Republican Assault on Democracy and March Towards Fascism

[LFC]

AIPAC is backing anti-democracy fascists. How ironic.

The influential pro-Israel lobby group American Israel Public Affairs Committee has drawn condemnation for backing Republicans who sought to overturn Joe Biden’s election victory. The group’s newly launched political action committee threw its backing behind Reps. Jim Jordan (R-OH) and Scott Perry (R-PA) this month, both of whom encouraged then-President Trump to have then-Vice President Mike Pence block Biden’s 2020 win. The support was described as “morally bankrupt and short-sighted” by Richard Haass, the president of the Council on Foreign Relations, who said it would “undermine democracy,” The Guardian reports. Dan Kurtzer, the former U.S. ambassador to Israel, also joined the chorus of criticism, urging AIPAC to rethink its decision. The group has doubled down, however, arguing that this is “no moment for the pro-Israel movement to become selective about its friends.”

[LFC]

Mo Brooks just confessed, in writing, that Trump asked him to overturn the lawful 2020 election.

This is the core portion of a statement just released by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), one of ex-President Trump’s most ardent Big Lie supporters, after Trump pulled his endorsement. It’s an astonishing statement.

President Trump asked me to rescind the 2020 elections, immediately remove Joe Biden from the White House, immediately put President Trump back in the White House, and hold a new special election for the presidency. As a lawyer, I’ve repeatedly advised President Trump that January 6 was the final election contest verdict and neither the U.S. Constitution nor the U.S. Code permit what President Trump asks. Period.

It’s definitional sedition.

[goldenvalley]

Mar 23, 2022 21:50:11 GMT LFC said:

Mo Brooks just confessed, in writing, that Trump asked him to overturn the lawful 2020 election.

This is the core portion of a statement just released by Rep. Mo Brooks (R-AL), one of ex-President Trump’s most ardent Big Lie supporters, after Trump pulled his endorsement. It’s an astonishing statement.


It’s definitional sedition.

So Mo why were you on the dais running your mouth that day?

ETA: Those who support Trump will say Mo is just mad that Trump pulled support from his senatorial bid and is trying to strike back. He might be telling the truth but now no one will believe him.

[LFC]

We now know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that Ginni Thomas supported the overthrow of American democracy. Josh Marshall points out the obvious that the MSM will refuse to touch.

To my slight surprise, the Ginni Thomas story – the texts about her involvement in the January 6th conspiracy – appears to be escalating rapidly. Politico’s Playbook is in such a case is a good barometer. A couple days ago I felt I was pushing the envelope by saying Justice Thomas should recuse himself from any Jan 6th or Trump election (past or future elections) related cases. Over the last 36 hours, though, calls for this are not only coming from standby legal ethics experts but from a number of conservative legal types who have in the past been either indifferent to or protective of Ginni Thomas’s fairly open involvement in GOP partisan politics. (Justice Thomas was already the sole dissent in a case that could quite likely have involved – though in the event it apparently did not – communications from his wife to other participants in the Jan. 6th conspiracy.) Now the Jan.6th committee seems prepped to ask her to testify and, if she doesn’t agree, subpoena her, though here there appears to be a division centering around Liz Cheney.

But all of this, I would say, dances around the real issue that I think all of us understand. Ginni Thomas obviously discussed all of this with her husband. We can pretend not to know this but we do. It was very clear that much of this controversy would or could end up before the Supreme Court. After all, this all turns on the fundamental laws of the state, which only the Supreme Court can arbitrate. Is there anything about these texts, either their substance or their affect, that tells you, “Oh, well, she clearly felt strongly about this but she would know not to broach the subject with her husband or push him on it.” Oh course, not. These texts are from someone who is fully feral, invoking God, a pitched battle between good and evil and more. Of course she talked about it with her husband! She thinks Joe Biden is an illegitimate interloper and for the first time in a quarter millennium patriots must overturn an election and install the loser in office and she’s going to be mindful of not discussing the matter with her husband? That’s clearly absurd.

Given what we know about their politics-saturated marriage (entirely common in DC) and their shared political activism which has been very public for decades, it’s all but a certainty not only that the two discussed it extensively but that the two were on the same page. You think we don’t know that? Gimme a break.

