McClellan projected to become first Black woman to represent Va. in Congress By Meagan Flynn and Gregory S. Schneider February 21, 2023 at 19:52 ET State Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan defeated conservative pastor Leon Benjamin to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress, the Associated Press projected Tuesday. McClellan (D-Richmond) bested Benjamin in his third bid for the 4th District seat, vacated after the death in November of Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D), whom McClellan has described as a longtime friend and mentor. McClellan, 50, was widely expected to prevail in the deep-blue, Richmond-anchored district, which stretches to the North Carolina border. But within the broader arc of history, in a city still contending with its Confederate past — in a country still reckoning with the consequences of slavery, segregation and “massive resistance” — McClellan said she felt the weight of the victory.
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McClellan to become 1st Black woman for Virginia in Congress
By STEPHEN GROVES
Today
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Jennifer McClellan will be sworn in to the U.S. House late Tuesday, making her the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.
The longtime state lawmaker leaned into the historical and personal significance of the moment, telling The Associated Press she would take her oath of office with a family Bible containing a receipt for a poll tax her father once had to pay tucked into its pages.
"The fact that I’m the first from Virginia, the birthplace of American democracy and the birthplace of American slavery, is kind of poetic justice,” McClellan said in an interview Monday.
As McClellan formally joins the ranks of Congress, she will make Virginia the 23rd state to be represented in Congress by a Black woman, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of historical records.
McClellan recalled how her parents and grandparents faced Jim Crow-era obstacles just to vote. She said her grandfather had to prove he could read and find three white men to vouch for it; her father, a pastor and professor, had to pay a poll tax to vote and kept the proof in his now-worn Bible; and her mother, the first woman in her family to attend school beyond eighth grade, did not vote until the 1965 Voting Acts Right was enacted.
“What sparked my interest in government was listening to them tell their stories, where they saw the best of government in the New Deal and the worst of government in Jim Crow,” she said. “Those stories not only made me want to focus on making government a force for helping people and solving problems, but I'll carry those stories into the House chamber with me.”
McClellan won a special election last month to represent Virginia's blue-leaning 4th District, which stretches from Richmond south to the border of North Carolina. The seat was opened when Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin died weeks after being elected to a fourth term in November.
McClellan won't shift the balance of power in the House, which is narrowly held by Republicans with a 222-seat majority. Democrats have 213 seats.
McClellan called McEachin a “big brother” figure, starting with his mentorship of Black college students like her at the University of Richmond. McClellan went on to become an associate general counsel at Verizon over a 20-year career with the company. She also represented parts of the Richmond area in the General Assembly for nearly two decades and joined with McEachin in the statehouse to press a range of progressive goals.
She became a force behind many Democratic proposals, including bills to expand voting access, ensure abortion rights and curb climate change. She ran for governor in 2021 but lost in a crowded Democratic primary to Terry McAuliffe.
After McEachin's death from the secondary effects of colorectal cancer, McClellan considered following in his footsteps again, as she did in 2017 when he vacated a seat in the state Senate. This time, though, she missed McEachin's phone calls of advice.
“I really felt his absence,” McClellan said, adding that she ultimately decided she could build on his legacy.
She will also add a new dynamic to Virginia's delegation. McClellan has two children and was the first Virginia delegate to give birth while in office after she joined the state House in 2006.
During an interview that was peppered with the background noise of children arriving home from school, McClellan said she was ready “to bring a brand new perspective as a Black mom, a Black woman and a working mom.”
___
Associated Press writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Va., contributed reporting.
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you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
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another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
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gop should learn from this. but they absolutely will not.
Yup. Keep abortion and other social issues front and center. See how that works.
the people have had enough of their shit. especially young voters. if this trend continues, in a few more election cycles the gop will not even be a viable party.
"You can tell the greatness of a man by what makes him angry." - Lincoln
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Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Anti-vaccine activist RFK Jr. challenging Biden in 2024
By MICHELLE L. PRICE
17 mins ago
NEW YORK (AP) — Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and scion of one of the country’s most famous political families, is running for president.
Kennedy filed a statement of candidacy Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.
The 69-year-old’s campaign to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination is a long shot. Self-help author Marianne Williamson is also running in the Democratic race.
Kennedy, a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F. Kennedy, was once a bestselling author and environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water.
But more than 15 years ago, he became fixated on a belief that vaccines are not safe. He emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement, and his work has been described by public health experts and even members of his own family as misleading and dangerous.
