The Republican Party Has Flat Out Lost Its Mind

[LFC]

The Horry County, SC GOP has just brought 3 MAGAts into their ranks of power including a woman who has been a QAnon booster for years.

A Republican operative who helped propel QAnon into the mainstream back in 2017 has just been elected to a leadership role in a local Republican party in South Carolina.

Tracy Diaz, also known online as Tracy Beanz, won a landslide victory Saturday in Horry County, a working-class coastal haven, where she was overwhelmingly voted onto the state executive committee.

Diaz's position isn’t a powerful one, but her victory is notable given the recent trend of QAnon believers winning elected positions in local and state races across the U.S.

“It’s our time,” Diaz said in a voice message posted to followers on Telegram. In another message she said: “We are off to the races. It is possible, you can do it too.” Diaz no longer has a presence on mainstream media channels after she was kicked off for sharing QAnon conspiracies.

Diaz is a longtime Republican operative who worked for former Texas Rep. Ron Paul as well as being part of the Tea Party movement. At the same time, under the moniker Tracy Beanz, she also carved out a niche for herself online discussing conspiracy theories on her YouTube channel, taking about WikiLeaks and the baseless Pizzagate conspiracy.

But it was Diaz's work in helping QAnon go mainstream that propelled her to a new level of fame online, as an NBC investigation revealed in 2018.

Diaz, according to her own recounting of events, was contacted by two of the moderators of the 4chan board where the anonymous leader of QAnon, known simply as Q, posted messages.

They contacted her, Diaz says, in order to help get QAnon more attention outside the world of 4chan, as well as to help boost their own followings.

Diaz said she was was just one of “three MAGA candidates” in Horry County who won election on Saturday. Roger Slagle, a businessman, was named the party’s new county chair and Jeremy Halpin was named vice-chair.

All three candidates had been endorsed by Lin Wood, the pro-Trump lawyer who is currently running for chair of the South Carolina Republican Party and who has become one of the most influenctial people in the QAnon conspiracy universe.

As well as being endorsed by Wood, Diaz was also endorsed by disgraced former national security advisor Michael Flynn, who, along with Wood, is one of the most listened-to figures in QAnon world.

Flynn’s brother, Joseph Flynn, who is currently suing CNN for portraying him as a QAnon supporter after he appeared in a video typing the QAnon oath, also congratulated Diaz on her victory.

[LFC]

Some Republicans fear that the Democrats will keep pasting the likes of Marjorie Taylor Greene and Lauren Boehbert up as the faces of the GOP. Well, duh. They ARE the faces of the GOP along with Donald Trump.

According to a report from Politico, Republicans meeting in Florida this weekend to develop plans to retake the House in the 2022 midterms are hoping the focus will once again return to policy differences they have with Democrats and not center on high-profile GOP lawmakers trying to claim Donald Trump's crown as publicity-hungry disrupters.

Traditionally the party out of power sees big gains in the House during the midterms and -- with Democrats holding a slim 218-212 lead with five vacancies to still be filled due to deaths and resignations -- it won't take many seats to exchange hands in order to flip the chamber.

With that in mind, GOP members are workshopping plans for the next year and a half while hoping Donald Trump stays out of the way and controversial members can be reined in.

According to House GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney (R-WY), "What we have to do as Republicans is get back to being the party of ideas and the substance and the policy of conservatism, and that's going to be a big part of the retreat."

Her comments were echoed by Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC) who added, "The fact is, our party is much more unified when we focus on policy rather than personalities. And the substance of governing is driven by policy in the midst of politics. So you still have to have ideas and policy of consequence to the American people."

However, Politico's Melania Zanona writes, GOP lawmakers are aware of the elephants in the room that can't be ignored in the form of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) along with fellow freshman GOP Reps. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC) and Lauren Boebert (R-CO).

Of particular concern to the House leadership is that belief that the Democrats are going to turn the highly controversial Greene into the face of their party.

Hey, Liz and Pat. Here's a start for you. If you want to talk about policy then create a party platform brimming with details f***ing policies! You're more unified around policies? You HAVE no policies other than voter suppression and tax cuts. We saw that lack of policy in all its glory with pandemic aid and your "big beautiful healthcare plan" that was going to make us "so happy."

[Deleted]

It occurred to me Biden administration lost a golden opportunity when they debunked the veggie hamburger story. Instead they could have stated "Although, we didn't think of it first, we congratulate Fox News for proposing this innovative plan of cutting American beef consumption by 90% in order to cut carbon emission by half. We will follow in Fox's footsteps and adopt their proposal in toto"

[Traveler]

Biden has been a little slow on the uptake. Denying aid to India until this week was a total gaffe. We are throwing away shots now. AZ should have been sent weeks ago, along with oxygen and vaccine precursors. China and Russia are looking competent, even though their vaccines have no peer reviewed results, and real world studies suggest not very effective.  Ugh.  

