By DUARDO PAZ-MARTINEZ
BROWNSVILLE, Texas |...Well, you could say it was coming with the way things are deteriorating for Republicans these days. Follow that up by noting odds of winning the 2024 election seem to be souring for the party's presidential hopes. Certain signs indicate a rise in voter eyes for Democrat Kamala Harris, as old Republican Donald J. Trump sinks in poll after poll after poll.
Now, they are fighting each other.
This one took place in Valdosta, Georgia, a small community along its southern edge better known for good high school football.
News reports had it a celebration at the opening of Trump's campaign office in Valdosta was marred by a physical fight between two hothead conservatives.
Police and witness reports gathered by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution following the July 29 event showed that Brandon Phillips, the top aide to U.S. Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA) intervened in an argument related to election security.
Local activist Sam Carnline told police that Phillips spit in his face, prompting physical retaliation.
". . . .Brandon Phillips got in the middle of the conversation because he didn't like the questions he was asking," the police report said. "Words were exchanged between he and Brandon, because he was upset that Brandon spit in his face."
While Phillips denied spitting in Carnline's face, the police report concluded that he did.
Phillips later told the Journal-Constitution that he intervened because he did not like the questions Carnline, an activist for paper ballots, asked Republican State Rep. John LaHood.
"They say politics can be a contact sport, and sometimes it is," Phillips explained. "I certainly don't mind defending any volunteers or officials who are trying to contribute in a positive way toward a Trump victory from outside agitators with the opposite agenda."
At least one witness suggested Phillips did not start the violence.
". . . .One of the witnesses was Dennis Futch of Moultrie, a veteran Republican activist," the paper noted. "He told the AJC that he didn't see Phillips spit, but that if he did it was inadvertent because they were both shouting. He said he saw Carnline shove or hit Phillips twice."
No charges were filed. Both combatants were told to go on their merry way.
It's a small fight in a small town in the South.
But perhaps it's a sign of things to come for the desperate Republican Party.
You think?...
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Some problems with our Comments feature yesterday, as Blogger flagged a few of our reader submissions for some reason or another. We ultimately approved all of them and Life went on. Our Comments thread is open 24 hours a day and, well, we're letting readers have their say in this important national election. Our sole request is that you limit profanity, both in English and Spanish. Have at it...
ReplyDeleteShapiro or Walz?
ReplyDeleteDecision due this morning!!! Is Republican JD Vance still on the couch?
DeleteWell, the repukes wanted a civil war. Looks like they're practicing.
ReplyDeleteA spitwad will start the 2nd Civil War? LOL!!!
DeleteREPUGS are hot air. Civil War? Make me laugh. Democrats own guns, too!!!
DeleteMAGA is scared of a GIRL!! WEIRD!!!
ReplyDeleteHe gets more delusional as the days go on. People leave his rallies because no one wants to hear nonsense for 90 minutes or ANYTHING he has to say for that long. Word salad, self- praise for nothing, and disrespecting political rivals. Demented at best.
ReplyDeleteAnd THIS was the problem the FIRST TIME! How can ppl forget the mess of his first presidency??! The numerous speech blunders, the incompetence, the rhetoric. Foreign diplomats laughing at him to his face and behind his back. The awful press secretary always trying to beautify his mess! On top of ALL that, he’s now much older! It’s only going to get worse! The fact that ppl would be willing to vote for this lunacy is sick and sad. This is what you want the world to think represents us??!
ReplyDeleteShapiro is still the favorite for VP.
ReplyDeleteMaybe next time, Josh.
DeleteOh Trump, please be quiet. I'm so sick of his ignorance. So desperate to have power. We cannot allow felon Trump back in the White House.
ReplyDeleteYou said it.
DeleteJD Vance is even more weird than the weirdo Trump and that's saying alot since Trump is the biggest weirdo I've ever seen in my lifetime. LOL!!!
ReplyDeleteTrump blaming Demos for stock market slide, but even FOX News is dissing his ass. Did the Market halt trading? No...then this is normal losses to be expected from time to time. Trump more than anyone else knows about business losses.
