Norman Ornstein
@NormOrnstein
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Emeritus scholar at the American Enterprise Institute, contributing editor for the Atlantic, cohost with Dr. Kavita Patel of the podcast Words Matter.
Washington, DC
Joined November 2013
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When I lost my son, I was in a fog for weeks, nearly paralyzed with grief. To imagine that
@RepRaskin
has not just gotten up every day, but has done this master class in constitutional law, philosophy, logic, patriotism & more with eloquence, force, passion...My God. What a hero.
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The DC Police Chief says there was no indication of anything more than a peaceful protest. He must resign. This is incompetence beyond any reckoning.
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There is no greater embarrassment in the House of Representatives than Jim Jordan.
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It is past time for CNN to find an alternative to Rick Santorum
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Note to Schumer: here is what McConnell would do if situation reversed. 53 D’s, 5 or more quarantined. Keep Senate in session, bring in all Rs, replace you as leader, change committee chairs, direct Sergeant at arms to bar entry to any with Covid, reject SCt nominee. Just sayin.
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I was there in the debate hall. The entire Trump entourage came in w masks, took them off as soon as they sat down, refused to put them on when asked by Cleveland Clinic personnel. Flouting defiantly the law & rules. And Trump shouting only 8-10 feet from Biden for 90 mins. Oy
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It is clear to me that as soon as this trial is over, Josh Hawley should be at minimum censured, along with Ted Cruz.
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Diane Feinstein praising Barrett, and then inexplicably praising Graham, is a clear sign that she should not remain as the top Democrat on the Judiciary Committee.
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My Nancy Pelosi story. My son died on January 3, 2015. The funeral & first night of shiva were on Jan 6. Congress had just convened, was in session. Nancy came to the shiva—and stayed for 3 hours. She had every reason not to be there, or just make a brief stop. She is a Mensch.
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Liz Cheney by any standard is a hardline conservative. On policy issues, she is on the right end of her party's spectrum. So the jihad against her, with the execrable Matt Gaetz going to Wyoming to attack her, underscores the reality of the GOP. It is a radical cult. 1/
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I think it is time for the SDNY and the NY AG to depose Anthony Kennedy’s son.
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.
@PeteButtigieg
knocks another one out of the park: “I don’t have a problem standing up to someone who was working on season seven of ‘Celebrity Apprentice, while I was packing my bags for Afghanistan.”
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The Supreme Court was fine with people protesting at the homes of abortion clinic workers. Scalia, joined by his colleagues, said the first amendment doesn’t exclude protests on public sidewalks. But none of this apparently applies to the justices making these decisions.
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There has never been a more outrageous, revolting, unfair process to pass a corrupted bill in the history of Congress. That Susan Collins, Lisa Murkowski, Jeff Flake, John McCain, Lindsey Graham have endorsed this makes anything positive they have done get erased. Unconscionable
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When Mitch McConnell did the ginormous tax cut for the rich, he and his Senate Republicans bypassed the committee and wrote it with a small group behind closed doors. No Dems. Repeal and replace? Same thing. Now these guys whine about Biden? 1
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Mitch McConnell says blocking Merrick Garland was the most consequential thing he has ever done. I would say a close second is blackmailing Obama and the intelligence community to keep a lid on Russian involvement in the 2016 election. Both are utterly nefarious acts.
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So it turns out Schoen lied about having access to the House managers' videos. Suspend his law license. This is a grave offense.
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So here is a powerful take away from Mueller’s statement: the fact that Mitch McConnell is blocking the bill to protect the United States from Russian interference in future elections is one of the most unpatriotic and despicable acts imaginable from an American public official.
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There are 53 Republican senators. Any 3 or 4 can bring the Senate to a halt. Any 3 or 4 can deny votes to confirm unqualified judges or executive officials. They have the power to grab Trump's attention and force change. NOT ONE has been willing to do so, even once.
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Memo to Capitol Hill reporters: there should not be a single interview you do with a Republican member of the House or Senate that does not begin by asking about Ginni Thomas and Clarence Thomas.
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Congratulations to Mitt Romney, Lindsey Graham, John Cornyn, John Thune and so many others for being recognized by official Russian television for their service to Russia.
Russian State Television celebrating lifting of sanctions and their ownership of the GOP.
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A reminder that Judge Cannon never should have taken this case. It was in the hands of the magistrate judge, she was picked by Trump’s lawyers solely because she was a Trumpist, in a jurisdiction nowhere near Mar-a-Lago. She has an effect engaged herself in obstruction of justice
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On that new Biden commercial about traveling four hours on the train every day to put his kids to bed and give them breakfast in the morning: I was in meetings in the Senate with Joe when he would get up at 6 pm and say, "Sorry I have to catch the train." It is true. Values.
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The House must as an immediate step pass a domestic terrorism statute, with a focus on white supremacist terrorism, and send it to the Senate.