Not even trying to put together a federal vaccine database is even more reprehensible. Vaccine passports will be a real thing, and most private industries will require them for admission.  But already a ton of maggots are advertising fake cards, so without reliable verification, what good is that? That will be a major debacle.  Feds don't have make the rules, but they damn sure should provide the info needed for businesses to decide. I see folks avoiding those that businesses that don't require them.

Who is advising him on these boneheaded decisions?

[Bact PhD]

Apr 28, 2021 15:28:28 GMT Traveler said:

Biden has been a little slow on the uptake. Denying aid to India until this week was a total gaffe. We are throwing away shots now. AZ should have been sent weeks ago, along with oxygen and vaccine precursors. China and Russia are looking competent, even though their vaccines have no peer reviewed results, and real world studies suggest not very effective.  Ugh.  

Not even trying to put together a federal vaccine database is even more reprehensible. Vaccine passports will be a real thing, and most private industries will require them for admission.  But already a ton of maggots are advertising fake cards, so without reliable verification, what good is that? That will be a major debacle.  Feds don't have make the rules, but they damn sure should provide the info needed for businesses to decide. I see folks avoiding those that businesses that don't require them.

Who is advising him on these boneheaded decisions?

Concur re the distribution of AZ, especially since demand slowed more quickly than anticipated.


Re the vaccine database/passports, unfortunately, certain governors, DeSantis of Flori-DUH notable among them, got out waaay ahead, precluding the use of any sort of vaccine passport by private businesses, but in the next breath demanding that the cruise industry re-open pronto (gotta have those port taxes!!). The "leadership" in MAGAt states insists on pretending everything is back to pre-pandemic operation in wanting things both ways.

[pnwguy]

"Vaccine passports will be a real thing, and most private industries will require them for admission."

The problem the Biden administration is facing is RW media and allies blasting "Mark Of The Beast" cries out to their Christian base, if the government itself gets involved. They have a tightrope to walk even getting some of these gullible fools to get a vaccine. If it becomes a government-issued accreditation, it will get demagogued by the usual suspects.

Look what the Obama administration faced trying to get national health records as a way to make health care more portable and give providers instant access to treatment histories. Socialism!!! Death Panels!!!

[Traveler]

All I am asking the feds to do is put together the database. Well within executive branch discretion. Who cares about the screeching? Ain't gonna lose anyone who isn't already lost. No matter what private business ends up doing with the database. Not every state is like FL.

ETA: I don't think that prohibition will pass a legal challenge.  Some pretty clear weakness of a state imposition vs. private property rights. Some of legal folks here might think differently, and I look forward to being better informed.  

[jackd]

My initial reaction is that HIPAA may prevent putting together the data base for public view. Businesses requiring proof of vaccination in some form shouldn't be a problem, Shot cards issued to individuals could be used even though they can be counterfeited. So can many other such things; driver's licenses for example. I don't pretend to have researched the HIPAA issue.

[andydp]

Apr 28, 2021 19:54:52 GMT jackd said:

My initial reaction is that HIPAA may prevent putting together the data base for public view. Businesses requiring proof of vaccination in some form shouldn't be a problem, Shot cards issued to individuals could be used even though they can be counterfeited. So can many other such things; driver's licenses for example. I don't pretend to have researched the HIPAA issue.

NYS has developed an App for "proof" of vaccination.  Its purely voluntary and right on one of the screens is a delete. 

Funny thing: when I typed in my name and final shot date, everything else filled in. So despite what they want to say, ban, make illegal, its there already. This app just makes it easier to gain entry.

[LFC]

Once gain I say that this is not fringe, it's well within a solid pillar of the Republican Party.

One of Southern California’s top Republican lawmakers asked a doctor if there’s a tracking device inside the coronavirus vaccines being given to residents—and got the exact response he deserved. Don Wagner, a member of the Orange County Board of Supervisors, asked his question during a Tuesday meeting to discuss the possibility of vaccine passports—but he let his imagination run away with him. “Is there any intention of tracking folks?” Wagner asked OC Health Care Agency Director Dr. Clayton Chau, who replied “Nope.” Undeterred, Wagner went on: “Is there any, in the vaccine, we heard about the injection of a tracking device. Is that being done anywhere in Orange County?” Dr. Chau paused for a second before letting out a laugh and saying: “I’m sorry, I just have to compose myself. There is not a vaccine with a tracking device embedded in it that I know of that exists in the world. Period.”

