GOP Watch Keeping an Eye on Republicans for You - Page 4“Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official, save exactly to the degree in which he himself stands by the country. It is patriotic to support him insofar as he efficiently serves the country. It is unpatriotic not to oppose him to the exact extent that by inefficiency or otherwise he fails in his duty to stand by the country. In either event, it is unpatriotic not to tell the truth, whether about the president or anyone else.” ― Theodore Roosevelt
Story by Carl GibsonSupreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts is selectively accepting cases to the Court's docket in a long-term project to weaken democracy, according to a recent analysis.In an essay published recently by Slate, legal activist Sarah Lipton-Lubet argued that the Roberts Court is marching down a path that leads to the overall erosion of voting rights in selecting the cases it chooses to hear in a given term. Lipton-Lubet tracked the number of cases the Court has heard concerning "core democracy issues" like gerrymandering, redistricting, voting rights enforcement, and campaign finance since the Roberts Court's 2013 Shelby County v. Holder decision that gutted portions of the Voting Rights Act pertaining to racial discrimination.She found that out of 32 such cases, the Roberts Court agreed to hear 26 in which it had an opportunity to overturn a lower court ruling in favor of democracy, and only six in which it could potentially overturn an anti-democracy ruling (the Supreme Court can decide to hear a case if four of nine justices agree to issue a writ of certiorari).
Opinion by Sarah PosnerThe sudden elevation of Rep. Mike Johnson, R-La., to House speaker pushed his record's vetting to after his election. So it was only once he became second in line to the presidency that most people learned Johnson played a key role in the House’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, is virulently anti-abortion and anti-LGBTQ Americans, and has promoted teaching the Bible as a history book in public schools.Now Johnson and his allies are hitting back against his critics. Remarkably, their response to the exposure of Johnson’s turbocharged theo-politics is not to argue that media reports exaggerate or misapprehend his record as a lawyer or legislator, or his intentions as speaker. Instead, Johnson’s closest allies are amplifying his extreme views, and recasting them as mainstream “truths” that are beyond challenge.This week Johnson gave an interview to the Daily Signal, the news site of the Heritage Foundation, an agenda-setting hub for the right, and particularly the religious right. Johnson was able to “open up,” as the Daily Signal’s Mary Margaret Olohan put it, about how his Christian faith “informs his politics.” While he’s hardly been tight-lipped about that topic, this fresh clarification of his central political philosophy makes his rapid, uninterrogated ascension even more worrisome.
by Aris FolleyThe House GOP’s $14.3 billion Israel aid package, which is coupled with $14.3 billion in cuts to the IRS, could actually end up adding billions of dollars to the nation’s deficits, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) said Wednesday. The estimate released by the nonpartisan office said the package could cost the nation $26 billion in revenue over the next 10 years by reducing what the IRS would take in through taxes.House Republicans rolled out their supplemental funding package for Israel on Monday, pairing it with the cuts to the IRS so that they could argue the proposal is budget neutral. Republican leaders and conservatives are unlikely to waver on the pairing even after the CBO estimate, as they have been aggressive in pursuing cuts to the IRS.
Story by Sam Levine in New YorkHe created an agency to crack down on voter fraud with troublesome resultsVoter fraud is exceedingly rare, both in Florida and across the United States. But in 2022, DeSantis and the Republican-controlled legislature created a new agency, the Office of Election Crimes and Security, to crack down on it. The agency was one of the first of its kind in the country. DeSantis initially proposed funding it with $6m and filling it with 52 staffers. The proposal prompted outrage, with some noting it would have more manpower than some local law enforcement agencies have to investigate murder. The legislature eventually funded it with $1.1m in 2022 for 15 positions and increased the budget to $1.4m this year. Voting rights advocates saw the move as a thinly veiled effort to intimidate people into not voting.He’s prosecuted people confused about their eligibility to voteIn August 2022, DeSantis held a press conference flanked by uniformed law enforcement officers announcing he was arresting 20 people and charging them with illegally registering and voting. They were the first charges filed under the Office of Election Crimes and Security and each charge carried a maximum of five years in prison and a $5,000 fine. Fourteen of those charged were Black, and at least two of the men were arrested by armed officers.It quickly emerged that all of those charged were confused about whether they could vote, partly because of a new state law. All 20 had prior criminal convictions that made them ineligible to vote, but said they had not been told that. All of them had received voter registration cards in the mail. Voting advocates said the prosecutions were thinly veiled efforts to discourage people with felony convictions from trying to vote after Florida changed the rules around their eligibility with bipartisan support.
Story by By Clare Foran, Haley Talbot, Morgan Rimmer and Kristin Wilson, CNNThe Republican-led House elected Rep. Mike Johnson as the new House speaker on Wednesday – a major leadership change that comes three weeks after the historic ouster of Kevin McCarthy. Johnson, a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and a key congressional figure in the failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election, will now take the reins of the bitterly divided House Republican majority and faces the looming threat of a government shutdown next month.Johnson’s elevation puts an end to the paralysis the House had been stuck in after McCarthy was pushed out by hardline conservatives – an unprecedented move that plunged the chamber into uncharted territory. Republicans tried and failed three separate times to coalesce behind a new speaker nominee before ultimately uniting around Johnson, a conservative lawmaker who has so far had a relatively low profile on the national stage. In a remarkable show of unity following weeks of fierce GOP infighting, the Louisiana Republican was elected with 220 votes and no Republican defections.
Opinion by Stuart StevensIt’s often said that Donald Trump has a cultlike following. But that’s far too benign. “Star Wars” has a cultlike following. Taylor Swift has her cult of “Swifties.” A political organization that has no platform other than loyalty to the leader is not a cult, it’s an autocratic movement. The tragicomic chaos in the House in the last week is the natural result of a political party that has lived under Trump’s thumb. It should end any pretense that the current Republican Party is a serious governing party.As Hannah Arendt wrote in “The Origins of Totalitarianism”: “Total loyalty is possible only when fidelity is emptied of all concrete content, from which changes of mind might naturally arise. The totalitarian movements, each in its own way, have done their utmost to get rid of the party programs which specified concrete content and which they inherited from earlier, non‑totalitarian stages of development.” It seems like another time in another galaxy, but not that long ago there actually was some ideological diversity within the Republican Party.
Story by Maya BoddieNBC News correspondent Ali Vitali shared Tuesday a part of her recent interview with House Speaker Kevin McCarthy, in which she asked him about whether he believes United States Senator Bob Menendez (R-NJ) should resign following his September 22, 2023 indictment on bribery and corruption charges.Vitali took to X (formerly Twitter) to write, "NEW: Speaker McCARTHY's talked about a 'two-tiered system of justice' that only targets Republicans. I asked if the indictment of *Dem. Sen. Menendez changed his mind on that: 'I don't know about this case. That doesn't mean every action they're going to take is political."The NBC journalist also shared a screenshot of a portion of her Q&A with the speaker, which reads: VITALI: Mr. Speaker, my non-government funding question is, can I get your reaction to — if you have any more faith in the Department of Justice since the indictment of Senator [Bob] Menendez (R-NJ). Do you still think it's political?"MCCARTHY: "Look, I've watched their political actions taken before. I don't know about this case. That doesn't mean every action they're going to take is political. But I've watched them use political plays many times before. I think the country has problem."
