Barbara Kittridge
The GOP Just Can't Quit Trump

This week on POLITICAL MOTIVES we explore the GOP’s inability to break from the toxic lies of Trump as the former President faces the upcoming indictment of the Trump Organization. We will discuss the ongoing legal jeopardy Rudy Giuliani is facing having already lost his license to practice law in the state of New York. We also are going to examine how the Republican platform of small government has life and death consequences for voters in states like Florida and Texas where lack of regulation and enforcement have resulted in vastly different public health threats. Finally, we will wrap up with a discussion on the progress of the American Jobs Act and the fate of a bipartisan infrastructure bill after President Biden’s pronouncement of an agreement with a group of 10 Democratic and Republican Senators.

The GOP Just Can't Quit Trump
Barbara Kittridge
Putin, The Bishops and Bipartisanship

This week on POLITICAL MOTIVES we review President Biden’s G7 Trip and the success of his summit with Vladimir Putin. We will also discuss the rather disingenuous pronouncements of some US Catholic Bishops who are threatening to stop giving communion to President Biden given his pro-choice stance, a move that is quickly angering rank and file members of the Catholic Church. We will get into the latest dinner theatre, oh I mean bipartisan talks, on the Hill concerning the American Jobs Act and the For The People Act and discuss how bipartisanship doesn’t seem to be working so well for Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). We will also look at the over 500 criminal court proceedings against the 1/6 Capitol Insurrectionists and look at how it appears that a case for conspiracy is being built facing some of the ring leaders including none other than Roger Stone.

Putin, The Bishops and Bipartisanship
Barbara Kittridge
The Pervasive Rot of Trumpism in the Department ...

This week on POLITICAL MOTIVES, we discuss the challenges facing the Department of Justice as multiple abuses of subpoena power come to light. The news broken by the New York Times reports that Donald Trump used the DOJ to launch a series of supposed leak investigations into the House Intelligence Committee members, including Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Trump General Counsel Don McGahn. Apple revealed the data requests that were fulfilled in 2018. Based on the timings its clear the Justice Department must have renewed the gag order attached to Apple for several years. It would appear that Apple was prevented from revealing the existence of the subpoenas and data collection requests. It is believed that this was part of a larger leak investigation looking into Russia investigations early in Trump’s Administration.

The Pervasive Rot of Trumpism in the Department of Justice
Barbara Kittridge
Betraying Democracy: The Myth of the Filibuster ...

This week we look at statements from Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) indicating he will block passage of HR1 (The For the People Act) and the infrastructure package or The American Jobs Act as well as reforming the Filibuster, putting at risk both the American ideal of Democracy and our economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. We will discuss the ludicrous reversal of an assault weapons ban in California by a partisan judge. We have also had yet another week of the Republican party spreading The Big Lie as we face the genuine threat of sliding into autocracy. We will also delve into the historical background of the Filibuster and explain how this Jim Crowe era rule threatens to undermine our very Democracy leading to Minority Rule.

Betraying Democracy: The Myth of the Filibuster and the Danger of Minority Rule
Barbara Kittridge
Reconciling Racism: The Case for Reparations

This week on the 100th Anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 we will discuss the ongoing attempts to ignore the painful history of systemic racism in America. Why the “Red Summer” a period of brutal, racially motivated violence in America has been largely forgotten and the need for America to redress the economic and emotional toll of these racist attacks via the payment of Reparations to the families and communities destroyed by this racial cleansing.

We will also look at the GOP’s attempt at ignoring another violent and painful chapter in our more recent history as Republican Senators led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, blocked the establishment of a commission to review the 1/6 Capitol Insurrection and violent coup attempt by Trump loyalists who attacked our Capitol spurred on by Trump’s “Big Lie.”