ReplyDeleteSo, it is official the ticket is Harris/Waltz. So today Harris will appear before a crowd in Philadelphia to announce she did not pick the Gov. of Penn., Shapiro. The sound of just one boo, and it will be played over and over again as the opening of her campaign. I have no problem with the choice. The problem is she caved to pressure, and prematurely made Philadelphia the place to announce her decision. The people remain on the fence about her. That is the polling.
ReplyDeleteHopefully she will get a bounce going into the convention, and the sentencing of Trump will hurt him.
No matter how much I hate Trump, in Harris I see someone who is fickle in her decision making, and who caves to pressure. It will be easy from Trump and his people to make the process she used as evidence she is not ready to make the national security decisions needed in the Middle East.
So now both Harris and Trump have failed at the selection of a VP. Unlike Vance Waltz is qualified, but both are starting with negatives.
You're so off on the things you write that it's the day's dumbass joke and nothing more, commenter. Too much speculation and, man, you are not in her head, so get off your high horse about Harris being fickle. Walz is a GREAT VP selection! You rag on Walz and then you say he's qualified. Put the bottle down!!!
DeleteIt's his opinion. Allow it, okay?
DeleteTotally agree on the opinion thing. That's why we're here. Open to all thought. We're not cultists
DeleteI could not have been clearer. Waltz is a good choice. But you do not hear that. It is the process which is going to anger people. Harris allowed Shapiro to be attacked day in and day out, instead of just making a choice. You are free to believe that it was smart for Harris to start the campaign in Philidelphia, but it was not. We shall see how Penn responds. But to be clear, Walz is a good pick. It is not the pick; it is the process.
DeletePerhaps something came up in the interview/background review of Shapiro. Or maybe Tim Walz just did a better job and impressed Kamala enough to pick him. We don't know, however. You'd have had to be there in the room with them. But talking about things is good. The editor keeps saying we should have our say. I enjoy that here.
Deleteplease oh please pick Shapiro or the Governor of KY.
ReplyDeleteWe need Kelly in the senate. He is good until 2029 and yes Hobbs picks his replacement but that only lasts a little over a year. We are already losing Manchin and most likely Tester which turns the senate over to Repubs. (I am hoping we can oust Scott but Florida is weird)
Waltz is great but he is seen as to liberal and all the issues with the protests in his state. He looks old and i know he isn’t old but it is all about image.
Walz, it is. And Democrats have released a tiger. Good luck, Republicans. This guy is tough, not Fake Tough like Trump and Couch Boy.
ReplyDeleteI like Gov. Tim Walz as the Demo vice presidential pick. The guy is a bulldog, great speaker and a former congressman. He comes from Minnesota and that's okay, too. It'll be interesting to see how Harris decided on him, but he's the one, so...
ReplyDeleteDamned Good Pick!!! Walz is going to absolutely DESTROY JD (Just Dumbbb) Vance, aka Mr. Project 2025
ReplyDeleteTim Walz is likeable. He will spark up the Harris campaign even more. I do think that Shapiro was likely promised a high cabinet post, like Sec. of State.
ReplyDeletePro & con comments on Tim Walz are exactly what I expected - some like him, some don't. But let's wait. This guy is going to surprise everybody. He is a great speaker, witty and a midwesterner. Nothing elite about him.
ReplyDelete60-year-old Walz has been the governor of Minnesota since 2018 and is the current chair of the Democratic governors' national campaign effort.
ReplyDeleteWalz, a former congressman, was the first Democrat to call some Republicans "weird" - a term that's been repeated by other Democrats since, including by Harris's campaign.
Walz has legalized recreational marijuana for adults, protected abortion rights and LGBTQ protections, provided free breakfast and lunch for schoolchildren throughout Minnesota and signed an executive order to remove college degree requirements for 75% of state jobs.
A major point of appeal for the Harris campaign to choose Walz is his Midwestern background. Trump and his running mate JD Vance have also spent the last few weeks working to win over and flip Minnesota - a state no Republican nominee has won in the past 50 years.
