#joniernst — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #joniernst, aggregated by home.social.
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Leadership Is Measured by the Lives We Try to Save
By Cliff Potts
WPS News CommentaryEvery so often, a politician pulls back the curtain.
Recently, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa did just that. During a town hall meeting, concerns were raised that cuts to government programs could result in people dying. Her response was blunt: “Well, we all are going to die.”
She is not seeking reelection, so political consequences are no longer much of a concern. That observation, however, is almost beside the point.
This essay is not about Joni Ernst.
It is about the philosophy that statement reveals.
Of course, she was technically correct. Every one of us will die. It is the one certainty every human being shares. But that has never been the moral question confronting leaders.
The question is whether people die sooner than they have to.
The question is whether children go hungry when there is enough food.
The question is whether a family loses a loved one because medicine was unaffordable, because disaster relief came too late, or because society decided saving them simply wasn’t worth the cost.
Leadership has never been about defeating death.
Leadership has always been about reducing unnecessary suffering.
That distinction matters.
No president can eliminate mortality.
No governor can abolish disease.
No senator can promise that every citizen will live a long and healthy life.
But every elected official has the power to influence whether fewer people suffer needlessly.
That is what public service is supposed to be.
Some argue that the United States cannot be responsible for the entire world. They are correct. Resources are finite. Governments have obligations to their own citizens first. Those are legitimate policy debates.
But acknowledging limits is not the same thing as dismissing human life.
There is an enormous moral difference between saying, “We cannot save everyone,” and saying, “People are going to die anyway.”
One statement recognizes tragedy.
The other risks accepting it.
History shows that American foreign aid has often served strategic interests alongside humanitarian ones. During the Cold War, it was frequently used to strengthen alliances and counter Soviet influence. Nations rarely act from pure altruism.
Yet regardless of the political motivation, vaccines still save children.
Emergency food still prevents famine.
Clean water projects still reduce disease.
Disaster relief still keeps families alive.
The child who survives because a shipment of medicine arrived on time does not care whether the funding came from compassion, diplomacy, or national security. Survival is survival.
The same principle applies at home.
Whether the issue is health care, veterans’ services, nutrition assistance, infrastructure, disaster response, or care for the elderly, the purpose of government is not simply to balance numbers on a spreadsheet.
Budgets are moral documents.
Every line represents a choice.
Every appropriation reflects a set of priorities.
Every cut has consequences.
The strength of a civilization is not measured by how much wealth it accumulates. It is measured by how it treats those with the least power to protect themselves.
Children.
The elderly.
The disabled.
The poor.
The sick.
Those who possess power always face the same test: Will they use it only for those who already have enough, or will they extend opportunity and protection to those who have the least?
Civilization itself is built upon that answer.
The measure of leadership has never been whether death exists. Death has always existed.
The measure of leadership is whether those entrusted with power fight to delay unnecessary death, reduce unnecessary suffering, and leave behind a society that is more compassionate than the one they inherited.
We will all die someday.
That has never been in dispute.
What remains in dispute is whether we still believe that every life is worth trying to save.
#ethics #Government #JoniErnst #Leadership #publicPolicy #SocialResponsibility #WPSNews -
Leadership Is Measured by the Lives We Try to Save
By Cliff Potts
WPS News CommentaryEvery so often, a politician pulls back the curtain.
Recently, Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa did just that. During a town hall meeting, concerns were raised that cuts to government programs could result in people dying. Her response was blunt: “Well, we all are going to die.”
She is not seeking reelection, so political consequences are no longer much of a concern. That observation, however, is almost beside the point.
This essay is not about Joni Ernst.
It is about the philosophy that statement reveals.
Of course, she was technically correct. Every one of us will die. It is the one certainty every human being shares. But that has never been the moral question confronting leaders.
The question is whether people die sooner than they have to.
The question is whether children go hungry when there is enough food.
The question is whether a family loses a loved one because medicine was unaffordable, because disaster relief came too late, or because society decided saving them simply wasn’t worth the cost.
