is why I'm urging everyone to get behind Nikki Haley. I wish my friend Axe could come up with a better nominee for the Democrats, quite frankly, because 70% of the people in America do not want to vote for Joe Biden or Donald Trump.

But, no, I'm -- I -- they're going to, I think, continue to try to get access to the ballot. They're going to wait and see if we're stuck with these two bad choices in -- on the November ballot. And I think they will make their decision in March or April, but my position has not changed.

Axelrod's glad Hogan stepped away, and said Trump's "best friends... are third-party candidates."

...if you look at polling, he tends to pick up marginally because of these third-party candidates. Certainly, that would be the case if No Labels fielded a candidate. And I think Larry was smart to step off of their board. And I would be sad, because I like him as a friend, to see him used in that way that would help Donald Trump in the election.

The final word went to Hogan. 

We would not be discussing any of this if Biden and Trump were not so weak. And so it's an interesting election. But I can tell you, I wouldn't want to be associated with anything that would be a spoiler for either Donald Trump or Joe Biden. And we will just have to wait and see. It's going to be a wild ride, I think, in 2024.

I suspect my favorite Republican is right on that last part.  See you around campus. 

Sunday School 11/13/22: Extra Credit

In this week's Sunday School lesson, we heard perspective on the 2022 midterms from five people - two senators, the House Speaker, a re-elected governor, and a newly elected governor.  

For today's Extra Credit, I go back into the classrooms for more perspective, starting again today with Dana Bash on CNN's SOTU; she spoke with outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD). I've referred to him as 'my favorite Republican,' for his steadfast refusal to cave in to the whole extremist, cultist GOP and opposition to the Big Lie.

What did think of the election outcome?

the way I would interpret it, look, this was -- this should have been a huge red wave. It should have been one of the biggest red waves we have ever had, because President Biden's approval rating was so low, one of the lowest historically. More than 70% of people thought the country was going in the wrong direction. And yet we still didn't perform.

"Commonsense conservatives" who focused on the issues won; those who "tried to relitigate the 2020 election and focused on conspiracy theories and talked about things the voters didn't care about, they were almost universally rejected," he said.

And I think it's basically the third election in a row that Donald Trump has cost us the race. And it's like three strikes, you're out... Donald Trump kept saying, we're going to be winning so much, we will get tired of winning. I'm tired of losing. I mean, that's all he's done.

He suggested the Rs need to figure out how to "appeal to a broader group of voters" because they "turned off wide swaths of swing voters. And that's why we didn't perform."

And, on the threatened announcement from Trump about 2024? 

...I would just say that we're two years out from the next election, and we're just trying to -- the dust is settling from this one. I think it'd be a mistake. As I mentioned, Trump's cost us the last three elections. And I don't want to see it happen a fourth time.

Does he have presidential ambitions of his own?

 I have been saying since 2020 that we have to get back to a party that appeals to more people, that can win in tough places, like I have done in Maryland. And I think that lane is much wider now than it was a week ago.

Next up? George, on This Week, talking with Gov. Chris Sununu (R-NH), one of the people What's-his-name on MTP said was a "normal Republican." Sununu won re-election by 15 points, while the R running for Senate lost by nearly 10. What did he have to say about that?

Candidate quality matters. You know, there's a chance of extremism that I think a lot of Republicans were painted with, rightfully or not. You know, when you have a product, you can't let the other side define you, right? And that's what -- what campaigns are. It's a product of good ideas and what you want to bring to the table. And, ultimately, I think the Democrats did a very good job of defining a lot of these candidates before they even had a chance to introduce themselves...

He also mentioned the extremism that's out there, saying it "scared a lot of folks."

This was just a rejection of that extremism. I don't think anyone likes the policies out of D.C. No one likes paying, you know, six bucks for a gallon of heating oil, especially with winter coming. But what I think people said was, "Look, we can work on these policies later, but as Americans we've got to fix extremism right now." And I think that's exactly what you saw.

And it's not just Trump - "there's a whole stream of things out there that can be deemed extreme," and there are extremists in both parties, but that's not what the people want.

Let's go back to the 2020 election. Joe Biden was the most moderate of all the candidates running on the Democrat side. He was deemed the most moderate of both he and Donald Trump. So, America has been asking for more moderation for quite some time. There's just, you know, certain parts of the Republican Party that haven't listened so well. We've just got to get back to basics. It's not unfixable. We've just got to get back to basics.

Sununu also hammered the Dems for supporting MAGA extremists, including the Senate candidate in NH, saying "I think that's a complete manipulation of the process, to be sure... And they were successful." 

He has no regrets about not running for Senate, saying (as he has before) that being governor's better than being senator. He also said there's no circumstance that'd have him supporting Trump in 2024, and that he thinks "there's going to be a lot of great candidates out there," but Joe Biden won't be one of them. And Sununu might not be one of them either.

Well, maybe, I suppose. I don't know. You know, a lot of folks are talking about that, but, look, I've got a state to run, unlike Congress I don't get vacation. It’s a 24/7 job, 365. Unlike Congress, I have to balance a budget in the next couple of months. Unlike Congress, I just have a lot of demands on me and I love that. It’s a hard job but, man, it is so fulfilling when you get stuff done. 

And finally, we hear from author and Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR); he talked with Margaret Brennan on CBS' Face the Nation. What did he think of what Brennan called "this complete disappointment?" On the one hand, he saw strong GOP candidates win big - DeSantis, Kemp, Abbott, DeWine in gubernatorial races; Rubio and Scott and Johnson in Senate races. But then, there's the other hand.

