webodec3ARCHIVEPreview
Open in TheBrain

Rashida Tlaib Rep

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4/19 primary promotion on kickass bankers FF

in MMoore f119, hauled bodily out of public event, 12 women asked q

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confronted biden? detroit ford F150 elect visit

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11 23 censured 22 dems from river to sea will be free (predates hamas) refers to equitable one state solution

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prompted by no kings fail? mamdami?

mma

10/23/2025

by

Peter Montgomery

President Donald Trump has launched a new “Anti Communist Club,” a fundraising gimmick that doubles as a smear campaign against his political opponents, who he calls communists and the “radical left.”

The message sent to Trump supporters makes a mockery of MAGA leaders’ recent disingenuous warnings about the dangers of divisive rhetoric:

After careful consideration, I want to present you with the ANTI-COMMUNIST CLUB Membership! It’s the highest honor I can bestow upon such an important supporter who DESPISES the radical left!

This membership is not just for anyone; YOU qualified because your profile showed you HEAVILY DESPISE known Communists like Ilhan Omar, Rashida Tlaib, and AOC!

Trump’s message says that would-be members must “PROVE you’re a TOP MAGA PATRIOT, and not a slimeball communist” by answering a few questions. The questions in Trump’s quiz lay the groundwork for justifying attacks on freedom of speech and academic freedom in pursuit of his “anti communist” mission. In addition to a couple questions about China, the quiz includes these:

Do you AGREE that Communism has NO PLACE in the United States of America?

  • YES – It’s evil and un-American
  • NO – I side with the Radical Left (disqualifies membership)

Do you SUPPORT President Trump’s plan to BAN Marxist indoctrination in schools and universities?

  • YES – Save our children
  • NO – Let the Left brainwash them

Should anyone caught BURNING the American flag be PUNISHED?

  • YES – 100%
  • NO – Free speech for Communists

Do you AGREE that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris pushed a SOFT COMMUNIST AGENDA on our country?

  • Absolutely
  • Not sure
  • No – I trusted them (disqualifies membership)

Would you SUPPORT President Trump declaring a National Anti-Communist Day to honor those who fought tyranny?

  • YES
  • NO

Which slogan BEST represents YOU?

  • GOD, GUNS, FREEDOM
  • COMMUNISM, CHAOS, CONTROL

Donations sent by MAGA supporters who want to join Trump’s new “club” go to Never Surrender Inc., Trump’s leadership PAC, which reported nearly $40 million cash on hand at the end of June.

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retaliation weaponization

mma 12 23

1123

nion organizer Hill Harper — who is running in the Democratic primary for Michigan's open US Senate election in 2024 — tweeted that he turned down an eight-figure sum to drop out and primary a prominent House Democrat.

Harper took to X on Wednesday to comment on a Politico article about a major donor offering $20 million if Harper agreed to abandon his Senate run and campaign against Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). According to Politico, Detroit-based businessman Linden Nelson offered $10 million to Harper's campaign, along with an additional $10 million in super PAC support (classified as independent expenditures in federal elections) if Harper agreed to oppose Tlaib.

"I didn't intend for a private phone call to turn public. But now that it has, here’s the truth. One of AIPAC’s biggest donors offered $20m if I dropped out of the U.S. Senate race to run against @RashidaTlaib," Harper tweeted, tagging the Congresswoman's official account. "I said no. I won’t be bossed, bullied or bought."

While Harper called Nelson "one of AIPAC's biggest donors," the group — known as one of the most influential pro-Israel lobbying groups in Washington — told Politico that Nelson "has not contributed to AIPAC in over a decade." However, the publication clarified that Nelson has a history with the group, and has attended its conferences. Nelson has also donated to candidates who have challenged Tlaib in the past.nion organizer Hill Harper — who is running in the Democratic primary for Michigan's open US Senate election in 2024 — tweeted that he turned down an eight-figure sum to drop out and primary a prominent House Democrat.

Harper took to X on Wednesday to comment on a Politico article about a major donor offering $20 million if Harper agreed to abandon his Senate run and campaign against Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). According to Politico, Detroit-based businessman Linden Nelson offered $10 million to Harper's campaign, along with an additional $10 million in super PAC support (classified as independent expenditures in federal elections) if Harper agreed to oppose Tlaib.

"I didn't intend for a private phone call to turn public. But now that it has, here’s the truth. One of AIPAC’s biggest donors offered $20m if I dropped out of the U.S. Senate race to run against @RashidaTlaib," Harper tweeted, tagging the Congresswoman's official account. "I said no. I won’t be bossed, bullied or bought."

While Harper called Nelson "one of AIPAC's biggest donors," the group — known as one of the most influential pro-Israel lobbying groups in Washington — told Politico that Nelson "has not contributed to AIPAC in over a decade." However, the publication clarified that Nelson has a history with the group, and has attended its conferences. Nelson has also donated to candidates who have challenged Tlaib in the past.nion organizer Hill Harper — who is running in the Democratic primary for Michigan's open US Senate election in 2024 — tweeted that he turned down an eight-figure sum to drop out and primary a prominent House Democrat.

Harper took to X on Wednesday to comment on a Politico article about a major donor offering $20 million if Harper agreed to abandon his Senate run and campaign against Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Michigan). According to Politico, Detroit-based businessman Linden Nelson offered $10 million to Harper's campaign, along with an additional $10 million in super PAC support (classified as independent expenditures in federal elections) if Harper agreed to oppose Tlaib.

"I didn't intend for a private phone call to turn public. But now that it has, here’s the truth. One of AIPAC’s biggest donors offered $20m if I dropped out of the U.S. Senate race to run against @RashidaTlaib," Harper tweeted, tagging the Congresswoman's official account. "I said no. I won’t be bossed, bullied or bought."

POLL: Should Trump be allowed to hold office again?

While Harper called Nelson "one of AIPAC's biggest donors," the group — known as one of the most influential pro-Israel lobbying groups in Washington — told Politico that Nelson "has not contributed to AIPAC in over a decade." However, the publication clarified that Nelson has a history with the group, and has attended its conferences. Nelson has also donated to candidates who have challenged Tlaib in the past.

https://www.alternet.org/medical-debt-2663079787/

not credit report

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re hamas 10 23

marjorie-taylor-greene-continues-her-racist-campaign-against-rep-rashida-tlaib

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no lnx 8 23 an

House Democrats call on Clarence Thomas to resign over 'stunning' corruption

Jake Johnsonand Common Dreams August 11, 2023

Several House Democrats on Thursday pushed U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to immediately resign after the investigative outlet ProPublica revealed fresh details about the powerful judge's billionaire-funded—and undisclosed—luxury vacations.

Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Calif.), a member of the House Judiciary Committee, said in a statement that Thomas' "alleged actions are not just shocking, they are illegal."

"Disclosure laws like the ones Justice Thomas allegedly violated are meant to provide transparency and prevent corruption," Lieu added. "Justice Thomas' alleged actions don't just appear corrupt, they are corrupt because of the unprecedented scale of his ethical and legal violations. Justice Thomas has brought shame upon himself and eroded the credibility of the Supreme Court. Justice Thomas should resign immediately."

