www.democracydocket.com
Mensch in Plautdietsch is person or human being. TIL, in English it's a person of honor or integrity.
Thank you, Katie.Elections matter. What went down in 2022 in Arizona led to this:
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Has Vetoed Over 20 Election Bills So Far
Gov. Katie Hobbs (D) has become a key player in blocking the anti-democratic efforts of the Arizona Legislature.
Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs Has Vetoed Over 20 Election Bills So Far
Remember the red wave that was predicted in Congress in the midterm. The one that didn't happen? Voters have become so darn unreliable for Republicans. Their answer was not to show how much better they are at governing or compete on ideas, their answer to those darn unreliable voters is to squelch them. Keep them from voting. Restrict how or where to vote.
Too bad for them Democrats won races that could not be fixed through Gerrymandering.
As of June 12, based on data from Voting Rights Lab and Democracy Docket’s internal tracking, the Arizona Legislature has sent at least 30 election-related bills to Hobbs’ desk. Of these, Hobbs has signed two, vetoed 21 and has yet to take action on seven.
The volume of vetoed bills is not just a feature of a divided government, when the Legislature and governorship are controlled by different political parties: The Arizona Republican Party has uniquely gone off the election-denying deep end. The bills passed this legislative session — which is not yet over — reflect the GOP’s descent into election conspiracy theories and attempts to make voting and election administration more difficult. The slim Republican majority in both chambers of the Legislature does not have enough votes to override Hobbs’ vetoes, making the new governor a key player in blocking anti-democratic efforts.
I admit a lot of this stuff seems like inside baseball minutia to me. I think I see a theme though. Most of these measures restrict the ability of voters or government officials to choose how and where to vote or to improve voting access. Republicans have lost faith in the electoral system.
- Hobbs prevented Arizona from exiting the Electronic Registration Information Center (ERIC), an opt-in coalition of states that share information to help maintain accurate voter rolls
- Hobbs vetoed two bills that would have effectively banned electronic ballot tabulators in the state
- The governor also shot down a bill that would have prohibited artificial intelligence in voting machines, in what Hobbs called an attempt “to solve challenges that do not currently face our State.”
- Hobbs also stopped two bills from becoming law that might have hindered the work of third-party organizations trying to help with voter registration or get-out-the-vote efforts
- Additionally, technical bills that address the minutiae of ballot tabulating and signature verification can be no less insidious in hindering election administration.
- Hobbs also vetoed a bill that would have released more voter registration and ballot image data to the public.
- Another vetoed bill required a video livestream of ballots during signature matching.
- Hobbs also vetoed a bill that would have required the secretary of state to recuse themselves from overseeing elections in which they are a candidate.
- she also vetoed a bill that aimed to prohibit election officials or employees from being a part of political action committees.
- Other vetoed bills include an attempt to tell judges how to interpret election law and funnel the production of election guidelines through the Legislature in what Hobbs called “legislative interference.”
- Finally, Hobbs shot down two separate bills that would have banned ranked choice voting even though the state does not currently utilize it as well as a messaging bill to “affirm the importance of the electoral college for presidential elections in this country.”
Mensch means that in Hochdeutsch and Yiddish as well. I’m drawing on the latter, where the connotation is of a good/kind human.Mensch in Plautdietsch is person or human being. TIL, in English it's a person of honor or integrity.
View attachment 5323839
thehill.com
The election is 14 months away and election "season" does not start until 60 days before the election. The primaries begin early in the new year, months away. What election? Is everyday election day? The DOJ doesn't bust anybody before the general election as a matter of policy, but Trump's trial before the courts will be held without regard for election or primary dates.
thehill.com
thehill.com
Piss against the wind and the breeze is growing stronger every day, like the early public internet, everybody sees the writing on the wall for EVs and renewable energy. Everybody except morons and those with other priorities than reason and common-sense dictate. Like those who think the 2020 election was stolen and he is a beacon of truth, it's mostly the same people on the wrong side of most issues that involve simple facts and reason.Trump vows to end ‘madness’ of EV push
Former President Trump is vowing to end the “madness” of the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles — a likely appeal to voters in the swing state of Michigan.
In a pair of Truth Social posts Monday evening, Trump took aim at the electric vehicle industry and President Biden’s push for more electric vehicles. With this opposition to electric vehicles, Trump is likely trying to persuade Michigan voters to support him over Biden, who carried the swing state in 2020.
