Trump was fined $5000 for violating NY case gag order. This is what your donation dollars buys you MAGA men and women. Lol.
NEW YORK — A state judge fined Donald Trump $5,000 Friday after finding that the former president’s campaign website continued to display a social media post attacking the judge’s law clerk in violation of a gag order imposed by the judge earlier this month.
Justice Arthur Engoron also indicated that he would consider jailing Trump for future violations of the gag order.
And this is who the Republican Party and their voters decided to pledge their loyalty to.
Leadership starts at the top. And all anyone has to do is pay attention to how Trump behaves, and you now have a complete understanding of why the GOP is so dysfunctional right now, especially in the house.
Republican voters elected a bunch of people who told them they hate the government, and then act surprised as to why these clowns can’t govern when they have the majority.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Regarding Gym Jordan and the House Speaker saga....
Could "trying" to vote in Jordan be just an elaborate stall tactic? I only say that because it was that slice of Republicans that were using threats of govt shutdown to try to strong-arm some of their agenda through, and it was their slice that kicked this whole Speaker saga off (Gaetz... who hasn't really made a peep since this chaos kicked off). Now we have another shutdown looming and the name that keeps getting voted on to get the House going again was part of the group that wanted to shut it all down.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
Good question. I honestly think it might be giving too much credit at this point to put forth the notion that they had any plan, besides chaos, which I guess could be what you’re alluding to anyhow.
Gaetz has moved on to complaining about how the GOP has turned down Jordan. He seems like he just wants to break things for the sake of breaking things. I really don’t know what his end goal is, but I can guarantee it’s not altruistic.
I just try to find any silver lining I can. Like, hey maybe I’ll get mandatory vacation the week of Thanksgiving? You have to laugh so that you don’t cry.
Last edited by dawglover05; 10/21/2308:35 PM.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Ha! what a plan that would be. Lol. But no way. There are republicans in the house getting death threats for voting against Jordan. Their plan was to ram rod Jordon on the American citizens plain as day. Despicable behavior from the dumb ass Gopers once again.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
The dysfunction as you call it is no different than the squad in the Dem party.
That is why I always say stick to a two party system. If you start with 3rd party, which we are seeing, nothing gets done. It took Pilosi a lot of arm twisting to stay speaker.
It's not a problem if you have a large majority, but if you have roughly a 50/50 split. It can cause chaos. I can also point to democrats and say they are a part of the problem and not voting yes to the nominee just to get the business of the country moving.
If everybody had like minds, we would never learn.
No difference lol? Yeah ok whatever. And you pointing at dems for not voting for a POS as speaker is ridiculous. The Gopers can’t even put up one decent truthful person as a nominee. Pffft. Get it together GOP.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
That notion seems like an awful lot of deflection.
I can’t stand the Squad, especially Omar and Tlaib, who I probably despise more than Matt Gaetz, but Pelosi made it to the seat in one vote. Oh, and I don’t like her either, at all, really. I think she’s part of the establishment that enabled 2016. As far as I can tell right now, they’re all lined up behind Jeffries, who is way better than Pelosi.
I really don’t think we can point the Democrats as the problem - at least on this issue - right now when they’re not in the majority and they also weren’t the ones who filed the motion to vacate.
We’ve talked about our disagreement on the two party system before and I’ll just boil my stance down to two points. The first is the analogy that a lot of us might be fans of beef and chicken but were given the choice to choose between fish and vegetarian so to speak. The second is that what we are seeing in DC right now is the tip of the ice berg. The behavior is the result of money in politics and special interests overtaking representation of constituents. When money is separated from politics more effectively, multiparty systems work much more efficiently, and there is a wide swath of that being displayed in other countries.
As far as Republicans go, I want little else than for them to be fixed, but the first part of fixing the problem, is admitting that there is one. A big one in this case. Republicans have moved way in the wrong direction. That’s why you see people like oober, DC, Jfan, me, et al gravitating away. Democrats won’t fix the Republican Party. Throwing shade at the Democrats won’t fix the Republican Party. Conservatives need to fix the Republican Party. A good first step would be to kick out the obvious idiots, which are abound, and to stop promoting Idiot #1.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
How many republicans voted for Pelosi to be speaker? So you think democrats should bail out the republican dysfunction and if not they are the problem? Typical.
And yes, the squad makes a lot of noise. But show me an example where they've tried to pull something like this?
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
How many republicans voted for Pelosi to be speaker? So you think democrats should bail out the republican dysfunction and if not they are the problem? Typical.
And yes, the squad makes a lot of noise. But show me an example where they've tried to pull something like this?
Exactly. Republican voters would riot if republicans voted for Pelosi in a situation like this.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
How many republicans voted for Pelosi to be speaker? So you think democrats should bail out the republican dysfunction and if not they are the problem? Typical.
And yes, the squad makes a lot of noise. But show me an example where they've tried to pull something like this?
Exactly. Republican voters would riot if republicans voted for Pelosi in a situation like this.
In many ways, Republicans have adopted an 'anti-Dem' platform to fill the vacuum of not having a coherent platform. A significant slice of the Republican party has built an identity of simply working against the other major party. Bipartisan anything is simply not feasible.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
Yes, this x1000. That was by and large Jordan's whole platform, hence him never passing anything. When he was running for speaker, I wondered what his objectives would be, considering the paradox setup of him representing a now-majority whose primary goal was keeping the minority from doing anything.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Yes, this x1000. That was by and large Jordan's whole platform, hence him never passing anything. When he was running for speaker, I wondered what his objectives would be, considering the paradox setup of him representing a now-majority whose primary goal was keeping the minority from doing anything.
This is something you (and others) have pointed out many times in the recent past. I'm just thinking about it through the lens of my previous post (using the vacant speakership as leverage).
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
So what's the skinny on Emmers? I don't know a ton about his track record, but raising 7 kids should have uniquely prepared him for dealing with Congress.
You mess with the "Bull," you get the horns. Fiercely Independent.
I think his biggest negative to the republican party (though this is the reason I like him) is that trump doesn't like him because he didn't vote to decertify the 2020 election
Am I perfect? No Am I trying to be a better person? Also no
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
So what's the skinny on Emmers? I don't know a ton about his track record, but raising 7 kids should have uniquely prepared him for dealing with Congress.
From my perspective, he is cult member light, slightly better than Jordan, further right than McCarthy.
I think his biggest negative to the republican party (though this is the reason I like him) is that trump doesn't like him because he didn't vote to decertify the 2020 election
No, he didn’t support J 6th on the day of or in the days after, but he did later get involved in decertification efforts. That wasn’t enough for Trump. This is why Trump doesn’t like him. AND this is what scares me about him, will he try to be a good Trump trooper, or will he be his own man? I don’t think anyone knows that answer. I’d rather see the temporary speaker get the gig, and I know little about him.
So what's the skinny on Emmers? I don't know a ton about his track record, but raising 7 kids should have uniquely prepared him for dealing with Congress.
From my perspective, he is cult member light, slightly better than Jordan, further right than McCarthy.
Dunno bro. According to the brietbart community, Emmers is a Soros-backed never trumper with a liberty score of D.
And I’m not sure what a liberty score is, but I see it all the time in the comment section.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Republicans have made no secret of their divisions. They openly refer to their various factions as The Five Families — a reference to warring Mafia crime families. They consist of the right-wing House Freedom Caucus, the conservative Republican Study Committee, the business-minded Main Street Caucus, the mainstream Republican Governance Group and the bipartisan Problem Solvers Caucus.
______
West side, throw your hood up!!!
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
So what's the skinny on Emmers? I don't know a ton about his track record, but raising 7 kids should have uniquely prepared him for dealing with Congress.
From my perspective, he is cult member light, slightly better than Jordan, further right than McCarthy.
Dunno bro. According to the brietbart community, Emmers is a Soros-backed never trumper with a liberty score of D.
And I’m not sure what a liberty score is, but I see it all the time in the comment section.
MSNBC covering him like that too today, but over the weekend they reported what I said… ??? I dunno at this point. He must be acceptable to dems or left leaning MSM would be going scorched earth on him, instead of making him sound like a viable option.
Personally, them getting a speaker FINALLY, won’t fix didley squat. They still have to get bills passed and don’t want to work with dems. the absolute dysfunction will continue. Working with dems is truly their only way forward at this point, and none of them want that “shame”, for fear of being primaried.
Pretty much. He’s a moderate Republican, or in MAGA terminology, a deep state never trumper RINO in cahoots with the satanist cabal democraps.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Ex-Chief of Staff Mark Meadows granted immunity, tells special counsel he warned Trump about 2020 claims: Sources
Meadows said Trump was "dishonest" on election night, according to sources. ByKatherine Faulders, Mike Levine, and Alexander Mallin October 24, 2023, 4:46 PM link
Former President Donald Trump's final chief of staff in the White House, Mark Meadows, has spoken with special counsel Jack Smith's team at least three times this year, including once before a federal grand jury, which came only after Smith granted Meadows immunity to testify under oath, according to sources familiar with the matter.
The sources said Meadows informed Smith's team that he repeatedly told Trump in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election that the allegations of significant voting fraud coming to them were baseless, a striking break from Trump's prolific rhetoric regarding the election.
According to the sources, Meadows also told the federal investigators Trump was being "dishonest" with the public when he first claimed to have won the election only hours after polls closed on Nov. 3, 2020, before final results were in.
"Obviously we didn't win," a source quoted Meadows as telling Smith's team in hindsight.
Trump has called Meadows, one of the former president's closest and highest-ranking aides in the White House, a "special friend" and "a great chief of staff -- as good as it gets."
The descriptions of what Meadows allegedly told investigators shed further light on the evidence Smith's team has amassed as it prosecutes Trump for allegedly trying to unlawfully retain power and "spread lies" about the 2020 election. The descriptions also expose how far Trump loyalists like Meadows have gone to support and defend Trump.
Sources told ABC News that Smith's investigators were keenly interested in questioning Meadows about election-related conversations he had with Trump during his final months in office, and whether Meadows actually believed some of the claims he included in a book he published after Trump left office -- a book that promised to "correct the record" on Trump.
ABC News has identified several assertions in the book that appear to be contradicted by what Meadows allegedly told investigators behind closed doors.
According to Meadows' book, the election was "stolen" and "rigged" with help from "allies in the liberal media," who ignored "actual evidence of fraud, right there in plain sight for anyone to access and analyze."
But, as described to ABC News, Meadows privately told Smith's investigators that -- to this day -- he has yet to see any evidence of fraud that would have kept now-president Joe Biden from the White House, and he told them he agrees with a government assessment at the time that the 2020 presidential election was the most secure election in U.S. history.
'We did win this election' Trump was already questioning the integrity of the election months before Election Day. Then, within hours of polls closing on Nov. 3, 2020 -- as Trump was beginning to lose key states -- Trump claimed on national TV that it was all "a major fraud."
"Frankly, we did win this election," Trump declared.
Meadows told investigators earlier this year that he's long believed Trump was being dishonest when he made that statement, given the fact that votes were still being counted and the results from several states were not in yet.
MORE: Trump moves to dismiss federal election interference case, citing 'presidential immunity' Nevertheless, public testimony has shown that in the weeks after the election, Meadows helped Trump vet allegations of fraud that were making their way to Trump from people like Rudy Giuliani, whom Trump put in charge of legal efforts to keep Trump in the White House.
But Meadows said that by mid-December, he privately informed Trump that Giuliani hadn't produced any evidence to back up the many allegations he was making, sources said. Then-attorney general Bill Barr also informed Trump and Meadows in an Oval Office meeting that allegations of election fraud were "not panning out," as Barr recounted in testimony to Congress last year.
Meadows was the one that was the bridge between the lawyers, trumps kids, trump and the 25-35 members of Congress that was in on his little charade. And many in Congress asked for pardons. And a lot of correspondence was by text messages.
GOP is such a joke. Campaigns on telling the people they government doesn’t work and is dysfunctional, gets into office and does everything possible to prove themselves right.
It’s like me telling people that F-150’s are trash by getting an F-150 and intentionally driving it off a cliff.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Room ‘Gasped’ During Bible-Thumping GOP Conference Confrontation Matt Young, Sam Brodey Tue, October 24, 2023 at 7:55 PM EDT·2 min read
A room of House Republicans audibly “gasped” during a Tuesday confrontation between Reps. Rick Allen and House Majority Whip Tom Emmer, who had earlier won the House GOP’s nomination for Speaker.
A source familiar with the showdown confirmed the timeline of events to The Daily Beast, which was first reported by Punchbowl News’ Jake Sherman.
The story goes that during the closed House GOP conference meeting on Tuesday, Allen confronted Emmer and said “that the Minnesota Republican didn’t need to get right with him, he needed to ‘get right with Jesus.’” According to the source, “the room gasped.”
Allen refused to support Emmer due to his stance on same-sex marriage, and told CNN earlier Tuesday he was “very concerned” about his support of a 2022 bill providing federal protections for same-sex couples. Allen said there was no way he would ever vote for him.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) echoed the comments on Fox News, claiming America “needs a Speaker of the House that reflects the values and the views of Republican voters in the country.” She highlighted Emmer’s support for LGBTQ+ rights and said she was “glad Tom has dropped out of the race.”
Emmer subsequently dropped out of the race after critics, including Allen and former president Donald Trump, spoke out.
House Republicans are now scrambling to figure out a way forward three weeks since ousting Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R-CA). Another vote was expected Tuesday night but was later adjourned.
Five candidates are currently left in the race: Reps. Byron Donalds (R-FL), Chuck Fleischmann (R-TN), Mark Green (R-TN), Mike Johnson (R-LA) and Roger Williams (R-TX).
Well this looks like it has no end. The GOP wants someone who is far right. The moderates in the GOP won’t go for that and likely won’t vote for any election denying candidate. So the dem bailout of a GOP moderate is off the table for now.
Almost a month, without a Speaker. Government: ground to a total halt, less than a month from yet another Congressional budget shutdown. 'The Peoples' Business not being done. At all.
Does any rational person think that this current bunch has the ability to actually govern, even after they manage to cobble/hobble themselves to an elected House Speaker? What makes any of us think they could actually accomplish something of substance for us, after witnessing this 3-week, slo-mo interstate multicar pileup?
This current House is broken, because one of its fundamental branches is broken.
And they are broken because they attached their short-term aspirations to a guy who wants to run America like he ran his own private enterprises. A guy who admires the governments run by people like Vladimir Putin, Kim Jong-Un, Viktor Orban, and Xi Jinping. A guy who only understands the most simplistic of concepts: The Big Boss Runs All.
A d00d who handily fails the "Democracy Wonderlick Test," along with zero sense of self-reflection.
And now, the GOP finds itself playing the 'battered housewife' role in a bad cable made-for-TV movie about captive spousal abuse.
He has just enough of his True Believers in office to be able to throw sand into the cogs of Cap Hill when his personal needs outweigh the needs of America.
So, here we are: 3 weeks into a dysfunctional clown show that should never have happened, had the Republican Party actually been populated with vertebrates, years ago.
Think about the absurdity of all this: one of our governing parties possesses 1/3 of governmental influence- and yet can't move forward, unless they get the blessing/endorsement from a private citizen who holds no political post of any sort. An entire political party- awaiting orders from one man.
How 'Beta Cuck' is that?
We are now witnessing- in Real Time- a fundamental weakness of a Democracy that is based upon a bicameral system: if one of the two parties drives itself off the rails, the system is in peril of total collapse.
___________________
Only some of us Americans signed on for crap like this. I was in the other group.
There’s a twitter link showing the video. Again, I don’t blame the GOP. I blame the voters who elected every last one of these clowns in this video. When republican voters ask why government doesn’t work, everyone needs to point directly at them. Because the only way these clowns are in office is because somebody elected them into said office.
This is disgusting behavior by a bunch of so-called adults.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
I am no fan of the Democrats, but there just has to be reckoning in 2024. Trump looks to be the presidential nominee again, and he just needs to get his ass completely kicked, and they also need to lose big in the House as well. I can't think of any other catalyst that can reset the Republican side back to sanity.
The problem is I don't know how to fix the HoR. The Senate doesn't have the same calamity because it doesn't have gerrymandering, but the way the HoR is, you will have career whack jobs choosing their voters, vs the other way around. Those whack jobs are pretty much ironclad perpetual in their districts, hence the stoopidity that we're seeing right now. Even if they lose the majority, they can remain in power because of their roots in their district.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Quote from the article, by the way, that really stood out to me: "We're not doing any policy tonight." Isn't that...kinda your whole freakin' job????
