Another Reason to Vote for Change Down Ballot

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Attribution: Gun Control Congress Failure by Christopher Weyant, CagleCartoons.com

Excerpt from: ‘We’re all sitting ducks’ without more substantial gun control, Warnock says | US gun control | The Guardian

Vance “talks about hardening our schools and making them secure – well the reality is this is happening in spas, in shopping malls”, Warnock said on CNN. “It’s happening in houses of worship, in medical clinics.

“What are we going to do? Make the whole country into a fort?”

He told NBC: “We’re all sitting ducks. And any country that allows this to continue without putting forward just common sense safety measures is a country that has – in a tragic way – lost its way.”

Warnock alluded to an April 2023 Fox News poll which reaffirmed that the vast majority of Americans favored strengthening gun safety laws. And he said Congress took an encouraging first step toward treating such public support as a mandate when it enacted bipartisan legislation that expanded background checks for the youngest gun buyers while funding mental health and violence intervention programs.

But what was the first major federal firearms safety bill to pass Congress in nearly three decades was “clearly not enough”, Warnock said, noting how the US continues recording a number of mass shootings that is disproportionate at the global level.

Warnock said polls show most in the US overwhelmingly support universal background checks. Furthermore, Warnock said that large numbers of Americans support banning general access to assault-style rifles and semi-automatic firearms.

Yet federal lawmakers have not been able to get enough votes to clear procedural hurdles preventing Congress from meaningfully consider either issue. Warnock on Sunday blamed that reality on congressmembers who – out of ambition or fear – accept financial support from the wealthy gun industry.

“We are at an impasse because there are people in … politics … who are doing the bidding of the corporatist gun lobby even as they line their pockets with the blood of our children,” Warnock said.

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48 thoughts on “Another Reason to Vote for Change Down Ballot”

  1. life in the area of the recent shooting gallery:

    Central Kentucky children told to stay home from school as I-75 shooting suspect evades capture for third day (msn.com)

    […]
    Until Couch is found, law enforcement are warning the community to stay vigilant for any signs of him and take steps to keep their homes safe.
    “You need to lock your doors. If you have security cameras, make sure you’re constantly watching them, maybe keep your porch lights on,” Pennington advised residents. “Have your cell phone and make sure your phones are charged up because you never know when you might have to contact somebody or law enforcement.”
    Safety concerns also led more than a dozen area school districts and several other private schools to cancel classes Monday, including those in Laurel, Jackson and Clay counties.
    London Mayor Randall Weddle said Sunday his office is communicating with local school superintendents. He added, “Of course, their priority is to keep our children safe.”
    [continues]

    sure enough there will be copycats but even if not a chill can be felt throughout the heartland and it’s not just Fall in the air.

  2. from randy 2 years ago and still viable

    Parody Written and Performed by Randy Rainbow (Based on “Dance: Ten, Looks: Three” by Marvin Hamlisch from A Chorus Line)

  4. Harris campaign, DNC, announce unprecedented down-ballot spending – POLITICO

    Kamala Harris’ campaign and the Democratic National Committee said Tuesday they are sending nearly $25 million to support down-ballot Democrats — an earlier investment and far more money than the top of the ticket has sent in past election years.
    […]
    The newly announced funds come from both the Harris campaign and the DNC, with a total of $10 million each going to committees supporting Democratic candidates for House and Senate, along with $2.5 million to a national Democratic group supporting state legislative candidates and $1 million each for groups backing Democratic gubernatorial and attorney general candidates.
    “The vice president believes that this race is about mobilizing the entire country, in races at every level, to fight for our freedoms and our economic opportunity,” Harris campaign chair Jen O’Malley Dillon said in a statement. “That’s why the vice president has made the decision to invest a historic sum into electing Democrats up and down the ballot.”
    The transfers to support down-ballot races are notable both for their timing and large amounts. In 2020, the DNC transferred $5 million to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee and $1 million to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee in mid-October, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission. Earlier money gives the committees more spending options, as common campaign tactics such as hiring staff, taping ads or printing mailers take time.
    In a statement, Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.), chair of the DSCC, said the funds will “help Senate Democrats reach more voters, increase the strength of our campaigns and ensure Democrats protect our Senate majority.”
    […]
    The transfers also reflect a recognition that achieving many of Harris’ stated priorities will require not only keeping the Senate — a difficult task, as the party is defending three seats in states won by Trump in 2020 — but also flipping back the House.
    Of course, strong campaigning from House and Senate candidates could also benefit Harris, as many key races are in states important to the presidential race, such as Arizona and Pennsylvania.

