Category Archives: Beto O’Rourke

11/6 Midterm Election Night & Open Thread

The Progressive Wing Posted on by

Birdies–

Tonight we find out how much of a check the American people want to have on our Executive Branch. Or put it another way, how many of the 1000 legislative seats will the Dems gain from the last 10 years of losses? Will voters feel comfortable with the economy and overlook Trump? Will Trump’s divisiveness prevail and turn out his base?

Will we see our first women Native American Congressional Reps? First AA governor of FL and first female gov of GA? How well will the OR candidates perform in this cycle?

Of course, we hope there are no machine irregularities, but it’s anticipated that some will occur. And election lawyers will be on hand just in case.

In the Senate, Democrats are defending 26 seats while Republicans are only defending nine.

(those are predictions if they are filled in with red or blue, gold signifies toss-up)

In the gubernatorial races, there are 33 races, in which Dems could possibly pick up 9 of them.



(those are predictions if they are filled in with red or blue, gold signifies toss-up)

First polls close at 6ET in Indiana, VT and KY. Most in the MSM are saying to watch the 6th district in KY, but the bellwethers will be in VA 4 GOP races and FL 4 GOP races when the polls close at 7 ET.

Larry Sabato of Crystal Ball expects Dem pick-ups in the gubernatorial races, including Kansas.

Big races:

TX Sen – Beto vs Cruz
NV Sen – Rosen vs Heller
FL Sen – Sick Rott vs Nelson
AZ Sen – McSally vs Sinema
CA Sen – DeLeon vs Feinstein
MO Sen – Hawley vs McCaskill
TN Sen – Breesan vs Blackburn
VT Sen – Sanders vs a pack of Indies (well, not a big race, but it is Bernie’s re-up)

FL Gov – DeSantis vs Gillum
GA Gov – Kemp vs Abrams
MD Gov – Jealous vs Hogan
WI Gov – Evers vs Walker
IL Gov – Pritzker vs Rauner
AZ Gov – Garcia vs Ducey
ID Gov – Jordan vs Little
MI Gov – Whitmer vs Schulette
IA Gov – Hubbell vs Reynolds

MN AG – Ellison vs Wardlow

Add the races you are keen about in the comments!

10/8 House Races Tighten; Happy Indigenous Peoples Day & Open Thread

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Across the US, more cities ditch Columbus Day to honor those who really discovered America Just this year, at least a dozen US cities — including San Francisco and Cincinnati — decided to stop observing Columbus Day and will instead celebrate Indigenous Peoples Day on Monday. For Joe Curtatone, the mayor of Somerville, Massachusetts, the decision was easy. “Columbus Day is a relic of an outdated and oversimplified version of history,” the mayor wrote when announcing the decision last month. “This issue is a lot like the Confederate flag for southerners. As an Italian-American it feels good that there is … Continue reading →

10/6 Weekend News and OT

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Bernie Sanders to campaign for Scholten in Sioux City Scholten, a Democrat from Sioux City, said Sanders would make stops on Oct. 20 in Sioux City and Oct. 21 in Fort Dodge and Ames. Scholten, who is challenging Republican Rep. Steve King, announced Sanders’ appearances during a dinner sponsored by the Woodbury County Democratic Party Friday night. In Sioux City, Sanders will join Scholten at a rally at Morningside College. Along with the visits to Fort Dodge and Ames the next day, Sanders will appear in three of the four largest cities in the heavily Republican 4th district, which covers … Continue reading →

Ted Cruz’s predatory mailers & 9/17 Open Thread

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A follow up to a tweet I shared yesterday of a mailer that Ted Cruz’s campaign sent to an 88 year-old woman with very deceptive wording on the envelope. Our polarbear4 had asked if it was legal. It appears that it was not: Hello. This is violation of the Texas Deceptive Trade Practices Act (DTPA). I know, because I passed this law in 2015. See below: https://t.co/9oga4Gq8Zy — Gene Wu (@GeneforTexas) September 16, 2018 Please feel free to share below and I hope you all have a great day!! UPDATE: LOL, you all are so nice to me-as far as … Continue reading →

