Spin Zone: Q2 2017

[Blakesley]

Name: 

Media/Outlet: 

Reason: (Ex. Why I Love Our Presidents) 

 

[Bullet points/brief outline of talking points during appearance.]

 

Due by April 24th, at 11:59 PM EST.

[Ollie]

Name: Charles Walker

Media/Outlet: CNN/State of the Union with Jake Tapper 

Reason: Democrats Attempt to Nuke the Filibuster

 

• Democrats are attempting an overt power grab in the United States Senate and one can only assume they are being directed to do so by the White House, including President de la Cruz and Vice President Doug Murphy. These are the people who pledged to unify the country. They pledged to bring forward bipartisan solutions and not cater to either extreme, be it on the left or the right. We now know that President de la Cruz lied to the American people when she pledged to work for 'all Americans' when she was elected President, and when she promised not to cater to the extremists on the left.
• This move by the Senate Majority Leader, to kill the filibuster, is one that will have wide ranging ramifications. It's the most bitterly partisan move Democrats could make because instead of withdrawing Paul Watford, and this President picking a nominee that can be confirmed, a consensus nominee, they are now trying to break the rules in the Senate and confirm him with just 50 votes. This is not only unprecedented, it is against the will of the American people, plain and simple.
• There's a special election in Wisconsin coming up to fill the Senate seat Doug Murphy ashamedly left behind, after the state voted for Katherine McCord and I in the 2016 election. Let this be a message to voters in Wisconsin: we cannot send another rubber stamp for this President and this Senate Majority Leader to run roughshod over the American people, who made their voices heard, and elected 49 Republicans in the Senate, and a Republican House Majority. The American people wanted Republicans in Congress to hold the President accountable. And now Democrats are trying to subvert the will of the American people by breaking the rules and making unprecedented motion to overturn the recent vote on Watford, which failed for the second time. 

[Starnes]

Name: Cliff Fleming

Media/Outlet: Anderson Cooper

Reason: Watford Nomination/Nuclear Option

 

• "Anderson, in her inaugural address the President said that she would work on behalf of all Americans and would listen to their concerns. Right now, Senate Democrats seem to be trying to engage in a little bit of revisionist history by saying that this really only meant that they will work on behalf of only the people who voted for Democrats in the last election. President de la Cruz made the decision to re-nominate Paul Watford and Republicans exercised our Constitutional obligation to advise her on that nomination, and each time the Democrats forced a cloture vote, it lost support."
• "I've suspected from the beginning of this process that the path that the Senate Majority Leader wanted to take was this one. Remember he's the one who ended talks prematurely about finding a consensus candidate, something the President and President Pro Tempore both seemed to indicate they supported, and threw me unceremoniously out of his office. Why? Because he didn't like the names I offered to start...sounds a little hypocritical when the only argument that the Democrats have given for Judge Watford was that they picked him and therefore he has to be confirmed don't you think?"
• "This is now the second time that the Senate Democrats have attempted to change the rules of the game because they didn't like the results. Harry Reid did it under Obama and now Alex Fakhouri is trying to do it under this current Administration. We know that the Vice President wanted this to happen, but I think the President has a responsibility and a duty to come out in front of the American people, rebuke this affront and assault on democracy and work with my office to do what the Senate Majority Leader can't do, find a candidate that we can all support."
• "I'm personally tired of hearing about partisan policies and polls being the only reasons that Democrats want to force this twice-failed nomination through. We evaluate potential Justices off of their judicial philosophy, something that Paul Watford has failed utterly and they can't defend. Democrats evaluate potential Justices off of what policies they think they can get them to implement from the bench, that's why it's only been Democrats listing out the litany of causes and unpopular positions that they think the Supreme Court can pass for them. Why? Because the Democrat Party refuses to respect democracy."