Leadership has never been about defeating death.
Leadership has always been about reducing unnecessary suffering.
That distinction matters.
No president can eliminate mortality.
No governor can abolish disease.
No senator can promise that every citizen will live a long and healthy life.
But every elected official has the power to influence whether fewer people suffer needlessly.
That is what public service is supposed to be.
Some argue that the United States cannot be responsible for the entire world. They are correct. Resources are finite. Governments have obligations to their own citizens first. Those are legitimate policy debates.
But acknowledging limits is not the same thing as dismissing human life.
There is an enormous moral difference between saying, “We cannot save everyone,” and saying, “People are going to die anyway.”
One statement recognizes tragedy.
The other risks accepting it.
History shows that American foreign aid has often served strategic interests alongside humanitarian ones. During the Cold War, it was frequently used to strengthen alliances and counter Soviet influence. Nations rarely act from pure altruism.
Yet regardless of the political motivation, vaccines still save children.
Emergency food still prevents famine.
Clean water projects still reduce disease.
Disaster relief still keeps families alive.
The child who survives because a shipment of medicine arrived on time does not care whether the funding came from compassion, diplomacy, or national security. Survival is survival.
The same principle applies at home.
Whether the issue is health care, veterans’ services, nutrition assistance, infrastructure, disaster response, or care for the elderly, the purpose of government is not simply to balance numbers on a spreadsheet.
Budgets are moral documents.
Every line represents a choice.
Every appropriation reflects a set of priorities.
Every cut has consequences.
The strength of a civilization is not measured by how much wealth it accumulates. It is measured by how it treats those with the least power to protect themselves.
Children.
The elderly.
The disabled.
The poor.
The sick.
Those who possess power always face the same test: Will they use it only for those who already have enough, or will they extend opportunity and protection to those who have the least?
Civilization itself is built upon that answer.
The measure of leadership has never been whether death exists. Death has always existed.
The measure of leadership is whether those entrusted with power fight to delay unnecessary death, reduce unnecessary suffering, and leave behind a society that is more compassionate than the one they inherited.
We will all die someday.
That has never been in dispute.
What remains in dispute is whether we still believe that every life is worth trying to save.
#ethics #Government #JoniErnst #Leadership #publicPolicy #SocialResponsibility #WPSNews -
https://www.europesays.com/news/36502/ In Iowa Senate race, Hinson-Turek matchup set for November – Roll Call #BrandSafety #CampaignFinance #Campaigns #CharlesESchumer #Conservatives #Corporations #democrats #DonaldJTrump #DonaldTrump #Donors #DSCC #elections #ElizabethWarren #ExecutiveBranch #Families #Headlines #House #Iowa #JoniErnst #KirstenGillibrand #leadership #Massachusetts #Murder #NewYork #News #OutsideGroups #Pacs #republicans #Senate #SuperPacs #TopStories #trump #Washington
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https://www.europesays.com/people/98368/ In Iowa, Hinson-Turek matchup set for November – Roll Call #BrandSafety #CampaignFinance #Campaigns #CharlesESchumer #ChuckSchumer #Conservatives #Corporations #democrats #DonaldJTrump #DonaldTrump #Donors #DSCC #Elections #ElizabethWarren #ExecutiveBranch #Families #house #Iowa #JoniErnst #KirstenGillibrand #Leadership #Massachusetts #Murder #NewYork #OutsideGroups #PACs #Republicans #Senate #SuperPacs #Trump #washington
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https://www.europesays.com/people/79166/ Pentagon policy isn’t keeping pace with autonomous weapons, senators argue #AiTargeting #ArtificialIntelligence #AutonomousWeapons #CirculatedAirForceTimes #CirculatedArmyTimes #CirculatedMarineCorpsTimes #CirculatedMilitaryTimes #CirculatedNavyTimes #DefenseAutonomousWorkingGroup #ElissaSlotkin #EmilMichael #JoniErnst #MilitaryTimes #PeteHegseth #unmanned