I think the lessons in our victories can be applied to some places where we came up a little bit short. We need to focus on serious substantive accomplishments and issues like crime, like our wide-open border, like addressing runaway inflation. Even in places where we came up a little bit short, like Lee Zeldin's race for governor in New York, he performed very well compared to Republicans in recent elections, and he probably helped save the House of Representatives by bringing four new Republican Congressman-elect across the finish line...

On whether Trump should "remain the leader of the Republican Party," Cotton said the party out of power doesn't have a single leader.

The former president is obviously very popular with many of our voters. But we also have important other leaders as well, like some of those victors I just mentioned earlier... Last year, you had Glen Younkin have a great victory in a bluish democratic state like Virginia. I hope to remain a leader in the United States Senate as well, in addition to people like some of those I just mentioned who were reelected... So, when you're in opposition, you don't have a single leader. That won't be the case until we're through the '24- '24 nominating season, and we have a new nominee.

And tonight, of course, the former president shined the spotlight on himself, and announced his candidacy for '24. So here we go, again.

See you around campus. 

In Case You Missed It (v100)

Gather 'round, friends - it's time for your recap of last week's posts, in case you missed anything.

The week started with your Sunday School lesson, from ABC's This Week, with Jon Karl sitting in for George Stephanopoulos. Rep. Adam Kinzinger was one of the guests. Karl talked about AG Merrick Garland's statement that no one is above the law, not even a former president. Kinzinger agreed that it seems "more likely now" that we'll see the prosecution of a former president, and that he "hopes they're moving forward on it." 

Here's what came next.

Karl's response? 

So, you -- you hope that there will be a prosecution of Trump himself. Even -- I mean, this is -- I mean, you just have to take a step back here. This is a guy who is sounding like he’s going to run again, so he would be being prosecuted by the president that he is potentially running against.

Kinzinger was clear when he answered.

Look, I worry about everything that has happened for the last few years. And really, I worry about everything that could happen in the future, and that includes things like, you know, what happens if a president’s running for office and he’s indicted, how does that feel? But, the converse of that is, what happens if we don’t do anything? What happens if we look and say, well, he’s running again, we’re concerned how it’s going to look, so that, like, whole coup attempt thing, let’s just up that behind us and hope it never happens again? Because it will happen again.

We all should be worried about this, including those in the House and Senate who were active participants. 

For your Extra Credit, we checked in on Karl's chat with term-limited Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD); I've often referred to him as my favorite Republican, mostly because he is a Republican, not a Trump-pandering RINO. Here's a bit of the conversation after Karl's comments about one of them, Dan Cox (Hogan's called him a "QAnon whackjob"). He won the GOP gubernatorial primary.

Cox had support from the moronic Democratic Governors Association, and after playing one of the DGA ads, Karl said that even though the ad was "a cynical effort" voters responded to it.

Hogan said that's not quite correct. 

So, first of all, only 20 percent of the people in Maryland are Republican, and 20 percent of them showed up to the polls. So about 2 percent of the people in Maryland voted for this guy. It's not going to be the same in November, I can tell you that. So, it's not a big win. It's really a loss. 

And, obviously, Hogan won't be supporting Cox.

I would not support the guy. I wouldn't let him in the governor's office, let alone vote for him for the governor's office.

Hogan's planning on staying involved after he's out of office, which I think is good. 

On Tuesday, I did a Quick Take on the failure of the Secret Service to secure texts (and frankly, who knows what else) from December 2020 and January 2021. It's inconceivable to me that, in response to a DHS OIG request, there was only a single relevant text during that time period.

The Secret Service submitted the responsive records it identified, namely, a text message conversation from former US Capitol Police Chief Steven Sund to former Secret Service Uniformed Division Chief Thomas Sullivan requesting assistance on January 6, 2021, and advised the agency did not have any further records responsive to the DHS OIG's request for text messages.

For a full month, there was only one text? Seriously? And that text was from a former employee of the Capitol Police to a former Secret Service employee? How incredibly convenient that all seems.

I've done so much wondering lately - way more than makes it into the weekly Wondering on Wednesday posts. This week, I decided to give myself a break from the head-banging and from doing any heavy lifting about the House Oversight Committee's hearing with gun company execs. 

Instead, I shared a few memes from my files; here's one of them.

I also included some clips from the hearing, including a couple from Rep. Katie Porter (D-CA).

On Thursday, I shared a throwback Sunday School post from July 28, 2019. Why that post? Because it featured two people who are currently in the news. 

One's Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) who appears to be lobbying to become the next Speaker of the House, assuming the Dems hold their majority and that Nancy Pelosi stays true to her word to not stay in the role. Back in 2019, though, he was talking about impeachment. 

The other? Andrew Yang, then a presidential candidate, and now one of the founders of the Forward Party. His conversation with Chris Wallace, former host of Fox News Sunday, was interesting, and it's in keeping with his vision for the new party.

Wallace wondered if Yang would attack the front-runners, as a way of getting more air time.

 I don't think that we benefit if I'm throwing rocks at other candidates when, frankly, I agree with them on many, many issues. And I think right now my focus really is on introducing myself to the American people. 

You can read more about his new idea in our TGIF entry, where I credited him with a mixed week. Another in the same boat? Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. He spoke at a conference in Rome, hosted by Notre Dame, the university in Indiana, and talked about the global reaction to his decision in the Dobbs case.

He also spent time talking about religious liberty, saying

It is hard to convince people that religious liberty is worth defending if they don’t think that religion is a good thing that deserves protection...  Our hearts are restless until we rest in God. 

So, what list did he end up on? 