[Garson]

Name: Gary Scott Freeman

Media/Outlet: CNN's Don Lemon Tonight

Reason: Toxicity in Washington and among Senate Leaders; Political Correctness and Roy Controversy

 

"I see Senator Everhart and Senator Fleming go back and forth all day on Twitter and I just think to myself how unfortunate and irresponsible it is for our democracy. It's dangerous and demeaning to public service. I would be disheartened, as one of the youngest and newest Senators in the chamber, but frankly I am hopeful. We've seen the worse that it can be, we're at rock bottom, now we can start to grow from there. I've watched as many of my Senate colleagues have partnered up on legislation, signing on to legislation from those across the political divide. It's tough work that doesn't get broadcast, but it's there. We should elevate it going forward."

 

"It amazes me that two political leaders read a story in the Daily Beast about one unknown and inconsequential person spewing nonsense and think it's was a good idea to take to Twitter and start bullying one of their colleagues. We're really dealing with brain-rot from the D.C. establishment. The fact is, I serve alongside Senator Roy and he has denounced these views privately and publicly. I have never heard him spread anything near white supremacy. I'm a Black man, a descendent of slaves, elected in South Carolina. To hear Joy Reid and these other leftist commentators tap into racial grievances and use it to take cheap political shots in unspeakable to me."

 

"Would I go out tomorrow and fashion my rhetoric in the same way Senator Roy has done? No. But I do think the Senator is someone who speaks his mind, removes the filters, and challenges political correctness. I know among many conservatives, this is quite refreshing. We tried political correctness and buttoned-up politicians in 2008, 2012, 2016 and it hasn't worked for us. I was elected to the Senate as one of the youngest Senators in a chamber with a lot of old people and I'm a Black conservative from South Carolina. I think people are looking past establishment politicians who continue poor leadership and advance gridlock in Washington. Maybe we need people who are willing to wage a battle against political correctness and break through the noise and leftist agenda to silence and muzzle conservative thinkers."

[Hannah]

Name: Heather James

Media: State of the Union on CNN

Reason: AHCA

 

• The so-called American Health Care Act demonstrates that after seven years of complaining about the ACA, Republicans still have not come up with any viable solution. The AHCA would deny insurance to millions of Americans who've gained health care coverage for the first time thanks to the ACA. And it would effect a massive wealth transfer from low and middle income Americans to pay for tax cuts for the very wealthy. This bill would weaken Medicaid, explode income inequality, and cost jobs: over a million over the next decade, according to the Milken Institute.
• There is some good news, I guess. It would make some savings on Social Security. Because Americans would be dying earlier, but hey.
• Republican messaging on health care this session has been confused: Senate Republicans introduced an amendment, written by a Democratic Senator [Michael Bennet of Colorado], to provide extra support to insurance exchanges, while House Republicans turned around and voted for a resolution that would completely undermine that same bill by weakening those exchanges. Numerous Republicans flip-flopped after years of hardline opposition to support the Democrats' bill on Medicare drug price negotiation, but there seems no prospect of House Republicans giving that bill a vote. Just what is the Republican health care plan?
• A closed motion to prevent any amendments, and it passes on party lines, without a single Republican dissent. It appears that when they're in the majority, Republicans suddenly become a lot less interested in the supposed bipartisan cooperation and compromise they talk about in the Senate.

[BobbyJ]

Name: Senator Kimberly Atkins

Media/Outlet: Face The Nation on the CBS

Reason: Liberal Media Bias; Policy failures of the Democrats

 