Opinion by Rex Huppke, USA TODAYHello, I am a House Republican. As America hurtles toward a government shutdown, I and my fellow GOP colleagues would like to say that, in our defense, we really didn’t know “governing” would be one of our job requirements.It sounds like an un-fun activity and, as we’ve made abundantly clear via myriad tweets and Fox News appearances, we think government is bad and we want nothing do with it, except for the parts where we get to yell into TV cameras and share devastating Hunter Biden memes. Those parts are great!On Thursday, we made it impossible for House Speaker Kevin McCarthy – who we voted into power but also hate and now want to remove – to advance a military funding bill that usually passes with bipartisan support. It’s the second time in a row we did that! Why? Mainly for the lulz, but also because we kind of want the government to shutdown so former President Donald Trump will like us and so we can look tougher when we’re yelling into the TV cameras.
By Kristin Wilson, Haley Talbot, Clare Foran and Melanie Zanona, CNNCNN — Speaker Kevin McCarthy sent his House members home for the week without a clear plan to avoid a looming government shutdown after hardliners in the Republican conference once again scuttled his spending plans, delivering an embarrassing floor defeat for GOP leadership for the second time this week.The Republican leader slammed his far-right flank for wanting to “burn the place down,” after conservatives dramatically bucked McCarthy and GOP leadership on a procedural vote over a Pentagon funding bill, throwing the House into total paralysis. And now, members are not set to return to session until Tuesday as the possibility of a shutdown at the end of next week appears ever more likely.“It’s frustrating in the sense that I don’t understand why anybody votes against bringing the idea and having the debate,” McCarthy told reporters. Thursday’s failed vote marked yet another blow to McCarthy, who is under pressure and has faced threats of an ouster. The defense funding bill that was derailed typically garners widespread bipartisan support, a sign of how even usually uncontroversial issues have become mired down in Republican infighting.
Travis GettysAnother batch of emails obtained from John Eastman shows Donald Trump's lawyers were counting on U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to help them disrupt Joe Biden's election win, and their certainty raises new questions about his wife's role in the scheme.Trump attorney Kenneth Chesebro wrote Dec. 31, 2020, that Thomas would be "our only chance to get a favorable judicial opinion by Jan. 6" on a challenge to election results in Georgia, whose circuit court he oversees, and Washington Post reporter Jacqueline Alemany wondered on MSNBC's "Morning Joe" why he and Eastman felt so confident about the justice's willingness to assist.
Raw Story TVEight emails including correspondence between Trump lawyers Kenneth Chesebro, John Eastman and others became public Wednesday via a Dropbox link attached to public court documents.The emails reveal Trump’s attorneys crafting a scheme in which they appeared to believe U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas would agree to block certification of the 2020 presidential election results, even if just temporarily, to allow the public to doubt the results were legitimate.Overturning Biden's win required delaying the Jan. 6 congressional certification, and it's clear from the emails that Eastman and other Trump lawyers viewed Thomas as a likely ally. Eastman clerked for Thomas and was in contact with his wife, Ginni Thomas, as she was pushing to overturn Biden's victory. But Justice Thomas also handles emergency Supreme Court appeals from Georgia, and Trump lawyer Kenneth Chesebro focused on that power in a series of Dec. 31, 2020, emails.
Story by David Badash, The New Civil Rights MovementU.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg testified before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday, where he was forced to educate Republicans on a wide variety of topics, from climate change to not needing passports to fly domestically, to subsidies for oil and gas companies. In one heated back-and-forth, U.S. Rep. Scott Perry (R-PA), who has been fighting a subpoena from Special Counsel Jack Smith, blamed Secretary Buttigieg specifically for “killing” the auto industry by supporting electric vehicles.“I don’t know if you can justify or how you justify forcing my constituents to pay for EVs [electric vehicles] and EV infrastructure for coastal elites and wealthy people, but somehow you do,” Rep. Perry told Secretary Buttigieg. “Well, I need to point out that wealthy people were specifically excluded from the Inflation Reduction Act,” Buttigieg replied. “Well,” Perry replied. “Do you dispute that two-thirds of EV owners, are owned by people over 100,000, that make over 100,000?”
Story by Michael LucianoMere hours after some House Republicans reported progress on a proposal to avoid a government shutdown at the end of the month, Donald Trump demanded they use the opportunity to “defund” Special Counsel Jack Smith and his team. Smith is prosecuting Trump in federal court in Florida and Washington, D.C., where the former president will stand trial over his retention of government documents and his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election, respectively.Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has had his hands full trying to get his own conference to agree on a proposal to keep the government funded beyond Sept. 30. Hardline Republicans such as Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) have demanded the House pass 12 individual single-subject spending bills rather than one large omnibus package that funds the entire federal government.
Story by Aaron BlakeConservative efforts to downplay the events of Jan. 6, 2021, and allege the political “weaponization” of the government seem to ratchet up with each passing week. But rarely have they reached such a fever pitch, at least at the official level, as they did Wednesday with Rep. Victoria Spartz (R-Ind.).During a House Judiciary Committee hearing featuring Attorney General Merrick Garland, Spartz both suggested that the scene at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was actually something of an innocent family affair and also seemed to compare the U.S. government to the Soviet KGB.“There probably were some people that came on January 6th here, you know, that had bad intent,” Spartz allowed. “But a lot of good Americans from my district came here because they are sick and tired of this government not serving them. They came with strollers and the kids, and there was [a] chaotic situation because the proper security wasn’t provided.”
By Jeremy Herb and Hannah Rabinowitz, CNNCNN — Attorney General Merrick Garland forcefully rebuked congressional Republicans who have accused the Justice Department of political bias as he opened a contentious House Judiciary Committee hearing in Washington on Wednesday.“I am not the president’s lawyer,” Garland said in his opening statement. “I will also add that I am not Congress’s prosecutor. The Justice Department works for the American people.”He said that the Justice Department’s job is “to pursue justice, without fear or favor” and not to “do what is politically convenient” or “take orders from the President, from Congress, or from anyone else about who or what to criminally investigate.”Garland delivered the statement as he faces vitriol from Republicans, who accuse him of failing to protect the department from politicization, and dissatisfaction from Democrats, who say the department has been too timid in going after former President Donald Trump.
Story by Ed MazzaConspiracy theorist Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) was called out on social media on Monday after she gave secession yet another shout-out. “If the Biden admin refuses to stop the invasion of cartel led human and drug trafficking into our country, states should consider seceding from the union,” wrote Greene, a close ally of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).She also called Biden’s border policies “traitorous” in her message on X (formerly Twitter), which she posted on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks. Greene has made similar calls in the past. On President’s Day, she called for a “national divorce” “We need to separate by red states and blue states and shrink the federal government. Everyone I talk to says this,” she wrote in a post that many Democrats and Republicans alike united to condemn.
