Republican Assault on Democracy and March Towards Fascism

[AnBr]

May 7, 2021 22:45:59 GMT LFC said:

A recorded meeting between a policy adviser for Moscow Mitch and groups representing right-wing oligarchs shows just how afraid they are of having their identities known when the shovel money into defeating things that the majority of Americans want.

Sounds like a good project for some investigative types. Uncover the identities of all of them and their crimes of bribery. Too bad we no longer have any real journalists with the backing to do so.

[LFC]

May 8, 2021 13:41:08 GMT AnBr said:

May 7, 2021 22:45:59 GMT LFC said:

A recorded meeting between a policy adviser for Moscow Mitch and groups representing right-wing oligarchs shows just how afraid they are of having their identities known when the shovel money into defeating things that the majority of Americans want.

Sounds like a good project for some investigative types. Uncover the identities of all of them and their crimes of bribery. Too bad we no longer have any real journalists with the backing to do so.

You mean Chuck Todd isn't a real journalist?

[indy]

May 3, 2021 16:26:54 GMT LFC said:

The knives are coming out for Liz Cheney again because she has not obeyed and bowed to the greatness of Dear Leader.

Some House Republicans have suggested that Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) could be ousted as conference chair within a month as prominent members of the caucus fume over her unwillingness to bend to the enduring influence of former President Donald Trump.

Rep. Jim Banks (R-IN), Republican Study Committee Chair told Axios on Friday that Cheney’s comments during a GOP retreat in Orlando, Florida, earlier this week presented “an unwelcome distraction,” and he questioned whether she would still hold her spot as No. 3 House Republican in a month.

The criticism comes after the GOP erupted into outrage after Cheney suggested to reporters on Monday that the party’s elected leaders were in charge of the GOP — appearing to challenge those who continue to elevate Trump.

“I think right now, the Republican Party is headed by Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy in the House. I think our elected leaders, you know, are the ones who are in charge of the Republican Party,” Cheney said at the time.

House Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-LA) — who visited Trump at his Palm Beach resort earlier this year also appeared to push back — defending Trump’s key role in the party during an Axios interview on Friday.

“President Trump is still a very active part of our party and a vocal leader in our party,” Scalise said.

“So this idea that you just disregard President Trump is not where we are, and, frankly, he has a lot to offer still and has offered a lot,” he added.

What is to the right of Liz Cheney on the political spectrum? Even Trump is to the left of Cheney. It's no accident the Republican Party didn't create a written platform for the last election because it has none it can put into words. All that is left of the party is incoherent emotional outbursts which can loosely be tied together under the umbrella of white insecurity and which generally expresses itself in various forms of bigotry, racism, and victim-hood.

[goldenvalley]

May 8, 2021 15:56:04 GMT indy said:

May 3, 2021 16:26:54 GMT LFC said:

The knives are coming out for Liz Cheney again because she has not obeyed and bowed to the greatness of Dear Leader.

What is to the right of Liz Cheney on the political spectrum? Even Trump is to the left of Cheney. It's no accident the Republican Party didn't create a written platform for the last election because it has none it can put into words. All that is left of the party is incoherent emotional outbursts which can loosely be tied together under the umbrella of white insecurity and which generally expresses itself in various forms of bigotry, racism, and victim-hood.

On the national level the above is an accurate assessment.  There are lots of states with Republican governors and Republican dominated legislatures.  Are they all as reactive and chaotic as the national level?  It was my perception that some Republican governors and local officials liked and wanted the COVID relief bill and actually said so.  Are there other goodies they desire that might make them a little more assertive with the Congressional delegations in telling them to pass the infrastructure bill?

[indy]

May 8, 2021 16:49:34 GMT goldenvalley said:

May 8, 2021 15:56:04 GMT indy said:

What is to the right of Liz Cheney on the political spectrum? Even Trump is to the left of Cheney. It's no accident the Republican Party didn't create a written platform for the last election because it has none it can put into words. All that is left of the party is incoherent emotional outbursts which can loosely be tied together under the umbrella of white insecurity and which generally expresses itself in various forms of bigotry, racism, and victim-hood.

