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LizBeth

(9,952 posts)
1. Well, I hear what Wolf is saying because many of us are saying the same, but damn Pelosi was pissed,
Wed Oct 14, 2020, 01:20 AM
Oct 2020

righteously and she was good. I feel good hearing Pelosi going into this issue so in-depth telling me what the issue is and what she is fighting. I had suspected that but I was not hearing any of the specifics and it was good to hear her speak about this. I really appreciate how she handled Wolfe. She was down right pissed thru most of it.

Ok, we will wait and see but those Republicans are such fuckers. No reason to be giving the wealthy anything in this.

Then I heard McConnells little weak plan he put out. Atrocious.

Thekaspervote

(32,778 posts)
2. Shameless on Blitzer's part. Shows he has no understanding of it
Wed Oct 14, 2020, 02:51 AM
Oct 2020

Mcturtle yes, put out a shameless small bill simply so ppl like blitzer can say he’s trying...no he’s not! Forget that turtle already said not to expect a stimulus bill this year. To agree on a bill would be seen as a win for the Dems and besides no stimulus bill just makes a bigger pile for the new dem administration to clean up...they love it!!

JI7

(89,252 posts)
3. He knows nothing about the details of these things. That's why all he does
Wed Oct 14, 2020, 03:10 AM
Oct 2020

is repeat some feel good bs and point to a couple names.

fuck him. And trying to make Trump out to be someone who wants to do good

FUCK WOLF BLITZER

Celerity

(43,412 posts)
4. Blitzer's such a worm &, as predicted, the Problem Solvers caucus (bi-partisan, centre/centre right)
Wed Oct 14, 2020, 03:34 AM
Oct 2020

is trying to ratfuck as well, with their Republican-lite version that, just like the Rethug's version, gives large tax cuts to the rich, yet cuts out the child tax credits and earned income credits for the middle-class and the working poor, credits that almost all the rest of our overall caucus (and especially Pelosi and the other leaders, plus most of the Progressive Caucus) are fighting for.

Many from that Problem Solvers group where the ones who led the charge against Pelosi for speaker as well. It parent org is No Labels, founded by multiple RW billionaires and also good old Joe Lieberman.

Bipartisan ‘No Labels’ group’s super PAC network revealed: mega Chicago donors

https://chicago.suntimes.com/2018/3/12/18316470/bipartisan-no-labels-group-s-super-pac-network-revealed-mega-chicago-donors

With a boost from Chicago-area mega donors, including White Sox and Bulls Chairman Jerry Reinsdorf, No Labels, a group advocating bipartisanship in Congress, has created a network of super PACs to influence the 2018 elections — but doesn’t want its fingerprints on the money.

One of the super PACs, United for Progress Inc., has spent $740,334 as of Sunday to bolster Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Ill., in his March 20 Illinois Democratic primary battle with Marie Newman in the 3rd Congressional District. The names of the super PACS don’t link them to No Labels. A Sun-Times investigation determined super PACS related to No Labels include: United for Progress Inc.; Citizens for a Strong America Inc.; United Together; Govern or Go Home; and Forward, Not Back.

The Sun-Times inquiry included interviews with donors or their representatives and an examination of documents filed with the Federal Election Commission. United for Progress, Inc., is playing political hardball, attacking Newman in the commercials and direct mail pieces it paid for. Lipinski is part of a No Labels offshoot, the congressional “Problem Solvers Caucus.”

snip

THE ILLINOIS CONNECTIONS: Last year, a No Labels leader, former Sen. Joe Lieberman, was a draw at a meeting at the Chicago Club, 81 E. Van Buren. Lieberman was the 2000 Democratic vice presidential nominee who became an Independent senator from Connecticut.

snip



No Labels funds dishonest attacks against Marie Newman to boost Blue Dog Dan Lipinski

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/3/13/1748758/-Centrist-group-No-Labels-funds-dishonest-attacks-against-Marie-Newman-to-back-Blue-Dog-Dan-Lipinski

Well what do you know: It turns out the mysterious super PAC called United for Progress, which has spent at least $740,000 to help conservative Democratic Rep. Dan Lipinski in his primary against progressive challenger Marie Newman, received much of its funding from the aggressively centrist group No Labels and billionaire mega-donor Jerry Reinsdorf, who is chairman of both the Chicago White Sox and the Chicago Bulls. No Labels promotes the same sort of naive #bothsides mentality that plagues the world of cable news punditry, and even went so far as to moronically label Donald Trump a "problem solver" during his presidential campaign.