“The Great State of Michigan will not have an auto industry anymore if Crooked Joe Biden’s crazed concept of ‘all Electric Cars’ goes into effect,” he wrote in the Truth Social post. “CHINA WILL TAKE IT ALL, 100%. United Auto Workers, VOTE FOR TRUMP. Get your leaders to ENDORSE ME, I WILL KEEP ALL OF THESE GREAT JOBS, AND BRING IN MANY MORE. CHOICE IN SCHOOLS, AND CHOICE IN CARS!!!”
In 2021, Michigan was home to more than 175,000 auto manufacturing jobs, according to a report from nonprofit research center Mackinac Center for Public Policy. While that number is still higher than any other state, the report noted it’s also only 37 percent of the jobs Michigan had at its peak.
The Biden administration has pushed to boost electric car sales, with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicting that two-thirds of new car sales could be electric by 2032 under a new proposal released by the administration earlier this year. Last week, the Energy Department announced plans to invest $12 billion into converting auto manufacturing facilities into plants for hybrid and electric vehicles.
Trump also took aim at Shawn Fain, the president of the United Auto Workers, for supporting the Biden administration’s latest investment into electric vehicles.
“Shawn Fain, the respected President of the United Auto Workers, cannot even think about allowing ALL ELECTRIC CARS — THEY WILL ALL BE MADE IN CHINA, and the Auto Industry in America will cease to exist!” Trump wrote in a separate Truth Social post.
“Vote for TRUMP, and I will stop this Madness, IMMEDIATELY!” he said. “Mexico & Canada LOVE Biden’s idiotic policy. SAVE MICHIGAN and the other Auto States. SAVE THE AMERICAN CONSUMER!!!”
The call-outs come as about 146,000 UAW members near a strike deadline when their contract ends Sept. 14 with three large U.S. automakers — General Motors, Stellantis and Ford.
Meanwhile, Fain calls their demands for a 46 percent pay raise, a 32-hour work week with 40 hours of pay and restoration of traditional pensions “audacious.”
It is not the first time Trump has taken aim at the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles to win over voters in Michigan. He has also touted the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) he made in 2020, saying the deal created “tough new requirements to ensure more cars are made in American factories by American workers.”
“Biden is a catastrophe for Michigan and his environmental extremism is heartless and disloyal and horrible for the American worker, and you’re starting to see it,” Trump said in a keynote address to Oakland County Republicans in Michigan in June.
Trump vows to end ‘madness’ of EV push
Former President Trump is vowing to end the “madness” of the Biden administration’s push for electric vehicles — a likely appeal to voters in the swing state of Michigan. In a pair of Truth Social …
Sometimes I look back to what it was like when he was Prez and say to myself "holy shit, how did we manage to get through all of that?".
www.politico.com
We will know in about 3 months how much of a threat he will be because the SCOTUS should rule by then on the primaries, unless they want confusion in the states with some excluding Trump and others not. After that his legal troubles become a sideshow and entertainment. It could mean trouble for Joe though with a more electable republican and less baggage as the nominee and plenty of time to put lipstick on the pig and line up big doners. I'm hoping with abortion and a lot of pissed off women and youth will show up at the poles, the republicans are losing in court over many of the things they tried to suppress or rig the vote with in various red states. I fear 24 might be another close year in the struggle for the soul of the nation despite everything that has transpired.Sometimes I look back to what it was like when he was Prez and say to myself "holy shit, how did we manage to get through all of that?".
‘Where are all of the arrests?’: Trump demands Barr lock up his foes
The day-long run of tweets and retweets marked the most frantic stretch of Trump’s public activity since he left Walter Reed.
0/07/2020 04:00 PM EDT
Donald Trump mounted an overnight Twitter blitz demanding to jail his political enemies and call out allies he says are failing to arrest his rivals swiftly enough.
Trump twice amplified supporters’ criticisms of Attorney General William Barr, including one featuring a meme calling on him to “arrest somebody!” He wondered aloud why his rivals, like President Barack Obama, Democratic nominee Joe Biden and former Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton hadn’t been imprisoned for launching a “coup” against his administration.
‘Where are all of the arrests?’: Trump demands Barr lock up his foes
The day-long run of tweets and retweets marked the most frantic stretch of Trump’s public activity since he left Walter Reed.