Virginia Foxx is a real piece of work by the way. She is right up there with Comer, Jordan and Menendez on the "despicability" scale in Congress. She just isn't as front and center.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Who is Rep. Mike Johnson, the House GOP’s latest speaker nominee?
Washington CNN — Rep. Mike Johnson, Republicans’ latest nominee to be the next speaker of the House, has been a vocal supporter of former President Donald Trump and was a key congressional figure in the failed efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
The Louisiana Republican, who is GOP deputy whip and vice chairman of the House Republican Conference, was first elected to the House in 2016. An attorney with a focus on constitutional law, Johnson joined a group of House Republicans in voting to sustain the objection to electoral votes on January 6, 2021. During Trump’s first impeachment trial in January 2020, Johnson, along with a group of other GOP lawmakers, served a largely ceremonial role in Trump’s Senate impeachment team.
Johnson also sent an email from a personal email account in 2020 to every House Republican soliciting signatures for an amicus brief in the longshot Texas lawsuit seeking to invalidate electoral college votes from multiple states.
After the election was called in favor of Joe Biden on November 7, 2020, Johnson posted on X, then known as Twitter, “I have just called President Trump to say this: ‘Stay strong and keep fighting, sir! The nation is depending upon your resolve. We must exhaust every available legal remedy to restore Americans’ trust in the fairness of our election system.’”
Although Trump said he won’t endorse anyone in the speaker’s race Wednesday, he leant support to Johnson in a post on Truth Social.
“In 2024, we will have an even bigger, & more important, WIN! My strong SUGGESTION is to go with the leading candidate, Mike Johnson, & GET IT DONE, FAST!” Trump posted.
Johnson serves on the Judiciary Committee and the Armed Services Committee. He is also a former chair of the Republican Study Committee.
After receiving a degree in business administration from Louisiana State University and a Juris Doctorate from the Paul M. Hebert Law Center, Johnson took on roles as a college professor and conservative talk radio host. He began his political career in the Louisiana legislature, where he served from 2015 to 2017, before being elected to Congress in Louisiana’s Fourth District.
Rep. Kevin Hern, an Oklahoma Republican who chairs the influential Republican Study Committee, dropped out of the race for speaker Tuesday evening and backed Johnson.
“I want everyone to know this race has gotten to the point where it’s gotten crazy. This is more about people right now than it should be,” he said. “This should be about America and America’s greatness. For that, I stepped aside and threw all my support behind Mike Johnson. I think he’d make a great speaker.”
Johnson’s win in the secret-ballot race for the House Republican Conference’s nominee for speaker followed Minnesota Rep. Tom Emmer’s decision to drop out of the race hours after Republicans chose him to be the nominee following resistance from the right flank of the conference and a rebuke from Trump. Reps. Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan have also dropped out after earlier seeking the speaker’s gavel.
Johnson joined the speakership race in a Saturday post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“I have been humbled to have so many Members from across our Conference reach out to encourage me to seek the nomination for Speaker. Until yesterday, I had never contacted one person about this, and I have never before aspired to the office,” he said in a posted letter. “However, after much prayer and deliberation, I am stepping forward now.”
Election denier, climate skeptic, anti-abortion: seven beliefs of new US House speaker Mike Johnson
The relatively little-known Louisiana Republican has been thrust into the spotlight and the attention has fallen on his extreme beliefs
Mike Johnson’s emergence as the new speaker of the US House of Representatives has earned the relatively little-known Louisiana Republican a turn in the national spotlight.
In turn, that spotlight has illuminated positions and remarks many deem extreme.
He tried to overturn the 2020 election
In the modern Republican party, supporting Donald Trump’s lie about voter fraud in his defeat by Joe Biden is hardly an outlandish position. But Johnson took it further.
After the election, he voiced support for Trump’s conspiracy theory that voting machines were rigged. Later, he was one of 147 Republicans to object to results in key states, even after a pro-Trump mob attacked Congress on January 6, a riot now linked to nine deaths and hundreds of convictions.
Johnson also authored an amicus brief filed to the supreme court in a case in which Texas sought to have swing-state results thrown out. According to the New York Times, a House Republican lawyer said Johnson’s brief was unconstitutional. Nonetheless, he persuaded 125 colleagues to sign it, using tactics some thought heavy handed.
The supreme court refused to take the case. On Tuesday, Johnson refused to take a question about his work on Trump’s behalf – smiling as fellow Republicans booed and jeered the reporter.
He was a spokesperson for a ‘hate group’
Before entering politics, Johnson worked for the Alliance Defending Freedom – designated a hate group by the Southern Law Poverty Center, which tracks US extremists.
According to the SPLC, the ADF has “supported the recriminalisation of sexual acts between consenting LGBTQ+ adults in the US and criminalisation abroad; defended state-sanctioned sterilisation of trans people abroad; contended that LGBTQ+ people are more likely to engage in paedophilia; and claimed that a ‘homosexual agenda’ will destroy Christianity and society”.
On Wednesday, the ADF senior counsel, Jeremy Tedesco, denied the organisation was a hate group and attacked the SPLC designation as partisan.
“The truth is, Alliance Defending Freedom is among the largest and most effective legal advocacy organizations dedicated to protecting the religious freedom and free speech rights of all Americans,” he said.
He opposes LGBTQ+ rights
In state politics and at the national level, Johnson has worked to claw back gains made by LGBTQ+ Americans in their fight for equality.
In 2016, as he ran for Congress, he told the Louisiana Baptist Message he had “been out on the front lines of the ‘culture war’ defending religious freedom, the sanctity of human life and biblical values, including the defense of traditional marriage, and other ideals like these when they’ve been under assault”. He has since led efforts for a national “don’t say gay” bill, regarding the teaching of LGBTQ+ issues in schools, and is also opposed to gender-affirming care for children.
On Wednesday, Rev Jasmine Beach-Ferrara, executive director of the Campaign for Southern Equality, said: “Johnson has made a career out of attacking the LGBTQ+ community at every turn. His positions are out of touch with the clear majority support for LGBTQ+ equality in our country. His new leadership role is just further proof of the dangerous priorities of the GOP and the critical stakes for our democracy – and for LGBTQ+ Americans – in 2024.”
He is stringently anti-abortion
Johnson has maintained a relatively low profile in Congress but when last year the supreme court removed the right to abortion, Johnson celebrated “a historic and joyful day”.
Though Dobbs v Jackson returned abortion rights to the states, Johnson has co-sponsored bills for a nationwide ban. And as he neared his position of power, footage spread of striking remarks in a House hearing. “Roe v Wade did constitutional cover to the elective killing of unborn children in America, period,” Johnson said.
"You think about the implications on the economy. We’re all struggling here to cover the bases of social security and Medicare and Medicaid and all the rest. If we had all those able-bodied workers in the economy, we wouldn’t be going upside down and toppling over like this … I will not yield I will not. Roe was a terrible corruption of America’s constitutional jurisprudence.”
He wants to cut social security and Medicare
As those comments indicate, Johnson wants to cut programs on which millions rely. Such cuts are widely regarded as a political third-rail – Trump has used the issue to attack Republican presidential rivals, saying only he will defend such benefits – but Johnson is far from alone in wanting to swing the axe.
He is an advocate for ‘covenant marriage’
When he married his wife, Kelly, in 1999, the couple agreed to a “covenant” marriage: a conservative Christian idea that makes it harder to divorce. The Johnsons promoted the idea on ABC’s Good Morning America.
“My own parents are divorced,” Johnson said. “As anyone who goes through that knows, that was a traumatic thing for our whole family. I’m a big proponent of marriage and fidelity and all the things that go with it, and I’ve seen first-hand the devastation [divorce] can cause.”
He is a climate skeptic
In 2017, Johnson told voters in his oil-rich home state: “The climate is changing, but the question is, is it being caused by natural cycles over the span of the Earth’s history? Or is it changing because we drive SUVs? I don’t believe in the latter. I don’t think that’s the primary driver.”
He has also opposed proposals for a Green New Deal and been named an “energy champion” by the American Energy Alliance, a rightwing group that has defended fossil fuel use.
… and progressives are alarmed
On Wednesday, Democrats and progressives greeted Johnson’s ascent with criticism – and opposition research.
Tony Carrk, executive director of the watchdog Accountable.US, called Johnson “a far-right extremist who led a desperate attempt to subvert democracy … [who] boasts a voting record deeming him one of the most extreme members of the Republican conference.
“A Speaker Johnson means more of the same from the Maga [pro-Trump] majority: pointless partisan political stunts, peddling dangerous conspiracies and ultimately undermining American democracy.”
I was surprised to see he made it. I think exhaustion took its toll, plus the fact a lot of the representatives didn't know him well enough to hate him yet. We'll see how that evolves over the next year.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
I think it all boiled down to exactly what I thought it would. They were looking like a total laughing stock and they knew it. So one side had to give. As I suspected it wasn't going to be a cray cray's on the far right so it ended up being the moderates who caved to save the looks of the party overall. A desperate act of self preservation.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Republican Sen. Tuberville doubles down on blocking military nominees despite GOP pleas
It's dangerous to play political games with military, Karine Jean-Pierre said.
Alabama Republican Sen. Tommy Tuberville said Thursday he is not backing down after his fiery battle with Republican colleagues on the Senate floor over his unprecedented move to hold up hundreds of military nominations and promotions.
Senate Republicans, led by Sens. Dan Sullivan and Joni Ernst, on Wednesday night angrily challenged Tuberville in an all out Republican-on-Republican brawl on the floor, during which they held the floor for more than four hours as they repeatedly tried and repeatedly failed to get Tuberville to cave on his military holds -- his attempt to change Pentagon abortion policy. Republicans brought 61 military nominees up for individual consideration on the Senate floor Wednesday night. Tuberville spiked every single one.
The Senate on Thursday did confirm three military nominees using a process to circumvent Tuberville's hold. The process to confirm the nominees was underway before Wednesday's drama on the Senate floor. The Senate confirmed Lisa Franchetti to be Chief of Naval Operations, Gen. David W. Allvin to be Chief of Staff of the Air Force and Lt. Gen Christopher J. Mahoney to be Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps.
On Thursday, Tuberville doubled down, saying he "works for the American people" and speculated that many don't want their money to go toward service members' abortions. Tuberville has been holding military nominees for months over objection to a Department of Defense policy that allows service members to receive compensation to travel out of state for abortion, asserting that it is taxpayer-funded abortion and a violation of the Constitution.
"I've told you all along -- I hate I have to do this, but somebody has got to listen to us. I work for the people of this country; I don't work for another senator or a president -- I work for the tax payers of this country," he said at the Capitol Thursday.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Tuberville's actions are allowing for vacancies that are "causing damage to our military readiness."
"The world is too dangerous to play political games with our military," she said during Thursday's White House press briefing.
National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby said in Thursday's White House press briefing that Tuberville's moves are "beyond ridiculous" and listed some of the crucial military positions that are vacant as a result of Tuberville's blockade.
Tuberville has maintained that his hold does not impact troop readiness.
ABC Senior Congressional Correspondent Rachel Scott asked Tuberville what his message was to his Republican colleagues who say that he's weakening the military by continuing to block confirmation of generals.
"They're wrong -- we've been doing this nine months, all of a sudden it's an emergency," Tuberville told Scott. "We tend to drag our feet around a little bit, so I don't agree."
Tuberville was clear he will not be changing his position on military nominees despite growing frustration among his GOP colleagues about his methods. Scott asked him if he would consider budging, he was blunt: "No."
Republicans were out in full force Thursday airing their frustration with Tuberville.
"Well I'm frustrated on behalf of the force," Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., said. "The effect on the force is real, people are losing their slot ... and the ripple effect is going to the lower ranks." 'It needs to change'
On Wednesday, Sullivan was defiant, sarcastic and even sullen in his pleas to Tuberville. At times, Sullivan was livid. One after one, Republicans raised specific military nominees, reading off impressive lists of credentials and then asking for consent for their confirmation. One after one, Tuberville stood on the floor and blocked them.
"As a U.S. Marine Corps colonel, I know we all know here in the Senate, America needs to have our best players, most combat-capable leaders on the field, and right now that's not happening," Sullivan said. "It needs to change."
The Republican senators who challenged Tuberville Wednesday night were especially frustrated that the Alabama senator blocked the nominees as they were being brought up individually. For months, Tuberville has blocked Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer from advancing military nominees en bloc, but Tuberville had previously said he wouldn't object to votes on individual nominees.
"We have done the best we can to honor the request of a fellow senator that these nominations be brought to the floor and voted on individually," Ernst said. "I really respect men of their word. I do not respect men who do not honor their word."
While unanimous confirmation requisitions like the ones made Wednesday night aren't quite the same as individual Senate votes, which could in theory take several days to clear, Senate Republicans hoped this tactic would be the dam break they needed.
It wasn't. Tuberville blocked every single nominee.
"I cannot simply sit idly by while the Biden administration injects politics in our military from the White House and spends taxpayer dollars on abortion," Tuberville said on the floor.
Wednesday night's debacle was a rare moment of Republican infighting on full display on the Senate floor, and speaks to the palpable frustration the Republican conference has with Tuberville for his nine-month blockade.
Ernst, leaving the floor at the end of the night warned that Tuberville's move Wednesday night would have consequences: "This will be remembered. This will be a dark evening," Ernst said.
It's not expected to be the last either. After trying and failing to confirm the 61st military officer of the evening, Sullivan vowed he would continue his efforts to bring nominees up for individual consideration.
"My message to our generals and admirals who are being held up: hang in there. Some of us have your back -- we have your back, we will be coming here every night to try to get you guys confirmed," Sullivan said.
"...You deserve it and our nation has to have it," Sullivan added.
Sen. Jack Reed, the chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee who has for months been trying to find a way around Tuberville's hold, was presiding over the chamber when Sullivan concluded his remarks for the night. He later called Tuberville's unwillingness to allow nominees to be confirmed an act of "willful ignorance or stubborn hubris.
"After tonight, one has to wonder why Senator Tuberville persists in his obstruction, which only benefits America's enemies," Reed said in a statement. "Over the last ten months Senator Tuberville has undermined our military readiness and callously mistreated military families."
Reed applauded the Republican senators who tried to get nominees confirmed Wednesday night.
Most of Tuberville's Republican colleagues have said they agree with his position on the Pentagon's abortion policy, but not his tactics.
"I'm as pro-life as they come, I strongly disagree with what Secretary [Lloyd] Austin and President [Joe] Biden have done with their politicization of the military on a whole host of fronts including the abortion policy," Sullivan said.
But Republicans are fed up with Tuberville's blockade on nominees, who they say should not be punished for the policy decisions of the administration.
"Our service members have been failed by their commander in chief and we must do right by them and the security and protection of our own nation," Ernst said. Kennedy: Senate rule change could be a 'double-edged sword'
Senate Majority Leader Schumer Schumer earlier Wednesday announced intentions to support a Reed-authored proposal that would allow the Senate to temporarily circumvent Tuberville's hold and to confirm the more than 300 nominees Tuberville is now preventing from going through.
Details of that resolution aren't quite clear yet, and it will need to go through the Senate Rules Committee to determine the threshold of votes it would need to pass.
The Thursday confirmations are part of a procedural tool to force votes on individual nominees. Schumer had been reluctant to use this tool to overcome Tuberville's holds over the last nine months because he's argued it risks playing to Tuberville's hand and politicizing the military.
Even as frustration mounts with Senate Republicans, most ABC News spoke to Thursday morning are pushing back on a growing effort by Democrats to pass the temporary change to the Senate rules.
Senate Republicans have been resistant in recent years to any sort of modification to the rules. This move, they say, would weaken the individual power of each senator. Rules that allow senators to hold certain nominees or policies make the chamber distinctly unique from the House.
Republicans warned on Thursday that if Democrats try to circumvent Tuberville by modifying the chamber rules, it could backfire on them down the line.
"I think it would be an extraordinary mistake to change the rules on holds, and that I would remind my Democratic colleagues that's a double-edged sword," Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., said.
Sens. John Barrasso, R-Wyo.; John Cornyn, R-Texas; and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., all said they would also reject efforts to skirt the rule on nominee confirmation.
"I'm pretty reluctant to change the rules ..." Hawley said. "If we're going to change the rules, if we are going to depart from the tradition that we leave the rules as they are, then I have a whole bunch of rules I'd like to see changed so if we're going to do that, I'll have my own thoughts about what other rules we'd like to change."
Schumer has been clear he will support it, and advance it to the Senate floor.