While support from No Labels itself should be a mark of shame for any Democrat running in a safely blue district like this one, the mailer they've been funding is even more disgraceful. It takes the guise of an ominous fake-but-official-looking letter from "Illinois Restaurant Enforcement" that claims the restaurant Newman once owned was guilty of health code violations, then proceeds to outright lie about the economic impact of the single-payer healthcare plan Newman supports.



One would expect to see Republicans launch these sorts of dishonest attacks against a progressive challenger, not those who support a nominal Democratic incumbent. And it's one more reason why Democrats in this 55-40 Clinton district can do a whole lot better than Dan Lipinski.

snip




Delusional Group Declares Donald Trump a ‘Problem Solver’

The only problem Trump could solve is that we don’t have a dumb enough president

https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/delusional-group-declares-donald-trump-a-problem-solver-58107/

Here are some labels that apply to Donald Trump:

–Racist
–Egomaniac
–Bloviator
–Delusional
–Liar
–Asshole

On Monday, the nonpartisan group No Labels gave him a new, and hilarious, one: problem solver.

Six presidential candidates – Democrat Martin O’Malley and Republicans Ben Carson, Chris Christie, John Kasich, Rand Paul and Trump – signed the organization’s Problem Solver Promise, officially making them No Labels Problem Solvers. The group says it will bestow the label on any candidate who signs its meaningless pledge.

No Labels declined to make an exception for Trump – the candidate who has proposed, among many other things, building a giant border wall, deporting 11 million people, banning Muslims from entering the country and shutting down mosques. In just the last two days, he’s come out in favor of direct head-to-head collisions in the NFL and elephant torture.

snip



‘Holocaust Denier’ Smear Hits Tight Chicago Area Congressional Primary

https://forward.com/fast-forward/396658/holocaust-denier-smear-hits-tight-chicago-area-congressional-primary/

A heated Democratic congressional primary race in suburban Chicago has reached a new low, as accusations of Holocaust denial are falsely hurled at progressive challenger Marie Newman.

Newman, who is seeking to unseat the incumbent Dan Lipinski as the Democratic candidate for Illinois’ 3rd congressional district, has staked a liberal position, hoping it would convince Democrats to chose her way over that of Lipinski, a “blue dog” Democrat known for his more conservative views.

In recent days, Newman claimed, voters have been receiving text messages from activists with the Washington-based No Labels group, trying to convince voters not to support her. In one instance, a voter receiving the text message informed the sender that he has already decided to vote for Newman, not Lipinski. “His opponent is a Holocaust denier among other things,” the Lipinski supporter texted back. In a second exchange, the voter was told again about Newman: “Did you know she’s a Holocaust denier.”

Newman accused Lipinski of “playing politics with a tragedy in human history that cost the lives of millions—and which deeply affects those of Jewish heritage, including my husband and his family.” Lipinski is considered one of the few endangered Democratic incumbents in the nation due to the tight primary. The winner should easily beat a Republican challenger in the district that voted for Hillary Clinton over Donald Trump by a healthy 16% margin.

snip


Group Tied To Lipinski Says Marie Newman Is 'A Holocaust Denier'

IL-3 Democratic challenger Marie Newman claims group tied to Congressman Dan Lipinski is texting voters saying she's a 'Holocaust denier.'

https://patch.com/illinois/oaklawn/group-tied-lipinski-claims-she-s-holocaust-denier


LA GRANGE, IL -- Challenger Marie Newman is calling out Congressman Dan Lipinski for running a "dishonest machine-style campaign" after some of her supporters complained of receiving text messages stating that Newman is a "Holocaust denier." Newman and Lipinski are said to be in a statistical dead heat in the contentious Democratic primary in Illinois's 3rd Congressional District. Supporters said they began receiving the text messages this past weekend.

