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OpEd: The Infamous Mike Z and the Republican Children of the Damned Continue to Destroy the Illinois GOP and Run Billionaire Ken Griffin Out of Town with the Largest Political Ponzi Scheme in Illinois GOP History (Chicago, IL) Ken Griffin announced Thursday that he is moving his headquarters to Miami. His hedge fund and investment firm, both named Citadel, have been in Chicago for 30 years. According to the Chicago Journal, a Citadel spokesman says that the decision has nothing to do with politics. Its crazy to believe that Ken Griffins decision isnt politically motivated as hes been threatening to leave for years to push political goals. Ken Griffin made the announcement 5 days out from a Republican Primary in which he gave $50 million dollars to Aurora Mayor Richard Irvin in the GOP Governors race.

That GOP Governors race has been utter disaster. The campaign run by Mike Zolnierowicz, better known as Mike Z, has alienated Black Republicans throughout the GOP primary. The Z Team is responsible for the loss of Rauner the second time, the loss of Mark Kirk, and now the disgraceful loss that Irvin will take come Tuesday.

The Z team should have never been in charge of electing the first Black governor of Illinois, as he has no Black people on his team. His team of young white men that I will hereafter refer to as the Republican Children of the Damned have been messing up Republican elections in Illinois for years now, and it has to stop. We even heard that they have infiltrated all four of the top GOP Governors campaigns and have their minions everywhere. Its been rumored that they have infiltrated Baileys campaign.

Any time that any campaign team believes Black voters arent important during a GOP primary, that team has a serious problem and will continue to lose elections in Illinois. Mike Z and his Republican Children of the Damned received a huge payoff of $30,000 each back in May as they were exiting the disaster that they created. Brian Alexander, who at one point was the lone black person working on the campaign, got a measly $1,250 in March. To compare, one Kaylee Carlson received payroll payments of $13,044.19 on February 4th, $7,112.71 on February 16th, $7,112.71 on March 1st, and $7,112.71 on March 15th. Irvins full campaign expenditures list through March 2022 can be found here: Committee Expenditure Report

Mike Z, who was previously Rauners chief of staff during his first term, and again showed his disdain for Black Republicans. If youre active in Illinois Republican politics, we could probably name off a list of about 10 to 15 very well known and active Black Republican leaders, none of whom were offered a place in Rauners administration because of Mike Z.

Mike Z and his Republican Children of the Damned will probably try to blame Irvins loss Tuesday on racism in the Illinois GOP. But it was not the racism in the party that lost the primary for Irvin, it was the infamous Mike Z and his goons that have a disdain for Black people and ran an uppity campaign that disrespected Republican voters across this state. Mike Z thought his campaign was too good to allow voters to speak to Irvin. Mike Z didnt think Black people mattered. Mike Z didnt believe that Irvin should talk to the media. Mike Z foolishly tried to trick Republican voters into believing that a strong conservative like Bailey was actually a liberal. Mike Z and the Republican Children of the Damned pulled off a Ponzi scheme and lined their pockets at the expense of Ken Griffin and Richard Irvin.

Does this look like they were trying to elect Richard Irvin or fleece a billionaire like they did Rauner? They had experience on how to fleece a billionaire because they just did it to Rauner. They should return that money and give one of the only Black people on the campaign the same as they paid the white campaign people.

These are some young spoiled little brats and the parents of these Republican Children of the Damned should pull their belts out and spank their little tails and at least put them out of the Republican Party.

OpEd: The Infamous Mike Z and the Republican Children of the Damned Continue to Destroy the Illinois GOP and Run Billionaire Ken Griffin Out of Town with the Largest Political Ponzi Scheme in Illinois GOP History

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OpEd: The Infamous Mike Z and the Republican Children of the Damned Continue to Destroy the Illinois GOP and Run Billionaire Ken Griffin Out of Town...

Many may know that Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R-Texas) lost his right eye after he was hit by an IED blast in Afghanistan. What may not be as well known is that he also temporarily lost sight in his left eye. Or that once he regained sight on the left, a miracle in and of itself, he returned to military service.

And yet, Tucker Carlson mocks that injury on Fox News with little resistance from its conservative viewers or from elected officials.

What a time: Watching Republicans shift away from a platform defined by support the troops is tripping me up more than Drakes foray into house music. And this isnt just about Crenshaw or even President Trumps rivalry with the late Sen. John McCain, though that was certainly a flashpoint. This is something much bigger: a sign that the Republican Party isnt just in transition. Its lost.

Opinion Columnist

LZ Granderson

LZ Granderson writes about culture, politics, sports and navigating life in America.