Story by By Luc Cohen and Jack QueenBy Luc Cohen and Jack Queen(Reuters) -A Georgia grand jury recommended criminal charges against Republican U.S. Senator Lindsey Graham and other allies of Donald Trump as part of its investigation into efforts to overturn Trump's 2020 presidential defeat, said a report released on Friday.None were ultimately charged when Georgia prosecutors filed a sweeping criminal case against Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators. The special grand jury recommended charges against Graham as well as Georgia's two U.S. senators at the time, Kelly Loeffler and David Perdue, the report said. Like Trump, all are Republicans.
Story by Tom BoggioniSocial media legal experts piled on Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis fired off a multi-page letter to the House Judiciary chairman, essentially telling him to butt out of her investigation into tampering in the 2020 presidential election.On Thursday, the prosecutor who indicted Donald Trump and 18 alleged co-conspirators on racketeering charges (RICO) slapped down Jordan's attempts to "interfere" with her investigation, and curtly explained to him that he has no idea what he is talking about when it comes to the law – even accusing him of spreading "misinformation."With regard to her filing under the RICO statute, Willis made a point of reminding the blustery Ohio Republican that he never passed the bar after attending law school, writing that he can still continue his education by purchasing legal expert John Floyd's RICO book "for the non-bar member price of $249."
Sarah K. BurrisFormer Republican Party chairman, Michael Steele, blasted Rep. Jim Jordan (R-OH) on Friday morning for attempting to aid Donald Trump's defense. Speaking to "Morning Joe," Steele attacked the "obstruction" of justice that Jordan is attempting to employ by demanding that Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis report to him.One week after announcing the indictment of 19 people, including former President Donald Trump, Jordan and House Republicans announced an investigation into Willis and her office.The “indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated," the letter from Jordan says. He demanded a collection of details and evidence that tied the office to the federal government. Willis has previously said that her office receives limited federal funding.
Story by Maria LinsleyA proposed Texas law, nicknamed the “Death Star law” and supported by Republican Governor Greg Abbott, has been deemed unconstitutional by a Texas judge due to its effects on local ordinances and regulations.The New LawIn June, Governor Abbott signed a law that caused a lot of controversy as it stopped cities in Texas from making their own rules in areas like government, finance, and work.A New NameThe law was given the name “Death Star” law because some critics thought it gave too much power to the state government and made it harder for cities run by Democrats to make progress.Abbott’s ViewIn response to criticism about the law, Governor Abbott said, “Texas small businesses are the backbone of our economy. Burdensome regulations are an obstacle to their success.” and “I signed HB2127 to cut red tape & help businesses thrive.”
Opinion by Rex Huppke, USA TODAYThere it is, Republicans. We now have a booking photo of former president and current criminal defendant Donald Trump, and that face – scowling in the unflattering light of a county jail – is the face of your political party.That image is your avatar. The man in that photo, arrested on charges of racketeering and election interference in Georgia, his fourth arrest this year, is the man you have let define you. The MAGA king. The almighty grievance peddler. The con man bilking your fellow voters with sleazy emails that would make a Nigerian-prince-themed scam artist blush.He was missing at Wednesday night’s GOP presidential primary debate, too good, too high-up in the polls to grace the stage with his presence. So what Americans saw was a mirage. A make-believe look at what today’s Republican Party would have to offer if Trump wasn't around, and dominant.It was a collection of prattling wannabes, people like Vivek Ramaswamy and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis pretending they have what it takes to out-Trump Trump alongside people like Nikki Haley and former Vice President Mike Pence pretending the party they’ve devoted their lives to still cares about anyone remotely serious or, for that matter, remotely conservative.
Story by Thom HartmannAs we learned from last week’s Republican debates, the leading candidates for the GOP nomination all appear to agree on a broad plan to gut American government and replace it with a strongman president and corporate rule.The modern administrative state, sometimes called the “welfare state” by Republicans, was largely created by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in response to the Republican Great Depression of the early 1930s. And every day since FDR was sworn into office on March 4, 1933, the GOP has worked feverishly to dismantle his legacy.Outside of Russia, China, and Hungary, this isn’t true at all for the rest of the developed world. Nations across the rest of Europe, South America, and Asia imitated FDR’s and LBJ’s America, most going beyond our simple development of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the legalization of unions to further expand opportunity and social mobility for their citizens.For example, Taiwan has the most efficient and comprehensive single-payer healthcare system in the world; Germany requires half of the members of every large corporation’s board of directors to come from the ranks of organized labor; Luxembourg has the highest national minimum wage in the world at roughly $19.50 an hour (they calculate it monthly).
"Not worth the paper it's printed on": Texas Republicans ignore ruling against Abbott's "Death Star"Story by Tatyana TandanpolieA Texas judge ruled on Wednesday that a law dubbed by critics as the "Death Star" and championed by Republican Gov. Greg Abbott is unconstitutional.Signed into law by Abbott in June, the top-down legislation prohibited cities from passing local ordinances that contradict state legislation in eight broad areas like government, finance and labor. The GOP-backed effort was widely seen as a power grab meant to curtail the progress of Democrat-led cities in the Lone Star state.Abbott explained that he signed the bill to "cut red tape & help businesses thrive," arguing that "Texas small businesses are the backbone of our economy" and "burdensome regulations are an obstacle to their success." But District Judge Maya Guerra Gamble disagreed.
Story by Thom HartmannThis is a climate change story that fossil fuel billionaires and their GOP lackeys would rather you didn’t know. As more and more people are killed by extraordinarily severe weather in places where it used to be unusual it’s going to get harder and harder to keep Red State citizens from finding out how badly they’ve been screwed by the unholy alliance between Republicans and oil barons.Severe weather in the United States is not only getting worse, it’s moving. There’s a reason L. Frank Baum placed his 1901 novel The Wizard of Oz in Kansas: the worst and most frequent tornado activity in the world at that time was in the American Great Plains states — particularly Kansas.Now that’s changing, as weather extremes are moving to the Midwest and the South. Recently, deadly tornadoes — some with wind velocities in excess of 200 mph — have ravaged Kentucky, Arkansas, Tennessee, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, Ohio and Indiana. This new burst of unusually extreme weather is driven by global warming and its impact on the Arctic, our oceans, and the Gulf of Mexico.
Story by Ken Tran, USA TODAYWASHINGTON – Colorado Republican Rep. Ken Buck warned former President Donald Trump to stop potentially instigating his supporters amid his various criminal indictments, including his case over his attempts to overturn the 2020 election in Georgia.“I think he absolutely needs to tell all Americans to stand down and allow the judicial system to take its course,” Buck said in an interview on MSNBC. “We trust judges, we trust jurors, we trust appellate courts. This isn’t over until it’s over.The Colorado Republican’s comments on Trump is an unusual knock on the former president considering Buck is a member of the House Freedom Caucus, a group comprised of the House’s most conservative lawmakers. Those lawmakers have tended to march with Trump in lockstep and have forcefully denounced most, if not all of Trump’s legal cases.