There is some informed speculation now that in one of Ginni Thomas’s more unhinged texts that she is actually referring to discussions with her husband. Who knows where that will go? But we don’t need to scrutinize the texts for that. Questions of conflicts of interest or recusal in this case are technical and fairly precious. You cannot look at these texts and not know to close to a certainty, based on the texts, what is publicly known about their relationship and their history of shared partisan political activism and not know that they not only discussed the matter but that he was on the same page with her. So Thomas himself was also a party to this conspiracy, privy to its actions and goals if perhaps not taking affirmative steps to advance it.

The Thomases have for decades been indifferent to the need for Justices and their spouses to maintain at least some remove from active partisan politics. But attempts to overthrow the state itself are by definition not legitimate political activity. You cannot be a guardian of the constitution if you have also made war on it.

The refusal to touch the Thomases, or Trump for that matter, because of "politics" is disgusting. We have right-wing terrorists in our midst who are ready to destroy democracy. The fear that Republicans "will seek revenge" has proven to be misguided over and over again. What revenge where they seeking when they destroyed both Clintons? They're going there no matter what. That's just the reality of America's political scene today.

[LFC]

The irony of this is that if the reasoning used by these Louisiana justices was applied to Trump, he'd be guilty as f***.

A ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday adds to a string of developments following 2020’s George Floyd protests that threaten demonstrators with harsh penalties for the actions of others.

The court ruled that an advocate who helped organize a Black Lives Matter rally could be sued for events that took place during that rally, even though he was not involved. The case arose after a police officer was injured during a protest in Baton Rouge in 2016 and filed a lawsuit against DeRay Mckesson, a national advocate who had amplified and joined the demonstration. Mckesson rejected liability, saying his actions were protected by the First Amendment, but the court ruled against him in Friday’s 6-1 opinion.

The lone dissenter was the court’s only Black judge, Justice Piper Griffin. “The finding of a duty in this case will have a chilling effect on political protests in general as nothing prevents a bad actor from attending an otherwise peaceful protest and committing acts of violence,” wrote Griffin, who is a Democrat elected in a judicial district that contains parts of New Orleans. “The flow of political speech could hinge on which viewpoints had patrons with deeper pockets.”

Mandie Landry, a Democratic lawmaker who was already vocal against efforts to target protesters in Louisiana, echoed Griffin’s worry that the ruling risks stifling political organizing. “It seems like this is designed to end protesting,” she told Bolts. “It’s designed to chill speech.”

So all you need is one bad actor from the opposing side to commit violence at your rally and you're responsible. And the Republican goose keeps on steppin'.

[goldenvalley]

Mar 29, 2022 17:33:00 GMT LFC said:

The irony of this is that if the reasoning used by these Louisiana justices was applied to Trump, he'd be guilty as f***.

A ruling by the Louisiana Supreme Court on Friday adds to a string of developments following 2020’s George Floyd protests that threaten demonstrators with harsh penalties for the actions of others.

The court ruled that an advocate who helped organize a Black Lives Matter rally could be sued for events that took place during that rally, even though he was not involved. The case arose after a police officer was injured during a protest in Baton Rouge in 2016 and filed a lawsuit against DeRay Mckesson, a national advocate who had amplified and joined the demonstration. Mckesson rejected liability, saying his actions were protected by the First Amendment, but the court ruled against him in Friday’s 6-1 opinion.

The lone dissenter was the court’s only Black judge, Justice Piper Griffin. “The finding of a duty in this case will have a chilling effect on political protests in general as nothing prevents a bad actor from attending an otherwise peaceful protest and committing acts of violence,” wrote Griffin, who is a Democrat elected in a judicial district that contains parts of New Orleans. “The flow of political speech could hinge on which viewpoints had patrons with deeper pockets.”

Mandie Landry, a Democratic lawmaker who was already vocal against efforts to target protesters in Louisiana, echoed Griffin’s worry that the ruling risks stifling political organizing. “It seems like this is designed to end protesting,” she told Bolts. “It’s designed to chill speech.”

So all you need is one bad actor from the opposing side to commit violence at your rally and you're responsible. And the Republican goose keeps on steppin'.

Yeah well if the protest is righteous...like overthrowing a government or a Klan rally...selective prosecution will occur and no one will be charged.

[LFC]

[LFC]

Arizona executed a full out assault on abortion rights, voting rights, and the rights of trans kids and their parents in one swoop. This is what you can expect from now on.

