rpryor's test thread emporium

[rpryor03]

for stuff and things

 

[rpryor03]

2019 Conservative Leadership Election

"Boris's my dad" says teenager: 23 and me reveals sordid truth of Boris as double dipping dandy
Daily Mirror, May 2019

First Conservative ballot sees five candidates drop - what's next for Hancock, Baker, et al?
Iaindale.com, 14 June 2019

Javid falls victim to vote threshold, Raab eliminated in Tory vote
BBC.com, 18 June 2019

One vote away: Ridiculous Rory advances over Hunt as last Remainer standing
Daily Express, 19 June 2019

What the Tok?: TikTok and the escapades of Bea Gove
order-order.com, 19 June 2019

TikTok sting reveals Gove bookshelf - David Irving Explained
BBC.com, 19 June 2019

Murray book prophetic for Gove as he too falls to outsiders
Daily Mail, 20 June 2019



"Who the hell are you?," Queen asks new PM
thedailymash.co.uk, 23 July 2019

 

[rpryor03]

Cabinet of James Cleverly (July 2019 - )
Prime Minister: James S. Cleverly (Braintree)

First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Exchequer: E. M. "Liz" Truss (South West Norfolk)
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove)
Secretary of State for the Home Department: James P. Brokenshire (Old Bexley and Sidcup)

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office: C. L. "Kit" Malthouse (North West Hampshire)
Secretary of State for Justice and Lord High Chancellor: Dominic R. Raab (Epsom and Ewell)
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union: Robin C. Walker (Worcester)
Secretary of State for Defence: P. M. "Penny" Mordaunt (Portsmouth North)
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Minister for Women and Equalities: O. O. "Kemi" Badenoch (Saffron Walden)
Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy: Priti S. Patel (Witham)
Secretary of State for International Trade: Kwasi A. A. Kwarteng (Spelthorne)
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: C. J. "Chris" Skidmore (Kingswood)
Secretary of State for Education: M. J. D. "Matt" Hancock (West Suffolk)
Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs: Julian R. Smith (Skipton and Ripon)
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government: Michael A. Gove (Surrey Heath)
Secretary of State for Transport: Grant Shapps (Welwyn Hatfield)
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: Andrew W. Murrison (South West Wiltshire)
Secretary of State for Scotland: Colin J. Clark (Gordon)
Secretary of State for Wales: Alun H. Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan)
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport: Alex J. G. Chalk (Cheltenham)
Secretary of State for International Development: Esther L. McVey (Tatton)
Minister without Portfolio and Party Chair: Stephen P. Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire)

Also attending Cabinet
Chief Secretary to the Treasury: S. J. "Steve" Baker (Wycombe)
Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council: Jacob W. Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset)
Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury: Christopher Heaton-Harris (Daventry)
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal: The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
Attorney General: C. Geoffrey Cox (Torridge and West Devon)
Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse: J. J. G. "Jake" Berry (Rossendale and Darwen)
Minister of State for Asia and MENA: Julian C. Knight (Solihull)
Minister of State for Security: R. Ben L. Wallace (Wyre and Preston North)
Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change: Rishi Sunak (Richmond [Yorks])

 

[CTTeller]

View attachment 38051

Cabinet of James Cleverly (July 2019 - )
Prime Minister: James S. Cleverly (Braintree)

First Secretary of State and Chancellor of the Exchequer: E. M. "Liz" Truss (South West Norfolk)
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove)
Secretary of State for the Home Department: James P. Brokenshire (Old Bexley and Sidcup)

Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Minister for the Cabinet Office: C. L. "Kit" Malthouse (North West Hampshire)
Secretary of State for Justice and Lord High Chancellor: Dominic R. Raab (Epsom and Ewell)
Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union: Robin C. Walker (Worcester)
Secretary of State for Defence: P. M. "Penny" Mordaunt (Portsmouth North)
Secretary of State for Health and Social Care and Minister for Women and Equalities: O. O. "Kemi" Badenoch (Saffron Walden)
Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy: Priti S. Patel (Witham)
Secretary of State for International Trade: Kwasi A. A. Kwarteng (Spelthorne)
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: C. J. "Chris" Skidmore (Kingswood)
Secretary of State for Education: M. J. D. "Matt" Hancock (West Suffolk)
Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs: Julian R. Smith (Skipton and Ripon)
Secretary of State for Housing, Communities, and Local Government: Michael A. Gove (Surrey Heath)
Secretary of State for Transport: Grant Shapps (Welwyn Hatfield)
Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: Andrew W. Murrison (South West Wiltshire)
Secretary of State for Scotland: Colin J. Clark (Gordon)
Secretary of State for Wales: Alun H. Cairns (Vale of Glamorgan)
Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport: Alex J. G. Chalk (Cheltenham)
Secretary of State for International Development: Esther L. McVey (Tatton)
Minister without Portfolio and Party Chair: Stephen P. Barclay (North East Cambridgeshire)