Story by Rich ThomaselliThe feud between Florida Governor Ron DeSantis and Walt Disney World escalated beyond mere words. As DeSantis and seven others prepared for the first Republican debate for the 2024 national election, he had more worries back home in Florida.His handpicked board of supporters, known as the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District (CFTOD), to replace the Reedy Creek Improvement District to oversee the entertainment giant is apparently miffed that it received a $2.5 million bill from Disney to pay for the benefits for its theme park employees.In a statement, the CFTOD said: "The former Disney-run RCID used taxpayer funds to provide season passes and amusement experiences to its employees and their family members, cover the cost of discounts on hotels, merchandise, food, and beverages, and give its own board members VIP Main Entrance passes."
Republican's want to Impeach Fani Willis to protect Trump a traitor who attempted a coup, incited insurrection and sedition against America. Republican's protecting Trump and the Trump crime family are not patriots they are traitors.Story by James BickertonGeorgia state Senator Colton Moore, a firm Donald Trump supporter, is calling for an emergency special session of the state's legislature to investigate the actions of Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, which he said could lead to impeachment proceedings.On Monday, Willis charged Trump and 18 of his associates over allegations they broke the law while attempting to overturn the 2020 presidential election result in Georgia. The former president is facing 13 counts. This includes one of violating Georgia's Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act, which carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years.Trump has fervently denied any wrongdoing, with his legal team saying that the indictment is flawed and unconstitutional. "Ripping a page from Crooked Joe Biden's playbook, Willis has strategically stalled her investigation to try and maximally interfere with the 2024 presidential race and damage the dominant Trump campaign," read a statement on Trump's Truth Social account.
Opinion by Thom HartmannSo now, as expected after decades of taking big bucks for her right-wing work on behalf of America's oligarchs, we learn that the wife of Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Ginny Thomas, was in Trump's January 6th "rally" up to her eyeballs. Let's just say it right out loud: the US Supreme Court is corrupt. And Americans know it.No other federal court in the nation would allow a defendant in a case before them to fly a judge on a private Gulfstream luxury jet to a luxury hunting retreat in Louisiana and then, a week later, watch as that judge rules in that defendant's favor.But Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia did exactly that when Dick Cheney was sued for allegedly lying about his secret "energy group" that was planning the seizure and sale of Iraq's oil fields as he and Bush lied us into the war that opened those oil fields up to exploitation.No other federal court would allow a judge to give a speech before a group that was funding a case before them and then rule in favor of that group's openly stated goal, but that's exactly what Neal Gorsuch did when he addressed the Fund for American Studies, itself funded by the Bradley Foundation that was helping fund the Janus v AFSCME case that gutted union protections for government workers.
Story by Aurora DeStefanoRep. James Comer (R-KY) counts himself among former President Donald Trump‘s most staunch defenders — but even Comer had to drop a truth bomb on the GOP reality since the party has been led by Trump. Republicans, Comer says, have been “losing for years.”As Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Comer says his approach to investigations has to be different, because if not, “at the end of the day we would lose and that’s what Republicans have been doing for years. They’ve been losing.”To try to reverse the Republican losing streak both on ballots and in courts, the Congressman has used his power to develop a narrative that portrays President Joe Biden as the most corrupt President in U.S. history while exonerating the twice-impeached, four-times indicted Trump as an unjustly persecuted victim of political vendettas by threatened Democrats.
Story by Steve BenenAs of today, congressional Republicans have filed six separate impeachment resolutions targeting President Joe Biden. Of course, today isn’t over yet, and it’s possible we’ll soon see a seventh. The half-dozen impeachment resolutions have quite a bit in common. They were all introduced by far-right House members. They all fail to point to any evidence of the Democrat actually doing anything wrong. And they’re all destined to eventually fail, since there’s no way 67 senators will convict the president and remove Biden from office in response to a scandal that doesn’t exist. So why are so many GOP members bothering? As it turns out, Rep. Matt Gaetz participated in a Twitter Space earlier this week and the Florida Republican explained the entire strategy, out loud, with unexpected candor. As The New Republic summarized:The congressman acknowledged that, realistically, those expecting to remove Biden from office through the impeachment process need to lower their expectations. “Let me break it to all of you: There’s no conviction and removal of Joe Biden coming on impeachment,” Gaetz conceded. “I know that. You know that. Anyone with rational thought knows that given Chuck Schumer’s control of the Senate. And frankly, the way that that Senate Republicans view Joe Biden and seem to work with him for their own selfish objectives.”
Zachary Cohen Sara MurrayBy Zachary Cohen and Sara Murray, CNNCNN — Atlanta-area prosecutors investigating efforts to overturn the 2020 election results in Georgia are in possession of text messages and emails directly connecting members of Donald Trump’s legal team to the early January 2021 voting system breach in Coffee County, sources tell CNN.Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis is expected to seek charges against more than a dozen individuals when her team presents its case before a grand jury next week. Several individuals involved in the voting systems breach in Coffee County are among those who may face charges in the sprawling criminal probe.Investigators in the Georgia criminal probe have long suspected the breach was not an organic effort sprung from sympathetic Trump supporters in rural and heavily Republican Coffee County – a county Trump won by nearly 70% of the vote. They have gathered evidence indicating it was a top-down push by Trump’s team to access sensitive voting software, according to people familiar with the situation. Trump allies attempted to access voting systems after the 2020 election as part of the broader push to produce evidence that could back up the former president’s baseless claims of widespread fraud.
Marjorie Taylor Greene does not know what she is talking about. The people who voted for her should be embarrassed for voting for someone as stupid as her.Story by MillaMarjorie Taylor Greene made the demand in an amendment for the President to withdraw from NATO, saying the alliance is “not a reliable partner” and even suggesting it was “beholden to Russia.”Greene’s amendmentThe Georgia Republican made the demand in an amendment to the 2024 National Defense Authorization Act, saying, “My amendment would direct the President withdrawal [sic] from NATO. They are not a reliable partner whose defense spending should be paid for by American citizens.”The Republican firebrand talked about GDPGreene’s amendment further said, “For the better part of the last decade, Germany contributed only around 1% of its GDP to finance NATO obligations while the United States is paying around 4% of our GDP to defend NATO countries.” She also made some interesting claims, and the most extraordinary one came without explanation.
Story by Julia ShaperoRepublican presidential hopeful and former Texas Rep. Will Hurd ripped into former President Trump on Friday, calling him a “liar,” “loser” and “national security threat.” Hurd, who has been sharply critical of the former president throughout his campaign, argued on PBS’ “Firing Line with Margaret Hoover” that the GOP needs to “be honest” about Trump if they want to win the 2024 presidential election.“Donald Trump is a liar. Donald Trump is a loser. And Donald Trump is a national security threat to the United States of America,” Hurd said. “And we need to be honest about that. And if we nominate him, if the GOP nominates him, then we’re giving Joe Biden and Kamala Harris four more years.”
