Squad private Cori Bush under DOJ investigation

[TomC]

I think it is well known for those who go beyond the pedantry what “defund” meant in the context of the police and military. But it does provide a good sound bite to take the literal meaning.

This is so important.
The internet is a big place. Somewhere somebody has said every stupid thing imaginable.

But the overwhelming majority of people who use the term "defund" are talking about revamping and reordering priorities. Not abolishing.
Tom

 

[Swammerdami]

But, Cori Bush's claim about defunding the Pentagon (if she's serious) is the most knuckleheaded thing I think I've heard from a Congressperson. There's no doubt that "defunding the Pentagon" would lead to catastrophic and deadly consequences for this country. It would be the end of this country as we know it (perhaps the world), in a short span of time. So, Cori Bush for the win on that tweet alone.

Do you think she is asking for the entire military of the US be completely disbanded? Because I agree that would be crazy.

I think she means shifting funds from the military to social programs. We have a thread here discussing that very subject.

Precisely. It's normal (both for politicians and for message-board posters) to exaggerate, to use strong language to make sure a point is clear.

Obviously the Pentagon is not going to be completely defunded any time soon. Everybody knows that. Everybody knows Cori Bush knows that. Those who pretend otherwise -- because they know no other way to "build a case" against the so-called "squad private" -- only expose their own eagerness to distort reality.

Someone mentioned Marjorie Taylor Greene.

... [MTG] has done other things. Like stalk a school shooting survivor calling him a crisis actor.

Stalking a child to appeal to deranged voters?? Or is Ms. Greene herself really as deranged as she seems? Only a confused or desperate political hack could honestly find MTG and her fascination with absurd conspiracy theories, to be in a class similar to Ms. Bush.

 

[Don2 (Don1 Revised)]

...

Also, I do not think MTG was ever evicted for non-payment of rent.

...

We may just have different standards for crazy.

Hold on there! Don't you know that people who are evicted are all crazy?! Cori Bush was evicted 3 times. The first time, her boyfriend assaulted her, lots of violence, and she was left for dead. If she wasn't so loud, she wouldn't have been assaulted and then evicted! The second time, she was trying to manage all her bills including college and couldn't afford her rent. Obviously, if she wasn't so uppity, she wouldn't have been evicted! She should have just inherited a business job from her father, like MTG did! The third time, she was discriminated against because of her political activism over police murdering black men, where landlords didn't want her bringing political activism to the residence, so she got evicted. So, if she wasn't so loud, uppity, and opinionated, she wouldn't have been evicted!

Why can't this loud, Black woman just get with the program and be quiet, just accept her place in society and stop speaking out on behalf of the little guy. She should hush. Take some money from lobbyists and support our corporate overlords. Then, maybe she won't get so many death threats and need security.

Completely insane...

Compare all that to the completely sane MTG:

 

[TomC]

Why can't this loud, Black woman just get with the program and be quiet, just accept her place in society and stop speaking out on behalf of the little guy. She should hush.

Seriously!
I've spread my opinions around IIDB rather freely. Nobody could possibly mistake me for a solid supporter of Bush' policy proposals or attitudes.
But I gotta say, she's tough and smart and dedicated.
Props where they're due.
Tom

 

[Swammerdami]

Welp, I was ready to say this whole appearance of a scandal is going to sink her political career, but then this happened:

Nehls went off on Bush Tuesday evening. “The idea to pay her thug money to try to help protect her this and that, for what?” the Texas Republican demanded. “Maybe if she wouldn’t be so loud all the time, maybe she wouldn’t be getting threats.”

Emphasis added.

Then, he doubles down saying the Black woman needs to "tone it down" so she doesn't get death threats.

Holy crap!

So, what we have here is a clear potential for misuse of public funds by Cori Bush... and the GOP representative, given a free shot at a softball... shanks it with a racist / misogynist retort?!

You phrase this as though the QOPster blundered. I think he was just whistling to his base. With racists and misogynists in his camp, he becomes a shoo-in in suburban Texas.

 

[Derec]

This is so important.
The internet is a big place. Somewhere somebody has said every stupid thing imaginable.

And a lot of those people are in Congress.

But the overwhelming majority of people who use the term "defund" are talking about revamping and reordering priorities. Not abolishing.

Somebody who is in Congress should be able to express herself more clearly. I do think she meant the word "defund" as saying that she wants to remove at least a big fraction (1/3 or even 1/2) of police and Pentagon funding. For example, her Pentagon tweet went "... just think of all the services we are going to fund after we defund the Pentagon". Since social services are expensive, and she is promising to fund a number of them, she either wants to remove most if not all of Pentagon budget or else does not understand how much social services cost. I mean, food stamps alone cost ~1/6 of the Pentagon budget.

 

[ZiprHead]

This is so important.
The internet is a big place. Somewhere somebody has said every stupid thing imaginable.

And a lot of those people are in Congress.