“or something quite close to it”Court strikes down Alabama congressional map in scathing opinion
A three-judge panel struck down Alabama’s new congressional map Tuesday, finding the GOP-led state fell short of complying with the Supreme Court’s recent directive.
The ruling paves the way for a court-appointed official to instead draw the lines for the 2024 election cycle.
“And we are struck by the extraordinary circumstance we face,” the federal judges wrote in a 196-page opinion.
“We are not aware of any other case in which a state legislature — faced with a federal court order declaring that its electoral plan unlawfully dilutes minority votes and requiring a plan that provides an additional opportunity district — responded with a plan that the state concedes does not provide that district,” they continued.
The ruling orders a court-appointed special master to submit three new maps by Sept. 25 that fix the dilution of Black voters in the state. It could provide a boost to Democrats as they attempt to retake the House in 2024.
Alabama had submitted the new map after the Supreme Court in June blocked the state’s previous iteration in a 5-4 decision for likely violating the Voting Rights Act. Alabama’s map included one majority-Black district out of the state’s seven total districts, despite 27 percent of the state’s population being Black.
The Supreme Court’s decision affirmed a lower ruling that mandated the state draw new lines that “will need to include two districts in which Black voters either comprise a voting-age majority or something quite close to it.”
But the Republican-led legislature then refused to draw a second majority-Black district.
It instead maintained Alabama’s one majority-Black district — which is represented by the state’s lone congressional Democrat — and only increased the percentage of Black voters in the 2nd Congressional District from 30 percent to 40 percent.
“We discern no basis in federal law to accept a map the State admits falls short of this required remedy,” the judges wrote.
The panel comprised one Clinton appointee, Circuit Judge Stanley Marcus, and two Trump appointees, District Judge Anna Manasco and District Judge Terry Moorer.
State officials previously indicated the boundaries need to be finalized by about Oct. 1, so it can be in place for next year’s primary.
After the court-appointed official submits its three maps, the state or other parties will have three days to object. A hearing would then be held Oct. 3, if necessary.
“[W]e have no reason to believe that allowing the Legislature still another opportunity to draw yet another map will yield a map that includes an additional opportunity district,” the judges wrote. “Moreover, counsel for the State has informed the Court that, even if the Court were to grant the Legislature yet another opportunity to draw a map, it would be practically impossible for the Legislature to reconvene and do so in advance of the 2024 election cycle.
One group of plaintiffs — individual voters and voting rights advocates — in a joint statement said Alabama “openly admits its intention” to defy the Supreme Court and the law.
“Sixty years ago, former Governor George Wallace stood in the schoolhouse door to stop Black people from desegregating the University of Alabama,” they said. “He moved only when the federal government forced him to do so. History is repeating itself and the district court’s decision confirms that Alabama is again on the losing side. We demand that Alabama again move out of the way and obey our laws — we demand our voting rights.”
The Hill has reached out to Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall’s (R) office for comment.
Court strikes down Alabama congressional map in scathing opinion
A three-judge panel struck down Alabama’s new congressional map Tuesday, finding the GOP-led state fell short of complying with the Supreme Court’s recent directive. The ruling paves the way for a …
The bright side is that Amendment 14 article 3 also targets those who “give aid and comfort to” P01135809.How Trump’s House allies could try to help him fight indictments
Former President Trump racked up two more indictments while Congress was out on recess, spurring conservative outrage. When the House returns to Washington this month, Trump’s staunchest allies will have the opportunity to use their positions to go to bat for him.
Through the appropriations process, investigations and redirecting attention to a potential impeachment inquiry of President Biden, Trump supporters are already planning to use plenty of tools at their disposal to try to help the former president push back on the charges — if not in a legal sense, then in the court of public opinion.
“I am absolutely eyeing ways to push back on the indictments, especially when they’re being weaponized for political purposes,” Rep. Cory Mills (R-Fla.) said.
Even Republicans who do not explicitly say they want to defend Trump through the congressional process point to their desire to address what they call the “weaponization” of the federal government, proposing steps or taking actions that have the effect of playing defense for Trump.
Power of the purse
A top tactic of House Republicans is to use the government funding process to strip federal dollars from those prosecutions — or from the prosecutors pursuing them.
“The power of the purse is the most formidable tool that Congress has to combat the weaponization of our justice system,” Rep. Andrew Clyde (R-Ga.) said. “Given the Left’s egregious election interference efforts, it’s essential that we effectively use this power to protect the integrity of our elections, restore Americans’ faith in our government, and dismantle our nation’s two-tiered system of justice.”