Alito the man had a good week, I guess, for finding a place where his beliefs are widely accepted. Alito the justice? Bad week. As with the other justices, the less time they spend before partisan groups espousing their beliefs, the better.

I'll see you back here later with a Quick Take or two, Sunday School, and maybe more.

Sunday School 7/24/22: Extra Credit

For your Sunday School, we heard from Rep. Adam Kinzinger and from Dr. Ashish Jha, the White House Coronavirus Response Coordinator; they talked with Jon Karl in ABC's This Week classroom. 

Today, we listen in with Karl and outgoing Gov. Larry Hogan (R-MD), who I've often referred to as my favorite Republican. Here's Karl's first question; I thought it was kind of odd.

We hear that Donald Trump is upset that he doesn't see Republicans out on television responding to the hearings, defending him. Why – why is that Republican leaders have been essentially silent as these hearings have unfolded?

Um, maybe it's because they're finally coming to realize that there is no defending him, Jon?

Hogan said it was disappointing - referring to the silence, not the lack of defending Trump - even though this is "how they really felt right after it happened." And, Hogan said, while Trump was watching TV and doing nothing, he "was actually taking action." 

We had security team meetings. We called everybody together. It was, you know, mass chaos. We had the leaders of Congress begging for help. We were sending in the State Police riot team, which were one of the first to arrive after the Metropolitan Police, Maryland National Guard, the first to arrive after DC. We couldn't get approval from the secretary of defense. It was crazy.

He said the outtakes from Trump's messages were really the only thing that surprised him.

...it showed the real thinking... with those outtakes you could see the anger. You could see exactly what he was thinking. And that was the most moving part of the hearing for me.

Karl turned to the Maryland primary, in which Dan Cox, the gubernatorial candidate Hogan called a "QAnon whack job" was the winner; he asked Hogan what happened.

Well, it was, kind of, unprecedented collusion between the Democratic Governors Association and Donald Trump. And both of them were promoting a conspiracy theory believing kind of nut job. And DGA, I think, spent about $3 million. The guy only spent $100,000 on his campaign. So, it was a win for the Democrats. It's a big loss for the Republican Party. And we have no chance of saving that governor's seat. We actually had a chance if they hadn't gotten together and done that.

Karl played one of the DGA ads 'promoting' Cox, which ended saying he wasn't conservative enough for Maryland. He called it a "cynical effort, no question," and said that even so, "Republican voters...responded to it."

Hogan said that's not quite correct. 

So, first of all, only 20 percent of the people in Maryland are Republican, and 20 percent of them showed up to the polls. So about 2 percent of the people in Maryland voted for this guy. It's not going to be the same in November, I can tell you that. So, it's not a big win. It's really a loss. 

And, obviously, Hogan won't be supporting Cox.

I would not support the guy. I wouldn't let him in the governor's office, let alone vote for him for the governor's office.

Karl reflected on an April conversation, when Hogan said the upcoming Republican primaries "are going to determine what the Republican Party looks like." Karl pointed out that "we're through a lot of them" and hinted it wasn't looking good. Hogan's answer was straightforward.

-- in November of '20, right after the election, I spoke at the Reagan Institute here in DC, and I was the first person to say that this is going to be a fight for the heart and soul of the Republican Party and it was going to be a long, tough fight, but that it was -- "Time for Choosing" was the name of the speech that I gave. And we're not there yet. I mean, it's -- we're only a year into the battle.

We have two more -- more than, you know, two years until the next election. But it's not going to be easy. We're going to win some; we're going to lose some. But I think the final chapter, you know, on some of this, will be in November, when we lose some races. You know... Trump already cost us the White House, the Senate, the House. Now he's costing us governor seats and Senate seats.

And will Trump run in 2024, Karl asked? Hogan said he "can't really put himself into the mind of Donald Trump" but guessed it's 50/50 that Trump runs. 

His -- his ego probably, you know, can't take another loss. After all, he lost to Joe Biden, which is hard to do. But he likes to be the center of attention.

Hogan said the RGA has discussed the potential of an early Trump '24 announcement.

...I think most people are very concerned about the damage it does to the party if he announces now. And, you know, it may help in very red states or very red districts, but in competitive places and purple battlefields, it's going to cost us seats if he were to do that.

And, what about Hogan and his plans for '24, and how were they effected by Cox's victory?

Well, it makes me more determined than ever to continue the battle to win the -- you know, win over the Republican Party, and take us back to a bigger tent, more Reaganesque party. Our -- we've got our work cut out for us. But I'm certainly not giving up.

In my opinion, the more intelligent people there are fighting for the soul of the Republican Party, the better.

A final note: here's what Chris Christie had to say about the 187 minutes of inaction by Trump during the panel discussion.

 Look, and as I’ve been saying since January of '21, this is going to happen slowly and incrementally. And you’re not going to see it until after it’s already happened and it’s already over. And the reason for that is the same thing that happened in 2016, right? In 2016 it wasn't politically correct to say you were voting for Donald Trump. So, he performed much lower in the polls than he wound up doing.

Now, in Republican primary polling, it's not politically correct to say you’re against Donald Trump or you’re for someone else. I think his numbers are artificially high. And I think this is happening slowly but surely in the party. And, look, what happened this week and the replay of that 187 minutes of what he was doing, I think, will have long-term, not 2022 impact, but 2024 impact.

One can only hope.

See you around campus. 

Wondering on Wednesday 7/20/22

Ready... Set... Wonder! 

CBS News is among the media outlets reporting that Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers (R-I'm in a Boatload of Trouble) was censured by the state GOP for crimes against Trump, going along with liberals, a lack of forthrightness with Republicans, his dealings with "the liberal media," and more. 

