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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsScary: In secret recording, Florida Republican threatens to send Russia-Ukraine 'hit squad' after pr
In secret recording, Florida Republican threatens to send Russia-Ukraine hit squad after primary rival.
*********snip*******
Later in the call, Olszewski asked what would happen if Luna is gonna win and Braddock assured her that wouldnt happen.
Shes gonna be gone. Period. That's the end of the discussion. Luna is not an issue, he said.
Olszewski pushed him, asking how do we make her go, though? I just dont understand that.
I call up my Russian and Ukrainian hit squad, and within 24 hours, they're sending me pictures of her disappearing, he replied. No, I'm not joking. Like, this is beyond my control this point.
Asked if the killers were snipers, Braddock described them as, Russian mafia. Close-battle combat, Tech 9s, Mack 10s, silencers kind of thing. No snipers. Up close and personal. So they know that the target has gone.
Olszewski said that threats like the ones Braddock made you cant take lightly. Normal people dont say these things.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/in-secret-recording-florida-republican-threatens-to-send-russia-ukraine-hit-squad-after-primary-rival/ar-AAL8uEG?ocid=mailsignout&li=BBnb7Kz
Takket
(21,607 posts)To destroy America. Right.
zuul
(14,628 posts)He is seriously dangerous. He gave explicit details of the entire plot to murder Luna.
Olszewski gave the recordings to the police and is herself in jeopardy of violating state laws by recording the calls without Braddocks consent. The cops said she likely wont be charged but Braddock is threatening civil lawsuits.
If this fucking nut Braddock is willing to go to such lengths to stop another repube, imagine how much they hate Democrats. This is seriously fucked up.
Tiger8
(432 posts)Take one look at him.
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Law enforcement seems to treat Christian Republican white men as if they're like Jesus Christ - totally blameless no matter what.
If he's threatening, intimidating, assaulting or even targeting somebody for death - the person obviously deserved to live in fear, get roughed up or killed.
nebby70
(471 posts)... I've always been puzzled how/where folks come up with stuff like this ...
... and since I'm a little old woman with a narrow media range ...
... does this stuff come from movies or some such ...
... it seems to me to be rather 'diseased brain' kind of stuff ...
of course, beyond that; it scares the stuffings out of me that someone who thinks like this would be in elected office
Escurumbele
(3,401 posts)They are so hungry for power they have no loyalty to no one, or anything, that includes no loyalty to the country and that is why they become traitors. They are learning from Putin, what they don't understand is that Putin is an expert in crime, these jerks are amateurs but they feel they are in a mafia movie, a feeling that empowers them.
We need to take all of this very seriously, and now with states, like Texas, allowing people to buy guns without a license many of these mafia-wannabe are going to start popping out all over the place.
I have lived in places where you see the degradation of the country, I know the symptoms, and the USA is terribly sick at this moment, we all need to do something to make the country healthy, and to do that we need to push Democrats to do the right thing now, not waste the power, although slightly limited, but available nonetheless.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,144 posts)To hold public office. It is no surprise to me that a country full of dick wavers would do so when they are placed in public office. And, once they get there, they have to do that even more. You can see it in movies, but they are just a symptom of the rampant ego that has taken over this country. When you are programmed to believe that anything other than total domination is a loss... well... this is what you get.
summer_in_TX
(2,744 posts)They may think it's true, but it's the opiate of cynics to believe that in essence "everybody does it." They live a life of futility and hopelessness if they believe that.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,144 posts)And, 'cynic' is my middle name. But, I did not used to be this way. And, I am not saying that 'everyone does it', I am saying that this is the 'lesson' our society teaches us. Just like it says anyone who is 6'0" and over 150 lbs. is 'fat' and 'ugly'. Sure, no one will admit stuff like this if you ask them directly, but the plethora of ads, the billboard models, who they choose to show on television programs, it all says the same thing: this is correct and if you want to find any success in life, you will have to look/act/feel/dream/etc. like this!
summer_in_TX
(2,744 posts)It takes a support system (friends, family, a belief system) who ground you but also cheer you on to perhaps find one's way over, around, and through the obstacles the Morlocks constantly try to erect in your path so you give up. I lucked out with a naturally optimistic/phlegmatic temperament, but by far the most important is the support system.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,144 posts)I have always felt that this was one of the main reasons I was nothing, am nothing, and will be nothing.
summer_in_TX
(2,744 posts)You've found this community and I hope you have others. Agency is something that grows and develops.
How did you find DU? Have you been here long?
OldBaldy1701E
(5,144 posts)Although I had been reading the site since around 2007. I do not remember how I found it. I finally joined because I thought I might be able to add to the discussion. Silly me...
summer_in_TX
(2,744 posts)Y'all have been through great stress, pain, and upheaval in the past year. How have you weathered it?
