The Resist Report

With just over twenty days left before Americans take to the polls to decide on the fate of the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate in the 2018 midterm elections, investigative reporter Greg Palast is ringing the alarm on the ongoing purge of voters from the voter rolls in multiple states. His work exposing the Interstate Voter Cross Check System was referenced in Why Hillary Lost: The Great American Lie, considered one of the seminal post-election analyses of the 2016 American presidential election, and he joined the Bros for America podcast this week to discuss the ongoing and unabated GOP practice of purging voters and the alarming impact it is having on the 2018 midterm elections.

This week, Palast revealed that the states of Indiana, Illinois, Georgia, and Nevada had purged significant numbers of voters from the rolls ahead of the midterm elections, coming up this November 6th.  Palast obtained the names of the purged voters after threatening a federal lawsuit against Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp (affectionately nicknamed by Palast as “Donald Trump’s Purge-on General”) who has not abdicated his position despite his current gubernatorial race against Democrat Stacey Abrams in Georgia, meaning he is overseeing his own election.

Abrams is poised to become the first African American female governor of a U.S. state if elected. Unsurprisingly, the purging of voters disproportionately affects people of color, students, women (primarily women of color), and minority voters.

“The problem we have in America is when the election is over, we don’t re-run the election. For the most part, we don’t.”

Palast did not mince words during his exclusive hour-long interview with the Bros for America. “Hillary Clinton should be president. Look! It doesn’t matter what you think of Hillary Clinton. The fact is she won the election. The fact is Brian Kemp has wiped out hundreds of thousands of black voters from the voter rolls before THIS election,” Palast said, pointing to discrepancies in the exit polls and digital tallies in the 2016 election, and explaining that voters who were turned away because of the purge or whose provisional ballots were wrongfully discarded accounted for the discrepancy.

“Some of the [Georgia] registration forms are four years old,” Palast said, alleging that Kemp and his Georgia state officials have held up the registration forms of African American voters for years. He confronted Kemp recently in person at a community event in Georgia, asking him “are you purging black people so you can win this race [against Stacey Abrams?]”

Kemp had Palast thrown out.

 

Voters concerned that they may have been purged from the rolls can check to see if they are on one of the secretive purge lists Palast has obtained from a number of key states, including 90,000 in Nevada, 550,000 in Illinois, 20,000 in Indiana, and 53,000 in Georgia.  They may also volunteer here for Stacey Abrams’ gubernatorial campaign and

Mike Levin, the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in California’s 49th Congressional District, has the endorsement of former President Barack Obama and his district’s major newspaper, the San Diego Union Tribune, as well as End Citizens United, Human Rights Campaign, and a slew of other environmental, women’s, and progressive political action groups and committees. 

Despite having been involved in politics for his entire adult life, though, the first-time candidate didn’t have real aspirations for elected office until the first Women’s March in January 2017.  Concerned by Trump’s election, he recalls the moment he looked at his wife, Chrissy.

“[Chrissy] looked at me and said, ‘we’re all in,'” Levin recalled during an interview with the Bros for America podcast. “What good is any of our backgrounds, our relationships, our experiences if we don’t put them to use right now?”

With 26 days left before the November 6th mid-term election, Levin believes the much-talked-about “blue wave” is possible, but only if everyday Americans rise to the challenge of winning this crucial election. At a time when women’s and voter rights are under the attack, with the GOP firmly under the thumb of organizations like the NRA, it is up to the people to take back their government.

After all, Levin, who has pledged to reform campaign finance laws and believes that “daylight is the best antiseptic” to the corrupt effects of Citizens United, is backed by grassroots donors only. That means that he and hundreds of other Democratic candidates who have refused to accept a single penny from corporate PACs are at a disadvantage against Republican opponents who are funded by dark, unaccountable money.

“The main thing is…do something. If you live in a safe district, if you live in San Francisco or Los Angeles, and live in a safe district with a Democratic incumbent, please come down to one of our districts. Doesn’t have to be mine. Just do something. You don’t want to regret waking up the day after the election and not having done something. This is an absolutely critical election. We gotta get this election right. We gotta take back control of the House. And we need your help.”

Visit www.mikelevin.org to find out how you can volunteer or contribute to Levin’s campaign.