But the overwhelming majority of people who use the term "defund" are talking about revamping and reordering priorities. Not abolishing.

Somebody who is in Congress should be able to express herself more clearly. I do think she meant the word "defund" as saying that she wants to remove at least a big fraction (1/3 or even 1/2) of police and Pentagon funding. For example, her Pentagon tweet went "... just think of all the services we are going to fund after we defund the Pentagon". Since social services are expensive, and she is promising to fund a number of them, she either wants to remove most if not all of Pentagon budget or else does not understand how much social services cost. I mean, food stamps alone cost ~1/6 of the Pentagon budget.

Thank goodness she didn't express herself more clearly. It allows you to put any words you choose into her mouth.

 

[Derec]

Precisely. It's normal (both for politicians and for message-board posters) to exaggerate, to use strong language to make sure a point is clear.

Oh, her point is clear. She is an extremist and an idiot.

Obviously the Pentagon is not going to be completely defunded any time soon. Everybody knows that. Everybody knows Cori Bush knows that.

Does she? I am not so sure.

Those who pretend otherwise -- because they know no other way to "build a case" against the so-called "squad private" -- only expose their own eagerness to distort reality.

It is you who are distorting reality by downplaying CB's words.

Someone mentioned Marjorie Taylor Greene.

Classic whataboutism. But in any case, why aren't her statements excused as being just a politician who exaggerates and uses strong language without really meaning it?

Stalking a child to appeal to deranged voters??

What child?

 

[Derec]

Thank goodness she didn't express herself more clearly. It allows you to put any words you choose into her mouth.

She put the word in herself. CB apologists don't think she meant what she wrote and said.

 

[Shadowy Man]

This is so important.
The internet is a big place. Somewhere somebody has said every stupid thing imaginable.

And a lot of those people are in Congress.

But the overwhelming majority of people who use the term "defund" are talking about revamping and reordering priorities. Not abolishing.

Somebody who is in Congress should be able to express herself more clearly. I do think she meant the word "defund" as saying that she wants to remove at least a big fraction (1/3 or even 1/2) of police and Pentagon funding. For example, her Pentagon tweet went "... just think of all the services we are going to fund after we defund the Pentagon". Since social services are expensive, and she is promising to fund a number of them, she either wants to remove most if not all of Pentagon budget or else does not understand how much social services cost. I mean, food stamps alone cost ~1/6 of the Pentagon budget.

Something that a lot politicians do, on both sides of the aisle, is to appeal to the ignorance of their supporters and make arguments that seem like “common sense”. Like what fraction of the national budget any given part of the government has.

Maybe she is ignorant of the budget or is just playing to her base, knowing they are ignorant of it.

She wouldn’t be the first politician to either misunderstand how the government works and/or spread misinformation about how the government works.

 

[TomC]

Maybe she is ignorant of the budget or is just playing to her base, knowing they are ignorant of it.

Or maybe she said a good many more nuanced things that Derec has overlooked.
Tom
ETA ~Didn't this thread start because Bush wants security she trusts?~

 

[Derec]

Hold on there! Don't you know that people who are evicted are all crazy?!

Not necessarily.

Cori Bush was evicted 3 times. The first time, her boyfriend assaulted her, lots of violence, and she was left for dead.

Left for dead? [citation needed]

If she wasn't so loud, she wouldn't have been assaulted and then evicted! The second time, she was trying to manage all her bills including college and couldn't afford her rent.

That shows she has or at least had problems managing her money.

Obviously, if she wasn't so uppity, she wouldn't have been evicted!

What does not paying rent have to do with being "uppity"?

She should have just inherited a business job from her father, like MTG did!

MTG does not have anything to do with this thread. In fact, there is already a megathread about MTG on this forum. I suggest you go there if you want to bitch about MTG. I reckon it is not much of a discussion thread, as I can't imagine there being many (if any) MTG fans on here eager to defend her. Unlike people like you trying to defend CB. But when you do, try to stay on topic.

The third time, she was discriminated against because of her political activism over police murdering black men,

What evidence is there that she was "discriminated against" rather than not paying her rent again? And which men (plural) were "murdered" by police? I know she calls the justified homicide of Michael Brown "murder", but that is not factual. Who else does she think police "murdered"?

where landlords didn't want her bringing political activism to the residence, so she got evicted.

If she was using her residence as some sort of headquarters for an activism outfit, then that might have broken the terms of her lease and not have been "discrimination". Unless that apartment building allowed similar gatherings for other issues.

So, if she wasn't so loud, uppity, and opinionated, she wouldn't have been evicted!

Loudness, unlike the other two, are relevant to living in an apartment complex. Neighbors have the right not to be disturbed. What evidence do you have that she was evicted because she was "uppity" or "opinionated"?

Why can't this loud, Black woman just get with the program and be quiet, just accept her place in society and stop speaking out on behalf of the little guy.