ProPublica reported Thursday that Thomas has taken at least 38 luxury trips on the dime of ultrawealthy executives and Republican donors, some of whom have had business interests reach the high court.

The outlet noted that "while some of the hospitality, such as stays in personal homes, may not have required disclosure, Thomas appears to have violated the law by failing to disclose flights, yacht cruises, and expensive sports tickets."

ProPublica's detailed account of the gifts Thomas has received for decades from a group of right-wing executives renewed outrage over the Supreme Court's lack of ethical standards. Unlike every other federal court in the U.S., the Supreme Court does not have a binding code of ethics, providing an opening for justices to take dozens of private jet flights and stay at luxury resorts with the help of conservative billionaires.

"No justice should accept these types of gifts,"Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.) said Thursday. "Thomas has repeatedly brought dishonor and ethical malpractice to our highest court. I reiterate my call that he must resign. This is exactly why we need SCOTUS ethics reform."

Rep. Pramila Jayapal(D-Wash.), the chair of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, called Thomas' conduct "unprecedented," "stunning," and "disgusting," writing that it is "the height of hypocrisy to wear the robes of a SCOTUS [justice] and take undisclosed gifts from billionaires who benefit from your decisions."

"Resign," she added.

Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-N.J.)joined his colleagues in demanding Thomas' resignation, slamming the right-wing justice as "corrupt as hell."

Thomas insists that he has "always sought to comply with the disclosure guidelines," but the justice has a long history of failing to disclose key items, such as income that his wife has received from right-wing organizations.

In April, after ProPublicareported that Thomas has been taking undisclosed yacht and private jet trips funded by billionaire GOP megadonor Harlan Crow for more than two decades, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez(D-N.Y.) toldThe Lever that she would be willing to draft articles of impeachment against Thomas if no other House member did so.

To date, no House lawmaker has unveiled articles of impeachment even as the Supreme Court's ethical crisis spirals further out of control. An impeachment vote against Thomas would stand no chance in the House, which is controlled by Republicans.

A few House Democrats nevertheless voiced support for an impeachment vote on Thursday.

Rep. Summer Lee (D-Pa.) noted that she "called for a vote to impeach Justice Thomas if he would not resign back in April—before we even knew just how much farther his corruption goes thanks to ProPublica's reporting."

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), for her part, wrote Thursday, "Today's a good day to impeach Clarence Thomas."

FROM YOUR SITE ARTICLES

The $267,230 RV Clarence Thomas 'scrimped and saved to afford' was financed by wealthy friend: report ›

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common dr an 12 22

With colder winter weather looming, a new analysis released Tuesday shows that the nine largest energy utility companies in the U.S. raked in nearly $14 billion in combined profits during the first three quarters of this year—and dished out roughly $11 billion to their wealthy shareholders—as tens of millions of U.S. households struggled to pay their utility bills due to soaring costs.

The watchdog group Accountable.US found thatNextEra Energy, Duke Energy, Southern Company, Dominion Energy, Constellation Energy, Eversource Energy, Entergy Corporation, DTE Energy, and CMS Energy Corporation brought in $13.8 billion in the first nine months of this fiscal year. The firms, the nine largest in the U.S. by market capitalization, returned over $11.2 billion to shareholders during that period in the form of dividends and stock buybacks.

The utility giants' massive profits have come at a cost to U.S. households, roughly 20 million of which are behind on their utility payments as providers continue to raise rates across the U.S., pushing home energy costs to unaffordable levels and prompting warnings of a "tsunami of shutoffs."

The Center for Biological Diversity recently estimated that utilities have shut off households' power 440,000 times across 15 states that have made their rates publicly available, a large increase from last year.

"Well-heeled utility company CEOs are holding consumers' feet to the fire with exorbitant energy prices," Liz Zelnick, director of Accountable.US' Economic Security and Corporate Power program, said in a statement Tuesday. "Not because they have to, judging by their own high profits and generous giveaways to wealthy investors—but because they can with colder weather on the horizon."

"To prey on families who use a necessary service with unreasonable and unjustified rate hikes is corporate greed at its worst," Zelnick added.

The Accountable.US analysis shows that the same large utility companies raking in huge profits and paying their executives massive compensation packages are driving price increases nationwide.

Southern Company's Georgia subsidiary, for instance, "had a near-12% rate hike approved in June 2022—and in August 2022, its Tennessee subsidiary was granted a rate hike that would result in typical monthly home heating bills rising by about 25%," the analysis notes.

[twt]

nbc reported in October that "nationwide, investor-owned utilities have requested rate increases amounting to nearly $12 billion from the beginning of the year through the end of August."

Zelnick argued that utility giants' price hikes are part of a broader trend of corporate price-gouging, a practice that companies frequently excuse by pointing to higher overall inflation throughout the economy.

"Like so many other industries during the pandemic, utility companies have chased higher and higher profits and enriched investors rather than keep prices stable for working families," said Zelnick. "While the economy is seeing signs of slowing inflation, it is clear corporate greed continues to be a primary driver of high costs on everything from groceries to heating bills—a problem that won't be solved by the Fed's one-track-minded policy of excessive interest rate hikes that threaten millions of jobs."

Utility firms' greedy behavior throughout the coronavirus pandemic has drawn the attention of progressive lawmakers such as Reps. Cori Bush (D-Mo.),Rashida Tlaib (D-Mich.), and Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.), who in September introduced a resolution that would recognize access to utilities such as electricity and heating as a basic human right.

The Resolution Recognizing the Human Rights to Utilities has not yet received a vote.

"Utilities are the foundation we build our lives upon," Tlaib said in a statement upon introduction of the measure. "In the richest country the world has ever known, it is an outrage that millions of Americans struggle with utility insecurity, substandard and dangerous services, and inhumane shutoffs."

"It's time to change the conversation around what we all deserve, take the profit motive out of providing the basics of a good life, and give every American the opportunity to thrive," Tlaib added.

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an 7 22

pro-Israel lobby groups have spent “shocking” amounts of money to change the course of multiple Democratic congressional primariesover the past year alone, reports our guest Peter Beinart. The latest is in Maryland, where former Congressmember Donna Edwards is being outspent sevenfold by corporate attorney Glenn Ivey in her bid to win back her old seat in the state’s 4th Congressional District. Beinart, the editor-at-large of Jewish Currents, says the AIPAC-led PACs disguise their attack ads with local issues but in reality are designed to oust candidates who take stances in support of Palestinian rights and working people.

AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I’m Amy Goodman, with Juan González.

Today is Primary Day in Maryland. In one closely watched race, former Congressmember Donna Edwards is seeking to win back her old seat in Maryland’s 4th Congressional District, outside Washington, D.C. She is facing the corporate attorney Glenn Ivey, who has raised seven times as much money. The New York Times reports a new super PAC run by AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, has spent nearly $6 million on the primary race in an attempt to defeat Edwards, who served in Congress for four terms ending in 2017. In 2008, Donna Edwards made history becoming the first Black woman elected to Congress from Maryland. Another group with ties to AIPAC, the Democratic Majority for Israel, has spent over $425,000 to help defeat Edwards. The two groups also poured money into efforts to defeat other progressive Democrats, including Nina Turner in Ohio and Jessica Cisneros in Texas.

