Tag Archive: Marco Rubio

Biden White House repeats Pelosi’s “vote no and take the dough” charge against Republicans

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi

U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi may be the savviest Democratic elected official of the last 10 years or more. Not only has Pelosi gotten many good Democratic bills passed in the House, she also gave Donald Trump a well-deserved toddler time out more than once. But one of the best things Speaker Pelosi has done is to communicate her points in an effective way. A great example is her phrase “vote no and take the dough” which Pelosi uses to describe Republicans who vote against Democratic-sponsored federal relief and funding, but who then brag, try to take credit, and even engage in ceremonies when such funding arrives in their state or district.

Speaker Pelosi’s first use of “vote no and take the dough” seems to be from last March, when, after every U.S. House and Senate Republican voted no on President Joe Biden‘s COVID relief package and the legislation passed with only Democratic votes, many of those same Republicans went and and bragged to their constituents about the benefits they were bringing in when the money was distributed. Likewise, with the recently passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act beginning to dole out many millions of dollars to local Congressional districts for flood relief and other crucial projects, Speaker Pelosi is keeping a list of House Republicans who voted against the legislation, but who are publicly celebrating the incoming funds. There’s a word for folks who do that, and that word is “hypocrite.”

Republican Senator Marco Rubio, the gun violence goat

U.S. Senator Marco Rubio of Florida

After the Parkland, Florida school shootings last Wednesday that left 17 dead, most of them schoolchildren, one of the people who comes off looking the worst is Florida’s Republican U.S. Senator, Marco Rubio. Let’s look at Rubio’s responses to the Parkland shooting:

First, Rubio offered prayers, as Republicans typically do. However, Rubio’s version was to admit that his previous prayers did not work:

When it comes to gun violence, think, pray, vote

Republicans’ dream? Lady Liberty holding a gun instead of a torch.

After another deadly school shooting involving an AR-15 semiautomatic rifle, this time in Parkland, Florida, Republicans responded with their usual calls for “thoughts and prayers.” Perhaps the worst offender was Florida’s own U.S. Senator, Republican Marco Rubio, who proved that his previous prayers didn’t work:

However, when Rubio and other Republicans want something on any other issue, from tax cuts to taking away a woman’s freedom over her own body to military spending to taking away our affordable healthcare, they don’t pray, they vote. That’s just what Americans should do here.

Republicans’ empty statements of concern towards Trump

Trump/Putin relationship, subject of Republican criticism

The last six months or more have been marked by a procession of statements of concern and criticism from many leading Republicans towards Donald Trump. For example, U.S. Senator John McCain has said that scandals within the Trump White House are reaching “Watergate size and scale.” Likewise, McCain’s cohort U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham said of Trump this past weekend:

When it comes to Russia, he’s got a blind spot, and to forgive and forget when it comes to Putin regarding cyber attacks is to empower Putin, and that’s exactly what he’s doing.

U.S. Senator Ben Sasse, a rising Republican Party star, also trashed Trump’s idea of forming “an impenetrable Cyber Security unit” with Vladimir Putin:

Avoiding Donald Trump’s pigsty

Message to Clinton voters about Donald Trump

Message to Clinton voters about Donald Trump

Playwright George Bernard Shaw is quoted as saying:

I learned long ago, never to wrestle with a pig. You get dirty, and besides, the pig likes it.
That’s good advice for Hillary Clinton. When she climbs into the mud with Donald Trump and his supporters, she gets dirty, and they seem to like it. For example, at a New York City fundraiser on Friday, Clinton said:
You know, to just be grossly generalistic, you could put half of Trump’s supporters into what I call the basket of deplorables. Right? The racist, sexist, homophobic, xenophobic, Islamaphobic — you name it.
There’s plenty of evidence that a portion of Trump’s supporters really are deplorable. However, the problem with these remarks (which Clinton has since walked back a bit), isn’t their truth, it’s that Clinton shouldn’t be the one making them.

In the Iowa Caucus, a smiley face and a gold star for everyone

Donald Trump after giving "concession" speech at Iowa Caucus

Donald Trump after giving “concession” speech at Iowa Caucus

Last night’s Iowa Presidential Caucus gave all the front-runners in the Democratic and Republican Parties something to smile about. At least, the Caucus results gave each of the following campaigns something to spin positively about:

The New York Times’ embarrassing election coverage

The New York Times Building

The New York Times Building

Like it or not, the 2016 election cycle is in full swing. Numerous media outlets are well into covering the campaigns and candidates. These media organizations are also giving early clues as to the quality of their  election coverage. If the last week is any indication, the New York Times has distinguished itself both for bias and inanity.

The three realities that could destroy the Republican Party

Republicans seem to be enjoying this week of small shiny “scandals.” They’d better celebrate while they can, because there are three realities that, if unaddressed, could effectively kill the Republican Party’s national success:

President Obama playing 3-D chess

Between the 2012 elections, President Barack Obama‘s inauguration speech last month, and last Tuesday night’s State of the Union address, the President seems to have checked, or even checkmated, the Republican Party. In addition to Obama’s handy disposal of Willard Mitt Romney on Election Day, consider the following: