More from @tomperriello

Tom Perriello

@tomperriello

6 Nov

Sounds odd but I genuinely think every part of the Dem coalition - moderates, progressives/CPC, Squad, & leadership - “won” big last night politically and played their parts brilliantly. Hear me out…

@SpeakerPelosi

First, Dems overall benefit from passage - or at least prevent a nosedive from their failure - but each Dem takes a hit for some parts of the compromise. So @SpeakerPelosi & @POTUS win big for getting BIF passed with GOP votes (more below) and putting an improved BBB on track .

@RepJayapal

The CPC and Squad may not have coordinated their split but it worked brilliantly to empower both. @RepJayapal proves she can deliver enough of her caucus that leadership and White House know they have to deal with CPC if they want bills passed….

Read 14 tweets

Tom Perriello

@tomperriello

16 Sep

Stop recycling this myth that Blue Dogs lost for supporting cap and trade? Most voted no & those of us who voted YES outperformed them.

They spent millions against me on this in a solid red district, and Election Day polling showed us winning on the issues of energy and climate. The bigger losers were those who didn’t take the vote and make the case / which was a winning argument for cap and trade.

One could argue individual losses - but what scenario has the amazing Rick Boucher holding VA-09 in the anti-Obama tea party wave of 2010?

Read 4 tweets

Tom Perriello

@tomperriello

15 Aug

For those more focused on blame than saving what lives we can, please distinguish proximate cause from primary cause. Biden doesn’t make list of Top 5 Leaders Most Responsible for Losing Afghanistan: 1. Cheney (w/ Rumsfeld), 2. Bush, 3. Karzai (w/ Obama), 4. Trump & 5. Ghani.

1. Cheney (& Rumsfeld) at Bonn Conference and after committed the “original sin,” rejecting Afghan pleas not to hand power to their 80s era Northern Alliance allies who Afghans despised for their corruption and brutality.

2. Pres Bush compounded this sin in what now looks like the decisive moment: US & UN gutlessly breaking promise to bar warlords/kleptocrats from the 2005 parliamentary ballots. Thousands risked their lives for vetting. Bush caved & handed parliament to the most corrupt & vicious.

Read 8 tweets

Tom Perriello

@tomperriello

11 Jul

A year ago, my mom let me escape the city to spend COVID with her and her view of the Blue Ridge. While we’ve shared many great moments, we’ve hit an impasse after 12 months on 5 things I just can’t explain to her…

@ProfAtuahene

(5) why a grownass man with a job still uses his friend’s Netflix account… (h/t @ProfAtuahene)

(4) how a justice advocate is ok with the DMX lyrics I regularly blast during work outs…

Read 6 tweets

Tom Perriello

@tomperriello

8 Jan

It seems increasingly clear that DC officials and Capitol Police - at a minimum - internalized the false and fatal logic of “both sides.” They keep mentioning lessons learned from last summer, but evidence shows BLM protesters do not show up the same way white supremacists do.

BLM crowds have been much larger, unarmed, & overwhelmingly peaceful even when provoked by law enforcement. White supremacist crowds have been smaller, heavily armed and violent in rhetoric and actions - often explicitly designed to terrorize public officials inside Capitols.

“Applying lessons” from justice summer to a Trump rally requires an epic level of bias and intelligence failures. Leaving moral inequivalence, it’s like saying you prepared to play the Steelers based on lessons from how you screwed up your game against the Cubs last summer.

Read 4 tweets