Arizona GOP Guv. Signs Anti-Abortion, Anti-Voting And Anti-Trans Legislation In One Day

Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey (R) neatly packaged his party’s top targets in their war on civil rights on Wednesday, during which he signed the following into law:

• A sweeping abortion ban that prohibits the procedure after 15 weeks of pregnancy, with no exceptions for rape or incest, only medical emergencies.

• More voting restrictions that require all Arizonians to provide proof of citizenship when registering to vote in both state and federal elections.

• Two bans targeting transgender youth. One forbids access to gender-affirming care for people under 18, the other bars female transgender students from participating in women and girls’ school sports teams.

[Bact PhD]

Flori-DUH Legislature making plans to punishing the Mouse (a huge employer in the state) for speaking out against the recently signed bill known as “Don’t Say ‘Gay’ “.

www.tallahassee.com/story/news/politics/2022/03/30/florida-gop-going-after-disney-dont-say-gay-criticism/7215673001/

Some GOP lawmakers are steeling for a fight against the Mouse that eventually roared over the "Don’t Say Gay" bill.

Specifically, Republican House members have taken issue with the Walt Disney Company’s criticism and calls for repeal of what's officially called the "Parental Rights in Education" (HB 1557), passed this year and signed into law this week by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

The bill's House sponsor says he's returning all of Disney's campaign contributions. Another says he's aiming to dismantle Disney's quasi-governmental district that surrounds Central Florida's Walt Disney World.

[snip]

Disney tweeted on Monday that the measure "should never have passed and should never have been signed into law" — despite the fact that the company never publicly opposed the legislation this session.

The next day, DeSantis told reporters Disney had crossed a line: “This state is governed by the interests of the people of the state of Florida. It is not based on the demands of California corporate executives. They do not run this state. They do not control this state."

In a subsequent radio interview, he added: "We will not be bending knees to any woke corporation."

Wait, aren’t corporations people, too??

Smells like… Free Speech for me, but not for thee.

[pnwguy]

Mar 31, 2022 19:14:27 GMT Bact PhD said:

Smells like… Free Speech for me the GOP, but not for thee Satanist Democrats.

FIFY

[LFC]

Ginny Thomas was in a cult? I'm shocked. No, seriously. This is my shocked face.

[LFC]

More on crazy Ginni. She's been nuckin' futs for a long time.

Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, privately met with then-President Donald Trump multiple times while he was in office to personally offer whack advice on whom the loyalty-obsessed Trump should keep in his White House, the Daily Beast reports.

The New York Times and Axios have previously reported that Thomas would pass hiring recommendations, compiled by her conservative organization Groundswell, along to Trump.

The Daily Beast’s new report includes more details on the kind of people Thomas would urge Trump to hire. It also digs into the ways in which her White House visits would often whip Trump into a rage as they discussed who she thought was being disloyal to him or who she believed to be part of the “Deep State.”

The meetings often resulted in Trump demanding that the alleged disloyalist be fired “immediately,” sources told the Daily Beast.

Thomas reportedly gave Trump memos on who he ought to bring aboard, which often consisted of conspiracy theorists and far-right extremists – and then Trump would actually order for them to be officially vetted.

Speaking to the Daily Beast, one of the ex-Trump officials who dealt with the memos was blunt about Thomas’ recommendations.

“These fucking lists were so insane and unworkable,” the former official said. “A lot of them were dripping with paranoia and read like they were written by a disturbed person.”

[goldenvalley]

Apr 1, 2022 16:52:12 GMT LFC said:

More on crazy Ginni. She's been nuckin' futs for a long time.

Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, privately met with then-President Donald Trump multiple times while he was in office to personally offer whack advice on whom the loyalty-obsessed Trump should keep in his White House, the Daily Beast reports.

The New York Times and Axios have previously reported that Thomas would pass hiring recommendations, compiled by her conservative organization Groundswell, along to Trump.

The Daily Beast’s new report includes more details on the kind of people Thomas would urge Trump to hire. It also digs into the ways in which her White House visits would often whip Trump into a rage as they discussed who she thought was being disloyal to him or who she believed to be part of the “Deep State.”

The meetings often resulted in Trump demanding that the alleged disloyalist be fired “immediately,” sources told the Daily Beast.

