#Sen John Fetterman

[girlactionfigure]

“You don’t need to thank me. I’m just a guy doing a job.”

-A clearly moved @SenFettermanPA after receiving a stunning work of art by @IlanBlock—a heartfelt gesture from Philadelphia’s Jewish community—recognizing his unwavering courage and leadership during these trying times.

[zvaigzdelasas]

In the week since the International Court of Justice ruled that the Israeli government is plausibly committing genocide and ordered it to prevent potential further acts of genocide, Israeli forces have only continued committing atrocities against Palestinians.

Buoyed by the staying support of American officials, Israeli forces have killed at least 874 Palestinians and injured at least 1,490 in Gaza since last week’s ICJ ruling, according to Palestinian Health Ministry figures from Saturday, January 27, to Friday, February 2. That’s not to mention other acts of Israeli violence in the occupied West Bank and Jerusalem.The loss of life should not be dismissed as “collateral damage,” contrary to what Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said.[...]

Backgrounding the atrocities in Gaza is the broader misery the entire population faces. The BBC noted that UNICEF’s biggest concern is the “estimated 19,000 children who are orphaned or have ended up alone with no adult to look after them.” CNN reported that Palestinians are eating grass and drinking polluted water amid famine conditions. The Guardian reported that 50-62 percent of all buildings in Gaza have likely been damaged or destroyed.

Earlier this week, a federal court affirmed the ICJ’s finding that Israel may be carrying out a genocide and warned the Biden administration to reconsider its unconditional support for Israel’s war effort. [...]

The Intercept asked Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., to comment on the court rulings that the accusations of genocide by Israel are credible. “I don’t accept that. I reject [the ruling of the International Court of Justice]. I don’t believe that is Israel’s intention: to commit genocide,” said Fetterman, who has emerged as one of Israel’s most staunch Democratic defenders, on Thursday. “I do believe that their goal is to neutralize or dislodge Hamas from that. And I believe that they certainly do not want to take the lives of any innocent Palestinians and I certainly don’t assign higher value to my children versus a Palestinian child. I mean, I wouldn’t want anybody to die throughout all this tragedy, and it’s just an awful situation.”

Within hours of the ICJ issuing its ruling last Friday, Israel alleged that 12 of 30,000 — 0.04 percent — employees of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East were involved in Hamas’s attack on October 7. The United States immediately suspended its funding of UNRWA, the largest provider of humanitarian aid in Gaza, spurring a cascade of other nations to follow suit.

Sky News later obtained an Israeli document that actually downgrades the allegation to 0.02 percent of UNRWA staff (six people) being involved in Hamas’s attack. Sky News reported that the documents, which allege further ties between UNRWA and Hamas “make several claims that Sky News has not seen proof of and many of the claims, even if true, do not directly implicate UNRWA.”

The contrast between the U.S. decision to pause funding based on unverified allegations and its unwillingness to reconsider its military funding of Israel, despite serious allegations of genocide, is stark.

Fetterman also said that he supports the suspension of funding to UNRWA. When asked why the standard of suspending funding while investigating serious allegations doesn’t apply to the Israeli government, Fetterman dodged the question.

Fetterman: Well, again, it — well, it’s not. We need a full investigation and find out just how much a part of it was about that and how much, you know, the old question: how much they knew and when they knew that.

The Intercept: So you’re saying that for Israel as well?

Fetterman: Yeah, OK, so good, all right, well good.[...]

Reporter Said Arikat confronted State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller on the tension Wednesday. “I’ll say with respect to the charges of genocide [at the International Court of Justice], we believe that they’re unfounded,” Miller said. “We continue to support Israel’s right to take action to ensure that the terrorist attacks of October 7th cannot be repeated, but we want them to do so in a way that complies with — fully with international humanitarian law.”

Miller was then asked about Israel receiving aid even as Israeli government officials call for the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians and maintain good standing in government.

“When the secretary traveled to Israel on his most recent visit,” Miller said, “he made clear that he thought it was important that the Israeli government speak out against those matters and those comments publicly and reiterate that it is not the policy of the Israeli government to force Palestinians from Gaza.”[...]

Two days after the ICJ ordered the Israeli government to prevent and punish incitements of genocide from public officials, National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich were among 11 cabinet ministers and 15 coalition members of the Knesset who rallied at conference hosted by hundreds of settlers calling for the settlement of Gaza.

