Monday Reading

As always, please check out the full articles at the links.

Dara Lind at Vox has a fairly straightforward and detailed description of what to expect in the immigration debate set to start later today in the Senate, and the prospects beyond that in the crackpot caucus- controlled House.

On Monday night, the US Senate will start debating immigration. 

It’s not debating any specific bill or a specific set of policy proposals. The debate is likely to range from the scope of a legalization program for unauthorized immigrants brought to the US as children, to asylum policy, to cuts to future legal immigration. But the heart of the debate is a pair of questions. First, how — if at all — should Congress protect young immigrants facing the end of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program? Second, what restrictionist policies are an appropriate “tradeoff” for those protections?  [snip]

Remember, the Senate is only going to pass a bill if it gets 60 votes — which means a large handful of Democrats, in addition to dovish Republicans like Graham and Flake, would have to sign on. So it’s not going to be the bill that immigration hawks would desire. And in the House, the immigration hawks hold sway — and Ryan has promised that on immigration, he’ll stick to the Hastert Rule — a House Republican tradition that says bills will only be brought to the floor if a majority of House Republicans support them. 

It’s not even clear that a Senate-passed immigration bill would make it to the House floor. Unlike McConnell, Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) hasn’t made any promises to Democrats on immigration. The only promise he’s made is to the conservative House Freedom Caucus to hold a vote on (and whip Republicans to vote for) a bill called the Securing America’s Future Act, written by Rep. Bob Goodlatte (R-VA). (Goodlatte’s bill is far more aggressive on interior enforcement and far more restrictive in legalizing DACA recipients than anything being pushed in the Senate.) 

It's not advised that you hold your breath waiting for a humane bill to be regurgitated out of the Republican- controlled Congress, much less be signed by white supremacist bomb thrower Donald "Rump" Trump, Dreamers be damned.  We need a majority Democratic Congress to make this happen, and may be left to hope in the interim that as many Dreamers as possible can get renewals of their DACA protections before Gestapo ICE goons pick them up.

Is Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker (or, as middle school bully Donald "Rump" Trump called him, "Liddle Bob Corker") reconsidering his decision not to run for re-election this year?

Tennessee Sen. Bob Corker has had conversations with a few colleagues in recent days about whether he should reconsider his decision to leave Congress and not seek re-election this year, GOP sources tell CNN. 

Whether it is a serious reconsideration, or just chatter with colleagues is the subject of some disagreement. There are also conflicting accounts of whether Corker has initiated the conversations, or whether he has had them with colleagues who are pushing him to think again.

Wingnut Rep. Marsha "A Thousand Holes In" Blackburn has already declared her candidacy, so it might make for a delicious bloodletting in the Republican primary if the rumor holds up.  Corker in the Senate has been all hat no cattle when it comes to standing up to Rump when it counts, so es macht nichts in the end.

Following up on our post yesterday about incompetent hack Rep. Devin "Sherlock" Nunes (R- Kompromat) setting up his very own fake news site (which, BTW, went down yesterday afternoon), some legal experts are raising the issue of Sherlock's being vulnerable to an obstruction of justice charge, especially if it can be proven he colluded with the White (Supremacist) House in his most recent humiliation -- the "Nunes memo":

As public scrutiny exposes deep flaws in the memo from the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, Devin Nunes, about alleged F.B.I. surveillance abuses, the committee’s Republicans are increasingly downplaying its significance. Mr. Nunes’s colleagues are right to seek some distance from this caper — not to mention other similar memos he has hinted at releasing. That’s because by writing and releasing the memo, the chairman may just have landed himself, and his staff members, in the middle of Robert Mueller’s obstruction of justice investigation.

We would die very happy campers to witness this treasonous POS frog marched into a paddy wagon someday (but we'd settle for him losing his seat in Congress).

Last but not least, we recommend the comprehensive link round- up over at Infidel 753.  It's guaranteed to fill you up for the rest of the day.