Thomas reportedly gave Trump memos on who he ought to bring aboard, which often consisted of conspiracy theorists and far-right extremists – and then Trump would actually order for them to be officially vetted.

Speaking to the Daily Beast, one of the ex-Trump officials who dealt with the memos was blunt about Thomas’ recommendations.

“These fucking lists were so insane and unworkable,” the former official said. “A lot of them were dripping with paranoia and read like they were written by a disturbed person.”

Ginni is a "true believer*" searching for an identity to fit herself into...from Lifespring to Groundswell (a shift from water to earth?) to Trumpism...she has a belief system.

*The only required reading from poly sci classes that stuck with me was the True Believer by Eric Hoffer. He talks about mass movements and the people who inhabit them.  They need a comprehensive world view.  Ambiguity is painful to them.

[LFC]

Mar 29, 2022 17:33:00 GMT LFC said:

The irony of this is that if the reasoning used by these Louisiana justices was applied to Trump, he'd be guilty as f***.

Vox has more information on a badly ruled case and the failure of the judiciary to put things right. The outcome is that anybody organizing a peaceful, constitutionally protest assumes all liability for anybody in the protest. It's utterly insane and absolutely fascist but it still hasn't been corrected.

Last week, a deeply chilling case concerning Americans’ First Amendment right to organize protests gained new life. A three-year-old, clearly erroneous decision threatens to bankrupt protest organizers across the political spectrum. But multiple courts keep passing the case among themselves like a hot potato, rather than correcting an obvious error.

At the center of this years-long saga is a conservative federal appeals court’s 2019 decision in Doe v. Mckesson. If it is allowed to stand — or worse, if it is embraced by the Supreme Court — it could potentially chill all public protest in the United States by subjecting the organizers of protests to crippling liability.

That 2019 decision, moreover, is merely the most alarming chapter in a case involving a tragically injured police officer, a prominent civil rights activist, a Trump judge who publicly recanted his own effort to restrict First Amendment rights, and at least four different courts — including the Supreme Court of the United States.

The most recent development is a March decision by the Louisiana Supreme Court that effectively breathes life back into the Mckesson litigation after a US Supreme Court decision gave the state supreme court an opportunity to shut it down. The likely result of that Louisiana decision is months or even years more of litigation — all of which could end in a crippling blow to all political protest in the United States.

The facts of Mckesson are straightforward. DeRay Mckesson is a prominent civil rights activist and a leader in the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2016, he helped lead a protest near the Baton Rouge Police Department building in response to the fatal police shooting of Alton Sterling.

During that protest, an unknown assailant — who is not DeRay Mckesson — threw a piece of concrete or similar object at a police officer, who is identified in legal documents by the pseudonym “Officer John Doe.” Tragically, Doe appears to have been very seriously injured by this assault. According to the Louisiana Supreme Court, the officer was struck in the face, and experienced “injuries to his teeth, jaw, brain, and head, along with other compensable losses.”

But given that the assailant is still unknown, there is no one to pay those “compensable” damages.

Which brings us to the Fifth Circuit’s decision in this case. The conservative court held that Mckesson may be sued as the organizer of the protest. This decision isn’t just wrong, it is obviously wrong and there is a Supreme Court case that explicitly protects protest leaders from these sorts of lawsuits.

The Court held in NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware (1982) that, barring unusual circumstances that are not in play here, “civil liability may not be imposed merely because an individual belonged to a group, some members of which committed acts of violence.” When a group of people gather together in protest, each individual member of the group is responsible for their own actions. But the First Amendment neither permits the group as a whole, or the group’s leaders, to be held liable for one individual’s illegal behavior, unless the group or leader directly incited the illegal acts.

The reason why should be obvious. If protest leaders can be hauled into court — and potentially forced to pay out of their own pockets — for the actions of a single protest attendee, then no sensible person will organize a protest. The personal financial risk is simply too great. And thus the First Amendment right to protest with wither away.

The "reasoning" sounds insane on the face of it.

Claiborne did lay out three circumstances when leaders of a protest may be held responsible for the actions of individual protesters. One is if a protest leader’s “public speeches were likely to incite lawless action,” but Doe’s lawyers do not point to any statements by Mckesson that incited anyone to throw rocks at cops. Similarly, Mckesson could be liable if he gave someone “specific instructions to carry out violent acts or threats,” but Doe does not point to any such instructions from Mckesson.

