An important thread: 🧵Something happened at the DNC that will be written about for years. Donald Trump has given up traditional Republican ground, and the Democrats and Kamala snatched it up.

Trump gave up being the defense candidate by becoming weak and panicked, and embracing Russia 2/6: Kamala said she wants to make the most lethal military ever and stand up to dictators.

Trump gave up being the proud American party. They hate America which is obvious to all but the most loyal MAGA.

Kamala showed her pride in the country AS IT IS TODAY, not pining for the 1950s.

Here’s a 🧵 on men: Was thinking about something. So the MAGA kids, like the Charlie Kirk’s etc, tech bro people, are very soft and have never done a physical thing in their life, at least not for other people. They wine, they’re victims, they’re weak… in body and spirit. 2). They worship a man who is self conscious about his hand size, like anyone even cares. They worship a man who brags about being lazy, never had to work for anything, failed at business, failed at friggin casinos, i mean…. Failed at CASINOS. HOW DO YOU FAIL AT THAT?! …

Spending debate thread and primer: Spending needs to be cut or disciplined better. No doubt. But this debate is about details. When I was in, here were the recommended tactics (let’s look behind the curtain shall we? 1) be vague. Give the authority to others (dept heads) etc 2). Even though 2/3rds of spending are social security and Medicare/Medicare, don’t say you’ll cut those it’s unpopular. (Quick aside, these are unsustainable and making changes for people my age and younger to save it wouldn’t be bad)…

Border Thread: As an RC-26b pilot in the Air Guard, I’ve worked the border of Mexico a handful of times, under Obama, and Trump. @potus Air Force and @SecAFOfficial are getting rid of that plane, a very short sighted decision. But here’s a thread on my border insights 1/10 2/10 Let’s put aside the politics for a moment. We need a country that is welcoming to legal immigrants, gets them placed in a job to work and pay taxes, and raise families. Our population needs to grow to keep up our economic growth, BUT

Today marks the second anniversary of a day that lives in infamy — the January 6th attack on the U.S Capitol. Donald Trump incited a violent mob to stop the counting of the electoral votes, and to "help" Mike Pence find some "courage" to overturn the election. (1/4) It was one of the saddest days our democracy has ever experienced, and certainly was the lowest point of my 12 years in Congress. Thanks to the courageous acts of many, Trump and his mob ultimately failed. Our democracy prevailed — but just barely. (2/4)

1/ We need to do everything we can to help elect leaders across the country and up and down the ballot that are ready to defend democracy and put the American people first.

Take a look at my endorsements for the 2022 election and join us in the fight: country1st.com/endorsed 2/ .@LisaForSenate put her country before party by voting to convict Donald Trump at his impeachment trial, the only Republican to do so who is up for re-election in 2022. During her time in the Senate, she's been a model for bipartisanship. That’s why I’m supporting her campaign

As promised, I want to further explore a PPP loan by a public figure @alexbruesewitz who led Stop the Steal rallies, and continues to drive false narratives today; and his political consultancy firm. Cont.. 2) Its worth looking at these examples to learn from in future similar programs. In April 2020, x-strategies received 25k in PPP loans to secure payroll, which were eventually forgiven. In the website from sept 2020, it only showed two employees… Alex, and a Derek Utely….

Thread: let’s talk about this. @DiamondandSilk (omg) are implying that this man looked up to some “control room” for someone to unlock the doors with some button. So the implication is that the Capitol WANTED to be attacked and Roy here is like “hey Dave open the door”..

https://twitter.com/DiamondandSilk/status/1550278106685919232

2). Oh heavens, now we PROVED this was all an inside job right?!?! Well no. Let’s explain this:

Those doors don’t open right away. They are emergency doors. You actually have to hold them for 5 seconds, for them to unlock. To prevent accidental bumps etc….

1) When your friends say this committee isn’t fair, maybe remind them that those testifying are all republicans, appointed by trump. That Kevin McCarthy got a fair deal in a split commission, but then took his ball and went home. When the committee was then formed… 2) Kevin pulled his remaining three members after two, who foamented the insurrection, were not allowed to stay on. @GOPLeader COULD have then added two more, but Trump told him to pull his members…

1) Brief mask thread: Ok on the masks on planes issue: America is tired of wearing them. Fighting the ruling is terrible politics. But let me also say that anyone who knows how airplane pressurization works, knows they have the cleanest air you will find almost anywhere. Why? 2) an airplane doesn’t inflate then recycle air. I’ve heard a lot of people say that the air that comes from vents is recycled from the plane. No. Actually it likely just came from bleed air off an engine that was so hot no virus could survive. Then, it’s expanded….