A woman who identifies herself as "Leslie Benjamini" from the Washington, D.C.-based No Labels group -- a political centrist organization comprised of Republicans, Democrats and Independents who aim to combat partisan dysfunction in politics by focusing on bipartisan problem solving -- texted a voter asking him if he planned to vote for Dan Lipinski in the March 20 Democratic primary. When the the receiver stated he is voting for Newman, Benjamini states that Lipinski's opponent is a Holocaust denier. Benjamini tells the receiver to look up "No Labels, a new group that is trying to get government working again." The message goes on to state that Lipinski is a "believer in this group."

"His opponent is a Holocaust denier among other things," the text goes on to say. "Please educate yourself before you vote. All I ask."

Lipinski does have an opponent who is a Holocaust denier who is running as the lone candidate in the Republican primary in Illinois' 3rd District, avowed neo-Nazi Art Jones of Lyons. In the second message sent to the Newman supporter, Benjamini mistakes the receiver's phone number for his mother's.

"For the second time I am NOT [NAME] … she is my mother and she hosted a fundraiser for Marie Newman. And for the record, I voted for her early Saturday [March 10]." "Thanks for voting," Benjamini texts back. "Did you know she's a Holocaust denier."

The No Labels group based in Washington, D.C., was founded in 2010. The group strives to "create a vibrant New Center that supports leaders who put country before party." No Labels inspired the Problem Solvers Caucus, a bipartisan group of congressional members that includes Lipinski. A Chicago Sun-Times investigation has also tied No Labels to such Super PACS as United for Progress Inc. As of late, United for Progress Inc. has been sent out a flurry of political hit pieces attacking Newman's progressive agenda, as well as TV and radio commercials

An angry Newman demanded an apology from Lipinski, accusing the congressman of running "dishonest machine campaign."


snip





‘No Labels’ Needs A Warning Label

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/opinion-no-labels-mark-pocan_n_5c06b110e4b0cd916fb0b042

I was duped.

When I was elected to Congress in 2012, I attended the Bipartisan Program for Newly Elected Members of Congress at Harvard University. I was so excited to be a member of a branch of government for the most awesome country on the planet. At the program, one of the presentations was from a group named No Labels. The organization put forward a proposal for governing that meant working across the aisle to solve problems and stopping the gridlock in Washington. I was excited! While I was a strong progressive in the Wisconsin Legislature, that was my governing approach. By working with people who do not always agree with you, you find out what you have in common and you can get good things done.

snip

However, things quickly went south. I attended a few meetings at the outset, but the rhetoric wasn’t about finding ways to get things done and breaking gridlock ― rather it was more about finding more centrist, more corporate and more special interest-focused things to do. Soon thereafter, No Labels became involved in elections with a closely contested U.S. Senate race in Colorado, backing Republican Cory Gardner over Democrat Mark Udall. That didn’t seem right. A group that wasn’t supposed to pick labels was doing exactly that: picking a label. When asked to join the Problem Solvers Caucus, members were never told that this would be part of the program.

snip

I drifted away from the organization, as apparently did most people who thought it was focused on trying to break through the gridlock in Washington. No Labels’ membership has dwindled steadily since 2015. Fast-forward to the past few weeks, when No Labels’ Problem Solvers Caucus tried to threaten Nancy Pelosi’s speakership. While No Labels was originally advertised as a group committed to getting things done and breaking gridlock, it now seems more focused on stopping Pelosi and providing a fast track for special interests and lobbyists.

