48 minutes ago, Vee said:

 

This is a hypothetical. It is what the GOP wants, but it's not an actual reality right now nor a guaranteed one. That is important to clarify. Obviously voting rights and protections are absolutely integral to put into place, but treating every possible failure and catastrophe as a foregone conclusion and inevitable eventuality has been proven wrong again and again in the last year.

 

Further, the evangelical and GOP base is not enough to win national elections. 2020 proved that (and some of them stayed home). And if they do break Roe and force us to rebuild abortion rights state by side, which is a very real possibility now, electorally that has consequences which is why the GOP higher-ups have tried to exploit the idea of repealing Roe while avoiding actually having to play this outcome for years - because it will alienate a huge portion of the squishy middle American vote. Which already went Biden for a reason. Losing Roe, if it happens, will be an obscenity. But it will not be the end of abortion rights, which will have to be rebuilt, and it will lead to serious damage to the GOP electorally. Because no, the entire voting majority will not be GOP. Unless you believe nothing will be done about voting rights in the next year or two, which I don't. YMMV.

 

 

I hope something is done, but what I described essentially is the law in states like Georgia now, and Joe Manchin's solution was to co-write a letter. 

 

I feel like time is slipping away. 

3 hours ago, DRW50 said:

 

I hope something is done, but what I described essentially is the law in states like Georgia now, and Joe Manchin's solution was to co-write a letter. 

 

I feel like time is slipping away. 

I share a lot of your concern but I also recognize a lot of this is posturing and politics. I am the last person who wants Roe overturned but while we hear about states limiting abortion rights what you never hear about are states that expanded them. When Pritzker won as Governor in Il, RHA, the Reproductive Health Act, was passed. It was a sweeping reform for abortion rights. New York passed a bill not quite as expansive but that expanded abortion rights as did Nevada and New Mexico, 2 states with significant Latino populations(for everyone who claims none of Latinos support abortion rights).

 

There are also plans ready to go to help women in states with limited rights now in states where abortion rights have been marginalized to get women the help they need. It will be put in full blown if this happens. I am a member of a chapter of NARAL in Il and we are already helping women in states surrounding Illinois and will expand those efforts.

 

Frankly the ultimate goal should be a congressional bill to legalize abortion. That should have been the goal years ago. But that won't happen until enough states have passed their own legislation and I agree with Vee that will happen and there will be monumental pressure if Roe is overturned. 

 

As for voting rights, I am actually happy to see that letter. That tells me there is movement. And Murkowski as usual is demonstrating she is far more reliable than that fraud Susan Collins. Murkowski didn't vote for Kavanaugh remember. As for her ability to win re-election, don't count her out after what she accomplished last time, winning as an independent after losing the GOP primary.

 

 

 

McCarthy stabbed John Katko, another so-called "thoughtful" Republican who worked closely with Democrats for the commission to happen, in the back. Watch Katko just shrug it off the way all the GOP enablers do.

 

The Republicans, with the media going along every step, are doing their best to memory hole 1/6 and knowing their voter suppression and gerrymandering tools are enough to get away with it.

1 hour ago, DRW50 said:

 

McCarthy stabbed John Katko, another so-called "thoughtful" Republican who worked closely with Democrats for the commission to happen, in the back. Watch Katko just shrug it off the way all the GOP enablers do.

 

The Republicans, with the media going along every step, are doing their best to memory hole 1/6 and knowing their voter suppression and gerrymandering tools are enough to get away with it.

I honestly don't care and like the 9/11 Commission, an entire waste of time. We never heard about the deliberate ignoring of information transitioned to the Bush administration because Bush wanted a war and 9/11 gave him what he needed. What democrat in their right mind would want any republican on this commission to spew crazy town nonsense. I have more confidence in the DOJ. A special prosecutor would be better than this.  

The 9/11 commission was basically about making sure no surprises came up to harm Bush's re-election and allowed for a controlled narrative. A commission about the insurrection would be far different because there is much to be learned about just what elected officials knew about the attack and who financed it. But for the most part I think Democrats want to make sure that the electorate doesn't forget about January 6th and be able to use it as in issue in the midterm.

10 minutes ago, JaneAusten said:

I honestly don't care and like the 9/11 Commission, an entire waste of time. We never heard about the deliberate ignoring of information transitioned to the Bush administration because Bush wanted a war and 9/11 gave him what he needed. What democrat in their right mind would want any republican on this commission to spew crazy town nonsense. I have more confidence in the DOJ. A special prosecutor would be better than this.  

 

I don't have any interest in these toothless commissions either, but I think this stands out as a notable moment for just how brazen the GOP is, and how they know they will get away with it.

I think the commission is important. But it is going to go ahead with or without them, and if they don't agree to it the Dems will just go ahead with sole subpoena power.

Just as I'd suspected and hoped, the NY AG's office (i.e. Letitia James) is no longer relegated to investigating civil charges against the Trump organization, now she has joined forces with the SDNY and is investigating criminal charges!

Good!!

NEW: The @NewYorkStateAG investigation into the Trump Organization is “no longer purely civil.”

“We are now actively investigating the Trump Organization in a criminal capacity, along with the Manhattan DA,” a spokesman told CNN. pic.twitter.com/Ctck7VrYc0

— Sonia Moghe (@soniamoghe) May 19, 2021

I guess we should soon know if he (or family members) has a pocket pardon and if it would be upheld!

3 hours ago, Ponds said:

I guess we should soon know if he (or family members) has a pocket pardon and if it would be upheld!

 

Pardon means nothing for the investigation, as it's not federal.

Violent crime, especially shootings and subway slashings, has gotten out of hand here in NYC (certainly compared to recent numbers, if nowhere near the heights of the ‘80s and early ‘90s). It’s not surprising that supposed “law and order” candidates would thrive in this environment. Kathryn Garcia got the NYT endorsement.

 

 

Edited May 19, 20214 yr by Faulkner

57 minutes ago, DramatistDreamer said:

 

Pardon means nothing for the investigation, as it's not federal.

 

Except that the SDNY has now been brought into the investigation.

12 minutes ago, Ponds said:

 

Except that the SDNY has now been brought into the investigation.

 

The SDNY has always been handling the criminal investigation. It was the NY AG that was conducting the civil investigation. They are joining forces. The NY AG always maintained that should there be any evidence of criminal wrongdoing, they would turn it over to the SDNY, where the District attorney was already handling the criminal case. The difference now is that the NY AG now has the authority to 'get in' on the criminal investigation.

Again, presidential pardon only has power in federal cases. This is not a federal case, neither the criminal, nor the civil. This is NY jurisdiction. SDNY stands for Southern District of New York, which is essentially New York City. It is not a federal case. Notice that the Justice Department has no active part either investigation because this has to do with activities concerning Trump Inc., not the presidency.

Edited May 19, 20214 yr by DramatistDreamer