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https://www.europesays.com/people/75601/ Hegseth clashes for a second day with Democratic lawmakers #APTopNews #ChrissyHoulahan #DCWire #DistrictOfColumbia #DonaldTrump #GeneralNews #Iran #IranWar #JackReed #JoeBiden #JoniErnst #MilitaryAndDefense #PeteHegseth #Politics #RandyGeorge #RoKhanna #TimKaine #USDemocraticParty #USDepartmentOfDefense #USRepublicanParty #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesGovernment #WarAndUnrest #WashingtonNews
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Biden administration snuck $90 million to Planned Parenthood by using ghoulish code word, says GOP senator
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Biden administration snuck $90 million to Planned Parenthood by using ghoulish code word, says GOP senator
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https://www.europesays.com/iran/91960/ Hegseth clashes for a second day with Democratic lawmakers #APTopNews #ChrissyHoulahan #DCWire #DistrictOfColumbia #DonaldTrump #GeneralNews #Iran #IranWar #JackReed #JoeBiden #JoniErnst #MilitaryAndDefense #PeteHegseth #Politics #RandyGeorge #RoKhanna #TimKaine #USDemocraticParty #USDepartmentOfDefense #USRepublicanParty #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesGovernment #WarAndUnrest #WashingtonNews
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https://www.europesays.com/news/18636/ OPM and GSA embark on plans to consolidate headquarters #EdForst #GeneralServicesAdministration #Headlines #JoniErnst #News #OfficeOfPersonnelManagement #PublicBuildingsReformBoard #ScottKupor #TopStories #UseItAct
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https://www.europesays.com/news/14673/ Trump’s threats to destroy Iran power plants raise war crime questions #AnnaKelly #AntonioGuterres #DonaldTrump #EnergyIndustry #GeneralNews #Headlines #InternationalAgreements #Iran #IranGovernment #IranWar #JoniErnst #KatherineThompson #MilitaryAndDefense #News #NuclearPowerPlantAccidents #Politics #StephaneDujarric #TopStories #USDemocraticParty #UnitedNations #WarCrimes #WashingtonNews #WorldNews
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https://www.europesays.com/iran/55197/ Trump’s threats to destroy Iran power plants raise war crime questions #AnnaKelly #AntonioGuterres #DonaldTrump #EnergyIndustry #GeneralNews #InternationalAgreements #Iran #IranGovernment #IranWar #JoniErnst #KatherineThompson #MilitaryAndDefense #NuclearPowerPlantAccidents #Politics #StephaneDujarric #USDemocraticParty #UnitedNations #WarCrimes #WashingtonNews #WorldNews
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Trump’s threats to destroy Iran power plants raise war crime questions
WASHINGTON (AP) — In his news conferen…
#NewsBeep #News #Headlines #AnnaKelly #AntonioGuterres #DonaldTrump #Energyindustry #Generalnews #Internationalagreements #Iran #Irangovernment #iranwar #JoniErnst #KatherineThompson #Militaryanddefense #Nuclearpowerplantaccidents #Politics #StephaneDujarric #U.S.DemocraticParty #UnitedNations #UnitedStates #Us #USA #Warcrimes #Washingtonnews #Worldnews
https://www.newsbeep.com/472026/ -
https://www.europesays.com/people/13518/ Trump’s threatened destruction of Iran’s power plants could be considered a war crime, experts say #AnnaKelly #AntónioGuterres #DonaldTrump #JoniErnst #KatherineThompson #StephaneDujarric #Trump #WashingtonNews #WorldNews
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https://www.europesays.com/news/12290/ GSA: No federal building meets 60% occupancy target set by law #AgricultureDepartment #DanMathews #DepartmentOfHousingAndUrbanDevelopment #EdForst #EducationDepartment #EnergyDepartment #FBI #GeneralServicesAdministration #Headlines #HouseTransportationAndInfrastructureCommittee #JamesForrestalBuilding #JoniErnst #LyndonBJohnsonBuilding #News #PaulWalden #PublicBuildingsReformBoard #TopStories #UseItAct
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Well, we're all gonna die!