Reconciling Racism: The Case for Reparations

The GOP Just Can't Quit Trump

The GOP Just Can't Quit Trump

This week on POLITICAL MOTIVES we explore the GOP’s inability to break from the toxic lies of Trump as the former President faces the upcoming indictment of the Trump Organization. We will discuss the ongoing legal jeopardy Rudy Giuliani is facing having already lost his license to practice law in the state of New York. We also are going to examine how the Republican platform of small government has life and death consequences for voters in states like Florida and Texas where lack of regulation and enforcement have resulted in vastly different public health threats. Finally, we will wrap up with a discussion on the progress of the American Jobs Act and the fate of a bipartisan infrastructure bill after President Biden’s pronouncement of an agreement with a group of 10 Democratic and Republican Senators.

Putin, The Bishops and Bipartisanship

Putin, The Bishops and Bipartisanship

This week on POLITICAL MOTIVES we review President Biden’s G7 Trip and the success of his summit with Vladimir Putin. We will also discuss the rather disingenuous pronouncements of some US Catholic Bishops who are threatening to stop giving communion to President Biden given his pro-choice stance, a move that is quickly angering rank and file members of the Catholic Church. We will get into the latest dinner theatre, oh I mean bipartisan talks, on the Hill concerning the American Jobs Act and the For The People Act and discuss how bipartisanship doesn’t seem to be working so well for Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV). We will also look at the over 500 criminal court proceedings against the 1/6 Capitol Insurrectionists and look at how it appears that a case for conspiracy is being built facing some of the ring leaders including none other than Roger Stone.

The Pervasive Rot of Trumpism in the Department of Justice

The Pervasive Rot of Trumpism in the Department of Justice

This week on POLITICAL MOTIVES, we discuss the challenges facing the Department of Justice as multiple abuses of subpoena power come to light. The news broken by the New York Times reports that Donald Trump used the DOJ to launch a series of supposed leak investigations into the House Intelligence Committee members, including Representative Adam Schiff (D-CA) and Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) and Trump General Counsel Don McGahn. Apple revealed the data requests that were fulfilled in 2018. Based on the timings its clear the Justice Department must have renewed the gag order attached to Apple for several years. It would appear that Apple was prevented from revealing the existence of the subpoenas and data collection requests. It is believed that this was part of a larger leak investigation looking into Russia investigations early in Trump’s Administration.

Betraying Democracy: The Myth of the Filibuster and the Danger of Minority Rule

Betraying Democracy: The Myth of the Filibuster and the Danger of Minority Rule

This week we look at statements from Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) indicating he will block passage of HR1 (The For the People Act) and the infrastructure package or The American Jobs Act as well as reforming the Filibuster, putting at risk both the American ideal of Democracy and our economic recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic. We will discuss the ludicrous reversal of an assault weapons ban in California by a partisan judge. We have also had yet another week of the Republican party spreading The Big Lie as we face the genuine threat of sliding into autocracy. We will also delve into the historical background of the Filibuster and explain how this Jim Crowe era rule threatens to undermine our very Democracy leading to Minority Rule.

Reconciling Racism: The Case for Reparations

Reconciling Racism: The Case for Reparations

This week on the 100th Anniversary of the Tulsa Race Massacre of 1921 we will discuss the ongoing attempts to ignore the painful history of systemic racism in America. Why the “Red Summer” a period of brutal, racially motivated violence in America has been largely forgotten and the need for America to redress the economic and emotional toll of these racist attacks via the payment of Reparations to the families and communities destroyed by this racial cleansing.

We will also look at the GOP’s attempt at ignoring another violent and painful chapter in our more recent history as Republican Senators led by Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, blocked the establishment of a commission to review the 1/6 Capitol Insurrection and violent coup attempt by Trump loyalists who attacked our Capitol spurred on by Trump’s “Big Lie.”

The GOP - The Grand Obstructionist Party

The GOP - The Grand Obstructionist Party

This week we look at the obstructionist agenda of the Republican and what it means for advancing President Biden’s legislative agenda. We will look at how the dysfunction of the filibuster inhibits the advancement of the Democratic agenda and the options for breaking through the inertia. We will look at the implications for a number of policy reforms from policing to infrastructure to voting rights reform. We will look at some of the key players public positions and the potential next steps for both Republicans and Democrats.