Days after succumbing to mounting pressure to stall the confirmation of, and conduct an FBI investigation into Brett Kavanaugh, his pick for a lifetime appointment to the US Supreme Court, Donald Trump took to a familiar tactic in a familiar venue to let the American people know how he really feels.

In a shocking display Monday night, Mr. Trump mocked the testimony of Dr. Christine Blasey Ford, who bravely stood before the Senate Judiciary Committee, and indeed the world, to offer her harrowing account of that summer evening when at the young age of 17-years-old, Mr. Kavanaugh attempted to rape her, foiled only, and ultimately by his own inebriation.

“These are really evil people, who are trying to destroy a man.” Trump told a crowd of eager acolytes at the Make America Great Again fundraiser he was headlining in Minnesota on Monday night, just days before the Senate was set to vote on Kavanaugh.

Senate Majority Leader has promised to vote on Friday, despite the FBI investigation being limited in scope by the White House, and apparently failing to interview around 40 key witnesses, including Dr. Ford and Judge Kavanaugh.

The Bros for America podcast weighed in on the scandal in the most recent episode. What did you think?

 

UPDATE: Thursday, September 28th, 2018 at 12:45 p.m. PST:

Dr. Christine Blasey Ford has concluded four hours of testimony before the Senate Judiciary Committee. The courage, the selflessness required to speak up, become a household name overnight, and to relive her trauma before the entire world out of a sense of obligation to others is unfathomable. Whether the United States Senate acts with any moral clarity remains unclear, as they will vote on this confirmation tomorrow. But what remains clear is what Dr. Ford did today is heroism personified. #WeBelieveChristine

To speak up, a household name overnight, & relive her trauma for the world out of a sense of obligation to others must have taken unfathomable courage. Whether the Senate acts with the same moral clarity is unclear, but #ThankYouChristine. You are a hero. https://t.co/hIBkgWG7vg

— Alex Mohajer (@AlexMohajer) September 27, 2018

PREVIOUSLY: First things first: We believe Christine Blasey Ford. Dr. Ford will appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee Thursday and testify that Judge Brett Kavanaugh, Donald Trump’s selection for a lifetime appointment to the United States Supreme Court, attempted to rape her when they were 17-years-old.

NPR has obtained Dr. Ford’s opening statement. We believe the contents of the letter are disqualifying.

There was music already playing in the bedroom. It was turned up louder by either Brett or Mark once we were in the room. I was pushed onto the bed and Brett got on top of me. He began running his hands over my body and grinding his hips into me. I yelled, hoping someone downstairs might hear me, and tried to get away from him, but his weight was heavy. Brett groped me and tried to take off my clothes. He had a hard time because he was so drunk, and because I was wearing a one-piece bathing suit under my clothes. I believed he was going to rape me. I tried to yell for help. When I did, Brett put his hand over my mouth to stop me from screaming. This was what terrified me the most, and has had the most lasting impact on my life. It was hard for me to breathe, and I thought that Brett was accidentally going to kill me. Both Brett and Mark were drunkenly laughing during the attack. They both seemed to be having a good time. Mark was urging Brett on, although at times he told Brett to stop. A couple of times I made eye contact with Mark and thought he might try to help me, but he did not.

But Senate Republicans are not swayed. They will continue with a planned vote on Friday, just 24-hours after this sham hearing. They’re not even trying to pretend to care. Which has prompted protests at the capitol all week by survivors and women like this remarkable unsung hero, the likes of whom are having to beg and relive their trauma for the Senate to vote with moral clarity.

Meanwhile, midterm elections are fast approaching. Register to vote or check on your registration status using our Voter Registration Tools.

Consumer advocate turned UCI Law Professor Katie Porter had her first brushes with politics long before she became a candidate for Congress. As a lawyer, she helped fight predatory lending practices and tackle corrupt Wall Street banks with the likes of Senator Kamala Harris (D-CA) and President Barack Obama. But it wasn’t until election night 2016, Porter told me in an exclusive interview for the podcast, while watching some neighborhood children violently devour the remains of a life-size Hillary Clinton sheet cake (yes, really) that she decided she would run for Congress herself.