GOP Senator Blames Dems For Trump's Poor Polling On Immigration
https://crooksandliars.com/2026/03/gop-senator-blames-dems-trumps-poor#google_vignette -
Well, we're all gonna die!
GOP Senator Blames Dems For Trump's Poor Polling On Immigration
https://crooksandliars.com/2026/03/gop-senator-blames-dems-trumps-poor#google_vignette -
https://www.europesays.com/iran/4310/ Senate Republicans vote down legislation to halt Iran war #BrianMast #ChrisCoons #ChuckSchumer #CirculatedAirForceTimes #CirculatedArmyTimes #CirculatedMarineCorpsTimes #CirculatedMilitaryTimes #CirculatedNavyTimes #Congress #DanCaine #DonaldTrump #GregoryMeeks #IowaNationalGuard #Iran #IranWar #JasonCrow #JohnFetterman #JohnBarrasso #JoniErnst #Kuwait #MiddleEast #MilitaryTimes #PeteHegseth #RandPaul #Senate #SusanCollins #TimKaine #WarPowersResolution
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Iowans speak about how federal government can help small businesses at committee meeting in D.C.
WASHINGTON, D.C. (KCRG) – Iowans spoke with federal lawmakers in Washington D.C. about …
#UnitedStates #US #USA #america #business #FirstIowaStateBank #Iowa #JoniErnst #Loans #MadeinAmericaManufacturingFinanceAct #SBA #SBAloans #smallbusiness #SmallBusinessAdministration #smallbusinessadministrationloans #U.S.SenatorJoniErnst #unitedstatesofamerica #WashingtonD.C.
https://www.europesays.com/2703803/ -
GOP Blocks Bill to Ban Arms Sales to UAE Until It Stops Arming Sudan Genocidaires
Darfur’s governor said this week that 27,000 people were killed in the days following RSF’s el-Fasher siege last month. -
Senator #JoniErnst interviewed by #BrianKilmeade: No, I haven't been briefed on a plan for #Venezuela. Am I worried about the US conducting a ground invasion? Well the territory is very difficult, but we have the best fighters on Earth! Also #Trump is the peace pres. pushing stability. #USPolitics
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Let's Watch #JoniErnst, who's no longer running, on Fox "news" trying and failing MISERABLY to defend MAGA and #DonaldTrump after the #NoKings protest. youtu.be/wk0xMfbwRW0?...
MAGA Republican EXPLODES In HU... -
@pomegranate_stew @samlitzinger #MatthewWhitaker has little chance of winning the #Iowa Senate seat currently held by #JoniErnst.
But that probably hasn’t stopped him from measuring the height of her toilet seat! 😂
#SaveAmerica from the #kakistocracy. #Resist , #DoNotComply and #DoNotCollaborateWithFascists in #USpol.
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@pomegranate_stew @samlitzinger #MatthewWhitaker has little chance of winning the #Iowa Senate seat currently held by #JoniErnst.
But that probably hasn’t stopped him from measuring the height of her toilet seat! 😂
#SaveAmerica from the #kakistocracy. #Resist , #DoNotComply and #DoNotCollaborateWithFascists in #USpol.
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@pomegranate_stew @samlitzinger #MatthewWhitaker has little chance of winning the #Iowa Senate seat currently held by #JoniErnst.
But that probably hasn’t stopped him from measuring the height of her toilet seat! 😂
#SaveAmerica from the #kakistocracy. #Resist , #DoNotComply and #DoNotCollaborateWithFascists in #USpol.
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@pomegranate_stew @samlitzinger #MatthewWhitaker has little chance of winning the #Iowa Senate seat currently held by #JoniErnst.