[Deleted]

Millions of adults vaccinated against Covid-19 have little to prove it beyond a paper card they received at inoculation sites.

The U.S. has no central database for immunizations. States maintain an incomplete patchwork of records. Nor is there standard proof of Covid-19 vaccinations like the yellow-fever cards that are required for travel to many countries where that disease remains prevalent.

With some countries and businesses preparing to make digital proof of vaccination a requirement for entry and travel, the paper cards may be the only ticket to access those platforms.
.
.
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The cards themselves are a patchwork of formats. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designed a version, which many locations use, but it isn’t required. State and local authorities and even individual sites are devising their own cards to hand out. With no official standard, it may be hard to say what constitutes proof.

[goldenvalley]

Apr 28, 2021 21:21:51 GMT @probabilistic3 said:

Millions of adults vaccinated against Covid-19 have little to prove it beyond a paper card they received at inoculation sites.

The U.S. has no central database for immunizations. States maintain an incomplete patchwork of records. Nor is there standard proof of Covid-19 vaccinations like the yellow-fever cards that are required for travel to many countries where that disease remains prevalent.

With some countries and businesses preparing to make digital proof of vaccination a requirement for entry and travel, the paper cards may be the only ticket to access those platforms.
.
.
.
The cards themselves are a patchwork of formats. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has designed a version, which many locations use, but it isn’t required. State and local authorities and even individual sites are devising their own cards to hand out. With no official standard, it may be hard to say what constitutes proof.

Yeah I perceive that.  I'm actually worried about my own status being on California's database.  I received no electronic confirmation that I received the first jab, nor did I ever receive an email telling me that I could make an appointment for the second (as was promised to the whole group of people in the room where I received the shot).  I didn't think much about it until after I got the second jab...got an email showing that I received in on a particular date.  I have the paper card, but I'm thinking there is nothing but that.  If I lose it, then I'm screwed.

[andydp]

Apr 28, 2021 21:51:38 GMT goldenvalley said:

Apr 28, 2021 21:21:51 GMT @probabilistic3 said:

Yeah I perceive that.  I'm actually worried about my own status being on California's database.  I received no electronic confirmation that I received the first jab, nor did I ever receive an email telling me that I could make an appointment for the second (as was promised to the whole group of people in the room where I received the shot).  I didn't think much about it until after I got the second jab...got an email showing that I received in on a particular date.  I have the paper card, but I'm thinking there is nothing but that.  If I lose it, then I'm screwed.

I went to Staples copied both sides glued them together and had them laminated. I have the original in my wallet.

[Bact PhD]

Apr 28, 2021 22:26:26 GMT andydp said:

Apr 28, 2021 21:51:38 GMT goldenvalley said:

Yeah I perceive that.  I'm actually worried about my own status being on California's database.  I received no electronic confirmation that I received the first jab, nor did I ever receive an email telling me that I could make an appointment for the second (as was promised to the whole group of people in the room where I received the shot).  I didn't think much about it until after I got the second jab...got an email showing that I received in on a particular date.  I have the paper card, but I'm thinking there is nothing but that.  If I lose it, then I'm screwed.

I went to Staples copied both sides glued them together and had them laminated. I have the original in my wallet.

Scanned both sides into my phone; the original stays put in a nice little box. I figure if need be I can print from my phone.

[Deleted]

Republican logic: inspite of structurally rigging the system so that I can gain power even as a minority, if you perchance win against all my machinations and gain power, and then govern with your agenda without executing mine, i.e., not give in to my blackmail and tantrums, then you're dividing the country...tearing it apart. However, when I win then it's my absolute right to jam down my policy preferences. I get to appoint 3 Supreme Court justices, misappropriate allocated funds for my pet projects even though I have no authority to do so, fan the forces antithetical to liberal democracy, enrich my friends and leave you holding the bag etc. etc. It's all legitimate exercise of power.

[LFC]

Apr 29, 2021 12:06:49 GMT @probabilistic3 said:

Republican logic: inspite of structurally rigging the system so that I can gain power even as a minority, if you perchance win against all my machinations and gain power, and then govern with your agenda without executing mine, i.e., not give in to my blackmail and tantrums, then you're dividing the country...tearing it apart. However, when I win then it's my absolute right to jam down my policy preferences. I get to appoint 3 Supreme Court justices, misappropriate allocated funds for my pet projects even though I have no authority to do so, fan the forces antithetical to liberal democracy, enrich my friends and leave you holding the bag etc. etc. It's all legitimate exercise of power.

