LGBTQ news and entertainment
Some news items you might have missed: • The Advocate: Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA) – the first gay immigrant elected to the House of Representatives and former mayor of Long Beach, California – shares how and why he spent his first year in Congress holding far-right MAGA House members accountable. Continue reading “Rep. Robert Garcia + Photographer George Platt Lynes + More News”
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) says he’s seen no evidence that would support an impeachment inquiry against President Biden. “We’re not responsible for the misdeeds of our kids and grandkids and great-grandkids,” says Romney. Continue reading “Romney: I Don’t “See Any Evidence” For Biden Impeachment Inquiry”
Former President George W. Bush (photo: public domain)
Rep. George Santos (R-NY) and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA)
Promo photo for ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’
• NBC News: Tim Boyd, mayor of Colorado City, Texas, resigned after lashing out at constituents who have been paralyzed by this week’s devastating cold snap. In a Facebook post, Boyd told town residents to stop complaining about the cold weather that has left millions across Texas stranded without power. “No one owes you or your family anything; nor is it the local government’s responsibility to support you during trying times like this! Sink or swim, it’s your choice!” • CNN: Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell reportedly laughed about Donald Trump’s recent attack statement and has no plans to engage the former President. He’s done talking Trump, with plans to focus on push to take back Senate and focus on Biden agenda. “He’s moving on,” one source said.
“You probably are not going to hear him utter the name Donald Trump ever again,” per one source. Trump also claimed McConnell “begged” for his support and gave McConnell a 20-point boost in polls. The claim has no basis in reality, per sources. McConnell is not planning to engage
— Manu Raju (@mkraju) February 17, 2021
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) didn’t tiptoe around his thoughts on how Donald Trump is handling his final days in the White House. Asked about Trump’s response to recent cyber-attacks on government and major corporations this week – attributed to Russia – the 2012 Republican presidential candidate told CNN’s Jake Tapper Trump has “a blind spot when it comes to Russia and so you can expect that that’s the response he would have.” Romney also said that “it’s sad in a lot of respects” how the Donald is “casting about” railing about his reelection loss when he could be taking a victory lap with the rollout of the coronavirus vaccines.
President Trump has “a blind spot when it comes to Russia and so you can expect that, that’s the response that he would have,” GOP Sen. Mitt Romney says on Pres. Trump downplaying the suspected Russian cyberattack.
Romney says the attack is “extraordinarily severe.” #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/SGjRhBEwuw
— CNN Politics (@CNNPolitics) December 20, 2020
"It's really sad in a lot of respects, and embarrassing" — Mitt Romney on Trump's ongoing, increasingly desperate attempts to overturn the election pic.twitter.com/oyNK1kM9nP
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) December 20, 2020
Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT)
Romney issued a statement Tuesday that he intends “to follow the Constitution and precedent in considering the President’s nominee, and if the nominee reaches the Senate floor he intends “to vote based upon their qualifications.”
Romney’s support for moving ahead means that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is all but certain to have the 51 votes he needs to take up the nomination. Just two GOP senators, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have said they oppose taking up the president’s nominee to replace Ruth Bader Ginsburg in a presidential election year.
Romney, the party’s 2012 nominee for president, has been one of the few Republicans in the Senate to oppose Trump. In his statement, he asserted that the “historical precedent” of election-year nominations is that the Senate “generally does not confirm an opposing party’s nominee but does confirm a nominee of its own.”
“If the nominee reaches the Senate floor, I intend to vote based upon their qualifications,” concludes Romney’s statement. In 2016, nearly nine months before the presidential election, Senate Republicans refused to vote on President Obama’s nominee for the high court, Merrick Garland, claiming it was “too close to the election.” At the time, nothing was mentioned about ‘opposing party’ nominees. Trump has tweeted that he will announce his nominee to replace Ginsburg on Saturday. We are now just 42 days before the 2020 election day.
I hope whatever you received for your soul was worth it.
If hell exists, you're a shoo-in.
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) September 22, 2020
How quickly people forgot what Mitt Romney really is. pic.twitter.com/7rVPizN6u5
— Ricky Davila (@TheRickyDavila) September 22, 2020
Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah is the first Republican member of Congress to publicly denounce Donald Trump’s commutation of long-time adviser Roger Stone’s prison sentence. Stone was convicted on all seven felony charges brought against him including lying to Congress and witness tampering. The 67-year-old was sentenced to 40 months in prison. But late Friday evening, Trump officially commuted his sentence before Stone’s report to prison date on July 14. Romney tweeted, “Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president.”
Unprecedented, historic corruption: an American president commutes the sentence of a person convicted by a jury of lying to shield that very president.
— Mitt Romney (@MittRomney) July 11, 2020
Agreed. Now what?
— John Pavlovitz (@johnpavlovitz) July 11, 2020
And so what do you plan to do other than tweet? Seriously.
— Amy Siskind 🏳️🌈 (@Amy_Siskind) July 11, 2020
The U.S. Senate voted to acquit Donald Trump today on charges of abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) was the only Republican to cross party lines and vote to remove Trump from office. Two notable red-state Democratic Senators – Joe Manchin of West Virginia and Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona cast ‘guilty’ votes. This becomes the first bipartisan vote to remove a sitting president via impeachment. From the New York Times:
The tally for conviction fell far below the 67-vote threshold necessary for removal and neither article of impeachment garnered even a simple majority.
The first article, abuse of power, was rejected 48 to 52, and the second, obstruction of Congress, was defeated 47 to 53. Senator Mitt Romney, Republican of Utah, was the only member to break with his party, voting to remove Mr. Trump from office.
The votes, ending the third presidential impeachment trial in American history, were a resounding victory for Mr. Trump after five months of blaring scandal over Ukraine that embroiled Washington and threatened his presidency. But both sides agreed that the final judgment on Mr. Trump will be rendered by voters when they cast ballots in just nine months.
Historical note: @MittRomney's vote to remove President Trump from office will make this the first bipartisan vote to remove a president from office in US history.
It will fail, as with Johnson and Clinton, but no Democrats voted to remove those two Democratic presidents.
— Jake Tapper (@jaketapper) February 5, 2020
Doug Jones is up for re-election this year in a deep-red state. He’s in a much tougher spot than either Manchin or Sinema, who aren’t up until 2024. They could learn a little something from the backbone he’s showing in his decision to convict.
— Adam Best (@adamcbest) February 5, 2020
Mitt Romney will be the first senator in American history to vote to convict a president of the same party in an impeachment trial.
— Ian Millhiser (@imillhiser) February 5, 2020