We just got sworn-in, and for the first time in history, there's an LGBTQ+ immigrant in the U.S. Congress.
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) January 7, 2023
Will be proudly sworn-in to Congress on the U.S. Constitution. Underneath the Constitution will be 3 items that mean a lot to me personally. A photo of my parents who I lost to covid, my citizenship certificate & an original Superman #1 from the @librarycongress. 🇺🇸😊 pic.twitter.com/YGW43OLsIp
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) January 3, 2023
Per Buzzfeed:
… Public servants often get symbolic as they consider how they’ll take their oath. President Joe Biden used a Bible that has been in his family for generations, and Vice President Kamala Harris swore on two books: a Bible that belonged to a woman she considered a mother figure, as well as a Bible once owned by Thurgood Marshall, the first Black Supreme Court justice. Garcia explained to BuzzFeed News the significant role that comic books and superheroes had on him growing up as an immigrant.
“I learned to read and write English reading comics as a kid. Never stopped reading,” he said.
Garcia, who moved to the US from Peru, said that the values he grew up with while reading Superman are ones that he brings with him into his adult life and his new job.
“I grew up mostly reading Superman comics, you know, truth and justice, an immigrant that was different, was raised by good people that welcomed them and always someone that if you look at Superman values, and caucus values, it’s about justice, it’s about honesty, it’s doing the right thing, standing up for people that need support.”
Prior to being elected to Congress, Garcia served eight years as mayor of Long Beach, California…
Getting access to the Congressional members reading room, and hands-on access to the whole Library of Congress, would almost be worth becoming a congresscritter!
Ok y’all I’m freaking out. This is the Congressional members reading room in the Library of Congress. I can pull any comic book from what is the largest public comic collection in the country and read them here. Let’s go! pic.twitter.com/SyIrCvHkfT
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) November 14, 2022
The Library always stands ready to assist when a new Congress convenes. This week we pulled materials from our collections for Congress members to be sworn in with. Here's a behind-the-scenes look from our comic book vault. pic.twitter.com/fMrVMyvGMw
— Library of Congress (@librarycongress) January 6, 2023
U.S. Congressman-Elect Robert Garcia will be sworn-in to Congress on the U.S. Constitution alongside a photo of his parents, his citizenship certificate, and an original Superman #1 comic from the Library of Congress that may be worth around $5 million. https://t.co/qDkxiQIV1F pic.twitter.com/q0PEKr7EWu
— IGN (@IGN) January 4, 2023
Rep. Garcia’s already sharing the love…
.@MGPforCongress is the proud owner of an independent auto repair and machine shop. She flipped a red district and will fight for the working class as she represents the WA-3rd district. Her campaign is the model of how we win back the House in 2024. pic.twitter.com/riFgq47ZCf
— Robert Garcia (@RobertGarcia) January 1, 2023
Check out the whole thread here.
Open Thread: Happy Warriors
lgerard
Noticed that none of those wingnuts eulogizing the sad Diamond has give a penny to her Givesendgo account.
https://www.givesendgo.com/DiamondandSilk
I guess words are cheaper.
eclare
What a great thread of our new representatives! Impressive group of people.
NotMax
Give ’em* no quarter.
*Should be no need to spell out to whom that refers.Pete Downunder
It’s too bad the msm is so in the bag for the Rs as the contrast between the the Dem reps and the R reps is really striking. Sane grownups vs lunatics. I don’t know how to get this across to the public at large. Hopefully team D can do it.
Leslie
@Pete Downunder: I would like someone to do a documentary using the words of the respective incoming groups. Interview footage/audio, as much as is available, supplemented with whatever else they come up with.
Or, heck, just a series of 60-second spots, each featuring two representatives. 30 seconds of D sanity and inspiration followed by 30 seconds of QAnon insanity, or vice versa.
Let people see the contrast for themselves.
eclare
@Leslie: Like Warnock in GA using video of Herschel saying crazy things in ads.
James E Powell
@Pete Downunder:
Agree. And the difference has been large & getting larger for years now. It’s not like the people who own & work in the political press don’t know this.