[LFC]

Sen. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL) has a lot of ground to make up to catch Ron Johnson as self-proven dumbest member of the U.S. Senate but he's working on it.

With the NFL Draft finally here, U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville has decided to share a message for this year’s rookie class.

While at Capitol Hill this week, Tuberville told TMZ Sports that NFL rookies should avoid being outspoken about politics. Instead, he wants them to focus strictly on playing.

“Everybody wants to make an opinion and that’s fine,” Tuberville said. “But, I think, especially for young people to get involved in something that maybe they might not understand as much, I think they need to let people that, whatever they do for a living, justify it.”

Tuberville’s message to the 2021 class isn’t sitting well with the sports world. Not only do they believe he’s wrong for telling the NFL rookies to avoid being outspoken, they find it very hypocritical.

“If Senator Tuberville follows his own advice, I expect him to spend time addressing the Senate on what it’s like to give up 51 points in a half to USF,” Mo Egger of ESPN Radio tweeted.

Ouch! Then there's this little tidbit about the illustrious Mr. Tuberville.

Matt Scalici of AL.com also had a strong reaction to Tuberville’s message.

“I’m sure the players appreciate the advice, guy who decided to become a politician despite not knowing the three branches of our government,” Scalici wrote.

[LFC]

Josh Hawley is already Trumpsucking for 2024. I guess you can't wipe your lips too early.

Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) predicted on Tueday that former President Donald Trump will be the Republican nominee if he runs again in 2024.

Hawley, who infamously cheered on a crowd that attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, was asked if he wanted Trump to run again during an interview with The Washington Post.

"I've said this everytime I'm asked and I've said it to him," Hawley replied. "That's a decision for him. I don't ever give him advice and I wouldn't advise him what to do. I will say that I do believe that if he runs that he will be the nominee."

Hawley was also asked if he would run against the former president in 2024.

"No!" Hawley said emphatically. "I'm not planning to run either way. In 2024, I have an election of my own in the state of Missouri and I hope that the state of Missouri will have me for another six years in the Senate."

[goldenvalley]

Michael Gerson, former Bush the Younger's speechwriter, says this 

For the activist base of the Republican Party, affirming that Donald Trump won the 2020 presidential contest has become a qualification for membership in good standing. For the party’s elected leaders, accepting the clear result of a fair election is to be a rogue Republican like the indomitable Rep. Liz Cheney (Wyo.) — a target for Trump’s anger, public censure and primary threats.

Nothing about this is normal. The GOP is increasingly defined not by its shared beliefs, but by its shared delusions. To be a loyal Republican, one must be either a sucker or a liar. And because this defining falsehood is so obviously and laughably false, we can safely assume that most Republican leaders who embrace it fall into the second category. Knowingly repeating a lie — an act of immorality — is now the evidence of Republican fidelity.

[goldenvalley]

This is not the GOP, but is the GOP adjacent Judicial Watch:

For the last several years, conservative group Judicial Watch, along with many a right-wing Republican, devoted countless hours in an attempt take down Joe and Hunter Biden for alleged crimes that took place abroad. Filing at least a dozen lawsuits and “dozens of Freedom of Information Act requests,” the organization, which spent years tormenting Bill and Hillary Clinton by “carpet-bomb[ing] the federal courts,” said as recently as last month that it was “working hard to get more information on the Biden Family scandals.” Unfortunately, thus far, their efforts have yielded little in the way of actual information implicating the president or his son. And so, the group has apparently decided to expand its investigation to other Biden family members. Specifically, Champ and Major Biden. Yes, the president’s dogs. No, this is not a joke.

In a press release issued on Tuesday, Judicial Watch announced that it had filed a lawsuit against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for “records of communication between Secret Service officials assigned to the White House regarding the Biden family dogs.” The suit was filed after the Secret Service, which Judicial Watch apparently thinks has nothing better to do, “failed to process records in a timely manner in response to a March 10, 2021, FOIA request.” That request sought “All records of communications between USSS officials responsible for protection at the White House regarding the Biden family dogs, named Champ and Major,” and was apparently inspired by the news that Major had nipped at two individuals at the White House. In a statement, Judicial Watch president Tom Fitton said, “The public has a right to know the details about any incident in which Secret Service personnel were injured by President Biden’s dog. We have no doubt that Major and Champ are good dogs but politicians and bureaucrats can’t be trusted.” Seriously.

[LFC]

Ohio state Republicans are on the punishment train as well. This is what happens when you don't obey.

