Early morning gist of the news

August 19, 2019: PROGRESSIVE NEWS BRIEFS...Where Liberals Walk

An abbreviated view of recent political events 
 

Donald Trump polls just keep getting worse

Did you know that One of Trump’s ‘America First’ Speeches Was Edited By Saudi Arabia?

Did you know that "financial institutions have handed a wealth of information on Russians linked to Donald Trump and members of his family to congressional committees."

Did you know that "Mitch McConnell’s efforts to lift sanctions on Russian companies helped pave the way for a major aluminum project in Kentucky?"

McConnell's crooked deal with Russians...

Did you know that evangelicals are just fine with Trump's racism?

Did you know that Donald Trump aides call his daily work ethic the “absolute amateur hour” at the White House?

Did you know that "Economist Robert Reich warns that the ‘sugar high’ of ‘Trumponomics’ won’t last: ‘The economy is very, very fragile’"

Robert Reich: Is Donald Trump worst president ever?...

Did you know that the WSJ "trashed [Trump] adviser Peter Navarro for being the driving force behind policies that appear to be driving the entire world’s economy into recession.

Did you know that the Internet said "Everything you touch goes bankrupt," in reference to Trump claims the media caused his failing economy.

Conservative strategist Rick Wilson: "Everything Trump touches dies"...

Did you know that Washington Post columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner in 2009, Eugene Robinson condemned Donald Trump polling numbers across the board citing more poor performance in Electoral states.

Did you know that conservative Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin tells the story of why Trump is "tanking." 

Trump determined to take away Americans healthcare

The Oval Office lunatic is on another rampage to repeal Obamacare, just because he hates Barack Obama. You can place Mitch McConnell in that same category (hating Obama-they are both racists) with McConnell's continuing support to get rid of Obamacare. Neither does it for the good of the country or its citizenry, they do it to feed their warped egos and sick minds in the continuing parade to erase anything Barack Obama did in his administration. GOP Senators were blindsided, according to The Hill. And Republicans are screaming, "We need a plan," on another occasion where they are caught short by their own president, says Politico. It remains beyond comprehension how a maniac like Donald Trump can continue to lead the most powerful country in the world.

Obama can still appoint Merrick Garland to Supreme Court

It is certain that Democrats will attempt to block any radically conservative nominee that Donald Trump comes up with to fill Antonin Scalia's seat. It will no doubt include a filibuster. The GOP, however, could initiate the "nuclear option" and overcome this but will they? The NO simply lets the Senate head call a vote to change the number of votes needed to stop the filibuster from 60 to a majority, which the Republicans have. Bingo, the Supremes have gone ultra conservative.

But hold on, Dahlia Lithwick of Slate says, it isn't Donald Trump's nomination to make and actually we already knew that. The Senate's token asshole, Mitch McConnell, stopped Barack Obama's nomination of Merrick Garland. And has-been John McCain had also said that should Hillary Clinton become President, he would block all of her nominees. And he doesn't even know who they would be. This all confirms the stupidity of the current Republican Party.

The only answer now is for the Democrats to stand firm and do everything in their power to prevent Trump's Supreme Court nominations. Unless he comes to his senses and works with the Dems on a nominee, and we know that won't happen. But here's the kicker, the Advise and Consent clause of the Constitution gives the President the right to do many things, including nominate judges for the Supreme Court. The court then approves or disproves the nomination.

But what if the Senate doesn't act. The Supreme Court has said:

"No procedural principle is more familiar to this Court than that a constitutional right, or a right of any other sort, may be forfeited in criminal as well as civil cases by the failure to make timely assertion of the right before a tribunal having jurisdiction to determine it.”

The Washington Post has said:

"It is altogether proper to view a decision by the Senate not to act as a waiver of its right to provide advice and consent. A waiver is an intentional relinquishment or abandonment of a known right or privilege."

Although he is running out of time, Obama could "...advise the Senate that he will deem its failure to act by a specified reasonable date in the future (perhaps 30 days) to constitute a deliberate waiver of its right to give advice and consent. I know we're in the change of command but the GOP started the fight and it's the Democrats time to finish it. And that would be, if there is no action by the Senate, Obama appoints Garland to the Supreme Court. Case closed.

It happened in 1975 under Gerald R. Ford's presidency you can read here.

Latest Mitch McConnell idiocy...NRA must approve Supreme Court nominee

How far will the American people let this lunatic go before sending him packing. The National Rifle Assn. (NRA) run by Wayne LaPierre not only controls the U.S. Congress, but now it controls the Supreme Court. Yes, Mitch McConnell has said in effect that the NRA has veto power over Supreme Court nominees. Not officially, just by controlling members of the senate who will vote just like Wayne LaPierre's minions tell them to. This is beyond disgusting.

The Moderate Voice says, "it has not ever happened that a party would not even allow hearings on a President’s nominee." That is, not until Mitch McConnell came along. MV says, he has..."re-written the rules on Supreme Court nominees: the powerful National Rifle Association now has veto power over all Supreme NRA has taken over control of the federal government." This mentally misguided ideologue is completely out of control.

Now all you gun control apathetics--my term for those of you who say they won't worry about it until it affects you personally--can see how far the NRA has pushed its power, to the extent it now has final approval over a Supreme Court justice. Many in this apathetic group do not even own firearms, but for some stupid reason they are fighting for the right of a gun nut to do just about anything he or she wants to do with their weapons.

The recall of members of the Congress is not permissible as defined in the Constitution. My gut tells me that if it was, there would be a recall in the process right now for Mitch McConnell. Maybe it is time for a Constitutional Amend. to change that but since most of the congressional members worth getting rid of are Republicans, and they now control Congress, the effort would be worthless. In the meantime, shoot for the overthrow of the GOP in November by Progressives.

Latest Republican trickle down bullshit

The GOP's leading moron, "Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said on NBC’s 'Meet the Press' that it is 'not remotely' the Senate’s obligation to consider the Supreme Court nominee that President Barack Obama will choose following the sudden death of Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia." Just consider the quoted words, "not remotely" to gauge the level of rebellion by Republicans against anything that President Obama is connected with. Perpetual interruption of government.

Senator Patrick Leahy said in an MSNBC interview with Andrea Mitchell that the Supreme Court has not gone without a seat for a year for as far back as the Civil War. He chastised Mitch McConnell for making a political issue out of the situation, commenting that in his history in Congress, no other Senate leader had done this. In other words, it is another contemptible move by McConnell to block anything the President does.

Leahy also questioned McConnell's remark about letting the people decide the next Supreme Court nominee by citing Obama's 2012 win by 5 million votes, a likely referendum on his potential choice of someone for the high court. the Vermont Senator seemed exasperated with his Republican colleagues to the extent that none of this made sense, which, of course it doesn't. At one point Leahy exclaimed he didn't think even Scalia would approve of these tactics.

One can only hope the Progressives of this country have finally had enough and will change the whole system come November.