The Bells Are Ringing

After his latest round of ignorant, cryptic comments regarding actions directed at the paranoid, nuclear armed regime in North Korea, it appears nitwit incompetent Donald "Rump" Trump is finally (perhaps too late) setting off alarm bells:

Steve Schmidt, Republican strategist:

We’re at a dangerous hour in the world... I do think there is a real lack of imagination in this country for the magnitude of the type of tragedy we could have with this reckless and irresponsible president, and it is past time for members of the United States Senate — particularly in the Republican Party, who know what’s going on — to speak out directly about it, to communicate truthfully to the American people. They didn’t take an oath to the Republican Party, they didn’t take an oath to Donald Trump — they took an oath to the Constitution of the United States.

Adm. James Stavridis (Ret.), former NATO commander:

... We are starting to really sleepwalk toward a conflict on the Korean Peninsula. A million people are going to die, and we can still avoid that if we can hold ourselves back from this kind of impetuous behavior. 

Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee:

Senator Bob Corker, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, charged in an interview on Sunday that President Trump was treating his office like “a reality show,” with reckless threats toward other countries that could set the nation “on the path to World War III.” [snip]

“He concerns me,” Mr. Corker added. “He would have to concern anyone who cares about our nation.” [snip]

“I know for a fact that every single day at the White House, it’s a situation of trying to contain him,” Mr. Corker said in a telephone interview.  [snip]

“Look, except for a few people, the vast majority of our caucus understands what we’re dealing with here,” he said, adding that “of course they understand the volatility that we’re dealing with and the tremendous amount of work that it takes by people around him to keep him in the middle of the road.” 

As Corker recently tweeted, the White (Supremacist) House "has become an adult day care center." Curiously, Corker was an early endorser of the candidacy of the manifestly unfit Rump (as well as other bad decisions since). Why has it taken this long, and for the stakes to get this high, for his "country before party" instincts to manifest themselves (rhetorical question)? Will others in his party come to the same conclusion, and then do something about it before it's too late?  The track record with that collection of spineless weasels doesn't offer much hope.

Trump Uncorks On Corker [UPDATED]

Tiny- fingered seething narcissist Donald "Rump" Trump was up this morning venting his spleen at Tennessee Republican Sen. Bob Corker's decision not to seek re-election (and after Corker questioned Rump's fitness for office and said several of his cabinet members are the "people that help separate our country from chaos"). Grrr, Trump mad! Must lash out!

Senator Bob Corker "begged" me to endorse him for re-election in Tennessee. I said "NO" and he dropped out (said he could not win without...

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017

..my endorsement). He also wanted to be Secretary of State, I said "NO THANKS." He is also largely responsible for the horrendous Iran Deal!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017

...Hence, I would fully expect Corker to be a negative voice and stand in the way of our great agenda. Didn't have the guts to run!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 8, 2017

Is he presidential yet? No? How about now? No? How about...

UPDATE: Corker's not having Rump's douchery:

It's a shame the White House has become an adult day care center. Someone obviously missed their shift this morning.

— Senator Bob Corker (@SenBobCorker) October 8, 2017

BWAHAHAHA!

UAW Appeals Volkswagen Union Vote

 Time for pushback:

After a narrow and devastating loss at the Chattanooga Volkswagen plant last week, the United Auto Workers union has asked the federal labor board to set aside the election results because of "a firestorm of interference" from outside groups and politicians, including Sen. Bob Corker (R-Tenn). 

The union submitted its appeal to the National Labor Relations Board on Friday, according to a UAW press release. Labor board officials will now have to consider whether the statements by lawmakers interfered enough to potentially sway votes and taint the election. The board could essentially order a do-over. 

In its 13-page appeal, the UAW said that "threats" made by Tennessee lawmakers were "clearly designed to influence the votes" of Volkswagen workers, who eventually voted 712-to-626 against UAW representation last week. The appeal cites Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam (R), state Senate Speaker Bo Watson (R) and Corker, among others.

Now, thanks to a 3-2 Democrat edge on the NLRB, maybe the UAW will get another chance to organize this plant (and get a needed foothold in the plantation South).

Republicans Keep Big Government Out Of ... Huh, What?