Bowers, of course, was the guy who testified Trump tried to get him to violate his oath of office and faithfulness to the United States Constitution by offering up a fake set of electors, or some other such illegality as it the standard operating procedure in Trumpworld. 

I'm wondering tonight if Bowers thought saying he'd vote for Trump again, if he ran against Joe Biden, would be enough to save him from his own party? I'm also wondering if there's anything a wayward R can do to get back in his party's good graces?

News is also breaking that a bipartisan group of senators, including Sen. Susan Collins (R-I Think Perplexed is a Good Word to Use Next Time) and Sen. Joe Manchin (D-on't You Think I'd Make a Better Republican?), has dropped a bill that would prevent a conman like former president Donald Trump from throwing out presidential election results. In effect, what this bill will do, if passed, is stop the steal. I wonder why they didn't just name the bill that? 

Democratic senators are also pursuing similar legislation, and I wonder if that's necessary? Unless there's something significant missing from the bipartisan effort, let's get it done.

David Hogg was a student at Marjorie Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, FL when a hideous human being committed mass murder there on Valentine's Day, 2018. Since the shooting, Hogg has become a very vocal activist against politicians and their inaction on gun safety. He's good at it, we know, because he's frequently attacked by the right-wing pundits. 

He also frequently attacks Republican do-nothings, as he did today at a hearing on banning assault weapons, something that Rs do not want to do, under any circumstances. He posted a video of his comments, and his removal from the hearing. 

His point? Knock off the racist, anti-LGBTQ, anti-immigrant talking points; those are what mass shooters use to justify their behavior. And, by the way? The guns used in these things aren't coming from Mexico in some immigrant invasion. They're legally purchased here in the U S of A. 

What's the wondering, you might be wondering? Simply this: who on earth will these GOP folks listen to? Is it going to take one of their own children being shot and killed, or injured, before they will listen?

Speaking of listening, I can't help wondering who on earth the Dems are listening to, that they think the answer to winning elections this year is to prop up Trumpers in their GOP primaries? The most recent example comes from yesterday's gubernatorial primary in Maryland, where Trump-endorsed Dan Cox beat actual Republican Kelly Schulz, who was endorsed by her former boss, Gov. Larry Hogan. 

The Democratic Governors Association - a bunch of goofballs, it would seem - spent over a million bucks propping up Cox, thinking he'd be easier to beat in the general election. Here's who their website says they are: 

We are Democratic Governors.

We grow economies, expand health care, 

fully fund schools, fix the damn roads, and follow the science. 

And we’re ready to build back better.

You want to build back better? Maybe try building up your own candidates, instead of supporting right-wing nut jobs...

Perhaps the best thing to come out of Maryland was this quote from a Schulz aide:

The Maryland Republican Party got together and committed ritualized mass suicide. The only thing missing was Jim Jones and a cup of Kool-Aid.

Shame on the Dems for contributing to that mess. 

What's on your wondering minds tonight?

Sunday School 9/5/21: Extra Credit

For your Extra Credit this week, we're talking COVID. 

Why? As schools here in my neck of the woods prepare to open this week, schools in the early-opening states are already in the thick of the COVID quagmire, with at least 1,000 from 31 states reportedly having stopped in-person learning, and over 10,000 students and staff across 14 states exposed to the virus - and that was as of mid-August. School board meetings are becoming battlegrounds as parents fight mask mandates, vaccine requirements, and 'fascism' being perpetrated on them by their neighbors on the boards.

Here are some highlights from the Meet the Press classroom, where Mr. Both Sides Now, Chuck Todd, talked with governors Andy Beshear (D-KY) and Larry Hogan (R-MD). They've both got veto-proof legislatures - of the opposite party - in their states, which makes things interesting, to say the least.

Beshear said if he had the ability to do it, there'd be a mask mandate in his state, where they're setting case records and hospitalization records, but he's been limited by the legislature on that. What he has done, though, is send the National Guard to help hard-hit hospitals with logistics, and they've taken over testing in those hospitals, so staff can be freed up to do patient care. And, they've got FEMA teams, and are deploying nursing students to help with staffing.

We are hit very, very hard. But we are going to continue to fight. When you're at war, you don't get to cry about what you can or can't do. You've got to do your very best every day because this is a battle of life versus death.

Meanwhile, Maryland has one of the highest vaccine rates in the country, something Hogan is very proud of; 81% of all eligible folks, and 95% of seniors, are vaccinated. In response to Chuck playing the 'if yours was a red state, that wouldn't have happened' card, Hogan noted there have been "tremendous disinformation campaigns, and people are believing things that are simply not true,"

but it's not just in the red areas where we're having difficulties. We're one of the states with the highest percentage of minority populations. And in some of our urban areas, we have similar challenges. But we're doing really well. And I'm pleased with the results of where we are. It's convincing those last, you know, 19 percent of our people that they've got to take action. That's where we're focused on.

Chuck asked Beshear if there are just some people that won't listen to him, and if he's looking to get others involved in trying to convince folks to get the vaccine. Beshear pointed out that misinformation isn't a red or blue issue, it's a "fact versus fiction, or a sometimes sane versus insane issue."

We are well past, I think ... across America, the populations that are going to listen to a government official and take the vaccine because of it. We're probably past even the point where a local official, a pastor or others. Where I think we're at is where people are going to have to break that Thanksgiving dinner rule. They're going to have to call or go see that person they love and care about that is unvaccinated, and they're going to have to put their relationship with that person on the line because they've never been at greater risk. And I think it's that type of caring, and the person who is willing to do that and to make that sacrifice that will finally get through to those that are not vaccinated. That's what we're seeing here in Kentucky. And we need all Americans to do it. Yes, you might lose a friend because of that conversation.

