Senate Democrats Give Away Power To Rethugs. Dick Durbin could simply announce the end of the blue slip in response to the Rethug refusal to seat a replacement for Dianne Feinstein, but no-o-o-o-o:
Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said Tuesday that he’s still holding out hope that Republicans can find “common ground” for advancing President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees ― without axing the committee’s so-called blue slip rule, which allows a single senator to sink a judicial nominee from their home state.
It’s not an official Senate rule. It’s a committee tradition, a senatorial courtesy. Durbin could do away with it today if he wanted to. How does it work? Senators literally turn in a blue piece of paper to the committee to signal their support for advancing a nominee from their state. If both of a nominee’s senators turn in their blue slips, the nominee gets a hearing. If only one turns in a blue slip, or neither, the nominee doesn’t get a hearing.
These Senate dinosaurs, including, (especially) including Tom Carper, are incapable of fighting back against the anti-democratic forces seeking to permanently enshrine minority rule. Enabling them to hold onto power is enabling the demise of democracy.
Democrats’ Gerontocracy Problem. They won’t get off the stage. Including Biden and, there’s that robot again, Tom Carper. BTW, have you noticed that Carper is no longer capable of even wielding the giant scissors during our Congressional delegation’s annual round of ribbon-cuttings? He’s now generally on the side with that cap pulled down low.
Jer-RY. Jer-RY. Jer-RY. Michigan Rethugs go full-Springer:
Something about who supports the QAnon State Chair, and who doesn’t. Not that it matters. Man, I wish Gretchen Whitmer would run for President.
Corporations Rush Back To Embrace Election-Denying Rethug AG’s. They had left when it wasn’t tenable to support their conspiracy theories. They’re still spouting conspiracy theories, but the corporate bucks are flowing again:
RAGA, a tax-exempt political group representing more than half of the states’ chief legal officers, had come in for particularly harsh criticism for its support of Trump’s election fraud claims in the wake of the riot at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. A RAGA sister organization had sent a robocall urging “patriots” to join Trump’s Jan. 6 rally on the Ellipse in Washington. Then the fuzzy recorded voice went one step further, saying, “We will march to the Capitol building and call on Congress to stop the steal.”
The response from corporate America was swift. A Comcast spokesperson told The New York Times, “We are appalled and condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms and have communicated that to R.A.G.A.” The University of Phoenix demanded RAGA return recent contributions. Regular five-figure supporters like Microsoft and Coca-Cola abruptly cut RAGA off, cold turkey. Contributions to the group dropped 36% in 2021 compared with 2020.
RAGA’s embrace of Stop the Steal also caused an organizational exodus. RAGA’s executive director resigned days after news of the robocall became public. Georgia’s Republican attorney general, Chris Carr, who was chairman of RAGA at the time, decided by April 2021 that he could no longer lead the group, citing a “fundamental difference of opinion” about “the significance of the events of January 6.” At least seven staffers left in the wake of the riot, with one writing a resignation note that said: “The direction is not one I can honestly stand behind.”
At the conference in New Orleans, there was little sign of such chaos. And those corporations that expressed such outrage? While some companies, like Microsoft and Coke, are still staying away, Comcast is more typical. The company resumed giving barely a month after condemning RAGA, and has since contributed close to half a million dollars. Many others are back in the fold as well, including Amazon, Walmart, Visa, Capital One, MasterCard, Intuit, Walgreens, General Motors, Altria, Home Depot and JPMorgan Chase’s PAC. Even the University of Phoenix, having pulled its donation, is filling RAGA’s coffers once again.
Here’s the kicker:
One might imagine that the corporate largesse reflects RAGA having distanced itself from the extremes of its party. Hardly. Since the Jan. 6 controversy, Republican attorneys generals have even more tightly embraced Trumpism and the movement that sows doubt about the legitimacy of elections.
New Jersey Environmental Justice Law Takes Effect. Took ’em 2 1/2 years to implement, but it’s landmark legislation. I understand that Delaware’s version is even more comprehensive and will be introduced soon. That will be a bill well worth fighting for:
Officials said the law is the first in the nation to require permit denials if an environmental justice analysis determines a new facility will have a disproportionately negative impact on overburdened communities.
“It’s no secret that poor, urban and minority communities have been oversaturated with toxic facilities, and they have never had a real voice in determining whether these businesses and institutions were acceptable,” added state Sen. Troy Singleton.
Marcus Sibley, chairman of the New Jersey State Conference NAACP Environmental and Climate Justice Committee, said the law should empower overburdened communities with a tool to fight additional sources of pollution.
“Expecting entities to do the right thing hasn’t ever been a winning strategy for our constituents most vulnerable to exploitation, adverse environmental impacts, gross inaction and divestment,” he said.
To say that The Delaware Way has led a bipartisan effort to further disadvantage minority communities would be an understatement.
No. Carney’s not signing the pot bills today. One thing he doesn’t have: A sense of humor. Prove me wrong, John.
What do you want to talk about?