After the House passed the CASH Act on Monday, which would give $2000 to individuals instead of the $600 in the Covid-19 relief bill just signed by Trump, and then successfully overrode his veto of the must-pass, annual National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the action turned to the Senate. I’m NICOLE SANDLER, back today guest hosting the BradCast, making sure we don’t fall behind on the end of the year plethora of news, which we knew would be somewhat chaotic due to the madness of Lame Duck Donald (or is that Lame Donald Duck?)
When we last got together, yesterday, the House was still voting on overriding Trump’s NDAA veto, and they did so in a big way. The final vote was 322-87. Many of the 87 “No” votes weren’t Republicans afraid of crossing dear leader, but progressives balking at another $740 billion windfall for the military industrial complex. Today, the action moved to the Senate, where Majority Leader ‘Moscow’ Mitch McConnell did exactly what he’s best at: blocking the Democrats’ call for an up or down vote on the CASH Act.
Senators Chuck Schumer, Bernie Sanders, Ed Markey and Chris Murphy all spoke passionately about the need to help out Americans suffering through the worst crisis in our lifetimes. McConnell just grunted out his objection to their motions. The bottom line? McConnell blocked Schumer’s request to approved the $2000 checks by unanimous consent. The Senate then adjourned until 3pm tomorrow, making me shake my head in disbelief. He said there would be a quorum call at 5p Eastern Time followed by a vote on overriding the NDAA. Then we learned that McConnell decided to combine Trump’s demand for repeal of Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act with legislation to increase the stimulus checks to $2000, effectively poisoning the pill to make it unpassable in the Senate.
This still doesn’t address Bernie Sanders’ threat to keep the Senate in DC through the holiday weekend if McConnell doesn’t agree to a vote on the CASH Act bill passed by the House Monday night. So, I’ll be back on Wednesday, hopefully with some answers.
One thing this whole episode has reinforced is the fact that the Democratic Party, as an institution, is just not very good at being an effective opponent of the Republicans. I believe there are many contributing factors, including the generational disconnect of Democratic Congressional leadership. But I’ve also harbored ill will toward the DNC for a long time due to what I view as their inept management of everything they do.
So one night last week as I was suffering though another bout of insomnia, I happened upon a Twitter thread by DAVID ATKINS. He’s a writer (Washington Monthly, The American Prospect among others), and a progressive activist who is also a Democratic Party Regional Director and recently became an elected member of the DNC. The thread was about what he’s learned about the DNC’s dysfunction since he’s been on the inside. It was quite dispiriting, but fascinating. So I invited him on for a conversation about what it would take to turn this party around.
This interview originally aired on my program, The Nicole Sandler Show, last week. Afterwards, a listener sent me this photo of a letter written by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1928, detailing his own issues with the DNC and his suggestions about how to run the Party. They sound a lot like what David Atkins was saying when we spoke! FDR knew what he was talking about. He was elected President four years later.
The more things change, the more they stay the same apparently…
Download MP3 or listen online below…
The BradCast with Brad Friedman 12/29/2020Problematic Party Politics: ‘BradCast’ 12/29/2020 | Guest host Nicole Sandler with the latest news and guest David Atkins, journalist and new DNC member, on how the party works...and doesn't... · · · · · Problematic Party Politics: ‘BradCast’ 12/29/2020 | Guest host Nicole Sandler with the latest news and guest David Atkins, journalist and new DNC member, on how the party works...and doesn't...0:00 0:00
The D’s are not good opponents of the Rs … not exactly a new problem. I think it dates to November 22, 1963. In most countries when the spies and generals violently remove the head of state and reverse the policies (like the order to start withdrawing from Vietnam) that is considered a coup d’etat. The Democrats of today are the Rockefeller Republicans of yesterday and the Republicans of today are the John Birch Society of yesterday.
Why The Numbers Behind Mitch McConnell’s Re-Election Don’t Add Up
How Does an 18% Approval Rating Result in a 58% Win?
By Alison Greene
DCR
Alison Greene
On a Thursday in August in Louisville, months before the 2020 election, a parade of cars filled with Kentucky Teamster representatives and labor groups, showed their fury at Mitch McConnell’s constant blocking of critical COVID aid. They drove by McConnell’s office raucously honking and bearing signs saying “Mitch better have my money.”
In 2017, a Public Policy Polling Survey asked Kentuckians, “Do you approve or disapprove of Senator Mitch McConnell’s job performance?” Only 18% approved. He clawed his rating back up to 39% on the eve of the election.
McConnell, leader of Senate Republicans, rarely holds town hall meetings with Kentucky voters—not since a heated exchange with an angry constituent went viral.
1 out of 5 voters appear to have filled out their ballots with votes for both the female Democrat Amy McGrath and the Republican pussy-grabber Donald Trump.
So, what exactly drove these angry Kentuckians to re-elect Mitch McConnell with a 19-point advantage over opponent Amy McGrath—57.8% to 38.2%?
Even as Republicans across the country still insist that the election was rife with fraudulent Democratic votes, no one’s asking how McConnell managed one of the most lopsided landslides of the Nov. 3 election. They should. An investigation of Kentucky voting results by DCReport raises significant questions about the vote tallies in McConnell’s state.
McConnell racked up huge vote leads in traditionally Democratic strongholds, including counties that he had never before carried.
There were wide, unexplained discrepancies between the vote counts for presidential candidates and down-ballot candidates.
Significant anomalies exist in the state’s voter records. Forty percent of the state’s counties carry more voters on their rolls than voting-age citizens.
Kentucky and many other states using vote tabulation machines made by Election Systems & Software all reported down-ballot race results at significant odds with pre-election polls.
https://www.dcreport.org/2020/1...s-dont-add-up/