Next, Chuck said that "it's clear the Biden administration can't speak to those folks that need to be spoken to," referring to supporters of Former Guy, and asked Hogan who should speak to them, and for his advice for the COVID task force on "how to talk to the Trump folks."  Hogan said he's been critical of both the Trump and Biden administrations when he "thought they were bad on messaging" and otherwise not being helpful. 

I mean, we're getting some mixed messaging out of the administration, out of the CDC, the FDA, and the White House. And, you know, we need clear guidance on these booster shots because it undermines, you know, the credibility of it. And so, they came out with -- I guess they slipped and pre-leaked an announcement about booster shots with all three vaccines and then had to backtrack it and say you can only use Pfizer. What about the people that took J&J? What about the people that took Moderna? They haven't messaged properly about how to take care of these breakthrough infections. Like, look, it does prevent hospitalizations and death, or greatly reduce it. But it's not stopping, you know, people from getting breakthrough infections. So, I think the messaging was not clear with either administration. And I think that's one of the ways we've been successful in our state is a clear, direct messaging that people can believe in and listen to. And that's been a problem all over the map.

No argument with Hogan from me on this - messaging has been an issue from the very beginning of the pandemic, both on the side of "let's minimize this so we don't crush the economy" side and on the "OH. EM. GEE. The sky is LITERALLY falling and it going to hit us in the head!" side. And on all the other sides of the pentacontagon. 

The final portion of the interview touched on the Texas abortion bill, which I covered in yesterday's Sunday School post, and on "the larger challenge of polarization," as Chuck described it. I should note that this was the part of the conversation Todd said he was "lifting up" and "going to play political analyst" for, both of which I thought were mildly amusing. 

Both of you have benefited when the other party went too far, right? I could argue that's why you're both governor today. Certainly why you may have a second term, Governor Hogan, and why, Governor Beshear, you're there. Is that the only way to cut through polarization, Governor Hogan? Is when the other party goes too far and then the voters create a check? Is that about it? Because it doesn't seem as if the middle ground gets represented unless one party goes too far.

Hogan said Todd had an "interesting idea, and that it was possible" that's what happened in Maryland. He referenced the 43 consecutive tax increases implemented by his Democratic predecessor), saying "even the Democrats go frustrated" about that.

...but I think right now in America, there are certainly people on both ends of the extremes, on the left and the right, who get all of the attention. The ones that are making the most noise. And that's what we hear about when we're watching television. But about 70% of the people actually just are somewhere in the middle. They're moderate or right of center, left of center. They really want their elected officials to try to figure out a way to do something about this toxic politics. And they want us to work together to come up with real bipartisan, common-sense solutions. Turns out that's the most popular thing in America with most voters.

Regular readers may recall that I've previously referred to Gov. Hogan as my favorite Republican. I don't always agree with him, but I never argue with his understanding of what us purple folks in the middle want: common sense, collaborative efforts from the people we elect. 

Is that where you are on this stuff? Or are you out there in the noisy wings? Let's talk.

See you around campus. 

Sunday School 3/14/21

It's a Sonofa Gov Sunday School today. 

All five of the main classrooms mentioned Andrew Cuomo at least once, and we'll see how much'll fit, starting with Chuck Todd and the panel on Meet the Press, 

• John Heilemann (NBC,) suggested we don't know "what else is out there," and that Cuomo's "following what is now seen as the Trump precedent:" be determined, be shameless, and hold on.
• Lanhee Chen (Hoover Institute) said "this shouldn't be a partisan issue," and eventually the Rs will have to admit that what Trump did and what Cuomo's doing "look very, very similar." All of this stems from having one party in power for a long time, which "creates a toxic environment ...that lacks accountability." 
• Maria Teresa Kumar (Voto Latino) said "Trump has basically moved the goalposts" of what's proper and what's not, and she thinks Cuomo won't step down unless the voters demand it, or unless something worse comes to light.
• Hallie Jackson (NBC) said it's "highly unlikely" that President Biden will address this on his own; she said there's "at least some talk" that Cuomo could lessen the heat "if he were to say he would not... run again in 2022," but even that won't make it go away.
• Chuck said "it was amazing to read today that he has no place to go. No place to live. He has no apartment. He has no house. He only has the governor's mansion."

In the State of the Union classroom, Jake Tapper talked with Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan; Cuomo succeeded him as head of the National Governors Association. Hogan said it's not his place to speak for New Yorkers, but "hopefully, we're going to get to the bottom of this, because it's pretty serious allegations and growing every day."

Stacey Abrams didn't want to enter the fray, other than to say she believes "that women should be heard, that any accusations of sexual misconduct should be investigated." 

Tapper had a lot to say, including that Cuomo is entitled to due process. Still, he said,

By now he has to know there is a chasm between how he perceives how he talks to women on his staff and how some of those women perceive it, as in some of them perceive it not only as inappropriate but as pressure to sleep with him...Only he knows what other names and incidents might come forward as he digs in. One wonders if that is even a remote consideration.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi talked with George in the This Week classroom. She said she's got confidence in AG Tish James, but that Cuomo's got to ask himself if he can be effective in leading our state - but she stopped short of saying he should resign. George also asked his panel about Cuomo. Here's a sampling of their comments.