Were you involved in any of the George Floyd-related protests?
I'm in a small town south of Austin, Texas and it's more than an hour to get to do much in terms of standing up for justice, but our little town did have a protest march after Floyd's murder. It's a sundown town with a lot whose attitudes are stuck back in an earlier era, but I think some movement has begun here. Slow stuff. Lots of Trumpers driving their trucks and waving flags in the days right before the election. My county is where asshats forced a Biden campaign bus off the road.
The cruelty that is blatantly out in the open is awful. I know all of us here at DU can't help but be affected and sometimes short with each other in quite unpleasant ways. The toxin that started with Rush and Fox News has spread it's poison to a lot of places. I wish those of us here on DU would make a pact that WE won't be like that, that we'll give others the benefit of the doubt before we jump to a conclusion. Our discourse has been affected by the seeping toxin too. I noticed after a lengthy break then getting back on after the 2016 election that there was a lot more harshness than I'd noticed before.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,144 posts)I moved here five years ago from Tennessee. (I am not from there, however.) I had concerns, mainly because I have anxiety, depression, and had no idea about what I might find here. I will not voice my opinion of this area I live in, except to say I do not like it one bit, and it is not because of the climate. (I will say this. I have seen more blatant racism here in this 'progressive' city than I saw in Nashville.) I am too far gone to be of any worth in a protest, except to make my life even more miserable. (I would make a good target for some pissed off cop, though, And, since I am about useless, I would just end up in a hospital or a jail cell without any of the handful of pills I would need, and I have no desire to add to my pain.) I had desires to be helpful with some of the injustices in our country, but I was beaten down by the establishment because I do not have that model body, I do not come from riches, and I would not kiss their ass or play their games. Now, when I was young, one could just try to live and still survive, but not any more. I have never been one to get success tossed at him, mainly because of my luck. Again, I won't go into specifics, but there are times when I swear that Job himself is somewhere thinking, "At least I have some luck, poor bastard!". (What was the line from that Hee Haw tune the two farmers are singing 'If it weren't for bad luck, I'd have no luck at all!'?) I have not worked at a 'normal' job for over seven years now. I don't see this changing. Mainly because the one thing I wanted in life I was denied and now it is too late. The industry I was longing to be in (and spent my entire life working on, trying to get better and to be able to do more in it) changed and left me by the side of the road. I could care less about finding something else. I could care less about once again becoming a wage slave and going back to killing myself for someone else's riches. I do not want to be a burden to anyone, especially my man, but it would be better for him if I removed myself from the equation. I won't, because I am a coward who cannot take control of his own life. So, now I await death. IT will come soon enough. What you mention about harshness is correct, but it was rising up long before that orange gibbon got into office. Our country has decided that a green piece of paper is worth more than a person, and I am not one to agree with this. Therefore, I am outcast and ostracized. I read about how people want this to change, but when we had the chance to do something (after the pandemic had slowed the greed train due to stopping the MASSIVE exploitation Big Business has been enjoying for the past 80-100 years or so), we did... nothing. (Well, not all of us did nothing. I understand that some corporations are making piles of it right now.) Greed is still the only useful emotion and still seems to create the only rewards. And, if you are not a greedy, sub-human slimeball, you won't ever get free of the grip our capitalistic society has on you. (If one is a greedy, sub-human slimeball, one does not care about our capitalistic greed because one is part of it.) AND, the one thing that amazes and confounds me is that, for my entire life I was told I was too nice... now when I am finally trying to get a grip on my own life, I am being ostracized because I am not being nice enough (even though I have not changed how I interact with anyone). I cannot win. I cannot even compete. Why try when the game is rigged? The toxins you speak of come from the rampant, inhuman greed that has become SOP in this nation. And, it is not a partisan issue, nor will it be addressed as things stand. It is not new, however, and the fact that it is still an issue tells me it is never going to change... at least not in my lifetime. I am the result of what our nation wanted. The fact that this vision is not what all of us wanted is not of concern. People like me will not survive in this 'new age'. And, this is agreeable to most of the population, it seems.
summer_in_TX
(2,744 posts)I wish things didn't seem so bleak for you!
Being a hopeful sort myself I do hope that the despair will ease. I'm concerned about how angry and sad you are now, and hopeless.
Is there anything at all I can do to be of help? Prayers?
Are there services that would be of help to you? I'm far away in Texas, but could definitely locate information for those sorts of things in your area. My church here has a ministry specifically to help folks navigate the complex systems of what kind of help is out there and how to access it. We found that most people aren't familiar with how to get started with finding help and even if we didn't have much money to meet their needs, that could be a big help.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,144 posts)Has been a big help. Thank you.
summer_in_TX
(2,744 posts)I hate to think of you feeling such distress.
