Tim: Bill Maher’s use of a racial epithet.

                                                                  
 June 12, 2017
 		 
About TimServicesMedia CenterLegislative WorkSouth CarolinaResources
Thank you for subscribing to my weekly e-newsletter, and please remember to follow me on Facebook , Twitter, Instagram  and YouTube . 
Quality Care for Our Veterans
Last week, the Senate unanimously passed the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act  -- a bipartisan bill that would improve accountability procedures at the VA.
Our veterans deserve the absolute best care possible. Unfortunately, subpar management, long wait lines, and lack of accountability have plagued the Department of Veterans Affairs for years. An organization that was created to help our veterans has fallen short time and time again in providing the medical attention our service members have both earned and deserve.
While many VA employees do an amazing job every day, the fact remains there are those who fall short, and we must ensure standards improve and excellent service becomes the new norm at our VA facilities. I remain committed to continuing to serve our veterans and service members whenever possible.
Body Cameras
I am confident that the use of body-worn cameras by law enforcement officers can bring clarity to contentious and unclear situations, and help both citizens and police officers in many communities. In an effort to further explain why I believe that this is a good, doable step in the right direction, I wrote an op-ed in The Times and Democrat .
My Reaction to Bill Maher’s Distasteful Joke
I joined CBS This Morning to weigh in on Bill Maher’s use of a racial epithet. Click the photo below to watch my reaction:
 

Sincerely,
Tim

 
 Lowcountry 
2500 City Hall Lane
3rd Floor Suite
North Charleston, SC 29406
Phone: (843) 727-4525
Fax: (855) 802-9355		Midlands 
1301 Gervais Street
Suite 825
Columbia, SC 29201
Phone: (803) 771-6112
Fax: (855) 802-9355		Upstate 104 South Main Street
Suite 803
Greenville, SC 29601
Phone: (864) 233-5366
Fax: (855) 802-9355		Washington, DC717 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-6121
Toll Free: (855) 425-6324 
Fax: (202) 228-5143
            
 
     
            

This Week's 🔥Topics

Jennifer Petty: We have to fight back

Image
Dear robert l., We walked into this year with high hopes that Congress would finally get something done. But this is almost like an abusive relationship. The Republicans in Congress will say and do anything to tear us all down. Please give $5 to stop the Republicans in Congress. The neoconservatives in the Senate have declared Chuck Hagel, President Obama's nominee for defense secretary, enemy number 1. They have drawn out the process to confirm him and have gone to great lengths to demand the president withdraw his name. They want us all to forget that a majority of the Senate stated they would vote yes to confirm Mr. Hagel's nomination. Please give $5 to stop the Republicans in Congress. And when we thought it couldn’t get worse, the Republicans in Congress are moving the country dangerously close to the “sequester” deadline of  March 1st  without working out a deal with the White House. If sequester happens, there will be $85 billion in across-the-board cuts in discre
Read more

I am dog-tired of hearing from Donald Trump

Image
  I'll just be blunt: Tonight's our last grassroots fundraising deadline of the election, and it would make a real difference if you're able to chip in. In the next few days, we're pitching in to support Warren Democrats in competitive races across the country. It's all powered by grassroots donors, and we need to hit our last goal by midnight tonight. But we're not quite there yet. I'm only asking because it is powerfully important: If you can, please make a donation of $2 or whatever makes sense before midnight tonight — the final grassroots fundraising deadline of this election — to support Warren Democrats and help turn the page on this dark chapter in our nation's history. I'm in this fight all the way because I am dog-tired of hearing from Donald Trump and his Republican enablers. I am tired of leaders driving our country into the ground. So I've endorsed some new voices — 150 candidates around the country who believe that government can be
Read more

Tom Harkin: restore majority rule in the Senate

Image
Dear Robert, When many people think of the  filibuster , they think of the 1939 film  Mr. Smith Goes to Washington . In this classic, Senator Smith talks ceaselessly on the Senate floor to stand up for the little guy against the special interests. It's an unusual and dramatic scene. Today, that scene has been turned upside down.  Senate Republicans routinely use the filibuster to block anything and everything they dislike -- no matter how uncontroversial or critical it is -- to protect special interests at the expense of the little guy. Thankfully, the Senate has an opportunity to fix the filibuster next week, and I -- along with Senators Jeff Merkley and Tom Udall -- plan to do it. Click here to sign my petition to promote transparency and accountability, and get the Senate working again, by fixing the filibuster. Defenders of this kind of obstruction like to point to the traditions of the Senate in support of their cynical actions. But our founding fathers didn't
Read more

Stephanie: Contest winner

Image
Robert, Drumroll, please! We read through hundreds of nominations from all around the country, narrowed them down to a short list of nominees, and counted thousands of your votes. And now I'm excited to announce  the winner of this year's Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award: Georgia House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams! The Gabrielle Giffords Rising Star Award honors a young woman serving in state or local office who shows the same passion and dedication to public service as this award's namesake. Join me in congratulating Stacey -- sign the card! Stacey, the 40-year-old Georgia House Minority Leader, is the first woman to lead either party in the General Assembly and the first African-American to lead the in state House. But she's done more than make history -- she's made a real difference for Georgia women and families. And she's earned a reputation as a force for good in the face of the GOP's extreme agenda. It says a lot about the exciting sta
Read more

