[I. <<With his latest tweet, clearly implying that a United States senator would trade sexual favors for campaign cash, President Trump has shown he is not fit for office. Rock bottom is no impediment for a president who can always find room for a new low.>>
(Excerpted from the comment, USA TODAY Editorial, at sl. no. I below.) II. <<When asked for the first word that pops into their head when they think of the commander-in-chief, U.S. voters gave such glowing descriptors as “idiot,” “liar” and “a**hole,” according to a new Quinnipiac University survey out Tuesday.>> (Excerpted from the report at sl. no. II below.) III. <<Moore’s defeat means that Trump has now suffered three consecutive losses. He first backed Moore’s opponent, Luther Strange, in the Republican primary only to see him lose to Moore. Then, last month, voters in Virginia turned out in historic numbers to deliver a massive rebuke to Trump in the elections for governor and state legislature. ... The result was also a stinging setback for former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who left the administration in August and immediately made Moore his No. 1 cause. He used Breitbart News, which he runs, as a vehicle to prop up the Republican, and appeared poised to accrue significant influence if Moore was elected to the Senate. Now Bannon will have to look for a new vehicle, and remains without any significant electoral wins as a power broker.>> (Excerpted from the analysis-cum-report at sl. no. III below.) I/III. https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2017/12/12/trump-lows-ever-hit-rock-bottom-editorials-debates/945947001/ Will Trump's lows ever hit rock bottom? The Editorial Board, USA TODAY Published 7:30 p.m. ET Dec. 12, 2017 | Updated 8:47 p.m. ET Dec. 12, 2017 Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand says President Donald Trump's latest tweet about her was a 'sexist smear' aimed at silencing her voice. The New York Democrat says she won't be silenced on the issue of sexual harassment. (Dec. 12) AP A president who'd all but call a senator a whore is unfit to clean toilets in Obama's presidential library or to shine George W. Bush's shoes: Our view ourview121217 (Photo: Gregg Pachkowski, Pensacola (Fla.) News Journal) With his latest tweet, clearly implying that a United States senator would trade sexual favors for campaign cash, President Trump has shown he is not fit for office. Rock bottom is no impediment for a president who can always find room for a new low. Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump Lightweight Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a total flunky for Chuck Schumer and someone who would come to my office “begging” for campaign contributions not so long ago (and would do anything for them), is now in the ring fighting against Trump. Very disloyal to Bill & Crooked-USED! 6:33 PM - Dec 12, 2017 80,688 80,688 Replies 22,060 22,060 Retweets 80,792 80,792 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders on Tuesday dismissed the president's smear as a misunderstanding because he used similar language about men. Of course, words used about men and women are different. When candidate Trump said a journalist was bleeding from her "wherever," he didn't mean her nose. And as is the case with all of Trump's digital provocations, the president's words were deliberate. He pours the gasoline of sexist language and lights the match gleefully knowing how it will burst into flame in a country reeling from the #MeToo moment. RNC: Democrats’ response is laughable A president who would all but call Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand a whore is not fit to clean the toilets in the Barack Obama Presidential Library or to shine the shoes of George W. Bush. This isn’t about the policy differences we have with all presidents or our disappointment in some of their decisions. Obama and Bush both failed in many ways. They broke promises and told untruths, but the basic decency of each man was never in doubt. Donald Trump, the man, on the other hand, is uniquely awful. His sickening behavior is corrosive to the enterprise of a shared governance based on common values and the consent of the governed. It should surprise no one how low he went with Gillibrand. When accused during the campaign of sexually harassing or molesting women in the past, Trump’s response was to belittle the looks of his accusers. Last October, Trump suggested that he never would have groped Jessica Leeds on an airplane decades ago: “Believe me, she would not be my first choice, that I can tell you.” Trump mocked another accuser, former People reporter Natasha Stoynoff, “Check out her Facebook, you’ll understand.” Other celebrities and politicians have denied accusations, but none has stooped as low as suggesting that their accusers weren’t attractive enough to be honored with their gropes. If recent history is any guide, the unique awfulness of the Trump era in U.S. politics is only going to get worse. Trump’s utter lack of morality, ethics and simple humanity has been underscored during his 11 months in office. Let us count the ways: He is enthusiastically supporting Alabama's Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who has been accused of pursuing — and in one case molesting and in another assaulting — teenagers as young as 14 when Moore was a county prosecutor in his 30s. On Tuesday, Trump summed up his willingness to support a man accused of criminal conduct: “Roy Moore will always vote with us.” Trump apparently is going for some sort of record for