Republicans Try To Intimidate Tennessee Workers

Workers at the Volkswagen plant in Chattanooga, Tennessee, are voting today on whether to unionize, and there's a lot of intimidation taking place (but it's not coming from the company):

Republicans like to say that they want to get government off the back of business. Evidently that maxim fails to apply when a business isn’t anti-union enough. [snip] 

But the lead anti-union crusader has been U.S. Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., the former mayor of Chattanooga. In addition to lambasting the UAW, Corker has said – in contradiction to the company’s public announcements – that Volkswagen will reward workers with a new product to build if they decide not to unionize. "I've had conversations today and based on those am assured that should the workers vote against the UAW, Volkswagen will announce in the coming weeks that it will manufacture its new mid-size SUV here in Chattanooga," said Corker. As Reuters reported, labor law experts believe Corker’s statement could very well be an illegal attempt to intimidate workers. 

All in all, this is a lot of GOP meddling with a private business. "In my 20 years on the hill, I've never seen such a massive intrusion into the affairs of a private company," said Tennessee Democratic state Rep. Craig Fitzhugh. Indeed, usually it's Republicans decrying any attempt by government to regulate the unionization process. So what on Earth is going on? 

Well, a plant unionized by the UAW in Tennessee could potentially deal a blow to the right-wing narrative that anti-union companies in so-called “right to work” states are better for economic growth and job creation by providing a real-time counterpoint. If unions make inroads into foreign-owned auto plants in the South, the right-wing effort to claim that unions are something that ails business will be undermined.  (our emphasis)

That would be "moderate" Republican Sen. Bob "Bob" Corker.  If a company engaged in the same effort to influence the election as Corker, it would be a violation of labor law.  If there is a legal avenue available to hold Corker to account for his outrageous interference in a union election, by all means let's get that underway.  Because if Corker can get away with this, other extremist Republicans will try to intimidate workers and companies in the same manner.

Obviously, what this also demonstrates is that many European companies are far more enlightened than their American counterparts (although the UAW has reasonably good working relations with Detroit automakers), and certainly more enlightened that the reactionary Republicans holding sway in statehouses and Congress.  Good on Volkswagen.

BONUS:  Michael Tomasky adds more:

[University of Washington labor historian Michael] Honey says he believes that Corker and other pols “are probably violating the Wagner Act.” That 1935 law set the basic conditions under which a union election can take place, later amended in 1947’s Taft-Hartley. It’s not completely clear whether local politicians, rather than management, can be found guilty of violating the labor law in such a way that a new election must be ordered. But I devoutly hope that if the workers vote no, Obama’s National Labor Relations Board orders a new election.

UPDATE:  Looks like the intimidation worked. Now it's up to the National Labor Relations Board to certify the results;  let's hope they order a new election, given the Republican-led intimidation.

A Tennessee Gentleman

Tennessee Rethuglican Sen. Bob "Gentleman Dork" Corker was to have met with Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor last Thursday, but abruptly cancelled after waiting only 10 minutes for Judge Sotomayor to arrive. The Judge is still on crutches, having fractured her ankle a few days before, and was delayed in her meeting with Gentleman Dork, who said he had to move on to another meeting (with who, the Tennessee Squirrel Skinners Association?)

Gentleman Dork, of course, achieved a level of infamy for the racist TV ad which featured a sexy blonde ("Harold, call me") that ran during his Senate campaign in 2006 against African-American Rep. Harold Ford.

We understand that he's trying to reschedule a meeting with Judge Sotomayor; that's a meeting she should decline this time around. You won't get this buffoon's vote, and you certainly wouldn't want it.

(photo: Senator, it's not polite to disclose your sexual inadequacies in a public forum)

Rethug Sacrifices

Jesus' General has a typically hilarious-- and at the same time infuriating-- piece today on one Rethug's family as it feels the suffering of our troops in Iraq. That is, if suffering means seeing your daughter sucking face with another young lady, both in a state of advanced intoxication, while you are voting against limiting the length of deployments in Iraq. Sen. Bob "At Least She's Not Kissing Some Black Dude Named Harold" Corker (Rethug-TN) is the target of the General's skewering -- nicely done!