Pete Downunder
@Leslie: either would work well.
Viva BrisVegas
Next National Treasure movie.
Leslie
@eclare: Exactly. No need to editorialize; the extremism speaks for itself.
Baud
👍
Aussie Sheila
@Leslie: Nothing ‘speaks for itself’. Nothing.
Either the Dem caucus and its surrogates and supporters say it out loud and frequently, or it never sees the light of day.
The politics of these fascists have to be hammered home every day in every way, otherwise nothing gets through.
Enough with the ‘speaks for itself’. Say it.
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
Anybody know of any good deals on arks?
lowtechcyclist
@Pete Downunder: Hell, even a word cloud of each group would be a start.
Baud
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA:
I saw some videos of the flooding. Damn.
Here you go. You’ll need this.
https://arkencounter.com/
🐾BillinGlendaleCA
@Baud: Really coming down now, can’t see the house in front, 30 feet away.
Baud
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA:
Wow.
Kristine
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Damn.
Kristine
The New Reps thread is so good. Some pretty accomplished folks, some representing Illinois.
JPL
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Stay safe!
Matt McIrvin
@Aussie Sheila:
This is correct. The Republicans’ consistent underestimation of the people’s intelligence serves them well in one way: they know you need to repeat a message hundreds of times in the most explicit and kindergarten-level manner to get people who are barely paying attention to get it. The Republican reps were elected by people who must have liked something about their rhetoric. It’s not necessarily obvious that there is anything wrong with them.
MagdaInBlack
Gotta admit it, having spent the last 20 + years in the auto repair biz, I am pretty happy to see Rep. Gluesenkamp-Perez in congress.
Betty Cracker
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Just saw a clip of the flooding on CNN. Dang! Stay safe!
Scout211
Another weather story from California: 3:40 am and our phones woke us up with an emergency alert for a tornado in our area. Severe thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail and gale force winds but thankfully, no tornado. It’s calmer now but who can sleep after that?
Betty Cracker
@Scout211: Geez! Hope it eases up soon.
Betty Cracker
“Diamond” of “Diamond & Silk” fame died. No cause was given in the article I read. She was in her early 50s. Wouldn’t be surprised if it was COVID that killed her. The two were vociferously anti-vax and spread all sorts of conspiracy theories about the shots.
The Thin Black Duke
@Betty Cracker: There never is a Happy House Negro Retirement Home for these poor misguided fools when white people don’t need them anymore.
Geminid
@Kristine: Nikki Budzinski is someone I will watch. Budzinski’s run for for 13th Illinois CD Representative was her first try for elective office, but she has a lot of political experience.
While she attended the University of Illinois Budzinski interned with Senator Dick Durbin, Rep. Richard Gephart, and Planned Parenthood. Upon graduation, she went to work in DC for the United Food and Commerial Workers as national political director.
Later, Budzinski was a senior advisor for messaging and outreach in J.B. Pritzger’s 1st campaign for governor and when he won, she was director for his transition.
Budzinski was serving in the Biden administration as chief of staff for the Director of the Office of Management and Budget when Springfield Democrats redristricted, and redrew the Illinois 13th CD as a winnable Democratic district.
Nikki Budzinski seems to see herself more as a doer than a talker. At a Springfield victory rally election night, she said to the cheering crowd:
“Thank you, and then let’s get to work.”
Quinerly
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA:
I was thinking about you yesterday when catching up on news
Please stay safe and stay in touch with us.
Quinerly
@Betty Cracker:
I read she had been in the hospital on the downlow since Nov 30. Covid.
No sympathy here.
kalakal
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Stay safe
Quinerly
@Aussie Sheila:
couldn’t agree more.
kalakal
@Scout211: Truly nerve wracking. Stay safe
Betty Cracker
@The Thin Black Duke: I read an article about the two when they first rose to fame as Trump shills. Their parents were grifty radio preachers who sold anti-witchcraft cures, etc., so monetizing Fox News dimwits probably came naturally to D&S.
Steve in the ATL
@NotMax: TCU, obviously!
BellyCat
Re: Diamond. Sadly, some problems can only be solved with tombstones.
