Republicans LOVE to pretend they care about "the deficit".

But what do they actually DO about it?

1) The 1st bill passed by the GOP House would increase the debt $114 billion (by allowing wealthy people & corporations to continue to cheat on their taxes). #StopGOPLies

🧵/1 2) Congressional Republicans proposed repealing reforms President Biden signed to lower prescription drug costs.

Repealing these policies would increase the amount of money Medicare pays Big Pharma, raise costs for seniors, and add $159 billion to the debt. #StopGOPLies

🧵/2

Americans really need to understand this.

McCarthy has agreed to bring a bill to the floor that would eliminate almost all Federal taxes and impose a 23% sales tax across the country.

The impact would be devastating for working families.
Thread /1
foxnews.com/politics/house… Non-partisan experts agree that this would be extremely regressive, raising taxes on middle class Americans and slashing them for the wealthy.

Thread /2
taxpolicycenter.org/taxvox/here-co….

Some people think it's time to leave Twitter.

My thoughts on that...

I founded an organization focused on digital persuasion.

At @DemCastUSA, we empower people to use their social reach strategically.

If you're on social to influence, I urge you to stay. /1 I've checked out Mastodon, Tribel, Counter Social and other alt platforms.

There's promise. But it's not clear that one is destined to "take over" the role of Twitter.

I'd say it's likely that none of them do, in fact. /2

Which candidates need the most attention down the stretch?

Glad you asked.

There are ~30 TOSS-UP House races across the country. These are must-win.

Please amplify this #BlueIn22 List:

AK-AL: @MaryPeltola
AZ-01: @JevinHodge
CA-13: @AdamGrayCA
CA-22: @RudySalasCA

🧵/1 US House TOSS-UP Races
Please Amplify - #BlueIn22 List:

CA-27: @ChristySmithCA
CO-08: @YadiraCaraveo
IN-01: @mrvan4congress
KS-03: @sharicedavids
MI-07: @ElissaSlotkin
MI-08: @dankildee
MN-02: @AngieCraigMN
NC-13: @wileynickel
NH-01: @ChrisPappasNH

🧵/2

How bad were Tuesday's primary elections for the fate of democracy?

Really bad.

1. Maine Gov: Paul LePage won the GOP nomination for Governor after saying that 2020 was "clearly a stolen election."

THREAD /1 2. ME-02: Bruce Poliquin is the GOP nominee after urging Trump not to concede in 2020 & refusing to say unequivocally that Biden won.

3. Nevada Gov: Trump-endorsed Joe Lombardo won the GOP nod after questioning whether Biden won "fair and square."

/2

Thread 🧵

Since 1960, corporations have changed the way they divide up revenue.

(I bet you can guess how.)

In the 1960 at American Express, 43.1% of the revenue went to employees. In 2019: 12.6%.

The % of revenue going to shareholders doubled. In the 1960 at Chrysler, 26.9% of the revenue went to employees. In 2019: 10.5%.

The % of revenue going to shareholders grew 8-fold.

Thread. I hope you'll read.

Since Putin's invasion of Ukraine, & especially in the last week, there has been a sharp drop in social media posting about the atrocities being committed by Russia.

At the same time, there has been an uptick in traction for pro-Putin narratives. /1 This is exactly what Russia wants. And what Ukrainians fear.

As Putin gets bogged down in a quagmire of his own choosing...

As global attention wanes...

There will be more space for anti-Ukraine messages to permeate in digital spaces. /2

How 'bout them gas prices, eh? How 'bout them gas prices, yo?

Republicans coming after Biden for his handling of Putin is ironic given Trump’s love affair with the despot, which we shall now recount in a thread of memes. /1 Putin hates America with every fiber of his being and has relentlessly attacked us for years.

Trump’s approach was basically this: /2

A lot of people asking what's included in the new Freedom To Vote Act released by Senate Dems.

The bill has 3 sections:
▪️ Voter Access & Election Administration
▪️ Election Integrity
▪️ Civic Participation & Empowerment

I'll share the contents in this THREAD. Read & RT!
/1 Freedom To Vote Act
Section One: Voter Access & Election Administration

These provisions aim to standardize ballot access across all 50 states to improve access to the ballot and boost the #FreedomToVote.

/2

The victor in the Civil War wasn’t the ‘North’. It was the United States. We beat a violent, traitorous faction.

But that faction lived on through Jim Crow, the ‘Southern Strategy’, now MAGA…

The GOP, Fox & more are infected by the faction. The insurrection is ongoing. The key tool being used by the faction now is the Big Lie.

They seek to limit access to the ballot box and institutionalize the ability of the faction’s current party - the GOP - to overturn election results.