We’re joined now by Peter Beinart, editor-at-large with Jewish Currents. He recently wrote an article headlined “The Israel Lobby’s New Campaign Playbook.” Peter Beinart is a professor at the Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at City University of New York.

Thanks so much for joining us, Peter. Can you talk about what Donna Edwards is confronting right now in Maryland, the level of money that’s being poured in to defeat her?

PETER BEINART: It’s really extraordinary for a House race to see one organization, one super PAC, spending almost $6 million. What we’re seeing across the country is that AIPAC’s super PAC is often spending as much as the campaigns themselves are spending. Partly this is the result of Citizens United,the Supreme Court decision in 2010 that created super PACs, which are these entities that can accept unlimited amounts of money and spend unlimited money as long as they are theoretically not coordinated with the campaign. And it’s also the result of the fact that AIPAC and allied establishment pro-Israel organizations saw a threat starting in 2019, when people like Rashida Tlaib and Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez were elected to Congress, and have decided to spend virtually unlimited amounts of money to ensure that their brand of politics, which is more pro-Palestinian rights, but which is also more progressive on economic issues, does not become the future of the Democratic Party.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Peter, could you talk about what you discovered in terms of connections or ties between groups like Mainstream Democrats and other pro-Israel lobbyists, like the Democratic Majority for Israel?

PETER BEINART: Yes. One of the things that I found is that very often when these establishment pro-Israel organizations target a progressive candidate, those candidates are also targeted by groups that are not focused on Israel-Palestine but simply want to defeat that person because that person may be to progressive on questions of healthcare, or they may support the Green New Deal.

So, there’s a group called Mainstream Democrats. If you look at their website, it says nothing about Israel-Palestine whatsoever. It just says it doesn’t want the Democratic Party to be taken over by far-left groups. But Mainstream Democrats is actually run by Democratic Majority for Israel. So what you see is this very, very close alliance. They work out of the same offices with the same staff, so, essentially, this extremely close relationship between groups that want to defeat progressives because they support Palestinian rights, and groups that just want to defeat progressives because they essentially want the Democratic Party to be dominated by people like Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema, who will do the bidding of the fossil fuel industry, the healthcare industry, the financial services industry.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And how successful have these efforts been in the past? Amy mentioned the races of Nina Turner in Ohio and Jessica Cisneros in Texas, both of whom were targeted by AIPAC and both of whom lost their races. What’s been the track record of these efforts?

PETER BEINART: These efforts, sadly, have been very successful. There have been a couple of races — one in Pennsylvania, one in Illinois — where the progressive candidates were able to win. But in most cases, the candidates targeted have lost. And even when the targeted candidates don’t lose, it has a chilling effect. Politicians out there see this and think, “I do not want millions and millions of dollars dumped into a House race against me,” and so what it tends to do is lead candidates who might be more inclined to take progressive positions on Palestinian rights or on other issues to instead keep their heads down and not take those positions in order to try to avoid the kind of attacks that other progressives have faced.

AMY GOODMAN: So, let me ask you, back on Donna Edwards’ race, Peter — you have the speaker of the House, right, Nancy Pelosi, who actually comes from Maryland, though she represents San Francisco, coming out in full support of Donna Edwards. Now, while most of the big money spent in the race has come from AIPAC-aligned super PAC, the ads funded by the so-called United Democracy Project don’t mention the Middle East. And I wanted then to talk about Nancy Pelosi, who really came out and attacked the kind of money, the attack ads by the AIPAC-aligned groups, like United Democracy Project, prompting this response in June from House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi. This is what she said.

SPEAKER NANCY PELOSI: When Donna Edwards first represented Maryland’s 4th Congressional District — and that was for nearly a decade — she was one of the most effective members in Congress. Donna fought hard for Prince George’s County, for jobs and investments in her community, to help constituents in need and to deliver results. As speaker and then as leader, I knew I could always count on Donna Edwards as a valued member of our leadership team.

AMY GOODMAN: So, that’s Nancy Pelosi endorsing Donna Edwards. Now, the ads often, and the candidates who are supported by these massive — I mean, the massive amount of money, millions, in the case of this campaign, going to her opponent — they’re not raising the issue of Israel and Palestine, right? And also, let’s be clear: There are other pro-Israel groups, like J Street, more progressive, that supports Donna Edwards.

PETER BEINART: Yes, but J Street doesn’t have — only has a small fraction of the amount of money that AIPAC and Democratic Majority for Israel have on the other side. But you’re exactly right. In almost none of these races do the attack ads actually have anything to do with the actual agenda of the organizations that are paying for them. And that’s because AIPAC and DMFI know that not very many voters in these districts actually really care that much about Israel-Palestine. They care about local issues.

So, what AIPAC does is it — and DMFI do, they do poll testing. And they attack people on these kind of — whatever they think may gain traction. So, in Ohio, in the Nina Turner race, because Nina Turner was a Bernie Sanders supporter who had been critical of Joe Biden, they painted her as not a loyal Democrat. In the case of Donna Edwards, they’re claiming that she didn’t provide good constituent service when she was the congresswoman early on — as if AIPAC or DMFI could care less about the level of constituent service that Donna Edwards provided to her constituents when she was a congresswoman. I mean, it’s transparent nonsense, right? It’s just that this is their vehicle for trying to defeat her, because Donna Edwards in the past has shown some minimal — right? She’s hardly radical on this subject — but just some modest concern for Palestinian human rights. For that reason, they want to defeat her.

AMY GOODMAN: Can you talk about the role of Bakari Sellers in these campaigns?

PETER BEINART: Yes. So, Bakari Sellers is a former South Carolina politician with close ties to AIPAC who has been — now heads another super PAC that is devoted primarily at this point to defeating Rashida Tlaib in Michigan. And its claim is that it’s an organization that wants to elect Black Democrats. And Rashida Tlaibhas a Black opponent, but, again, this is also transparent nonsense — as if AIPAC and its donors are really concerned about increasing Black representation.

They’re going after Rashida Tlaib for one reason only: because she’s a Palestinian member of Congresswho is a passionate and eloquent defender of the humanity of Palestinians, and she brings that issue to the fore in Congress like no one else does. But again, because that agenda itself, if laid out nakedly, would not be very popular, you have these transparent claims that it’s really about something else — in this way, about the claim that somehow because she’s not Black, she can’t represent a district in Michigan, even though, in fact, she has strong Black support and has been a very, very tireless defender of the people in her district of all races.

JUAN GONZÁLEZ: And, Peter, interestingly, there is also a governor’s race in Maryland, and both competitive primaries in both the Democratic and the Republican parties to elect a successor to the Republican Governor Hogan. But has AIPAC been involved in those races at all, or is it only concentrating on these congressional races?