Walz is extremely likable. He just has this way about him. I realize some will say this is a mistake, but so be it. The test comes Nov. 5th, not today - August 6th
ReplyDeleteApparently, it's Walz. He looks old but isn't really. I think he sealed it by coming up with the attack line "weird."
ReplyDeleteEcho that.
DeleteI'm fine with Tim Walz. He's cool, level-headed and plain-spoken smart. ( I talked it over with my wife and she approved his message )
ReplyDeleteHELL, YESSSSSS!!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe HARRIS CAMPAIGN keeps making all the right moves!!!!!
There was not a bad choice in the bunch. We have many amazing Democrats! No need to be bitchy.
ReplyDeleteShe did it. She actually did it. I didn’t think she would do it; I didn’t think we could have nice things, but she actually did it: she picked the right candidate. Democrats have been campaigning great in the Presidential campaign for the first time since I was a kid. Plus, Walz looks like my junior high football coach!
DeleteThis is indeed the wisest choice! No bad options, but the best of the top three (as advertised yesterday). Walz brings a complete balance and will give the MAGA crowd more than they bargained for! Go BLUE
ReplyDeleteWow…I am honestly surprised. But his resume is clearly broader than Shapiro’s. People will blame the Israel connection (Shapiro is Jewish), but I honestly think the military and house experience, and likely less of an interest in being President won the day for Walz. Not to mention, he has a longer track record and less likely to have a skeleton pop up.
ReplyDeleteI think the potential skeletons won the day. Shapiro could have been the pick if there was more time to get, but the risk must have seemed too great. In any case, I'm onboard with Walz.
To me anyways, this discussion itself is exactly one of the reasons why Tim Walz is a better choice than Josh Shapiro. The situation in Gaza is one of the major issues that divides Democrats at a time when unity for us is incredibly important.
ReplyDeleteI think the bigger problems with Shapiro were his support of vouchers (as opposed to Walz being a 20-year public school teacher), that sexual harassment case he apparently held up for an aide, and less loved by labor. He would have been able to deal with much of that. But why have to explain during a roll-out?
ReplyDeleteI love him. I worked in a school cafeteria here in Texas. I saw the sadness on the kids who had to eat a sack lunch because their parents could not or would not pay for hot lunch. I saw the sad faces as they took the paper sack. I have been an advocate for ALL kids to have hot lunch and Tim Walz DID THIS for Minnesota kids. Texas Gov. Abbott killed the summer food program for kids...............
ReplyDeleteBTW, what happened to the Border Invasion? Not a word about in weeks!!!
DeleteWhat a relief!! It's about time we put people in power that care about the everyday man, woman and child! And NO felonies trailing our ticket!! YAY!!!!
ReplyDeleteAnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnd Harris has won. This team is unbeatable. Trump is retired. Bye bye, DonOld.
ReplyDeleteI am personally glad that he isn't a typical fancy college lawyer.... what better representation of America than a social studies teacher, high school football coach?
ReplyDeleteRepublicans going online to say Walz is too old. Walz is 60, 18+ years younger than Donald Trump. Or, should I say, "Don-Old"....
ReplyDeleteTrump already calling Walz a "liberal". Walz, however, is something the GOP is NOT...He has all American Beliefs, Loves his Country and Democracy over Hate & Fascism. Believes in his Constitution and American Laws!!! Not a Damn Crook!! We Are Not Going Back!!
ReplyDeleteSay it - DON-OLD!!!
DeleteTrump wanted Putin as his V.P. but, birthright issues. ya know
ReplyDeleteHey humpers, Hate and Division won’t win you any votes
DeleteBack when he was a teenager, his father died and his mother had to subsist on his Social Security benefits. Tim Walz will protect Social Security!!!
ReplyDeletePerfect pick. Tim Walz is the founder of the Weird Identity Movement. Hopefully he will lead the chant at the convention, (with Trumps mugshot on the big screen),
ReplyDelete"HE'S JUST WEIRD".
