U.S. Politics

[Richard Smith]

The bottom has completely dropped out on Ukraine Joe.  An all-time low polll number this week following his announcement to run in 2024.  He trails Trump.  The majority of those polled don't believe he has the mentally competency to be president.  Absolutely brutal.  And just wait until Hunter is indicted this week. 


"President Joe Biden’s approval slid to a career low in the latest opinion poll for ABC News and the Washington Post that also showed the US leader lagging predecessor Donald Trump in early voter preferences for the 2024 election.

The percentage of those approving of Biden’s performance fell to 36%, six points lower than in February and a point off his previous low in early 2022, according to the survey conducted for the news organizations by Langer Research Associates. Some 56% disapproved of his performance, while 68% regarded Biden, at 80, as too old for another term.


When asked who they’d support in 2024, 44% said they would “definitely” or “probably” vote for Trump, more than the 38% who said they’d do the same for Biden.

[Rick Plant]

'Now it’s God’s fault': Texas Republican slammed for claiming 'the almighty' controls shootings



Another day, another mass shooting in the United States.

A gunman, who is now dead, opened fire at an outlet mall in the town of Allen, Texas, Saturday afternoon, taking "multiple" peoples' lives and leaving nine people hospitalized.

CNN's Paula Reid interviewed Texas State Rep. Keith Self (R-Allen) on Saturday night to get his reaction to the shooting, zeroing in on what Self believes the next steps should be.

"Now, you know, congressman, that is a common refrain after these incidents, after mass shootings, but many people argue that prayers aren't cutting it, prayers are not preventing the next mass shooting. What is your response to that criticism?" Reid asked.

Self's answer was to double down.

"Well, those are people that don't believe in an almighty God who, who has, who is absolutely in control of our lives.
I'm a Christian. I believe that he is. We have people though, with mental health that we're not taking care of since this nation made the decision that we were gonna close the mental health institutions. Many of these situations are based on that, uh, and the people that say, and, and I really, I would like to stay away from the politics today because I wanna focus on the victims. Today we should be focused on the families," Self said. "Prayer is powerful in the lives of those people that are devastated. I know people want to make this political, but prayers are important and they are powerful in the families who are devastated right now."

The frustration on social media was palpable.

Moms Demand Action founder Shannon Watts: "Texans own among the most guns per capita of any state. If more guns and fewer gun laws made us safer, Texas would be the safest state. Instead it has high rates of gun suicide and homicide, and is home to four of the 10 deadliest mass shootings in the US."

MeidasTouch: "What an absolute disgrace. If you're not willing to actually do the work to stop these senseless killings, then get the hell out of the way for the people who are."

Ford News: "Republicans will lose the House, lose more seats in the Senate, and President Joe Biden will be reelected. They aren't listening to the majority of Americans."

Charles Adler: "So if we are to go with what this Republican pol is saying, God wants disturbed people to have easy access to guns in the US, but not in the rest of the world. Apparently God wants Americans to be sacrificed. Who believes these pig droppings? Apparently, multiple millions do."

Chidi: "If their almighty god demands we live in a society that values guns over lives and lets people kill innocent men, women and children on a daily basis, then their god is cruel. I don't understand the type of Christianity these people are practicing."

Paul Griffiths: "What good is it, my brothers and sisters, if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? - James 2:14"

Machine Pun Kelly Redux: "So it's God's fault children are getting shot?"

https://www.rawstory.com/now-its-gods-fault-texas-republican-slammed-for-claiming-the-almighty-controls-shootings-2659975683/

[Rick Plant]

The bottom has completely dropped out on Ukraine Joe.  An all-time low polll number this week following his announcement to run in 2024.  He trails Trump.  The majority of those polled don't believe he has the mentally competency to be president.  Absolutely brutal.  And just wait until Hunter is indicted this week. 


"President Joe Biden’s approval slid to a career low in the latest opinion poll for ABC News and the Washington Post that also showed the US leader lagging predecessor Donald Trump in early voter preferences for the 2024 election.