GOP Looks to Rewrite History of the Jan 6th Capitol Insurrection

GOP Looks to Rewrite History of the Jan 6th Capitol Insurrection

Now for some reason various House GOP members want to attempt to rewrite history and frame those who stormed the Capitol as peaceful tourist and not the ugly deadly mob that they were. This is the most egregious attempt at gaslighting Americans. Do those GOP members of Congress believe that that we would somehow ignore hours of violent footage showing the abuse and assault on members of the Capitol police who were brutalized by this mob that was incited by the former guy who wanted to retain power in order to escape further inquiries into his corruption, law breaking and treason.

The Moral Decay of the GOP

The Moral Decay of the GOP

This past week, we have witnessed the Republican party leadership savage Representative Liz Cheney of Wyoming who laid out the case for the toxicity to Democracy that The Big Lie is having on their party and more critically the country. The title of her recent OpEd says it all “The GOP is at a turning point. History is watching us.” Since the Jan 6th Capitol Insurrection, the GOP has done everything to try and turn the page on the violent attack, incited by the former guy and underpinned by his unfounded, unproven belief in The Big Lie. Since that day the Republican party has censured or attempted to censure multiple members of their party for being unwilling to engage in a what can only be described as the GOP War on Truth.

President Biden's First 100 Days

President Biden's First 100 Days

Not since FDR’s New Deal, have we seen such a massive realignment of government priorities and policies. Within his own party President Biden is getting high marks from both the moderate and the progressive wings of his party and he is approaching his legislative agenda with pragmatism and clear-eyed resolve.

Re-imagining Policing for the 21st Century

Re-imagining Policing for the 21st Century

There have been widespread calls to “Defund the Police” that has been weaponized and politicized by Republicans who say it’s an attack on law and order and on the police themselves, They are pointing to Democrats as radicals wanting to get rid of the police. Now this rather poor branding of the effort to actually re-imagine what communities in the 21st century could look like, diminishes the real need to assess what is the role of local policing.

The Voices of Covid-19 Unemployment

The Voices of Covid-19 Unemployment

For our very first guest on the POLITICAL MOTIVES podcast we will be welcoming Kathy Skutecki, a marketing consultant in the culinary industry. Kathy has been a freelance consultant, pastry chef and sous chef in the food industry for over 15 years after a stint working in the advertising agency business. She shares with us today the challenges she has faced in the last year during the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent lock downs. Living in Chicago, a die-hard Chicago Cubs fan and a graduate of Loyola University of Chicago’s school of business where she received her MBA, Kathy was successful in making the transition from Madison Avenue to culinary consultant and her stories from the lock down will be familiar to many listeners. This is the first in a series of interviews we plan on doing with real life voters to understand what motivates them.

GOP Moves Beyond “Culture Wars” to Extortion

GOP Moves Beyond “Culture Wars” to Extortion

As public outcry in the wake of Georgia Republicans passing their voter suppression legislation, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell came out and told corporations “to stay out of politics” going on to clarify McConnell claimed that “corporations will invite serious consequences if they become vehicles for far-left mobs” As we all know McConnell is most afraid when those mobs go to the ballot box and exercise their voting rights. So to be clear McConnell is happy to cash those corporate donor checks but don’t you dare come out and advocate for voter access and voting rights.

Not Just Business As Usual - Politics and Corporate Leadership

Not Just Business As Usual - Politics and Corporate Leadership

Since the Capitol Insurrection on January 6th, we continue to see the most systemic threat to voting rights as 47 state legislatures attempt to push 108 restrictive voting rights bills in the last five weeks. Republican politicians are threatening access to the voting booth, making it harder to vote all in the name of “election integrity.” These bills include sweeping changes to election oversight making it easier for Republican controlled state legislators to ignore the will of the people, enabling them to step in and take over local election oversight. This is a bad faith attempt to allow the GOP to interfere with the independent election boards or secretaries of state now tasked with managing our elections.