On Tuesday, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant reportedly told members of the Knesset’s Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee that afte​​r their military campaign ends, Israel will maintain military control of Gaza, so it can operate similarly to the way it does in the West Bank.

On Thursday, Smotrich said that allowing aid into Gaza contradicts the goals of Israel’s campaign, and that he spoke with Netanyahu, who supposedly assured him that things will change soon. Israeli ministers Benny Gantz and Gadi Eisenkot reportedly called to limit humanitarian aid as well. Meanwhile, at aid crossings, people in Israel have taken cue from their leaders, attempting to block aid trucks from entering Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people — including the hostages held by Hamas — are at risk of starvation and malnutrition, every day since the ICJ ruling.

One clip even shows a right-wing activist telling an aid truck driver, a Palestinian citizen of Israel, that “I am the owner here, you are a slave here.”

2 Feb 24

[wilwheaton]

Speaking as someone who lives with mental illness, who struggled and suffered for decades with undiagnosed and unacknowledged  CPTSD, with a side of Depression and Generalized Anxiety, (who continues to struggle and live with it) I know how difficult and scary a mental health crisis can be.

I also know how vicious and ruthless and cruel the political world is.

So I am incredibly grateful to Senator Fetterman for getting mental health care without shame or apology. His courage saved lives. There are people today and in the coming days who are willing to seek mental health care, because he spoke openly and without shame about his own mental health.

Depression and mental illness affects EVERYONE, and when people who have enormous public profiles speak about their experiences, it chips away at the stigma that has claimed too many lives.

I am not a United States Senator, but I know this is absolutely true, because people have told me that my public journey to care for my mental health and heal my trauma gave them what they needed to make the appointment and begin their own journey.

My heart is with Senator Fetterman and his family. I wish them all the best. I know how tough this is. How scary it can be. How Depression will see the struggle and just pour lie after lie after lie over you, trying its best to make you believe you deserve or are responsible for it.

All of that is bullshit. Depression lies.

I want to remind anyone who is struggling with their mental health, who is just *so tired* of feeling all the things Depression and its buddies try to drown us with that IT IS OKAY TO NOT BE OKAY. It's not shameful or weak to ask for help. It's courageous, and you deserve to be helped by people who have dedicated their lives to helping us get better.If you or someone you know is struggling, please know that help is available when you're ready. If you are in the United States, you can dial 988 from any phone to speak with a counselor who is ready for you.

[tomorrowusa]

« It doesn't make you a man to pick on trans or gay kids, it just makes you an asshole. »

— Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) quoted on CNN’s “State of the Union.”. Via POLITICO. 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️

The senator essentially described most of the MAGA Republican leadership these days including Weird Donald Trump and JD "Couchman" Vance.

Fetterman was Pennsylvania's lieutenant governor during the 2020 elections. He had something to to say about vote fraud.

(Dana) Bash also asked Fetterman, who was lieutenant governor of the state in 2020, if he had any concerns over Trump spreading claims of voter fraud in Pennsylvania like he did then, given the problems he caused by refusing to accept the election results in 2020. Fetterman laughed at the question: “It's the same shit that he played in 20 and it didn't go anywhere." "I'm not worried about it. It's the same thing that he tried in 2020,” Fetterman said. “We had an absolutely secure election. There was voter fraud in Pennsylvania and it was a handful of Republicans and they had their dead moms voting for Trump.”

If you haven't voted early, don't worry! If you're legally registered, grab your ID and head to your precinct polling place on Tuesday during voting hours. The best time to vote in person on Election Day is late morning; crowds are usually small and there's plenty of time to post a selfie in front of the polling place so you can remind others to vote.

ARE YOU READY TO VOTE? | Vote Save America

Only you and your friends can keep Trump from turning America into a writhing homophobic sludge pit.

Electing Kamala Harris is the only way to prevent an anti-LGBTQ hell in the United States. Letting Trump win provides a massive empowerment to assholes.

[fans4wga]

August 4 - Hollywood Food Insecurity Spikes Amid Strikes

The entertainment industry’s most vulnerable workers are increasingly unable to feed themselves amid a historic double strike with no clear end in sight, according to non-profits tasked with addressing the food insecurity crisis. They describe Hollywood’s ongoing work stoppage — prompted by the contractual impasse between the writing and acting guilds on one side and the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers on the other — as a humanitarian emergency broadly affecting the community, not just striking union members.

The Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, which runs pantries for those in need throughout the county, attributes a meaningful portion of its nine percent uptick in year-over-year distribution to the strikes’ impact. “When income stops immediately, the demand rises very rapidly,” explains chief development officer Roger Castle.

“This is happening right after the pandemic, which drained a lot of people’s savings,” observes Keith McNutt, executive director at the Entertainment Community Fund, which has distributed $3 million to more than 1,500 workers as of Aug. 1. “So, you have the financial burden on people who’ve already been depleted.” As a result, his organization — whose donors include Seth McFarlane, Steven Spielberg, and Greg Berlanti — has seen an unprecedented wave of immediate requests for basic living expenses, including groceries. “Before this started, we would do about 50 grants out of the L.A. office a week. Now we’re getting 50 applications a day.”

On July 28, below-the-line unions IATSE and the Teamsters Local 399 held a drive-through food drive for industry members affected by the strikes at IATSE’s West Coast headquarters in Burbank. It drew about a thousand vehicles throughout the day.

According to the relief nonprofit Labor Community Services, which helped to organize the event and is planning another in August, the organization distributed 1,740 food boxes, feeding an estimated 8,700 people, that day.

In California, striking workers are ineligible to receive unemployment assistance, while nationally, they cannot receive SNAP food benefits unless they qualified pre-strike — something Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania is aiming to change with a new bill, introduced July 27. One place that striking actors in particular can turn to for help during the work stoppage is the SAG-AFTRA Foundation, which offers emergency financial assistance and other resources, including grocery store gift cards, to union members. SAG-AFTRA made a seven-figure donation to the Foundation early in its strike to assist these efforts. (The WGA West does provide its own members with emergency financial loans from its strike fund and Good and Welfare fund.)

Cyd Wilson, its executive director, has seen an explosion in demand for the organization’s help. “People are making these decisions: Should pay my rent, or should I put food on the table? Should I put food on the table, or should I pay my utilities?” she explains. “There’s a great deal of suffering that’s happening.” By Wilson’s estimate, the foundation is now handling 40 times its typical number of applications per week, and it has already distributed as much in grants since the beginning of the WGA’s strike three months ago as it typically would in the span of a given year.

Meanwhile, Groceries for Writers, a direct aid project administered by Humanitas, a non-profit focused on film and television writers, has distributed more than 1,100 gift cards to WGA members since the onset of its work stoppage in early May. Humanitas executive director Michelle Franke says that “many of these writers have left notes indicating they’re in very urgent financial situations. Writers describe struggling with student debt, falling into eligibility gaps with CalFresh and EDD [state unemployment assistance], eviction notices, writing teams splitting low pay, having only just moved to Los Angeles and not having a large local support network as a consequence, dwindling savings.”

Groceries for Writers is hardly alone in addressing the growing need. In July, L.A.’s World Harvest Food Bank founder and CEO Glen Curado estimated to The Hollywood Reporter that his organization, which is offering free food to striking writers and actors, was serving an average of 150-200 members of this group per day. That effort was inspired by The Price Is Right host Drew Carey’s gesture of paying for all striking writers dining at Bob’s Big Boy in Burbank and L.A.’s Swingers Diner for the duration of the work stoppage.

THR asked both the AMPTP and the talent unions whether they bear any responsibility for the worsening situation. In a statement, a spokesperson for the AMPTP said: “Like those negotiating on behalf of the guilds, representatives from the AMPTP and its member companies came to the table in good faith, wanting to reach an agreement that would keep the industry working and prevent the hardships caused by labor strikes.” SAG-AFTRA didn’t respond to a request for comment, while a WGA spokesperson said in a statement: “The public knows that working people are putting everything on the line in order to negotiate a fair deal with the studios who have caused this strike and the resultant suffering by refusing to address the reasonable proposals that writers brought to the table over 90 days ago.” Neither the AMPTP itself nor any of its major studio and streamer members responded when THR asked if the companies or their philanthropic arms had made any contributions specifically to address the industry’s food insecurity crisis since May.

Support staffers — early-career workers who fill roles such as assistants and coordinators and tend to be low-paid — are especially at risk at this time. “So much of the compensation that they receive is, no one’s going to say it, but it’s implied to be food-based,” notes Liz Hsiao Lan Alper, the co-founder of advocacy group Pay Up Hollywood and a WGA West board member. Alper says that support staffers are often paid the “bare minimum” but access complimentary food through writers’ rooms, craft services on sets or in agency kitchens and conference rooms. And so, when the strikes occurred, the need was “overwhelming,” she explains: “It’s invisible compensation that just went away when the work stoppages happened.”