PETER BEINART: AIPAC’s focus has overwhelmingly been not just in congressional races, but in Democratic primaries in congressional races. AIPAC’s assessment has been that because of partisan polarization, there are fewer swing districts, which means that more often than in the past the member of Congress is chosen in the primary. They also have noticed that there are an unusually large number of open House seats this year because of redistrict and retirement. And they like to do open House races, because once an incumbent has been elected in our system, they can be difficult to dislodge. So what this play is really about is trying to create a whole new generation of younger Democrats in Congress who will toe the AIPAC line on Israel-Palestine, also in many, many cases, also take a kind of more pro-corporate position, and therefore blunt the trend that we were seeing towards the Democratic Party moving in a more progressive direction.

AMY GOODMAN: We just have 30 seconds, but this is new, right, AIPAC having this kind of super PAC?

PETER BEINART: Yes. AIPAC, despite its name, never had a political action committee,but it saw, essentially, that it needed to roll out the big guns in response to the trends that we saw with the election of the Squad members. And it has extraordinary financial resources at its disposal. Several people, for instance, have given a million — written million-dollar checks already, and the money is still being tabulated.

AMY GOODMAN: Peter Beinart, editor-at-large of Jewish Currents. We’ll link to your new piece, “Israel Lobby’s New Campaign Playbook: Israel advocacy groups have developed strategies to raise huge sums for their candidates by appealing to corporate interests.”

Coming up, we turn to the pioneering legal scholar Kimberlé Crenshaw, who has launched a counteroffensive against right-wing attacks targeting critical race theory. It is Freedom Summer this week around the country. That’s right, a summer school for CRT. Stay with us.

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https://www.alternet.org/2019/10/trump-attacks-congresswoman-tlaib-for-suggesting-democrats-jail-lawbreaking-white-house-officials/

...Trump is off and tweeting on Sunday morning, turning his ire on Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI) after she admitted that Democrats are considering detaining White House officials who are refusing to comply with subpoenas.

According to a report from The Hill, Tlaib, “revealed in a new interview that House Democrats have discussed jailing allies of the president who do not comply with congressional subpoenas, an escalation of the House’s efforts to force White House compliance with an impeachment inquiry.”

After Trump’s digital director Dan Scavino tweeted out a link to the story with the comment, “Sounds about right. COUP!” Trump responded with, “A despicable human being!”...

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https://www.alternet.org/2019/07/fox-news-host-accuses-rashida-tlaib-of-having-a-hamas-agenda/

no lnx

Fox News host accuses Rashida Tlaib of having a ‘Hamas agenda’

Written by Matthew Rozsa / Salon July 30, 2019

“Fox & Friends Weekend” co-host Pete Hegseth has accused Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., of having a “Hamas agenda” following her criticisms of Israel.

Fellow Fox News colleague Sean Hannity began a segment of his eponymous primetime show Monday by denouncing the so-called “squad” of four liberal Democratic congresswomen, which in addition to Tlaib includes Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, Ilhan Omar of Minnesota and Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts. The group has recently found itself the target of racist Twitter attacks from President Donald Trump.

“Nobody in the Democratic team of hopefuls for 2020 is talking about Nancy Pelosi’s policies,” Hannity told his viewers. “They’re adopting ‘the squad’s’ policies.”

Hannity continued by engaging his colleague Hegseth over the accusations of “radicalism” and “virulent anti-Semitism” he levied against “the squad” earlier in the segment.

“Pete: To me they’re going to help in the end, because it seems like everybody is afraid of them. And they’re so radical and so extreme, and frankly a number of them are quite bigoted,” Hannity told Hegseth. “And I don’t think it’s going to work very well to call America a garbage country; or compare the concentration camps in Nazi Germany to the treatment we’re giving people in facilities down at the border; or to say that Israel has hypnotized the world, and we want to boycott Israel just the way we boycotted the Nazis. I don’t think that’s going to fly.”

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https://www.alternet.org/2019/06/rep-rashida-tlaib-raises-alarm-over-use-of-facial-recognition-as-groups-demand-federal-moratorium-this-stuff-freaks-me-out/

efore detailing her specific concerns about facial recognition technology during a House Oversight Committee hearing on the subject Tuesday, Rep. Rashida Tlaib expressed a sentiment broadly shared by privacy advocates and the general public.

“This stuff freaks me out,” said Tlaib, a Democrat from Michigan. “I’m a little freaked out by facial recognition.”

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https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/19/us/threats-congress-john-kless.html

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talib asks ~ FF vow striaght up phaseout, reply we support FF, which are Am co's

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https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rashida_Tlaib

2008 elected 90% state level, 2018 conyer seat

Rashida Harbi Tlaib (/təˈliːb/;[1] born July 24, 1976) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the U.S. Representative for Michigan's 13th congressional district since 2019.[2] The district includes the western half of Detroit, along with several of its western suburbs and much of the Downriver area. A member of the Democratic Party, Tlaib represented the 6th and 12th districts of the Michigan House of Representatives before her election to Congress.[3] She was the first Muslim woman to serve in the Michigan legislature.[4]

In 2018, Tlaib won the Democratic nomination for the United States House of Representatives seat from Michigan's 13th congressional district. She ran unopposed in the general election and became the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress and, with Ilhan Omar (D-MN), one of the first two Muslim women elected to Congress.[5][6]

Tlaib is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America (DSA). She and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez are the first two DSA members to serve in Congress.[7] Tlaib has been a vocal critic of the Trump administration and advocated impeachment of the President. On foreign affairs, she has sharply criticized the Israeli government, called for an end to U.S. aid to Israel, and expressed support for the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions campaign.

Early life and education

The eldest of 14 children, Rashida Tlaib (née Harbi) was born on July 24, 1976, to working-class Palestinian immigrants in Detroit. Her mother was born in Beit Ur El Foka, near the West Bank city of Ramallah. Her father was born in Beit Hanina, a neighborhood in East Jerusalem. He moved first to Nicaragua, then to Detroit. He worked on an assembly line in a Ford Motor Company plant. As the eldest, Tlaib played a role in raising her siblings while her parents worked, but the family sometimes had to rely on welfare for support.[8]

Rashida Tlaib attended elementary school at Harms, Bennett Elementary, and Phoenix Academy. She graduated from Southwestern High School in Detroit in 1994. She completed a Bachelor of Arts in political science in 1998 from Wayne State University. She earned a Juris Doctor from Western Michigan University Cooley Law School in 2004.[9]

Earlier political career

Tlaib began her political career in 2004 when she interned with State Representative Steve Tobocman. When Tobocman became Majority Floor Leader in 2007, he hired Tlaib to his staff.[10][11]

Michigan House of Representatives

In 2008, Tobocman encouraged Tlaib to run for his seat, which he was vacating due to term limits. The urban district is 40% Hispanic, 25% African-American, 30% non-Hispanic white, and 2% Arab American. Tlaib faced a crowded primary that included several Latinos, including former State Representative Belda Garza. Tlaib emerged victorious, carrying 44% of the vote in the eight-way Democratic primary. Tlaib won the general election with over 90% of the vote.[12]

In 2010, Tlaib faced a primary election challenge from Jim Czachorowski in his first bid for office.[13] Tlaib picked up 85% of the vote, to Czachorowski's 15%. Tlaib also won the general election with 92% of the vote against Republican challenger Darrin Daigle.