Kennedy had been long involved in the anti-vaccine movement, but the effort intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic and development of the COVID-19 vaccine.
His anti-vaccine charity, Children’s Health Defense, prospered during the pandemic, with revenues more than doubling in 2020 to $6.8 million, according to filings made with charity regulators.
His organization has targeted false claims at groups that may be more prone to distrust the vaccine, including mothers and Black Americans, experts have said, which could have resulted in deaths during the pandemic.
Kennedy released a book in 2021, “The Real Anthony Fauci,” in which he accused the U.S.’s top infectious disease doctor of assisting in “a historic coup d’etat against Western democracy” and promoted unproven COVID-19 treatments such as ivermectin, which is meant to treat parasites, and the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.
His push against the COVID-19 vaccine has linked him at times with anti-democratic figures and groups. Kennedy has appeared at events pushing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and with people who cheered or downplayed the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
A photo posted on Instagram showed Kennedy backstage at a July 2021 Reawaken America event with former President Donald Trump’s ally Roger Stone, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger. All three have promoted the lie about the 2020 election being stolen.
The photo was posted but later removed by Bollinger, who has appeared with Kennedy at multiple events. She and her husband sponsored an anti-vaccine, pro-Trump rally near the Capitol on Jan. 6. Bollinger celebrated the attack and her husband tried to enter the Capitol. Kennedy later appeared in a video for their Super PAC.
Kennedy has repeatedly invoked Nazis and the Holocaust when talking about measures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19, such as mask requirements and vaccine mandates. He has sometimes apologized for those comments, including when he suggested that people in 2022 had it worse than Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years.
Kennedy has at times invoked his family’s legacy in his anti-vaccine work, including sometimes using images of President Kennedy.
His sister Kerry Kennedy, who runs Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the international rights group founded by their mother, Ethel, said her brother has at times removed some of the content at her request.
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Democrats paid a lot for that WI win. $40 million in the most expensive judiciary race ever. Crazy.
How much will those electoral votes and House seats be worth next year after the court potentially hears cases on gerrymandering and voting rights? Not at crazy as one might believe.
Comments
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
By Meagan Flynn and Gregory S. Schneider
February 21, 2023 at 19:52 ET
State Sen. Jennifer L. McClellan defeated conservative pastor Leon Benjamin to become the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress, the Associated Press projected Tuesday.
McClellan (D-Richmond) bested Benjamin in his third bid for the 4th District seat, vacated after the death in November of Rep. A. Donald McEachin (D), whom McClellan has described as a longtime friend and mentor.
McClellan, 50, was widely expected to prevail in the deep-blue, Richmond-anchored district, which stretches to the North Carolina border. But within the broader arc of history, in a city still contending with its Confederate past — in a country still reckoning with the consequences of slavery, segregation and “massive resistance” — McClellan said she felt the weight of the victory.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
There are no kings inside the gates of eden
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
I have only love and respect Jimmy Carter.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Democrat Jennifer McClellan will be sworn in to the U.S. House late Tuesday, making her the first Black woman to represent Virginia in Congress.
The longtime state lawmaker leaned into the historical and personal significance of the moment, telling The Associated Press she would take her oath of office with a family Bible containing a receipt for a poll tax her father once had to pay tucked into its pages.
"The fact that I’m the first from Virginia, the birthplace of American democracy and the birthplace of American slavery, is kind of poetic justice,” McClellan said in an interview Monday.
As McClellan formally joins the ranks of Congress, she will make Virginia the 23rd state to be represented in Congress by a Black woman, according to a recent Pew Research Center analysis of historical records.
McClellan recalled how her parents and grandparents faced Jim Crow-era obstacles just to vote. She said her grandfather had to prove he could read and find three white men to vouch for it; her father, a pastor and professor, had to pay a poll tax to vote and kept the proof in his now-worn Bible; and her mother, the first woman in her family to attend school beyond eighth grade, did not vote until the 1965 Voting Acts Right was enacted.
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“What sparked my interest in government was listening to them tell their stories, where they saw the best of government in the New Deal and the worst of government in Jim Crow,” she said. “Those stories not only made me want to focus on making government a force for helping people and solving problems, but I'll carry those stories into the House chamber with me.”
McClellan won a special election last month to represent Virginia's blue-leaning 4th District, which stretches from Richmond south to the border of North Carolina. The seat was opened when Democratic Rep. Donald McEachin died weeks after being elected to a fourth term in November.
McClellan won't shift the balance of power in the House, which is narrowly held by Republicans with a 222-seat majority. Democrats have 213 seats.