Mckesson could also be held liable for the rock-thrower’s actions if he “authorized, directed, or ratified” this illegal act. But the Fifth Circuit admitted in its opinion that Doe “has not pled facts that would allow a jury to conclude that Mckesson colluded with the unknown assailant to attack Doe, knew of the attack and ratified it, or agreed with other named persons that attacking the police was one of the goals of the demonstration.”

In short, had the Fifth Circuit followed the Supreme Court’s binding precedent in Claiborne, it would have dismissed the case against Mckesson.

Instead, the court invented a new exception to the First Amendment. To sue Mckesson, Judge E. Grady Jolly wrote, Doe was merely required to “plausibly allege that his injuries were one of the ‘consequences’ of ‘tortious activity,’ which itself was ‘authorized, directed, or ratified’ by Mckesson in violation of his duty of care.” That is, if Mckesson led protesters to commit any illegal act, he risks being stripped of his First Amendment rights and held liable for subsequent illegal activity that results.

In this case, Doe claims that Mckesson “directed the demonstrators to engage in the criminal act of occupying the public highway.” And that was enough, according to the Fifth Circuit, to strip Mckesson of his constitutional rights.

They blocked a highway so the organizer is guilty of somebody assaulting a police officer? W...T...F?

[pnwguy]

McKesson is lucky he didn't get the judges preferred outcome -- a bullet to the head. He's obviously guilty of being black.  Maybe of being Uppity.

In MAGAstan, the GOP will be looking for government efficiency. Why not just shoot the N*gger and take his property? That worked for decades in the South before.

[LFC]

Here come the Georgia Voter Intimidation Police, coming to Democrats' doors as they seek out non-existent voter fraud. It's clear that the Southern states are going to implement every scrap of Jim Crow they can claw back.

Georgia lawmakers slipped a provision seemingly inspired by Donald Trump's election fraud conspiracy theories into a bill passed on the final day of their legislative session.

The state followed Florida's lead and passed a bill that would authorize the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to launch a probe of an election without being called in by another law enforcement agency, and it could subpoena election records with the approval of the state attorney general, reported CNN.

"What we're looking for is GBI to investigate conspiracy to commit election fraud, if it is necessary and giving them the investigatory discretion to do so," said state Rep. James Burchett. "I think these are germane in subject matter and that's why this bill was picked."

Burchett slipped the last-minute provision into a bill covering criminal data processing that had bipartisan support, and Democrats complained about the move.

[LFC]

Another call to Merrick Garland to take action for the sake of American democracy.

If or when Merrick Garland bestirs himself to action, he’d do well to ponder the new federal court ruling that drops the hammer on coup conspirator John Eastman.

Last week, the case for indicting Donald Trump was succinctly framed and arguably wrapped in a bow. And this was without even knowing what Trump may have said to fellow conspirators during seven key hours on Insurrection Day, the 7 hours and 37 minutes that are mysteriously missing from the White House phone logs.

Seriously, folks. What is it gonna take?

First, some quick housekeeping: Eastman, you may recall, is the Better-Call-Saul lawyer who’s been outed for concocting a “legal” memo that was designed to help Trump overturn his election loss. Sort of a fascist instructional sheet for dummies.

The court ruling, authored by U.S. District Judge David Carter (a former decorated Marine), commanded Eastman to cough up 101 emails – mostly exchanges with Trump – and to share them with the House’s Jan. 6 Committee. That was the narrow issue at hand. But, fortunately, Carter took it upon himself to connect the dots that situate Trump at the center of the blessedly failed coup. Carter’s warning was an implicit plea for Merrick Garland to wake up:

“If Dr. Eastman and President Trump’s plan had worked, it would have permanently ended the peaceful transition of power, undermining American democracy and the Constitution. If the country does not commit to investigating and pursuing accountability for those responsible, the Court fears January 6 will repeat itself.”

It would seem that our accountability sleuths at the Justice Department still need to be enlightened about the evidence that shines with the strength of 100 suns. Whatcha got for us, Judge Carter?

“Dr. Eastman and President Trump launched a campaign to overturn a democratic election, an action unprecedented in American history…Their campaign was not confined to the ivory tower – it was a coup in search of a legal theory. The plan spurred violent attacks on the seat of our nation’s government, led to the deaths of several law enforcement officers, and deepened public distrust in our political process.”