Michael Brown was not exactly a "little guy". The guy he assaulted and robbed was.
And I noticed you playing the race card. Cori Bush herself is the same. Any criticism is dismissed as being about her being a "black woman". It's facile.

She should hush. Take some money from lobbyists and support our corporate overlords. Then, maybe she won't get so many death threats and need security.

She certainly should not have advocated that people should not be evicted even when they refuse to pay rent and buy boats instead. Note that her sleepover stunt happened in the Summer of 2021, when the economy had been reopened for about a year and there was no logical reason for people to not pay rent.

 

[Derec]

She wouldn’t be the first politician to either misunderstand how the government works and/or spread misinformation about how the government works.

In her case, it's most likely the former.

 

[Derec]

Or maybe she said a good many more nuanced things that Derec has overlooked.

Like what?

ETA ~Didn't this thread start because Bush wants security she trusts?~

You mean because she funneled campaign money to her husband?

 

[Derec]

I've spread my opinions around IIDB rather freely. Nobody could possibly mistake me for a solid supporter of Bush' policy proposals or attitudes.
But I gotta say, she's tough and smart and dedicated.
Props where they're due.

The other two attributes may be true, but she is definitely not smart. Why do you think she is?

 

[TomC]

Like what?

I don't know. I don't pay much attention to politicians who don't represent me.

You mean because she funneled campaign money to her husband?

You mean, spent private money on security she trusts? Honestly, I thought the outrage was over taxpayers money. I still wouldn't have a problem with her choosing security she trusts. But somebody suggested that she she be forced out of Congress over the issue.
That's stupid.
Tom

 

[Swammerdami]

... [MTG] Stalking a child to appeal to deranged voters??

What child?

Are you joking? Is this just feigned ignorance, some sophomoric rhetorical device?

You know all about progressive female politicians, their ethnic backgrounds, high-heel shoe sizes, probably their brand of lipstick. Certainly the best Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity talking points, all lined up in a row. But I guess even the Ilk's media sources -- NewsMax, Fox, Truth Social -- are tired of defending MTG, their one-time budding star. Now she has the distinction of being the only member of the "Freedom" Lunatics Caucus so loony that that Caucus kicked her out!

Seriously, tell us if you really missed the story of MTG stalking the child. The quintessential MTG idiocy (Sandy Hook-related), a derangement which perhaps surpasses that of all other Congresscritters summed together, you know nothing? Really? And now you need the story spoon-fed to you? Please show us what Google Searches you've tried. Google can be a bitch. Have you tried Bing?

 

[Derec]

Are you joking? Is this just feigned ignorance, some sophomoric rhetorical device?

None of those. I don't follow MTG like you do. So tell me, what child is she allegedly stalking, so I can look it up.

You know all about progressive female politicians, their ethnic backgrounds,

That's because they have their fans here, so there is a discussion to be had. MTG thread is basically a pile-on circle jerk because she doesn't have fans on here.

high-heel shoe sizes, probably their brand of lipstick.

Naw. You have me mixed up with lpetrich. He probably knows all that, as well as what clothes they wear.

Certainly the best Tucker Carlson and Sean Hannity talking points, all lined up in a row. But I guess even the Ilk's media sources -- NewsMax, Fox, Truth Social -- are tired of defending MTG, their one-time budding star.

I consume none of these, but nice try.

Seriously, tell us if you really missed the story of MTG stalking the child.

Yes. But stop talking in circles. Who is that child?
Actually, it does not matter anway. The whole MTG derail is just that - a derail, intended to divert attention from CAB.

Please show us what Google Searches you've tried.

None. For one, the thread is not about your hobby horse MTG. Second, your claim was vague. Give me a name. That's not spoon-feeding, that's providing basic information about a claim.

 

[Derec]

I don't know. I don't pay much attention to politicians who don't represent me.

That's a mistake. All Congresscritters have the power to affect your life for good or ill (usually ill) whether or not they nominally represent your district or not.
But if you don't pay much attention to her, then why do you think "she said a good many more nuanced things" that I have overlooked? Why do you think she is smart? I think you should pay more attention.

You mean, spent private money on security she trusts? Honestly, I thought the outrage was over taxpayers money. I still wouldn't have a problem with her choosing security she trusts. But somebody suggested that she she be forced out of Congress over the issue.
That's stupid.

I am not quite familiar with the ins-and-outs of campaign finance law, but if she broke it, she should be subject to the law's penalties. If guilty, she should also drop out of the race.
Independent of the investigation, I think she should be primaried because of her idiotic positions. Not just her calls to defund police and the Pentagon. For example. she thinks that Israel should not have defended itself at all after the brutal 10/7 attack perpetrated by Hamas. Her calling for a $14T reparations for black people is as idiotic as it is self-serving. She is an embarrassment to her office.

 

[Derec]

And according to Trump, nothing he does can be illegal, so it couldn't be illegal policy .

How did that work out for him?