Story by Matthew ChapmanMany of the most far-right House Republicans truly believe the propaganda and extremism that they promote – in stark contact to other for whom it's just an act to get votes, a former RNC researched said Thursday.In an interview on the Aaron Rupar Show, Justin Higgans argued the true far-right believers — who have lately been causing fractures and divisions among GOP power caucuses — often end up tanking their own careers with their own inability to compromise."A lot of Tea Party members, a lot of House Freedom Caucus members — that includes Ron DeSantis, he was one of those folks — don't believe what they're saying," Higgans told Rupar."So they will use these issues and, specifically, the two examples that come to mind are Mick Mulvaney and Mark Meadows. They use these talking points, they use the grassroots energy to advance themselves. Jim Jordan being a third. They advance themselves up the ranks, up the cable news shows, sometimes they become Chief of Staff of the White House."
Story by Tatyana TandanpolieFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis on Wednesday announced he suspended State Attorney Monique Worrell, a Black Democrat and elected prosecutor for Orange and Osceola counties, on the grounds that she failed to pursue stronger charges in serious cases.The 2024 presidential candidate took a brief break from his campaign to return to the Florida Capitol and announce Worrell's suspension with Attorney General Ashley Moody and Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Mark Glass at his sides, according to the Tallahassee Democrat."Prosecutors have a duty to faithfully enforce the law," DeSantis said in the announcement. "One's political agenda cannot trump this solemn duty." DeSantis declared that Federalist Society member Andrew Bain, an Orange County judge who is also Black, will serve as state attorney for the 9th Judicial Circuit in Worrell's absence.
Trump may have the 1st amendment right to lie to the American people, but he does not have the right to attempt a coup. Attempting a coup is a traitorous act and should be treated as such and those defending a coup and the coup plotters should be treated as the traitors they are.House Speaker Kevin McCarthy defended former President Donald Trump, while in Central California on Thursday, the day that Trump pleaded not guilty to four felony counts, stemming from his efforts to overturn his 2020 election loss.
Story by Martin Pengelly in WashingtonRightwing Florida governor and 2024 presidential hopeful Ron DeSantis was widely condemned after he said that if elected to the White House, he would “start slitting throats” in the federal bureaucracy on his first day in power. The president of the National Treasury Employees Union, Tony Reardon, called the hardline Republican’s comment “repulsive and unworthy of the presidential campaign trail”.The president of the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE), Everett Kelly, said: “Governor DeSantis’ threat to ‘start slitting throats’ of federal employees is dangerous, disgusting, disgraceful and disqualifying.”Among commentators, the columnist Max Boot called DeSantis’s words “deranged” while Bill Kristol, founder of the Bulwark, a conservative site, said the governor was “making a bold play to dominate the maniacal psychopath lane in the Republican primary”. DeSantis is a clear second in the Republican primary but more than 30 points behind Donald Trump in most averages, notwithstanding the former president’s proliferating legal jeopardy including 78 criminal charges.
Story by ReutersWASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army no longer has a Senate-confirmed leader as a Republican senator continues to block military nominations, a move military leaders on Friday said threatens readiness and undermines the retention of officers.As retiring Chief of Staff of the Army General James McConville relinquishes command, this will be the first time in history the U.S. military will have two branches without a confirmed leader, the Pentagon said.
Former President Donald Trump pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges that he engaged in criminal conspiracies aimed at subverting the 2020 presidential election results and keeping himself in power. The Morning Joe panel discusses Trump's arraignment and how some Republicans are responding.
Story by Tom BoggioniDuring an appearance on MSNBC on Thursday afternoon as Donald Trump heads to Washington, D.C., where he will be arraigned on new charges of multiple conspiracies to steal the 2020 presidential election, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel ridiculed supporters of the former president for coddling him like a giant "toddler."Speaking with hosts Chris Jansing and Andrea Mitchell, the SAGT made the point that the former leader of the free world was perfectly capable of understanding that he lost the election and that his efforts to overturn it were, in fact, a criminal act."You know, what I find to be almost comical that I'm hearing from those who are still supporting Donald Trump is the notion that, what if he didn't really know he lost?" she began."I don't know, what about all of the homicide cases that I perpetually prosecute? It would be like a defendant saying, 'I shot the person and the bullets hit them, but I didn't know it was going to kill them. I didn't have that kind of familiarity with how a gun works or how bullets work,'" she sarcastically suggested.
Story by Alex HendersonIn the past, what was once Disney's Reedy Creek Improvement District in Central Florida had strong DEI (diversity, equity and inclusion) programs. But that changed on Tuesday, August 1, when all DEI programs were abolished in what is now the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District.The Associated Press (AP) reports that the District officially announced that the programs were being eliminated along with any job duties related to them. "Also axed were initiatives left over from when the District was controlled by Disney supporters, which awarded contracts based on goals of achieving racial or gender parity," AP notes.
Opinion by Eric LevitzDonald Trump conspired to nullify a presidential election and cling to power in defiance of the U.S. Constitution. That conspiracy culminated in an attempt to coerce the vice-president into subverting Congress’s formal count of Electoral College votes with the aid of an insurrectionary mob.This much we’ve known for well over two years. There is little disagreement about whether today’s front-runner for the Republican presidential nomination tried to subvert democratic government in the United States (even as there is some debate about whether he consciously understood himself to be attempting as much). The more contentious question has been whether Trump violated any criminal statutes in the course of assaulting the rule of law.On Tuesday, a federal grand jury found probable cause to believe that Trump’s actions were criminal. The Justice Department’s special counsel Jack Smith successfully indicted the former president on one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, one count of obstruction of an official proceeding, one count of conspiracy to obstruct an official proceeding, and one count of conspiracy to impair others’ federal rights. The most serious of these charges are punishable by up to 20 years in prison.
After trying to use the Justice Department to delegitimize the 2020 vote, Clark has become a rising legal star for RepublicansBy Isaac Stanley-BeckerIn a conference room near the Capitol, young conservatives gathered in April to learn how to run for office — how to win and wield government power. Among the keynote speakers at the summit, hosted by a group devoted to “training America’s future statesmen today,” was Jeffrey Clark, the former senior Justice Department official who in 2020 sought to use federal law enforcement power to undo then-President Donald Trump’s defeat.Clark, who accused the Biden administration of abusing its power, “really fired up our attendees and inspired them to get more active in the political process,” recalled Aiden Buzzetti, president of the Bull Moose Project, which takes its name from Theodore Roosevelt’s split with the Republican Party in 1912. Clark was chosen to speak, Buzzetti added, because of his “very unique résumé and experience with the federal government.”
Florida Disney World District Ends All, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Programs. On August 1, diversity, equity and inclusion programs were banned from Walt Disney World's governing district. . NBC reports that the news echoes Governor Ron DeSantis's agenda, which looks to curtail such programs in higher education and elsewhere. In a statement, the Central Florida Tourism Oversight District said that it would also be eliminating its diversity, equity and inclusion committee.