As Judge Carter reminds us, Eastman insisted in his Jan. 3, 2021 memo that Mike Pence, during his ceremonial task of counting the Electoral College votes, could simply throw out seven Biden states, thus reducing the tally to 232-222; and that Pence could then announce that since no candidate had reached the magic 270, the election would decided by the House, where each state would get one vote – and since the GOP at that time controlled 26 of the 50 state delegations, presto! Trump would win the election.

Originalist? The Founders couldn’t even agree on what the Constitution meant | Hugh Jackson
The problem, of course, was that Pence had no power to toss Electoral College votes, because there’s no such provision in the Constitution. But that mattered not a whit to Trump, who spent days trying to muscle Pence into executing the plan that Eastman had touted as “BOLD.”

The judge zeroed in on one particular provision of the federal criminal code – 18 U.S.C. § 1512(c)(2) – which, as he explained, “criminalizes obstruction or attempted obstruction of an official proceeding. It requires three elements: (1) the person obstructed, influenced or impeded, or attempted to obstruct, influence or impede (2) an official proceeding of the United States, and (3) did so corruptly.” He thus concluded:

“Because President Trump likely knew that the plan to disrupt the electoral count was wrongful, his mindset exceeds the threshold for acting ‘corruptly.’…After filing and losing more than 60 suits (in court), this plan was a last-ditch attempt to secure the Presidency by any means.”

The potential hitch in all this evidence is that to prove Trump’s criminality to a jury beyond a reasonable doubt, prosecutors need to successfully argue that Trump knew in his mind that his coup conspiracy was wrong. Hence the potential problem: This mope doesn’t have a moral compass. He tends to believe that whatever he wants or says at any given moment is right and true.

[LFC]

And this is how fascism takes hold. Republicans truly are foes of American democracy and the Democrats need to call them anti-American at every fascist turn they make.

The anti-democratic nature and civics stupidity of the GOP has been gaining momentum.

The evidence has been in plain sight for some time. From Mitch McConnell blocking Barack Obama's Supreme Court nominee in 2016 to GOP efforts to suppress votes to a party base that hates Democrats more than they love their country, the anti-democratic nature and civics stupidity of the GOP has been gaining momentum.

Thus far, Democrats have not capitalized on that fact and have instead tended to focus on the GOP's racism, misogyny, xenophobia and extremism. Think of it this way: As debates have raged over the question of critical race theory (CRT) in K-12 education, Democrats have alternately pointed out that the GOP doesn't understand CRT, that it isn't taught in K-12 schools and that those critical of CRT are racist.

All true. But it's the wrong approach.

What Democrats should be doing is saying that it is a national embarrassment that our citizens have such low civics knowledge, with the latest poll from Annenberg Public Policy showing that only 56 percent of U.S. adults can correctly name all three branches of government—made more astonishing by the fact that that number is the highest the poll has recorded since 2006. Even worse, 61 percent of Americans incorrectly said that Facebook "is required to permit all Americans to express themselves freely on Facebook under the First Amendment." We have a country that can't tell the difference between freedom from government censorship and the operating policies of a private business.

"It is a sad commentary on the public's civic literacy that half of the public considers an effort to disrupt the certification of an election an exercise of a First Amendment right."

This lack of knowledge becomes even more acute when Americans are asked about the Capitol riot. Half of those polled confused rioting with a constitutionally protected right to petition the government. According to Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center, "It is a sad commentary on the public's civic literacy that half of the public considers an effort to disrupt the certification of an election an exercise of a First Amendment right."

For years it's been clear that we are terrible at teaching our kids how our democracy works and that we have been reluctant to invest in a robust and effective civics education program, despite efforts to pass legislation to support it. Those kids grow up and vote. Yet, as we can see, they still don't understand even the most basic civics concepts.

The problem isn't just that average citizens don't understand our democracy; it is that our elected officials and their advisors don't either. Or, perhaps worse, they do understand it, but refuse to uphold it.

In this way Cruz, aided and abetted by the release of Eastman's emails, handed Democrats the key strategy they need to win the 2022 midterms: Hammer home, again and again, that Republicans don't understand democracy, won't defend democracy and are woefully in need of a basic civics lesson.

[LFC]

Beau reports on Republicans rejecting democracy.