Also attending Cabinet
Chief Secretary to the Treasury: S. J. "Steve" Baker (Wycombe)
Leader of the House of Commons and Lord President of the Council: Jacob W. Rees-Mogg (North East Somerset)
Chief Whip of the House of Commons and Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury: Christopher Heaton-Harris (Daventry)
Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal: The Baroness Evans of Bowes Park
Attorney General: C. Geoffrey Cox (Torridge and West Devon)
Minister of State for the Northern Powerhouse: J. J. G. "Jake" Berry (Rossendale and Darwen)
Minister of State for Asia and MENA: Julian C. Knight (Solihull)
Minister of State for Security: R. Ben L. Wallace (Wyre and Preston North)
Minister of State for Energy and Climate Change: Rishi Sunak (Richmond [Yorks])

How did you get Fantasy Frontbench to work, or was it pre-made?

 

[rpryor03]

How did you get Fantasy Frontbench to work, or was it pre-made?

Used the most recent working version I could find on internet archive.

 

[rpryor03]

BBC.com
Tags: "Labour" AND ["June 2019" OR "July 2019"]

As Conservatives prepare for Johnson-less leadership election, Labour bigwigs retreat to the North
31 May

What's Corbyn Doing? An explainer to the mass Labour trip
1 June

Tom Watson announces retirement from politics, cites health concerns
10 June

Corbyn praises Watson in statement
11 June

Gove incident shines light on "ingrained Anti-semitism," scholars say
20 June

Should Labour be worried about having never elected a woman or BAME to lead them?
24 July

Corbyn announces Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, "a team best fit to face a Cleverly Cabinet"
25 July

-----------



Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn (as of 26 July)
Leader of Her Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition: Jeremy B. Corbyn (Islington North)

Shadow First Secretary of State and Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer: John M. McDonnell (Hayes and Harlington)
Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs: Diane J. Abbott (Hackney North and Stoke Newington)
Shadow Secretary of State for the Home Department: Richard Burgon (Leeds East)

Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster: Emily A. Thornberry (Islington South and Finsbury)
Shadow Secretary of State for Justice: A. J. "Tony" Lloyd (Rochdale)
Shadow Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union: Keir R. Starmer (Holborn and St Pancras)
Shadow Secretary of State for Defence: Nia R. Griffith (Llanelli)
Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care: Jonathan M. G. Ashworth (Leicester South)
Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy, and Industrial Strategy: Rebecca R. Long-Bailey (Salford and Eccles)
Shadow Secretary of State for International Trade: Barry S. Gardiner (Brent North)
Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions: Jon H. Trickett (Hemsworth)
Shadow Secretary of State for Education: Angela Rayner (Ashton-under-Lyne)
Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs: S. M. "Sue" Hayman (Workington)
Shadow Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government: Andrew J. Gwynne (Denton and Reddish)
Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland: Louise M. Haigh (Sheffield Heeley)
Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland: Lesley M. Laird (Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath)
Shadow Secretary of State for Wales: Christina Rees (Neath)
Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media, and Sport: David L. Lammy (Tottenham)
Shadow Secretary of State for International Development: D. J. "Dan" Carden (Liverpool Walton)
Shadow Minister without Portfolio and Party Chair: Ian Lavery (Wansbeck)
Shadow Secretary of State for Housing: John Healey (Wentworth and Deane)
Shadow Secretary of State for Employment Rights: Laura Pidcock (North West Durham)
Shadow Secretary of State for Women and Equalities: Dawn P. Butler (Brent Central)

Also attending Shadow Cabinet
Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury: Anneliese J. Dodds (Oxford East)
Shadow Leader of the House of Commons: Valerie C. M. Vaz (Walsall South)
Opposition Chief Whip in the House of Commons: N. H. "Nick" Brown (Newcastle upon Tyne East)
Shadow Leader of the House of Lords: The Baroness Smith of Basildon
Shadow Attorney General: The Baroness Chakrabarti of Kennington
Shadow Minister of State for Mental Health and Social Care: N. "Nick" Thomas-Symonds (Torfaen)
Shadow Minister of State for Voter Engagement and Youth Affairs: C. J. "Cat" Smith (Lancaster and Fleetwood)
Shadow Minister of State for Climate Change: Danielle Rowley (Midlothian)