OldBaldy1701E
(5,144 posts)But it is nice when the occasional human looks past the bile that now spews out of me and recognizes that this did not just suddenly appear out of the blue. I am an example of what our society hath wrought, regardless of how much people want to try and hide me under the rug or dismiss me entirely so that they don't have to feel badly about that fact.
summer_in_TX
(2,744 posts)I don't want to be a pain, but I'd be very happy to talk things through and do some research and figure out if there might be something or other that would make things better.
I'm pretty good at finding out about resources. But I don't know enough to target anything well for you at this point.
BTW, I'm Susan. Calling you Old Baldy just doesn't seem good manners.
blogslug
(38,007 posts)Just skimmed a nEw yORk pOsT article from a couple days ago where Luna's gop competitors all said she was an attention-grabbing crazy person for filing a restraining order against Braddock last week. Turns out Luna filed that complaint shortly after Olszewski told her about the recorded call.
They're all republicans.
Escurumbele
(3,401 posts)I don't understand how anyone can contemplate supporting anyone in that party.
Because they all know there is no loyalty between republicans, that anyone who does not support the bullshit of the day will be thrown under the bus, then they have to behave like lemmings, following the stupidity of the day as presented by their leaders.
republican party, no independent thinkers allowed.
Grins
(7,226 posts)Nope. Wouldnt trust them.
hlthe2b
(102,330 posts)Especially in Florida. This is so political, even under the best of circumstances, I think FBI is needed.
Trueblue1968
(17,234 posts)give him 66 years in the slammer.
Baitball Blogger
(46,753 posts)RegularJam
(914 posts)Luna herself is unhinged. Serious gun fetish.
What a start to a primary!
LymphocyteLover
(5,650 posts)if only, given it's Florida
RegularJam
(914 posts)Before that election the seat was held by a Republican, David Jolly, who was also one of Trumps greatest enemies.
That battle left Republicans with a completely unqualified candidate with a huge gun fetish as their primary winner(Luna).
We arent going to have a Crist this time. Luna will probably make it out of their primary. Its a bit frightening but our area seems to really be swayed by centrism, overall. We are a swing county. My fear is going with a lesser known Democrat(all Democrats in this state are lesser known than Crist). Its about getting out the vote which Crist was able to do.
LymphocyteLover
(5,650 posts)RegularJam
(914 posts)Some might call a third "good" but I don't see how I could vote for her(in the primaries). The field is building and we are really far out. None of them have the name recognition of Crist. But they are serious contenders. Two have held seats in the state house and one is a national security expert that worked for the Obama administration under Bill Gates.
So we do already have good candidates. I should watch what I say about the one state house rep I'm not big on as I would voter for her in a heartbeat in the general.
RandiFan1290
(6,239 posts)or do they just wilt from comments made by Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and Rep. Omar?
oldsoftie
(12,583 posts)Moebym
(989 posts)Please explain what, if anything, this story of threats from a Republican primary candidate and his opponent has to do with what moderate Democrats think of Reps. AOC and Ilhan Omar, because I haven't been able to find the slightest connection. It looks to me like the two of you chose to take a cheap shot at moderates for no reason other than you wanted to.
I'd like to make it known that I consider myself a moderate (a pragmatist is the term I prefer) and that this story does disturb me deeply. Believe it or not, moderates do give a s--t about the issues; the fact we are not as vocal or outspoken as some on social media and on news networks should not be mistaken for us being indifferent. I'm sorry that you feel this way.
questionseverything
(9,657 posts)But having the vapors over aoc
oldsoftie
(12,583 posts)Hence my response.
But losing moderate voters is part of why trump LOST. The GOP is just too stupid to understand that. I'd also bet that most of the obama/trump voters of '16 also went for biden in '20
questionseverything
(9,657 posts)The joke is of course, theres no such thing as a moderate repub
But you are correct I am sure Biden swung a few of them
oldsoftie
(12,583 posts)Wow.
Someone needs to be in jail
rpannier
(24,333 posts)Wow, is correct
bringthePaine
(1,730 posts)Captain Zero
(6,821 posts)Maybe he will blow the lid off of Republican and Russian Collusion in Florida?
Sounds like the Russians use some Ukrainians sympathetic to them.
johnthewoodworker
(694 posts)The Jungle 1
(4,552 posts)Sancho
(9,070 posts)The Ruskies are deep in Florida politics (if not everywhere with the repubs).
bucolic_frolic
(43,249 posts)like they threw at Gov. Whitmer. I doubt either of them would be targets without being female. They seek to control, punish, eliminate them because it makes them feel like big, macho men.
lostnfound
(16,189 posts)NoMoreRepugs
(9,451 posts)away from the constant litany of RePutinican SHIT being committed and revealed every moment of the day. We will not be whole until they are destroyed.