The House just voted on a resolution supporting NATO and democracy. 63 House Republicans, or 30%, are now on record as being against democracy in the world.

More than 60 Republicans on Tuesday voted against a resolution expressing support for NATO and calling on President Joe Biden to strengthen the organization's committement to defending democracy.

The resolution, introduced by Rep. Gerald Connolly, a Democrat from Virginia, was backed by a majority of the GOP caucus and every Democrat who voted.

Citing the threat posed by "authoritarian regimes" as well as "internal threats from proponents of illiberalism," the resolution calls on the Biden administration to uphold NATO's "founding democratic principles." It also advocates the creation of a "Center for Democratic Resilience" within NATO's headquarters in Brussels, with the center providing member states assistance to strengthen their own democratic institutions.

The vote comes not only amid a war in Ukraine that has sent millions of refugees into neighboring NATO states, but just after the reelection of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban, who has faced international criticism for his relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin and assaults on civil society. Orban, who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, has won praise from some right-wing pundits in the US for his hostility to immigration and LGBTQ rights.

Republicans who voted against Tuesday's resolution included most of Trump's most loyal defenders in Congress, among them: Reps. Lauren Boebert of Colorado; Madison Cawthorn of North Carolina; Matt Gaetz of Florida; Paul Gosar of Arizona; Marjorie Taylor-Greene of Georgia; and Jim Jordan of Ohio.

[LFC]

Texts by Don Jr. show that they were moving to overthrow the election within two days after Election Day.

Donald Trump Jr. texted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows two days after Election Day, laying out plans to steal the 2020 election, CNN reported Friday.

The texts were among the records the Jan. 6 committee has obtained over the courts of its months-long investigation, CNN reported.

In the messages, Trump Jr. reportedly said “we have operational control” and “we have multiple paths We control them all.”

Trump Jr.’s texts — which a lawyer for the former President’s son told CNN “likely originated from someone else” — laid out in specific detail several avenues for overturning the will of the people in the election, including having several GOP-controlled legislatures approving slates of “Trump electors.”

“Republicans control Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina etc we get Trump electors,” Trump Jr. reportedly wrote.

Trump Jr. also raised the possibility of Congress simply voting to give his father a second term on Jan. 6 in the event neither candidate had a majority of electors, CNN reported, paraphrasing the message.

“Republicans control 28 states Democrats 22 states,” Trump Jr. reportedly told Meadows. “Once again Trump wins.”

“We either have a vote WE control and WE win OR it gets kicked to Congress 6 January 2021.”

In other texts reported by CNN, Trump Jr. advocated for firing FBI Director Christopher Wray and White House COVID-19 Advisor Anthony Fauci, making Trump ally Ric Grenell head of the FBI, and naming then-Attorney General Bill Barr “select Special prosecutor on HardDrivefromHell Biden crime family.”

[goldenvalley]

Apr 8, 2022 21:29:08 GMT LFC said:

Texts by Don Jr. show that they were moving to overthrow the election within two days after Election Day.

Donald Trump Jr. texted then-White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows two days after Election Day, laying out plans to steal the 2020 election, CNN reported Friday.

The texts were among the records the Jan. 6 committee has obtained over the courts of its months-long investigation, CNN reported.

In the messages, Trump Jr. reportedly said “we have operational control” and “we have multiple paths We control them all.”

Trump Jr.’s texts — which a lawyer for the former President’s son told CNN “likely originated from someone else” — laid out in specific detail several avenues for overturning the will of the people in the election, including having several GOP-controlled legislatures approving slates of “Trump electors.”

“Republicans control Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina etc we get Trump electors,” Trump Jr. reportedly wrote.

Trump Jr. also raised the possibility of Congress simply voting to give his father a second term on Jan. 6 in the event neither candidate had a majority of electors, CNN reported, paraphrasing the message.

“Republicans control 28 states Democrats 22 states,” Trump Jr. reportedly told Meadows. “Once again Trump wins.”

“We either have a vote WE control and WE win OR it gets kicked to Congress 6 January 2021.”

In other texts reported by CNN, Trump Jr. advocated for firing FBI Director Christopher Wray and White House COVID-19 Advisor Anthony Fauci, making Trump ally Ric Grenell head of the FBI, and naming then-Attorney General Bill Barr “select Special prosecutor on HardDrivefromHell Biden crime family.”