"HE"S JUST WEIRD"
"HE"S JUST WEIRD".
The Valley will roll with Harris/Walz!!!
ReplyDeleteRight-Wing media now saying Trump's campaign strategy is a losing strategy. Duh!!!!
ReplyDeleteThe weirdo Republican Party is falling to pieces. Trump IS blowing it, as FOX News people said this morning.
DeleteTim Walz is a great choice. He is the guy that JD Vance pretends to be.
ReplyDeleteMy father and uncles were career Marines and I served with them during NAM. I used to hear the story about people spitting on Vets returning from Nam. If they did. It never happened to me and other vets I know. But I finally saw it from Trump. When he bad mouthed John McCain and people accepted that. Then I read Trumps Chief Of Staff, General Kelly's book......calls dead vets "Suckers and Losers."
ReplyDeleteWell our vice president nominee Tim Walz has fired me up. Come on, November - get here ASAP!!!
I like Walz because to my eye, he looks and sounds like an actual Democrat. That's a good thing.
ReplyDeleteLook at Walz record. Center left, not far left.
ReplyDeleteAmerica has MOVED ON, Trump. WE suggest you do the same. Your tired anti-America rhetoric is well....YAWN, BORING DON-OLD! - VOTE HARRIS/WALZ 2024!
ReplyDeleteExcellent choice! Harris is doing all the right things. Finally, a Democratic candidate with good political instincts.
ReplyDeleteI really hope Usha Vance leaves husband JD once the dust settles. He has her out here looking like a fool.
ReplyDeleteThe unions will be happy about her choice. He's pro-union.
ReplyDeleteTim Walz is a younger Joe Biden. Big, big plus.
DeleteIsn't it crazy how the Biden/Trump debate was just 40 days ago and the speed of everything that has happened ever since then?
ReplyDeleteAnd the story on the ear? Ripped by an AR-15 bullet. Uh, no!!!
DeleteYou don't treat an AR-15 bullet would with a Band-Aid patch job. Only sadclown Trump would play the victim in such a ridiculous manner. FBI should have told the truth.
DeleteI'm not surprised Republicans are fighting among themselves now. Hatred is so strong in the GOP that it overflows.
ReplyDeleteListening to future VP Walz speaking makes me feel so grateful that VP Harris chose him. He is straightforward and sincere.
ReplyDeleteShapiro's views on Gaza and Palestine would have been a massive problem on young voters.
ReplyDeleteWalz is (to me) a surprisingly decent pick.
ReplyDeleteJD Vance is ick. I love that, keep saying it. He’s also eww, gross and creepy. He makes you want to take a shower just after reading about him. Jethro should be his name.
ReplyDelete100% BET! Kamala Harris & Tim Walz winning 2024. Born same year 1964. Be perfect. Congratulations! ASTROLOGY
ReplyDeleteThe good news is Shapiro will be in Philidelphia for the Harris/Walz campaign and promises to be full force for Harris/Walz
ReplyDeleteI respect the choice and I see the reasons why she made that decision. Clearly it’s not about states, but rather giving middle America an opportunity to be represented. The moderate pick will give her the edge everywhere and not just Pennsylvania. The Trump team is trying hard to come up with attack lines for the VP, but they kind of look ridiculous calling him a radical left.
ReplyDeleteWalz was born in Nebraska, so he'll get votes there - even though Nebraska is very red.
DeleteI think you are right. Shapira does not seem to have hard feelings and that is right. I really hope you are tight and be the face of so many people is how we choose in the future, instead of counting sure votes.
DeleteMay all the forces of goodness be with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz
ReplyDeleteAmen.
DeleteCoolest part of Tim Walz: He named a Minnesota highway after the singer Prince (native of Minn.) and signed the bill in purple ink. "I think we can lay to rest that this is the coolest bill signing we’ll ever do," Gov. Walz said as he signed legislation.
ReplyDeleteThe idea that Shapiro wasn’t chosen because he is Jewish is laughable. Kamala Harris has worked exceptionally hard to fight against the antisemitism that has been increasing over the last decade. Weird Republicans are going to go with this as a wedge issue, but Jewish Democrats know Kamala Harris and will not fall for it.