On the national level the above is an accurate assessment.  There are lots of states with Republican governors and Republican dominated legislatures.  Are they all as reactive and chaotic as the national level?  It was my perception that some Republican governors and local officials liked and wanted the COVID relief bill and actually said so.  Are there other goodies they desire that might make them a little more assertive with the Congressional delegations in telling them to pass the infrastructure bill?

Cheney isn't just being removed from leadership but the state party is also actively looking to replace her as well and is considered the underdog. My perception is that most GOP state parties are following this lead in local politics. Now I don't follow much in Wyoming politics but look at Georgia, Arizona, North Carolina, Florida, Michigan, Indiana, and Ohio, and they all seem to be going down the same road.

As to the last question, reflexively rejecting any Democratic proposal is perhaps the one overwhelming unifier so, no, I don't think there is any way they will support anything put forward in this congress by Democrats, even if they are shooting themselves in the foot to do it.

[LFC]

Trump's DOJ secretly siezed the phone records of several Washinton Post reporters in 2017. It had to be authorized by Jeff Sessions and in 2020 William Barr decided to seek out a court order for it. Fascists, both them, Trump, and everybody in the DOJ involved.

The Justice Department under President Donald Trump secretly obtained the phone records of three Washington Post reporters over reporting they did in the early months of the Trump administration, the Washington Post reported on Friday night.

The Post said that the Justice Department wrote in letters addressed to its reporters Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller, and former reporter Adam Entous, that they were “hereby notified that pursuant to legal process the United States Department of Justice received toll records associated with the following telephone numbers for the period from April 15, 2017 to July 31, 2017.”

The letters do not specify the purpose of the seizure which also included an effort to obtain records from work email accounts which investigators ultimately did not obtain.

The Post notes, however, that in July 2017, the reporters named had written a story that detailed discussions about the Trump campaign between then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Sessions was at the Justice Department serving as Trump’s first attorney-general when the article appeared.

The same three journalists also wrote a story about the Obama administration’s struggles to combat Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the Post said.

A department spokesman told the Post that the decision to seek a court order for the records must be approved by the attorney general came in 2020 during the Trump administration.

For the majority of 2020 that would have been Bill Barr who resigned Dec. 23.

[goldenvalley]

May 8, 2021 23:00:23 GMT LFC said:

Trump's DOJ secretly siezed the phone records of several Washinton Post reporters in 2017. It had to be authorized by Jeff Sessions and in 2020 William Barr decided to seek out a court order for it. Fascists, both them, Trump, and everybody in the DOJ involved.

The Justice Department under President Donald Trump secretly obtained the phone records of three Washington Post reporters over reporting they did in the early months of the Trump administration, the Washington Post reported on Friday night.

The Post said that the Justice Department wrote in letters addressed to its reporters Ellen Nakashima and Greg Miller, and former reporter Adam Entous, that they were “hereby notified that pursuant to legal process the United States Department of Justice received toll records associated with the following telephone numbers for the period from April 15, 2017 to July 31, 2017.”

The letters do not specify the purpose of the seizure which also included an effort to obtain records from work email accounts which investigators ultimately did not obtain.

The Post notes, however, that in July 2017, the reporters named had written a story that detailed discussions about the Trump campaign between then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-AL) and Russian ambassador to the United States, Sergey Kislyak. Sessions was at the Justice Department serving as Trump’s first attorney-general when the article appeared.

The same three journalists also wrote a story about the Obama administration’s struggles to combat Russian meddling in the 2016 election, the Post said.

A department spokesman told the Post that the decision to seek a court order for the records must be approved by the attorney general came in 2020 during the Trump administration.

For the majority of 2020 that would have been Bill Barr who resigned Dec. 23.

Is this tied in with the mysterious Durham investigation that has yielded not much of anything?

[LFC]

May 8, 2021 23:18:41 GMT goldenvalley said:

May 8, 2021 23:00:23 GMT LFC said:

Trump's DOJ secretly siezed the phone records of several Washinton Post reporters in 2017. It had to be authorized by Jeff Sessions and in 2020 William Barr decided to seek out a court order for it. Fascists, both them, Trump, and everybody in the DOJ involved.

Is this tied in with the mysterious Durham investigation that has yielded not much of anything?

I don't think so. IIRC it predates that.

[LFC]

The MAGAt wing of the GOP are gaining ascendancy in the Republican Attorney Generals Association. And Republican fascism goose steps forward.