Clyde, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, announced last week that he would propose two amendments to the appropriations bill dealing with the Department of Justice that would “prohibit the use of federal funding for the prosecution of any major presidential candidate prior to the upcoming presidential election on November 5th, 2024.”
With that, Clyde takes aim at special counsel Jack Smith, who has led charges against Trump relating to attempts to overturn the 2020 election results and retention of classified documents; Manhattan, N.Y., District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who charged Trump in relation to 2016 hush-money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels; and Fulton County, Ga., District Attorney Fani Willis, who charged Trump again in relation to the 2020 election.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) has also said she would introduce an amendment to defund Smith’s office, and Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) in July introduced a bill to do so. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.) earlier this month introduced a bill to defund Smith’s federal salary.
The Democratic-controlled Senate is sure to reject any effort to defund the prosecutions. And it might not be so easy to get House GOP votes to approve them, either; another Clyde amendment to rescind funding for a new FBI building failed in committee.
But Clyde says he is approaching these amendments “quite differently.”
“I’ve had numerous positive conversations about my efforts with members across our Conference, and I will continue discussing my amendments with my colleagues to ensure we’re successful in adding these measures to the base bill,” Clyde said. “Addressing the weaponization and politicization of our judicial system should be a top priority for all House Republicans, which is why I’m confident that we can garner enough support to get this done for the American people and the future of our Republic.”
Investigations
Building on the House GOP’s focus on combating the alleged “weaponization” of the justice system, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) has taken numerous actions poking at the Trump investigations and indictments — actions that are sure to continue.
Most recently, Jordan sent letters seeking information on White House meetings that included a top attorney in special counsel Jack Smith’s probe, fanning impartiality concerns about the Trump prosecution. A source with direct knowledge of the meetings told The Hill that the attorney went to the White House for meetings that were related to national security and to interview a career White House employee who worked there during the Trump administration.
Jordan is also seeking a memo that formalized Smith’s role as special counsel, and information about whether any FBI employees have investigated Trump.
The Judiciary Committee’s probes are not limited to the federal indictments. In August, Jordan asked Willis to turn over all records relating to Trump’s indictment in Georgia. Jordan has also sought testimony from Bragg.
Biden impeachment
Trump has urged House Republicans to impeach Biden as political revenge for the indictments and his own two impeachment.
“These lowlifes Impeached me TWICE (I WON!), and Indicted me FOUR TIMES – For NOTHING! Either IMPEACH the BUM, or fade into OBLIVION. THEY DID IT TO US!” Trump said in a recent post on his Truth Social website.
Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) has repeatedly said that he would not pursue impeachment for political purposes. But when he or other Republicans are asked about Trump’s indictments, they almost always divert the conversation to the investigations of Biden’s family business dealings that the Speaker thinks will evolve into an impeachment inquiry as a “natural step forward.”
The White House has said that Biden was not involved in his family’s business dealings, and Republicans have not shown that Biden directly benefited from those business dealings while he was vice president or made policy decisions based on his family’s businesses.
Republicans have claimed that action in Trump’s indictments is timed to distract from their investigations of Biden.
Mills, for example, pointed to action in the Trump indictments that followed soon after release of information in the Biden investigations, such as an unverified FBI source interview that described an alleged bribery scheme, and a transcribed interview with former Hunter Biden business associate Devon Archer.
“Why is it always one day after that’s uncovered, they try to indict the president and their top political opponent?” Mills said.
Expungement
Republicans have also aimed to symbolically defend Trump by introducing bills to expunge his two impeachments, with House GOP Conference Chairwoman Elise Stefanik (N.Y.) introducing one to erase his second impeachment and Greene leading one to erase the first.
Those resolutions were met with skepticism from some Republicans, who said that there is not a real way to erase an impeachment from a past Congress. McCarthy said in June that he supported those expungements, though it is unclear when those bills could move forward.
Trump, though, has not forgotten McCarthy’s stance, sharing a story about his support for the expungements on Truth Social and through his campaign in August.
How Trump’s House allies could try to help him fight indictments
Former President Trump racked up two more indictments while Congress was out on recess, spurring conservative outrage. When the House returns to Washington this month, Trump’s staunchest allies wil…