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The stain on Lindsey Graham is permanent and irrevocable.
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The chances of Trump resigning early have gone up significantly in the past hour.
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The Trump stunt of driving out of the hospital is so reminiscent of the Lafayette Park stunt with Bible. Recklessly endangering others for a narcissistic photo op. Think of the endangered Secret Service agents in the car with him putting their lives on the line for a photo op!
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To all staffers for Elise Stefanik: Get out now while you still have shreds of your souls intact.
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I know there will be times when I will be infuriated or frustrated with what Biden does. But I am so relieved, so happy, and so proud that this wonderful, grounded, decent, compassionate and patriotic man is our president.
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We now have a Supreme Court that is moving every aspect of our society in a radical direction, blowing up any reasonable reading of the Constitution to fit its radical ideological and partisan views. It spits on the actions of legislatures and preempts the other branches. 1
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I am fine with journalists doing their due diligence on the Tara Reade accusation against Biden. But there should be a comparable amount of coverage of, say, the woman who brought charges against Trump for raping her when she was 13.
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Nobody from this White House reached out to the Biden campaign, or to any of us who were at the debate, to let us know of Trump’s positive diagnosis. This is flat out criminal behavior
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By enabling the FBI to be used and abused by a rogue president, Christopher Wray brought dishonor to the institution he leads, and debased himself. He needs to go.
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The wife of a Supreme Court justice is a radical insurrectionist. Her husband has refused to recuse himself from any of the cases in which she has been deeply and actively involved. This is a scandal of immense proportions.
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Jerry Falwell Jr given a prime time speaking slot at the Republican National Committee to appeal to the swing vote.
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The links between Deutsche Bank, Justice Anthony Kennedy and his son, and Donald Trump, along with Brett Kavanaugh, need to be explored fully. Maybe we have a series of coincidences here. But maybe we do not.
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Elise Stefanik is getting her first serious exposure to a national audience. It is not going well for her. Lies, deception, and worse. Not a good person.
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Mitch McConnell, who packed the Supreme Court by blowing up every norm of the Senate, confirming a justice eight days before a presidential election, has zero standing to call himself an institutionalist, or to claim any moral high ground. He is monstrous and a villain.
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Odds that Mitch McConnell would agree to even numbers on committees if there were a Republican president and a 50-50 chamber. ZERO
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Note to journalists: please never refer to Josh Hawley as “moderate,” “reasonable,” or “conservative.” He is a reckless radical. Period.
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Memo to reporters: The Q to ask Rubio, Burr, Risch, Collins, Blunt, Cotton, Cornyn, Sasse, McConnell, Inhofe: you all saw the drafts of the Intel Committee report before impeachment. You knew Trump lied. You said, did nothing, voted against witnesses, for acquittal. Explain.
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Saint Paul mayor says nearly everyone they arrested last night was from out of state. We need a deep dive into who they are, where they come from, what kinds of organizations they represent or support.
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It is not an exaggeration to say that if the whistleblower complaint is accurate, Chad Wolf and Robert O’Brien are traitors to the national security of the United States.
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A little meditation on grief. When you lose a child, it is unfathomable. It is a different kind of grief. We had people come up to us and say, "I know how you feel, I lost my cat last month." Or "I know how you feel, my 93-year-old mother just died." At first, I was taken aback.
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Here is the brutal reality: because Barack Obama did not disparage, degrade or threaten TV networks, or call them the enemy of the people, they were perfectly content to deny him airtime for his immigration address. Because Trump did all of those things, they were intimidated. Oy
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Remember When Justice Alito mouthed “not true” when President Obama said in his SOTU that Citizens United would open the door to foreign money in our elections? Now it is clear there was a huge sum the NRA put in via dark money— and we will soon learn how much of it was Russian
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Every one of the House managers has been simply superb. But we also need to give a big shoutout to the staff. The coherence of the entire story, the video and other graphic presentations, all owe a huge debt to the House staff. I hope at some point we can name individuals.
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I will repeat, and will do so again and again: when Sarah Huckabee Sanders leaves this White House, DO NOT normalize or legitimize her, by putting her on Sunday shows, giving her a regular spot on cable, giving her a fellowship at the Kennedy School or the Miller Center, etc.
An extraordinarily disappointing moment by
@PressSec
just now... Her inability to acknowledge the role POTUS has played in all of this media bashing only hurts her own credibility...She had a chance to defend the institution and take the high ground and show leadership, instead..
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I always find it hard to listen to those celebrating religious liberty who had no problem with the Muslim ban
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With the Santos seat vacancy, and now McCarthy, the House majority will be down to 2. Democrats need to be prepared to act swiftly and decisively if the numbers drop below 218-- even if only for a day. Quick motion to vacate, Jeffries as Speaker, immediate agenda. 1/
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The Park Service permit for the January 6 rally says: "This is a static rally not involving any marches." So when Donald Trump told the crowd to march to the Capitol, he was directly inciting the rally crowd in violation of their permit.