Despite the fact that Hillary Clinton carried it in the 2016 election, California’s 45th Congressional District has never seen a Democrat elected to the United States House of Representatives. Orange County, after all, is a traditionally Republican district, and one of the more affluent counties in the state.

A year ago, no one would have expected a close race for a Democrat in what has come to be known by most Americans as “the O.C.” A string of popular television shows that glamorized the area in the mid-2000s (“Real Housewives of Orange County,” “Laguna Beach,” and of course “The O.C.”) cemented depictions of Orange County as being uber-rich. And uber-Republican. But the race has become one of the most closely watched in the country, with Porter running neck and neck, and in some polls even leading, over her Republican rival, incumbent Mimi Walters.

“After 18 months, I finally found something that I agree with Mimi Walters about. She recently said that she hoped Donald Trump would come to Irvine to campaign for her. I 100% agree, I think it’s a fabulous idea.”

Katie Porter

Make no mistake: Porter is the underdog in this race, and her poll numbers are a testament to the strength of her campaign on the merits. But she has faced a massive uphill battle from the get-go. Walters, a Trump acolyte, has accepted hundreds of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from Big Oil and the DeVos family. But Porter, who is endorsed by End Citizens United, has refused to accept a cent of corporate PAC money.

But the Democrat understands this district in ways that Mimi Walters never could. Walters has never lived in the district, and Porter believes this will give her the advantage necessary to wrestle this crucial seat away from the GOP.  In short? You’re in Katie Porter’s house now.

Porter expects that this is because the people of Irvine simply care about families, community, and education, in a way that Trump does not. (“No one moves to Irvine for the nightlife,” Porter joked). When Walters aligns herself with Trump, she aligns herself with his constant barrage of amoral, offensive scandal and bombast. And that’s just not the people of Irvine. By contrast, Porter, a working mom of three whose average campaign contribution amounts to 14 dollars and refuses to accept corporate PAC money, is the perfect person to seize on these failures.

Check out our exclusive interview to hear her tackle student loans, the Trump tax scam, Mimi Walters, Donald Trump, and detractors of the Robert Mueller investigation. Interested in donating to Katie Porter’s campaign?  You can do so, and learn more about her, at her official campaign website, or shoot her a message on social media.

“What if Hillary Clinton had been elected in 2008 and Barack Obama ran in 2016,” the panel opined in the latest episode. By many accounts, Clinton won the popular vote in the 2008 contest between her former rival, the eventual 44th President of the United States. Perhaps the younger Obama would be more seasoned, and the racial discord that precipitated under Obama’s presidency allowed to die out with the likes of Trump? Perhaps we’d never see the like of Sarah Palin or the Tea Party?

“What if Hillary Clinton had been elected in 2008 and Barack Obama ran instead in 2016?”

Alex Mohajer

Host, Bros for America

The panelists take issue with Obama’s decision to weigh in on Trump, but only because it should have come sooner. With the United States Senate set to hold a confirmation vote on Brett Kavanaugh on Thursday, the same day that Hurricane Florence is set to make landfall, the panelists are worried that Obama’s speech, a speech which could have had real power in the months leading up to the election and even in the first months of the Trump presidency, may be too little too late.

Still, an enormously motivated electorate is standing poised to take back the House and Senate, according to Democratic Strategist Jake Lewis,  the guest on this week’s program. He joins the panel to discuss the final round of primary elections– this week, in New Hampshire, where the son of none other than Senator Bernie Sanders was walloped in his bid for Congress– and how recent wins by Stacy Davis and Andrew Gillum are demonstrative of a total blue wave and ultimately, are a part of Hillary Clinton’s legacy.

Shithole of the Week

Bros for America is executive produced by Alex Mohajer and co-hosted by Mohajer, Thomas McAbee, Rance Collins, and Daniel Fusselman. Theme music is Operatic 3 by Vibe Mountain and closing credit music is It’s Always Too Late To Start Over by Chris Zabriskie, with interstitial music by Jeff Beal (“House of Cards” Theme) and intro interstitial music by Eminem, “Without Me.” Bros for America is produced using Audacity, ECammTools, Skype, Powerpress/BluBrry, and love. Special thanks to Jake Lewis, Matt Garrett, Nelson Melegrito, and Hillary Clinton. 