But that probably hasn’t stopped him from measuring the height of her toilet seat! 😂
#SaveAmerica from the #kakistocracy. #Resist , #DoNotComply and #DoNotCollaborateWithFascists in #USpol.
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Pfftahaha! That's not a question the cocky shrew needs answered apparently! #Iowa #Republican Sen #JoniErnst will not seek reelection to the Senate in 2026, multiple sources confirm to @cbsnews.com #NikoleKillion has more on the political shift before the midterm season youtu.be/atL0J-cJd54?...
Republican Joni Ernst will not... -
@w7voa So this sociopathic grifter's shift at the teat is supposed to be done at the end of 2026?
Somehow I feel that this person will find yet another sycophantic seat at a corporate board or some MAGA appointment to keep fleecing and screwing the public until ignominous death.
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@w7voa So this sociopathic grifter's shift at the teat is supposed to be done at the end of 2026?
Somehow I feel that this person will find yet another sycophantic seat at a corporate board or some MAGA appointment to keep fleecing and screwing the public until ignominous death.
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Iowa senator Joni Ernst will not seek re-election next year. Good riddance. #Politics #Democracy #Iowa #GOP #JoniErnst #Senate #US #USpol https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/29/joni-ernst-iowa-not-running-2026-00535754
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Iowa senator Joni Ernst will not seek re-election next year. Good riddance. #Politics #Democracy #Iowa #GOP #JoniErnst #Senate #US #USpol https://www.politico.com/news/2025/08/29/joni-ernst-iowa-not-running-2026-00535754
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Gee, let’s see how Joni Ernst is doing!
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Gee, let’s see how Joni Ernst is doing!
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@dbattistella I was shocked - shocked! - to see that Joni Ernst didn't shrug it off with another "Well, we all die."
#JoniErnst #WeAllDie #uspol #PoliticiansForSale #Cheap #Corruption #DyingEmpire
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@dbattistella I was shocked - shocked! - to see that Joni Ernst didn't shrug it off with another "Well, we all die."
#JoniErnst #WeAllDie #uspol #PoliticiansForSale #Cheap #Corruption #DyingEmpire
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@dbattistella I was shocked - shocked! - to see that Joni Ernst didn't shrug it off with another "Well, we all die."
#JoniErnst #WeAllDie #uspol #PoliticiansForSale #Cheap #Corruption #DyingEmpire
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@dbattistella I was shocked - shocked! - to see that Joni Ernst didn't shrug it off with another "Well, we all die."
#JoniErnst #WeAllDie #uspol #PoliticiansForSale #Cheap #Corruption #DyingEmpire
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The Battle of Home Depot
- OPEN: (0:56) Liked by Flavor Flav!; (2:12) Tubi TV Night; (5:48) D-Day 81 / Convoy Day 50!
- MAIN: (8:32) The Battle of Home Depot / L.A. Occupation / Masked ICE / America license / Gov. “Newscum”
- NATIONAL: (25:30) Terry Moran / Walter Cronkite; Abrego Garcia returned
- REPUBLICANS: (32:24) Musk / Trump “breakup”; Joni Ernst tripled down; What’s in Face-Eating Leopards Bill?
- DEMOCRATS: (44:13) How many Dems have died in office?; “Big Tent Democrats”; Searchlight for “broadly popular positions”; UN Gaza ceasefire veto; Andrew Cuomo
- WEST: (1:01:14) Canyon County Pride; Jonathan Joss murder; USNS Harvey Milk, Medgar Evers renames
- MUSIC: (1:09:53) Home Run Singers
- RANT: (1:23:48) FBI Snitch on Trans Kid Care
- CLOSE: (1:32:15) Ruth Belville, The Lady Who Sold Time; Rodgers to Steelers; NHS 40th Reunion “What Have You Done”
#AaronRodgers #AndrewCuomo #CWMcCall #California #CanyonCounty #Convoy #DDay #DonaldTrump #ElonMusk #FlavorFlav #GavinNewsom #Gaza #GrahamNash #HarveyMilk #ICE #Idaho #JonathanJoss #JoniErnst #LosAngeles #MedgarEvers #NampaHighSchool #NationalGuard #PaulCarrack #PittsburghSteelers #Pride #RitchieTorres #RoKhanna #RuthBelville #StephenStills #TerryMoran #TonyBurrows #transgender #Tubi #UnitedNations #WalterCronkite
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Joni Ernst (R-IA) is done. Vote for Nathan Sage.