Oh Don Jr.  Still dumb. His email got dad into hot water in the Russia investigation before the 2016 election and now we see he's busy with the Big Lie in 2020.  

[LFC]

And now the current Republican obsession with pedophilia is being weaponized against America's teachers. And once again the language of righteous violence is being spewed by the likes of Tucker Carlson.

From Tucker Carlson to Laura Ingraham to Mark Levin, Fox News propagandists have declared war on public school teachers. The dangerous attacks follow the right's misleading claims – fueled by Florida's "Don't Say Gay" legislation – about children inappropriately being taught about sex, homosexuality, bisexuality, sexual orientation, and gender identity starting as early as kindergarten.

Last month, just days after Florida Republican Governor Ron DeSantis' spokesperson Christina Pushaw charged that anyone who opposed the "Don't Say Gay" bill was "probably" a "groomer" – essentially, a pedophile, pedophile enabler, or pedophile supporter, Fox News propagandist Laura Ingraham jumped into action.

"When did our public schools, any schools, become what are essentially grooming centers for gender identity radicals?" Ingraham asked, as Media Matters reported. The chyron was less ambiguous: “Liberals are sexually grooming elementary students.”

In fact, on Monday Media Matters' Matthew Gertz wrote, "With Florida’s 'Don’t Say Gay' law, Republicans have weaponized their Fox News base against teachers."

Sunday night Fox News' far-right "fringe" host Mark Levin hosted award-winning playwright David Mamet, who has no degree in childhood development, education, or sexual studies, to discuss public schools. He declared that teachers, especially male teachers, are "sexual predators."

"Teachers are inclined, particularly men because men are predators, to pedophilia," Mamet charged, pointing to no study that proves his claim.

That claim came just days after Fox News' top propagandist, Tucker Carlson, called for men to engage in verbal or physical abuse of school teachers, as Media Matters reported.

"I don't understand where the men are. Like where are the dads? You know, some teachers pushing sex values on your third grader why don't you go in and thrash the teacher? Like this is an agent of the government pushing someone else's values on your kid about sex, like where's the pushback?

But Insider reports that Carlson was "repeating calls for violence he has made previously." And The Daily Beast apparently agreed: "The Fox News host yet again suggested that violence against educators is called for."

Rather than apologize for its hosts and guests, Fox News is doubling down. Monday morning the conservative outlet published an article claiming: "CNN, Washington Post, Vice and more fret that Republicans are worried about child grooming, pedophilia."

The NRA may get their wish. As their supporters get more virulent, reality challenged, and violent a number of people who weren't worried before may be buying firearms and getting concealed carry permits. I'm not any more worried about general crime in this country but I'm scared as f*** of these bug-eyed, spittle filled fascists especially when my wife and I venture into more rural areas. These maniacs are becoming more dangerous by the day.

[pnwguy]

Apr 11, 2022 18:52:02 GMT LFC said:

And now the current Republican obsession with pedophilia is being weaponized against America's teachers. And once again the language of righteous violence is being spewed by the likes of Tucker Carlson.

The NRA may get their wish. As their supporters get more virulent, reality challenged, and violent a number of people who weren't worried before may be buying firearms and getting concealed carry permits. I'm not any more worried about general crime in this country but I'm scared as f*** of these bug-eyed, spittle filled fascists especially when my wife and I venture into more rural areas. These maniacs are becoming more dangerous by the day.

"You never know who the groomer is until it's too late.  So best to just shoot ALL them liberals"

[LFC]

Here are one, two, three articles that clearly show that Republicans have moved more strongly into the demonization phase of fascism. They seem to have decided their "Jews who control everything" will be pedophiles (gay and straight) who aren't. And KBJ's confirmation gave the the excuse to accelerated their evil lies.

[goldenvalley]

Apr 12, 2022 0:14:35 GMT LFC said:

Here are one, two, three articles that clearly show that Republicans have moved more strongly into the demonization phase of fascism. They seem to have decided their "Jews who control everything" will be pedophiles (gay and straight) who aren't. And KBJ's confirmation gave the the excuse to accelerated their evil lies.

Does this pedophile thing have more resonance than CRT did with their target audience?  I'm wondering why we aren't hearing much howling about CRT...maybe that was so February and the outrage machine must be refueled frequently with new fodder.