I realize this isn't some cause for great national concern like a book in a local school district library in Tampa, Fl. is, but I thought it deserved mentioning.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
One after one, Republicans raised specific military nominees, reading off impressive lists of credentials and then asking for consent for their confirmation. One after one, Tuberville stood on the floor and blocked them.
This is the one line that stood out above all others.
How broken is a party, that one dude can hold up everyday procedural processes for some cheap, niche-oriented political stunt? How broken is a system that allows dysfunction like this to happen?
Normal, rational people use a certain amount of cost/benefit analysis in the choices they make. I see no benefit in this dude's choice, other than stunting for future votes. How does this help US citizens in any way?
One after one, Republicans raised specific military nominees, reading off impressive lists of credentials and then asking for consent for their confirmation. One after one, Tuberville stood on the floor and blocked them.
This is the one line that stood out above all others.
How broken is a party, that one dude can hold up everyday procedural processes for some cheap, niche-oriented political stunt? How broken is a system that allows dysfunction like this to happen?
Normal, rational people use a certain amount of cost/benefit analysis in the choices they make. I see no benefit in this dude's choice, other than stunting for future votes. How does this help US citizens in any way?
Not sure how scientific this is, but my understanding is that most polls show a deepening resentment of Tuberville. They don't seem to like him over this in Alabama.. But this guy is too damn stupid to see that.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
One after one, Republicans raised specific military nominees, reading off impressive lists of credentials and then asking for consent for their confirmation. One after one, Tuberville stood on the floor and blocked them.
This is the one line that stood out above all others.
How broken is a party, that one dude can hold up everyday procedural processes for some cheap, niche-oriented political stunt? How broken is a system that allows dysfunction like this to happen?
Normal, rational people use a certain amount of cost/benefit analysis in the choices they make. I see no benefit in this dude's choice, other than stunting for future votes. How does this help US citizens in any way?
Not sure how scientific this is, but my understanding is that most polls show a deepening resentment of Tuberville. They don't seem to like him over this in Alabama.. But this guy is too damn stupid to see that.
It’s Alabama. They gonna vote for him anyway.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Trump describes imprisoned Jan. 6 rioters as ‘hostages’
Former President Trump on Thursday referred to those jailed over their actions during the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol as “hostages” during a rally with supporters in Texas.
Trump walked on stage at a Houston rally to Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the USA” as he typically does. But when it concluded, a song in which Trump collaborated with a chorus of inmates detained on charges related to the Jan. 6 insurrection began to play, and the former president stood saluting.
“Well, thank you very much, and you know what that was,” he said to open the rally. “I call them the ‘J-6 hostages,’ not prisoners. I call them the hostages, what’s happened. And you know, it’s a shame.”
In the song “Justice for All,” which was released on multiple streaming services in March, Trump is heard reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. The 45th president’s portion on the track follows a chorus of Jan. 6 inmates, credited on the song as the “J6 Prison Choir,” who sing “The Star-Spangled Banner.”
The end of the song features the chorus repeatedly chanting “USA!”
Money raised from the song was reportedly directed to families of the Jan. 6 mob who participated on the track.
Trump has repeatedly expressed sympathy for rioters charged in connection to Jan. 6, when his supporters violently clashed with law enforcement and stormed the complex to try and halt the certification of President Biden’s 2020 victory.
The former president has said he would consider pardoning some of those charged in connection to the Capitol attack, and he spoke earlier this year at a fundraiser organized for Jan. 6 defendants.
Trump himself is facing federal charges in Washington, D.C., over his attempts to remain in power after losing the 2020 election, and he is facing charges in Georgia over his efforts to overturn to the state’s 2020 election results.
It’s going to take a lot of people who have affiliated themselves with Republicans coming to realize that they are no longer who we thought they were. I say “we” because I was one of such people.
If we’re looking for proof, just look at how the 2008 and 2012 Republican presidential nominees are/were viewed by those currently steering the party.
They’ve only won the Presidential popular vote once since 1992. They need a rebirth, but seem to be spiraling in the opposite direction with the situation in the house and folks like Tuberville in the Senate.
If they want to hope to deliver a more popular and constructive message to the people and provide a legitimate alternative to the Democrats, they need to rebuild. For now, I don’t see that happening unless Trump takes a major L in 2024.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
I should actually correct my post. H.W. Bush lost the popular vote in 1992. They have only won the popular vote once since 1988, in 2004, when the Dems for whatever reason decided to put Kerry up, despite the fact he was a total dud, and his running mate was the epitome of a sleazebag.
McCain won the nomination in 2008, and then he was denigrated by the current leader of the major wing of the party, even after his death. Same for Romney, the 2012 nominee. Cheney, Kinzinger, Gonazalez and other reasonable people were ousted or got tired of the idiocy they were experiencing from within their own party and called it quits.
It's going on the wrong direction, and it'll take a big loss in 2024 for that pendulum to start swinging back the other way, if it's even still attached.
Last edited by dawglover05; 11/06/2312:49 PM.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
New York Times blasts Cotton for ‘harvesting disinformation’ about journalists in Middle East
The New York Times sent a scathing rebuke in response to a letter from Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) demanding more information from the outlet on its news-gathering process as it covers the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.
In a letter to Times leadership dated Thursday, Cotton cited “reports” that suggested journalists working on its behalf were embedded with Hamas around the time of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel and “knew about the attack.”
“If your employees, as part of their work, participated in terrorist activities or if your organization or employees provided material support (including any funding) to Hamas, the leadership of your organization may also face criminal penalties under federal law,” he said.
Cotton’s letter follows a report from the pro-Israel media watchdog HonestReporting that asked if freelancers working for the Times, CNN and other leading news organizations had advanced knowledge of the attack or were complicit in it.
The group’s leader on Thursday said it was simply “asking questions” after a stream of denials and condemnations from the Times, CNN, Reuters and other outlets followed.
In its response to Cotton, the Times wrote that his letter “exacerbates” the “spread of disinformation and incendiary rhetoric” around journalists covering the war.
“You are merely parroting disinformation harvested form the internet based on a website that has conceded it had no evidence for its claims,” the Times said.
Cotton separately wrote a letter to the Department of Justice on Thursday asking it to probe whether or journalists working for the international news outlets “committed federal crimes by supporting Hamas terrorists.”
Eight Republicans raised concerns with a provision that would have blocked D.C. from enforcing a 2014 law prohibiting discrimination based on reproductive health choices — a large enough bloc to make a difference due to Republicans’ slim margin, especially given some absences.
Tailely Their pushback surprised D.C. officials, who are not used to seeing Republicans defend the deep-blue city, and it was enough to threaten the entire financial services appropriations bill, which included about a dozen other policy restrictions on the District. City officials were bracing for a whole barrage of budget riders to sail through on Thursday, including allowing people with out-of-state weapons permits to carry guns in D.C. and banning the city from using automated traffic cameras, a measure that could deal a serious blow to D.C.'s finances. Yet some moderates drew the line on the attempt to block the city’s Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act, especially as abortion has made the GOP increasingly vulnerable in critical swing districts and states, with Tuesday’s elections offering more evidence.
Abortion rights advocates win major victories in Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia Rep. John S. Duarte (R-Calif.), among the Republicans to object to the D.C. rider, told reporters that the group of moderates wanted to see the provision stripped from the bill and offered as a separate amendment. He described it as “completely unrelated” to the funding package and questioned why anyone would want to allow discrimination against people who may have had abortions. Related video: Having failed with segregation, and with abortion backfiring, GOP in search of new wedge issue (MSNBC) We call upon Southern Baptists to work for legislation that Current Time 0:04 /
“The moderates are standing our ground,” Duarte said. “A lot of us in swing districts — and a lot of us that want to be very respectful of where the American people are and aren’t on these social issues — are standing our ground and setting some limits as to what can get jammed into these bills.”
Rep. Marcus J. Molinaro (R-N.Y.) said that for the House and Senate to reach an appropriations bill they both agree on, he believed this provision could not be part of it. The appropriations bill, for financial services and general government, includes funding for the District.
“The city of Washington, D.C., has established a nondiscrimination provision. It is both their right to do so within the city — but it is also not something the House should seek to eliminate and undermine those protections,” Molinaro said in an interview Thursday morning.
Separately, complicating the vote further, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) and other House Freedom Caucus members were still angered that their party helped defeat Gaetz’s amendment to block funding for a new FBI headquarters and some were prepared to vote against the appropriations bill, according to two people who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private negotiations.
Council member Christina Henderson (I-At Large), who drafted the Reproductive Health Non-Discrimination Amendment Act while a council staffer in 2014, said the moderate group’s stand against the D.C. rider was “a welcome gift” she was not expecting.
“I was confused,” she said, describing her reaction when reading initial news reports Thursday morning. “Usually, for Republicans, there aren’t enough restrictions. ... I do wonder if it has something to do with Tuesday’s elections and whether they’re concerned about their fates in their own districts. But I appreciate it — I don’t want to minimize what this means for residents in the District to finally have not just Democrats but other members of Congress standing up and saying, ‘This is ridiculous.’”
Congress has oversight of D.C. thanks to a provision in the Constitution — and Republicans have leveraged that authority with unprecedented success this year, including rejecting the city’s criminal code revision in March. House Republicans have long taken aim at this D.C. nondiscrimination law involving reproductive rights, which they voted to block on ideological grounds in 2015 and have tried to torpedo in budget riders before. Even in 2015, a group of moderate Republicans did not support their party’s attempt to block the law.
But since the Supreme Court struck down the right to an abortion, moderate Republicans in Congress have grown increasingly vocal against GOP attempts to enact more abortion restrictions as consequences have mounted at the polls. Similar to Thursday’s action, in September, some moderates voted against an agriculture appropriations bill over a provision to ban delivery of abortion pills by mail, ultimately helping to tank the bill.
House Republican moderates have repeatedly made clear to Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) since his election to the post two weeks ago that he should not make them take votes on abortion-related issues and that, if he did, they would be willing to sink the measures for the sake of their districts.
Tuesday’s elections only amplified their concerns, as voters in Ohio enshrined abortion protections in the state constitution and Virginia Democrats flipped the House and won control of the General Assembly, crippling Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s pursuit of a 15-week abortion ban with some exceptions. Also this week, a Democratic-backed coalition announced a plan to target five New York Republicans ahead of the 2024 elections, in part on the issue of abortion. Some of those Republicans, including Molinaro and Rep. Anthony D’Esposito, brought concerns against the D.C. abortion-related rider.
“The American people want every level of government to more appropriately respect the difficult choices women have to make,” Molinaro told reporters Wednesday. “These are difficult choices, and politicizing them is not helpful.”
This specific rider is not in the Senate version of the appropriations bill. And President Biden has already said that he would veto the financial services appropriations bill, which also includes funding for scores of government agencies, if it reached his desk. Among the reasons, the White House pointed to the plethora of restrictions House Republicans wanted to put on D.C. that would “undermine the principle of home rule for the Nation’s capital.” The statement specifically pointed to Republicans’ attempt to block enforcement of D.C.'s reproductive health anti-discrimination law.
House Republican leadership had anticipated passing the funding bill Thursday since roughly a dozen Democrats would be absent, allowing moderate Republicans to object but not sink it. But four Republicans did not show up for votes, immediately complicating its passage.
The financial services appropriations bill was the second funding proposal that Johnson had to pull from floor consideration this week due to deep intraparty disagreements. He had to delay consideration of the transportation and housing funding bill because of concerns primarily from New York Republicans about the deep cut in spending for the Amtrak train system.
Failure to pass all 12 bills that fund the government for the full fiscal year will greatly irritate the far-right flank of the GOP conference, even though it, too, has been deeply entrenched in making sure its own spending demands are met throughout the process.
“What I felt that we were going to do is we were going to do everything we can to get these appropriation bills through the house before the deadline,” said Rep. Troy E. Nehls (R-Tex.), a member of the House Freedom Caucus. “You get all these individual members that say, ‘I don’t like that. … If I don’t get what I want, I’m going to take my sack lunch and I’m going home.’ I think that’s what we’re seeing play out here.”
The immediate impact on the financial services appropriations bill is unclear, and it could come back up for a vote at a later date. Officials in the D.C. mayor’s office, still assessing what the development could change for the city’s outlook, did not want to speak too soon about expectations.
Reacting to the failed vote, Rep. Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said of Republicans, “They’ve got enough to do without trying to worry about what the District of Columbia is doing.”
The city has for years protested “legacy riders,” which were part of Thursday’s package, as well. Those riders prohibit the city from creating a legal marketplace for marijuana, even though it’s legal to possess in D.C., and also prohibit D.C. from spending local funds on subsidizing abortion. Moderate Republicans did not raise any issue with that provision.
Additional traffic-related restrictions would halt D.C.'s prohibitions on turning right on red at many intersections and ban the city from using automated traffic-enforcement cameras, which is of serious concern to D.C. officials considering their sizable impact on the city’s finances.
That provision alone could create a $1 billion hole in the city’s budget over the next four years, something Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) and Council Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) warned congressional leadership about this summer in a letter pleading for the provision to be removed.
One rider would also prohibit the city from spending local funds to carry out the Comprehensive Policing and Justice Reform Amendment Act, the city’s major policing legislation that only just survived Congress’s vote to block it this year after Biden intervened to veto that action. The impact of that rider is unclear, given that many provisions in the policing bill don’t necessarily require funds, such as restricting certain policing tactics.
Bowser has already put forth legislation asking the council to adjust some provisions she said went “too far,” such as language surrounding a prohibition on neck restraints.
Other restrictions in the funding bill would repeal the Death with Dignity Act, a 2016 measure permitting physicians to help terminally ill patients die, and would divert funds for D.C. Public Schools to a voucher program. On Wednesday, Republicans also succeeded in adding a pair of riders prohibiting the city from requiring coronavirus vaccinations for public school students or the public at large.
The D.C. Council had already repealed the coronavirus vaccine requirement for students in a vote Tuesday.
“If you want to legislate on local D.C. matters, become a D.C. resident and get elected mayor or council member,” Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-D.C.) said on the House floor during debate Wednesday.
The morality police are at it again. The party that claims the federal government should allow cities and states to make their own decisions. Until they don't.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
US House Speaker Johnson floats two-step measure to avert gov't shutdown
Updated Sat, November 11, 2023 at 6:17 PM EST·4 min read By David Morgan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Mike Johnson unveiled a Republican stopgap spending measure on Saturday aimed at averting a government shutdown a week from now, but the measure quickly ran into opposition from lawmakers from both parties in Congress.
Unlike ordinary continuing resolutions, or "CRs," that fund federal agencies for a specific period, the measure announced by Johnson would fund some parts of the government until Jan. 19 and others until Feb. 2. House Republicans hope to pass the measure on Tuesday.
"This two-step continuing resolution is a necessary bill to place House Republicans in the best position to fight for conservative victories," Johnson said in a statement after announcing the plan to House Republicans in a conference call.
The House Republican stopgap contained no supplemental funding such as aid for Israel or Ukraine.
The House and Democratic-led Senate must agree on a spending vehicle that President Joe Biden can sign into law by Friday, or risk a fourth partial government shutdown in a decade that would close national parks, disrupt pay for as many as 4 million federal workers and disrupt a swath of activities from financial oversight to scientific research.
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a release that the proposal was "just a recipe for more Republican chaos and more shutdowns." She said "House Republicans are wasting precious time with an unserious proposal that has been panned by members of both parties."
Johnson, the top Republican in Congress, unveiled his stopgap a day after Moody's, the last major credit ratings agency to maintain a top "AAA" rating on the U.S. government, lowered its outlook on the nation's credit to "negative" from "stable," citing political polarization in Congress on spending as a danger to the nation's fiscal health.
The Louisiana Republican appeared to be appealing to two warring House Republican factions: hardliners who wanted legislation with multiple end-dates; and centrists who had called for a "clean" stopgap measure free of spending cuts and conservative policy riders that Democrats reject.
The legislation would extend funding for military construction, veterans benefits, transportation, housing, urban development, agriculture, the Food and Drug Administration and energy and water programs through Jan. 19. Funding for all other federal operations would expire on Feb. 2.
But the plan quickly came under fire from members of both parties. "My opposition to the clean CR just announced by the Speaker to the @HouseGOP cannot be overstated," Representative Chip Roy, a member of the hardline House Freedom Caucus, said on the social media platform X.
"It's a 100% clean. And I 100% oppose," wrote Roy, who had called for the new measure to include spending cuts.
Democratic Senator Brian Schatz called Johnson's measure "super convoluted," adding that "all of this nonsense costs taxpayer money."