Story by Hunter WalkerSpecial counsel Jack Smithâs indictment of former President Donald Trump details a sweeping criminal conspiracy to reverse his loss in the 2020 election. Smith described a marked shift away from legitimate election challenges toward a strategy in which the President and those close to him used âknowing deceit in the targeted states to impair, obstruct, and defeat the federal government function.â And Smith identified one day as the key turning point when the plot veered from political gamesmanship into deliberate falsehoods: November 13, 2020.Text messages obtained by Talking Points Memo â most which have not previously been made public â paint a picture of what was going on behind the scenes in the White House during the crucial period the special prosecutor has zeroed in on. In particular, they reveal that Republican National Committee Chairwoman Ronna McDaniel and former Arizona Republican Party Chairwoman Kelli Ward were among those who played key roles in elements of the alleged conspiracy from the moment Smith said it began.
VeuerDonald Trump was recently indicted yet again, this time on 4 charges related to the January 6th insurrection and attack on our nation’s capital. One of those charges was related to the former President attempting to install uncertified electors in swing states. Veuer’s Tony Spitz has the details.
Story by Peter SuciuWhole books will be written about the presidency of Donald Trump, with a focus on his greatest accomplishments and failures. Likewise, one only has to look as far as social media where supporters of the former president continue to tout the low gasoline prices, low unemployment, and his efforts to build bridges between Israel and its neighbors in the Middle East. It is absolutely true that Donald Trump did have some notable accomplishments, but his critics are correct in pointing out his numerous failures as well. Some on the left consider him one of the worst U.S. presidents ever. Here is a short sample of his mistakes while in office:Donald Trump: The Great DividerFormer President Trump never promised to be a unifier, but he arguably divided the nation more than any president since the American Civil War. It is also true that Trump may have never been given a chance, as some of his critics refused to accept him as a legitimate president from the moment he won the 2016 election.However, Trump's crass use of social media hardly helped matters, while he also resorted to name-calling and bullying in a way not seen in modern politics. Even the most ardent support of the former president must admit they'd like to see him put down the phone and not feel the need to constantly respond to everything via social media. It is unnecessary for him to offer opinions that are outside the realm of governing – but Trump simply cannot stop being Trump.
Opinion by Brad ReedHistorian Michael Beschloss on Wednesday linked former President Donald Trump to a long line of "monsters" in American history that have threatened to upend and destroy the American system of government.Appearing on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Beschloss drew a direct line from the American Civil War to Trump's efforts to illegally remain in power after losing the 2020 election to President Joe Biden."From time to time, America faces threats from monsters who want to destroy our democracy," he argued. "That happened in 1861 with the Confederacy. Abraham Lincoln and northern soldiers came to our rescue and saved the union."Beschloss also pointed to similar stresses placed on the American system of government posed by the Great Depression, World War II, and the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon.
Story by Matthew ChapmanMany of President Donald Trump's rivals have leapt to his defense following his indictment in the federal January 6 investigation — and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) is no exception."I remain concerned about the weaponization of Biden’s DOJ and its immense power used against political opponents," wrote Scott on Twitter/X. "What we see today are two different tracks of justice. One for political opponents and another for the son of the current president."Rep. Denver Riggleman (R-VA), a former investigator for the House January 6 Committee, was quick to call out Scott's claim as nonsense. "This is poppycock pandering to the base," wrote Riggleman. "But mostly it’s a bat signal to the once again indicted Donald Trump that he’s all in for VP. Easy to read."
Story by David Badash, The New Civil Rights MovementThe White House is hitting back at U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) for placing a blockade on what President Joe Biden says are now more than 300 promotions and bonuses for members of America’s Armed Forces, which require Senate confirmation. “This you?” the Biden White House asked Senator Tuberville on Tuesday, posting headlines that directly refute the Alabama Republicans’ claim on Monday that “My holds are NOT affecting national security.”Those headlines read: “Tuberville’s hold leaves Marines leaderless for first time in 164 years,” Army, Navy Will Be Latest Services Without Chiefs as Senator Maintains Block on Confirmations,” “Tuberville’s hold stalling more than 100 Air Force, Space Force promotions,” and “There Are Too Many Generals and Admirals, a Senator Stalling Military Promotions Argues.”Many dispute Tuberville’s claim his holding up hundreds of promotions does not affect national security or military readiness. David Rothkopf, a well-known foreign policy, national security, and political affairs expert and author, on Tuesday also responded to Tuberville’s claim his blockade isn’t affecting national security.
Story by Gideon RubinA Washington Post columnist on Tuesday mocked House Republicans investigating Hunter Biden after what had been promoted as” bombshell” testimony apparently fizzled. Despite House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer’s (R-Ky.) claim that, “Every day this bribery scandal becomes more credible” during an appearance on Fox News on Monday, Philip Bump wrote for The Washington Post that he was wrong. “In fact, it is no more credible now than it was in early May, when Comer and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) first introduced it," he wrote."But (Fox's Sean) Hannity and Comer have a vested interest in presenting the allegation as credible and a vested interest in suggesting that closed-door testimony from one of Joe Biden’s son Hunter’s former business partners, Devon Archer, added to that credibility.” Bump contended that Archer’s testimony did nothing to back up allegations that Hunter Biden influenced Joe Biden while he served as vice president.
Story by Brad ReedFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis has made his fight against the left-wing "indoctrination" of children one of his major rallying cries. However, the Tampa Bay Times reports that PragerU, a right-wing institution whose learning materials are now being allowed for use in Florida schools, openly boasts that its goals are to indoctrinate young people.In fact, PragerU's founder, right-wing talk show host Dennis Prager, openly admits in a promotional video that it's "fair" to say that his organization's goal is that indoctrination. Prager also copped to indoctrinating students during a talk with the right-wing Moms for Liberty group earlier this year.
Opinion by Jeet HeerEven as his bid to become Republican presidential nominee circles the drain, Florida Governor Ron DeSantis can take pride in the fact that he is almost keeping pace with his chief rival in having embarrassing Nazi scandals. Earlier this week, in response to continuing lackluster polling, DeSantis fired 38 staffers. Axios noted that one of those staffers was Nate Hochman, a speechwriter who “secretly created and shared a pro-DeSantis video that featured the candidate at the center of a Sonnenrad, an ancient symbol appropriated by the Nazis and still used by some white supremacists.” Earlier, Hochman and other staffers stirred controversy by sharing a bizarre homophobic and transphobic pro-DeSantis ad (presented as a fan creation even though evidence points to it being another in-house production). This follows hot on the heels of a June scandal when it turned out that Pedro Gonzalez, a pro-DeSantis influencer whose social media voice was being promoted by the Florida governor’s staff, had record of antisemitic, racist and fascist private direct messages.
Story by Wilfred ChanIn the small town of Freedom, Wisconsin, Buzz’s Pub and Grill – a local sports bar whose logo features frothing beer mugs in the colors of the American flag – has been short-staffed since the pandemic. Jeff Baker, the owner, says he “could use one more bartender, and probably two more cooks”. He hasn’t found takers in over a year of running “help wanted” ads, so he’s made do by working extra shifts in the kitchen and paring back the menu.Baker could soon get more job applicants thanks to a new proposal that would lower Wisconsin’s minimum age for alcohol service to just 14 years old. It would “absolutely” be a welcome change if children applied, he says. “Not as many kids work as much as they used to. Back in our day, more kids were needed, and more parents made their kids work.”Baker could soon get more job applicants thanks to a new proposal that would lower Wisconsin’s minimum age for alcohol service to just 14 years old. It would “absolutely” be a welcome change if children applied, he says. “Not as many kids work as much as they used to. Back in our day, more kids were needed, and more parents made their kids work.”