• Former Rep. Donna Shalala doesn't think he can effectively lead, noting the "cumulative effect" with so many women coming forward, and "at the end of the day, it looks like he cannot and should not survive" as governor.
• Amanda Renteria, a Democratic operative, agreed with Shalala. "The days of where you can use your positional power to take advantage of folks who work for you is over."
• Former Gov. Chris Christie, who called for patience and letting Trump investigations play out, said he has to take the same position here, otherwise "we'd just be playing the same polarizing politics we've been playing in this country. If it's right for the Republicans, it's right for a Democrat, too."
• Former Texas Congressman Will Hurd disagreed with any suggestion that Cuomo's a victim of cancel culture. "This is an issue of a powerful individual creating a toxic culture that prevented women from being successful within their jobs." That's unacceptable, and it's why he needs to step down.

NYC Mayor Bill De Blasio, who has a contentious relationship with Cuomo, talked with Margaret Brennan in the Face the Nation classroom. He thinks Cuomo will try to hang on, saying that "he is used to getting his way..."

But I got to tell you, the folks in this state and the political leadership don't believe him anymore. He doesn't have any credibility. So I think an impeachment proceeding will begin, and I think he will be impeached and perhaps right before that he'll decide to resign. That's probably the most likely outcome right now... 

Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson said it's "very important" to take any allegations seriously, that the women "have credibility," and beyond that, as to the Governors Association, "it's within their bailiwick to deal with that issue."

And finally, here's what the folks had to say in the Fox News Sunday classroom, where Chris Wallace asked his panel about Cuomo. 

• Jonathan Swain, of Axios, said Cuomo "doesn't have a lot of friends, doesn't have a lot of ingrained loyalty and affection," and he's isolated now. He suggested that President Biden's silence "becomes more conspicuous" and may not be sustainable.
• Karl Rove, the Republican operative, said Cuomo "can sort of string this out," but the NY Delegation calling for his resignation on Friday after the majority of the state Dems did so on Thursday make that much harder. "I think he's toast," he added.
• Donna Brazile, former DNC chair, said Cuomo's "not going to listen to the music no matter how loud it plays" - rather, he'll try and tough it out. And, "he's not going to be able to govern effectively" for us in NY, when "we really need leadership at this moment."

I promise we'll get to some of the other topics - including what's happening at the border - in your Extra Credit. 

See you around campus - masks on, of course.

In Case You Missed It (v67)

Got a cuppa? Time to settle in for a review of last week's posts.

Your Sunday School included visits to the CNN State of the Union classroom by Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL) and incoming Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-NY) and Cori Bush (D-MO).  Here's a bit from Kinzinger's interview, with Dana Bash sitting in for Jake Tapper.  Among other things,

Kinzinger also laments the president purposefully conflating the COVID bill and the omnibus spending bill, which is money that would have been spent "whether we had COVID or not."

But to then say that we're giving money to other countries in the COVID bill is disingenuous. And it totally conflates two different issues. But -- and it doesn't do a service to the American people to explain what's going on and how these things are different.

When it comes time to officially accept the Electoral College results, he expects "there will be a little chaos," and said "This is a scam, though." The election can't be overthrown, isn't going to be overthrown,

...And so all that's being done is, certain members of Congress, the president, et cetera, and like -- quote, unquote -- "thought leaders" on Twitter are getting retweets, they're getting followers, they're raising money on this scam. It is a scam.

It's refreshing to hear an R point that out, isn't it?

Moving to Monday, and your Extra Credit, My Favorite Republican (MFR) - Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan - was on This Week (Jon Karl hosted). Hogan appeared after That Guy From Vermont; they both were asked about the incoming administration. Here's Hogan on that, and another hot topic - the danger of the waning days of president Trump. 

I know your previous guest probably would like him to move more -- more to the left, but I've been pushing to try to keep him, you know, in a more moderate place where he's willing to reach across the aisle and work together with Republicans.

On what kinds of "damage" president Trump can do in the next three weeks or so (Karl mentioned the ridiculous pardons as one example), MFR says he "gave up guessing what he might do next." The veto of the NDAA has been troubling, he said, but the fooling around on the stimulus bill "really bothers" him.

He'll tell you how bothered he is, don't worry. 

I took a little road trip, away from politics and the news of the day, and focused on holidays and technology, two fun topics (for very different reasons). I explored the question of one of those one-named tech assistants 'taking down Christmas' in  Could Alexa Even Handle the Decorations? 

And what about the memories? 

Will she smile at each Santa as she gently puts them to bed until next year, remembering which came from where, or who, and why? 

Will she know which of the cast iron ones I got years ago in one of the first booths we visited at a massive antique show, and carried in a knapsack for hours as we wandered around a field of 1,000 dealers? Will she hear My Sweet Baboo cursing my foolishness that day?  

How could she possibly know which was the very first one he gave me, or the most recent? Whether it was from our first Christmas, or our second? The tenth? Twelfth? Does she even know this is our 18th Christmas this year? Could she actually put the decorations away without knowing our history, our Christmas history?

How do you think She'd do with yours?

I did the annual look-back to identify 2020's Top Ten posts, based your pageviews. The list included a rant or two, and some Trump in Transition posts, and even a couple posts where I offered up my middle-aged white lady perspective. But the top post of the year was an Irony Board entry, a response to Rev. Franklin Graham's ludicrous statement that God was missing from the Democratic National Convention - and that, in comparison, somehow, God is present wherever Donald Trump can be found.

I had a hard time with that. I still have a hard time with that. And I had evidence on my side, which I shared in the post.

And finally, we closed out the week with the first TGIF of the new year, one in which I tried to be positive and upbeat, as is norm when we start from scratch each January. Here's an excerpt.