"We are going to pass a clean short term CR. The only question is whether we do it stupidly and catastrophically or we do it like adults," Schatz wrote on X.
A stopgap measure would give lawmakers more time to implement full-scale appropriations bills to fund the government through Sept. 30.
Johnson put Democrats on notice that failure to reach agreement on 2024 spending would prompt House Republicans to implement "a full-year CR with appropriate adjustments to meet our national security priorities."
House Republican hardliners have been pushing to cut fiscal 2024 spending below the $1.59 trillion level that Biden and Johnson's predecessor agreed in the May deal that averted default. But even that is a small slice of the overall federal budget, which also includes mandatory outlays for Social Security and Medicare, and topped $6.1 trillion in fiscal 2023.
Johnson, who won the speaker's gavel less than three weeks ago, could put his own political future at risk if his current plan fails to win support for passage and he is forced to go with a standard CR that Democrats can accept.
His predecessor, Kevin McCarthy, was ousted from the job by eight Republican hardliners early last month, after he moved a bipartisan measure to avert a shutdown on Oct. 1, when fiscal 2024 began. McCarthy opted for the bipartisan route after hardliners blocked a Republican stopgap measure with features intended to appease them.
In a statement, Weintraub, an attorney and Democrat who works for the government agency, said on Thursday that there have been at least 58 instances where the body, which enforces campaign finance law in federal elections, has heard allegations against the Republican, accusing him or his family members of violating regulations.
In at least 28 of those, staff at the Office of General Counsel determined that a criminal investigation was warranted, she said.
But Weintraub added that her Republican colleagues put the former president in a "category by himself" by refusing to approve any of the recommendations against Trump. Newsweek contacted representatives for Trump and the GOP by email to comment on this story on Friday.
"My colleagues purport to be treating the former President and the current President alike, but the data is clear: At the FEC, Mr. Trump is in category by himself," Weintraub said.
Weintraub did not elaborate on which cases the general counsel suggested should be investigated. But there have been high-profile instances in which complainants have filed complaints to the body about the former president. Newsweek has contacted Weintraub and the FEC by email to comment on this story.
Last March, for instance, The American Bridge Super PAC, a Democratic fundraising organization filed a complaint to the FEC accusing Trump of violating campaign finance laws by spending political funds for a 2024 presidential bid without officially declaring his 2024 candidacy. He formally announced his bid in November 2022.
Under federal election campaign rules, candidates are required to register with the FEC within 15 days of receiving contributions or spending more than $5,000 on a presidential campaign and the complaint said he had been spending hundreds and thousands on Facebook ads.
At the time, Trump's team criticized the filing, calling it a "cheap gimmick" that revealed how the Democratic party "has become a dumpster fire that's void of solutions and substances" in a press statement.
In July, the PAC filed a lawsuit against the FEC because it had not yet taken action.
Meanwhile, in May 2021, the FEC dropped a case looking into a hush-money scandal involving payments to an adult film actress in the lead-up to the 2016 election by his lawyer at the time, Michael D. Cohen.
Cohen said Trump directed him to arrange payments and was sentenced to prison for breaking campaign finance laws, tax evasion and lying to Congress. While the Office of General Counsel said it had "reason to believe" violations of campaign finance law were made "knowingly and willfully" by the Trump campaign, the FEC voted not to proceed.
Trump still stoking the lies he knows will lead to violence as it did on Jan. 6th.......
On Veterans Day, Trump Vows to ‘Root Out’ Leftist ‘Vermin’
To commemorate Veterans Day, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to rail against leftist “vermin” and perpetuate his lies of election fraud. On Saturday, the 2024 GOP candidate wrote that he would “root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our Country, lie, steal, and cheat on Elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American Dream.” The online rant, perhaps created more for MAGA pandering than honoring military vets, continued, “The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within. Despite the hatred and anger of the Radical Left Lunatics who want to destroy our Country, we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump still stoking the lies he knows will lead to violence as it did on Jan. 6th.......
On Veterans Day, Trump Vows to ‘Root Out’ Leftist ‘Vermin’
To commemorate Veterans Day, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to rail against leftist “vermin” and perpetuate his lies of election fraud. On Saturday, the 2024 GOP candidate wrote that he would “root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our Country, lie, steal, and cheat on Elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American Dream.” The online rant, perhaps created more for MAGA pandering than honoring military vets, continued, “The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within. Despite the hatred and anger of the Radical Left Lunatics who want to destroy our Country, we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
LMAO, psychotic ego-maniac projection ramblings. Trump is the vermin and MAGA needs tp be rooted out. Calling dems fascists is laughable after seeing what the right has become. They can’t call us anything that they haven’t proven to be themselves. It’s like watching children throw tantrums.
Trump still stoking the lies he knows will lead to violence as it did on Jan. 6th.......
On Veterans Day, Trump Vows to ‘Root Out’ Leftist ‘Vermin’
To commemorate Veterans Day, former President Donald Trump took to Truth Social to rail against leftist “vermin” and perpetuate his lies of election fraud. On Saturday, the 2024 GOP candidate wrote that he would “root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our Country, lie, steal, and cheat on Elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American Dream.” The online rant, perhaps created more for MAGA pandering than honoring military vets, continued, “The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within. Despite the hatred and anger of the Radical Left Lunatics who want to destroy our Country, we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Bro, this time I really thought this was satire, like somebody just made it up.
And then he doubled down.
And maybe it’s just me, but running on MAGA implies that he didn’t make American great his first go around. Yet somehow he’s gonna get it right this time? Nah.
America was great well before he ran for office. It will remain great long after he’s gone.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Fascism Expert Offers Truly Chilling Take On Donald Trump’s ‘Vermin’ Rant Jason Stanley explained the former president's vow to purge the "radical left."
Lee Moran By Lee Moran Nov 13, 2023, 02:59 AM EST |Updated 6 hours ago
Fascism expert Jason Stanley on Sunday said former President Donald Trump’s Veterans Day vow to purge the “vermin”-like “radical left” more than just echoed Nazi Germany dictator Adolf Hitler.
MSNBC’s Mehdi Hasan asked the Yale University professor, who authored “How Fascism Works,” if he was “wrong to make the historical comparison to antisemitic propaganda during the Nazi years.”
“No,” Stanley replied. “It doesn’t echo ‘Mein Kampf’ ― this is textbook ‘Mein Kampf.’” “Any antisemite will hear this vocabulary as directed against Jews,” he argued.
Hitler details his political ideology in his 1925 autobiographical manifesto “Mein Kampf,” which translates to “My Struggle.”
During a Saturday speech in Claremont, New Hampshire, Trump said if he wins back the White House in 2024, he would “root out the Communists, Marxists, Fascists, and Radical Left Thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our Country, lie, steal, and cheat on Elections, and will do anything possible, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America, and the American Dream.”
“The threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous, and grave, than the threat from within,” the Republican 2024 front-runner added. “Despite the hatred and anger of the Radical Left Lunatics who want to destroy our Country, we will MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”
Trump calls political enemies ‘vermin,’ echoing dictators Hitler, Mussolini On Veterans Day, the former president vowed to “root out” his liberal opponents, drawing backlash from historians who say his rhetoric is reminiscent of authoritarians
By Marianne LeVine November 12, 2023 at 5:45 p.m. EST
Former president Donald Trump denigrated his domestic opponents and critics during a Veterans Day speech Saturday, calling those on the other side of the aisle “vermin” and suggesting that they pose a greater threat to the United States than countries such as Russia, China or North Korea. That language is drawing rebuke from historians, who compared it to that of authoritarian leaders. Keeping up with politics is easy with The 5-Minute Fix Newsletter, in your inbox weekdays.
“We pledge to you that we will root out the communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left thugs that live like vermin within the confines of our country that lie and steal and cheat on elections,” Trump said toward the end of his speech, repeating his false claims that the 2020 election was stolen. “They’ll do anything, whether legally or illegally, to destroy America and to destroy the American Dream.” Trump went on further to state: “the threat from outside forces is far less sinister, dangerous and grave than the threat from within. Our threat is from within. Because if you have a capable, competent, smart, tough leader, Russia, China, North Korea, they’re not going to want to play with us.”
The former president’s speech in Claremont, N.H., echoed his message of vengeance and grievance, as he called himself a “very proud election denier” and decried his legal entanglements, once again attacking the judge in a New York civil trial and re-upping his attacks on special counsel Jack Smith. In the speech, Trump once again portrayed himself as a victim of a political system that is out to get him and his supporters. Yet Trump’s use of the word “vermin” both in his speech and in a Truth Social post on Saturday drew particular backlash. “The language is the language that dictators use to instill fear,” said Timothy Naftali, a senior research scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs. “When you dehumanize an opponent, you strip them of their constitutional rights to participate securely in a democracy because you’re saying they’re not human. That’s what dictators do.”
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a historian at New York University, said in an email to The Washington Post that “calling people 'vermin’ was used effectively by Hitler and Mussolini to dehumanize people and encourage their followers to engage in violence.”
“Trump is also using projection: note that he mentions all kinds of authoritarians ‘communists, Marxists, fascists and the radical left’ to set himself up as the deliverer of freedom,” Ben-Ghiat said. “Mussolini promised freedom to his people too and then declared dictatorship.” Steven Cheung, a Trump campaign spokesman, told The Post “those who try to make that ridiculous assertion are clearly snowflakes grasping for anything because they are suffering from Trump Derangement Syndrome and their entire existence will be crushed when President Trump returns to the White House.”
Trump also received widespread criticism and condemnation recently from groups such as the Anti-Defamation League for saying in an interview that undocumented immigrants were “poisoning the blood of our country.” Domingo Garcia, president of the League of United Latin American Citizens, the oldest Hispanic civil rights group in the country, said at the time that Trump’s comments about blood indicate his language is “getting more extreme,” comparing it to Nazi propaganda about Jewish people. Trump’s divisive rhetoric comes as he remains the clear polling leader in the dwindling GOP primary field and as he and his allies have already started to plot ways for the federal government to punish his critics and opponents should he win back the White House next November. The Post recently reported that Trump — who faces 91 charges across four criminal cases — is naming the people he wants to investigate and prosecute, and his associates are drafting plans to potentially invoke the Insurrection Act on his first day in office, which would allow him to deploy the military in response to civil demonstrations.
In addition to attacking the “radical left,” he also spent part of the New Hampshire speech lashing out at a New York judge overseeing his civil fraud case, calling New York Attorney General Letitia James (D) a “disaster” and reiterating his descriptions of Smith as “deranged.” Smith has brought two indictments against Trump: one in a case charging Trump with illegally hoarding classified documents and the other alleging he sought to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power by seeking to overturn the results of the 2020 election, leading to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol.
“The Trump-hating prosecutor in the case, his wife and family despise me much more than he does and I think he’s about a ten,” he said. “They’re about a 15, on a scale of ten. … He’s a disgrace to America.”
Trump believed fringe conspiracy he could be reinstated as president
A new book by ABC’s Jonathan Karl reveals that former President Trump seriously took to a fringe conspiracy that he could be reinstated as president after losing the 2020 election and well after leaving the White House.
Karl’s new book, “Tired of Winning: Donald Trump and the End of the Grand Ole Party,” releasing Tuesday, includes details about how Trump came to believe the theory, which was supported by some of the former president’s staunchest allies.
Among them was My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, who falsely peddled the notion that Trump could return to the White House on Aug. 13, 2021 — nearly seven months after the former president ended his first term on Inauguration Day.
That groundless theory was linked to QAnon, which also falsely claimed President Biden was not actually the president and that the military was in power until Trump returned to office — which he never did.
In a 2021 interview, Karl asked Trump if he really thought there was a way to have him reinstated before an election.
“I’m not going to explain it to you, Jonathan, because you wouldn’t — you wouldn’t either understand it or write it,” Trump said, according to ABC News, citing audio of the interview.
Karl reported that Trump brought up the notion of being reinstated so often that some in his inner circle began to worry Trump actually believed he could force Biden out of the White House before the next election.
The idea, which is not rooted in any law, eventually gave other Trump supporters serious pause, including former Rep. Mo Brooks (R-Ala.), who was booed while running for a Senate seat after suggesting Trump supporters put the 2020 election behind them.
Earlier this year, Brooks told Karl in an interview that Trump called the Alabama congressman in 2021 with several election-related asks.
“He asked me to publicly state that Donald Trump should be allowed to move back into the White House, reinstated as president,” Brooks told Karl.
Brooks went on to lose the Senate bid after Trump rescinded his endorsement for not delivering on making the claim of reinstatement. When asked if Trump truly believed he could be reinstated, Brooks said: “I sure hope not.”
“Because if he truly believed that, then he was way outside the bounds of reality.”
Alyssa Farah Griffin, who served as Trump’s White House communications director, responded to Karl’s reporting on ABC’s “This Week” on Sunday calling it “stunning.”
“But the fact that someone who is the former commander in chief very well could be again, was buying into something so absurd, so patently false, underscores how dangerous Donald Trump is,” she said.
I'm really tired of the people out there that actually can't see or refuse to see the comparison between Trump and Hitler. For me it was obvious in 2016. My opinion hasn't changed even a little. When I tell people I'd vote for a burnt potato chip before I vote for Trump, I mean it.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Capitol rioter plans 2024 run as a Libertarian candidate in Arizona’s 8th congressional district
PHOENIX (AP) — Jacob Chansley, the spear-carrying rioter whose horned fur hat, bare chest and face paint made him one of the more recognizable figures in the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol, apparently aspires to be a member of Congress.
Online paperwork shows the 35-year-old Chansley filed a candidate statement of interest Thursday, indicating he wants to run as a Libertarian in next year’s election for Arizona’s 8th Congressional District seat.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Lesko, a 64-year-old Republican representing the district since 2018, announced last month that she won’t seek re-election. Her term officially ends in January 2025.
Chansley pleaded guilty to a felony charge of obstructing an official proceeding in connection with the Capitol insurrection.
He was sentenced to 41 months in prison in November 2021 and served about 27 months before being transferred to a Phoenix halfway house in March 2023. Chansely grew up in the greater Phoenix area.
Chansley is among the more than 700 people who have been sentenced in relation to Capitol riot-related federal crimes. Authorities said Chansley was among the first rioters to enter the Capitol building and he acknowledged using a bullhorn to rouse the mob.
Although he previously called himself the “QAnon Shaman,” Chansley has since disavowed the QAnon movement.
He identified himself as Jacob Angeli-Chansley in the candidate statement of interest paperwork filed with the Arizona Secretary of State’s office.
The U.S. Constitution doesn’t prohibit felons from holding federal office. But Arizona law prohibits felons from voting until they have completed their sentence and had their civil rights restored.
Emails sent to Chansley and his attorney seeking comment on his political intentions weren’t immediately returned Sunday.
Aye y’all see some of the articles out? Looks like their might be bipartisan support on a CR, which means Johnson can expect to get removed from speaker in the next couple months hahahahahhaa
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
How were they to foresee a time when Americans would stoop so low as to put a convicted felon in an elected position. I mean they lived in a time when felons hid from public view. People weren't crazy enough to vote for such a person. So how could they know.
Then again, they did sort of address that in the 14th amendment so I suppose someone thought of it.
I have another question, how can some folks think that the 14th amendment can't be used because it's old, but it's ok to use a civil war era ruling that allows congress to lower the pay of various secretaries and the President and VP?
Last edited by Damanshot; 11/14/2311:57 AM.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Aye y’all see some of the articles out? Looks like their might be bipartisan support on a CR, which means Johnson can expect to get removed from speaker in the next couple months hahahahahhaa
CR's aren't as good as actual appropriations either, which is something that I don't think most of the general public knows as well, either. Just going with that bandaid approach, I guess.
I'll be interested to see what the reaction is from most of the hard right. I think they'll allow Johnson some leeway this time because I don't think any of them have a personal vendetta with him a la Gaetz and McCarthy. Plus, I don't think they want to embarrass themselves again with the whole replacement process like they did last time. That being said, nothing they do surprises me anymore.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
I tend to agree with you. I just think they'll add enough poison pills to it that has nothing to do with actually reduce spending they know it will never get past the senate or oval office and then blame it on everyone else. They're getting closer to election time and are at the point the right has to give the perception of a united front.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
The new WWE Brawl In The Haul! Headlined by House Republican Rep.Kevin McCarthy and House Republican Rep. Tim Burchett!
GOP lawmaker claims Kevin McCarthy elbowed him after meeting, sparking altercation
The former speaker denied jabbing at his colleague.
Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, one of the eight Republicans who voted to oust Kevin McCarthy from the speakership last month, claimed to ABC News that McCarthy elbowed him in the back after a House GOP meeting on Tuesday morning.