Beto News Briefs 4/25 to 5/3: Beto Challenges Cruz To Debate In Spanish, O’Rourke: “We Don’t Need A Wall” & More

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Beto O’Rourke Wants To Debate Ted Cruz Six Times, Twice In Spanish U.S. Rep. Beto O’Rourke, D-El Paso, has invited U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, to participate in six debates with O’Rourke across Texas, two of them in Spanish, during their U.S. Senate race. O’Rourke campaign manager Jody Casey made the proposal in a letter last week to Cruz’s senior staff, adding that the debates should have “media reach to all twenty markets in the state.” “I would like to begin direct coordination of the debates with your campaign team between now and May 10th,” Casey wrote to Cruz advisers … Continue reading →

Power The Future, a group whose Director has ties to the Kochs, tries to use Beto O’Rourke to its evil ends

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This showed up on my twitter feed just now as a ‘Promoted’ tweet. Now, I don’t tend to squander any love on Bloomberg, Steyer, or Soros, but I was curious enough to look up this group, Power The Future, and look at what I found on the group’s timeline: Hmmm, I thought, something seems off. Here is the linked story: Beto O’Rourke to major Democratic super PAC donor: “Thanks, but no thanks” Tom Steyer, one of the biggest Democratic donors in the country, openly mulled spending on O’Rourke’s behalf via his environmental super PAC, NextGen America. Wait, is it..possible that O’Rourke said, “Thanks, but no thanks” for … Continue reading →

Beto News Briefs 4/17-4/24: ‘O’Rourke Inspires A Patriotic Small Donor Wave’ & ‘Beto In The Outfield’

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Sanders, Warren, O’Rourke inspire patriotic small donor waves During the 2016 presidential campaign, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) fired the small-donor fundraising shot that was heard around the political world and now stands on the brink of transforming American politics for a long time to come. The Sanders fundraising triumph in 2016, raising huge amounts of money by refusing dirty special interest money and appealing to intensely patriotic and idealistic small donors, is a living legacy that is demonstrating enormous political power as the midterm elections and the 2020 presidential campaign come closer. .. Now Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), who is … Continue reading →

4/17 News Roundup – Sanders: ‘Opposing Netanyahu’s Policies Doesn’t Make Us Anti-Semitic’, Turner Targets Unaffilliated Voters & More

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‘Opposing Netanyahu’s policies doesn’t make us anti-Semitic’

Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who sought the Democratic presidential nomination in the 2016 election but lost out to Hillary Clinton, on Monday criticized Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu and his policies.

“As someone who believes absolutely and unequivocally in Israel’s right to exist… we must say loudly and clearly, that to oppose the reactionary policies of Prime Minister Netanyahu does not make us anti-Israel,” Sanders told the annual conference of the J Street organization.

He took issue with Israel’s response to the recent riots along the border with Gaza, claiming Israel “massively overreacted” to the protests.

“The presence of Hamas members among a crowd of tens of thousands does not justify the level of violence we saw, and frankly it’s amazing to me that anyone would find that point controversial,” Sanders said.

“I have condemned Hamas’s use of terrorist violence and will continue to do so. But that violence cannot excuse shooting at unarmed protesters, and it cannot excuse trapping almost two million people inside Gaza,” he charged.

Sanders also said that the United States “must play a much more aggressive and even-handed role in ending the Gaza blockade and helping Palestinians and Israelis build a future that works for all.” He added that, If the White House does not do that, Congress must take the lead.

“Too often, our foreign policy debate here in Washington is dominated by those whose answer to complicated international situations seems always to involve dropping more bombs, rather than engage in the hard work of diplomacy and negotiation,” said Sanders, who opined that the best way to achieve peace between Israelis and Arabs is the “two-state solution”.