Growing up in the Reagan era wasnt great, but at least most everyone understood what the rules were. Democrats painted Republicans to be the party for some combination of rich, old and white. Conservatives accused liberals of being godless, big spenders and weak on crime. Political absolutes are rarely productive, but they do make for great TV.

Anyway, for the most part since the Reagan era, liberal messaging hasnt changed unfortunately. On the flip side, since the rise of the tea party in 2010 conservatives have been in the midst of the biggest ideological shift since Reagan and the Christian Coalition coalesced their powers 40 years ago.

Before we dig into the substance, I must say the style isnt changing so radically. Even today, as the nation continues to grieve the victims of the mass shootings in Buffalo, N.Y., and Uvalde, Texas, many conservatives employ Reagans brand of disingenuous problem solving to avoid talking about gun laws. Although nearly 12% of the nation was living under the poverty line in 1976, Reagan was out testing his welfare queens rhetoric on the campaign trail. When his conservative heirs are asked about a school shooting in Texas, they say, What about Chicago? in an effort to talk about urban street crime instead. But we all know that hammering Democratic mayors on crime is less about being thoughtful and more about using racist tropes to change the subject.

The left could borrow that same style to redirect any conversation toward a tempting target. Imagine what that would look like: No matter what the reporters at a news conference asked Biden, hed point out that most of our poorest states are run by Republicans. Mississippi, for example, has more than a fifth of its population living below the poverty line, and conservatives have controlled that state since 2012. Republicans have run South Carolina since 2003, and its in the top 10 as well. I could go on, but that would be petty (Tennessee) and unproductive (Alabama). Besides (Oklahoma, Arkansas and West Virginia), you get the point: Changing the subject and oversimplifying to score cheap points doesnt solve problems.

For Republicans, the reflex to pivot like this has finally turned in on itself. Theyre attacking their own. Even those hailed as military heroes.

Crenshaw faced taunts of eyepatch McCain last week from attendees at the Texas State Republican Convention, echoing the jab Carlson made last month. This is not politics as usual. Neither is the Republican response to the Jan. 6 hearings.

We are not used to seeing conservatives behave so indifferently toward the sound of police officers pleading for help. It was less than two years ago when the countrys largest police union endorsed Donald Trump for president. The Fraternal Order of Police said it was proud to endorse a candidate who calls for law and order across our nation. We now know that on Jan. 6, 2021, Trump called for no such thing, leaving the overwhelmed Capitol police officers to fight for their lives for hours.

Thats not the behavior of someone whos leading the law-and-order party. In fact, congressional Republicans are treating the officers who were wounded in the Capitol attack like pariahs.

Seems like the gender of a gingerbread cookie was met with more concern than the deadly attack on police.

And the outcry against Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) must truly mark the end of Republicans support the troops era. This Air Force veteran dared to back the Jan. 6 investigation and stand up for truth even as his wife and baby are threatened with execution and for that sort of integrity he is accused of treason.

Democrats and Republicans have both consistently supported first responders and the military, but until recently the GOP had made that position central to its identity. Now the party is identifying itself in other ways, and Im not quite sure where thats going. More concerning, I dont think they are either. There is a campaign video featuring a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, Missourian Eric Greitens, and a team of men carrying guns, dressed in tactical gear, breaking down a door and using smoke bombs as they tell you they are hunting faux Republicans.

This feels more substantial than just convenient positions taken by followers of one former president who hope hell have a political future. When the most popular host on Fox News makes fun of a Republican soldier who lost an eye fighting for the U.S., and viewers side with the host, that blue line might as well be fuchsia.

When Trump and McCain exchanged barbs, that seemed unique, perhaps just a little tremor inside the party. What the Capitol Police, Kinzinger and Crenshaw are encountering feels more like shifting and colliding of tectonic plates.

@LZGranderson

The rest is here:
Granderson: Today's Republican Party is not about 'support the troops' or 'law and order' - Los Angeles Times

Joe Bidens universal name ID helped him win the Democratic nomination in 2020.

Voters wanted someone battle-tested and experienced, a familiar face to take on Donald Trump. He reminded Americans he had been in the White House before, knew his way around and could thrive in the highest office on his own.

Biden says he plans to run for reelection in 2024, but there are some doubts given his age and his low approval numbers.

Democrats are bracing for a beating in this years midterm elections, and there are plenty in the party who think Biden might decide not to run for reelection, despite his past statements.

Most of the speculation on alternative Democratic candidates to Biden has been centered on Vice President Harris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and two senators who also were in the 2020 Democratic primary, Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and Bernie Sanders of Vermont.

But those five bold-faced names are far from the only possible contenders.

Here are five under-the-radar Democrats who could run if Biden steps aside.