lying while in office. As of mid-November, he had made 1,628 misleading or false statements in 298 days in office. That’s 5.5 false claims per day, according to a count kept by The Washington Post’s fact-checkers. Trump takes advantage of any occasion — even Monday’s failed terrorist attack in New York — to stir racial, religious or ethnic strife. Congress “must end chain migration,” he said Monday, because the terror suspect “entered our country through extended-family chain migration, which is incompatible with national security.” So because one man — 27-year-old Akayed Ullah, a lawful permanent resident of the U.S. who came from Bangladesh on a family immigrant visa in 2011 — is accused of attacking America, all immigrants brought to this country by family are suspect? Trump might have some credibility if his criticism of immigrants was solely about terrorists. It isn’t. It makes no difference to him if an immigrant is a terrorist or a federal judge. He once smeared an Indiana-born judge whose parents emigrated from Mexico. It’s all the same to this president. A man who clearly wants to put his stamp on the government, Trump hasn’t even done his job when it comes to filling key government positions that require Senate confirmation. As of last week, Trump had failed to nominate anyone for 60% of 1,200 key positions he can fill to keep the government running smoothly. Trump has shown contempt for ethical strictures that have bound every president in recent memory. He has refused to release his tax returns, with the absurd excuse that it’s because he is under audit. He has refused to put his multibillion dollar business interests in a blind trust and peddles the fiction that putting them in the hands of his sons does the same thing. Not to mention calling white supremacists "very fine people," pardoning a lawless sheriff, firing a respected FBI director, and pushing the Justice Department to investigate his political foes. It is a shock that only six Democratic senators are calling for our unstable president to resign. The nation doesn’t seek nor expect perfect presidents, and some have certainly been deeply flawed. But a president who shows such disrespect for the truth, for ethics, for the basic duties of the job and for decency toward others fails at the very essence of what has always made America great. USA TODAY's editorial opinions are decided by its Editorial Board, separate from the news staff. Most editorials are coupled with an opposing view — a unique USA TODAY feature. II/III. http://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-quinnipiac-poll-idiot-liar-incompetent-745890 DONALD TRUMP IS AN “IDIOT” AND A “LIAR,” AMERICANS SAY IN NEW POLL BY CELESTE KATZ ON 12/12/17 AT 2:49 PM [Video: 00:11 - 01:01] Americans aren’t damning President Donald Trump with faint praise, according to a new poll: They’re mostly just damning him. When asked for the first word that pops into their head when they think of the commander-in-chief, U.S. voters gave such glowing descriptors as “idiot,” “liar” and “a**hole,” according to a new Quinnipiac University survey out Tuesday. In an open-ended question, Quinnipiac asked respondents over the phone, “What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of President Trump?” A total of 53 people responded with the word “idiot, 44 with “liar” and 36 with “incompetent.” Another 26 people gave the response “a**hole,” while 19 respondents said “moron,” 18 said “arrogant” and 17 said “disgusting.” Keep Up With This Story And More By Subscribing Now View image on Twitter View image on Twitter Quinnipiac Poll @QuinnipiacPoll Word Cloud - What is the first word that comes to mind when you think of President Trump? http://bit.ly/2BX0DSs 12:19 AM - Dec 13, 2017 46 46 Replies 140 140 Retweets 148 148 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy “President Donald Trump is known for hurling insults, and he’s getting slammed right back. ‘Idiot’ is just one of a string of insults thrown his way by American voters,” said Tim Malloy, Quinnipiac University Poll assistant director, in a release about the poll, which echoed the results of a similar survey conducted in May. Other words the pollsters heard more infrequently about Trump—at least five times each—included “businessman,” “jerk,” “powerful” and “evil.” To be fair, it wasn’t all bad news for Trump, although voters polled by Quinnipiac said they disapproved of the job he’s doing by a margin of 57 percent to 37 percent. In the open-ended question about impressions of the first-year president, 35 respondents gave pollsters the word “leader” and the same number picked “strong,” while 21 answered “great.” View image on Twitter View image on Twitter Quinnipiac Poll @QuinnipiacPoll #PresidentDonaldTrump's job approval https://poll.qu.edu/national/release-detail?ReleaseID=2507 … 11:36 PM - Dec 12, 2017 11 11 Replies 18 18 Retweets 7 7 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy “Of the 48 words used by five or more voters, 30 words are negative,” Quinnipiac said in announcing the results. Trump’s highest approval rating, Quinnipiac said, dates back to his 42 percent showing in February, immediately after his inauguration. American voters also had a dark view of Trump when it comes to the lingering investigation of Russian influence on U.S. politics: Some 57 percent of those polled by Quinnipiac said Trump has tried to “derail or obstruct the investigation into the Russian interference in the 2016 election.” More than half, or 52 percent, said the Trump campaign colluded with the Russian government. Just less than half, or 48 percent, said Trump did not collude with the Russian government to sway the outcome of the election. Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump Despite thousands of hours wasted and many millions of dollars spent, the Democrats have been unable to show any collusion with Russia - so now they are moving on to the false accusations and fabricated stories of women who I don’t know and/or have never met. FAKE NEWS! 5:40 PM - Dec 12, 2017 50,870 50,870 Replies 35,002 35,002 Retweets 131,621 131,621 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy Either way, a large majority (73 percent) of American voters believes Russia attempted to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. About 41 percent said that interference changed the outcome of the vote. Quinnipiac released the results as Alabama voters went to the polls to choose a new senator, concluding a campaign that’s been rocked by stunning accusations of sexual misconduct against Republican Roy Moore, Trump’s anointed candidate. About 63 percent of Quinnipiac respondents said they disapprove of Trump’s support for Moore, and 60 percent said Moore should be expelled from the Senate if he defeats Democrat Doug Jones and wins election. Donald J. Trump ✔ @realDonaldTrump The people of Alabama will do the right thing. Doug Jones is Pro-Abortion, weak on Crime, Military and Illegal Immigration, Bad for Gun Owners and Veterans and against the WALL. Jones is a Pelosi/Schumer Puppet. Roy Moore will always vote with us. VOTE ROY MOORE! 7:39 PM - Dec 12, 2017 60,775 60,775 Replies 21,023 21,023 Retweets 75,853 75,853 likes Twitter Ads info and privacy “American voters to their Alabama cousins: You may want to send Roy Moore to Washington, but we think the U.S. Senate should send him right back to the Heart of Dixie,” Malloy said. “And President Trump takes a big hit for supporting Moore.” Quinnipiac surveyed 1,211 voters nationwide from December 6 to December 11. The poll had a margin of error of plus or minus 3.5 percentage points. III. https://www.yahoo.com/news/democrat-doug-jones-beats-roy-moore-claim-deep-red-alabama-senate-seat-032527507.html?.tsrc=daily_mail&uh_test=2_11 Doug Jones's victory in Alabama is an ominous sign for Republicans Yahoo News Liz Goodwin and Jon Ward,Yahoo News•December 13, 2017 Alabama Democrat Doug Jones celebrates his victory over Judge Roy Moore at the Sheraton in Birmingham, Ala., on Tuesday, Dec. 12, 2017. (Photo: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call, cover thumbnail photo: John Bazemore/AP) More MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Democrat Doug Jones shocked this state, and the country, by defeating Republican Roy Moore in Alabama’s Senate special election Tuesday, a victory that sounds a loud warning to the White House and the Republican Party. President Trump had thrown his full support behind Moore, who was a controversial figure even before multiple allegations emerged that he had pursued inappropriate relationships with teenagers as an adult. Jones’ victory is a shot in the arm for Democrats, who are hoping that anger at Trump and congressional Republicans will fuel a “wave” election in 2018, flipping the U.S. House of Representatives, and perhaps even the Senate, blue. “Tonight is a night for rejoicing,” Jones told a jubilant crowd in Birmingham after defeating Moore 670,551 votes to 649,240, with 100 percent of the vote counted. Jones, a former U.S. attorney who prosecuted Ku Klux Klan members for an infamous 1963 church bombing in Birmingham, will be the first Democrat to represent Alabama in the Senate in 20 years. He fills the seat left vacant by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Moore’s defeat means that Trump has now suffered three consecutive losses. He first backed Moore’s opponent, Luther Strange, in the Republican primary only to see him lose to Moore. Then, last month, voters in Virginia turned out in historic numbers to deliver a massive rebuke to Trump in the elections for governor and state legislature. Nonetheless, Trump put forth his best face Tuesday night. “Congratulations to Doug Jones on a hard-fought victory,” the president tweeted. “The write-in votes played a very big factor, but a win is a win. The people of Alabama are great, and the Republicans will have another shot at this seat in a very short period of time. It never ends!” Moore gave brief remarks to his supporters, but did not concede the race, saying a recount was still possible. But state law requires a half-point margin or less to trigger a recount, and Jones bested Moore by 1.5 points. U.S. Senate candidate Roy Moore Roy Moore leaves the stage after speaking Montgomery, Ala., Dec. 12, 2017. (Photo: Mike Stewart/AP) After suffering decades of stinging losses, Alabama Democrats celebrated a historic night. House Minority Leader Anthony Daniels, who is just 35 years old, pledged that it would spark a resurgence for the party. “This is just the beginning,” Daniels said in a phone interview. “This gives us the momentum we need.” But it wasn’t just Democrats who were overjoyed by the result Tuesday night. Alabama is an overwhelmingly Republican state, and Jones received votes from many in the GOP who could not abide the thought of Moore winning. There were more than 22,000 write-in ballots cast, making up almost two percent of the electorate. After Jones was declared the winner, a veteran Republican in the state, Hatton Smith, called my cellphone. Smith, who was an adviser to Luther Strange in the Republican primary, said, “We got a