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments, including:

*Sanders Speaks To The Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW)
*The Working Families Party endorsement of Nixon over Cuomo helps fuel deepening split among New York Democrats.
*Why Democrats everywhere are watching Beto O’Rourke’s Senate campaign in Texas
*Protect indigenous people’s land rights and the whole world will benefit, UN forum declares
*New AUMF? Critics Warn Against Giving Trump—or Any President—Power to Wage War ‘Virtually Anywhere on the Planet’
*Pipeline news, Water Protector updates & More

4/12 News Roundup – Sanders In The Deep South; #ForTheMany: What Corbyn Learned From Bernie’s Campaign & More

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Bernie Sanders in the Deep South By Briahna Joy Gray

Last week, I joined Bernie Sanders in Memphis, Tennessee, and Jackson, Mississippi, to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.’s assassination. Sanders was overwhelmingly well received by both passersby and the local audiences who came to hear him speak. But so far, the media coverage of his trip has revolved around a brief aside, in which Sanders faulted the Democratic Party for its recent legislative failures:

“The business model, if you like, of the Democratic Party for the last 15 years or so has been a failure,” said Sanders. “People sometimes don’t see that because there was a charismatic individual named Barack Obama. He was obviously an extraordinary candidate, brilliant guy. But behind that reality, over the last ten years, Democrats have lost about 1,000 seats in state legislatures all across this country.”

Twitter erupted immediately, and critics, like former South Carolina representative Bakari Sellers, accused Sanders of “arrogance” and of “dismissing” President Obama. But Thursday’s critiques were only loosely tethered to Wednesday’s words, which, on their face, were fairly uncontroversial: Who could defend as successful the “almost unprecedented” loss of legislative seats over the last ten years, or Hillary Clinton’s defeat to game-show host Donald Trump? In Mississippi, when Sanders called the Democratic Party a “failure,” the audience erupted into applause. And of course, President Obama was a uniquely charismatic and brilliant president.

In fact, if Beale Street could talk, it would tell a very different story about Bernie Sanders than the now-familiar critique that he is insufficiently sensitive to racial issues. As I walked with Sanders down Memphis’s famous thoroughfare, his popularity, including among the predominantly black crowd attending the commemorative festivities, was self-evident. The senator was stopped every few feet by selfie-seekers and admirers. Yes: Perhaps this is to be expected of any politician with a national profile, but given his poor showing in Mississippi during the 2016 Democratic primary, in which he secured less than 17 percent of the black vote, I had thought the senator and his small cohort might go unnoticed. I was wrong.

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

Any site/sign-up/commenting issues can be sent to the tpwhelpdesk at the googles.

4/10 News Roundup – Sanders To Oppose Pompeo’s Nomination For State; Nina Turner Talks Tuesday Voting & More

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Sanders to oppose Pompeo’s nomination for State

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) said Monday that he will oppose Mike Pompeo to lead the State Department days before his nomination hearing.

“Mike Pompeo is absolutely the wrong choice to serve as the United States’ top diplomat, and I will vote against him,” Sanders said in a statement.

Pompeo, who is currently CIA director, is slated to testify before the Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday.

Sanders isn’t a member of the panel and previously opposed Pompeo’s nomination to lead the CIA.

He added on Monday that “we need a secretary of State who will represent the best principles of the United States to the rest of the world.”

Sanders pointed to Pompeo’s position on climate change, “longstanding relationship with anti-Muslim extremists” and “hawkish” foreign policy views.

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

4/9 News Roundup – Abdul El-Sayed Speaks In Support Of Marijuana Legalization; Turner Brings ‘Our Revolution’ To Rutgers & More

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With marijuana legalization on the horizon, Michigan’s ‘Hash Bash’ becomes a call to action

Participants in Ann Arbor’s 47th annual Hash Bash found themselves under the influence of more than just cannabis Saturday afternoon, as thousands gathered at the University of Michigan’s Diag: several politicians also found their way to the city’s popular weed festival, all hoping to convince voters they were biggest supporters of legalizing it. Many participants and organizers came hoping this year’s Hash Bash will be the last before marijuana is legalized in the state of Michigan. Many believe state Congress will approve ballot proposal in November to legalize the use of recreational marijuana for those 21 and older.

