LGBTQ news and entertainment
Andrea Mitchell talks with State Dept. spokesperson Jen Psaki ahead of Secretary John Kerry’s arrival in Switzerland for another round of talks with Iran negotiators – his first meeting with Iran’s foreign minister since Senate Republicans’ letter.
(via MSNBC)
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| Republican Sens. Ted Cruz and Mitch McConnell |
Newspapers across the country continue to condemn the open letter signed by 47 Republican U.S. Senators to the leaders of Iran meant to sabotage current ongoing sensitive negotiations regarding nuclear weapons.
Just a few samples from at least 22 so far:
The Kansas City Star wondered if it was the Iran letter, or the Republican senators who were treacherous, “Given the Republicans’ pure hatred of Obama, it also seemed extra personal, yet another politically motivated attempt to stop him from doing anything that might be perceived as a victory for his administration.”
The editorial board of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette wrote that the senators who signed the letter should be ashamed, “America’s partners in the talks are among the world’s most important nations — China, France, Germany, Russia and the United Kingdom. They can only be appalled at seeing Secretary of State John Kerry and the president, who are charged with making the nation’s foreign policy, hit from behind by one house of the federal legislature. The senators who signed the letter should be ashamed.”
The Baltimore Sun pulled no punches, “The poison pen note was a shocking example of just how far President Barack Obama’s GOP critics in Congress are willing to go in an effort to undercut his foreign policy goals…The GOP senators might just as well have put up a big sign over their chamber warning the mullahs in Tehran to prepare for war because that’s the practical import of rejecting any possibility of a negotiated resolution of the two countries’ differences.
More at PoliticusUSA.
Check out GOP strategist John Feehery today on HARDBALL. Bless his heart, trying to justify undercutting a president in the midst of sensitive international negotiations.
As many know by now, 47 GOP Senators sent an “open letter” to the leaders of Iran (Iran!) telling them that any nuclear deal they sign with President Obama won’t last after Obama leaves office.
(Sen. Rand Paul later said the letter was a “message” to the White House. Clearly he doesn’t know the address of the White House….)
Imagine U.S. Senators reaching out to Khrushchev during the Cold War behind the back of the president. SRSLY?
The Logan Act expressly states:
“Any citizen of the United States, wherever he may be, who, without authority of the United States, directly or indirectly commences or carries on any correspondence or intercourse with any foreign government or any officer or agent thereof, with intent to influence the measures or conduct of any foreign government or of any officer or agent thereof, in relation to any disputes or controversies with the United States, or to defeat the measures of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.”
I’d be tripping over my tongue like Mr. John Feehery, too.
And it would seem the game playing with the security of the United States is over.
According to NBC News, the House of Representative has passed a bill to fund the Department of Homeland Security by a vote of 257-167.
In a 257 to 167 vote, the House passed a “clean” Homeland Security funding bill on Tuesday without provisions that would curtail the president’s executive orders on immigration. The Senate passed the legislation last week and the president’s signature is certain.
Funding for Homeland Security, which was set to run out midnight on Friday, will now go through Sept. 30 of this year.
The vote is a blow to conservatives in the House who fought to use the spending measure as a way to force the president to roll back his orders aimed at allowing millions of undocumented immigrants the chance to stay in the U.S. legally. Conservatives contend that the orders are unconstitutional and all 1of the 67 no votes came from Republicans.
But Senate Democrats blocked legislation that included language on immigration, and some Republicans publicly acknowledged they would be the party that would get blamed if the agency shut down.
Boehner announced in a closed-door meeting of Republican members on Tuesday morning that the House would vote on the year-long funding bill.
By a vote of 203-224, the House failed to pass a bill that would continue to fund the Department of Homeland Security.
The bill today would have funded Homeland Security for three more weeks. A version was passed in the Senate that would have funded the department for the rest of the fiscal year.
Mere hours left for the Republicans to make sure the country stays safe…
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Ironically, Republicans would tell you THEY care about defending our borders more than the Democrats, even as they try to allow the Department of Homeland Security to run out of funding…
Get it together GOP. Are the party of defending the country or not? Americans don’t want games played with their security.
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| Tim Miller of America Rising PAC |
According to Politico, Jeb Bush will name openly gay Tim Miller, executive director of America Rising PAC, as his top communications aide.
Miller, 33, worked on Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign, and was national press secretary of Jon Huntsman’s nascent 2012 presidential campaign. He has also served as a spokesman for the Republican National Committee.
I’ll be curious to see how the NRC jives with this seeing how the national platform is so anti-gay on so many issues.
Last year, Miller told National Journal that being openly gay and Republican hasn’t really affected his career. “Some told me to be prepared for it to be an issue in past political campaigns, but it never has,” he says. “A big takeaway for me as I’ve encountered political operatives who are worried that being open might have a negative impact on their career is that you don’t need to hide to be successful, and it wouldn’t be worth it, regardless.”
Thanks yall. Thrilled and honored to work for a great person with the right message –@JebBush. http://t.co/6iouJJh2uo
— Tim Miller (@Timodc) February 20, 2015
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| Speaker of the House John Boehner |
In a departure from previous positions on marriage equality, Speaker of the House John Boehner says House Republicans will not be filing amicus briefs or other official positions on the upcoming SCOTUS review of same-sex marriage laws.
From the Washington Blade:
U.S. House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) on Thursday declined to offer his hopes for litigation seeking marriage rights for same-sex couples before the U.S. Supreme Court, but said he doesn’t expect House Republicans will weigh in a legal capacity.
“I don’t expect that we’re going to weigh in on this,” Boehner said. “The court will make its decision and that’s why they’re there, to be the highest court in the land.”
Boehner, an opponent of same-sex marriage, made the remarks in response to a question from the Washington Blade at his weekly news conference the month after the Supreme Court agreed to hear the lawsuits, which includes a lawsuit challenging the state law in Boehner’s own state of Ohio.
Methinks Mr. Boehner and company sees the writing on the wall regarding the tide of history.
Finally.
Conservative political hopeful Ben Carson, speaking to the press yesterday at the Iowa Freedom Summit, learned he may need to sharpen his technique when facing the press.
Take this example when he commented on political correctness and gay marriage:
“What I have a problem with is when people try to force people to act against their beliefs because they say ‘they’re discriminating against me.’ So they can go right down the street and buy a cake, but no, let’s bring a suit against this person because I want them to make my cake even though they don’t believe in it.
“Which is really not all that smart because they might put poison in that cake.”
According to The Hill, Carson’s staff found the comment humorous, but received dead silence from the journalists in the room.