Months after former President Trump was acquitted of “incitement of insurrection,” the Ohio Republican Party is reportedly set to vote on a resolution this week to censure GOP lawmakers who voted to impeach Trump, which includes Reps. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and Anthony Gonzalez (R-OH), according to Fox News.

The Ohio GOP’s vote on the censure resolution that slams the 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach Trump comes amid House Republicans threatening to oust Cheney as conference chair. The third-ranking Republican has found herself in hot water with GOP lawmakers for refusing to bend to the will of the former president well after he’s left office. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) has repeatedly refused to go to bat for Cheney amid Republicans’ outrage in the aftermath of her vote to impeach Trump.

According to Fox News, the censure resolution gripes that Trump’s second impeachment trial — which happened after the then-President incited the mob behind the deadly Capitol insurrection by pushing falsehoods of widespread election fraud — was “unfairly expedited” and served “no purpose beyond further dividing this country.”

The resolution urges Republicans to “unify as a party” and uphold the Constitution and “rule of law” before voting to censure House Republicans who voted “to support the unconstitutional, politically motivated impeachment proceeding” against Trump, according to Fox News.

"Rule of law." As if.

[LFC]

One of the QAnon heroes f***ed a D.C. diner on the day of the Republican Insurrection. Grifters gotta' grift.

An unlikely partnership between a QAnon influencer and a Washington, D.C. diner popular with lawmakers has ended in chaos, with the diner’s owner claiming she’s owed $10,000 and the conspiracy theorist wanted for arrest in two states on unrelated charges.

QAnon promoter Richard Potcner’s relationship with Pete’s Diner owner Gum Tong started in late January, when Potcner claimed in a video posted to social media platform Telegram that he had established an “open tab” at the diner. Potcner urged National Guard soldiers guarding the Capitol in the aftermath of the Jan. 6 riot to order meals on his tab at the Capitol Hill diner, once a frequent breakfast spot for former Speaker of the House John Boehner.

As the bills piled up, Potcner asked his 200,000 Telegram followers to send him money so he could pay Tong for the meals. For months after that, Potcner posted videos of himself settling his tab with donated money from his fans. When Potcner’s tab would run out, Tong would continue to serve the meals, only to be paid back later by Potcner.

One day, though, Potcner stopped visiting the restaurant to pay his bill, according to Tong. Tong claims Potcner now owes her $10,000 on an outstanding bill for the meals.

“He got the money from the people,” Tong said, referring to Potcner’s donors. “But we didn’t get the money from him.”

[LFC]

This brought a little smile to my face.

Visiting a COVID vaccination site on Tuesday, Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-OH) was asked about colleagues who are not wearing masks. He did not mince words, calling Sen. Rand Paul (R-KY) “kind of a lunatic,” The Columbus Dispatch reported. Paul, he added, “thinks he wants to be different but it doesn't serve the public interest.” The barb brought a muddled response from Paul, who said in a statement: “Vaccine deniers, who dispute immunity after natural infection and after vaccination, should refrain from name-calling and perhaps try to get informed.”

Brown is not a vaccine denier: He has been vaccinated and has been urging his constituents to get inoculated. It appears Paul was referring to Brown calling him out in February for not wearing a mask on the Senate floor. Paul claims he is immune since he already had COVID-19, although many public health experts say mask-wearing after infection or after getting the shot is still prudent.

[LFC]

GED Barbie is getting the shit trolled out of her due to her own incompetence.

A group looking to defeat GOP Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert is auctioning off the logo to her gun-themed restaurant after discovering she let the business's state and federal trademarks lapse, Colorado Politics reports. The group decided to auction off the trademarks after the conservative congresswoman threatened to take legal action against the parody site TheLaurenBoebert.com.

"There are a lot of people out there more clever than us, and we sure don't want to let this opportunity go to waste," Rural Colorado United tweeted Tuesday along with a link to the online auction to the Shooters Grill logo.

The person who currently owns the trademarked image has pledged to donate the proceeds to Rural Colorado United.

Marjorie Taylor Green's worst nightmare

"It's pretty hilarious when the consequences of your own actions show up — and it's pretty on-brand for Boebert that she can't even be responsible enough to keep up with her restaurant paperwork," former Democratic state lawmaker and spokeswoman for Rural Colorado United, Bri Buentello, told Colorado Politics.

"How can we possibly expect her to do the basic functions of her job, like read a bill, hold a town hall, or fight for our fair share in DC gridlock?" Buentello said.

The rest of it is about her trying to stymie a parody website by claiming it couldn't use public domain photos since they are "copyrighted property of the U.S. Federal Government." This TechDirt link is a lot more detailed on this party of the story.

[goldenvalley]

Deleted and added to Voter Suppression thread.