Speakers at this year’s event included many notable marijuana legalization activists and professional athletes, such as Detroit Lions running back Mike James, former Detroit Red Wings hockey player Darren McCarty and former NFL player Eugene Monroe. Local political figures addressed the crowd, including Ann Arbor City Councilmember Jack Eaton, D-Ward 4; Councilmember Anne Bannister, D-Ward 1; and state Rep. Yousef Rabhi, D-Ann Arbor. State politicians such as gubernatorial candidates Abdul El-Sayed and Gretchen Whitmer also made appearances.

El-Sayed spoke on his support to legalize marijuana, stating the current law unjustly incarcerates youth.

“I’m here as a doctor and I’m here as a young servant, and I’m here because I’m done waiting while young people get arrested for something that should not be illegal,” El-Sayed said, according to MLive. “We’ve got to stand up and demand that we expunge records for marijuana possession and use … For too long we’ve watched as corporations have bought and sold our politics.”

..

LSA junior Amal Alzendani, the U-M campus field team leader for the El-Sayed campaign, came to the Diag to hear the candidate speak.

“It was great to see Abdul El-Sayed at Hash Bash engaging with voters to whom the issue of marijuana legalization is important,” she wrote in an email interview. “It seems clear that Abdul’s stances regarding marijuana, which include expunging the records of people who have previously been arrested for marijuana-related charges once it is legalized, should be the standard among democrats, as should the open and vocal support of its legalization that Abdul showed by having such a presence at Hash Bash.”

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

4/5 News Roundup – Sanders Commemorates King In Memphis, Beto Hits Pay Dirt With Bernie’s Money Machine & More

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Bernie Sanders in town as hundreds march the streets of Memphis

Linked arm in arm and shoulder to shoulder, hundreds marched the streets of Memphis honoring the late civil rights icon Dr. Martin Luther King Junior. It was 50 years ago today that Dr. King was assassinated on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Downtown Memphis.

The sight was reminiscent of the workers’ strike of 1968 that brought him to Memphis all those years ago. But today’s march was about more than just honoring the man. It was also about bringing light to issues that still need attention.

..

Senator Bernie Sanders was also present for the march and said seeing where history was made all those years ago was an unique experience.

“It is very moving. In my view, Dr. King was one of the great leaders in the history of our country. He was a man of extraordinary courage and to be in the city where his life came to an end tragically, for me is a very moving experience,” said Senator Bernie Sanders.

“We can never forget what Dr. King stood for and it’s not enough to just look back and honor him,” said Sanders who spoke at the rally Wednesday morning. “We have got to continue the fight that he gave his life for, and that fight was to end racism in America, to end poverty in America, militarism in America and to create a government that worked for all people and not just a handful of wealthy individuals.”

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.

4/4 News Roundup – Sanders To Speak On The Legacy Of MLK Tonight, Trump’s Plans To Deploy Border Troops Blasted & More

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‘Beyond Disturbing’: Trump Says He’s Working on Plans to Deploy Troops Along US-Mexico Border

After days of ranting and raving on Twitter about the “caravans” of migrants making their way toward the United States—”caravans” that are made up largely of Honduran asylum-seekers looking to call attention to their plight—President Donald Trump on Tuesday said that he has begun working with Defense Secretary James Mattis to deploy the military to “guard” the U.S.-Mexico border until his proposed wall is constructed.

“We have very bad laws for our border, and we are going to be doing some things—I’ve been speaking with General Mattis—we’re going to be doing things militarily,” Trump declared during a White House meeting with Baltic leaders on Tuesday. “Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military.”

Lawmakers and advocacy groups immediately called the new proposal—which is reportedly favored by White House senior advisor Stephen Miller—as a “beyond disturbing” addition to Trump’s already expansive anti-immigrant agenda.

In a statement responding to Trump’s “caravan” tweets on Monday, the refugee rights group Pueblo Sin Fronteras highlighted America’s role in fueling the violence migrants are now attempting to flee by supporting the 2009 Honduran military coup and denounced the president for refusing to honor international agreements that enshrine the rights of asylum seekers.

“The unprecedented number of Central Americans who have joined the current refugee caravan and the high percentage of people fleeing Honduras in the group are the result of multiple political crises in the region provoked in large part by the policies of the U.S. government,” the statement noted.

More news/video/tweets/etc. in the comments.