President George H.W. Bush: guilty pleasure

GOP .com Robert, I don’t know what your guilty pleasures are in life, but one of mine is socks. I’m a self-proclaimed sock man. The louder, the brighter, the crazier the pattern -- the better! It’s usually the first thing people notice I’m wearing whenever I’m out in public and that’s the way I like it. So when Chairman Reince Priebus asked me to write to you on behalf of the Republican National Committee (RNC), I told him I’d be happy to do it. But on one condition:  my letter to you had to involve socks. I’m proud to say the RNC has commissioned a limited-edition pair of socks in my honor. Embroidered with the Republican elephant and my signature on them, they’re sure to get you noticed. You can get your own pair today or as a gift for your favorite Republican by sending a special campaign contribution of $35 or more to the RNC now.  And if you donate $35 or more to the RNC now, your gift will be matched by a group of donors.  Robert, it’s important you act now on thi
Read more

Take our Budget Priorities Survey to let Adam know what you want Democrats fighting for in the weeks ahead.

Image
  Friend — Voters, supporters, and organizers across the country elected our Democratic majorities and President Biden to force change. To rebuild our economy, save our planet from the climate crisis, and rescue our democracy from the abuses of an authoritarian cult of personality surrounding the former president. Mitch McConnell should not get to decide which bills Congress passes in this once-in-a-generation opportunity to carry out that mandate. So while the Senate negotiates a bipartisan infrastructure deal, we need to make sure that the budget reconciliation package — which can pass with 50 Democratic votes — includes robust investments not only in roads, tunnels, and bridges but also in families and workers. Take our Budget Priorities Survey to let Adam know what you want Democrats fighting for in the weeks ahead.   Team Schiff Budget Priorities Survey TAKE THE SURVEY The reconciliation package is a critical opportunity to address climate change, expand Medicare, invest in afford
Read more

Gregory: keep up the public pressure

Image
Friend -- We’re ready to kick off our second full year of advocacy, engagement, and change-making. Are you ready to make some progress on gun reform in 2018? WE ARE! Here’s the deal: We’re growing our networks in all 50 states and building up teams of local activists who can influence their elected officials on gun violence and LGBTQ issues. But we need your help to take our technology to the next level to enable our activists to contact their state legislators with speed and precision.  Can you contribute to our Advanced Tech Campaign to help us turn our growth into legislative victories? Because you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately: Express donate $15 >> Express donate $25 >> Express donate $50 >> Express donate $100 >> Or, donate a different amount >> Change is possible as we proved this year in states like Virginia and New Jersey, where recent events -- and 21 electoral
Read more

Kirsten Gillibrand: speak up in support of this landmark civil rights act now.

Robert, The Supreme Court’s oral arguments on the  Voting Rights Act  begin today. We have to speak up in support of this landmark civil rights act now. There’s no time for silence.  Not when a strike to this civil rights law would cause serious harm to our democracy. In this case, an Alabama county is arguing that a provision of the Act – requiring local governments to get the Justice Department’s approval before making changes that affect voting – has outlived its use. I only wish it were so. In reality, too many states are cynically passing restrictive voter ID laws and forcing some voters to wait hours just to cast a ballot. We have to do better. We can’t go backward. President Obama  has spoken out. We have to join him. Click here to tell the Supreme Court that we support the Voting Rights Act. The entirety of the Voting Rights Act remains critical. Undermining it could lead to citizens being egregiously and unfairly denied their right to vote. That would be u
Read more

Al Franken: Thanks for helping me help Sherrod keep driving the far right around the bend.

Image
Dear Robert L., I’ve noticed something about the right-wing attack machine: Great progressives drive them absolutely nuts. Sure, they’ll attack anyone who doesn’t agree that corporations are people, Social Security is a Ponzi scheme, and global warming is a hoax (that every legitimate scientist is in on). But they really lose their minds when they encounter a true progressive who gets results for working families. And they have gone positively crackers in their negative campaign against my friend Sherrod Brown , throwing everything they can at him -- to the tune of more than $3.5 million in attack ads on Ohio T.V. already. I’m helping Sherrod fight back -- and you should, too. His campaign has to raise $200,000 by the end of the month. Can you knock $20 off that goal by clicking here right now? I work with Sherrod a lot -- and you’d be hard-pressed to find a more forceful advocate for the middle class. Less raspy? Maybe. But more forceful? No way. That’s why the right-wing attac
Read more

Bernie: We must focus on Congress now

Image
Robert, All across our country, as a result of the disastrous Supreme Court decision on Citizens United, billionaires are trying to buy elections for candidates who will represent the wealthy and the powerful. There is no better example of this than in Wisconsin, where big money interests are spending millions to defeat progressive champion Russ Feingold. Russ, throughout his career, has led the effort for campaign finance reform, civil rights, the protection of our privacy and the needs of working people. He opposed the war in Iraq, led the effort against the Patriot Act and wants to see that the wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share of taxes. It should be no surprise, therefore, that the Koch Brothers and the billionaire class want to keep Russ out of the Senate. The problem is,  they're spending so much money in Wisconsin's Senate race that Russ could lose. The billionaire class has already spent $7.5 million in outside spending to defeat Russ. He&
Read more