Story by MillaA majority of the members of the Florida work group that worked on Florida’s new standards for Black history, including three Black members, did not agree with the sections that drew criticism, claiming they were “purposefully kept in the dark.”A majority of the members of the Florida work group that worked on Florida’s new standards for Black history, including three Black members, did not agree with the sections that drew criticism, claiming they were “purposefully kept in the dark.”Dr. Austin continued, “I thought that that was very disrespectful, extremely demeaning, and it supports what people want others to believe about African and African American people.” She added, “It’s the same divide techniques that they used on the plantation. It’s the same, identical thing. They always use methods of dividing the African and African American people. That’s what they do.”
MSNArkansas is temporarily blocked from enforcing a law that would have allowed criminal charges against librarians and booksellers for providing “harmful” materials to minors, a federal judge ruled Saturday. U.S. District Judge Timothy L. Brooks issued a preliminary injunction against the law, which also would have created a new process to challenge library materials and request that they be relocated to areas not accessible by kids. The measure, signed by Republican Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders earlier this year, was set to take effect Aug. 1.A coalition that included the Central Arkansas Library System in Little Rock had challenged the law, saying fear of prosecution under the measure could prompt libraries and booksellers to no longer carry titles that could be challenged. The judge also rejected a motion by the defendants, which include prosecuting attorneys for the state, seeking to dismiss the case.
To the editor: I was wrong. I thought the Republicans were trying to take us back to the 1950s. But Gov. Ron DeSantis’ remarks about the possible benefits of slavery hark back to antebellum apologists who used “scientific” racism to justify slavery. Indeed, what Republicans really want to do is take us back to the early 19th Century. - Margaret Hamilton, Portland, Ore.To the editor: When the Florida Board of Education put forth examples (in a list masterfully debunked by Michael Hiltzik) of how certain African Americans benefited from the skills they learned as slaves, they missed one of the most brilliant examples ever: Robert Smalls. As a slave he learned how to navigate a sizable ship into and out of Confederate Charleston Harbor… so that he could later dupe his owner in 1862 and navigate the ship (along with its supply of heavy artillery) quietly out of the harbor as a gift to Union forces. Oh, after stopping to pick up his family along the way. - Russ Woody, Studio City
Opinion by Joe BerkowitzOne day during last month’s Pride festivities, the White House flew a trans-inclusive flag and conservatives predictably lost their minds about it. The very idea of the government telling trans people they are welcome in America rubbed some in the media and in the U.S. Senate the wrong way. Trump’s former top adviser Stephen Miller called it “a warning about how civilizations unravel from within.”“Where does it end?” critics of trans visibility often ask, as though each act of tolerance only hastens the hand basket ferrying us all to hell. If something as egregious as a flag is possible, where does it end? Meanwhile, back in reality, the only real progress made with regards to the LGBT community this past June was in the existential war against it. Toward the end of an already-brutal Pride Month, the Supreme Court ruled that businesses may discriminate against LGBT customers, but only in circumstances that go against their religious beliefs, like a same-sex wedding.
Story by Alex Seitz-WaldDonald Trump’s primary rivals have had a hard time convincing GOP voters that they’d be more electable than the indicted former president — but they may, at least in part, have themselves to blame for it. Most of the 2024 candidate field has spent the past two and half years validating or turning a blind eye to Trump’s false claims that he won the 2020 election, priming the Republican base to believe that Trump is a proven winner against President Joe Biden. Now they have only a few months to try to undo that perception but appear reluctant to press the case.“A lot of these GOP primary contenders are paying the price of enabling Trump throughout the course of the last three years,” said former Florida Republican Rep. Carlos Curbelo, a Trump critic. “The best way to beat him is by ... showing that Trump and his movement have been rejected in general elections three times in a row. But you don’t hear [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis or the other candidates speaking to voters in this way. It’s impossible to defeat someone by following them.”
Story by Julia ShaperoRep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) mocked Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene’s (R-Ga.) call for decorum at a House subcommittee hearing on Thursday, pointing to the congresswoman’s presentation of sexually explicit posters on a separate panel last week. “Marjorie needs to remember she showed us a d— pic last week,” Garcia tweeted on Thursday, after Greene interrupted his remarks at a hearing on COVID-19 vaccine mandates to call for decorum.The California Democrat displayed a tweet from Greene at the hearing, in which she compared vaccine and mask mandates to the yellow Star of David that Jews were required to wear by the Nazis in the lead-up to the Holocaust. “We have seen this tweet behind us before,” Garcia said on Thursday, gesturing to a poster of the tweet. “And this person, of course, sits on this very committee, who just actually gave some very irresponsible facts to our witnesses and the committee as well.”
As House Majority Leader Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) spoke on the House floor, Rep. Cori Bush (D-MO) accused Republican lawmakers of passing bills that are “racist.”
Florida Governor Ron DeSantis continues to defend curriculum changes to how Black history is taught in Florida schools, saying that enslaved Black people “parlayed” skills used in forced labor “into doing things later in life.” President and CEO of the National Urban League Marc Morial and John Kasich join Andrea Mitchell to react. “The idea that you got skills that you could use later in life — there was no later in life but being enslaved, except for maybe the last generations that were freed by the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th Amendment,” Morial says. “The very notion that you're going to engage in sort of a lost cause, revisionist history and try to indoctrinate the young people of Florida with this garbage is going to be resisted.
Story by Travis GettysConservative broadcaster Steve Deace complained bitterly that Donald Trump's allies admitted to lies about the election that he helped spread.The BlazeTV host initially opposed Trump in 2016 and then claimed to leave the Republican Party after his first choice, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), called for unity behind the reality TV star-turned GOP standard bearer, but by 2020 he was promoting Trump's election lies and raising money for the "Stop the Steal" movement -- much to his belated chagrin."We are going to the mattresses for these people, we are offering them more accommodations, more chances, than we'd offer our own family members, for goodness sake," Deace said, "and for what? For Rudy Giuliani to go down to Georgia and admit that he lied? Have Jason Miller tell the Jan. 6 commission, 'Yeah, we all knew it was BS?' What is this?"Some of you don't like it when I use the cult word. When you like being treated like a schmuck, and ask for more, that is a cult. 'I'm the mark, I'm the sucker, I want to be such and I resent the person who tries to get me out of that.' Those are marks of groupthink, frankly."