McCarthy denied this, according to an NPR reporter who said she witnessed part of the altercation.
But Burchett said he was speaking to the NPR reporter when McCarthy walked behind him and allegedly put his elbow intentionally into Burchett's back. Burchett said he was pushed forward and then followed McCarthy down the hallway to confront him.
According to the reporter, Burchett asked McCarthy: "Why'd you walk behind me and elbow me in the back?"
The former speaker responded: "I didn't elbow you in the back."
And Burchett replied: "You got no guts, you did so."
I guess we’ll need to amend the constitution to make sure America pays her bills on time, so political terrorists can’t hold our credit rating hostage to negotiate in bad faith.
I guess his mom didn't teach him that there's a time and a place for everything. But when your goal is more focused on owing the libs than governing, this is what it looks like.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Straight up hilarious crap going on right now hahahaa
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
They’re staying quiet on all things Trump because his promised fascist state sounds good to them… Just like regular Germans when Hitler came up. Anyone still supporting Trump is a straight up traitor at this point, IMO. His recent rhetoric sounds woefully similar to his pre J6 banter. I think the new plan is to convince the base that an overthrow of the US government is necessary to MAGA… You know a certain percentage will be down. And then it won’t matter if we take him off the ballot, disqualify him, or he just loses again… Plan B will be ready to roll.
And if he is somehow elected again, you can bet your ass, EVERYONE who has said anything negative about Trump will be a target for “vermin extermination”. That ass clown is talking concentration camps for migrants and his detractors. After seeing the GOPer senator try to fight a witness today, it make me wonder if any of this can even be prevented. MAGA is literally rotting our government from the inside out.
Conservatives help block spending bill in retribution over Johnson stopgap
GOP leadership immediately canceled votes for the rest of the week, as conservatives warn they could continue to hold the floor hostage.
House Republicans tanked a GOP spending bill on Wednesday — marking a major setback for Speaker Mike Johnson less than 24 hours after passing a bill that would avert a shutdown.
GOP leadership then canceled the rest of the votes for the week, sending the chamber home early for a Thanksgiving recess.
Roughly 20 Republicans joined with Democrats to vote against allowing a funding bill covering the departments of Commerce and Justice, among other provisions, to come up for debate. Conservatives said they voted to block the rule for two reasons: Johnson's leaning on Democrats to help pass a short-term funding bill on Tuesday and opposition to amendments on the spending legislation itself.
“We had concerns about the bill itself … in addition to concerns relative to what happened yesterday," said Rep. Bob Good (R-Va.), a member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus.
The bill faced obvious challenges over its funding levels for the Department of Justice and the FBI. Conservatives are eager to overhaul those agencies, which have been some of the House GOP’s biggest targets as they accuse parts of the federal government of blatant politicization.
But as Democrats swooped in to help pass a stopgap bill Tuesday to avert a government shutdown, conservatives had explicitly discussed blocking bills from being able to come to the floor as retribution. With an exceedingly thin majority and Democrats not helping the majority party on basic governing votes, Johnson needs almost unanimous GOP support to start debate on a bill. Conservative hardliners used a similar tactic after then-Speaker Kevin McCarthy struck a deal with the White House on the debt ceiling that those members hated.
Rep. Andy Ogles (R-Tenn.), a member of the Freedom Caucus, warned that this could keep happening.
“I think it gets bumpy from here on out,” he said. “Anything and everything is on the table."
Those dumbass GOPers won’t stop being idiots until they ruin the country’s credit and or drag the dollar down. BRILLIANT? I hope to see some of these MAGA traitors swing before this is all over.
Clay Higgins Claims ‘Ghost Buses’ Brought FBI Informants To Washington On Jan. 6
The paranormal vehicles are a new conspiracy theory about the Justice Department’s alleged involvement in the Capitol riot.
WASHINGTON — Mysterious white buses unloaded dozens of FBI informants near the Capitol on the morning of Jan. 6, according to a new conspiracy theory from Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La.).
During a hearing with FBI director Christopher Wray on Wednesday, Higgins displayed a picture from inside the Union Station parking garage on Jan. 6 and asked if Wray was familiar with ghost buses.
“A ghost bus?” Wray said. “I’m not sure I’ve used that term before.”
Higgins, an Army veteran and former police officer, said ghost vehicles are used for “secret purposes.” He pointed to the picture of buses in the garage and noted they were painted “completely white,” as though that were an unusual way for buses to look.
“These buses are nefarious in nature and were filled with FBI informants dressed as Trump supporters deployed unto our Capitol on Jan. 6,” Higgins said. “Your day is coming, Mr. Wray.”
The ghost buses are the latest distraction from and excuse for the attack on the Capitol by supporters of former President Donald Trump. Higgins and other Republicans have suggested the attack has been used as a pretext for the persecution of Trump and his followers.
More than 1,200 people have been arrested and charged with federal crimes for their actions that day, according to the Department of Justice, including more than 400 charged with assaulting or interfering with police. The riot was part of Trump’s unsuccessful effort to nullify his loss in the 2020 presidential election, for which Trump has been charged with multiple felonies.
In an alternate reality — one that surfaces in Capitol Hill hearing rooms every few months when someone from the Justice Department testifies — FBI provocateurs tricked the legion of Trump supporters into ransacking the Capitol. Wray has offered a similar response each time.
“If you are asking whether the violence at the Capitol on Jan. 6 was part of some operation orchestrated by FBI sources and/or agents, the answer is emphatically no,” Wray told Higgins Wednesday.
Even among people steeped in conspiracy theories about Jan. 6, the ghost buses are new. Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-Miss..), the former co-chair of the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol, said he had never heard of them.
“In all our work, we never even came across that term,” Thompson told HuffPost, adding that he had never even heard someone claim there was a bus full of FBI informants.
Rep. Barry Loudermilk (R-Ga.), chairman of a House subcommittee investigating alleged deficiencies of Thompson’s investigation, also said he’d never heard of ghost buses. He initially thought a reporter was asking about “Ghostbusters,” the movie franchise.
Loudermilk said he believed there were “federal agents” in plain clothes present on Jan. 6 because that’s normal practice for law enforcement during any large political protest. His only question was whether they were present before help had been requested by the Capitol Police and what information had prompted them to attend.
But Loudermilk said he cautions his staff to disprove theories rather than prove them so they don’t deceive themselves.
“If you seek to prove a theory true, you will, 100% the time, because you will discredit any evidence contrary to your political theory,” Loudermilk said.
(Steven D’Antuono, the former assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, told lawmakers in June, in a closed-door deposition, that he had not assigned any FBI agents to attend the protest that day. He said any FBI informants who attended only did so of their own volition and that the bureau used information from its sources to try to discourage potential domestic terrorists from coming to Washington.)
Lawmakers may be unfamiliar with the ghost buses because Higgins has kept his investigation private, the Louisiana Republican told HuffPost.
“I can tell you that I have extensive evidence about those two vehicles,” Higgins said, adding that the buses were seen unloading military-age men with muscular physiques, who looked like police officers even though they were dressed like Trump supporters, and the buses were abandoned in the garage.
When asked if he was saying the FBI’s bus passengers orchestrated the attack on the Capitol, Higgins wouldn’t go there.
“They orchestrated what they orchestrated and don’t put words in my mouth,” Higgins said, explaining that the FBI infiltrated groups of people who met online to complain about coronavirus restrictions in 2020.
“I’ve turned a lot of this evidence over to the appropriate authorities, and we’ll see what happens,” Higgins said. “When we get Trump back in the White House, these guys are in a bind.”
Idiots. I hope Wray takes him down for making those threats. I never in my life thought I’d see so many damn fools in congress. We need some kind of minimum mental capacity test for government IMO. People like him, MTG, and Boebert have no business being in positions of power… NONE. But they were elected by people just like them, and Americans at that, so I guess we have to live with it, until we don’t.
“If I were to remain silent, I'd be guilty of complicity.” ― Albert Einstein
What we have is all these maga Goper’s with their tooth flapping conspiracy theories all the time don’t even know who Einstein was or why he wouldn’t remain silent.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
And they think they are making some kind of point by a woman who doesn't think traffic laws apply to her while ignoring things like these. Then claim they're not trumpians.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
Nevada’s attorney general is investigating fake electors in 2020 for Trump, AP source says
LAS VEGAS (AP) — Nevada’s attorney general is investigating six Republican electors who submitted a document to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election, a person with knowledge of the case said Wednesday.
It was not immediately clear if the ongoing probe was a criminal or civil matter. But the probe adds to official scrutiny of fake electors in several swing states won by President Joe Biden in 2020, including investigations in Georgia, Michigan and Arizona. Fake electors were charged in Georgia and Michigan, and Trump faces charges both in Georgia and in a federal investigation of his conduct related to the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol riot.
The person was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. Politico and NBC News first reported the existence of the investigation.
Attorney General Aaron Ford, a Democrat, did not respond Wednesday to messages. He has said in the past that his office was cooperating and participating with a U.S. Justice Department investigation of the efforts to keep Trump in office. He told the Democratic Attorneys General Association last January he feared that making any comment would be seen as partisan.
Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo, a Republican, vetoed a bill last June passed by the Democratic-led Legislature that would have made it a felony to falsely certify that a losing candidate has won an election.
Among those who served as false electors in 2020 are current state GOP chairman Michael McDonald, national party committee member Jim DeGraffenreid, Clark County party chair Jesse Law and Shawn Meehan, a national and Douglas County committee member. All declined to comment.
McDonald introduced Trump at an October rally in Las Vegas and pushed for the Nevada GOP to hold a nominating caucuses change seen by many Republicans as benefiting the former president. The GOP caucuses will take place Feb. 8, two days after a state-mandated primary.
Efforts by AP to reach the other two fake electors, Durward James “Jim” Hindle III and Eileen Rice in northern Nevada, were not successful.
“These individuals all have no comment,” said Brian Hardy, an attorney involved in the case.
The six electors gathered on Dec. 14, 2020, in Carson City and agreed to send an electoral certificate to Congress in a bid to cast Nevada’s six electoral votes for Trump and keep the former president in power, according to transcripts of closed-door testimony before the U.S. House committee that investigated the Jan. 6 attack that disrupted the tally of electoral votes.
Trump lost Nevada by about 30,000 votes to Biden. The state’s Democratic electors certified the results in the presence of Nevada Secretary of State Barbara Cegavske, a Republican whose defense of the results as reliable and accurate led the state Republican Party to censure her. Cegavske later conducted an investigation that found no credible evidence of widespread voter fraud in the state. Term limits barred her from seeking reelection.
McDonald and DeGraffenreid were among those who testified before the House committee.
Government and outside investigationshave uniformly found there was no evidence of widespread voter fraud that could have swung the election from Biden. Trump has continued to spread falsehoods about the 2020 election.
Somebody better start looking at all the pieces they have in place for 24. Now that there is finally evidence that Trump knew he lost, I haven’t noticed any of that GOPer hate that was directed at dems for ‘stealing the election’ being redirected towards Trump for actually trying to do that!
Dems better wake up and realize that the Trump plan in 24 is to win OR coup.
I am not worried about a coup in 2024. If he loses, he won't have what it takes to do much more mire than make a scene. I am more concerned about 2028 if he wins 2024. He will replace every position that could possibly cause any resistance with one of his lackeys. Then he'll get to work on getting rid if the 2-term limit.
I see the argument, well it wasn't 2 consecutive terms, so I should have another one... 2028 is when the coup kicks in. 2024 to 2028 is just the preparation.
Am I perfect? No Am I trying to be a better person? Also no
You think if it goes bad, his base will just take the L? Have you noticed how many people in powerful positions are still loyal to him? Any election he is involved in going forward is a risk, and he intends to do whatever it takes to get back in. And he will have his base whipped up into a frenzy, even if it has shrunk by a third, that’s a lot of people to do stupid ish. This man is villainous to his core and only cares about himself. It’s prison or power at this point for him. He will act like an injured cornered animal if thongs start going bad. I think the best thing that could happen is keeping him off the ballot by disqualification. GOPers will fight that with every brain cell they can muster.
Geez that's nuts.. I don't expect that from a US Senator.
That was awesome. That Union Boss nearly peed his pants when the Senator stood up. The Union boss actually called out the Senator and got his bluff called and he needed Bernie to save his bacon. We need more politicians to stand up for their themselves and their people. This Union boss was threatening people and then he found someone that would not be threatened.
What is really funny is the Senator has MMA experience and holds a black belt. I think the thug union boss would have got thumped!
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Geez that's nuts.. I don't expect that from a US Senator.
That was awesome. That Union Boss nearly peed his pants when the Senator stood up. The Union boss actually called out the Senator and got his bluff called and he needed Bernie to save his bacon. We need more politicians to stand up for their themselves and their people. This Union boss was threatening people and then he found someone that would not be threatened.
What is really funny is the Senator has MMA experience and holds a black belt. I think the thug union boss would have got thumped!
What we need is fewer idiots in congress. That senator should be removed for wanting to start a fight in the halls of congress.. Typical MAGA ass hat.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
You think if it goes bad, his base will just take the L? Have you noticed how many people in powerful positions are still loyal to him? Any election he is involved in going forward is a risk, and he intends to do whatever it takes to get back in. And he will have his base whipped up into a frenzy, even if it has shrunk by a third, that’s a lot of people to do stupid ish. This man is villainous to his core and only cares about himself. It’s prison or power at this point for him. He will act like an injured cornered animal if thongs start going bad. I think the best thing that could happen is keeping him off the ballot by disqualification. GOPers will fight that with every brain cell they can muster.
I don't think thet will just sit back and do nothing. I do believe this would be a very concerning time for any true American who believes in the Constitution. But I do not believe that it will have enough juice to be anything more that a black stain on our history as a nation
Am I perfect? No Am I trying to be a better person? Also no
Geez that's nuts.. I don't expect that from a US Senator.
That was awesome. That Union Boss nearly peed his pants when the Senator stood up. The Union boss actually called out the Senator and got his bluff called and he needed Bernie to save his bacon. We need more politicians to stand up for their themselves and their people. This Union boss was threatening people and then he found someone that would not be threatened.
What is really funny is the Senator has MMA experience and holds a black belt. I think the thug union boss would have got thumped!
What we need is fewer idiots in congress. That senator should be removed for wanting to start a fight in the halls of congress.. Typical MAGA ass hat.
There was a time that duels were used to settle disputes in congress. Why should a thug union boss get away with trying to intimidate and not get called to the rug like this Senator did.
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Geez that's nuts.. I don't expect that from a US Senator.
That was awesome. That Union Boss nearly peed his pants when the Senator stood up. The Union boss actually called out the Senator and got his bluff called and he needed Bernie to save his bacon. We need more politicians to stand up for their themselves and their people. This Union boss was threatening people and then he found someone that would not be threatened.
What is really funny is the Senator has MMA experience and holds a black belt. I think the thug union boss would have got thumped!
If you want a 3rd world country experience, then yeah, we need more of such politicians. I hope one day we can get back to rising above, rather than finding the lowest common denominator, newer depths of which we keep finding. By the way, whatever happened to turning the other cheek, so to speak?
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
What's really funny is that seems to be something you think is okay. For a senator to act that way while conducting the nation's business. But then I'm not surprised by that. Maybe they should just build an MMA ring in the Capital rotunda to make people such as yourself happy.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
There was a time that duels were used to settle disputes in congress. Why should a thug union boss get away with trying to intimidate and not get called to the rug like this Senator did.
I think that's back at a time when slavery was legal. Do you support that too? I guess now we are starting to understand what MAGA actually means.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
There was a time that duels were used to settle disputes in congress. Why should a thug union boss get away with trying to intimidate and not get called to the rug like this Senator did.
I think that's back at a time when slavery was legal. Do you support that too? I guess now we are starting to understand what MAGA actually means.
It was also a time before cars and rampant pollution, don't you care about the environment?
Geez that's nuts.. I don't expect that from a US Senator.
That was awesome. That Union Boss nearly peed his pants when the Senator stood up. The Union boss actually called out the Senator and got his bluff called and he needed Bernie to save his bacon. We need more politicians to stand up for their themselves and their people. This Union boss was threatening people and then he found someone that would not be threatened.
What is really funny is the Senator has MMA experience and holds a black belt. I think the thug union boss would have got thumped!
What we need is fewer idiots in congress. That senator should be removed for wanting to start a fight in the halls of congress.. Typical MAGA ass hat.
There was a time that duels were used to settle disputes in congress. Why should a thug union boss get away with trying to intimidate and not get called to the rug like this Senator did.