ReplyDeleteHarris is also married to a Jewish man…This is very different than the, "I have black friends," line Trump likes to use.
Though JD Vance himself demonstrates how you can be, for example, married to a person of color and still be racist AF.
Trump Instantly FREAKS OUT on Walz's selection. It shows how small a fool he is. Harris/Walz is the ticket for America and its future. Don-Old can go back to 1964 if he wants to. Scram already, dude!!!
ReplyDeleteLet’s Gooooo!!!!! I am out to vote for you, Kamala and Tim!!! Love my country.....and we are never going back again!!!!
ReplyDeleteDemocrats are so together with no infighting or jealousy and that is driving Republicans nuts
ReplyDeleteWe're going to build the Walz, and Vance is going to pay for it!!!
ReplyDeleteLOL!!! Good one.
DeleteHarris-Waltz is a winning ticket. Let's move on and work hard to defeat MAGA Weirdos
ReplyDeleteTrump just seems sooooooo-oh yesterday.
DeleteWow that was some rally in Philly for Harris & Walz! Stick a fork in Trump - he's done.
ReplyDeleteHarris & Walz look like pros; weirdoes Trump & Vance like amateurs.
DeleteI really love knowing that Walz was a schoolteacher, yet still loved everyone. It tells you a lot about how he views others in our World.
ReplyDeleteGreat rally!!! Initially, I didn't want Walz. But I didn't know Walz. The more I see of him now, the more I like Walz. He's the anti-Vance/Trump. And he comes off as a genuinely good human being.
DeleteWalz was a teacher for 20 years and even coached the high school football team. They won state!!!
DeleteI love love LOVE being a Democrat. Harris had so much talent to choose from and I love her choice. I love that we have fiery smart dedicated warriors on our side like Shapiro, Whitmer, Pritzker, Warren, Bashear, Pelosi, President Biden... The list goes on and on!!
ReplyDeleteSeriously when they came out on stage at this rally, I stood up and cried. This is IT y'all.
A lot of class on that rally's stage, and no grifting billionaires or candidates who let their wives be shamed by his own party. Go Kamala & Walz!!!
ReplyDeleteFinally normal folks worth listening to are taking the floor. It's about serving Americans, not just yourself and your pals.
ReplyDeleteElection night, election week, and election month are going to be interesting.
ReplyDeleteTim Walz makes us feel real because of his authenticity. Kamala did well to pick Tim representing us as a teacher, a football coach, a uniformed service member, a commander, a Congressman, a Governor, and now soon to be our Second Commander-In-Chief! Let's win the Election 2024 with GRIT and GRACE. God truly bless the USA!
ReplyDeleteBro made a couch joke, about JD Vance. LMAO!!!
ReplyDeleteWhen Walz said he was looking forward to debate Vance "if he's willing to get up off the couch." Priceless line. This after JD was said to have had sex with a couch. LOL louder here!!!
DeleteWalz kept talking about joy. He exudes it. He’s naturally happy. He’s naturally caring. Harris picked the best man for the VP job, and they have such great working chemistry already. It’s really powerful. It’s also good to see positive, joyous, caring, decent people actually running for office.
ReplyDeleteTim Walz at rally: "He froze in the face of the COVID crisis, drove our economy into the ground, and make no mistake: violent crime was up under Donald Trump."
ReplyDeleteAs the crowd roared, Walz added, "That's not even counting the crimes he committed!"
Factual.
DeleteHe has a daughter that he named 'Hope' that alone, shows his attitude toward children!
ReplyDeleteWalz may be the most refreshing candidate in my lifetime. It is great Harris went with a candidate who can related to the entire country. Has there ever been a former teacher as VP? Shapiro brought the 19 electoral votes from Penn. But he was an easy target. I think Harris did well. I hope our country can see Walz not as center or left, but as a relatable person. If they do, Vance will become a foot not in history.
ReplyDelete