Rep. Seth Moulton (D-MA) walks out of moment of silence for Orlando victims

[cali]

Seth Moulton, Democrat from Massachusetts, is suddenly a big deal after he walked out of a congressional moment of silence for victims of the Orlando shooting as a protest against the lack of gun reform. Here he talks about prepping his soldiers for the brutality of war, whether genuine gun reform might actually succeed, and if he’s really in the running to be Hillary’s veep.

Seth Moulton is a 38-year-old freshman Democratic congressman from Massachusetts, but his youth and lack of seniority haven't prevented him from cutting a large profile on Capitol Hill. A Harvard grad who joined the Marines and served four tours in Iraq—and who refreshingly (and shockingly) has underplayed his military service, including the fact that he won a Bronze Star—Moulton has already become one of his party's top foreign policy thinkers. This week, after the attack in Orlando, he waded—plunged, really—into the gun-control debate, appearing on the front page of New York's Daily News with an op-ed calling for an assault-weapons ban. I recently spoke to Moulton about Orlando, ISIS, Trump, and whether he wants to be Hillary Clinton's running mate.

On Sunday, after the attack in Orlando, you posted a tweet offering your "thoughts and prayers," and then on Monday you walked off the House floor during the moment of silence for the victims of the shooting, later explaining that you won't attend another one ever again. What changed between that original tweet and your walking off the floor?

I heard from Americans. I heard from constituents who said that thoughts and prayers aren't enough; thoughts and prayers aren't working; we need to take action. I understand I'm one of the few members of Congress who does his own Twitter account, so I saw it right away. Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut was, I think, the first to say, "You know what, I'm just not even going to attend these moments of silence." And I thought that was a good statement. Some people have said, "Well, that's disrespectful to the victims." I think what's disrespectful to the victims is refusing to even have a debate about passing reasonable reforms to prevent these mass shootings from happening.

<snip>

read:http://www.gq.com/story/seth-moulton-republicans-scared-of-nra

Op-Ed by Rep. Moulton:

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/civilians-no-reason-owning-assault-weapons-article-1.2674107

[cali]

1. This guy has guts: He says unequivocally that Trump is "treasonous"

By Yvonne Abraham Globe Columnist April 29, 2016

BostonGlobe.com


“Young Americans will suffer and die because of the things Donald Trump is saying.”

Congressman Seth Moulton did not mince words when I asked him for a former Marine’s view of the Republican presidential hopeful’s foreign policy pronouncements.

“His foreign policy principles are morally corrupt,” he said. “They contradict our fundamental values as Americans, and they’re also incredibly stupid.”

If Trump had been commander in chief when Moulton was planning to join the military, he said, “I would have reconsidered.”

Here’s why: “One of the things that made me most proud as a Marine is that we never let the enemy change our values. So what would it mean if our own commander in chief asked us to do that? . . . It makes Trump treasonous to our fundamental ideals.”

Treasonous. That’s pretty unequivocal.

<snip>

read:https://www.bostonglobe.com/metro/2016/04/29/abraham/3ytVfGTzp3EPjSkfc8KHHO/story.html

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

28. Right on! The guy's not afraid to call out that shitstain tRump.

[Tree-Hugger]

2. Kick nt

[riversedge]

3. Thank you Rep. Moulton.

[Blue_Adept]

4. MA continues to put some of our best into service in general

Glad to have Moulton out there more. Him, Warren, Markey, and others are definitely carrying forward the way that Kennedy and Kerry worked over the years in their own ways.

[smirkymonkey]

9. I agree - I am proud of my state and who we send to

Washington. It's time for others in this nation to step up to the plate.

[Blue_Adept]

13. That's how I usually feel

I get frustrated when it seems like MA keeps getting yanked on for grabbing people for higher office. I know it's a local view kind of thing, but I'd like to see these kinds of politicians sprouting up all over the country and making waves.

[cali]

11. Yes, you do. You grow some good politicians there

[Blue_Adept]

12. I just wish we saw more of this elsewhere around the country

I presume there are, but they're not able to get recognized for some reason. The local level is where all of this really needs to take place.

[cali]

15. well, my state is equal to yours.

and it has one significant advantage- a viable 3rd party, The Vermont Progressive Party. The VPP has members in the VT House and Senate and in statewide office. This guy is running for Lt. Guv this year as a P/D. He's currently a state senator and has been in the House and Senate for almost 20 years. His day job is organic farmer.



http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/6/10/1537030/-DAVID-ZUCKERMAN-4-VT-LT-GOV


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Zuckerman_(politician)



Here's his first ad:

[Blue_Adept]

16. The northeast is generally good for this

Wish we saw more of it elsewhere is all. It's one of the reasons I find myself unlikely to leave the region.