McClellan called McEachin a “big brother” figure, starting with his mentorship of Black college students like her at the University of Richmond. McClellan went on to become an associate general counsel at Verizon over a 20-year career with the company. She also represented parts of the Richmond area in the General Assembly for nearly two decades and joined with McEachin in the statehouse to press a range of progressive goals.
She became a force behind many Democratic proposals, including bills to expand voting access, ensure abortion rights and curb climate change. She ran for governor in 2021 but lost in a crowded Democratic primary to Terry McAuliffe.
After McEachin's death from the secondary effects of colorectal cancer, McClellan considered following in his footsteps again, as she did in 2017 when he vacated a seat in the state Senate. This time, though, she missed McEachin's phone calls of advice.
“I really felt his absence,” McClellan said, adding that she ultimately decided she could build on his legacy.
She will also add a new dynamic to Virginia's delegation. McClellan has two children and was the first Virginia delegate to give birth while in office after she joined the state House in 2006.
During an interview that was peppered with the background noise of children arriving home from school, McClellan said she was ready “to bring a brand new perspective as a Black mom, a Black woman and a working mom.”
___
Associated Press writer Sarah Rankin in Richmond, Va., contributed reporting.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
yes
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
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"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Not a lot of details yet
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another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
how is that non red wave going?
gop should learn from this. but they absolutely will not.
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
12 points at 70% counted
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
82% counted. 10.2 point lead. 160k vote separation
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
"Well, you tell him that I don't talk to suckas."
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
NEW YORK (AP) — Democrat Robert F. Kennedy Jr., an anti-vaccine activist and scion of one of the country’s most famous political families, is running for president.
Kennedy filed a statement of candidacy Wednesday with the Federal Election Commission.
The 69-year-old’s campaign to challenge incumbent President Joe Biden for the Democratic nomination is a long shot. Self-help author Marianne Williamson is also running in the Democratic race.
Kennedy, a nephew of President John F. Kennedy and the son of his slain brother Robert F. Kennedy, was once a bestselling author and environmental lawyer who worked on issues such as clean water.
But more than 15 years ago, he became fixated on a belief that vaccines are not safe. He emerged as one of the leading voices in the anti-vaccine movement, and his work has been described by public health experts and even members of his own family as misleading and dangerous.
Kennedy had been long involved in the anti-vaccine movement, but the effort intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic and development of the COVID-19 vaccine.
His anti-vaccine charity, Children’s Health Defense, prospered during the pandemic, with revenues more than doubling in 2020 to $6.8 million, according to filings made with charity regulators.
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His organization has targeted false claims at groups that may be more prone to distrust the vaccine, including mothers and Black Americans, experts have said, which could have resulted in deaths during the pandemic.
Kennedy released a book in 2021, “The Real Anthony Fauci,” in which he accused the U.S.’s top infectious disease doctor of assisting in “a historic coup d’etat against Western democracy” and promoted unproven COVID-19 treatments such as ivermectin, which is meant to treat parasites, and the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine.
His push against the COVID-19 vaccine has linked him at times with anti-democratic figures and groups. Kennedy has appeared at events pushing the lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen and with people who cheered or downplayed the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.
A photo posted on Instagram showed Kennedy backstage at a July 2021 Reawaken America event with former President Donald Trump’s ally Roger Stone, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn and anti-vaccine profiteer Charlene Bollinger. All three have promoted the lie about the 2020 election being stolen.
The photo was posted but later removed by Bollinger, who has appeared with Kennedy at multiple events. She and her husband sponsored an anti-vaccine, pro-Trump rally near the Capitol on Jan. 6. Bollinger celebrated the attack and her husband tried to enter the Capitol. Kennedy later appeared in a video for their Super PAC.
Kennedy has repeatedly invoked Nazis and the Holocaust when talking about measures aimed at mitigating the spread of COVID-19, such as mask requirements and vaccine mandates. He has sometimes apologized for those comments, including when he suggested that people in 2022 had it worse than Anne Frank, the teenager who died in a Nazi concentration camp after hiding with her family in a secret annex in an Amsterdam house for two years.
Kennedy has at times invoked his family’s legacy in his anti-vaccine work, including sometimes using images of President Kennedy.
His sister Kerry Kennedy, who runs Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, the international rights group founded by their mother, Ethel, said her brother has at times removed some of the content at her request.
She told the Associated Press in a 2021 interview her brother is “completely wrong on this issue and very dangerous.”
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14