For that reason, on June 7 Pay Up Hollywood relaunched its COVID-19-era Hollywood Support Staff Relief Fund. So far, the fund has distributed around $45,000 in one-time financial need grants up to $1,000 apiece, according to organizer and support staffer Alex Rubin, who says she’s encouraged support staffers to obtain free food distributed on picket lines. “I think that there is a little bit of embarrassment and insecurity about not being able to feed yourself,” she says. “It is the reason why we give our grants as just like, ‘Here’s a one-time grant. You don’t have to tell us how you want to use this.’”

Helping people in entertainment with food during work stoppages is a “tangible message,” says James Costello, a Teamsters Local 399 driver and an IATSE Local 44 prop master, who was volunteering at IATSE’s July 28 food drive. A second-generation Teamster, Costello still remembers a union strike in the 1980s that prompted his parents to warn their children that their Christmas holiday would be affected that year, and the Teamsters emergency relief that arrived in the fall, offering groceries and a Christmas tree.

As the strikes drag on and both the WGA and SAG-AFTRA have yet to formally reprise negotiations with the AMPTP (although the Writers Guild is set to have a preliminary meeting with the studios’ organization on Aug. 4), the non-profits on the front lines of the industry’s food-insecurity crisis are girding themselves for a long period of need. SAG-AFTRA Foundation’s Wilson says it’s pursuing a “very aggressive fundraising strategy” to meet the demand. (Already, it’s netted over $15 million in emergency assistance from stars like George Clooney, Nicole Kidman, Matt Damon and Dwayne Johnson, who are donating $1 million or more apiece.)

The Entertainment Community Fund’s McNutt notes that pocketbook pain will outlast the current conflict. “Just because the strike ends, it doesn’t mean the need will end. Everyone doesn’t go back to work the next week. We’re going to be looking at this [elevated] level of need for months afterward.”

Give to the Entertainment Community Fund

Give to Humanitas' Groceries for Writers

Give to the Green Envelope Grocery Aid mutual aid fund

[fairuzfan]

The White House, in a reflection of their public confidence (hubris?) regarding the politics of Biden’s positioning on Israel, arranged a call with Sen. John Fetterman (D-Pa.). Fetterman, who has delighted in trolling left-wing critics by resolutely standing with Israel since Oct. 7, told me young voters should consider the implications of enabling a candidate who would likely give Netanyahu even more of a free hand. “If you sit this out, or throw your vote away, you now are effectively empowering Bibi, and you’re definitely going to be empowering Trump,” he said. And, Fetterman added, don’t forget the lessons of Hillary Clinton: “I said the same thing in 2016 to voters, I said: ‘Hey, you know what, you don’t like Clinton, you know what fuck around and find out what Trump is going to be about and, hey guess what, how’d you like it?’”

this is so funny, biden went "man, they really seem to dislike me over my position on israel, cutting aid to unrwa, ignoring palestinians in the US and protestors for 100+ days, perpetuating propaganda, and bypassing congress to fund a genocide. but that's ok. i know who can solve this dilemma. john fetterman."

[probablyasocialecologist]

“The bottom line is and it’s a sad one, we need to be supportive ON PRESIDENTIAL LEVEL of the alt right Christian Neo Nazis at the moment (like Ukraine) to fight off the socialist, Marxist, anarchists who are supporting radical Islam,” he said. “Nazis are better than Islamic terrorists at this moment in time FOR PRESIDENT. On state and city level it’s different as proof with us supporting Ritchie and fetterman,” a reference to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman. 

11 August 2024

[simply-ivanka]

Vice President Candidate Tim Walz - Some of his Issues Before The Voters

• The Floyd riots. Walz managed to infuriate mainstream voters when he initially refused to quell the riots and arson that followed George Floyd’s death in Minneapolis, only to enrage activists later when he called in the National Guard. Violent crime continues to plague the state.

Walz also signed a 2023 bill giving felons the right to vote except while they are incarcerated.

• Covid: Minnesota was a proud lockdown state; Walz enforced closures, restrictions and curfews, as well as a mask mandate, for more than a year. Police arrested a business owner who defied restrictions, while Walz set up a hotline that allowed residents to tattle on others who weren’t following his rules (Walz said the snitching was for people’s “own good.”)