The percentage of those approving of Biden’s performance fell to 36%, six points lower than in February and a point off his previous low in early 2022, according to the survey conducted for the news organizations by Langer Research Associates. Some 56% disapproved of his performance, while 68% regarded Biden, at 80, as too old for another term.


When asked who they’d support in 2024, 44% said they would “definitely” or “probably” vote for Trump, more than the 38% who said they’d do the same for Biden.

The Republican party favorite pollster Rasmussen poll has President Biden at 48% approval rating. While Criminal Donald is on his way to prison for multiple felonies. And it doesn't matter what Biden's poll numbers are. When Biden is up against a right wing extremist he will easily win as all polls indicate.

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/prez_track_may05

[Rick Plant]

Texas GOPer 'needs to be removed from office' over 'unconscionable' Allen shooting remarks: colleague



Appearing on MSNBC early Sunday morning, a Texas lawmaker slammed his Republican colleague who represents the community where the latest mass shooting took place and said he deserves to be removed from office over his appalling comments on CNN afterward.

Speaking with MSNBC's Katie Fang, State Sen. Roland Gutierrez (D) expressed dismay over the latest mass shooting at a mall in Allen, Texas, that left 8 dead and more critically wounded.

The MSNBC host then quoted State Rep. Keith Self (R-Allen) from his appearance on CNN when he was pressed that people don't think "thoughts and prayers" are enough to stop the wave of gun violence that is engulfing the country.

According to Self, "Well, those are people that don't believe in an almighty God who, who has, who is absolutely in control of our lives."

According to Guitierrez, his Texas lawmaker colleague should be ashamed of hiding behind the Bible.

"The god that I believe in gives us free will," he began. "They allow us to make decisions, gives us the ability to go out and make great laws. The Bible speaks about lawmakers often."

"A the end of the day, we are empowered, sure, by God and by our constituencies to go out and create change. -- positive change," he continued. "We are killing babies, we are killing family members, grandmothers in this country. It is unconscionable for this man to use the Bible or God in any way to defend these positions. I think he needs to be removed from office, that is how unconscionable this is."

Watch:

[Richard Smith]

The Republican party favorite pollster Rasmussen poll has President Biden at 48% approval rating. While Criminal Donald is on his way to prison for multiple felonies. And it doesn't matter what Biden's poll numbers are. When Biden is up against a right wing extremist he will easily win as all polls indicate.

https://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/biden_administration/prez_track_may05

HA HA HA.  This is an ABC poll.  The most leftist of media.  Keep spinning.  2024 is one day closer. 

[Rick Plant]

Thanks to President Biden's economic policies, small business is booming!


Small Business Is Booming. Here Are 6 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Keep Thriving
https://www.uschamber.com/small-business/small-business-is-booming-here-are-6-ways-for-entrepreneurs-to-keep-thriving


President Biden @POTUS

Small businesses are the engine of our economy – the soul of our communities.
 
It’s one of the best investments America can make.
 
That’s why supporting small business is at the heart of my plan to grow our economy from the bottom up and middle out.

Every time someone starts a new business – it’s an act of hope and optimism.
 
My economic plan is in an investment in that hope.

[Rick Plant]

House Republicans’ Pledge to Cut Appropriated Programs to 2022 Level Would Have Severe Effects, Particularly for Non-Defense Programs
https://www.cbpp.org/research/federal-budget/house-republicans-pledge-to-cut-appropriated-programs-to-2022-level-would


U.S. DOT says Republican budget plan would cut rail inspections, shut air traffic towers



WASHINGTON, April 26 (Reuters) - The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Wednesday said a Republican budget cut proposal would shut down 375 federally-staffed and contract-run air traffic control towers around the country and result in 7,500 fewer rail safety inspection days.

Overall, it said the Republican plan, which would sharply reduce budget spending in exchange for a short-term increase in the debt ceiling, would reduce funding for U.S. transit and highway infrastructure projects by nearly $5.2 billion.

The White House has said President Joe Biden would veto the legislation, and has called on Congress to raise the debt limit without conditions.