The popular Ohio senators name comes up readily each time Democrats are looking for a candidate who isnt one of the main contenders like Harris or Buttigieg. He appeals to both progressives and moderates in a much-coveted traditional swing state that has been important to both parties.

When we talk about new faces and fresh blood, and what it means to be a Democrat in the traditional sense, he checks all the boxes, said one prominent Democratic strategist who has worked on recent presidential elections. The only thing he really lacks is name recognition.

Another party strategist said Brown has figured out the secret sauce in winning a tough state like Ohio, which has been trending toward the GOP.

Brown briefly dipped his toes in the water during the 2020 presidential race and surprised some Democrats by taking his name out of contention almost immediately. But those voices are quick to point out that Brown faces a big obstacle in 2024: Hes running for reelection.

Democrats across the ideological spectrum have long wanted Abrams, Georgias former state House minority leader and current Democratic gubernatorial nominee, to run for higher office, particularly after her meteoric rise in the party.

Best known for her prolific work on democracy reform after narrowly losing to current GOP Gov. Brian Kemp, Abrams was high on Bidens vice presidential shortlist before she announced a second gubernatorial run. That rematch against Kemp is one of the most anticipated of the cycle.

Absent a voting rights bill that many Democrats wanted passed during Bidens first term, the 48-year-old Yale Law School graduate has openly pushed for similar reforms across her state, hoping to set an example of what can be possible at the national level. That work was praised by everyone from Biden to prominent celebrities and even Trumps own niece, Mary Trump, as well as activists who consider Abrams an ally in their push for equitable access to the ballot box.

But as a strategist put it, Shes going to have to win a race first.

Khanna is the most overtly progressive name on the list. He co-chaired Sanderss last presidential campaign and considers him a close friend. He supports sweeping populist economic reform and has built a reputation as a foreign policy expert in Congress.

While he shares much of the ideology of the left, his fiercest supporters say Khanna has something that some other progressives lack: an eagerness to work with those who have opposing views within the party.

At just 45, hes more than three decades younger than Biden and Sanders, prompting some Democrats to speculate that Khanna could be a potential heir to the national progressive movement in search of a new leader.

Ro has an optimistic vision for the future of the Democratic Party and a strong economic message on American production and jobs that resonates with voters across the country, a source close to Khanna told The Hill. The 2024 race has to be focused on who can beat Donald Trump if he runs, but after that I think there will be the space and desire for new leaders like Ro.

The path to the presidency famously runs through governors mansions, and Democrats looking for glimmers of hope say thats where most of the action will be in the midterms, including in swing-state Michigan.

Whitmer, whos up for a second term in the fall, declined to discuss her potential 2024 prospects in an interview withNBC Newsthis week, maintaining that shes focused on improving conditions in her state and keeping her current position. Polls indicate she ison track to win.

She even went as far as to say she would offer Biden her support if he decided to seek the White House again. But the big question, of course, is if. Democrats haveraised more concernsrecently about Bidens age, leading some to urge him to step aside for a younger candidate to compete, placing Whitmer, 50, in the mix.

Like Abrams, Whitmer got serious consideration during Bidens vice presidential search, with some in his inner circle angling for her to be chosen.

He really identified with her, said one Biden ally. I think he came really close to choosing her.

She became more widely known for implementing pragmatic safety measures during the height of the coronavirus pandemic, but has also been a favorite target of her states Republicans, who still maintain Trump won the presidential election over Biden and are eager to take her out of office.

The former New Orleans mayor rose to prominence when, in 2017, one year after Trump reclaimed the Oval Office, he called for the longest standing Confederate monuments to be taken down in Louisiana.

In an impassioned speech, Landrieu illustrated diversity as the nations strongest unifier amid times of turmoil.

In the second decade of the 21st century, asking African Americans or anyone else to drive by property that they own occupied by reverential statues of men who fought to destroy the country and deny that persons humanity seems perverse and absurd, he said.

Democrats have since seen the former mayor, who worked as a senior administration adviser during the bipartisan infrastructure negotiations, as able to bring together new groups of voters.

Mitch Landrieu is the only candidate in my mind that can rebuild the Obama coalition from 2008, said Michael Starr Hopkins, a Democratic operative who worked on a primary campaign in the last presidential cycle. His appeal to African Americans as well as white Southerners is a rare skill. Hes built relationships, much in the way Joe Biden did.

Updated at 7:07 a.m.

Excerpt from:
Five under-the-radar Democrats who could run for president in 2024 - The Hill

On the first weekend after the Supreme Court overturned nearly five decades of constitutional abortion rights, Democrats seized on the ruling to portray their Republican opponents as threats to women and their health care providers, while two sitting G.O.P. governors welcomed the decision, as they tried to emphasize that the matter is a local issue with more debate to be had.

