Category: National Issues

McConnell says companies should stay out of politics — unless they’re donating money

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After the Supreme Court ruled in 2010 that companies could finance election spending, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R) celebrated the prospect that corporate America would enter — and influence — the political fray.

“For too long, some in this country have been deprived of full participation in the political process,” he said in a statement at the time. He hailed the decision, Citizens United, as “an important step” in “restoring the First Amendment rights of these groups.”

But just over a decade later, McConnell has a different message for companies: Unless it involves money, they had better stay quiet. Continue reading.

Matt Gaetz, Loyal for Years to Trump, Is Said to Have Sought a Blanket Pardon

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The congressman was at the time under investigation over whether he violated sex trafficking laws, though it was unclear what he knew of the inquiry.

Representative Matt Gaetz, Republican of Florida, was one of President Donald J. Trump’s most vocal allies during his term, publicly pledging loyalty and even signing a letter nominating the president for the Nobel Peace Prize.

In the final weeks of Mr. Trump’s term, Mr. Gaetz sought something in return. He privately asked the White House for blanket pre-emptive pardons for himself and unidentified congressional allies for any crimes they may have committed, according to two people told of the discussions.

Around that time, Mr. Gaetz was also publicly calling for broad pardons from Mr. Trump to thwart what he termed the “bloodlust” of their political opponents. But Justice Department investigators had begun questioning Mr. Gaetz’s associates about his conduct, including whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old that violated sex trafficking laws, in an inquiry that grew out of the case of an indicted associate in Florida. Continue reading.

MAGA Riot Lawsuit Against Trump Keeps Getting Bigger

The NAACP’s expanded suit will include more members of Congress, and the amended complaint adds additional information regarding the deadly Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.

A federal lawsuit alleging that former President Donald Trump, his lawyer, and far-right extremists at the U.S. Capitol conspired to deprive Americans of their civil rights by disrupting the count of Joe Biden’s electoral college victory with the Jan. 6 riot is expanding this week.

Lawyers for the NAACP, which brought the suit early this year on behalf of Rep. Bennie Thompson (D-MS), are set to file an amended complaint on Wednesday adding 10 new plaintiffs, two people familiar with the matter saie. The new plaintiffs will include other members of Congress, and the amended complaint is said to include additional information about the deadly Jan. 6 riot in Washington, D.C., which then-President Trump and his personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani are accused of inciting, the sources added.

The addition of new plaintiffs was first reported by The New York Times on Tuesday. Continue reading.

Five ways an obscure Senate ruling could change Washington

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The Senate parliamentarian issued a ruling Monday night paving the way for the unlimited use of a budget procedure to bypass the legislative filibuster.

The ruling by Elizabeth MacDonough — who is largely unknown to the public — could change how Washington operates and give Democrats significant leeway to advance their agenda over the next two years. 

Here are five reasons why the decision is a game changer. Continue reading.

‘Built on a lie’: Jen Psaki annihilates Peter Doocy’s misleading question on Georgia voting

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White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki on Tuesday pushed back against the assertion that Georgia’s new voting laws are less restrictive than Colorado’s laws.

Psaki was asked the question by Fox News correspondent Peter Doocy during Tuesday’s White House briefing.

“Is the White House concerned that Major League Baseball is moving their All-Star Game to Colorado, where voting regulations are very similar to Georgia?” Doocy wondered. Continue reading.

Why some Republicans switched votes on bills they previously supported

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Lawmakers changed positions on legislation about policing, guns, immigration, anti-discrimination

Twenty House Republicans switched from voting “yes” last Congress to “no” this year on Democrat-led bills dealing with issues such as gun sales, women’s rights and immigration.

Of roughly a dozen bills Democrats brought back to the House floor this year because they died in the GOP-controlled Senate last session, most still received some GOP support. But seven saw at least one previous Republican supporter drop off.

The rise in GOP opposition may seem connected to the 2022 midterm elections, when House Democrats’ tenuous hold on power is at stake and Republican moderates may face heat in primaries. But in interviews and statements, the vote-switchers mostly cited policy and process, saying Democrats dropped GOP-backed provisions from some bills and declined to incorporate Republican input into others. Continue reading.

Former Trump official fined and temporarily banned from holding office over Hatch Act violations

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On Tuesday, Forbes’ Andrew Solender reported that Lynne Patton, a former official in ex-President Donald Trump’s Department of Housing and Urban Development, has been sanctioned for violating the Hatch Act — the rule that prohibits most executive officials from campaign activity.

Her penalty includes a fine of $1,000 and a ban on holding federal employment for four years.

The punishment stems from her using her official office to create a video for the 2020 Republican National Convention, working to help the Trump campaign using federal resources. Continue reading.

U.S. judge tests prosecutors’ claims that Proud Boys leaders planned Capitol breach

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A judge challenged U.S. prosecutors’ allegations that key leaders of the Proud Boys planned in advance to threaten Congress and battle police in the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, saying Tuesday that he had not yet seen a clear “invocation to violence” in their communications.

Whether the rioting was spontaneous or egged on by extremist groups planning on violence for their own reasons has been a central question as the government has charged more than 40 members or associates of the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers, both far-right groups, among 360 arrested in the Capitol attack.

At a hearing, U.S. District Judge Timothy J. Kelly of Washington said despite evidence that the Proud Boys leaders planned, fundraised and organized scores of members to converge on the Capitol with radios and protective gear in expectation of violence, it is less clear whether charged conspirators plotted beforehand to thwart police and disrupt Congress, or whether individual members opportunistically drove the chaos. Continue reading.

GOP voters received more news about Dr. Seuss than massive COVID-19 relief bill, poll finds

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Republican voters report receiving more information from conservative media about Dr. Seuss than the COVID-19 relief bill.

Dan Pfeiffer argued on Tuesday that it’s not an accident that conservatives in the media are spoon-feeding their viewers and readers outrage about the six Dr. Seuss books that are no longer being printed due to racially insensitive material.

“The Republican plan to make 2022 about wokeness run amok is less stupid (and even more cynical) than it sounds,” Pfeiffer explained. “The Cancel Culture crusade is not just the province of the blowhards on Fox News. The Republican Party leadership is making it a central part of their strategy.” Continue reading.

Opinion: Why tearing down Fauci is essential to the MAGA myth

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MAGA political philosophy is not systematic, but it is comprehensive. Right-wing populism offers a distorted lens to view nearly all of life.

Through this warped lens, progress toward equal rights is actually the oppression of White people. Free and fair elections, when lost, are actually conspiratorial plots by the ruthless left. But perhaps the most remarkable distortion concerns the MAGA view of covid-19.

We have all seen the basic outlines of pandemic reality. Experts in epidemiology warned that the disease would spread through contact or droplets at short distances, which is how it spread. The experts recommended early lockdowns to keep health systems from being overwhelmed, and the lockdowns generally worked. The experts said Americans could influence the spread of the disease by taking basic measures such as mask-wearing and social distancing. The disease was controlled when people did these things. The disease ran rampant when they did not, killing a lot of old and vulnerable people in the process. Continue reading.