• "What we're seeing is a left-wing media onslaught that is designed to focus America's attention off of the massive failures of the Democratic party. We have a president who barely shows up to work, two Senate Majority Leaders is two quarters of the new session. This new majority leader is yanking radical left wing bills off the Senate floor left and right. We can see their extremist vision, they're telling us in plain sight, but the White House and leadership in Congress cannot even get their own party behind it, it's so bad! It's failure after failure after failure and all the left-wing mainstream press can talk about is the words of a labor union leader who comes from a cesspool of corruption and unverified, unchallenged words of a bitter staff member who worked for the failed former Democratic leader. This is a disgrace in journalism. The mainstream media is playing games with America's trust by finagling over salacious rumors and ignoring plain facts staring us right in our faces."
• "Let's take a look at this radical and extreme left-wing agenda, whereby the socialists in the party pull the strings of an absent and fly-by-the-wind president, and somehow they're still ineffective. The race-baiting, twitter-loving Entropic Everhart had the Equality Act on the floor, that would have enshrined this New Age liberal indoctrinating social culture on the American people. He had this radical and extremist economic bill, that would have raised the minimum wage to $15 an hour, which most economists estimate will lead to massive job losses and potentially throw the youth economy into chaos as they try to compete for entry-level jobs that should be readily available. Then he had this rather extremist abortion promotion bill. We call it the Abortion Promotion Bill, because the entire legislation is ripe with provisions focused on making sure doctors and medical staff encourage and almost harass women about their option to get an abortion, goading them to not pick the right choice that's best for them but to pick abortion. It would've had taxpayers spending on paraphernalia shoving abortion in their face: abort the baby, abort the baby! Really and truly disgusting legislation. What happened to all of these extremist proposals? The fickle, half-hearted Entropic Everhart, leader of the Democrats, showed us the vision for the country to see the Democratic party's true intentions and their true agenda, then he pulled it from the floor, as he realized it wasn't going to get the kind of support he thought it would. If that's not chaos, I don't know what is. That's what the mainstream media should be focused on."
• "We've had military families devastated after a helicopter crash killed some of our country's brave Americans. What does the president do? Releases a statement through a low-level aide and doesn't bother to address the American people. She has turned her back on the same U.S. military that gave her an opportunity to serve something bigger than the Hollywood pageantry she was a part of. It's a clear sign to the American people that we don't have a visible and vocal leader in office today, we have a hidden and quiet coward."

[Starnes]

Name: Cliff Fleming

Media: State of the Union on CNN

Reason: Democrats Abandoned Working America

 

• Democrats, in their eternal willingness to be working towards the next campaign, have completely abandoned working Americans. We heard them say ad nauseum about how they wanted working Americans to have better wages, to have better jobs and to provide a better future for their children. You know, provide them with the opportunity to achieve the American Dream.
• As they tipped their hand during the failed attempt to eliminate the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees, Democrats aren't interested in our democratic processes or in doing the right thing for America. No, they believe that they should be able to rule by fiat and damn the country if that means something bipartisan gets done. They brought up a bill on women's health that got bipartisan amendments, then they pulled it. Now, Americans had the opportunity to get an almost 50% raise on the minimum wage, and then they pulled it. It's becoming a trend, if something would have even a single Republican supporter, they pull it.
• This is because the Senate Democrats are not interesting in governing or doing what's right for America. They're only interested in their big city donors and having strongly worded messaging in campaign ads. You don't believe me? Look at their nominee in Wisconsin, this is a man who had Doctors, probably the least political profession in this nation, coming out to say that they had to donate to him to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars, just to be able to speak with him. It's no wonder that Democrats don't actually care about working Americans, they know that with their policies they'll never be able to afford those donations.

[SWMissourian]

Name: Andrew Clarke (D-MO) 

Media/Outlet: CNN 

Reason: Minimum Wage Raise 

• Workers need a raise. $7.25 was a good compromise for its time, but now, it is too low of a minimum wage. I think most Americans agree with that, when you look at the polls, regardless of party. We are overdue for an increase, and President de la Cruz won on a promise to raise the minimum wage. The people have spoken. 
• Clearly, we need a compromise. We have a split Congress. I believe it can still be done, and Americans can still get a proper raise. I think we need to hash out a clearer proposal and get something through Congress. We can’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good here, and to some extent, the states will always have to set their own wage policy in connection with their own circumstances. My friend John Carlsen proposed something close to $10. Senator Starnes proposed $11. I’ve heard $12 from some people as well. We can land on a number that still delivers a substantial raise without killing a lot of jobs. 
• Congress came together to raise the minimum wage many years ago, and we can and should do so again. The mandate of the people is clear there. All of the Democratic Party is behind a wage increase, and I know we’ll continue to work on a proposal that will get through Congress and benefit workers across the nation. 