This makes me beyond joyful and happy. #Wolverines #reddawn

‘Red Dawn’ hits Ukraine after destroyed Russian armor gets tagged with ‘Wolverines’ taskandpurpose.com/culture/destro… #Wolverines

Thread on Israel: so i grabbed the third rail of foreign policy today, as I said Israel needs to pick a side, and that future aid could be at stake.

I want to double down on this, let me explain. 2) I deeply support our relationship with Israel. But supporting friends doesn’t mean we look past differences. We have stood with Israel and will continue to do so. But at the moment there is a battle between Good and Evil, between a world based on raw power or…

Short thread 1) I fear that allowing that 40 mile long convoy in #Ukraine being allowed to sit for days will be written in history as a massive mistake in world history, similar to nazi invasion of France. 2) we are allowing #Putin to set the rules of the war, as he threatens nuclear, biological and chemical weapon use, we are stalled with fear of escalation. Transferring Migs to #Ukraine is no different than the weapons we are sending..

RAY EPPS THREAD:

1) I know this will break some hearts. For a few months, people like Tucker Carlson, MTG, Gaetz, and now Cruz have been “just asking questions” about a man named Ray Epps. 2) He was on video the day before Jan 6 saying “we’re going INTO the capitol!” The some in the crowd chanted “fed fed fed.” Why? Who knows, maybe they knew he was videoed talking about breaking into the Capitol the day before it was to happen and wanted to create distance?

Thread reply: 1). Let’s take Maslows hierarchy. Most basic need is physiological… this to me is democracy’s existance. This is where we need a basic even if temporary alliance. Next is safety, then love, etc….

https://twitter.com/mehdirhasan/status/1457106931760439298

2) I believe safety is where the issue of voting rights lies, unless people are being physically denied ability to vote (more on this and voting rights act further down). I don’t mind people hitting Liz and I with the “they’re still awful conservatives jab” because…

1). On #Afghanistan it’s fair and in fact healthy to be critical of those who got us here. What bothers me lately, is that it’s not about healthy criticism, it’s about politics and the next election. We should be less concerned about the political impact… 2) than that our nation is being embarrassed on the world stage, not because we lost a fight, but because we lost our will. Republicans are trying to re-write history for the 2024 election of Trump or his clone. The former presidents trolls are tweeting gleeful…

1) Afghanistan thread…. While there is certainly much we can critique on this war, let’s discuss from the point of where we were when the decision to leave was made. At points we had over 100k US troops there, we were able to reduce to 2500 because… 2) 300,000 Afghan troops were defending their nation. In fact dozens died ever week defending it, but they needed one thing… America and NATO to have their back. That’s not unrealistic in a relatively young democracy. Over 80 percent of Afg people wanted the US to stay…

1) Thread on @Liz_Cheney @SteveScalise and @GOPLeader:
Truth and lies cannot Co-exist. On January 6th, Liz and Kevin McCarthy have just about the same speech, rightly casting blame at the former President for the violence. 2) But Kevin wants to be speaker. He made the determination that if he appeased the Trump crowd, he could raise money and take the credit, when he was up for speaker. So he changed his tune and made the trek to Mar-A-Lago, in essence reviving the former Guy...

1) Thread about the need for sanity: Politics was invented to take differences in beliefs, argue them out, try to convince, and compromise when able. Not an end in itself, but a way to live together peacefully as different people. When politics fails, you get violence (Jan 6) 2). Normally, issue differences are the main reason to vote one way or another etc. But... bear with me here: I believe that even more important now is whether someone is committed to sane politics. Yes, pushing a conspiracy or using fear might get you votes...

1). Immigration thread—> Immigration has been unreformed, broken, and used as a political weapon for decades. Neither side trusts the other, both sides attack the other. Nothing is solved, people are demonized, and immigrants are dehumanized. But the solution is simple: 2) we can never forget the rich history of immigration and it’s importance. My family came from Germany in 1850s, and gave themselves a chance. If we want to compete with China, we have to grow. If we want to invent the next cutting edge tech, we need the smartest minds

1). “Unity” thread alert. Let’s address this issue of unity. I have had some people call me and suggest I throttle back on my Country First movement in the interest of “unity.” First, the idea that country first values violates unity is of itself a concern.. 2) but ok for a moment let’s say I did that. Now the many millions of people who feel homeless under the current GOP and Dem parties would not be represented. We “unify” a shrinking base. If i call out the former President and the insurrection, I threaten unity...