Stacey Abrams, the Democratic nominee for governor in Georgia who is in a rematch with the Republican she narrowly lost to four years ago, told CNNs State of the Union, that the public should take into very real consideration the danger Brian Kemp poses to the life and welfare of women in this state.

Ms. Abrams also told CNN that Mr. Kemp intends to adds incest and rape as prohibitions.

Tate Mitchell, a spokesman for Mr. Kemp, said in a statement that Ms. Abrams is lying and that Mr. Kemp supported the states law that includes exemptions for rape, incest, life of the mother, and ectopic pregnancies.

Ms. Abrams also appeared on Fox News Sunday, and said, We cannot cherry-pick when we pay attention to the lives and safety of women.

After noting Mr. Kemp refused to expand Medicaid in Georgia, Ms. Abrams said, He has refused to support women at every stage of their lives when they are trying to make the best choices for themselves and their families.

The CNN anchor Jake Tapper said Mr. Kemp had been invited to appear on the show. Mr. Mitchell said Mr. Kemp was unable to appear because he was at the Georgia Municipal Association conference in Savannah.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, Democrat of Michigan, told CBSs Face the Nation that state lawmakers had already introduced legislation to criminalize and throw nurses and doctors in jail if they perform abortions.

And legislators, she said, endorsed a 1931 law making abortions in the state a felony as have all of the Republican people running for governor. They want abortion to be a felony: no exception for rape or incest. Thats the kind of Legislature that Im working with. Thats the kind of matchup Im going to have this fall.

Republican governors on the Sunday shows, while welcoming the courts ruling, repeatedly emphasized that the debate and discussion around this issue will continue, framing it as a matter of states rights.

Gov. Asa Hutchinson of Arkansas said on NBCs Meet the Press that although the ruling was something the pro-life movement worked for over 40 years to achieve, we have to remember, this not a nationwide ban on abortion. Every state will have the ability to make its decisions.

Later, Mr. Hutchinson tried to assuage concerns that other rights could be rolled back: This is not about contraception. This is not about same-sex marriage: a very limited decision on this particular issue of abortion.

And it is very important right now to assure women that the access to contraception is going to be able to continue. Later, when asked if, as president, he would sign a national law outlawing abortion, Mr. Hutchinson, who is considering a run in 2024, said no.

I dont believe that we ought to go back to saying there ought to be a national law thats passed. We fought for 50 years to have this return to the states. Weve won that battle. Its back to the states. Lets let it be resolved there.

Another Republican, Gov. Kristi Noem of South Dakota, told ABCs This Week that the Supreme Court ruling was wonderful news, and that her state would now ban abortions except to save the life of the mother. But I anticipate therell be more debate and discussion because the ruling gave the authority back to the states to make these decisions.

When asked what would happen if a South Dakota resident traveled to another state to get an abortion, Ms. Noem replied, That certainly isnt addressed in our statute today and so I think thats things that therell be debate about but also, were having lots of debates in South Dakota.

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How Democrats and Republicans explained the Roe fallout on Sunday talk shows. - The New York Times

For more than 100 days, the First Secretary of the Leninist Communist Youth Union of Ukraine Mikhail Kononovich and his brother Aleksander, remain detained by the Ukrainian authorities. With a new question submitted to the EU High Commissioner Josep Borrell, the European Parliament Group of the Communist Party of Greece (KKE) denounces the unjust and arbitrary persecution and detention of the two young communists.While the conflict in Ukraine is still raging with incalculable consequences for its people, the persecuted young communists are reportedly subject to unacceptable conditions of detention and blackmail. The two brothers have been appointed a lawyer by the Ukrainian authorities and now the dilemma they face is either to take responsibility for the accusations addressed to them under the 1st and 2nd part of Article 109 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine and to be sentenced to 10 years imprisonment, or to reject the accusations and remain in prison with life sentences! Utilizing its anti-communist laws and emergency decrees, but also the EU policy, the Ukrainian government escalates anti-communism and the persecution of communists.

Based on the above, the KKE MEP Lefteris Nikolaou-Alavanos submitted the following question to the Vice President of the EU Commission and High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell:

"Taking into account the upgraded relations between the EU and Ukraine as a candidate member, what is his stance on the urgent demand for the immediate release of the young communist prisoners and what responsibility the EU undertakes concerning the great dangers towards their life and health, as well as to assure that they will not suffer further torture and blackmails?

Given the fact that the Commission is aware of the persecution and their unacceptable detention and is closely following the case, why it hasn't done the slightest thing to date for their immediate release?"

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KKE: Question to EU's Josep Borrell about the detained young communists in Ukraine - In Defense of Communism