Worse, this past week I’ve read a few articles regarding what No Labels has been up to in the last couple of years. First, the organization spent almost twice as much helping re-elect Republicans as it spent helping Democrats. Second, reporters reviewed email correspondence that showed No Labels contemplating a plan to attack Pelosi and use her leadership as a wedge to divide congressional Democrats. And third, it’s clear that No Labels never had any meaningful ultimatums or demands on rules for leadership during eight years of a Republican-led House, or over the last four years of a Republican-led Senate. No Labels only has challenges for Democratic leadership in the House, specifically, for our next speaker, Nancy Pelosi.

That sure seems like a label to me. Look, I get it. No Labels is slick, and I got duped. But no other current or newly elected member of Congress should fall for its shtick. No Labels is a centrist, corporate organization working against Democrats with dark, anonymous money to advance power for special interests. Period.

snip

Celerity

(43,412 posts)
7. It's from an older post of mine, Lipinski went down this time despite the Problem Solvers best
Wed Oct 14, 2020, 04:09 AM
Oct 2020

efforts. So there is a happy ending there, partially. Marie Newman is going to be a superb House member. My new worry is that No Labels/Problem Solvers tries to bring in the never Trumper Rethugs and really light a fire under their 'drag the Dems further to the right' programme. They are going to already going to be a huge pain in the ass over the public option and expansion of the SCOTUS (and they have a few kindred souls in the Senate Dem caucus too, who will fight doing away with the filibuster as well, although not all of the filibuster resistance i the Senate is from the centre, Feinstei, for istance is one of the leaders against both doing away with the filibuster and also she wanst to block SCOTUS expansion).

We REALLY have to udo the damn Rethug gerrymandering of the past 3 or so decades, so we do not have all these reddish, pink, purple or barely Blue districts that necessitate so many barely to the left (and in some cases to the right, like Henry Cuellar) of centre or 'directly on the centre line' Dems in the Caucus. Almost every holdout for impeachment and almost every anti-Pelosi voice came from that group, and they will be serious impediments I fear to much of Biden's more 'progressive' initiatives. If they ever gained a true whip-hand of power, even if partial, the movement by the Party to the right that will ensue will start to cause serious haemorrhaging on our left flank, and a negative, self-reinforcing feed-back loop will occur, as they will insist on further rightward movement to capture more and more of the semi-mythical 'moderate' Republican voter blocs to make up for the losses on the leftish ends.

Hugin

(33,164 posts)
10. It's the blue dogs all over again if this doesn't happen.
Wed Oct 14, 2020, 08:51 AM
Oct 2020

Third way.

Or there was another group I can't remember.

I understand their belief that moving right to draw votes would be productive. Those are proven voters. However, in this apathetic country I feel a far richer vein would be motivating the new and younger vote.

Those on the right are incapable of any sort of compromise and this process of moving right has only made them more reticent.

 

Awsi Dooger

(14,565 posts)
8. She should have used a comparative comeback
Wed Oct 14, 2020, 04:16 AM
Oct 2020

Wolf was obsessed with the 1.8 trillion, as if that's all he needed to know. Pelosi should have said it would be like her insisting CNN should accept a specific budget, like 1 billion -- or whatever -- even if all the money was distributed to the wrong places and therefore would cripple day to day operation.

I have no idea why more politicians don't think that way. A tactic like that would have made sense to the audience and deflected Wolf in the early minutes. Instead he sensed her frustration so he persisted with the same theme.

Pelosi also should have emphasized they only get one more shot with this under Trump, so they have to get it right. The viewers would have been comfortable with that answer also.

hlthe2b

(102,292 posts)
9. Watching Wolf's body language, this is personal with him against Pelosi
Wed Oct 14, 2020, 06:12 AM
Oct 2020

F>>k you, Wolf. I guess that his not being able to get his facials, seaweed mudpacks, head-to-toe massage, body rubs, mani-pedis, and loofah sessions--and clearly lost access with whoever once helped him with the finely precision-trimmed beard has him triggered.

Yeehah

(4,588 posts)
11. Blitzer finished Double Jeopardy -$4600
Wed Oct 14, 2020, 08:58 AM
Oct 2020

He just ain't that bright. He's the son of Holocaust survivors but seems to be a winger.

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