In 2012, Tlaib won reelection again to the Michigan House in the newly redrawn 6th District against fellow incumbent Maureen Stapleton. She could not run for the Michigan House a fourth time in 2014 because of term limits and ran for the Michigan Senate, losing to incumbent Senator Virgil Smith Jr. in the Democratic primary in August 2014.

During her tenure as a legislator, Tlaib was one of ten Muslims serving in state legislatures across the United States. She is the second Muslim to serve in the Michigan State House of Representatives, after James Karoub. Tlaib is the second Muslim woman to serve in a state legislature nationwide, after Jamilah Nasheed of Missouri.[14] She and Justin Amash, a Republican who was also elected in 2008, were the first two Palestinian-American members of the Michigan legislature.

After leaving the state legislature, Tlaib worked at Sugar Law Center, a Detroit nonprofit that provides free legal representation for workers.[15]

U.S. House of Representatives

Rashida Tlaib at her campaign headquarters in 2018

2018 Special Election

Main article:2018 Michigan's 13th congressional district special election

In 2018, Tlaib announced her intention to run for John Conyers's seat in Congress. She filed in both the Democratic primary in the special election for the balance of Conyers's 27th term, and in the general election for a full two-year term. Both elections were to be held the same day. No Republican qualified for either primary, but the 13th is so heavily Democratic that any Republican would have faced nearly impossible odds. With a Cook Partisan Voting Index of D+33, the 13th is the most Democratic district in Michigan and tied for the 20th-most Democratic district in the nation. Conyers held the seat without serious difficulty from 1965 until his resignation in 2017 (it was numbered as the 1st from 1965 to 1993 and as the 14th from 1993 to 2013), and never won with less than 77 percent of the vote.

As of July 16, 2018, Tlaib had raised $893,030 in funds, more than her five opponents in the August 7 Democratic primary.[16]

Tlaib finished second in the Democratic primary for the special election to Detroit City Council president Brenda Jones, who received 32,727 votes (37.7% of the total) to Tlaib's 31,084 (35.9%). Bill Wild, mayor of Westland, received 13,152 votes (15.2%) and Ian Conyers, the great-nephew of former Congressman Conyers, took fourth with 9,740 (11.2%).[17] Jones faced no major-party opposition in the special election.

2018 general election

Main article: 2018 United States House of Representatives elections in Michigan § District_13

In the Democratic primary for the general election, Tlaib defeated Jones and Wild, among others.[18] She received 27,803 votes, or 31.2%. She faced no major-party opposition in November 2018, though Jones mounted an eleventh-hour independent bid.

Tlaib became the first Palestinian-American woman in Congress and simultaneously one of the first two Muslim women in Congress, along with fellow Democrat Ilhan Omar of Minnesota.[5] Tlaib took the congressional oath of office on January 3, 2019, swearing in on an English-language translation of the Quran.[19][20] She wore a thawb (thobe), a traditional embroidered Palestinian dress, to the swearing-in ceremony. This inspired a number of Palestinian and Palestinian-American women to share pictures on social media with the hashtag #TweetYourThobe.[21]

Political positions

Israeli–Palestinian conflict

Tlaib has said she opposed providing aid to a "Netanyahu Israel" and supported the Palestinian right of return and a one-state solution.[22][23][24][25] Tlaib is one of the few members of Congress who openly support the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions(BDS) movement against Israel. In January 2019, she criticized anti-BDS legislation proposed by Senators Marco Rubio and Jim Risch. Tlaib argued that boycotting is a right and said that Rubio and Risch "forgot what country they represent". Tlaib's comments were criticized by several Jewish groups, including the Anti-Defamation League, which said that "Though the legislation discussed is sponsored by four non-Jewish Senators, any charge of dual loyalty has special sensitivity and resonance for Jews, particularly in an environment of rising anti-Semitism."[26][27][28][29][30] In response, Tlaib stated that her comments were directed at Rubio and Risch.[31]

Saudi Arabia

Tlaib has criticized Saudi Arabia's human rights violations and the Saudi Arabian-led intervention in Yemen.[32][33]

Trump administration

Tlaib supports efforts to impeach President Trump. In August 2016, Tlaib protested a speech Trump gave at Cobo Center and was ejected from the venue.[34] On her first day in Congress, January 3, 2019, she called for the impeachment of Trump in an op-ed article co-authored with John Bonifaz for the Detroit Free Press.[35] In the op-ed, Tlaib differs from top Democratic leaders on how to move forward with impeachment: "Those who say we must wait for Special Counsel Mueller to complete his criminal investigation before Congress can start any impeachment proceedings ignore this crucial distinction [referring to Congressional powers of impeachment]."[35]

Later that day, Tlaib attended a reception for the MoveOn campaign and spoke on stage. She ended the speech recounting a conversation she had with her son, him saying: "Look, mama, you won. Bullies don't win." Tlaib replied to him, she recounted "And I said, 'Baby, they don't, because we're gonna go in there and impeach the motherfucker."[36] The next day at a White House press conference, Trump said, "Well, you can't impeach somebody that's doing a great job...I think she dishonored herself and I think she dishonored her family. I thought it was highly disrespectful to the United States of America."[37][38]

In a radio interview with Mehdi Hasan of The Intercept, Tlaib reiterated her frequent call for Trump's impeachment, saying, "Look, it’s not a waste of time to hold the president of the United States accountable ... We need to understand our duties as members of Congress and I believe looking at even Nixon’s impeachment, or his—literally, his resignation, it was Republicans and Democrats coming together and putting country first, coming together and putting our values first. You’re seeing it now more and more. Even now, they’re standing up to Steve King."[39]

Other issues

Personal life

In 1998, at the age of 22, Tlaib married Fayez Tlaib. They have two sons, Adam and Yousif. The couple have since divorced. In 2018, a campaign spokesperson called Tlaib a single mother.[43]

In September 2018, The New York Times reported that Tlaib walked into her family's mosque to express her gratitude for the opportunity to run for Congress by saying "Today I was being thankful, embracing how incredibly blessed I am to grow up here, to have this tremendous opportunity...Sometimes I say ‘Thank her’ because my Allah is She.”[44] The Detroit Free Press reported that, although she recognizes that some in her faith community consider her not "Muslim enough",[45] she believes that "Allah [. . .] understands"[45] and "knows that I am [. . .] giving back and doing things that I think are reflective of Islam”.[45]

Electoral history

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https://www.alternet.org/2019/03/demonizing-ilhan-omar-why-the-entire-political-establishment-wants-to-crush-one-woman/

I wish I could say I were surprised at the demonization of Ilhan Omar by an establishment that remains eager to whitewash Elliott Abrams’ record of war crimes. But I’m not. In fact, it’s exactly what I’ve come to expect. The super-strict (yet simultaneously sloppy) language policing to which Omar has been subjected is ludicrously asymmetric.

No matter how heinously conservatives may behave, Democrats always bend over backward to punish anyone on their side whom conservatives single out as comparable, no matter how far-fetched or bogus those conservative claims might be. We’re seeing that now as House Democrats struggle over a resolution aimed at rebuking Rep. Ilhan Omar, D-Minn., for nonexistent anti-Semitic comments. As Paul Waldman explained at the Washington Post: Omar did not accuse Jews of holding dual loyalties. Rather, she objected to dual loyalties being demanded of her— and those who attacked her only proved her point.