The New York Times Op-Eds! The Colin Kaepernick Tweets! The Umpteenth Book About Trump’s Inadequacy! Oh My!

The daily bombast and spectacle coming from the White House have reached a fever pitch. The president publicly chastising Attorney General Jeff Sessions for prosecuting cases against congressional Republicans in the lead up to a mid-term election was just the tip of the iceberg. He has continued to mock and denigrate Colin Kaepernick, the NFL player who has opted to kneel during the Pledge of Allegiance in protest of the disproportionartely high African American murder rate amongst law enforcement officials in America.

And then, on Wednesday, this:

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1037464177269514240

 

The President also took to his venue of choice for communicating with the American people –Twitter — to accuse the Democrats of Treason. And then, in a fantastic piece of performance art on Wednesday afternoon, took to the cameras to lambast the opinion editorial from an anonymous senior White House staffer who is “leading the resistance from within.” This prompted a flurry of social media speculation as to who the leaker might be and whether the 25h Amendment would be used to remove the current, orange, President of the United States.

Umm…guys?

https://twitter.com/AlexMohajer/status/1037562776128901121

On this episode of Bros for America, host and moderator Alex Mohajer is joined by co-hosts Thomas McAbee, Rance Collins, and Daniel Fusselman call bull-shit on Donald Trump’s tactics to lay it out for Americans.

This president is gaslighting us over and over and over again.

He would prefer we forget that his private personal attorney, Michael Cohen pled guilty and was convicted on 8 criminal felony charges, to which he fully admits and alleges that the president was aware of and is an un-indicted co-conspirator.

He would prefer we forget that he is about to steal his second Supreme Court seat, this time with a nominee who will surely allow him to pardon himself in the criminal investigation being carried on against him by the Special Counsel Robert Mueller.

We won’t forget.

Bros for America fan favorite Dr. Dena Grayson returns for her second appearance on the podcast to discuss the passing of Senator John McCain and to offer up her immense breadth of knowledge regarding the Trump-Russia scandal, in the way only she can. Plus, panelists Alex Mohajer, Thomas McAbee, Rance Collins, and Daniel Fusselman pick their nominees for #ShitholeoftheWeek.

CORRECTION: In the original airing of this episode, the late Senator John McCain is mistakenly credited with having presented former FBI Director James Comey with the infamous “Steele Dossier,” the British intelligence document that alleges President Donald Trump is a Russian agent, in the summer of 2016. In reality, Senator McCain learned of the Steele Dossier shortly after the 2016 American presidential election in late November.

Bros for America: The Podcast is now available on iTunes, Google, and all other platforms. It is executive produced, hosted, and moderated by Alex Mohajer and features panelists Thomas McAbee, Rance Collins, and Daniel Fusselman. It is recorded using Skype and E-Camm Tools, edited using Audacity, and powered/distributed by Blubrry/Powerpress. The theme music is “Operatic 3” by Vibe Mountain, with Chris Zabriskie’s “It’s Always Too Late To Start” on closing credits. Interstitial music this week is “House of Cards theme” by Jeff Beale. Special thanks to Nelson Melegrito, Matt Garrett, and Hillary Clinton.

Liuba Grechen Shirley may not know it yet, but the verdict is in: the Democratic candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives in New York’s 2nd Congressional District, which is currently represented by 25-year incumbent Republican Peter King, is a political star on the rise.

“More than half of our representatives are millionaires who don’t understand how their decisions affect our lives,” Grechen Shirley said defiantly in an exclusive interview with hosts Alex Mohajer and Daniel Fusselman on the August 22, 2018 episode of Bros for America, the progressive political podcast. The first-time candidate has her eyes set on a political Goliath in her quest to unseat King, and was told from the outset that the Republican heavy-weight had taken office when she was only 12-years-old and that “no one could unseat him.”

But true-to-form, Liuba persisted. What began as a concerned citizen organizing protests outside of King’s office for his support on the Muslim ban, turned into starting her own Indivisible chapter, taking meetings with King to challenge him on his voting record, and then ultimately, deciding to run for office.