They seek to defeat the US from the inside, but it’s the same war.

Vaccination rates, by state.

Blue states went to Biden in 2020, red states went to Trump.

Pretty stark. A little thread...

/1 Here I've outlined the states in orange that are most dependent on the Federal government. 🤔

With the launch of the 'America First Caucus' for Anglo Saxon cultural preservation, I asked folks for some alt names for this group.

Here's what you said! (Thread)

On The Nose:
▫️ Whites Only Caucus
▫️ Confederate Caucus
▫️ White Privilege Coalition
▫️ Nazi Caucus

https://twitter.com/JakeSherman/status/1383106255930155008

Cont'd

KKK-Themed:
▫️ Ku Klux Kaucus
▫️ Coup Klux Kaucus
▫️ KKKaucus
▫️ Klans-R-Us

Nazi-Themed:
▫️ Nazis-R-Us
▫️ Aryan Assemblage
▫️ The Brownshirts
▫️ Genocidal Preparatory Caucus

Cracker-Themed:
▫️ Cracker Caucus
▫️ KKKracker Caucus
▫️ CraQer CauQus

This fucking huge news is getting buried.

The Senate is bucking the parliamentarian and will push the $15 minimum wage back into the COVID Relief bill.

Democrats ARE going to bat for the American people.

This is complicated, so let me do my best to explain.
/1

https://twitter.com/JStein_WaPo/status/1366832438304010244

After the Senate Parliamentarian ruled that the $15 minimum wage was ineligible to be included in the reconciliation bill, the general consensus was that only @VP Harris could step in to overrule the judgement and keep $15 in the bill.

/2

Mitch McConnell’s rationale for acquittal - that the Senate doesn’t have jurisdiction - is bullshit.

The Senate has jurisdiction. They settled that matter on day 1.

This piece from @ReginaldOhLaw shreds McConnell’s argument. #ClearAndPresentDanger

/1
demcastusa.com/2021/02/13/the… Impeachment isn’t about removal.

It’s about assessing and voting on an official’s fitness for office.

The Senate’s role is to determine *fitness* and issue a *verdict*.

In a trial, there are verdicts and there are sentences. Two different things.

/2

BREAKING: Sen. Mike Lee has given lawyers on both sides of the #ImpeachmentTrial a copy of a log from his cellphone that shows a call from the White House at 2:26 p.m. on Jan. 6. #ClearAndPresentDanger “That account — and the new phone record — strongly undercuts a claim from Trump’s lawyers on the Senate floor on Friday that “at no time” had Trump been informed that Pence was in danger during the hours-long riot.”

New from @SenSchumer: The agreed-upon structure of the impeachment trial.

Link: democrats.senate.gov/download/alb21…

Details: Up to 4 hrs equally divided btwn the Impeachment Managers & the Trump’s counsel to present arguments on Tues Feb 9 on the constitutionality of the trial.

/1 Following these arguments the Senate will vote, at a simple majority threshold, on whether the Senate has jurisdiction under the Constitution to try the former president. If a majority votes in favor of constitutionality, it will proceed under the following provisions...

/2

.@JoeBiden is nominating the most diverse cabinet in U.S. history.

MEDIA: It’s up to YOU to report on nominees fairly. Leave the sexist and racist attacks out and give these nominees the chance they deserve.

@UltraViolet’s roadmap for fair coverage:
weareuv.us/mediaguide Media: #GetItRight

Sexist tropes that should be questioned & debunked:

America needs to understand what's in Biden's $1.9T #AmericanRescuePlan. The GOP version won't go nearly far enough.

Biden's plan funds vaccinations to contain the virus, delivers immediate relief to those hardest hit, and supports struggling communities.

RT Thread /1

https://twitter.com/NBCNews/status/1356086145189359617

The #AmericanRescuePlan funds a nationwide vaccination campaign to speed up the pace of inoculations. Funds will support state and local governments and set up community vaccination centers around the U.S.
/2

Re: Elimination of the filibuster:

Focus like a laser on Mitch McConnell.

We need to create a pathway for red state Senators like Manchin & Sinema to change their minds on this.

That pathway will open as McConnell uses the filibuster to block legislation that America wants.
/1 These 1st few weeks will be crucial. There are key bills that have tremendous national support and should pass.

As @danpfeiffer says, frame this for what it is - a small minority of Senators blocking profoundly popular legislation through an obscure procedural loophole.
/2

Right wing thugs intimidated and threatened journalist @_Brian_ICT - for trying to cover their unlawful assembly at the Capitol in Salem, Oregon today.

They tried to storm the Capitol with pistols and rifles in protest of COVID-19 restrictions.
This guy seems nice.