A reality check on all this came from Jeremy Ben-Ami, president of J Street, which describes itself as “the political home and voice for pro-Israel, pro-peace Americans,”.on Tuesday’s “All In” on MSNBC:

If you’re going to have a serious discussion about hate and intolerance in this country, let’s start at the top. Let’s start by having a House discussion about the president’s intolerance and his racism. Let’s have a discussion about the xenophobia and the racism that’s coming from the other side of the aisle. And let’s stop using the discussion of anti-Semitism as a way of avoiding a real discussion about policy towards Israel and Palestine, and the issues that are actually on the table about occupation and the treatment of Palestinians.

The last sentence was almost an exact echo of the sentiments Omar had expressed in the public speech that gave rise to the most recent controversy. Before wading further into the swamp of false allegations, it’s wise to consider that eminent Israeli journalist Gideon Levy has hailed Omar as “a glimmer of hope on Capitol Hill,” adding: “Maybe, for the first time in history, someone will dare tell the truth to the American people, absorbing scathing accusations of anti-Semitism, without bowing her head.”

Levy’s assessment of Omar’s alleged transgressions is blunt:

What, after all, has Omar said? That pro-Israel activists demand “allegiance to a foreign country”; that U.S. politicians support Israel because of money they receive from the pro-Israel lobby group AIPAC, and that “Israel hypnotized the world.” What is incorrect in these statements? Why is describing reality considered anti-Semitic?

The reason, of course, is sensitivity to language— a sensitivity that’s wildly asymmetric in America today. Language matters, of course — but so do context, history, intent and willingness to enter into dialogue. All of which seem to be utterly lacking in the rush to pillory Omar for things she did not say.

Crucially, Rep. Eliot Engel, D-N.Y., a longtime Israel booster and chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, on which Omar serves, accused her of “invoking a vile anti-Semitic slur.” She did nothing of the sort.

Here’s what Omar said: “I want to talk about the political influence in this country that says it is OK for people to push for allegiance to a foreign country.”

And here’s why it’s supposedly problematic: Claims about Jews’ allegiance to Israel (“dual loyalty”) reflect centuries of stereotyping them as inherently disloyal to the communities and countries where they live, because of their identity as Jews, as outsiders, as others.

But there’s just one big problem. Omar didn’t say anything about Jews. What’s more, there is a push for allegiance to Israel at large in American politics — and it’s not just about Jews. It’s about everyone.

A majority of states have passed laws punishing — and in some sense prohibiting — participation in boycotts against Israel. This is specifically aimed at the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) strategy, modeled on the one used to pressure South Africa to end apartheid in the 1980s, even as Israel supported South Africa. These anti-BDS laws clearly aim to punish political speech and are inherently abhorrent to the First Amendment. When Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed his state’s anti-BDS law, he tweeted, “Anti-Israel policies are anti-Texas policies. Proud to sign anti-BDS legislation into law today.” You couldn’t ask for a clearer example of dual loyalty than that. To state what ought to be obvious, the right-wing Republican governor of Texas is not Jewish.

The Senate’s very first order of business this year, Marco Rubio’s S. 1, included support for these unconstitutional state anti-BDS laws, and Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., was similarly attacked for her criticism at that time. (Tlaib and Omar, both elected last year, are the first two Muslim women to serve in Congress.)

First, Bernie Sanders tweeted, “It’s absurd that the first bill during the shutdown is legislation which punishes Americans who exercise their constitutional right to engage in political activity. Democrats must block consideration of any bills that don’t reopen the government. Let’s get our priorities right.”

Tlaib quote-tweeted him, adding, “They forgot what country they represent. This is the U.S. where boycotting is a right & part of our historical fight for freedom & equality. Maybe a refresher on our U.S. Constitution is in order, then get back to opening up our government instead of taking our rights away.”

Once again, Tlaib said nothing about Jews. There is nothing in her comment that questioning anyone’s loyalty based on religious or ethnic identity, rather than actions. But Rubio ignominiously responded, “This ‘dual loyalty’ canard is a typical anti-Semitic line,” and Tlaib shot back, “Sen. Rubio, it’s clear my earlier tweet was critical of U.S. Senators like yourself, who are seeking to strip Americans of their Constitutional right to free speech.”

This first attempt to demonize the two new Muslim-American congresswomen quickly fizzled out, because it was mounted in the context of the shutdown, and Sanders’ position — with which Tlaib was aligned — had the backing of pro-Israel Democratic leaders, at least until the shutdown ended. But the strategic desire behind it — not just to demonize Omar and Tlaib, but to fragment the Democratic coalition — never went away. And now that the shutdown is ancient history, and Rubio’s bill passed the Senate easily (with significant Democratic support), these attacks have returned with a fierce vengeance.

Hence, the logic of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s response:

It’s not my position to tell people how to feel, or that their hurt is invalid.

But incidents like these do beg the question: where are the resolutions against homophobic statements? For anti-blackness? For xenophobia? For a member saying he’ll “send Obama home to Kenya?”

She went on to highlight the core issue of intent, on all sides:

In this administration + all others, we should actively check antisemitism, anti-blackness, homophobia, racism, and all other forms of bigotry.

And the most productive end goal when we see it is to educate and heal.

It’s the difference btwn “calling in” before “calling out.”

“Calling out” is one of the measures of last resort, not 1st or 2nd resort.

We do it when repeated attempts to “call in” are disrespected or ignored. And I believe that Ilhan, in her statement a few weeks ago, has demonstrated a willingness to listen+work w/impacted communities.

But I have to ask: Who’s listening to Ilhan Omar when they put words in her mouth and then demand her apology for things she has never said? Who’s listening when this act of heinous, bullying false accusation illustrates exactly what she was talking about?

It’s important to listen to those who feel impacted — but also important to go beyond surface appearances. Waldman’s Washington Post article, “The dishonest smearing of Ilhan Omar,” not only lays bare the dishonest dual loyalty charge, it also reflects on history.

Waldman explains how “dual loyalty” has almost disappeared as a slur over time, as support for Israel and the orientation of AIPAC have both shifted, with support coming from conservative evangelicals and the Republican Party, while AIPAC’s lobbying has shifted “from supporting Israel generally to being the lobby in the United States for the [right-wing] Likud.” In short, the “loyalties” involved are not at all the ones referred to 30 years ago, so the slur simply doesn’t make sense.

“‘Supporters of Israel’ hasn’t been a synonym for ‘Jews’ since the 1980s,” Waldman notes. “In the United States today, a ‘supporter of Israel’ is much more likely to be an evangelical Christian Republican than a Jew.”

But this situation is even more deeply confused than Waldman describes, since the “support” from right-wing Christians — based on a particular reading of the Book of Revelation — is premised on the prospect of Israel’s ultimate destruction. That gets us into territory that is almost never discussed. Language policing is tightly focused on folks like Ilhan Omar, but no questions are to be asked about the attitudes or belies of white evangelical Christians.