[cali]

18. well, NH has a lot of wingnuts in its enormous legislature

and Maine has one of the worst wingnut guvs in the country

[Chan790]

29. Maine's problem is a distinct one...

in that it is entirely the result of 3rd-party centrists who refuse major party endorsement, yet keep running for office and coming in a close 3rd. LePage has never broken 40%, has had a majority opposed to his election both times, has been down double-digits in head-to-head against the Democratic nominee both times...and is a two-term governor.

It's a clear bellwether for the Democratic party's centrist problem. We need them to stop pushing the party to the right...but we also need them to not leave to run 3rd-party spoilers or join the GOP. It's a problem that they have faced for 2 decades and answered; it's one progressives don't have an answer for...how do you marginalize an entire wing of the party so they fall in line behind the majority?

[Jim Beard]

5. I believe Seths qualifications are far more superior to the republicans

Cotton. Seth beats him in Military and education.

[Paper Roses]

6. A big thank you to my Rep. Stand your ground! n/t

[Boomerproud]

7. God bless Rep. Moulton and the people who sent him to Washington to make a difference.

I feel better about the future now-as long as he is allowed to continue to fight the right fight.

[bullwinkle428]

8. Keep an eye on this guy. He is absolutely potential Presidential material!

[smirkymonkey]

10. Completely agree.

[Jim Lane]

14. I just wish he weren't pro-nuke

I recognize that some environmentalists, notably James Hansen, have touted nuclear energy because they are so strongly (and correctly) opposed to the burning of coal and gas. Most of us, however, think that nuclear is not the way to go.

According to this article about the Pilgrim nuclear power plant in Massachusetts:

Meanwhile, environmental groups are prodding federal regulators to shutter the plant even before 2019. Groups such as Environment Massachusetts view the plant's pending closure as an opportunity to expand the use of solar and wind power in the state. They rallied at the Statehouse last week, urging state officials to act.

U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Democrat who represents Essex County and part of Middlesex, said the state shouldn't abandon nuclear energy. Energy companies, he said, should be investing in upgrades to their nuclear plants.

. . . .

"It's the best carbon-free energy source we have, and we're all going to be breathing the dirty air from coal and gas if we shut these plants down," Moulton said. "Obviously, Pilgrim has had some serious deficiencies and safety issues that need to be addressed, but I would rather have seen a plan to fix it than just shutting it down."

Trying to prop up a 43-year-old plant that has "serious deficiencies and safety issues" is a short-sighted approach.

[cali]

20. I confess: I'm really conflicted about nuclear power

but I do agree that "Trying to prop up a 43-year-old plant that has "serious deficiencies and safety issues" is a short-sighted approach."

[passiveporcupine]

21. Wind, solar, hydro, geo, bio

None of these have any need to store dangerous materials. I know nuclear is carbon free, but the storage of the used material is just way too dangerous, and we are failing everywhere in how we handle it. And it just keeps growing into a bigger and bigger problem, the longer we use it.

[cali]

23. and none of them, at this point, are anywhere near enough

Honestly, if I had to choose, I'd choose nuclear over fracking.

[passiveporcupine]

25. they aren't nearly enough because we haven't been investing in them nt

We aren't going to shut the door on coal and gas overnight (although I wish we could). But investing in more power that leaves a mess behind is not as important as investing in clean power.

[Jim Lane]

26. I'm guessing you see some force to Hansen's argument?

As I understand Hansen's position, he's no rah-rah cheerleader for nuclear power, denying that it has any problems. Instead, his view is that, although the various renewable sources are superior, it will take time to bring them online on a large scale. The urgency of the climate crisis demands an immediate and drastic reduction in the burning of fossil fuels -- so drastic that, for the short term, an expanded nuclear capability will be a necessary part of displacing all that coal, oil, and gas.

Most environmentalists disagree with Hansen on this, but he's certainly no Fox-News-level crackpot.

[cali]

27. Yes, pretty much. I was certainly all for shutting down VT Yankee

I think we need a "Manhattan" style push to bring renewables online, but I see little likelihood of that happening. As I said, if I had to choose between fracking and nuclear, I'd have to go with the latter.

[spanone]

17. K&R...

[packman]

19. Sounds like a good guy -

[Ilsa]

22. Wow. Awesome. And I wish reporters would choose their words

More carefully. Isn't it more appropriate to say he earned the Bronze Star vs won it? I don't like to get fussy about grammar, etc, but the two words mean different things, and one is more respectful than the other.

[cali]

24. Actually, I think that's a good point.