There are a lot of things that we do differently now vs then. The vast majority were changed for good reason. I think Senator(s) actually showing some spine is encouraging, but it would be far better if our elected representatives didn't act like a bunch of clowns. This is just the latest example.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
Geez that's nuts.. I don't expect that from a US Senator.
That was awesome. That Union Boss nearly peed his pants when the Senator stood up. The Union boss actually called out the Senator and got his bluff called and he needed Bernie to save his bacon. We need more politicians to stand up for their themselves and their people. This Union boss was threatening people and then he found someone that would not be threatened.
What is really funny is the Senator has MMA experience and holds a black belt. I think the thug union boss would have got thumped!
What we need is fewer idiots in congress. That senator should be removed for wanting to start a fight in the halls of congress.. Typical MAGA ass hat.
There was a time that duels were used to settle disputes in congress. Why should a thug union boss get away with trying to intimidate and not get called to the rug like this Senator did.
There are a lot of things that we do differently now vs then. The vast majority were changed for good reason. I think Senator(s) actually showing some spine is encouraging, but it would be far better if our elected representatives didn't act like a bunch of clowns. This is just the latest example.
He acted in a way that I was taught as a child. When a bully starts to bully you. Punch them in the nose. Why should that thug union boss go unchecked? He called that thugs bluff. I have no issue with that, A thug only understands thug tactics and he gave him what he deserves. I have no issue with it. It is time we have politicians stop being whimps. Political correctness is making the entire country a bunch of sissies!
Romans 10:9 "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thy heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved."
Yep, I'm sure punching them in the face while at work seems perfectly fine in your world. So your only way of showing you're not a wimp is by punching someone in the face while you're on the job?
Murica!
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I definitely agree with the dude standing up for himself. I would have done so in a more tactful manner.
When union thug has the balls (not really - social media) to say...
"Greedy CEO who pretends like he’s self made. In reality, just a clown & fraud. Always has been, always will be. Quit the tough guy act in these senate hearings. You know where to find me. Anyplace, Anytime cowboy. #LittleManSyndrome"
...It's not going to go unchecked, not with me anyway.
My response would have been more like:
"Mr. O'Brien, I noticed you had the balls to call me out on social media, I'd rather look a man in his eyes. Your 'anytime, any place' can be right after this hearing. We can resolve to discuss this over a drink, or you can ruminate your decision over a hotel sink -- your choice. But make no mistake, mess with this cowboy away from your keyboard, you will get branded."
He acted in a way that I was taught as a child. When a bully starts to bully you. Punch them in the nose. Why should that thug union boss go unchecked? He called that thugs bluff. I have no issue with that, A thug only understands thug tactics and he gave him what he deserves. I have no issue with it. It is time we have politicians stop being whimps. Political correctness is making the entire country a bunch of sissies!
It's not that hard to act like a pro while not being a sissy. The fact a Senator (and the union boss, for that matter) fail so spectacularly to find that sweet spot speaks to how poorly they are for their positions (leading/working with people).
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
I don't think I would do that as part of a hearing before a Senate committee, if I was a Senator. Personally, I've always found quiet resoluteness to be the best response. The Teddy Roosevelt method of speak softly and carry a big stick. Hell, people on this board - one of whom was spouting off a day or two ago in the Watson discussion - have sent me PMs challenging me to a fight, for reasons that confound me. I never feel the need to respond to that challenge, because I would be sinking to their level and allowing them to control me. If someone wants to be a keyboard warrior - and this union leader clearly was - let them clearly be just that. JMHO.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Now I feel left out... I didn't get a single challenge.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
I don't think I would do that as part of a hearing before a Senate committee, if I was a Senator. Personally, I've always found quiet resoluteness to be the best response. The Teddy Roosevelt method of speak softly and carry a big stick. Hell, people on this board - one of whom was spouting off a day or two ago in the Watson discussion - have sent me PMs challenging me to a fight, for reasons that confound me. I never feel the need to respond to that challenge, because I would be sinking to their level and allowing them to control me. If someone wants to be a keyboard warrior - and this union leader clearly was - let them clearly be just that. JMHO.
Yep. I wish I could be that guy. I have a lot of respect for those that have that demeanor, because, to be blunt, I suck at it. I don't have a trigger-type temper, but I'm an idiot when challenged. I could never be famous, there'd be 12 lawsuits per year from journalists and cameramen. You call me out in public, I've got the "Slim Shady" gene, I don't care (sadly) if you're 7'2" and just got done bailing hay lol. It's starting to go away as I'm getting older... very slowly.
I can't believe you got challenged to a duel over a Watson conversation.
What this was is nothing more than a PR stunt played out on the tax payer dime. Choosing a time when the cameras were in the room and he knew it would garner him national headlines. A cheap stunt.
My dad taught me something a very long time ago. If you want to settle something, do it in private. Not in front of a crowd. In the end you look just as foolish as the other guy and force it to escalate by making it a public spectacle where neither can back down.
One would hope that elected officials would take their job more seriously and act in a more respectable manner when they are on the job. But we're seeing less and less of that these days.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I don't think I would do that as part of a hearing before a Senate committee, if I was a Senator. Personally, I've always found quiet resoluteness to be the best response. The Teddy Roosevelt method of speak softly and carry a big stick. Hell, people on this board - one of whom was spouting off a day or two ago in the Watson discussion - have sent me PMs challenging me to a fight, for reasons that confound me. I never feel the need to respond to that challenge, because I would be sinking to their level and allowing them to control me. If someone wants to be a keyboard warrior - and this union leader clearly was - let them clearly be just that. JMHO.
Yep. I wish I could be that guy. I have a lot of respect for those that have that demeanor, because, to be blunt, I suck at it. I don't have a trigger-type temper, but I'm an idiot when challenged. I could never be famous, there'd be 12 lawsuits per year from journalists and cameramen. You call me out in public, I've got the "Slim Shady" gene, I don't care (sadly) if you're 7'2" and just got done bailing hay lol. It's starting to go away as I'm getting older... very slowly.
I can't believe you got challenged to a duel over a Watson conversation.
I know what you mean. I think everyone has that threshold and pressure points, to boot.
It actually wasn't a fight over the Watson thread. It was a couple years back when I jokingly said something along the lines of "try not to hit me while you are swinging your purse around" and the dude PM'ed me and gave me the "anytime/anywhere" spiel. I was honestly shocked to see that, but I laughed it off. Never forgot him saying that, though. Then I realized he has that demeanor with a lot of posters around here, so I honestly feel bad for the guy. Hope he resolves whatever has been eating at him.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Now I feel left out... I didn't get a single challenge.
You want to go, bro?
Meet me behind the storage shed in the smack section.
I forgot we even had the smack shack.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
Now I feel left out... I didn't get a single challenge.
You and me, sand volleyball courts at Back Porch Saloon. Midnight. Wood weapons only. Loser buys drinks, if still alive.
I think you're challenging me to a fight, but it sounds different.
There is no level of sucking we haven't seen; in fact, I'm pretty sure we hold the patents on a few levels of sucking NOBODY had seen until the past few years.
What this was is nothing more than a PR stunt played out on the tax payer dime. Choosing a time when the cameras were in the room and he knew it would garner him national headlines. A cheap stunt.
My dad taught me something a very long time ago. If you want to settle something, do it in private. Not in front of a crowd. In the end you look just as foolish as the other guy and force it to escalate by making it a public spectacle where neither can back down.
One would hope that elected officials would take their job more seriously and act in a more respectable manner when they are on the job. But we're seeing less and less of that these days.
I think that's a valuable life-lesson, but we're on the back nine and times change. Doesn't make the advice less valuable, makes it harder to take to heart for those a few years behind us.
When we were young, the extent of "public spectacle" was to call us out in front of friends at the lunch table or maybe coworkers in the work place. Now people get called out in front of the whole universe and generally decide to respond in kind. Not necessarily talking about this incident as much as the whole sign of the times, as the sand moves faster and faster through the glass right before our eyes.
I think you're challenging me to a fight, but it sounds different.
That reminds me of when Mullins brought up the "two consenting adults" line in that meeting in reference to fighting. That's not usually the topic involved with that comment.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
George Santos, the gift that just keeps on giving.......
New resolution filed to expel GOP Rep. George Santos from Congress
The move comes one day after a scathing ethics panel report on his conduct.
Embattled GOP Rep. George Santos is facing another resolution to expel him from Congress.
Republican Rep. Michael Guest, chairman of the House Ethics Committee, filed the resolution on Friday -- one day after his panel released an explosive report stating a monthslong probe of the New York congressman "revealed a complex web of unlawful activity involving Representative Santos' campaign, personal, and business finances."
House investigators detailed how it said Santos used dollars donated to his political campaign for his own personal benefit, such as $2,900 labeled for "Botox" and $10,000 spent at high-end Ferragamo and Hermes store. Santos slammed the report as "disgusting politicized smear" and said he'd continue to defend himself, although he also announced after its release that he would not run for reelection.
Guest, in a statement, said the evidence discovered by the committee is “more than sufficient to warrant punishment and the most appropriate punishment is expulsion.”
The resolution cites the panel's findings as well as the criminal charges brought against Santos, to which he's pleaded not guilty, and the prosecutions of his campaign treasurer and a former fundraiser.
It states that "given his egregious violations" Santos is unfit to serve as a U.S. representative.
Guest filed the expulsion resolution electronically as the House adjourned Friday for Thanksgiving recess. It is not a privileged resolution, meaning there is not a two-day time constraint to bring it to the floor for a vote, though that can change when lawmakers return on Nov. 28.
Santos late Thursday announced he would hold a news conference at the Capitol steps on Nov. 30. He encouraged all members to attend.
"I will continue to fight for what I believe in and I will never back down," Santos said.
Before all of this, even with the mountain of evidence against Santos, many in the GOP wanted it to go to the ethics committee and get a report from them first..............
House votes to refer Santos matter to Ethics panel
Geez that's nuts.. I don't expect that from a US Senator.
That was awesome. That Union Boss nearly peed his pants when the Senator stood up. The Union boss actually called out the Senator and got his bluff called and he needed Bernie to save his bacon. We need more politicians to stand up for their themselves and their people. This Union boss was threatening people and then he found someone that would not be threatened.
What is really funny is the Senator has MMA experience and holds a black belt. I think the thug union boss would have got thumped!
If you want a 3rd world country experience, then yeah, we need more of such politicians. I hope one day we can get back to rising above, rather than finding the lowest common denominator, newer depths of which we keep finding. By the way, whatever happened to turning the other cheek, so to speak?
I find it hilarious that the same people who cried and condemned me for saying punch Nazis in the nose now want fist fights in congress. I guess they don’t see how fascist they look.
Geez that's nuts.. I don't expect that from a US Senator.
That was awesome. That Union Boss nearly peed his pants when the Senator stood up. The Union boss actually called out the Senator and got his bluff called and he needed Bernie to save his bacon. We need more politicians to stand up for their themselves and their people. This Union boss was threatening people and then he found someone that would not be threatened.
What is really funny is the Senator has MMA experience and holds a black belt. I think the thug union boss would have got thumped!
What we need is fewer idiots in congress. That senator should be removed for wanting to start a fight in the halls of congress.. Typical MAGA ass hat.
There was a time that duels were used to settle disputes in congress. Why should a thug union boss get away with trying to intimidate and not get called to the rug like this Senator did.
There was also a time where we used a horse a buggy to get around. Things change and they should..If you wanna return to those dark days, be my guest.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Geez that's nuts.. I don't expect that from a US Senator.
That was awesome. That Union Boss nearly peed his pants when the Senator stood up. The Union boss actually called out the Senator and got his bluff called and he needed Bernie to save his bacon. We need more politicians to stand up for their themselves and their people. This Union boss was threatening people and then he found someone that would not be threatened.
What is really funny is the Senator has MMA experience and holds a black belt. I think the thug union boss would have got thumped!
What we need is fewer idiots in congress. That senator should be removed for wanting to start a fight in the halls of congress.. Typical MAGA ass hat.
There was a time that duels were used to settle disputes in congress. Why should a thug union boss get away with trying to intimidate and not get called to the rug like this Senator did.
There was also a time where we used a horse a buggy to get around. Things change and they should..If you wanna return to those dark days, be my guest.
I think that ship has already sailed.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
How many republicans voted for Pelosi to be speaker? So you think democrats should bail out the republican dysfunction and if not they are the problem? Typical.
And yes, the squad makes a lot of noise. But show me an example where they've tried to pull something like this?
Exactly. Republican voters would riot if republicans voted for Pelosi in a situation like this.
In many ways, Republicans have adopted an 'anti-Dem' platform to fill the vacuum of not having a coherent platform. A significant slice of the Republican party has built an identity of simply working against the other major party. Bipartisan anything is simply not feasible.
Anti Dem is the ONLY platform they have.
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Trump allies resurrect Jan. 6 conspiracies after release of Capitol footage
House Speaker Mike Johnson's (R-La.) decision to release 44,000 hours of security footage from Jan. 6 has triggered a new wave of conspiracy theories from pro-Trump actors seeking to rewrite the history of the Capitol riot.
Why it matters: Ahead of the 2022 midterms, many Republicans accused the now-defunct House Jan. 6 committee of exploiting the insurrection for political purpose — arguing that the country should move forward, not look back.
Now, it's former President Trump and his allies — including members of Congress — who are intent on re-litigating the deadly assault on the Capitol, including by "investigating the investigators." For Democrats whose 2024 messaging relies on painting their Republican opponents as "MAGA extremists," the revisionist history around Jan. 6 may as well be an in-kind campaign contribution.
Driving the news: Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah), Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) and Rep. Troy Nehls (R-Texas) are among the GOP lawmakers who have called for an investigation into the Jan. 6 committee, citing footage of Trump supporters walking peacefully past Capitol police officers.
Lee and Greene promoted a baseless conspiracy theory on X suggesting that one Jan. 6 participant was an undercover federal agent caught on camera flashing a badge. In reality, the "badge" was a vape — and the "agent" was Jan. 6 defendant Kevin Lyons, who stole a photo from former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's (D-Calif.) office and has been sentenced to four years in prison. "Criminal referrals must be written and prosecutions MUST happen under a Trump DOJ. I've said it all along, MAGA did not do this," Greene wrote in a post later edited to remove an image and reference to Lyons.
Reality check: In response to an online frenzy over the peaceful excerpts, former Jan. 6 committee vice chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) tweeted out a compilation of pro-Trump rioters violently assaulting Capitol police officers.
More than 1,200 defendants in all 50 states and D.C. have been charged in connection with the Jan. 6 attack, according to the Justice Department.
Approximately 140 police officers were assaulted that day. Five officers died in the days and weeks after the riot.
The big picture: Trump has needed no help from his congressional allies in making Jan. 6 and election denialism the centerpiece of his presidential campaign.
At a rally this month, the Republican front-runner referred to Jan. 6 defendants as "hostages" and stood saluting during a song recorded by the J6 Prison Choir. A state judge ruled Friday that Trump could stay on the ballot in Colorado, but formally determined the former president "engaged in insurrection" on Jan. 6. As his lawyers argued against a gag order in his federal election interference case Monday, Trump reposted a former aide's claim that "everything you've been told about January 6th is [censored]" — and that the people who "framed Trump ... will pay."
Not exactly if you read the the clause in the 14th amendment. Nowhere in it does it say the president himself.
Quote
Fourteenth Amendment, Section 3:
"No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any state, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, or as a member of any State legislature, or as an executive or judicial officer of any State, to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same, or given aid or comfort to the enemies thereof But Congress may by a vote of two-thirds of each House, remove such disability."
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I guess the Judge can hide behind…No conviction… but that doesn’t seem to be an issue with the majority of the Goper’s anyway.trump is their choice regardless.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
I think the ruling made the point that the insurrection clause does not include the president in its description of people who can not hold office. And factually that is correct. I don't like it but it's true. I don't envy the judge who had to decide this case. They have to follow the law even if they themselves don't like it. At least most of them do.... most of the time.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
I think “or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States,” covers the POTUS as well. Oh well anyone can interpret anything into what they want these days.
"The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants." Thomas Jefferson.
Iowa official’s wife convicted of 52 counts of voter fraud in ballot-stuffing scheme
SIOUX CITY, Iowa (AP) — The wife of a northwestern Iowa county supervisor was convicted Tuesday of a scheme to stuff the ballot box in her husband’s unsuccessful race for a Republican nomination to run for Congress in 2020.