Creation of Vice-Chairs of the Labour Party
Anneliese J. Dodds (Oxford East, concurrently Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury)
Clive A. Lewis (Norwich South, concurrently Shadow Minister for Security)
Louise M. Haigh (Sheffield Heeley, concurrently Shadow Secretary for Northern Ireland)
Paul Sweeney (Glasgow North East, concurrently Shadow Minister for Scotland)
Fabian Hamilton (Leeds North East, concurrently Shadow Minister for the Middle East, Peace, and Disarmament)

 

[rpryor03]

 

[rpryor03]

 

[rpryor03]

 

[rpryor03]

 

[rpryor03]

Senators of the 123rd United States Congress
President: Maura Healey (D-MA, 2033)
Alabama: Tommy Tuberville (R, 2021), Katie Britt (R, 2023)
Alaska: Dan Sullivan (R, 2015), Mary Peltola (D, 2029)
Arizona: Mark Kelly (D, 2020), Ruben Gallego (D, 2025)
Arkansas: Tom Cotton (R, 2015), Rick Crawford (R, 2029)
California: Alex Padilla (D, 2021), Katie Porter (D, 2025)
Colorado: Michael Bennet (D, 2009), Jason Crow (D, 2033)
Connecticut: Chris Murphy (D, 2013), Jahana Hayes (D, 2029)
Delaware: Chris Coons (D, 2010), John Carney (D, 2025)
Florida: Rick Scott (R, 2019), Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick (D, 2029)
Georgia: Jon Ossoff (D, 2021), Raphael Warnock (D, 2021)
Hawaii: Brian Schatz (D, 2012), Josh Green (D, 2031)
Idaho: Raul Labarador (R, 2027), Russ Fulcher (R, 2029)
Illinois: Tammy Duckworth (D, 2017), Lauren Underwood (D, 2027)
Indiana: Todd Young (R, 2017), Mike Braun (R, 2019)
Iowa: Joni Ernst (R, 2015), Pat Grassley (R, 2029)
Kansas: Jerry Moran (R, 2011), Roger Marshall (R, 2021)
Kentucky: Rand Paul (R, 2011), Andy Barr (R, 2027)
Louisiana: Bill Cassidy (R, 2015), John Neely Kennedy (R, 2017)
Maine: Ryan Fecteau (D, 2025), Troy Jackson (D, 2027)
Maryland: Chris Van Hollen (D, 2017), John Sarbanes (D, 2025)
Massachusetts: Ayanna Pressley (D, 2027), Michelle Wu (D, 2031)
Michigan: John James (R, 2031), Gretchen Whitmer (D, 2033)
Minnesota: Amy Klobuchar (D, 2007), Tina Smith (D, 2017)
Missouri: Eric Schmitt (R, 2023), Rob Vescovo (R, 2031)
Montana: Steve Daines (R, 2015), Austin Knudsen (R, 2031)
Nebraska: Ben Sasse (R, 2015), Brett Lindstrom (R, 2031)
Nevada: Steven Horsford (D, 2029), Rick Harrison (R, 2031)
New Hampshire: Maggie Hassan (D, 2017), Chris Sununu (R, 2027)
New Jersey: Cory Booker (D, 2013), Thomas Kean Jr (R, 2031)
New Mexico: Martin Heinrich (D, 2013), Ben Ray Lujan (D, 2021)
New York: Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D, 2025), Jumaane Williams (D, 2029)
North Carolina: Cheri Beasley (D, 2023), Josh Stein (D, 2033)
North Dakota: John Hoeven (R, 2011), Kevin Cramer (R, 2019)
Ohio: JD Vance (R, 2023), Frank LaRose (R, 2025)
Oklahoma: James Lankford (R, 2015), Markwayne Mullin (R, 2022)
Oregon: Jeff Merkley (D, 2009), Mingus Mapps (D, 2029)
Pennsylvania: John Fetterman (D, 2023), Guy Reschenthaler (R, 2031)
Rhode Island: Sheldon Whitehouse (D, 2007), Seth Magaziner (D, 2027)
South Carolina: Lindsey Graham* (R, 2003), Nancy Mace (R, 2029)
South Dakota: John Thune (R, 2005), Mike Rounds (R, 2015)
Tennessee: Marsha Blackburn (R, 2019), Bill Hagerty (R, 2021)
Texas: Ted Cruz (R, 2013), Lizzie Fletcher (D, 2033)
Utah: Mike Lee (R, 2011), Sean Reyes (R, 2025)
Vermont: David Zuckerman (VP, 2025), Becca Balint (D, 2029)
Virginia: Tim Kaine (D, 2013), Levar Stoney (D, 2033)
Washington: Patty Murray* (D, 1993), Maria Cantwell (D, 2001)
West Virginia: Shelley Moore Capito (R, 2015), Alex Mooney (R, 2025)
Wisconsin: Tammy Baldwin (D, 2013), Mandela Barnes (D, 2023)
Wyoming: John Barrasso (R, 2007), Cynthia Lummis (R, 2021)