The Republican Attorneys General Association (RAGA) is the top national organization for securing GOP wins in state attorney general races. But the group came under scrutiny for its role in the events of Jan. 6 after it was revealed that RAGA’s fundraising arm had made robocalls encouraging people to march on the Capitol at 1 p.m. “to stop the steal.”

Now longtime RAGA staff are leaving the organization, while those connected to the robocall—and the broader movement to challenge the 2020 election results—are on the ascent. The latest appointment, RAGA’s new chair, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, is in the latter group.

Schmitt, who is running for U.S. Senate in addition to his role as Missouri AG and was the RAGA vice chairman, was tapped as the group’s new chair two weeks ago, the Kansas City Star reported last week. He’s filling one of multiple high-profile posts that was vacated after Jan. 6.

State attorneys general have never been immune from politics. But in recent years, AGs have become more involved in party politics on a national level, according to Paul Nolette, the chair of Marquette University political science department.

“What’s changed is not so much that there’s politics in AGs’ offices but that it’s become so much more polarized and nationalized,” Nolette, who monitors filings by state-level AGs, told The Daily Beast. “You have AGs who are increasingly unwilling to work with AGs across party lines... These AGs are increasingly engaged in national politics and policy, and are focused on often very highly partisan disputes.”

[AnBr]

May 10, 2021 13:32:07 GMT LFC said:

The MAGAt wing of the GOP are gaining ascendancy in the Republican Attorney Generals Association. And Republican fascism goose steps forward.

“What’s changed is not so much that there’s politics in AGs’ offices but that it’s become so much more polarized and nationalized,” Nolette, who monitors filings by state-level AGs, told The Daily Beast. “You have AGs who are increasingly unwilling to work with AGs across party lines... These AGs are increasingly engaged in national politics and policy, and are focused on often very highly partisan disputes.”

GOP delenda est!

[goldenvalley]

All of which makes me wonder why Attorneys General are elected.  It's just a job that calls for a certain skill set. 

[LFC]

May 10, 2021 14:15:18 GMT goldenvalley said:

All of which makes me wonder why Attorneys General are elected.  It's just a job that calls for a certain skill set. 

As compared to judges in certain courts?

[goldenvalley]

May 10, 2021 16:38:59 GMT LFC said:

May 10, 2021 14:15:18 GMT goldenvalley said:

All of which makes me wonder why Attorneys General are elected.  It's just a job that calls for a certain skill set. 

As compared to judges in certain courts?

Another skill set to seek out.   So much of our government structure and offices is still in the 19th Century when there weren't many skilled people and the thought was to pass around the offices via elections to make it look fair.

[AnBr]

May 10, 2021 16:38:59 GMT LFC said:

May 10, 2021 14:15:18 GMT goldenvalley said:

All of which makes me wonder why Attorneys General are elected.  It's just a job that calls for a certain skill set. 

As compared to judges in certain courts?

*cough*Kavanaugh*cough*

[jackd]

Yeah, no matter how you slice it, it ends up political.

[Deleted]

May 10, 2021 18:25:01 GMT goldenvalley said:

May 10, 2021 16:38:59 GMT LFC said:

As compared to judges in certain courts?

Another skill set to seek out.   So much of our government structure and offices is still in the 19th Century when there weren't many skilled people and the thought was to pass around the offices via elections to make it look fair.

Sounds like you're saying fault lies with the electorate for failing to elect people who would look after their interests. Since, half the electorate are below median intelligence, and the rest are just venal, ipso facto, results trend towards expected outcomes. So, it also sounds like you're faulting democracy as a form of governance. Viable in the 19th century and perhaps in the 20th century, but certainly outlived its time. 

Some people on this board (read AnBr) would be thrilled to know you're his "fellow traveler". 

[goldenvalley]

May 11, 2021 12:13:42 GMT @probabilistic3 said:

May 10, 2021 18:25:01 GMT goldenvalley said:

Another skill set to seek out.   So much of our government structure and offices is still in the 19th Century when there weren't many skilled people and the thought was to pass around the offices via elections to make it look fair.