The Sioux City Journal reports that jurors deliberated six hours before finding Kim Taylor guilty of 26 counts of providing false information in registering and voting, three counts of fraudulent registration and 23 counts of fraudulent voting.
Prosecutors said Taylor, a Vietnam native, approached numerous voters of Vietnamese heritage with limited English comprehension and filled out and signed election forms and ballots on behalf of them and their English-speaking children.
They said the scheme was designed to help her husband, Jeremy Taylor, a former Iowa House member, who finished a distant third in the race for the Republican nomination to run for Iowa’s 4th District congressional seat. Despite that loss, he ultimately won election to the Woodbury County Board of Supervisors that fall.
No one testified to seeing Kim Taylor personally sign any of the documents, but her presence in each voter’s home when the forms were filled out was the common thread through the case.
Jeremy Taylor, who met his wife while teaching in Vietnam, has not been charged, but has been named as an unindicted co-conspirator. The case remains under investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ron Timmons, one of three prosecutors who presented the federal government’s case, said he couldn’t comment on any potential future indictments.
Kim Taylor, who remains free pending sentencing, faces up to five years in prison on each charge.
“Now is a time for empathy for a family that is suffering,” said her attorney, F. Montgomery Brown, adding his focus is to get the best outcome at sentencing.
Brown didn’t immediately respond to an email message from The Associated Press about the case or the couple’s reaction.
Woodbury County election officials became aware of possible voter fraud in September 2020, when two Iowa State University students from Sioux City requested absentee ballots, only to learn ballots had already been cast in their name.
They were allowed to withdraw those ballots and cast their own, but Woodbury County Auditor Pat Gill, who also is election commissioner, kept the fraudulent ballots. When processing absentee ballots on election night, election workers notified Gill that the handwriting on a number of them appeared to be similar.
Most voter fraud cases involve one voter casting a single ballot in another person’s name, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Evans, who helped prosecute Taylor’s case.
“Despite what’s in the media, voter fraud is extremely rare,” Evans said. “To have someone vote dozens of times for several people, that is rare.”
Trump wishes "psycho" judge and "racist" DA a happy Thanksgiving
Former President Trump took to Truth Social at 2:03am ET on Thanksgiving to attack people involved in the fraud case that threatens his real estate empire, along with his political opponents.
Why it matters: The early-morning diatribe is hardly a traditional Thanksgiving message, but it is classic Trump — and it comes as court officials argue that a gag order restricting just these sorts of posts relating to the $250 million New York civil fraud trial should be reinstated.
What he's saying: In a post beginning "Happy Thanksgiving to ALL," Trump called:
District Attorney Letitia James, who brought the civil fraud charges against Trump and other Trump Organization executives, "racist and incompetent;"
Judge Arthur Engoron, who is overseeing the trial, a "Psycho" who had purposely undervalued his assets, and; Engoron's legal clerk, whom Trump has repeatedly attacked during the trial, "Politically Biased and Corrupt."
Trump also went after "Crooked Joe Biden," the "Radical Left," "RINOS" and more, before vowing to win the 2024 election.
Driving the news: A New York appeals court last week paused a gag order Engoron had imposed on Trump after the former president began posting attacks against the law clerk.
Trump was fined twice under the order for a combined $15,000.
Once able to comment freely, Trump quickly resumed knocking the clerk and the proceedings more generally.
The appeals process around the gag order is ongoing. N.Y. court officials argued in favor of reinstating the order on Wednesday, citing threats against Engoron and the clerk after Trump's posts.
Zoom out: Trump is also fighting a gag order in his federal election interference case.
The latest: Trump posted a video later on Thanksgiving morning with a more traditional message, thanking troops serving overseas and first responders at home.
Scoop: Jewish Democrats rebuke GOP bill to expel Palestinians
A pair of Jewish House Democrats is introducing a resolution on Tuesday condemning a Republican bill to expel Palestinians from the U.S., Axios has learned.
Why it matters: While lawmakers often condemn or censure each other for controversial rhetoric, it's rare for legislation to spark a formal rebuke.
Driving the news: The two-page resolution, a copy of which was first shared with Axios, is being introduced by Reps. Greg Landsman (D-Ohio) and Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), both of whom are Jewish and steadfastly pro-Israel.
The GOP bill, introduced earlier this month by Rep. Ryan Zinke (R-Mont.) with 10 Republican co-sponsors, would ban or revoke visas, refugee status and asylum for Palestinian Authority passport holders dating back to Oct 1, shortly before the Hamas attack on Israel. The resolution says the GOP bill “dangerously conflates Palestinians with Hamas” and “is un-American, bigoted, and is designed to inflame tensions which could result in violence.”
What they’re saying: "They're trying to expel an entire community of people from the United States," Landsman said in a statement. "We need these folks to pull back on this dangerous rhetoric and to stop adding fuel to this fire."
Landsman said the proposal "is not helping the Israelis, it's certainly not helping the Palestinians, it's absolutely undercutting our role in pursuing peace and stability in the region and here at home." "Calls to expel Palestinians from the United States are racist, xenophobic and have no place in the government of the United States," Goldman said.
The other side: Zinke told Axios in a statement that the bill is "about the fact that The Biden Administration is completely incapable of vetting anyone coming in to our country."
"Democrats are so desperate to distract from Biden's foreign policy failures that they're trying to start identity and culture wars while Biden's weak leadership has the world in full scale ground wars on multiple fronts."
Not surprised.....BUT, I never thought a Republican President could out Clinton on complete BS- oral sex isn't really sex....or depends on what definition of is/ is? What the hell? Ok, to my point, NOW- our MAGA giant, ex- President has his men/ women lawyers in Colorado saying- he never took an oath to "support" the Constitution!!!! WOW, an ex-President claiming he never took an oath to support the Constitution- I've seen and read it all.....unbelievable.
"You've never lived till you've almost died, life has a flavor the protected will never know" A vet or cop
Which is either proof that god doesn’t exist, God left this planet a while ago, or God doesn’t care about the day to day events of mortal beings.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
Students for Trump founder arrested, accused of assaulting girlfriend
A co-founder of the Students for Trump supporter group was arrested last week on domestic violence charges in North Carolina, according to court documents.
Ryan Fournier, who co-founded the organization as a Campbell University student in 2016 and now leads conservative activist group Radical Alert, was charged with assault of a woman and assault with a deadly weapon after an incident last Tuesday.
According to court records, Fournier grabbed his girlfriend by the arm and hit her in the head with a handgun.
He was released on a $2,500 bond that day. His next court appearance is scheduled for Dec. 18.
Radical Alert describes itself as an organization that “exposes” political “radicals” on college campuses. Its social media posts include conspiracy theories tying celebrities and members of Congress to terrorist groups
Fellow Students for Trump co-founder John Lambert was arrested and sentenced to 13 months in prison in May 2021 for posing as a lawyer in a fraud scheme providing bunk legal advice.
Boebert tussles with Social Security official over claims backlog
Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.) argued with a Social Security official over claims of backlogs in a Wednesday hearing about post-pandemic teleworking policies.
Boebert asked Oren “Hank” McKnelly, an executive counselor for the Social Security Administration, if the administration monitored its employees’ output and hours if workers are logging on from home.
McKnelly assured Boebert social security employees are “subjected to the same performance management processes” whether they are teleworking or working from the office.
“We have systems in place that our managers use to schedule, assign and track workloads,” McKnelly said, adding that if employees work virtually, they must be responsive to various forms of communication.
Boebert continued, asking the official why the backlog of social security applicants has increased from 41,000 to 107,000.
“We’ve been historically underfunded for a number of years now,” McKnelly fired back, to which the congresswoman disagreed.
McKnelly said in the past 10 years, the administration has seen an increase of more than 8 million beneficiaries and experienced the lowest staffing levels ever at the end of fiscal 2022.
“That’s a math problem,” he said. “If you have those workloads increasing and you don’t have the staff to take care of those workloads, you’re going to have the backlogs that you’re talking about, representative.”
This explains why Boebert is having trouble comprehending what the actual cause if this is. It's a math problem.
It takes 220 days for social security claims to be decided, on average, which is 100 days longer than it did in 2019, said Rep. Drew Ferguson (R-Ga.), the chair of the House Ways and Means Social Security subcommittee, in a hearing in October.
Trump unleashes grievances, warnings in wild 24 hours on Truth Social
Former President Trump has spent the last 24 hours on Truth Social unleashing a torrent of grievances, vengeful promises and links to online conspiracy theories about his political rivals.
Why it matters: Trump's online rhetoric has frequently dipped into violent extremism since he left office, escalating as his legal troubles have mounted. Public fatigue and the pro-Trump echo chamber created by Truth Social have at times softened the shock value of the GOP front-runner's daily musings.
Zoom in: Below is a sampling of Trump's online rhetoric over the last 24 hours:
Nov. 28, 11:13 pm: Called on the government to "come down hard" on MSNBC and "make them pay" for its critical coverage of Republicans, after previously vowing to investigate parent company Comcast if elected.
Nov. 29, 12:36 am: Doubled down on his pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, saying "Obamacare Sucks!!!"
Nov. 29, 12:55 am: Accused writer E. Jean Carroll of fabricating sexual assault allegations against him, despite twice being found liable for defamation for similar comments.
Nov. 29, 8:26 am: Warned that his indictments have opened up a "very big and dangerous Pandora's Box," building on recent suggestions that he will use the Justice Department to prosecute his enemies if elected.
Nov. 29, 10:33 am: Called GOP rival Nikki Haley "a very weak and ineffective Birdbrain" after she was endorsed by the Koch political network.
Nov. 29, 12:50 pm: Posted a link to a report by anti-Muslim conspiracy theorist Laura Loomer with a photoshopped picture of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis wearing Hamas insignia.
Nov. 29, 1:11 pm: Claimed that he has "done more for Black people than any other President," potentially including Abraham Lincoln.
Nov. 29, 3:58 pm, 3:59 pm, 4:00pm, 4:01pm, 4:02pm: Targeted the wife of New York Judge Arthur Engoron — who is presiding over his civil fraud trail — in five separate posts for allegedly criticizing the Trump family and other Republicans on social media. Engoron's wife has denied making the posts, saying she doesn't have an X account.
Florida’s GOP chairman is a subject in a rape investigation
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (AP) — The chairman of Florida’s Republican Party is the subject of a rape investigation, though no charges have been filed and his lawyer said he will be exonerated.
Still, the investigation into Christian Ziegler comes at a critical time for the Republican Party of Florida: Two Florida Republicans — former President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis — are running for president and the state GOP is working to reelect U.S. Sen. Rick Scott. Florida was also key to Republicans winning a slim majority in the U.S. House in 2022 and the party will be defending the newly won seats.
The Florida Center for Government Accountability was first to publicly report about the investigation into Ziegler, who is married to Moms for Liberty co-founder Bridget Ziegler. The Associated Press asked the Sarasota Police Department for documents related to an investigation into Christian Ziegler. It provided a heavily redacted incident report. It has several mentions of rape and sexual assault, but any mention of Ziegler is redacted.
“Mr. Ziegler has been fully cooperative with every request made by the Sarasota Police Department,” his lawyer, Derek Byrd, said in a statement. “Unfortunately, public figures are often accused of acts that they did not commit whether it be for political purposes or financial gain. I would caution anyone to rush to judgment until the investigation is concluded.”
The police report was filed Oct. 4 about an incident two days earlier in a private home.
Democrats were quick to make a political issue of the investigation.
“I applaud the accuser’s bravery in coming forward against a political figure as powerful as Christian Ziegler,” state Democratic Party Chairwoman Nikki Fried said in a statement. “Ziegler can’t possibly continue to lead the Florida GOP under these conditions.”
Ziegler took over the party in February, three months after DeSantis won a landslide re-election in an election where Florida was one of the few bright spots for Republicans nationally.
Ziegler and his wife are a Republican power couple. Bridget Ziegler is on the Sarasota County School Board and has received national attention for her work with Moms for Liberty, a group that promotes a conservative agenda for public schools on issues like civil and LGBTQ rights and teaching about the experience of marginalized communities.
Ron DeSantis appointed Bridget Ziegler to a state-created board to oversee development on Disney World property. DeSantis stripped Disney of its ability to self-governor and created the board amid a feud that began when the entertainment company opposed his effort to ban instruction on LGBTQ topics in public schools.
"Nov. 29, 12:36 am: Doubled down on his pledge to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, saying "Obamacare Sucks!!!"
It's kinda funny, but if he wants to repeal and replace Obamacare with something better, I'm all for it. Except, they never have shown anything better.
you've got roughly 24 million Americans depending on the ACA, you'd think that they would not be happy about him wanting to repeal it..
#GMSTRONG
“Everyone is entitled to his own opinion, but not to his own facts.” Daniel Patrick Moynahan
"Alternative facts hurt us all. Think before you blindly believe." Damanshot
Speaker Johnson wrote foreword for book filled with conspiracy theories and homophobic insults
Speaker of the House Mike Johnson wrote the foreword and publicly promoted a 2022 book that spread baseless and discredited conspiracy theories and used derogatory homophobic insults.
Written by Scott McKay, a local Louisiana politics blogger, the book, “The Revivalist Manifesto,” gives credence to unfounded conspiracy theories often embraced by the far-right – including the “Pizzagate” hoax, which falsely claimed top Democratic officials were involved in a pedophile ring, among other conspiracies.
The book also propagates baseless and inaccurate claims, implying that Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts was subjected to blackmail and connected to the disgraced underage sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Other sections of the book defend podcaster Joe Rogan from racism charges after it was revealed he used the N-word, which Rogan later apologized for. The book also disparages poor voters as “unsophisticated and susceptible to government dependency” and easy to manipulate with “Black Lives Matter ‘defund the police’ pandering.”
“Scott McKay presents a valuable and timely contribution with The Revivalist Manifesto because he has managed here to articulate well what millions of conscientious, freedom-loving Americans are sensing,” Johnson writes in his 300-word foreword.
Johnson’s endorsement of the book extends beyond the foreword: In 2022, he actively promoted the book on his public social media platforms and even dedicated an episode of his podcast he co-hosts with his wife to hosting McKay.
During the podcast episode, Johnson expressed his belief in the book, stating, “I obviously believe in the product, or I wouldn’t have written the foreword. So I endorse the work.” He also referred to McKay as a “dear friend” and highlighted that the book “really could make some waves.” Over the years, Johnson had written opinion pieces for McKay’s blog, the Hayride, and engaged with the author on public platforms like Facebook.
Since he was elevated to the speakership in October, Johnson’s views from his time as a socially conservative attorney, state lawmaker and Louisiana congressman have come under increased scrutiny – particularly his views on homosexuality which he has called an “inherently unnatural” and “dangerous” lifestyle and even blamed it, in part, for the fall of the Roman Empire.
Following publication of this story, a spokesman for Johnson told CNN he did not read passages of McKay’s book highlighted by CNN and said he strongly disagreed with them.
“The Speaker had never read the passages highlighted in the CNN story which he strongly disagrees with. He wrote the foreword as a favor to a friend, supportive of the general theme of the book but not as an endorsement of all the opinions expressed.”
CNN reached out to McKay, who called the story a “hit piece” on social media.
Reviving Pizzagate
In his book, McKay insinuates that hacked emails from Hillary Clinton’s 2016 campaign chairman John Podesta contained coded references hinting involvement in “child sex trafficking” because of “unexplained references” to “hot dogs and pizza,” resembling alleged code words used by pedophiles.
“The Pizzagate scandal was born, and though some of the most outlandish allegations made in it were clearly disproven, other elements were not; the whole thing just seemed to be dismissed as debunked, and no explanation was ever given,” he writes.
While McKay remains ambiguous in his book regarding the elements he asserts weren’t disproven, he explicitly writes on his public Facebook page that the conspiracy related to code words was not debunked and goes as far as labeling Podesta as a pedophile.
Despite framing conspiracy theories as inquiries in his book, McKay often openly endorses these claims on his public social media platforms.
Jared Holt, an expert on right wing conspiracy theories at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a think-tank that studies disinformation, told CNN that Johnson’s promotion of the book raised questions about the new House speaker’s judgment.
The book contains “the lurid daydreams of certain online far-right sentiments,” said Holt. “His leadership may open the door for those unpopular fringes to weld disproportionate political power.”
Homophobic slurs and disparaging poor voters
The book repeatedly disparages Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, calling the former mayor a “queer choice” for the Cabinet position and saying he had “queer sanctimony” and was “openly, and obnoxiously, gay.” At one point, the book labels him “Gay Mayor Pete Buttigieg.”
