Primarily Speaking

Welcome to another edition of Primarily Speaking, because presidential primaries now begin fully one million years before the election!

[Content Note: Sexism] Jesus fucking Jones, Joe Biden. You are determined the be the absolute goddamned worst, aren't you?

There just ain't enough nope in the world for this guy. https://t.co/vhRtIfkNny

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) June 12, 2019

I am tired of Joe Biden pulling sexist shit and then I'm obliged to navigate accusations of oversensitivity (and a "circular firing squad") when I object to it.

The problem is not that I am too sensitive. The problem is that Joe Biden is not sensitive ENOUGH.

— Melissa McEwan (@Shakestweetz) June 12, 2019

In other Biden Is Terrible news, Biden once voted to restore the U.S. citizenship of Confederate President Jefferson Davis. That is 100% conservative shit-stirring, but it says something about a candidate when the only heavy lifting required of conservatives to stir shit is quoting your actual voting record.

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Senator Cory Booker has a message for Donald Trump regarding his horrendous invitation to foreign actors to interfere in our election: "It's not 'oppo research' — it's foreign interference in U.S. elections. That you would say this is disgraceful. That you would do it from the Oval Office (yet again) proves you're unfit for the office you hold."

Senator Amy Klobuchar used the occasion to continue relentlessly hammering away at election integrity: "I have to know, especially now that the president has invited foreign interference in our election again: What happened with those polling machines in North Carolina in 2016? How were they compromised? And what are we doing to stop it from happening again?"

[CN: Nativism] Senator Elizabeth Warren has strong words about the loathsome Ken Cuccinelli taking a position with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: "Surprise, surprise: @realDonaldTrump's pick to head @USCIS has compared immigrants to rats and spent his career peddling dangerous, anti-immigrant policies. Ken Cuccinelli is unfit to lead the agency tasked with fulfilling America's promise as a nation of immigrants."

(She needs to drop that "nation of immigrants" phrase immediately, though. We are a nation of immigrants, indigenous people, refugees, and descendants of enslaved people.)

[CN: Nativism] Beto O'Rourke also has some strident shit to say about this administration's vile nativist agenda: "You don't get kids in cages and 'human dog pounds' at the border until you have described asylum-seekers as animals or an infestation, dehumanizing them in the eyes of their fellow human beings."

[CN: Anti-trans violence] I have to say, O'Rourke has been impressing me lately. He also spoke about the murders of two trans women in Dallas after his Pride run in NYC, where he unveiled his comprehensive LGBTQ+ rights and safety plan, and I like him a lot more not standing on stuff.

And he said this on Morning Joe today, going right for Biden (again): "You cannot go back to the end of the Obama administration and think that that's good enough. As much of a horror show as Trump has been — his racism, the disaster of his foreign policy, his punishment of farmers and workers here in this country — we had real problems before Donald Trump became president." Hey, Beto — are you reading Shakesville?!

[CN: Racist violence] Senator Kamala Harris remembered Medgar Evers on the anniversary of his death: "The world lost a remarkable man 56 years ago when civil rights activist Medgar Evers was assassinated. His continued fight throughout his life to end segregation in Mississippi and secure our right to vote serves as an inspiration to this day."

[CN: Queer hatred] Former HUD Secretary Julián Castro is defending LGBTQ+ Puerto Ricans: "The Puerto Rican House of Representatives has passed a bill under the guise of religious freedom that would allow for discrimination against LGBTQ residents. We must defeat this bill — and work to end discrimination, rather than give it shelter."

Governor Jay Inslee is letting you know what you can do to demand a dedicated debate on climate change.

Mayor Pete Buttigieg is still fundraising like a motherfucker. He is very popular among lefties with lots of money, so his war chest is going to be tough to beat!

Senator Bernie Sanders gave a big speech about democratic socialism, and I don't really care, but, if you do, here is a good write-up about it by Greg Sargent at the Washington Post.

Howard Schultz (remember him?) is taking the summer off from not running for president, because he had back surgery, and he will decide after Labor Day whether he will run for president, and, because he is just super charming and awesome, he shit-canned everyone who was working for him except the most senior people. Apparently it was the first time he'd come into the office in months. He seems nice.

John Hickenlooper is still definitely running for president.

Talk about these things! Or don't. Whatever makes you happy. Life is short.