@RepRaskin
More smoking gun evidence!
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The only surprise in the Texas GOP platform is that it doesn’t call for a reinstatement of slavery.
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How can MSNBC report every hour on Tara Reade’s allegations against Biden without mentioning her ardent support of Sanders and her infatuation with Putin?
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At 4 am, Henry showed up at the front door! Hiding all day and night. I have never felt such a sense of relief after a day of anguish. Thanks to all of you who cared and tried to help.
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Robert Redfield intervened to "clear" Pence for the debate. He had no business doing so. If Pence does have Covid-- and the pinkeye, the abrupt cancellation of his Indiana trip are warning signs-- Redfield needs to resign immediately. He has taken politicization of CDC to extreme
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If Chief Justice John Roberts really cares about the integrity of the Supreme Court, he will tell Clarence Thomas that if he does not recuse himself from every case with a tangible tie to Ginni Thomas, he will call for Thomas’s resignation. Of course, that’s not going to happen.
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I have been in and around the Senate for 50 years. There has been one constant: a senator’s word is his or her bond. The constant is now shredded, as McConnell, Graham, Grassley et al have shown their word means nothing. Why trust any of them?
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Today is a very difficult day for me and my family. It is our late son Matthew’s birthday; he would’ve been 41. He died accidentally at 34 after a ten-year struggle with serious mental illness, failed by a broken system. Today, we commemorate him by bringing a vaccination van….
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I have read Joe Manchin's statement. He quotes his predecessor Robert Byrd from a 2010 hearing on the filibuster-- wrongly. I was a witness at that hearing, talked to Byrd after. Byrd changed the rules at least 9 times to get around obstruction. He was open to rules changes 1
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There is one story that should be the dominant one but it is getting cursory coverage. The President of the United States warned that if things got bad, he had the military, police & Bikers for Trump ready and waiting. The stuff of dictatorships. Normalized in today’s environment
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The Supreme Court is supposed to be the bedrock of legitimacy in our political system. Many of its justices lied to get confirmed. Once there, they have exempted themselves from every ethical standard other institutions apply-- incl all other federal judges- & refuse to reform. 1
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As expected, not a single mention on the front page of the Washington Post or the New York Times of a former president calling for shredding the Constitution to seize the presidency illegally. To quote the Post, “democracy dies in darkness.“
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All of these White House lawyers drafting patently unconstitutional executive orders should be disbarred or at least sanctioned by bar associations.
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Every Cabinet member sitting there is breaking the law.
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Here is a blunt reality: if Chief Justice Roberts is saying nothing about Republicans violating the rules openly and leaving the chamber during these presentations he is violating his own role and oath and should be roundly condemned.
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We have an out of control, radical Supreme Court. It is a major threat to our system
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Mitch McConnell's stunning and outrageous admission that he is in the tank already for Trump on the trial rules, is a flat violation of the oath he will take as a juror. If a jury foreman in a murder trial was found to have worked closely with the defense he would be prosecuted.
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We have a real test for the Senate Ethics Committee, one I expect they will fail, over Lindsey Graham's apparent illegal and immoral pressure on GA Sec of State to toss legal ballots. Worthy of expulsion, at least censure.
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Note to journalists: please ask GOP secretaries of state and governors in states Biden won if they have had phone calls with Trump, Meadows, or other Trump lawyers or officials in the past week with any discussion of their states’ votes or electors. I bet GA is not the only one.
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I have spent countless hours over five decades in the Capitol. I have been in the hideaway offices of leaders of both parties-- unmarked offices one could never find without advance knowledge. The violent insurrectionists knew. How? Ask Barry Loudermilk, MTG and other GOP members
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Memo to journalists and pundits (including Van Jones) who will comment after the State of the Union: a president reading from a teleprompter for 45 minutes without melting down does not make him presidential.
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Among the biggest losers last night: the main stream media, which bought hook line & sinker the idea that we were headed for a giant Red Wave, unquestioningly embraced bogus polls, and fell back into the herd mentality, protecting each other by buying the same conventional wisdom
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Oy. Trump says the Capitol Police testified against Nancy Pelosi, and then burned all the evidence. Lie upon lie upon lie. Unchallenged by Welker. Every word out of his mouth is a lie, and he talks over any questioner. Just a colossal mistake to showcase this sociopath.
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Mike Pompeo lost 90 pounds in 6 months. On the other hand, he did not gain a conscience, grow a spine or develop even a modicum of honesty. Still a grifter, worst Secretary of State ever.
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Larry Hogan on CNN calls the programs in BBB “far left.” I sure hope reporters parse that. “Governor Hogan, is childcare far left? Is the child tax credit far left? Is Universal pre-K far left? Is home healthcare far left?” Please don’t let him get away with this!