[TexAgRepublican]

Name: Kyle Van Horn
Media/Outlet: Tucker Carlson Tonight
Reason: KBJ Nomination, David Stewart, future of right-wing populism

•    Like a lot of other people, I feel betrayed. I think that’s the best way to put it. I agree with the reaction of Matt Gaetz, Michelle Malkin, and other conservative populists today. 
•    You don’t fight as hard as we did to defeat Watford and then nominate Ketanji Brown Jackson. As Senator Donelson explained today, she is the ultimate left-wing judicial activist. She is the type of person who wants to fundamentally transform this country in ways that will make it unrecognizable in the future. She is a very dangerous woman. 
•    I never would have supported this, which is why I was removed as Whip by Stewart and his clique. They wanted someone to tell them what they wanted to hear. I told them the truth. I told them Stewart was not ready or qualified for this role.
•    I worked with Stewart in the past thinking like many people that he was a genuine populist with a compelling personal story. Instead, he became the very thing he allegedly came to Washington to fight against. He became a power-hungry, shadowy, backroom-dealing figure that makes someone like Paul Ryan seem like an outsider by comparison, enabled by a clique of grifters eager to ride his coattails. 
•    I think there is space in the Republican Party for someone who is socially conservative but more populist on economic issues. I think that’s where most of the country lies. It’s certainly how people are back home in Eastern Kentucky. It’s why Lawrence County, where I’ve lived most of my life, voted for Democrats for so long. We weren’t liberal on the social issues, but a lot of us were coal miners, teachers, truckers, nurses, police officers. Union members. Salt of the earth people who don’t necessarily benefit from a lot of Republican orthodoxy. We’re not Paul Ryan, but we’re not Diego Everhart, either. These kind of people need a political home, and I got into politics to represent them. 
•    David Stewart and his clique proved today that they don’t represent us. And as a movement, we have to be smarter at vetting these people. And that includes me. Tucker, I’m new to Washington, and I have to do a better job of vetting people because I trusted this guy at first. I was wrong. 
•    I don’t want to be Whip again. I did it because Senator Fleming asked me to and I thought it would be good for the party and the country. But I’m not really an establishment kind of person. I think I’ll be a better Senator from the outside. Hopefully we’ll find some qualified people to fill these roles soon. 
 

[Hannah]

Name: Heather James

Media: Good Morning America on ABC

Reason: Wisconsin election and Washington context

• "I'm obviously not qualified to speak to the specifics of Wisconsin local politics: after all, I'm lactose intolerant! But in terms of the campaign overall what I saw was a referendum on responsible government. For a sitting Governor to lose to, all respect and congratulations to my friend Ron Kind, but for a Governor to lose to a House member is something of a reality check. The complete dysfunction on the Republican side, flip-flopping on policies they've advocated for years, undermining each other in political horse-trading, cycling through what will now be their third leadership change in a matter of weeks, can't have inspired much faith among voters."
• "That said, Democrats cannot afford to sit on our laurels. Winning one Senate seat moves us from knife-edge votes to slightly-blunter-knife-edge votes; we are still the minority in the House. We have a Supreme Court vacancy that's been open for over a year now, and a Vice President to confirm. I am confident that Majority Leader Storm will continue with an agenda tackling the issues that matter to Americans, and working across the aisle to get meaningless progress done. The latest bit of obstructionism, on infrastructure funding for California, was too ridiculous even for many Republicans, thankfully. Disaster aid needs to go to affected communities and not be held up by attempts to politik state policies from Washington D.C."
• "The attempts by some Republicans to portray themselves as the party of labor didn't really play in Wisconsin, unsurprisingly. While they're blocking legislation allowing federal workers to unionize, voting to rip health care benefits away from millions of workers, and above all preventing a living minimum wage increase, they can't seriously claim that mantle. But maybe some of their friction on their side suggests a deal on some of these issues is possible in the future."