SEVEN DAYS, SEVEN MASS SHOOTINGS - THE NEW NORMAL?

SEVEN DAYS, SEVEN MASS SHOOTINGS - THE NEW NORMAL?

Is this our new normal? Seven mass shooting in seven days. As GOP politicians again offer their trite “thoughts and prayers,” we continue as a nation to bury our collective head in the sand while we bury our dead. As a society, should we live in fear of a mass shooting if we go to a theater, visit a day spa, do our grocery shopping, send our children to school or go to worship?

GOP VOTER SUPPRESSION THREATENS OUR DEMOCRACY

GOP VOTER SUPPRESSION THREATENS OUR DEMOCRACY

Georgia Governor Brian Kemp this evening signed into law SB 202 one of the most egregious voter suppression bills that effectively removes oversight of elections from independent local control to granting unprecedented powers to the Republican controlled Georgia legislature to potentially block certifications of election results.

THE FIGHT FOR FIFTEEN

THE FIGHT FOR FIFTEEN

The Economic Policy Institute estimates that increasing the minimum wage would impact 32 million workers – that is almost 20% of all Americans. Now keep in mind that the last time we saw an increase in the federal minimum wage was in July of 2009. More than 11 years without an increase. In that same time period, we saw the cost of living, driven largely by housing and health care cost increases, go up 20%. This is not a sustainable situation. The massive disparity between the current minimum wage and the cost of living is stark. To note, there is not a single state in the country where the current minimum wage affords the ability to rent a two-bedroom home. Not one state.

The Super Bowl Ad Wars Just Got Political

With the recent announcement of Michael Bloomberg’s and President Trump’s Super Bowl ad buys, one has to wonder whether this is a strategic national media investment or an expensive vanity media buy.

While a Super Bowl spot for the Bloomberg campaign is merely a rounding error in the media budget, a similar buy on behalf of the Trump campaign seems to be more about Trump’s ego than smart strategy. The Trump campaign’s purchase on the heels of the Bloomberg Super Bowl ad buy announcement appears to be little more than a “keeping up with the Joneses” move.

A national buy in the Super Bowl is not a smart strategy for Trump who needs to rebuild his lead among likely voters in the key battleground states he won in 2016. As recent polls suggest, Trump’s leads have evaporated in critical swing states battered by Trump’s trade wars, declines in manufacturing jobs, and continued attacks on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) as the GOP seeks to roll back healthcare, limit the expansion of Medicare in key states and cut public aid for food stamps—kitchen table issues that disproportionately effect many core Trump voters.

More critically this expensive media buy ensures that there will be less investment available for down ticket Republican party races particularly in tightly contested Senate seats for incumbents in Arizona, Ohio, Kentucky, South Carolina, Colorado and Maine. Trump in recent days has sought to influence GOP Senators support during his upcoming Impeachment Trial and used the enticement of campaign finance donations and media support to entice wavering Senators to publicly voice support for him.

It is clear that Bloomberg, with his intention to invest up to half a billion in the 2020 election cycle can easily outspend and outflank both Trump and the GOP, putting them on the defensive. Bloomberg has committed that even if he is not the Democratic nominee, he will continue to provide financial support throughout this election cycle which will provide much needed infusions across close races, mitigating any GOP incumbency advantages.

As to whether a Super Bowl buy is smart ultimately comes down to who wins the messaging war. In this Super Bowl match-up, Bloomberg has the opportunity to draw a stark point of differentiation between his record and the President’s. To date, Bloomberg’s creative has specifically targeted Trump’s failing record on healthcare and his own successful track record expanding healthcare while he was Mayor of New York City. Whether or not the expenditure is a sound strategy for Trump given the irony of him paying $10 million for an NFL advert a year after his prolonged attacks on Colin Kaepernick— well, we’ll just have to wait until the Big Game to see.

Barbara Kittridge is Founder / Partner at Motive LLC, an integrated political agency that brings modern marketing techniques to the political and non-profit worlds.