'What Does That Mean?' Wonkagenda For Fri., July 19, 2019
Trump feels 'a little badly,' Elijah Cummings keeps it real, and the fight for $15. Your morning news brief!
Morning Wonketariat! Here's some of the things wemaybe talking about today.
After spending a week juicing up his sycophants with anti-immigrant hate speech, Trump is trying to distance himself from his flock of racist sheeple. Trump says he never encouraged people to chant "send her back" at his rally in North Carolina on Wednesday, adding that he "felt a little bit badly" and that the chant made him "not happy." Trump argues that he "started speaking very quickly," and certainly didn't stand there soaking up the vitriol. Good thing the Washington Post's Ashley Parker has aretrospective of how Trump spent the last week doubling and tripling down on blatant racism, and Politico has a piece about how Trump does this with every goddamn scandal, from Michael Cohen to Russian fuckery. Of course, it should be noted Trump now back-pedaled on his back-pedaling in a series of shitposts this morning. If you need a little laugh while you choke back your liberal tears, Trevor Noah has a refresher that reminds you we haven't always been at war with North, South, East, and West Asia.
Trump Supporters Chant “Send Her Back" About Ilhan Omar | The Daily Show www.youtube.com
Republicans on the Hill have been trying to mitigate the damage from Trump's remarks without raising the profile of the four progressive minority women in the House informally known as "The Squad." Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the Squad a bunch of communists, saying, "I think the president is on to something," and adding, "Do we really think socialism applies here at a time of great prosperity, 50-year-low unemployment?"
Omar was greeted by a crowd of supporters upon her arrival back in Minnesota. During a somewhat boring and wonky hearing on universal healthcare, Omar addressed Trump's latest racist tirade by simply saying, "I know there are a lot of people that are trying to distract us now. But I want you to all to know that we are not going to let them. ... You all send me to Washington to do the important work of progressing our country."
Congresswoman Omar just arrived back in the Twin Cities. https: //t.co/ZiFqWnDJgQ
— Tom Hauser (@Tom Hauser) 1563486133.0
Kentucky Republican Sen. Rand Paul is pissed that everyone is calling him a cheap asshole for nuking a bill to reauthorize and fund the 9/11 Victims Compensation Fund. Yesterday Paul ran to the safety of Fox News to whine that Jon Stewart wasn't being funny or "using his brain," arguing, "The BS meter is through the roof when you see him calling people names and calling people an abomination." In an exchange with a reporter from a New York cable news station, Paul said people should watch Fox News rather than explain why he was playing politics while 9/11 first responders are literally dying.
Trump is nominating Eugene Scalia to be Secretary of Labor. The son of former arch-conservative Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, Eugene has spent the better part of his career as evil corporate lawyer screwing labor unions for big companies like Walmart. As a Bush 43 recesses appointee, Scalia tried to kill the Clinton-era ergonomics rule, arguing in a Wall Street Journal op-ed, "that ergonomic regulation will force companies to give more ret periods, slow the pace of work and then hire more workers (read: dues-paying members) to maintain current levels of production." He seems nice...
House Oversight Chair Elijah Cummings ripped acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan a new asshole yesterday during a hearing on Trump's baby jails. Cummings was especially pissed when McAleenan hemmed and hawed about the "very careful" records DHS had been keeping, despite reports to the contrary. Cummings eventually lost his shit when McAleenan said DHS was "doing a great job" at dealing with detainees, shouting, "What does that mean when a child is sitting in their own feces, can't take a shower? Come on, man! What's that about?"
Elijah Cummings Hammers DHS Secretary Over Border Children www.youtube.com
NICE TIME: The House just passed legislation to raise the federal minimum wage to $15 an hour following a last minute compromise between moderates and progressives. The bill would phase in the wage increase over six years (assuming some Democrats remember to run for Senate in 2020). Roll Call notes the bill will adjust for inflation upon reaching $15 and "increase the sub-minimum wage for tipped employees, teenagers and employees with disabilities until they all equal the general minimum wage." PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT!
Unionized workers in the Bernie Sanders campaign are demanding they be paid $15 an hour, arguing that the campaign is not putting its money where its candidate's mouth is. Citing internal documents, The Washington Post reports the dispute has been dragging on since May, adding that it's unclear if the candidate is aware of his own internal labor dispute.
Axios gossips aides for former Maryland Rep. John Delaney have turned on the "Wrap It Up" sign and are begging him to drop out of the 2020 race. Aides gripe that they've spent the last TWO YEARS wasting time on a useless Tim Ryan candidate who just can't get his shit together; blowing loads of donor cash on what Axios describes as "the most Republican-Democrat." Meanwhile, Politico reports Delaney is now attacking Joe Biden for having "old ideas" 'cause it's not like his campaign has anything else to do.
The administration is sinking millions into Facebook ads for Trump's 2020 campaign to target old white and Latinx people. It should come as no surprise that the campaign is going all-in on fear-mongering and immigration.
Here's the debate line-up for the next Democratic presidential debates. The main takeaway is Bernie vs. Warren on night one, July 30, and a rematch between Sen. Kamala Harris and Joe Biden on night two, July 31.
The military says the US shot down an Iranian drone in the Strait of Hormuz in what Trump calls an act of self-defense. In a tweet, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says he's worried the US may have shot down its own drone "by mistake."
In 2011 women at an Illinois prison were forced into body searches as part of a training exercise for incoming cadets. The women were forced to stand naked, some in the midst of their menstrual cycles, while guards ogled, according to witness accounts. In a 2-1 decision, the US Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit found the incident to be totally legal because guards didn't stick their fingers inside anyone while conducting their cavity searches.
Four Chicago cops have been "You're Fired" for lying in their reports of the 2016 police murder of 17-year-old Laquan McDonald. The city's police board stated the officers' conduct was "antithetical to that expected and required of a sworn law enforcement officer." As usual, Chicago's Fraternal Order of Police threatened that this will only plunge the city into more violence and chaos, presumably because there's fewer cops killing black and brown kids on the South and West side.
Stephen Colbert is encouraging people to please chant responsibly ...
Trump Distances Himself From The Racist Chant He Inspired www.youtube.com
And here's your morning Nice Time: KLIPSPRINGER OLDS!
Klipspringer's 20 Birthday Bash | Dallas Zoo www.youtube.com
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