Republican: 50 Senators
Democratic: 49 Senators
Vermont Progressive: 1 Senator (caucusing with Democratic)

Bolded represents party leaders, italics represent party whips, and * indicates most senior Senator in party.

 

[rpryor03]

"The Crisis of the Presidency"
a Wikibox Timeline inspired by @CanadianTory

Will I complete anything for this? Let's find out...
(But I'll try, I can guarantee that much)​

 

[CanadianTory]

Looking forward to it!

 

[rpryor03]

James Stockdale never wanted to be Vice President, as he told his wife Sybil, Hamilton Jordan, and H. Ross Perot himself many times. He had served his country faithfully in Vietnam and as president of the Naval War College, and he enjoyed writing a book with Sybil, lecturing at the Hoover Institution, and having a sinecure post in the Reagan administration. He was not looking for yet another act in his career of public service, let alone in elected office.

With his top choice, John Silber, declining, Perot was out of legitimate options - picking Jesse Jackson would lose him votes, Norm Schwarzkopf and Colin Powell wouldn't run on a ticket against President Bush, and the rest were all various flavors of moderate Republicans plus Jeane Kirkpatrick and Donald Rumsfeld for some reason. Instead, co-campaign manager Hamilton Jordan suggested, might Perot consider a Democrat? If Perot was to successfully gain traction, he needed Democratic voters just as much as Republicans. But no one was interested - the very few in elected office who Perot might want to work with, like Marcy Kaptur and David Boren, didn't want to get involved in a ticket that was both going to lose in the inevitable Bush landslide or go against their party. Richard Lamm was an unorthodox thinker, sure, but Perot very quickly learned that all the positives of his experience and rolodex were matched by a relationship that would have flamed out before November.

But Jordan had another idea - what about a man who'd served in the highest levels of the executive office, was a well-known national name, and, most importantly, could speak to the same populist concerns as Perot, but from a different angle? Enter former Chief of Staff and Press Secretary to Lyndon Johnson Bill Moyers.

Moyers, as his former aide-de-camp Eric Alterman wrote following his death, thought that Perot was "nuts" and that he should have declined. But Perot's offer was too great, including a significant role in guiding the ticket's policy, both in the campaign and in the White House, and a promise from Perot that he would stay away from torching Johnson's Great Society beyond what Nixon, Ford, Reagan, and Bush had already done. As he confessed in his 2004 book Moyers and America, the candidate-to-be was concerned by the way that the Clinton campaign had handled the Gennifer Flowers scandal, and his concerns around the culture of Clinton's campaign, especially the ethical choices made by figures like James Carville, who attacked the press for reporting on the Flowers scandal.

For Hamilton Jordan, getting Bill Moyers, a man he knew and had experience with, increased his influence in the campaign, preventing what could have been a midsummer end of the campaign, forming a troika with Moyers and Alterman successfully stopping Perot from dropping out amidst a sea of gaffes and self-doubt, with Alterman famously telling Perot to "toughen up, man!," although that wouldn't be revealed until far later.

That troika would, with Ed Rollins's resignation, set out to define their ticket - Perot, the successful businessman who knew how to balance a budget and could tame America's economy, and Moyers, the policy wonk populist who'd traveled the world a million times and knew everyone there was to know at the United Nations. This definition allowed for a successful division of labor between the two men, and with a successful pseudo-Convention rally in Dallas, where Moyers' southwestern roots shone, they were neck-and-neck, or even ahead, of the other two campaigns.

Everything changed, though, in mid-October, when the Arkansas attorney Cliff Jackson saw a chance for the election to be put to bed and sent a tip to Emmett Tyrrell at American Spectator, where the newly-hired David Brock revealed the details of what is now known as "Troopergate," revealing the presence of yet another woman that Governor Clinton was cheating on his wife with. And when Paula Jones, having been revealed, sued the Governor, there was no turning back.