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Never forget: Pam Bondi as Florida AG took a $25,000 illegal contribution from Trump to quash the prosecution of his corrupt Trump University, overruling her professional staff. She is totally corrupt.
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This partisan hack of a judge, Aileen Cannon, refused to accept a compelling amicus brief from an all-star cast of former Republican officials with decades of experience in executive privilege and other issues. What a disgrace. Nothing but a Trump lickspittle. Unfit for the bench
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As you look at Ken Starr, always remember that he was complicit in covering up multiple sexual assaults at Baylor, and ousted as president, was complicit in giving Jeffrey Epstein an illicit free hand to molest more young girls. He is simply a despicable human being.
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@jaketapper
Think about what it says about the contemporary Republican Party. Perhaps two-thirds of its elected representatives voting to overturn the results of a presidential election. The party of sedition. A cult.
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I have never seen a more masterful and brilliant performance by a judicial nominee. Or a more cringeworthy and embarrassing performance by a group of senators on a committee.
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The Senate is in session. Schumer should bring the background check bill to the floor NOW for a vote. And let the votes fall with the children who died. Enough
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Memo to Dick Durbin: You need to schedule quickly a hearing on a bill to create a judicial code of ethics for the Supreme Court. First witness Chief Justice Roberts. He has said the court doesn’t need a code because the individual justices can be trusted. Ask him to elaborate!
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Mitch McConnell, who blew up Senate norms, and stretched the rules for naked partisan gain, said this: “Changing the structure of the Senate in order to achieve a partisan advantage is a mistake for the Senate and a mistake for our country.” What a monstrous hypocrite
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Republican senators know full well that Trump spurned McCarthy and ignored Tuberville. He wanted violence. He wanted members killed. And if they still vote to acquit they are even more despicable.
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Sally Birx has lost every bit of the credibility that she built up over decades. Stands silently while Trump sprouts dangerous nonsense. When she speaks, largely parrots the party line. Sad.
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We would not be talking about enlarging the Supreme Court if a handful of Senate Republicans had said, “It is wrong to vote on a justice barely a week before an election. I will not vote to confirm anyone until the election is resolved.” All who voted for Barrett are culpable.
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If I were Deutsche Bank executives who gave loans to Trump when no one else would, Including Anthony Kennedy’s son, I would be very, very nervous right now.
Substantial personal debt is one of the most common reasons security clearances are denied, because it’s so easily exploited or leveraged by foreign intelligence services.
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We rightly excoriate Mitch McConnell for blowing up Senate norms and for the unprecedented treatment of Merrick Garland. But far, far worse was blackmailing the president to whitewash and cover up Russian manipulation of an American election. The correct word is treason.
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Trump White House event heralding and showcasing Candace Owens. The same Candace Owens who praised Adolf Hitler. Oy
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I want to repeat a statistic I use in every talk: by 2040 or so, 70 percent of Americans will live in 15 states. Meaning 30 percent will choose 70 senators. And the 30% will be older, whiter, more rural, more male than the 70 percent. Unsettling to say the least
In the age of minority rule, a Supreme Court justice appointed by a president who got fewer votes is confirmed by a party in the Senate that got fewer votes, to validate policies opposed by most Americans:
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You are the worst White House press secretary ever. A shameless, serial liar. You have served your country with nothing but dishonor. Good riddance. But of course, your successor will be just as despicable.
"This has been the honor of a lifetime ... I couldn't be prouder to have had the opportunity to serve my country and particularly, to work for this president," Sarah Sanders says.
"I've loved every minute, even the hard minutes ... I love the president"
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I spent time around Joe Biden during his first several years in the Senate. I was in meetings with him at 6 PM and he would get up abruptly to catch the train to Wilmington as he did every night to be with his two boys. He missed out on a lot of interaction with colleagues. 1
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Judge single-handedly blocks criminal investigation, usurping clear cut executive power. This is a clear-cut impeachable offense.
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The IRS is required to audit presidential tax returns. The corrupt Charles Rettig presided over the agency as it failed to audit Trump’s returns for his first two years in the presidency. He pledged under oath to follow the law. He lied. Prosecute him.
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But the effort on Fox et al to go after Biden on this, including claiming that he was so insensitive to the loss of the families of Marines that he looked at his watch over and over, is a common tactic-- attack his strength, his empathy, to undermine him. Don't get taken in.
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So the Chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee calls the GA Sec of State and tells him to invalidate tens of thousands of legitimate votes. Witnesses on the call. Then lies about it. How can this be ignored by the Senate or authorities?
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So it appears that the medical supplies and protective gear the states have ordered is being seized by the feds before it gets to the states. We have no idea where it is, who ordered the seizures, whether this is going to private companies to resell at a profit 1/
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