As filmmaker David Heilbroner wrote just before the theatrical release of the documentary “Waiting for Armageddon,” end-times theology is their guide:

And if that means embracing foretold disasters and wars including the Battle of Armageddon, so be it.

Professor Gary Dickerson from the all-Christian Corban College puts it this way: “I don’t look at the wars in the Middle East with the hope that things will work out. We’ve been told, Israel will experience this distress all the way to the end.”

Such are the “friends of Israel” in America today. But don’t dare question anything about them! They’ll have a Mark Meadows-style meltdown that may never end. In contrast, it’s supposed “anti-Semites” like Ilhan Omar who don’t want Israel to be destroyed, but want a society based peace and justice in the Middle East instead.

Demonizing Omar serves to defend otherwise indefensible politics, both on the ground in Israel and Palestine and in the halls of power here. In Israel, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has just pushed Likud past simply being a right-wing coalition into an alliance with racist extremists, leading even AIPAC to condemn the move. Here in America, as money-in-politics reporter Alex Kotch noted, “AIPAC officials have bragged about their power over Washington lawmakers,” which simply can’t be ignored:

Labeling anyone who speaks of Jews and money in the same sentence as an anti-Semite weakens our fight against the real anti-Semitic, neo-Nazi, and other white nationalist forces that have seen a resurgence in recent years. It also stifles legitimate discussion about the enormous power of special interests, something that threatens our democratic political system.

As Israel plunges farther and farther to the right under Netanyahu, American public opinion really wants the U.S. government to take the constructive bridge-building approach it’s always pretended to. Recent polling finds increasing criticism of Israel, while an overwhelming majority of Democrats, 82 percent want America to lean neither toward Israelis nor Palestinians. That staggering supermajority is the underlying threat that Ilhan Omar’s refusal to play by Washington’s rules really represents.

The irony here is that Omar is asking America to play the role it has long claimed to play, and to seek a liberal international order that actually lives up to its promise. She’s being painted as an enemy to that order by the folks who are its real enemies — Donald Trump and his Republican fellow travelers, most obviously, but also those like the “white moderates” whom Martin Luther King Jr. came to see as the greatest obstacles to justice.

One striking example of this is New York magazine’s Jonathan Chait, who has chosen to take aim at what Brendan Nyhan calls “liberal whataboutism,” saying, “Incredible to see the tactics GOP relies on to defend Trump being mirrored so explicitly — same playbook (‘the real problem is…’)”. But this symmetrically framed analysis utterly ignores the asymmetrical world we live in, as well as the fundamental underlying facts. Chait wrote:

The main theme of the defenses of Omar is deflection. Mehdi Hasan’s pro-Omar column lists all the anti-Semitism on the Republican side that has gone unpunished, and devotes not a single word to defending or even minimizing her offense. This has been a running theme of pro-Omar commentary on social media.

But Hasan explained the reason for this simply when he appeared along with Ben-Ami on “All In.” It’s because the media reporting has largely been false:

Let’s be clear, she hasn’t said anything about Jews. She’s not said one word about Jews. I got an email today from a Jewish reader saying, “You wrote an article and you didn’t mention how she’s accused Jews of having dual loyalties to Israel. Why didn’t you say that?” Because she didn’t say that. She talked about supporters of Israel insisting that politicians in the U.S. show allegiance to Israel, and that’s kind of undeniable. I mean, that’s been reported on for years.

That’s not whataboutism. That’s what-about-the-facts-ism, which is the exact opposite of what Nyhan and Chait pretend is going on.

It was weak-willed moderate pseudo-allies like that who drove Martin Luther King Jr. to distraction. Nevertheless, he persisted. So will Ilhan Omar, no doubt.

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This week gave the GOP no shortage of opportunities for controversy.

President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Michael Cohen testified before the House Oversight Committee. A new report showed Trump overruled his own officials to grant his son-in-law Jared Kushner a top secret security clearance, provoking outrage from intelligence experts. Some Republican senators warned the president his border emergency declaration may fracture the caucus. And throughout all this, the annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) took place, giving the far right a bizarre echo chamber in which to cheer each other’s nonsense.

Here are five of the craziest right-wing moments this week:

Matt Gaetz tries to tamper with Cohen’s testimony — and lands in hot water.

Trump’s Republican allies had a singular strategy to try to discredit Cohen: destroy him personally, and paint him as a disreputable sleazebag who cannot be trusted on anything (while ignoring the rather obvious question of what that says about Trump’s judgment for retaining him for years.)

But one congressman, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) took things way too far in a tweet directed at Cohen on Tuesday night:

View image on Twitter

View image on Twitter

Spin Doctor

@SpinDr

Matt Gaetz’s tweet likely violates 18 USC § 1512(b):  Whoever knowingly uses intimidation or threatens with the intent to cause or induce any person to withhold testimony shall be fined and/or imprisoned for not more than 20 years.

2,170

2:27 PM - Feb 26, 2019

932 people are talking about this

Twitter Ads info and privacy

Gaetz initially brushed off the controversy, saying he hadn’t engaged in witness tampering, only “witness testing.” But faced with furious criticism and a stern rebuke from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA), Gaetz eventually deleted the tweet and apologized to Cohen. Even after that, however, he was allegedly overheard telling Trump he was “happy to do it for you” in a phone call — although he denies this happened.

Regardless, Gaetz’s damage control may not be enough to avoid consequences. It is unlikely he will be criminally prosecuted, but the Florida State Bar, where he is licensed as an attorney, is now investigating him.

Mark Meadows invites a black Trump appointee to the Cohen hearing to prove Trump isn’t a racist.

Another Republican who humiliated himself trying to take down Cohen was Rep. Mark Meadows (R-NC), the chairman of the House Freedom Caucus and ranking member of the House Oversight Committee. Ahead of rumors that Cohen would offer examples of Trump’s racist behavior behind closed doors, Meadows thought he had the perfect plan to discredit him: invite Lynne Patton, a black woman and former party planner who serves in Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, and point to her to prove Trump is not racist.

This stunt enraged freshman Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D-MI), another woman of color, who proceeded to shame Meadows for the “prop” of dragging out a black woman as a “racist act” itself. Meadows, visibly stung to the point of tears, demanded Tlaib’s words be stricken from the record.

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icn no lnx

5 Election Winners to Watch on Climate as Environment Crusaders Head to Congress

They’ve taken on polluters and built climate solutions. Now they’re bringing activism to Congress in one of the most diverse freshman classes in U.S. House history.

Marianne Lavelle

BY MARIANNE LAVELLE

NOV 12, 2018

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned for other climate supporters after defeating a long-time congressman in the Democratic primary. Dan Videtich for the Washington Post via Getty Images

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez campaigned for other climate supporters after defeating a long-time congressman in the Democratic primary. Dan Videtich for the Washington Post via Getty Images

Capitol Hill is about to get an injection of environmental and climate activism.

The freshman class of the 116th Congress—in addition to including an historic number of women and being one of the most ethnically and racially diverse—will have a striking number of members who have been environmental crusaders. With track records of taking on powerful fossil fuel interests or building clean energy businesses, many of them are talking about a "Green New Deal"—a massive federal government effort for clean energy and jobs.