Sounds like you're saying fault lies with the electorate for failing to elect people who would look after their interests. Since, half the electorate are below median intelligence, and the rest are just venal, ipso facto, results trend towards expected outcomes. So, it also sounds like you're faulting democracy as a form of governance. Viable in the 19th century and perhaps in the 20th century, but certainly outlived its time. 

Some people on this board (read AnBr ) would be thrilled to know you're his "fellow traveler". 

Is it that democracy is the problem or is it that 19th Century style democracy is the problem?  As population grew and as peoples' livelihoods shifted from agrarian to more industrial the 19th century style democracy couldn't function as well as it once did.  People lived in larger groups, the problems became larger and covered more ground geographically and affected more people but democracy remains rooted in a situation in which small groups of people that knew each other, were similar to each other, and trusted each other could make decisions together. It seems that human nature has trouble comprehending large scale issues so they either ignore them because "it doesn't affect me" or attach themselves to some overarching ideology that gives them some feeling that they know something for sure.  

I'd have to spend a lot more time thinking about how democracy can be adapted to the 21st Century. As long as people don't trust other people I'm not sure any form of governance is going to work smoothly.  The roots of distrust are deep and people like to feel extreme forms of emotion before they get motivated to make changes or decision that center on the common good. Maybe humans don't care about the common good.

[jackd]

Given the structure of Congress, the Electoral College, the permission of the Supreme Court for gerrymandering, and the lack of any limitations on money's use in political campaigns, it's difficult to attribute our society's political ills to democracy. We don't live in a democracy.

[LFC]

McCarthy is so in on The Big Lie that he hired an organizer of the Jan 6 Stop the Steal Rally which, of course, became the Jan 6 Republican Insurrection. Got that? The House Minority Leader openly employs a central purveyor of fascist propaganda.

On Tuesday, writing for The Bulwark, conservative commentator Charlie Sykes exposed how House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) hired a major point man behind the far-right rally that fueled the assault on the U.S. Capitol on January 6.

"In March - Kevin McCarthy hired Brian Jack to run his political operation. Jack had been Donald Trump's White House political director," wrote Sykes, a frequent conservative critic of the Trump wing of the GOP. "Brian Jack was directly involved in helping set up the rally that preceded the attack on the Capitol. Rep. Mo Brooks said that Jack called him and encouraged him to speak at the 1/6 rally, while Jack was still working for Trump."

"So Kevin McCarthy hired Jack knowing he was pushing Stop the Steal stuff," wrote Sykes.

[LFC]

It looks like the Republican Party's attempt to overthrow the California governorship is floundering.

The California GOP's campaign to recall Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is swirling down the drain and a new poll shows that Republican hopeful Caitlyn Jenner is drawing "anemic" support so far.

The Los Angeles Times reports that a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll gives Newsom an approval rating of 52 percent, which bodes ill for efforts to oust him from office later this year.

What's more, the poll found that just 36 percent of Californians would vote to recall Newsom, while 49 percent said they were opposed to the recall.

While none of the Republicans running for governor drew overwhelming support in the UC Berkeley poll, reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner fared particularly poorly.

"The survey's results were especially bleak for retired Olympic gold medalist Jenner, as just 6% of Californians who took part in the survey said they would vote to have her replace Newsom — a vast majority of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated or independent voters said they would not be inclined to support her candidacy," the LA Times reports.

Having an ex-jock, reality TV show personality who is gaffing it up nicely and is clearly a bit dim on the actual problems the state faces and what being governor actually entails as your most prominent candidate isn't helpful.

Following a clip from Monday night, where Caitlyn Jenner attempted to make her case to replace California Governor Gavin Newsom, CNN "New Day" host Brianna Keilar summed up the interview by saying the reality TV star is far from qualified to handle running the country's most populous state.

In the clip, which can be seen below, Jenner admitted she didn't vote in the 2020 presidential election for Donald Trump and, in fact, didn't vote at all because none of the propositions on the ballot interested her. Asked how she would deal with the multiple problems that the state faces, she ducked the specifics and said she would surround herself with the best people -- echoing comments Trump made when he ran for president.

After rolling the clip for hosts Keilar and John Berman, CNN's Dana Bash fielded questions about her interview.

[LFC]

Another Republican bows before the might of Dear Leader and his MAGAts. Crazy or spineless, those are the two brands of Republicans that are left in the party.

Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) is facing backlash for changing his mind on whether Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) should remain a Republican Party leader.

The Wisconsin Republican backed Cheney remaining as conference chair, the GOP's third-ranking position in the House, when she was challenged in February for voting to impeach former president Donald Trump.

"We must be a big-tent party," Gallagher said at the time, "or else condemn ourselves to irrelevance."

But now, as Trump pressures the party to punish Cheney for refusing to back his election lies, Gallagher has flip-flopped.

"House Democrats under Speaker [Nancy] Pelosi have been ruthless in advancing their radical progressive agenda, and Rep. Cheney can no longer unify the House Republican conference in opposition to that agenda," Gallagher said in a new statement. "We need to take back the House in 2022 and permanently retire Pelosi."

The reactions were swift and brutal.

[goldenvalley]

May 11, 2021 19:49:21 GMT LFC said:

It looks like the Republican Party's attempt to overthrow the California governorship is floundering.

The California GOP's campaign to recall Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom is swirling down the drain and a new poll shows that Republican hopeful Caitlyn Jenner is drawing "anemic" support so far.

The Los Angeles Times reports that a new UC Berkeley Institute of Governmental Studies poll gives Newsom an approval rating of 52 percent, which bodes ill for efforts to oust him from office later this year.

What's more, the poll found that just 36 percent of Californians would vote to recall Newsom, while 49 percent said they were opposed to the recall.

While none of the Republicans running for governor drew overwhelming support in the UC Berkeley poll, reality TV star Caitlyn Jenner fared particularly poorly.

"The survey's results were especially bleak for retired Olympic gold medalist Jenner, as just 6% of Californians who took part in the survey said they would vote to have her replace Newsom — a vast majority of Democrats, Republicans and unaffiliated or independent voters said they would not be inclined to support her candidacy," the LA Times reports.

Having an ex-jock, reality TV show personality who is gaffing it up nicely and is clearly a bit dim on the actual problems the state faces and what being governor actually entails as your most prominent candidate isn't helpful.

Following a clip from Monday night, where Caitlyn Jenner attempted to make her case to replace California Governor Gavin Newsom, CNN "New Day" host Brianna Keilar summed up the interview by saying the reality TV star is far from qualified to handle running the country's most populous state.

In the clip, which can be seen below, Jenner admitted she didn't vote in the 2020 presidential election for Donald Trump and, in fact, didn't vote at all because none of the propositions on the ballot interested her. Asked how she would deal with the multiple problems that the state faces, she ducked the specifics and said she would surround herself with the best people -- echoing comments Trump made when he ran for president.

After rolling the clip for hosts Keilar and John Berman, CNN's Dana Bash fielded questions about her interview.

I don't think the Reps are banking on Jenner.  There is perennial candidate (in Illinois and now in CA) John Cox who lost badly to the sitting governor in 2018 and a Rep. mayor from San Diego.  They are tied in early polls but are the front runners.  CA is in an interesting place...a big surplus of revenue to the tune of $74+ B was just reported (really unexpected a year ago when a $53 B deficit was predicted), but extreme drought has also been announced leading to cut backs on water delivery to the agriculture industry here.  And if we burn again...somehow the Governor gets blamed for it all.

[LFC]

May 11, 2021 21:07:49 GMT goldenvalley said:

I don't think the Reps are banking on Jenner. 

I'd be shocked if they were. It just seems like she's sucking up all the air in the room and that makes it tough for the other wannabes.

[goldenvalley]

May 11, 2021 23:02:26 GMT LFC said:

May 11, 2021 21:07:49 GMT goldenvalley said:

I don't think the Reps are banking on Jenner. 

I'd be shocked if they were. It just seems like she's sucking up all the air in the room and that makes it tough for the other wannabes.

John Cox's bear was supposed to suck up the air...his misogynistic try of "I'm the bear while pretty boy Gavin pretends to be all leader-ly and powerful".  But he soon found out that everyone laughed at the bear idea and at him.  Plus if you look at the tv spot and the longer video you see Cox warily glancing at the bear instead of looking toughly into the camera lens the whole time.

[pnwguy]

Tom Friedman's passionate call to focus on the GOP before they destroy democracy.

www.nytimes.com/2021/05/11/opinion/liz-cheney-gop.html