• Spendalooza: Minnesota is racing to become the California of the Midwest, via a spending blowout that has ballooned government and depleted coffers. Walz hiked taxes, blew through a $18 billion surplus, and is on track for a $2.3 billion deficit. The money was thrown at a bevy of progressive priorities, including public education, “free college,” paid family and medical leave, and expanded government health care.

• Green New Deal: Walz tied his state’s vehicle emission standards to California regulations, among the strictest in the nation. And he signed a bill requiring state electric utilities to be 100% carbon free by 2040—an insane, and costly, fantasy.

• Culturally weird:  Walz gave his party a laugh when he declared Republicans “weird,” though it’s Minnesota that’s rapidly moved away from cultural norms under his tenure. He signed a law making the state a “sanctuary” for minors seeking transgender hormone treatment and surgery; another one mandating the dispensing of tampons in school boys’ bathrooms; and a law that declares an “individual” right to an abortion with no time limit or requirement that minors notify their parents.

Dept. of Conventional Wisdom: Walz has a jovial Midwestern style, and is often found chatting about his love of hunting or coaching while sporting a Carhartt jacket and baseball cap. Democrats intend to present him as their bridge to working-class voters and argue he’s capable of presenting progressive policy as practical and positive for most Americans. Think Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman or Montana Sen. Jon Tester. Yet Minnesota has little to show for its massive spending and liberal governance: Crime is up; education proficiency rates are down; capital and residents are leaving; inflation remains high; and job numbers are ticking down. Minnesota’s tax rates—individual, corporate and estate—are now among highest in the nation. Walz didn’t fare well with working-class voters in his gubernatorial elections. And his policy history magnifies the perception of a far-left ticket.

The real error may be lost opportunity. Vice-presidential candidates don’t usually make-or-break a ticket, but with another potential razor-thin presidential race in November—one that may very well run straight through Pennsylvania—Harris’s decision to walk away from a popular Keystone governor was risky.

[justinspoliticalcorner]

Sahil Kapur and Sarah Dean at NBC News:

ERIE, Pa. — Vice President Kamala Harris rallied a packed crowd Monday night in Erie County, a bellwether that has a knack for predicting who carries Pennsylvania, having mirrored the outcome of this crucial battleground state in the last four elections. Harris sharpened her attacks on Donald Trump, using a big screen to play clips of the former president calling for outlawing dissent and criticisms among “the enemy within.”

“A second Trump term would be a huge risk for America. And dangerous,” said Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee. “Donald Trump is increasingly unstable and unhinged. And he is out for unchecked power. He wants to send the military after American citizens. He has worked to prevent women from making their own health care decisions.” Harris’ trip kicks off a campaign blitz this week in a trio of Northern battlegrounds — Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin — that could make or break her hopes of defeating Trump next month. Former President Barack Obama won Erie County comfortably when Pennsylvania was on a blue streak in 2008 and 2012; then Trump won it by about under 2 points in his successful 2016 campaign, before Joe Biden flipped it back by just 1 point in 2020 as he ousted Trump. “Erie County, you are a pivot county!” Harris told the crowd, urging them to vote. “How you all vote in presidential elections often ends up predicting the national result.”

The county is along Lake Erie in northwest Pennsylvania, sandwiched between eastern Ohio and upstate New York. Its median income is lower than the national average, as is its share of college-educated people, according to the Census Bureau.  “You pick the president!” Sen. John Fetterman, D-Pa., who carried this county by 9 percentage points in his successful campaign for the Senate in 2022, told the crowd here before Harris spoke. In 2020, he said, “Joe Biden showed up; he smoked that clown and sent him home!” Fetterman won the state by maximizing votes in the metropolitan areas and limiting his margins of defeat in the red-trending rural areas. Now, he’s trying to help Harris do the same. While Obama and Gov. Josh Shapiro rallied Thursday in Pittsburgh, Fetterman toured the red counties to make the case for her.

In an interview before the rally, Fetterman emphasized that defeating Trump in Pennsylvania won’t be easy. “Trump has a very unique and special connection there [in rural Pennsylvania], and that’s why he’s going to be incredibly difficult,” Fetterman said, noting that rural counties are packed with pro-Trump insignia. “It’s kind of like a Taylor Swift concert where you have so much swag it goes beyond a typical kind of politics.”