  6. “I am just going to believe the Alan Lichtman prediction and ignore everything else.”

    KGC, me too 

    Donald Trump and Kamala Harris are scheduled to debate on Sept. 10, but the 2024 presidential election is already in the bag — at least according to Allan Lichtman, the American University historian who’s been dubbed the Nostradamus of presidential election predictions for his near-perfect 40-year track record. Mr. Lichtman was among the few to accurately predict Mr. Trump’s victory in 2016 (earning him a Sharpie-scribbled note from the candidate lauding the “GOOD CALL!”). Immediately after the first 2024 presidential debate, between Mr. Trump and President Biden, Mr. Lichtman was also quick to warn that Mr. Biden dropping out of the race could be a “tragic mistake for Democrats,” leading him directly into an online battle with the forecaster Nate Silver. The confidence is rooted in Mr. Lichtman’s simple, history-driven model, which tunes out polls and pollsters and instead focuses on 13 true-or-false questions that he says hold the “keys” to the White House. So can a model that looks all the way back to the horse and buggy days survive in an unprecedented election year marked by criminal proceedings, an assassination attempt and that Democratic switcheroo? Mr. Lichtman is confident that it can. And what is his prediction in this unpredictable year? Well, for that, you’ll have to watch the video.

  8. sturge, thanks for KO’s latest.  his comment

    If you are an American and you are asking any question about this besides “Is he an insane mass murderer, or a strategic mass murderer,” you are now a Trump enabler.

    needs a bit more sunshine on it by the talking heads

  9. The talking heads are a pack of poltroons more interested in having a close horse race.   “What nastiness can we today point to about Kamala?”   Never mind that Stump is out of his mind and keeps proving it.  

    Olbermann had a whole batch of things upon which the light needs to shine.
    Polls, Cowards, Sulzberger, Cowards and such. W Bush? Coward. NY Times? Utter cowards. Cowards all over.

  13. A stat in yesterday’s NYT national poll showing a tie stands out —  Trump is ahead of Harris by 9 percentage points, 49% to 40%, among those who did not vote in 2020. That puts a number on why he doubles down on the base rhetoric, to turn out MAGAts he didn’t get out last time. Depending on non-voters who only get you a tie is a risky strategy.

  14. We know all about the Georgia school shooter.  Real quick we find out all about him.  What do we know about the attempted assassination shooter besides he’s a republican?    
    [crickets]

  16. Still studying yesterday’s NYT poll (because it is one of the best). No denying Dems are way more enthusiastic. Their “very enthusiastic” number up 13 points since Biden stepped aside, and now leads GOP:
    Democrats who are “very enthusiastic”: 72 percent
    Republicans who are “very enthusiastic”: 69 percent

  18. For the 1000th time:
     
    2nd amendment says nothing about preloaded ammunition because it didn’t exist at the time, ergo no “historic tradition” of a right to it

  19. For the 3rd time:
     
    Random mass murders do not contribute to the “security of a free state”, they are the antithesis of it

  21. Prosecutor Harris On Trial Tomorrow

    Based on my monitoring of the right-wing mob on TV and online I hope Harris team is preparing for an onslaught at debate against her prosecution record, calling her soft on crime. If he can remember them, Trump will single out specific cases to bait her into entangling responses. 

    Financial Times: “Was Kamala Harris a tough prosecutor or a ‘soft on crime’ liberal?” https://www.ft.com/content/7d8ea2f1-f86f-42a2-96d8-6c094f0db3c8

  22. I caught a bit of Warnock yesterday morning – I like the guy.  Even when he’s not in preacher mode he’s compelling because he speaks good sense.