President Biden and his administration have pushed back hard against the proposal from Republican House of Representatives Speaker Kevin McCarthy, which would implement $4.5 trillion in spending cuts with a $1.5 trillion increase in the $31.4 trillion U.S. debt limit.

"House Republicans’ proposal would slash funding for programs the American people depend on in their everyday lives, including funding that’s vital for ensuring transportation safety and improving our country’s infrastructure," DOT said in a factsheet.

It said it estimated that cutting critical programs by 22% would lead to nearly 7,500 fewer rail safety inspection days and over 30,000 fewer miles of track inspected annually, at a time when lawmakers are calling for more inspections in the wake of the Norfolk Southern derailment disaster.

It said the plan would also shut down services at some 375 of about 550 air traffic control towers, potentially increasing security wait times at Transportation Security Administration check points by over two hours.

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-dot-says-republican-budget-plan-would-cut-rail-inspections-shut-air-traffic-2023-04-26/



Bastion of wingnuts': How the MAGA faction has left Georgia's GOP 'warped and wrecked'



The Republican party in one of America's central election battlegrounds has gotten so extreme its core activists – and even many of its elected officials – have been cast off, leaving it a "bastion of wingnuts, spiraling into chaos and irrelevance," the New York Times wrote Monday.

The GOP in Georgia has "gone so far down the MAGA rabbit hole that many of its officeholders – including Gov. Brian Kemp, who romped to re-election last year despite being targeted for removal by Donald Trump — are steering clear of it as if it’s their gassy grandpa at Sunday supper," wrote Michelle Cottle.

"What’s happening in Georgia is a cautionary tale for pluralism, an example of how the soul of a party can become warped and wrecked when its leadership veers toward narrow extremism."

The demise started when Georgia's GOP chairman, David Shafer, backed Trump-supported challengers in last year's primary to unseat Republicans who hadn't backed the ex-president's claims that the 2020 election had been stolen. Other Georgia politicians emerged as anti-Trump, and a schism appeared, Cottle wrote.

The slide into chaos, she added, was helped to hit full speed with the passing of a bill in 2021 that let officials and election challengers form leadership PACs that aren't subject to fundraising limits.

That meant Republicans “don’t have to play nice in the sandbox with a group that is sometimes at odds with them,” she wrote.

Gov. Brian Kemp, seen as a leader standing up to Trump, has announced he's skipping next month's state party convention. He has also suggested don't waste their money on party spending, saying, "We can no longer rely on the traditional party infrastructure to win in the future,” the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported

The party central, however, is very much in the Trump camp. Chairman David Shafer has been named in the Fulton County investigation into efforts to overturn the 2020 election, and "the party culture has become steeped in the paranoid politics of MAGA and election denial," wrote Cottle.

"And in the current environment, “everyone must pledge their undying loyalty to Donald Trump above all else,” says Jay Morgan, who was an executive director of the state party in the 1980s."

“Right now, it’s largely a place disconnected from reality,” Cole Muzio, president of Frontline Policy Action, a conservative advocacy group, told Cottle.

Among party-backed candidates winning recent elections at county and district levels are Kandiss Taylor, the new chairwoman of the First Congressional District who ran for governor last year as "the only candidate bold enough to stand up to the Luciferian Cabal.” She won just over 3 percent of the primary vote, announced that the vote was fixed and refused to concede.

"After election deniers failed to gain control of statewide offices across the nation in 2022, many of them refocused their efforts farther down the food chain," wrote Cottle. And that development means they are taking control of the core of the party.

She added, "Letting them oversee any aspect of the electoral process seems like a poor idea.If this development persists, Republicans more interested in the party’s future than in relitigating its past might want to look at how Kemp & Company have been trying to address their intraparty problems — and what more could and should be done to insulate not only the party’s less-extreme candidates, but also the democratic system, from these fringe forces.

"There are risks that come with ticking off election deniers and other Trumpian dead-enders. But the greater risk to the overall party, and the nation, would be declining to do so.

Read More Here: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/01/opinion/georgia-trump.html