bunch of Republicans here that want to tell you something.” He held up his phone and the sound of a group of people cheering loudly came over the phone. “It’s good over evil,” Smith said. “The state of Alabama won.” He added: “Here’s to 2020 when we defeat Doug Jones.” Moore, a former judge who was removed from office twice before running for the Senate, was hit by multiple allegations from women who said he sexually pursued them when he was in his 30s and they were teenagers. One woman said Moore touched her sexually when she was 14; another said he sexually assaulted her when she was just 16 years old and he was an assistant district attorney. Moore vehemently denied the allegations, but several high-profile Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, said they believed the women. Trump, however, never abandoned Moore, even recording a robocall for him in Alabama that decried Jones as a “puppet of Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer.” Trump won the state last year by 28 points, and his failure to push Moore over the finish line could spell trouble for the unpopular president’s political strategy going forward. Jones’s victory also endangers Republicans’ tax reform legislation in Congress, which passed by a narrow majority in the Senate earlier this month. Both the Senate and the House will have to pass another combined version of the tax bill to send it to the president’s desk. With one fewer Republican in the chamber, McConnell can lose only one vote and still push through the bill, which has not attracted any Democratic support. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., has already voted against the legislation once, and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, has made several demands regarding health care that must be met before she’ll support it again. McConnell could rush the vote before Jones is seated in January, however. Supporters celebrate at the election night party for Democratic Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Doug Jones Supporters celebrate at the election night party for Democratic Alabama U.S. Senate candidate Doug Jones in Birmingham, Ala., Dec. 12, 2017. (Photo: Marvin Gentry/Reuters) Sen. Cory Gardner, R-Colo., who chairs the Senate GOP’s campaign arm and pulled the group’s support for Moore after the allegations of sexual misconduct became public, began immediately Tuesday night to recruit Jones to join the Republican Party. “The people of Alabama deemed Roy Moore unfit to serve in the U.S. Senate,” Gardner said in a statement in which he called on Moore to “do the right thing and truly represent Alabama by choosing to vote with the Senate Republican majority.” The result was also a stinging setback for former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who left the administration in August and immediately made Moore his No. 1 cause. He used Breitbart News, which he runs, as a vehicle to prop up the Republican, and appeared poised to accrue significant influence if Moore was elected to the Senate. Now Bannon will have to look for a new vehicle, and remains without any significant electoral wins as a power broker. Steven Law, who runs the Senate Leadership Fund, a super-PAC affiliated with McConnell, the Senate majority leader, delivered a cutting criticism of Bannon’s work. “This is a brutal reminder that candidate quality matters regardless of where you are running,” Law said in a statement. “Not only did Steve Bannon cost us a critical Senate seat in one of the most Republican states in the country, but he also dragged the president of the United States into his fiasco.” Jones ran a vigorous campaign up to the end, targeting the state’s black population last weekend. He brought in Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Rep. Cedric Richmond, D-La., to stump for him. Jones also ran ads featuring prominent Republicans, including Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., disavowing Moore, in a bid to peel off conservatives. Meanwhile, Moore lay low, holding no campaign events until a rally Monday with Bannon. “If you don’t believe in my character, don’t vote for me,” Moore said then. Moore was already a controversial figure in Alabama. While serving as the chief justice of the state Supreme Court, he twice was ordered to remove a monument to the Ten Commandments from the courthouse and both times refused. Moore’s record on race is marked by opposition to removing Jim Crow language from state statues, and he just recently said America was last great during a time when blacks were enslaved. While many religious conservatives in the South might not be enthusiastic about gay marriage, Moore’s harsh language about gays has been another turnoff for moderate Alabamans. And his antagonism of African-Americans motivated higher than normal turnout by minority voters in what would usually be a sleepy off-year election less than two weeks out from Christmas. African-Americans made up a higher percentage of the electorate Tuesday, at 30 percent, than they did in 2008 and 2012, when former President Barack Obama was on the ballot. Blacks were 29 percent of the vote in 2008 and 28 percent in 2012. For establishment Republicans who had distanced themselves from Moore’s candidacy, the election of a Democrat came as welcome news. Sen. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., who has been one of the most outspoken Trump critics in the Republican Party, delivered a succinct coda to the night on Twitter: “Decency wins,” he said. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