Another section takes aim at poor voters, who the author calls, “unsophisticated and susceptible to government dependency” and says they are easily manipulated with “bowdlerizing old monuments, or midnight basketball, or Black Lives Matter ‘defund the police’ pandering.”
While McKay’s reference was to poor voters nationwide, Louisiana often ranks among the poorest states in the United States when measured by the share of citizens living below the poverty line.
Midnight basketball refers to late-night basketball leagues designed to steer young people away from potential involvement in crime by offering engagement during peak crime hours.
McKay’s book also shares other unfounded conspiracy theories, including the debunked claim that the Democratic National Committee’s emails in 2016 were not hacked but leaked by a staffer named Seth Rich. In 2020, Rich’s parents settled a lawsuit with Fox News, stemming from the network’s publication of a retracted story connecting their son’s murder to right-wing conspiracy theories. The book denies that carbon dioxide is linked to climate change and frequently mocks the climate crisis as “hysteria.”
The book also spreads a conspiracy theory that the Biden administration deliberately allowed undocumented immigrants into the country to turn them into voters.
The book targets and taunts prominent Democratic officials, including calling Interior Secretary Deb Haaland “half oppressed” because her mother is Native American and father is of Norwegian descent and writes that former President Barack Obama’s “chief selling point was that he was black.”
McKay also adds that the late Arizona Sen. John McCain, a frequent foe of Donald Trump, used his time as a prisoner of war in Vietnam “as a political get-out-of-jail-free card.”
The internet is having a lot of fun with Trump's "war on Democracy" speech fumble in Iowa Kelly McClure
During a signature revved up speech delivered at the Whiskey River bar in Ankeny, Iowa on Saturday, Donald Trump said the quiet part out loud — as the expression goes — during a key moment of the campaign event, declaring, "We've been waging an all-out war on American democracy," and the internet is having a field day with it.
The slip-up took place as he was, per usual, railing against the 2020 election results, singing his own praises as "an outsider" who was elected to "stand up to those liars, looters, losers, crooks," faulting Democrats for not putting America first, which he feels that he did for the four years he was in office.
"That's why it was one of the great presidencies, they say," he speaks of himself. "Even the opponents sometimes say he did very well, I have to say. 'Take it back,' they scream. his people say 'Take it back.' From that day on, our opponents, a lot of opponents, but we've been waging an all-out war on American democracy."
After his comment, the internet flooded with memes echoing various deliveries of the sentiment "he really said that," such as one from @LocolopezNYC showing an illustration of Trump placing dynamite at the base of a statue with the word "Democracy" and the caption "No s**t."
Florida's Republican chair has denied a woman's rape allegation in a case roiling state politics
Gov. DeSantis called for his resignation, roiling state's conservative politics.
FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. -- The head of the Florida Republican Party, whose wife is a founder of one of the nation’s most prominent conservative groups, has been accused of rape, leading Gov. Ron DeSantis to call for his resignation, roiling the state's conservative politics and creating accusations of hypocrisy from Democrats and LBGTQ+ activists.
Police search warrant affidavits obtained by Florida news organizations show that a woman who had been friends with Christian Ziegler for 20 years has accused him of raping her in her apartment two months ago. Ziegler, a longtime party activist who took over the state Republican Party in February, denied the allegations in an interview with police, saying the sex was consensual.
No criminal charges have been filed against Ziegler, 40, but the Sarasota Police investigation remains open. The accuser’s name has not been released, and The Associated Press doesn't identify the possible victims of sexual assault without their permission.
“We are confident that once the police investigation is concluded that no charges will be filed and Mr. Ziegler will be completely exonerated,” his attorney, Derek Byrd, said in a statement.
His wife, Bridget Ziegler, told detectives that the three had engaged in sex once more than a year ago. She is a co-founder of Moms for Liberty, a group that along with the Florida GOP and DeSantis has pushed against LBGTQ+ causes and their supporters.
Bridget Ziegler is also an elected member of the Sarasota County school board and was appointed by DeSantis to the board that now oversees Walt Disney World’s land development. DeSantis pushed through legislation last year disbanding a Disney-controlled board after the company opposed his bill that limits sex education in schools.
DeSantis said on Thursday that Christian Ziegler should resign, noting that while he is innocent until proven guilty, his presence would be a distraction and that “the mission (of electing Republicans) is more important.” DeSantis is seeking the party’s presidential nomination, but trails former President Donald Trump in the polls.
Moms for Liberty posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday that it supports Bridget Ziegler and “every other badass woman fighting for kids & America.” Ziegler was one of the group’s three founders in early 2021.
Originally started in Florida, the group has since expanded nationwide and has had some success running social conservatives for school board seats.
Nikki Fried, chair of the Florida Democratic Party, said in a statement that Christian Ziegler should resign and then took a shot at both Christian and Bridget Ziegler, saying “the level of hypocrisy in this situation is stunning.”
“What happens behind closed doors is Christian and Bridget’s personal business. That being said, I do find it interesting that two people who are so obsessed with banning books about gay penguins might be engaged in a non-traditional sexual relationship,” Fried said.
She was referring to the children’s book “And Tango Makes Three” about two male penguins who raise a chick together. Based on a true story, the book is often a target of Moms for Liberty members and other conservatives who don’t think it should be included in elementary school libraries. The AP could not confirm that the Zieglers have personally opposed the book.
Christian Ziegler did not immediately respond to a phone message left Saturday seeking comment. No telephone number for Bridget Ziegler was available, and an email sent Saturday seeking comment through Moms for Liberty wasn't immediately returned.
The search warrant affidavits were obtained by the Florida Center for Government Accountability, an investigative news organization. It shared them with several other news outlets that have posted them online. The AP has not been able to obtain its own copies. The warrants allowed police to seize Christian Ziegler’s cellphone and obtain his online communications.
In the affidavits filed last month, Sarasota Police Detective Angela Cox said investigators were seeking emails, photos, videos, contacts and other information from Christian Ziegler’s cellphone and Google account as part of their investigation into the woman’s accusation.
The woman told detectives that she and Christian Ziegler have known each other for more than 20 years. She said that on Oct. 2, she agreed to have sex with Ziegler and his wife but backed out after Christian Ziegler told her that his wife “couldn’t make it.”
The woman said that a while later, she left her apartment to walk her dog only to find Ziegler standing in the hallway. She says he pushed her inside and raped her, according to the affidavits. Investigators say the apartment complex’s security video shows Ziegler entering the building and leaving.
The woman’s sister told Cox that the woman called her and told her she was raped. The woman reported the rape two days later.
In late October, after Ziegler tried to contact the woman, police had her exchange monitored phone and text message conversations with him. According to the affidavits, he insisted that they are friends and at one point suggested that they meet in person.
“Hell no, not after what you did to me. Do you understand I am terrified of you?” she wrote to him.
He replied that he had to go.
In a phone call, the woman told Ziegler that he had sexually assaulted her.
“Those are big words, please don’t, no I didn’t,” he replied. “You invited me in.”
He offered her “financial help” before becoming suspicious that their calls were being recorded.
In a Nov. 2 interview with detectives with his attorney present, Ziegler said the sex was consensual and that he had recorded it. He said he then deleted the video, but after the accusation he recovered it and uploaded it to Google.
Detectives seized Christian Ziegler’s phone on Nov. 2 and accessed his Google account two weeks ago, the affidavits say.
None of what they have found has been made public.
So much for supporting "traditional marriage. Unless of course they have redefined it into including threesomes. It seems as though those living in glass houses have been throwing stones.... again.
Intoducing for The Cleveland Browns, Quarterback Deshawn "The Predator" Watson. He will also be the one to choose your next head coach.
“To announce that there must be no criticism of the President, or that we are to stand by the President, right or wrong, is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public.”
You know the funny thing is that I can actually get behind some of the stuff he talks about in what he would theoretically bring to the House floor. I wouldn't necessarily criminalize lobbying, but I think he was getting at the donations/campaign contributions.
I think that's about as far as I can level with what he said.
He actually sounds fairly intelligent and can speak well in terms of articulating thought processes, which is good evidence that conspiracy theories and irrational rage and fervor can pollute all kinds of minds.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
OMG! The new Speaker, Mike Johnson, said he will release the J6 tapes after they BLUR THE FACES of rioters to protect them from prosecution and retribution. America needs to put Murica down.
I hope these actions help him catch his own indictment for aiding and abetting those POS insurrectionists!
Here’s the short version with only what Johnson said.
Thanks for posting that. I think what she said regarding Johnson's flip-flopping and advocacy for things he does not believe in, in order to gain approval, is 100% at the heart of what is wrong with Congressional Republicans - and Republicans at large right now. As I'm typing this, Liz just hinted to the same.
Blue ostriches on crack float on milkshakes between the sidewalk titans of gurglefitz. --YTown
Nevada grand jury indicts six Republicans who falsely certified that Trump won the state in 2020
RENO, Nev. (AP) — A Nevada grand jury on Wednesday indicted six Republicans who submitted certificates to Congress falsely declaring Donald Trump the winner of the 2020 presidential election in their state, making Nevada the third to seek charges against so-called “fake electors.”
“We cannot allow attacks on democracy to go unchallenged,” Nevada’s Democratic Attorney General Aaron Ford said in a statement Wednesday. “Today’s indictments are the product of a long and thorough investigation, and as we pursue this prosecution, I am confident that our judicial system will see justice done.”
The fake electors — involved in the state GOP or Clark County GOP — have been charged with offering a false instrument for filing and uttering a forged instrument. Those two categories of felonies have penalties that range from one year up to either four or five years in prison.
The indictments in Nevada are just the latest to come out of investigations in several states into the activities of Republican electors.
Michigan’s Attorney General filed felony charges in July against 16 Republican fake electors, who would face eight criminal charges including forgery and conspiracy to commit election forgery, though one had charges dropped after reaching a cooperation deal. The top charge carried a maximum penalty of 14 years in prison.
In Wisconsin, 10 Republicans who posed as electors settled a civil lawsuit Wednesday, admitting their actions were part of an effort to overturn President Joe Biden’s victory. Sixteen fake electors also have been charged in Georgia, three of which were also charged in August alongside Trump in a sweeping indictment accusing them of participating in a wide-ranging scheme to illegally overturn the results of the presidential election. They have pleaded not guilty.
Democratic attorneys general in New Mexico and Arizona also are investigating the role of fake electors in their states.
Ford began investigating fake electors in Nevada last month. That announcement marked a shift for the state’s first-term attorney general, who previously was quiet on whether he would investigate the fake electors before saying that state law did not directly address whether he could pursue charges.
In December 2020, six Republicans signed certificates falsely stating that Trump won Nevada and sent them to Congress and the National Archives, where they were ultimately ignored. The House committee investigating the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol looked into the role these fake electors in key battleground states took in Trump’s attempt to cling to power after his 2020 defeat.
Among the fake electors is Nevada GOP chairman Michael McDonald, who has pushed to bypass the state-run presidential primary to nominate a Republican presidential nominee, instead opting for a party-run caucus, which would require voter ID and paper ballots.
He has remained a staunch ally of Trump, opening for the former president at a rally in Las Vegas by saying, “You give us a fair election, I’ll give you the next president of the United States — Donald J. Trump.” Trump and his attorneys also had a direct hand in the planning and execution of the fake elector scheme, including a conference call with McDonald, transcripts released last year show.
McDonald said in a brief phone interview that he had spent much of the day checking on people close to him who had been at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, when a person opened fire on campus hours earlier. He referred all questions about the indictment to a lawyer who he said represented those indicted. The lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment Wednesday afternoon.
Clark County GOP Chair Jesse Law was also indicted hours after he announced his candidacy for the Nevada state Assembly, along with Nevada GOP Vice Chair and Storey County clerk Jim Hindle, who runs elections in the rural county. Neither returned voice messages left Wednesday requesting comment.
Ford had testified in support of a bill that would have criminalized future fake electors. That passed Nevada’s Democratic-controlled Legislature but was vetoed by Republican Gov. Joe Lombardo, who said there should be “strict punishments” for those trying to undermine elections but that the proposed punishment between four and 10 years in prison was too harsh.
Fred Lokken, a longtime political science professor at Truckee Meadows Community College in Reno, said Wednesday the indictment isn’t necessarily a surprise. He said he doubts it will dissuade any backers of Trump but expects it will have an impact on undecided and independent voters.
“This is a grand jury. There’s an indictment. Prosecutors don’t get that unless there is evidence,” Lokken said. “It’s a validation that what was going on was illegal and now there can be consequences.”
Florida school board recommends ouster of Moms for Liberty co-founder over Republican sex scandal
SARASOTA, Fla. (AP) — A Florida school board voted on Tuesday to recommend the resignation of one of its members because she is embroiled in the fallout of a sexual assault investigation into her husband, the Republican Party state chairman.
The Sarasota County School Board cannot directly remove Bridget Ziegler from the panel but voted 4-1 Tuesday for a resolution requesting that she step down. The resolution was authored by board Chair Karen Rose, who said in an email that she is “shocked and deeply saddened” by the rape allegations involving Ziegler’s husband, Christian Ziegler, and the couple’s admissions about having a three-way sexual encounter previously with the accuser.
“I personally care about Bridget and her family and deeply regret the necessity for this course of action, but given the intense media scrutiny locally and nationally, her continued presence on the Board would cause irreparably harmful distractions to our critical mission,” Rose wrote.
Bridget Ziegler is co-founder of the conservative Moms for Liberty group. She has served on the board since 2014, when she was appointed by then-Gov. Rick Scott, and has previously been its chair. She voted against the resolution, saying she was “disappointed” but gave no indication she would step down. She remained on the board’s dais after the vote.
Prior to the meeting, several dozen people marched outside carrying signs and chanting, “Hey hey, ho ho, Bridget Ziegler has got to go.” Among the signs’ slogans were “Ban Bridget, not books” and “Real women aren’t homophobes.”
“Bridget Ziegler must apologize and resign,” said Carol Lerner of Support Our Schools, a nonprofit group that supports public education. “The Zieglers are through and through grifters.”
Board member Tim Enos said it’s up to Bridget Ziegler to decide whether to quit. Only Florida’s governor can remove a school board member, and only under certain conditions, such as a criminal charge.
“If she continues and doesn’t resign and stays, we have an obligation that we all need to be focused on education,” Enos said. “The politics have to get outside the boardroom. It should be only about the kids.”
The Sarasota Police Department is investigating a woman’s accusation that Christian Ziegler raped her at her apartment in October. Police documents say the Zieglers and the woman had planned a sexual threesome that day, but Bridget Ziegler was unable to make it. The accuser says Christian Ziegler arrived anyway and assaulted her, according to the documents.
Christian Ziegler has not been charged with any crime and maintains his innocence, contending the encounter was consensual. Scott, now a U.S. senator, Gov. Ron DeSantis and other Florida Republicans have called on him to step down as GOP chair, but he has refused to do so.
In a recent message to Florida Republicans, Christian Ziegler said he would remain as chair “because we have a country to save and I am not going to let false allegations of a crime put that mission on the bench as I wait for this process to wrap up.”
Christian Ziegler’s lawyer, Derek Byrd, said in an email Monday that he is “hoping (the) investigation is closed soon.” A Sarasota Police Department spokesperson said there is no timetable for the probe to conclude.
Bridget Ziegler has long been active in conservative politics. She was a champion of the DeSantis-backed law known by critics as “Don’t Say Gay,” which restricts teaching of sexual and gender material in early school grades. Moms for Liberty, which she co-founded in 2021, aims to inject more conservative viewpoints into schools, restrict transgender rights, battle pandemic mask mandates and remove books the group objects to from school classrooms and libraries.
In addition, DeSantis appointed Bridget Ziegler to the new Central Florida Tourism Oversight District that oversees Walt Disney World’s operations. That panel — which replaced one controlled by Disney — was created by the Legislature at DeSantis’ request after Disney objected to the “Don’t Say Gay” law. The board currently is the subject of state and federal lawsuits over control of the huge theme park outside Orlando.
Democrats and other critics say the Zieglers are hypocritical because the alleged sexual activities are completely at odds with the conservative views they push on others, particularly LGBTQ people.
“The Zieglers have made a habit out of attacking anything they perceive as going against ‘family values,’ be it reproductive rights or the existence of LGBTQ+ Floridians,” state Democratic Party Chair Nikki Fried said in a statement. “The level of hypocrisy in this situation is stunning.”
The state GOP has called a meeting for Sunday in Orlando to discuss Christian Ziegler’s future as party chair.
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yep. When the GOPers finally give it up and loose their civil war they have going on up in here.