Our reasons for eagerly awaiting the arrival of 2021 surely include wanting to get past the worst of the pandemic - that one's shared by just about everybody. Others? Wanting to see the end of the Trump administration, or the start of the Biden Administration. The potential end of Mitch McConnell's reign of terror. A return to normalcy. The thrill of having the Buffalo Bills in the playoffs, and the Patriots watching on TV. They are endless, the reasons one wants to see the dawn of the new year - but even in times as divisive as these, most of us will agree we're glad 2020 is over, and we're looking forward to better things in 2021. 

And just like that, you're up to date!  See you later for Sunday School.

Sunday School 12/27/20: Extra Credit

In yesterday's Sunday School, we heard from three members of the House -- one Republican and two progressive Dems. 

For your Extra Credit today, we've got That Guy from Vermont and three prominent governors. 

TGFV (Sen. Bernie Sanders), talked with Jon Karl on This Week with(out) George. Here are the highlights.

On Trump's messing around with the COVID stimulus bill (he did finally sign it last night), he said "what the president is doing right now is unbelievably cruel," pointing to folks who are losing extended unemployment benefits and who might be evicted if Trump vetoes the bill.  

My view is that given the terrible economic crisis facing this country, yes, we do need to get $2,000 out to every working-class individual in this country, 500 bucks for their kids. But you can't diddle around with the bill. Sign the bill, Mr. President, and then immediately, Monday, Tuesday, we can pass a $2,000 direct payment to the working families of this country.

He also said that, during the entire time he was lobbying for $2000, with only one Republican joining him, TGFV never heard from Trump or anyone else on the higher payment, including Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin.  He also referred to Trump as "an extraordinary narcissist, pathologically narcissistic."

He pretty much dodged the question on whether it was a mistake for the Dems to refuse the pre-election $1.8T relief bill, saying "at this moment, working families are suffering more economic desperation than any time since the Great Depression. We should be responding to that need" with no mention of Pelosi's decision.

And, finally, on whether the Biden cabinet is progressive enough, his answer is no.

Well, what I have said many, many times is the progressive movement itself probably is 35 or 40 percent of the Democratic coalition. And I believe that the progressive movement deserves seats in the cabinet. That has not yet happened.

He's like to see "strong progressives in the administration"  

who believe that healthcare is a human right, who believe we’ve got to make sure that public colleges and universities are tuition free and that we have to be aggressive on issues like climate change, racial justice, immigration reform.

Next, Karl talked with My Favorite Republican (MFR), Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan. 

On whether President-elect Biden is keeping his promise to reach out to Republicans, MFR says so far, so good. The two have already talked, and he's reached out to govs on both sides of the aisle - and not only is he reaching out, he "seems to be listening" to them and their concerns. 

I know your previous guest probably would like him to move more -- more to the left, but I've been pushing to try to keep him, you know, in a more moderate place where he's willing to reach across the aisle and work together with Republicans.

On what kinds of "damage" president Trump can do in the next three weeks or so (Karl mentioned the ridiculous pardons as one example), MFR says he "gave up guessing what he might do next." The veto of the NDAA has been troubling, he said, but the fooling around on the stimulus bill "really bothers" him.

... you know, both parties were so far apart in the House and the Senate, the Problem Solvers Caucus, some really bipartisan folks on both sides of the aisle, brought everybody to the table. They reached an agreement. Secretary Mnuchin worked together with them and made commitments on behalf of the administration. And then not eight months before or even eight days before, but after it was passed, then the president raises these objections... 

On Rs standing up to Trump, he says more of them are, and more of them will. He also said that while Trump will still have a voice in the party, it's going to be different after the inauguration, when he won't have as much influence. Perhaps worse, in my opinion, is the uphill battle he faces on a larger scale.

There's an awful lot of people that want to be the next Donald Trump. But I'm going to be fighting to try to return our party to its roots, and to become a bigger tent party to reach out, a more Reaganesque party, more positive, hopeful vision for the future.

 Now, since we've had an Independent, and a Republican, let's hear from a Dem - Michigan's Gov. Gretchen Whitmer who visited the Face the Nation classroom to talk with Margaret Brennan.

On whether people have learned the value of their local governments this year, Whitmer said she hopes so, adding that no governor wanted to be in the situations they're in, but "it was incumbent on us to rise to the occasion" given the lack of a broader national strategy.  She also said the governors who acted regionally, learning from and sharing information with each other, benefited everyone because each state's experts were collecting different information that could be helpful to their cross-state line counterparts.

I should note that Ohio's Republican Gov. Mike DeWine was also on in the same segment as Whitmer, and he was generally in agreement with Whitmer on most of the questions, but he did point out one area where they might have differences of opinion: who gets the vaccine. 

I think there's been a real consensus among what we call A1 group, which is the-- the first responders, our medical people, our EMS, people who are risking their lives every-- every single day, as well as where we've taken the most losses, and that is in our nursing homes. I think there's probably going to be more lack of consensus among people in general when you get beyond that first group.

That segued into the question of how 'essential workers' are being defined, as Brennan mentioned reading that Colorado may be putting ski resort employees on their list. Whitmer said it could vary widely from state to state, and that varying will probably speed up as the vaccines get out there. And, she said, they've going to be "doing the hard work" of identifying who is-- has the most exposure, who is out there in jobs that are, you know, come into contact with the public at greater numbers." 

Brennan also asked how Whitmer makes sense of the experience of the threats against her (I think the question included both the ones where her life was threatened but also the day-to-day stuff that they're all hearing). She said every governor is getting backlash of some sort, some because of the steps they are taking to keep people safe and safe lives (she's in that bucket), but she also noted that's not the case for everyone.