Geminid
Politico put up two Florida politics articles yesterday evening. One was titled, “Florida Democratic Party Chair quits after disastrous midterms.”
The other was, “Rick Scott’s no regrets tour.”
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: The outgoing chairman wrote a 2,500 word resignation letter! It was somewhat defensive, and his criticisms weren’t wrong, though he didn’t fully own up to his own failures either, IMO. It’ll be interesting to see where they go from here.
Geminid
@Betty Cracker: I do not know how you rebuild a state party operation. It seems like it would be done between campaigns but also through campaigns. In 2024 Joe Biden should be on the ballot and so should Rick Scott. That will Florida Democrats’ first chance to demonstrate a more effective operation.
Democrats in my own state did not exactly cover themselves with glory in 2021. We get a chance for redemption this fall, when 40 Senate seats and 100 Delegates seats will be contested. Virginia’s Democrats have at least one advantage over Florida’s; there are neutrally drawn district maps. I think gerrymandering doesn’t just advantage the dominant party, it also can sap the morale of the underdogs.
Betty Cracker
@Geminid: One of the problems FL Dems have is that donations have dried up. The national party doesn’t consider FL a good investment, and neither do big donors. Can’t blame them for that, but as some folks have pointed out, in a sense, it’s a self-fulfilling prophecy: if you treat Florida as indistinguishable from Mississippi politically, it will become indistinguishable from Mississippi politically. That’s happening.
I hate to say it, but I suspect our problems are even worse than that. There’s a reason so many of the rightwing nuts in the country are coming to Florida. They see it as the blueprint and proof-point for a Christianist, authoritarian-style GOP that they want to take nationwide. I don’t anticipate any shift in the political center of gravity until that project definitively succeeds or fails.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Even more reason for Ds to invest in it. It’s a national investment.
Baud
@Betty Cracker: If there’s a viable strategy, I think the investment will follow.
OTOH, if Florida does turn bright red, maybe Dems will finally have enough political will to update our Cuba policy.
Professor Bigfoot
@The Thin Black Duke: they eventually always get their “n-word wakeup call,” don’t they?
Sad, but truly a self inflicted wound.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: I think Biden gets that — not necessarily that Florida is a place for the party to invest but rather that it’s an influential state where democracy is fragile in a way that’s a national threat. Maybe I’m wrong about that. There are plenty of right-wing states, including Ohio and Texas, where democracy is fragile. But there’s an energy behind it here that seems unique to me. Could be location bias, I’ll admit! ;-)
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Good! Biden has been very good on insisting that democracy should be on the ballot despite many learned pundits telling him to talk about health care. They think the focus on democracy is “cringeworthy”, I think. They’re too cool to fall for that. Biden has a blunt stubborness that probably gets him into trouble but also makes him stick to his guns.
Has BJ covered this Journey saga?!!?
They look like my clients who are Trumpsters- people in their 60s who dress too young and wear too much makeup. The women are always wearing tough girl shoes with straps and rivets and buckles galore.
Baud
@Kay: I guess Schon stopped believin’.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: Hahaha! I had no idea about any of this! I remember Paula White from the Trump years but didn’t know she was married to someone from Journey. I wonder if they’ll play The Villages?
As someone who finds herself aging at a shocking rate, I sometimes wonder if I should donate my old Doc Martens to a thrift store, but in my defense, they’re plain black ones with regular soles — no buckles or rivets, and I haven’t worn makeup this century, so I don’t think I’m making a fool of myself. Yet. ;-)
Kay
@Baud:
I maintain being a GOP grifter is just a really easy, yet lucrative, job.
Baud
@Kay: I’d imagine, like anything else, it requires some talent and skill to be good at it. I wouldn’t be successful at it, even if I wanted to.
Betty Cracker
I haven’t read every single thread or comment at this blog over the past several days, but I have seen most, and I just wanted to say how proud I am of us all for the lack of British royal family discussions. Well done us, as the Brits say!