Bristlecone
(10,130 posts)The R defense for everything evil and awful that they say.
IronLionZion
(45,494 posts)so that might hurt his case if it goes to court
UCmeNdc
(9,600 posts)KS Toronado
(17,293 posts)ancianita
(36,130 posts)In battlegrounds, literal suffering and death are the penalty for women who dare act as if they are men's equal.
AverageOldGuy
(1,540 posts). . . has been watching too many Jack Reacher movies. Reading back issues of Soldier of Fortune magazine.
raccoon
(31,113 posts)IronLionZion
(45,494 posts)The FBI would probably like to have a chat with these guys now that we have real Attorney General again. Domestic terrorism was ignored and emboldened during the last administration.
msfiddlestix
(7,284 posts)Why is Braddock not arrested yet by the FBI?
Not saying this report isn't true. I'm aware of the existence of Russian/Ukraine mob living comfortably in Florida as well as a number of other organized mobsters. Over the years, the more I learn about Florida, the more I learn how much of a haven the state provides for these folks, especially with Governors and State Elected and other Public Officials in their pocket.
Which might explain why Braddock hasn't faced charges, and probably won't.
FelineOverlord
(3,582 posts)monkeyman1
(5,109 posts)bottomofthehill
(8,340 posts)What a bullshit merchant. Must be playing secret squirrel trying to get laid. Tec -9 or Mac 10, ha.
https://m.
Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin
(108,136 posts)The GOP-Russia link was supposed to be a secret.
Javaman
(62,532 posts)bahboo
(16,351 posts)probably shaking his head and saying, you can't make this shit up....
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)Last edited Fri Jun 18, 2021, 08:43 AM - Edit history (1)
Im sure when he started he thought it was all just crazy over the top writing with a hint of truth. Fun read and all. But totally unbelievable. Especially the Shink series.
And when he started Democrats ran Florida. Corrupt democrats. Comes with the water here!
But today I could see even such a zany book as Sick Puppy being true. Including the whole Rhino killings. And the Pervy Barbie dolls in the pocket! Greenberg comes to mind.
And his latest and unexpected Skink book Squeeze Me proves even Hiassen is shocked.
Im a Florida resident and think his books required for all Florida residents. Especially we long time ones.
But anyone not familiar with him should read his books. I laugh all the way through them.
bahboo
(16,351 posts)also love Tim Dorsey for the absurdity, and Laurence Shames for bringing me to Key West whenever I read him. We were planning to move to Key West before the Covid. Now everything's on hold. We lived in Ft. Lauderdale during the 80's, so we understand crazy...but that DeSantis fucker...what the hell...
GulfCoast66
(11,949 posts)I cant see living there. It has none of the feel it had when I first visited 35 years ago.
Lots of new money, for sure. Which is fixing up all the old home that were falling apart. Thats good, I guess. But with that comes rich mainlanders who have no idea about what living in the keys used to mean. And only live there 5 months of the year. Id prefer to live on Big Pine or Marathon. They still have a sense of community.
KW is more touristy than New Orleans which is at least full of people from that area and has neighborhoods that have no tourist.
But if you boat and fish no waters are prettier. Cant argue that.
11 Bravo
(23,926 posts)lostnfound
(16,189 posts)Both sides in this equation seem dubious.
She seems as abnormal and fake as they come. Her flashy trite photos remind me too much of other pop up Barbies.
No doubt her opponent is awful but I suspect the plot line includes turning her into a sympathetic figure for the benefit of unseen puppeteers.
RVN VET71
(2,694 posts)Shes got the weaponry to counter attack. And think of the TV series potential! It would make Miami Vice look like a light comedy.
Republicans versus Republicans -- and regardless who kills who, the nation becomes less fascist by subtraction.
(I have to say, however, that Luna is far prettier than Bobo. Which just proves the worn out old adage that "beauty is only skin deep but fascism goes clean to the bone -- with many apologies to Dorothy Parker.)
BobTheSubgenius
(11,564 posts)For about the 3000th time....you really cannot make this stuff up.
spudspud
(511 posts)LOL. Is this the late 80s early 90s? He's been watching too many old action movies. I smell bs, and I think he was just trying to impress her.
dickthegrouch
(3,183 posts)Should keep him on ice for a few well-deserved months 😉
NBachers
(17,133 posts)spudspud
(511 posts)SpankMe
(2,963 posts)...to record someone in FL without their knowledge. But, there was no mention of the penalty for threats or conspiracy to murder for hire or whatever this monster's words qualify him for.
Left wing media my ass.