  24.  
    Richard Smith

    The media will not declare Harris the winner even if she makes Trump look like an old washed-out politician. The best they will allow is, for her to stand her ground and declare it a draw, and the worst will be calling it a complete disaster for her. The media has never judged Trump by the same standard as mainstream politicians. This is after he was president for 4 years. Any other politician acting as he does would have been laughed out of the race a long time ago. The media wants a neck-and-neck race won by Trump. they want this for ratings, and ownership of media wants tax cuts and regressive policies. Make no mistake, the media are absolutely thumbing the button for Trump and frankly always have been.
    That’s right, I and everyone I know have no trust in the media, and it is clear that they will never defend Harris.

  32. https://www.rawstory.com/trump-lunatic-msnbc-sane-washing-tara-setmayer/
    “Reporter Molly Jong-Fast quoted independent journalist Aaron Rupar as saying the media is “sane-washing” Trump, and Tara Setmayer, a senior advisor for anti-Trump group The Lincoln Project and a former Republican congressional staffer, agreed with that analysis.”
     
    ”Setmayer further called Trump an “absolute lunatic,” and said his recent speeches and Truth Social posts have been devolving.”
     
    Those calling themselves journalists will claim they are not “sane washing” but being unbiased.  Nope.  That does not fly.  Do your damned jobs while you still can, because you’ll be nothing if Orange Adolf wins.
     
    The Russian interference story got very little coverage.   Is Putin directing our media?  Do the billionaires who own media companies just want more tasty tax breaks, so they don’t care if our democracy is destroyed?   Complicit bastards, whatever the reason. 
     

  33. David’s response is brilliant!

    I hope she uses it. Get him to start whining about what a pathetic victim he’s been all of his miserable life.

    Play the ENTIRE clip from Access Hollywood. I had only heard the “grab ‘em” part of the clip. Can LP use it or is it ~protected~ by media copyright?

  35. i’ve heard 8 secs is fair use, heard 15 secs is fair use, there’s a public interest quality to that clip, i’m no lawyer but the Lincoln Project HAS PLENTY

  37. Silence is golden.

     
    Have heard not a peep from the peeps even at yesterday’s birthday family gathering. Leaves me wondering whuz up wid dat, but I’m not going to be the one to bring it up. 
     
     

  39. Watched Doug Emhoff’s NC speech earlier today. In various ways he used the word “coward” 4 times referring to Trump, as in bullies are cowards! “Coward” might be the new “Weird”

  44. ABC news
     
    Harris leads Trump 50-46% among all adults and registered voters alike, and 52-46% among likely voters, per latest
    @ABC
    News/Ipsos poll.
     
     

    Closer assessment shows movement to Harris in some groups when comparing all adults with likely voters.

    Read more: https://trib.al/7ED617L

    ☠️ Someone commented that this poll is 2 or 3 weeks old.

  47. https://www.texastribune.org/2024/09/06/biden-bus-trump-train-trial/

     
    “On Friday, the “Trump Train” heads to court in Austin. The trial stems from a 2021 lawsuit filed by Davis, a former state senator who became a Democratic sensation for her filibuster of an abortion restriction bill, along with the bus driver and a Biden campaign staffer. The trio sued multiple members of the caravan, alleging they violated state law and the Ku Klux Klan Act of 1871 by engaging in a conspiracy to disrupt the campaign and intimidate those on the bus.”

    “It’s been four years since a campaign bus carrying Wendy Davis and others was nearly run off the road by a so-called “Trump Train” — a caravan of Republican activists waving giant flags showing support for Donald Trump.”

    “Drivers of more than a dozen cars and trucks, honking and shouting, followed the bus on Interstate 35 between San Antonio and San Marcos, weaving in and out of traffic and causing a minor collision between a Biden campaign staffer following the bus and a Trump supporter.”

    “Ultimately, the bus driver made an abrupt and speedy exit off the highway to lose the crowd.  Trump responded with enthusiastic approval: “I LOVE TEXAS!” he wrote in a tweet accompanied by a video of the incident. Democrats subsequently canceled three Biden campaign events in Central Texas due to safety concerns.”
     
     

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