Story by Tatyana TandanpolieHouse Speaker Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., drew fire from inside his own party after floating the idea of launching an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.Former President Donald Trump and his right-wing allies have pushed an investigation into Hunter Biden and the president's family that has thus far yielded little evidence but a lot of hype from the right. But after the Hunter Biden case nearly imploded this week — with the younger Biden pleading not guilty on Wednesday to tax and gun charges as his initial plea deal fell apart — some Republicans contemplated whether it was effective to continue going after the president's son on the matter at all.According to Politico, McCarthy himself dialed back his Tuesday comments that suggested an impeachment inquiry was on the horizon, clarifying instead that Republicans merely "could" move forward with the proceedings.
Story by Matthew ChapmanFormer President Donald Trump has a documented count of falsehoods exceeding 30,000 just during his time in office, and even more are being pushed as he faces down potential indictment for the January 6 attack. And the Republicans who fail to expose his lies came under scathing criticism from Los Angeles Times columnist Mark Barabak Thursday."Birds fly. Fish swim. Politicians say things they hope will get them elected," wrote Barabak. This isn't necessarily evil, he noted. "There is, however, an important qualitative difference between telling voters what they’d like to hear or dialing an issue up or down depending on the audience and knowingly, calculatedly telling a flat-out lie."
Story by Brad ReedGabriel Sterling, the Republican chief operating officer of the Georgia Secretary of State's office, made a fresh plea to Trump supporters in the wake of former Trump lawyer Rudy Giuliani's admission that he made false statements about Georgia poll workers Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.Writing on Twitter, Sterling said that Giuliani's admission should make Trump supporters realize that they were fed nonstop falsehoods about the 2020 presidential election, which former President Donald Trump lost decisively to President Joe Biden."Rudy Giuliani admits that he lied about Shaye Moss and Ruby Freeman," Sterling wrote. "We've known for years that he lied about them and the events at State Farm Arena. For those that still believe there was widespread voter fraud, these people are admitting they lied to you."
Story by Travis GettysFlorida Gov. Ron DeSantis' "war on woke" has cost the state another event that would have generated millions of dollars for the local economy. Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the oldest Black fraternity in the country, is moving its 2025 conference from Orlando due to the 2024 Republican presidential hopeful's "harmful, racist, and insensitive policies against the Black community," reported the Tallahassee Democrat."Although we are moving our convention from Florida, Alpha Phi Alpha will continue to support the strong advocacy of Alpha Brothers and other advocates fighting against the continued assault on our communities in Florida by Governor Ron DeSantis," said general president Dr. Willis L. Lonzer III in a press release. The event was expected to generate $4.6 million, according to the intercollegiate fraternity whose membership historical figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr., Thurgood Marshall and Adam Clayton Powell.
Opinion by Jonathan ChaitYesterday, as part of what it describes as a reboot — and what the campaign media describes as a breakdown — Ron DeSantis’s presidential campaign fired another tranche of staffers, including speechwriter and right-wing activist Nate Hochman. The 25-year-old Hochman created a controversial social-media post that dissolves into a creepy fascistic scene with bayonet-wielding soldiers marching toward a strange rotating symbol. That symbol, a sonnenrad, is used by white supremacists as a kind of less obvious version of the swastika. It would be easy to understand this development as simply more campaign dysfunction, perhaps poor vetting, or even a symptom of the campaign being “too online.” It is better understood as the result of a fundamental strategic decision by DeSantis to actively court the far right.DeSantis’s campaign hired Hochman from National Review after it was reported he had participated in a Twitter Spaces with Nick Fuentes, who is at least Nazi-adjacent. “We were just talking about your influence and we were saying, like, you’ve gotten a lot of kids ‘based,’ and we respect that, for sure,” Hochman told him. “I literally said, ‘I think Nick’s probably a better influence than Ben Shapiro on young men who might otherwise be conservative.’” (The comparison is instructive: The nicest and perhaps only good thing that can be said about Shapiro is that Nazis hate him.)
Las Vegas SunUnder the leadership of its governor, Ron DeSantis, and supported by its Republican legislature, Florida is feverishly working to reestablish the numbing segregationist horror of Jim Crow America. Most Americans believe we left this forever. But DeSantis — governor today, presidential aspirant tomorrow — is the determined force behind Jim Crow 2.0.Beneath the headlines about DeSantis’ effort to block an advanced placement high school course in African American history, his central motive has been largely lost. What Florida’s governor is trying to do is bring back approaches that constitute the foundation from which all manner of freshly bigoted government policies shall spring.
Story by David Badash, The New Civil Rights MovementU.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) campaigned on a platform of being a staunch supporter of the men and women in the U.S. Armed Forces and pro-veteran. His claims, including surrounding his own father’s service, are being called into question. Senator Tuberville, who sits on the Senate Armed Services Committee, is a former college football coach, who goes by the nickname “Coach,” in campaign material and even on his official U.S. Senate website. Just weeks ago Tuberville, who has never served in the U.S. Armed Forces, told reporters, “There is nobody more military than me.”Tuberville time and time again has used claims about his father’s record in World War II, which also appear on Tuberville’s campaign website, Tuberville’s official Senate website (and in this archived copy) to promote himself. “Tuberville was inspired to serve in Congress by his father, a World War II veteran and recipient of five Bronze Stars and a Purple Heart, who instilled in him the values of patriotism, work ethic, and grit,” his Senate website reads.
Opinion by Christopher R. BrowningFor some years, a variety of news commentators and academics have called Donald Trump a fascist. I was one of those who resisted using that term. I thought it had long been abused by casual, imprecise applications, and as a historian of Nazi Germany, I did not think Trumpism was anywhere close to crossing the threshold of that comparison. I still deny that Trump’s presidency was fascist; but I’m concerned that if he wins another trip to the White House, he could earn the label.Fascism was most fully exemplified by the regimes of Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler. These regimes combined totalitarian dictatorship, wars of imperial conquest, and outright genocide in the case of Hitler (of Jews, Slavs, Roma) or ethnic mass murder in Mussolini’s case (of Libyans, Ethiopians, Slovenes). Placing Trumpism in the same category seemed to me trivializing and misleading.
Story by Nikki McCann RamirezA Sunday newsletter from the office of Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Az.) featured a link to an antisemitic website known for promoting conspiracies ranging from QAnon to Holocaust denial, according to a report from the progressive nonprofit Media Matters For America.The newsletter included a link to USSA News, which boasts the tagline “do not let this happen to our country ☭.” Despite Gosar condemning antisemitism in the bulletin, USSA is rampant with antisemitic language, conspiracy theories about Jewish people, and reposted or re-promoted content from Neo-Nazi blogs.
Story by Sky PalmaNew York City Council member Vickie Paladino has been outspoken against unregistered vehicles, the need for bicycle license plates and other city requirements, making her knows as a stickler for "law and order." But according to a report from StreetsBlog NYC, a luxury sports car parked in the Republican's driveway bears an Arizona temporary license plate that the Arizona Department of Transportation has deemed a fraud."The 90-day paper tag — the kind that drivers get when buying a car — lists the same plate number as a real temporary tag that was issued in September 2022, according to Arizona DOT spokesman Bill Lamoreaux. But that real tag expired in December, meaning the one in Paladino’s driveway, which lists an August expiration date, is 'fraudulent,' Lamoreaux said," StreetsBlog reported.
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