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
It’s weirdly urban dress. High heels, a lot of black leather. That’s the part I can’t figure out. There’s a mail order outlet somewhere for these people specifically. My assistant once blurted out that I was a “plain jane” which I understand- I was not offended because it’s funny and true! She’s surrounded by people who dress like they’re in a reality show. I must look grey and stern to her in comparison to these exotic, aging, birds. Just the hair upkeep for both the men and women. It must take hours.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
It is good there’s no discussion of the royal family but I think I’m a pretty loyal Democrat and even I think the cheerleading around here since losing the House is a bit much. We lost the House. The innsurrectionists won a round with capturing McCarthy. It’s bad news. It’s not devastating news or a reason to despair but they did win a round and I fail to see how pretending that didn’t happen is worthwhile.
Jeffries is fine. We don’t know that much about him as a congressional leader yet. Surely he doesn’t need this 24/7 cheering section. “Here he is talking to Nancy Pelosi!” He’s not my sixth grader in the school play.
I know we can handle a loss – it won’t kill us.
Omnes Omnibus
@Kay: People can need bucking up after a loss.
FastEdD
From 1975, I have been to every Long Beach Grand Prix ever held, from the first F5000, through all the F1 years, to Champ Car and IndyCar today. I remember seeing Robert Garcia as mayor of Long Beach and thinking, “Wow what an impressive guy!” Heard him give several speeches, and he was so well spoken. I knew the story of his parents dead from COVID, and he was, of course, beyond proactive. The race was cancelled when it was at its worst, and when they brought it back (it is the economic lifeblood of the city) no one was allowed to enter without testing negative. It was announced months in advance but still the wingnuts were surprised and screamed their fool heads off. Testing stations everywhere and even a booth where you could get a vaccine in the infield. Garcia also prodded the city council to renovate the Queen Mary, another Long Beach institution. I knew he was going places as a public figure with good sense, and he is.
delphinium
@Kay: I tend to agree with this. No need to dive into despair but the fact that Republicans were able to get the house back, though a narrow win, is not good news. They are not constrained by norms and most of their voters will happily re-elect them despite their pushing policies that will harm them. We already know from the Trump years that the MSM (for the most part) will be more than happy to promote their antics without deeper analysis about how this behavior continues to erode our democracy.
Leslie
@Aussie Sheila: I meant a both/and approach. There should also be numerous people calling out the extremism on a regular basis.
Xavier
“for the first time in history, there’s an LGBTQ+ immigrant in the U.S. Congress” (that we know of.)
Kay
@delphinium:
We did well! We held the senate and the state level results were very good. Keeping the House would have extraordinary! The President’s Party is supposed to lose1st midterm.
But we lost the House and the insurrectionists won one round by bullying McCarthy into submission. Jeffires may be great (no one knows yet) but there isn’t jack shit he can do about that in the minority.
BigJimSlade
@🐾BillinGlendaleCA: Well, if you’re handy, I think you know where you can buy the supplies to build your own ;-
Last night we lost power (Pacific Palisades) for about 8 hours, and the internet for another couple hours, but it’s all back up now.
Betty Cracker
@Kay: FWIW, I agree 100%.
Kay
@Omnes Omnibus:
I get uncomfortable when BJ turns into the Democrats support group. “We LOST but really we WON’. Hmmm. I don’t think so.
The Power of Positive Thinking :)
It happens periodically and then it ebbs back toward the equlibrium- its cranky old self – so I’m sure that will happen again.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
Of course Jeffries is better than McCarthy. My umbrella is better than McCarthy. The bar is higher than that.
Kay
@Betty Cracker:
I think McCarthy will ultimatey fail not because he’s dumb but because he’s a liar. No one can trust his word. One can’t operate in a negotiating forum without trust. He lies constantly. None of them trust him and they shouldn’t. Once again it’s not intelligence or education but character.
Omnes Omnibus
@Kay: I get uncomfortable when everyone focuses on the negative. I think that this place has a tendency to overreact to bad news and to label pessimism as realism. I guess it takes all kinds.
Matt McIrvin
@Omnes Omnibus: Somewhere in my allegedly rational heart there still lies a superstition that optimistic statements bring the Evil Eye.