Pat Buchanan got up on stage at Republican events and implied that both Clintons would be running the country, not just one. Dan Quayle said that family values were important to him. And, well, if Barbara Bush was a little more active on the campaign trail, was that such a bad thing? But for the Perot campaign, it was Bill Moyers, the man who'd pastored a Baptist church in a town of less than 1,000 people, who, with the last word in the Vice Presidential debate, talked about leadership, integrity, and the need for trustworthy politicians, and suddenly all the attacks against him faded away as one of America's most beloved journalists, not a flunky of Lyndon Johnson or a man too smart to connect with the average American, took center stage. And in that moment, the result could never be anything different, and America would never be the same ever again.

​

(This was planned before Moyers' untimely passing, but I hope this honors his memory in some small way. The titular quote is his, from a 2014 conversation with Senator Bob Kerrey, where he said that "The crisis of the presidency is that there is no one who can do it." Moyers was actively considered for VP by both the Perot and Clinton campaigns, and the quote about him thinking Perot was nuts comes from a recent article by Alterman in The New Republic.)

 

[CanadianTory]

Finally, Bush Sr. gets his chance to save the new world order.

 

[rpryor03]

At the beginning of 1992, Vic Fazio wasn't expecting an awfully busy year. The Representative from West Sacramento, given a new district by the California State Legislature, was expecting a comfortable eight-point victory over State Senator H. L. Richardson, a noted Bircher who'd served in the State Senate for two decades and was known as the founder of Gun Owners of America. As Chair of the DCCC, he wasn't expecting much of a challenge - even in Reagan's 1984 landslide, the House Republicans were still stuck under 200 seats and lost the popular vote, so the assumed Bush re-election wouldn't hurt their chances too much.

The entrance of Ross Perot into the presidential race changed things, though. Instead of being able to count on Democrats who might vote for Bush because he was semi-decent but would support their incumbent in the House, Perot was taking voters from both parties, making it harder to predict where the votes would end up. But he was still safe, his polls said, and so were enough of his colleagues to ensure they kept their majority.

And then there was Troopergate. Fazio knew as soon as Paula Jones filed her lawsuit against Governor Clinton that his chances, both as a candidate and DCCC Chair, were getting slimmer by the minute. Clinton Campaign Director Bruce Lindsey started saying that the allegations were "ridiculous" and that the Governor denied the allegations, but the American public, with an assist from conservative writers and public, didn't believe him, especially when Clinton himself had admitted on 60 Minutes earlier in the campaign that he had caused problems in his marriage. Some Democrats, like Senator Richard Shelby, Governor Gaston Caperton, and Independent Representative Bernie Sanders, were willing to criticize Clinton and distance themselves from him. Many chose to hem and haw, reminding voters of the need to get Bush out of the White House. But still, the Democratic Party, after avoiding Gary Hart's monkey business in 1988, had tied themselves to a different horndog of a politician. And as Fazio woke up on November 4, he, like many of his colleagues and friends, found themselves out of a job, out of their power, and having lost to the biggest wave since Watergate.

Not only was Fazio out, but so too were star candidates like Nathan Deal, Carolyn Maloney, Ted Strickland, and Jay Inslee; rising stars like Nita Lowey and John Spratt; committee chairs like Les Aspin and Dan Rostenkowski; but Foley himself was taken out by perennial candidate and good governance activist John Sonneland, and Majority Whip David Bonior lost to State Senator Doug Carl, who he'd beaten four years prior. In many cases, the suburbs of the country revolted against Clinton, with Republicans picking up suburban and some more rural seats, especially east of the Mississippi and in Texas, where Democrats faced two different home-state boosts. All they were left with was a weird mix of urban seats, VRA minority seats, and white working class seats.

Across the Capitol, things weren't much better - Byron Dorgan was taken by surprise and lost to software CEO Steve Sydness, Lieutenant Governor Mike DeWine convinced enough voters that John Glenn hadn't done enough on Earth for them recently, and the tidal wave of votes was enough to sneak Representative Thomas Hartnett and Secretary of State Jim Douglas into the Senate, despite Fritz Hollings and Patrick Leahy's long service to their respective states. However, in an odd coincidence, the two states with a regular and a special election, California and North Dakota, chose to split their representation, with the popular and well-known Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Kent Conrad serving with the less-well-known Republicans Bruce Herschensohn and Sydness.

Outside of Washington, things tended to proceed along the paths everyone expected - except in Utah, where the businessman Merrill Cook was, in the words of a BYU political scientist, "an angry outsider claiming good management skills crying for change," with the tacit support of Perot himself, defeating insurance CEO Mike Leavitt. For no reason other than being the right man at the right time with the right opponent, George H.W. Bush would be the first Republican President since Eisenhower to hold the all-important trifecta.

​