At Monday’s rally in Erie, PA, Kamala Harris told the audience that Donald Trump “is increasingly unstable and unhinged. And he is out for unchecked power.” Harris is right: We cannot afford to put this unstable fascist back in office.

[hellyeahscarleteen]

"Proposed legislation could help clear significant credit reporting hurdles for transgender and nonbinary people. Democratic Sens. John Fetterman and Tina Smith will introduce a bill Thursday requiring credit reporting agencies to use only a person’s current name in their credit reports, Fetterman’s office shared with The 19th exclusively.

The Name Accuracy in Credit Reporting Act would amend the Fair Credit Reporting Act, which regulates the way credit reporting agencies can collect, access and share consumer data. Credit reports for people who have changed their names often will either include their deadname or be created as a separate report under their changed name, which can lead to inaccuracies and trouble accessing credit.

...

“Updating a person’s name on their credit report should be simple, and credit bureaus have already been doing this for decades to accommodate married or divorced consumers,” Stephanie Landry, strategic lead for digital finance at Consumer Reports, said in a statement after the introduction of Pressley’s bill. “Credit Bureaus are choosing to fail transgender and nonbinary consumers by creating careless and unnecessary hurdles to accessing accurate and complete credit information—which can lead to unfair denial of credit, housing, or employment.”

Advocates said transgender and nonbinary people often face numerous issues following a name change: Some report their credit reports being fragmented into unconnected files, effectively erasing their credit history. Some said their name changes and the actions following them did not reflect on their credit reports at all. Others reported their credit scores dropping by hundreds of points. Changing a first name instead of a last name can create the problem, as credit reporting agencies often use the first name to match up information."

[progressivepower]

Sen. John Fetterman Says Fellow Democrat Joe Manchin Won't 'Be Around Much Longer'. The Pennsylvania senator knocked Manchin after Manchin called on the Senate to reinstate its formal dress code. http://ow.ly/auEx10504sy

[tieflingkisser]

Inside the “Zionists for Don Samuels” WhatsApp Group Raising Big Money to Oust Ilhan Omar

In AIPAC’s absence, a Samuels campaign staffer and pro-Israel super PAC donors strategize to oust another Squad member.

The members of the group — which included a consultant who at the time was working for the Samuels campaign as well as far-flung political donors — discussed raising six-figure sums for a political action committee, strategies for campaign phone banks, and an effort to marshal Republican voters to boost Samuels in Tuesday’s open primary. “Hi Everybody, My Name is Alexander Minn, I work for the campaign,” Alex Minn, the campaign consultant, wrote to the group on July 24. “WE ALL HAVE THE POWER TO HELP GET RID OF ~the squad~ AND PUBLIC ENEMY #1 TO JEWS, ISRAEL, AND AMERICA- ~ilhan omar~” (Samuels campaign manager Joe Radinovich said on Saturday that Minn no longer works for the campaign. An August 4 episode of a YouTube show featuring Samuels included Minn as a campaign staffer.) While national pro-Israel groups like the American Israel Public Affairs Committee have not come out swinging in the Samuels–Omar race, a far-flung, group of disparate activists are using the WhatsApp group, called “Zionists for Don Samuels Against Ilhan Omar,” to fill the gap.

[...]

Whereas pro-Israel groups in Bush and Bowman’s races ran ads about issues other than Israel itself, the Samuels campaign has focused on Omar’s calls for a ceasefire, her denouncing the war in Gaza as a genocide, and allegations of antisemitism against the incumbent for her stances on Israel.

[...]

Members of the “Zionists for Don Samuels” group hail from various locations, with some from Minneapolis and others based in New York and Puerto Rico. Some have supported former President Donald Trump and other Republicans. Others are regular Democratic donors who have expressed disillusionment with the party over Israel. One participant in the WhatsApp group, Michael Sinensky — a wealthy entrepreneur who on the chat justifies support for “alt right Christian Neo Nazis” — said he has worked with Make a Difference MN to raise over $120,000 for Samuels since July 31, according to messages he sent to the group chat. Make a Difference MN, a super PAC, was used by AIPAC in 2022 to route $350,000 into Samuels’s race.

[...]