Grechen Shirley has put her money where her mouth is, so to speak, even if that money was non-existent to start. The working mother of two young children is running a grassroots campaign against an incumbent Republican (and Trump acolyte) with a $3 million war chest to his name, but she refuses to accept any corporate PAC money. Still, through sheer grassroots activism and determination, she has managed to outraise her opponent in the most recent quarter and is the first challenger for King’s seat in 25 years to outraise him.

“Peter King was Donald Trump before Donald Trump was. That’s who Peter King is. He is the most divisive representative. He is a misogynist. He is a racist. He is an Islamaphobe. 

Liuba Grechen Shirley

And she did it with no corporate PAC money. None.

Indeed, Liuba is already a proven changemaker, and she has not even been elected yet: disturbed by the financial roadblocks set up to prevent working class people from running for elected office, she petitioned the Federal Elections Commission to allow funds raised in political campaigns to be used on childcare and won, opening the door for more working-class moms and dads to run for Congress, and thereby changing the landscape of candidates.

The “must-watch political ad of this season” is Personal, by Liuba Grechen Shirley. The ad has already been called the must-watch ad of the midterm elections. In both the video and her interview, she captures the sentiment of an enormously frustrated, determined electorate mobilized and anxious to take their country back from the corrupt and the wealthy who have had far too much influence in Washington.

She also does not hesitate to skewer King, and rightfully so. Democrats tend to overplay a self-righteous refusal to bite back, to rise above the fray. But the time for playing nice is over. Guided by the truth and armed with her convictions, Liuba is unafraid to SWING.

“[Peter King] has been in office for 25 years and he has consistently voted to hurt people in our district and all across the country. He voted to take healthcare away from 74,000 people in our district last year, to raise premiums $2,000 on a family of four, he has voted against Paid Family Leave, against equal pay for women for equal work, he’s voted to let coal companies dump waste into our water, and he couldn’t protect us against this Tax Plan. 47% of Long Islanders will see our taxes go up this year and our property values go down 10-15%.” 

Liuba Grechen Shirley on Rep.

The Bros for America panelists are back this week to discuss GOP attacks on Nancy Pelosi, Trump/Russia, third-party election spoilers, and their nominees for #Shithole of the Week!

Bros for America is back with an all-new episode! Host and moderator Alex Mohajer navigates the waters as co-hosts Rance Collins, Thomas McAbee, and Daniel Fusselman chime in on the latest developments in Trump/Russia, the GOP attacks on Nancy Pelosi, third-party election spoilers and whether they threaten hopes of a #BlueWave in the US mid-term elections this November.

Stop trying to make ‘third-party’ happen. It’s not going to happen!

Bros for America co-host Rance Collins, 8/15/2018

The famous line from the 2004 Mark Waters comedy Mean Girls is one that is familiar to the bros. They infamously spoofed the Lindsay Lohan film in a campaign PSA for Hillary Clinton that was released on Halloween 2016, just days before the 2016 American presidential election.

“You can’t do that, it’s social suicide,” cries out Bros4America co-founder an Editor-in-Chief Mohajer, who plays the Lindsay Lohan bro, in response to hearing a friend state their intent to vote for Gary Johnson. “This is how ‘Al Gore’ happens.”

The spoof was a modest hit, going viral on Facebook and amassing tens of thousands of views on YouTube. But in retrospect, the video is a prescient warning of what is about to pass in the presidential election. In it, the Bros warn against casting a vote for a third-party candidate.

Little did he know.

Here’s Mean Bros, just for fun, and then check out the all-new episode of the Bros for America here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bDqxyfL34o4

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The Nitty Gritty/Credits

Bros for America is executive produced and hosted/moderated by Alex Mohajer, and stars co-hosts Daniel Fusselman, Thomas McAbee, and Rance Collins. The opening theme music is Operatic 3 by Vibe Mountain, and closing theme music is “It’s Always Too Late To Start Over” by Chris Zabriskie. Bros for America is produced using Audacity and hosted and distributed by Bluberry/Powerpress, with professional hosting statistics gathered by Blubrry. Special thanks to original Bros4Hillary founder Nelson Melegrito, Matt Garrett, and of course, Hillary Rodham Clinton, who was the inspiration and impetus for this podcast.

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