Although such federal legislation seems unlikely in the short term, given the Republicans' hold on the Senate and President Donald Trump's veto pen, this Congress will have members who have taken on big environmental and social justice challenges and prevailed.

"We are thrilled that so many new members of the 116th Congress have been longtime leaders in accelerating our transition to clean energy and combating climate change," said Tiernen Sittenfeld, senior vice president for government affairs at the League of Conservation Voters, which spent a record $80 million campaigning for green candidates this year. Sittenfeld said their expertise and track records in fighting powerful interests in their states are "a welcome addition to Congress at a critically important time."

RL Miller, founder of Climate Hawks Vote, said she is "incredibly optimistic" about the next Congress. "The incoming freshman class is shifting the Democrats to the left—if you consider 100 percent clean energy 'left,'" she said.

Here are just a few of this election's winners who have pledged to push back against President Donald Trump's rollbacks of environmental protection, while pushing forward a climate action agenda in the new Congress.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the Bronx and Queens, New York

Visiting the Dakota Access pipeline protests in 2016 "tipped the scale for me," Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wrote in a Reddit forum. Trump had not yet won the presidency, but Ocasio-Cortez's candidate, Bernie Sanders, had lost his quest for the Democratic nomination. She and other Sanders campaigners, still eager to connect with likeminded protagonists, traveled to places like Flint, Michigan, where residents were fighting for clean water, and North Dakota, where the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe was waging a struggle against a pipeline near their water supply.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Credit: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, an environmental justice activist, made climate action a centerpiece of her campaign. Credit: Don Emmert/AFP/Getty Images

Ocasio-Cortez, a former Bronx bartender, entered politics at the next opportunity—pulling off an upset win in the Democratic primary last spring to unseat long-serving Rep. Joe Crowley. She made climate action a centerpiece of her campaign, noting how coastal areas of her district like Throgs Neck and City Island are fighting erosion and rising sea levels. She also links environmental action with economic transformation and a mobilization toward 100 percent renewable energy nationwide by 2035.

"Radically addressing climate change is a potential path towards a more equitable economy with increased employment and widespread financial security for all," her platform said.

Sean Casten, suburbs of Chicago, Illinois

Sean Casten and his father built an energy efficiency business around what he calls "boring, unsexy" technology: They helped manufacturers cut their greenhouse gas emissions and energy bills by capturing industrial waste heat and recycling it on site to generate electricity twice as efficiently as the power grid. Casten is determined to pursue policies that treat acting on climate change as a win-win opportunity that will create new businesses and jobs—as it did in his own life.

Sean Casten, an engineer elected to the U.S. House from Chicago's suburbs. Credit: Casten Campaign

Sean Casten, an industrial energy efficiency engineer, says he'll pursue policies that take action on climate change and create new business opportunities and jobs. Credit: Casten campaign

Casten defeated Republican Rep. Peter Roskam, who had a pro-environment voting record of a mere 3 percent last year, according to the League of Conservation Voters scorecard.

"I believe everybody in this country deeply cares about climate change," Casten said. "If you say, 'Are you concerned with waves of refugees? Are you concerned with tropical diseases becoming subtropical? Are you concerned about all these billion-dollar insurance events? Are you concerned about energy costs?' If you frame the issues where people are, they will connect the dots."

Rashida Tlaib, Detroit, Michigan

Michigan officials insisted there was no danger from the black piles on the Detroit riverfront—petroleum coke, a waste product of the billionaire Koch brothers' oil refining operations. In 2013, wind was blowing the black dust into the air, into the Detroit River, and into the homes and gardens of constituents of Rashida Tlaib, then a representative in Michigan's legislature.

Frustrated with the state's inaction, Tlaib (pronounced tah-LEEB) grabbed kitchen gloves and plastic baggies, and with a small team of citizens marched past the "No Trespassing" signs to collect samples. They found it contained potentially harmful vanadium and selenium, and ultimately, the piles were removed.

Rashida Tlaib. Credit: Tlaib Campaign

As a state representative, Rashida Tlaib helped force a cleanup on the Detroit waterfront of petroleum coke, a waste product of the billionaire Koch brothers' oil refining operations. Credit: Tlaib campaign

Tlaib plans to take the environmental justice fight to Congress, as well as working for curbs on corporate campaign contributions. "Taking on corporate greed is an environmental concern," she told ThinkProgress. Filling the seat of retired Rep. John Conyers, Tlaib, along with Minnesota's Ilhan Omar will be the first two Muslim women in Congress.

Mike Levin, suburbs of San Diego, California

Mike Levin launched his campaign for Congress at a town hall last year, when he handed  "Climate Change for Beginners" to his congressman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.). Issa, who had called climate science a "convenient lie" and attacked clean jobs programs, eventually retired rather than face reelection in a once-Republican district that voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016.

Mike Levin, an environmental lawyer, co-founded a clean energy nonprofit and lobbied for state rules to cut greenhouse gas emissions and deploy more electric vehicles. Credit: Mario Tama/Getty Images

Levin has said that growing up on California's coast inspired him to become an environmental lawyer and activist. He co-founded Sustain OC, a clean energy nonprofit in Orange County and helped lobby for the state policies now in place to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and deploy more electric vehicles. He also worked to establish renewable energy projects, like a fuel cell power plant at the University of California San Diego that is running off of the waste methane produced at the Point Loma wastewater facility.

"If we think about the integration of solar and wind and storage and other renewables, waste to energy, where eventually they will become 100 percent of our energy mix, it will be a massive economic opportunity," Levin told local news station KPBS. "Now what we need is a supportive federal government."

Veronica Escobar, El Paso, Texas

The smokestacks of the American Smelting and Refining Company, known as Asarco, loomed over El Paso's landscape and history when Veronica Escobar began her tenure as county commissioner in 2007. The shuttered site was where some of the first studies established the toll of lead pollution on children. When Asarco sought to reopen the smelter, Escobar opposed it, testifying in the state capitol and joining in protests. The opposition was successful and Asarco was eventually ordered to clean up the site.

Veronica Escobar. Credit: Escobar Campaign

As a county commissioner, Veronica Escobar fought polluters and helped block a utility's attempt to charge more money to customers who have rooftop solar. Credit: Escobar campaign

Escobar, who later became the top county executive, sought a cleaner, healthier future for the community, started a public-private ecotourism commission to promote the local outdoor recreation industry, and created a foundation to build a riverside trail across the county. She intervened to block an effort by El Paso Electric to charge more money to customers that had rooftop solar.

"Our planet is being destroyed in front of our very eyes, on OUR watch," Escobar said on Twitter after the Trump administration unveiled its plan to roll back President Barack Obama's signature climate initiative, the Clean Power Plan. "We have an obligation to fight to protect our environment with every fiber of our being. These midterm elections are the most important of our lifetime. For us, for our planet, for our children."

She is replacing Beto O'Rourke, who decided not to seek reelection last year when he began his unsuccessful run against Ted Cruz for the U.S. Senate. Escobar and Sylvia Garcia will be the first Latinas to represent Texas in Congress.

PUBLISHED UNDER:

POLITICS

ELECTION 2018 CLIMATE CHANGE

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