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Joni Ernst (R-IA) is done. Vote for Nathan Sage.
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#indivisible made #senator #JoniErnst have a really bad day. In under an hour, we put through 1500 calls. This is easy, this is fun, join us. We're doing this every Wednesday and Thursday. https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/792462/
#Iowa can stop Joni Ernst's "We're All Gonna Die" Bill
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#indivisible made #senator #JoniErnst have a really bad day. In under an hour, we put through 1500 calls. This is easy, this is fun, join us. We're doing this every Wednesday and Thursday. https://www.mobilize.us/indivisible/event/792462/
#Iowa can stop Joni Ernst's "We're All Gonna Die" Bill
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“Well, we are all going to die.”
It's eye-opening to hear such a blatant example of the thoughtless & self-centered nature of today's #Republican party... thanks Joni Ernst.
☑️ Yes. People Will Die. - by Jonathan Cohn - The Bulwark
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/yes-people-will-die-joni-ernst-videos-cemetery-cringe-medicaid-big-beautiful-bill
#gop #joniernst #healthcare -
“Well, we are all going to die.”
It's eye-opening to hear such a blatant example of the thoughtless & self-centered nature of today's #Republican party... thanks Joni Ernst.
☑️ Yes. People Will Die. - by Jonathan Cohn - The Bulwark
https://www.thebulwark.com/p/yes-people-will-die-joni-ernst-videos-cemetery-cringe-medicaid-big-beautiful-bill
#gop #joniernst #healthcare -
"She is in the company of a growing cadre playing the same game in Congress, throughout the Trump administration, and across statehouses—feigning to embody feminism in the name of women’s collective political rise, all the while displaying reprehensible behavior and advancing the absolute worst policies for women, children, people of color, LGBTQ people, the elderly, and, quite frankly, for each and every one of us."
~ Jennifer Weiss-Wolf
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"She is in the company of a growing cadre playing the same game in Congress, throughout the Trump administration, and across statehouses—feigning to embody feminism in the name of women’s collective political rise, all the while displaying reprehensible behavior and advancing the absolute worst policies for women, children, people of color, LGBTQ people, the elderly, and, quite frankly, for each and every one of us."
~ Jennifer Weiss-Wolf
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"Ernst’s callousness is a direct reflection of her party line and, to that extent, totally on brand. ...
Also on brand is her invocation of Christianity, echoing President Donald Trump, who openly questioned the separation of church and state."
~ Jennifer Weiss-Wolf
#JoniErnst #Musk #Trump #BigBeautifulBill #economy #Medicaid #SNAP #healthcare #food
/6https://contrarian.substack.com/p/when-women-wield-power-to-do-active
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"Ernst’s callousness is a direct reflection of her party line and, to that extent, totally on brand. ...
Also on brand is her invocation of Christianity, echoing President Donald Trump, who openly questioned the separation of church and state."
~ Jennifer Weiss-Wolf
#JoniErnst #Musk #Trump #BigBeautifulBill #economy #Medicaid #SNAP #healthcare #food
/6https://contrarian.substack.com/p/when-women-wield-power-to-do-active
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"Ernst’s comments are also among the best illustrations yet of how dishonestly Donald Trump and the Republicans are trying to defend their legislation—and how desperately they want to hide its potential impact, which includes real harm to many millions of people."
~ Jonathan Cohn
#JoniErnst #Musk #Trump #BigBeautifulBill #economy #Medicaid #SNAP #healthcare #food
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