Other governors are getting a backlash because they haven't done enough and people have been dying on their watch. There are no easy solutions here, no clearly obvious solutions here. Yet, I believe that the right thing to do is to follow the science and to put people's lives first because we can and we will recover from the economic blowback, from COVID-19 that has run amok in our country. What we can't do is, you know, bring someone back to life.

The bipartisan collaboration between the governors generally, which MFR has often mentioned in interviews, as well as the regional collaboration such as the kind we've seen here in New York with neighboring states, is something I hope US Senators and Congressmembers learn from, and take with them to Washington when the new legislative session kicks off next month.  

I mean, there's no time like the present, right?

See you around campus.  

Wondering on Wednesday 12/16/20

 

Ready... Set... Wonder!

We're going to kind of meander through some wondering, starting with the latest presidential approval rating from the folks at Rasmussen Reports. According to today's  edition of their daily tracking, the president is underwater by 8 points, with 36% of likely voters strongly approving of his performance and 44% strongly disapproving.  Here's a look at Trump's ratings for the month of December. 

• Average strongly approve: 37%
• Average strongly disapprove: 42%
• Average total approval: 49%
• Average total disapproval: 50%

The president has had only six days with a positive approval rating in the past three months: September 20th (+4),  November 9th-12th (+1, +3, +4, +2) and November 17th (+2).  This year, the president's total approval rating has at least 50% only 51 days, and it was never more than 53%.  

On Election Day? 49% total approval, 50% total disapproval, and a -4 difference between his strongly approve and strongly disapprove scores (39% and 43%, respectively). So, as he continues to wonder why he didn't win the election, he can go to Rasmussen and look at the entire year of proof: we don't love him as much as he has convinced himself we love him.

Now, some people do love him as much as he loves himself, including the whole cast of characters that have fought to prove voter fraud, which would lead to his re-election. You know, people Like this former Texas cop, and the group he was working for.  How's this for a headline?

Former Houston police captain accused of violent attempt to prove election conspiracy was hired by GOP activist's group

Sounds like love, right? The former Houston captain, Mark Aguirre, had been following an "innocent and ordinary" air conditioner repairman for days; at least two other people helped with the surveillance. Aguirre thought that the repairman "was behind a huge voter fraud scheme," and Aguirre "believed the technician to be transporting fake ballots in his vehicle and to have as many as 750,000 in his possession."  The logical thing to do, then, was to run him off the road and pull a gun on him, force him to the ground, steal his fan to search it, and then abandon the vehicle, right? There were no ballots. Just air conditioner parts. At first, I wondered if the big donor's firm, The Liberty Center for God and Country, would be asking for the$266,400 they paid Aguirre, but then I read that the donor, Steven Hotze, wanted Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to kill protesters back in July.

"I want you to give a message to the governor," Hotze told Abbott's chief of staff, Luis Saenz, in a voicemail. "I want to make sure that he has National Guard down here and they have the order to shoot to kill if any of these son-of-a-bitch people start rioting like they have in Dallas, start tearing down businesses — shoot to kill the son of a bitches. That’s the only way you restore order. Kill 'em. Thank you."

I have to wonder about the politeness of the message, don't you? I mean, who ends a message telling a government official to implement a shoot-to-kill order, by saying thank you? 

Staying with the election, and the cast of characters with whom the president surrounds himself, I thought this article in the NY Times was interesting. Once and now former Trump election fraud attorney Sidney Powell, who vowed to "release the Kraken" and "blow up" Georgia with a "biblical case," has now turned her attention to a new subject: the coronavirus vaccines.

"NO WAY #America." Ms. Powell wrote in the tweet, which collected 22,600 shares and 51,000 likes. "This is more authoritarian communist control imported straight from #China." She then tagged Mr. Trump the former national security adviser Michael T. Flynn - both of whom she had represented - and other prominent right-wing figures to highlight the post.

I'm just wondering generally here, what's the next big conspiracy thing going to be? And will it be coming at us from the right, or will the left dive in to keep things interesting? I mean, they're still talking about how Bernie would have beaten Trump if only the DNC hadn't robbed him again.

About a year-and-a-half ago, I 'disaffiliated myself' from the Democrats, switching my voter registration to 'no party' - primarily because That Guy from Vermont, who is not a Dem - was being allowed by the party to run for president under the team banner, for the second time. I didn't use the 'disaffiliated' language, but that's the language that Rep. Paul Mitchell of Michigan used in announcing he was leaving the GOP, lamenting the lack of leadership and the continued contesting of the election, the conspiracy theories, and so on. I completely understand why he did it; I just wonder, if he wasn't retiring, would he still have left? I hope the answer is yes., butt you never can be sure.  

 Rep. Mitchell might be happy, as I was, to learn that Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who I call my favorite Republican, will be one of the national co-chairs of No Labels. Hogan has a nearly 80% approval rating in his state (see that, president Trump?) and is well liked by Rs, Ds, Independents and pretty much everyone else.  Here's his statement.

I am honored to help lead No Labels at a time when our message of putting aside partisan differences for the common good is needed more than ever. Amid this awful pandemic, the people in my state and across our country are desperate for leaders to work across the aisle and focus on solving the urgent problems we face. I have admired the work No Labels has done to empower these kinds of leaders and to mobilize grassroots supporters, and this work is just beginning. it's time to give voice to the vast majority of Americans who want a different and better kind of politics and mobilize this movement into action.

Anyone wondering how they can get involved or learn more?  Check out the group's website.

What are you wondering about tonight?