In an example of the eclectic and vociferously pro-Israel politics of the “Zionists for Don Samuels” chat group, it was formed in October 2023, according to the chat history, by vehemently anti-Democratic public relations impresario Ronn Torossian.  The group was founded under the name “Jews for Ritchie Torres” — the Democratic representative from New York known for his over-the-top support of Israel. (In a statement, Torres said, “The Intercept, as usual, is reporting fiction.”) During the summer, however, the group name changed to “Jews Against the Squad” and then later “Zionists for Don Samuels Against Ilhan Omar.” Along with Torossian, other participants in the “Zionists for Don Samuels” chat have supported Trump in the past. In the chat group, Sinensky, who has given donations to many Democrats in the past, justified his support for the far right on the national level.  “The bottom line is and it’s a sad one, we need to be supportive ON PRESIDENTIAL LEVEL of the alt right Christian Neo Nazis at the moment (like Ukraine) to fight off the socialist, Marxist, anarchists who are supporting radical Islam,” he said. “Nazis are better than Islamic terrorists at this moment in time FOR PRESIDENT. On state and city level it’s different as proof with us supporting Ritchie and fetterman,” a reference to Pennsylvania Sen. John Fetterman. 

[nodynasty4us]

If your political capital comes from picking on trans kids or gay kids or anything like that, you’re just bankrupt throughout all of this. My version of being a man is like, hey, I like rib-eyes, I like Motörhead, and I’m never going to pick on trans kids and gay kids… It doesn’t make you tough. It doesn’t make you a man to pick on trans or gay kids. It just makes you an asshole.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA), on CNN.

[redistrictgirl]

Which Politicians Are Sticking Up for the Trans Community?

So the first issue the new Trumpfecta is tackling is trans people in bathrooms. This is actually a rather shocking priority even within the context of Project 2025, but the recent election of Sarah McBride to the House of Representatives seems to have set off Nancy Mace - and the South Carolinian got her first priority in astonishingly short order. Before you doom about the future of queer rights, here are some Democrats across the ideological spectrum who are publicly, clearly sticking up for trans people even after the election. Politicians representing states or districts that are not safely Democratic themselves are bolded.

JB Pritzker (IL-GOV) - Commemorated Trans Day of Remembrance, stated “trans rights are human rights”

Andy Beshear (KY-GOV) - Defended decision to veto anti-trans legislation

Maura Healey (MA-GOV) - Criticized fellow Massachusetts Democrat Seth Moulton for implying support of trans sports ban

Alex Padilla (CA-SEN) - Provided trans-positive statement to Erin in the Morning

Richard Blumenthal (CT-SEN) - Provided trans-positive statement to Erin in the Morning

Tammy Duckworth (IL-SEN) - Provided trans-positive statement to Erin in the Morning

Ben Cardin (MD-SEN) - Provided trans-positive statement to Erin in the Morning

John Fetterman (PA-SEN) - Implied he would rather lose his Senate seat than misgender Ms. McBride (a mandatory misgendering rule in Congress has been floated by House Republicans) and publicly offered her use of his private bathroom

Ron Wyden (OR-SEN) - Provided trans-positive statement to Erin in the Morning

Peter Welch (VT-SEN) - Provided trans-positive statement to Erin in the Morning, specifically referencing health care

Patty Murray (WA-SEN) - Stated that Democrats can win elections without “sacrificing” trans people

Maxwell Frost (FL-10) - Commemorated Trans Day of Rememberance

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (NY-14) - Criticized bathroom bills

Jasmine Crockett (TX-30) - With respect to McBride, called on Republicans to “stop the bigotry”

So to my fellow Trans Americans, we’re not alone. And we don’t have to just rely on these politicians either - we have our families (found or otherwise) and each other.

Notes

This list is almost certainly incomplete - if you have a quote or statement from a politician specifically defending the transgender community, please share it so I can update the list! Several senators and governors provided statements in an article from Erin in the Morning. Erin Reed is an elite journalist, I encourage you to check her out.

[meret118]

Pennsylvania Democratic Sen. John Fetterman took to X on Thursday evening to lash out at thousands of his own constituents who voted for the Green Party candidate in the state's tight Senate race.

The race between incumbent Sen. Bob Casey (D-PA) and Republican challenger Dave McCormick was called Thursday in favor of McCormick, though Casey has said he will wait to concede until every vote is counted. McCormick was leading by about 34,000 votes.

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"Pennsylvania is going to count every last vote," he said. "That’s not controversial—that’s the law. Also, Green dips---s’ votes helping elect the GOP."Attached to his post was a screenshot of Green Party candidate Leila Hazou taking just under 1 percent of the vote with about 64,000 ballots cast for her.