Category: National Issues

GOP memo urges ‘rebrand’ as ‘the working class party’ — by embracing ‘Donald Trump’s gift’

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Although former President Donald Trump has been gone from the White House for two months, his far-right brand of pseudo-populism — which was greatly influenced by Patrick Buchanan — continues to have a major effect on the GOP. And this week, according to Axios reporter Jonathan Swan, two House Republicans — House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and Rep. Jim Banks of Indiana — discussed a memo calling for the GOP to market itself as the “working class” party in the 2022 midterms.

The March 30 memo, written by Banks and addressed to McCarthy, is titled “Cementing GOP as the Working Class Party.” And it argues that Republicans, in 2022, need to embrace Trump voters and Trump’s ideas.

In the memo, Banks — who heads the Republican Study Committee — emphasizes, “Our electoral success in the 2022 midterm election will be determined by our willingness to embrace our new coalition. House Republicans can broaden our electorate, increase voter turnout, and take back the House by enthusiastically rebranding and reorienting as the Party of the Working Class…. There is an embittered and loud minority in the GOP that finds our new coalition distasteful, but President Trump’s gift didn’t come with a receipt.” Continue reading.

Kyle Rittenhouse’s mom slams Trump-loving lawyer Lin Wood: ‘He used my son’ to make money

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Trump-loving attorney Lin Wood is being accused by the mother of alleged murderer Kyle Rittenhouse of using her son to make money for himself.

In an interview with Law and Crime’s “Objections” podcast, Wendy Rittenhouse accused Wood and fellow right-wing activist John Pierce of failing to competently defend her son even as they used him to raise money for their own political causes.

“They used Kyle to gain money, gain Twitter followers,” Rittenhouse told the podcast. “I felt now they didn’t care about Kyle.” Continue reading.

Fox News throws GOP leader’s attacks on Eric Swalwell back in his face amid Matt Gaetz sex trafficking probe

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Fox News host Dana Perino on Wednesday put House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) on the hot seat over revelations that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) is being probed by the FBI for potential sex trafficking charges.

While appearing on Fox News, McCarthy was reminded by Perino of his past statements that Rep. Eric Swalwell (D-CA) should be removed from the House Intelligence Committee after revelations that a suspected Chinese spy had infiltrated his office.

“So by that same logic, will you take any action to remove Matt Gaetz from the Judiciary Committee while he’s under investigation by the DOJ over whether he had a sexual relationship with a 17-year-old and paid for her to travel with him?” she asked. Continue reading.

EPA dismisses dozens of key science advisers picked under Trump

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The Biden administration says it needs to restore trust in the agency by ‘resetting’ membership on two key science advisory panels.

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan will purge more than 40 outside experts appointed under President Donald Trump from two key advisory panels, a move he says will help restore the role of science at the agency and reduce the heavy influence of industry over environmental regulations.

The unusual decision, announced Wednesday, will sweep away outside researchers picked under the previous administration whose expert advice helped the agency craft regulations related to air pollution, the oil-and-gas extraction method known as fracking and other issues.

Critics say that, under Trump, membership of the two panels — the EPA’s Science Advisory Board (SAB) and Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee (CASAC) — tilted too heavily in favor of regulated industries and that their positions sometimes contradicted scientific consensus. Continue reading.

Delta CEO calls new Georgia voting restrictions “unacceptable”

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Delta Air Lines CEO Ed Bastian condemned Georgia’s new election law as “unacceptable” in a memo circulated to staff on Wednesday, claiming that the “entire rationale for this bill was based on a lie” about widespread voter fraud in 2020.

Why it matters: The Atlanta-based airline is one of the largest employers in Georgia and was facing calls for a boycott over its stance on the Republican-crafted law, per the Washington Post. 

  • Bastian sent out a memo last Friday in which he said he understood concerns about the law, but praised several elements and suggested it had “improved considerably during the legislative process.” Continue reading.

Top Trump adviser warned then-president on virus supply shortage, then pursued controversial deals

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Democrats probe more than $1 billion in ‘haphazard’ supply contracts arranged by Peter Navarro, citing new documents

A top adviser privately urged President Donald Trump to acquire critical medical supplies in the early days of the coronavirus outbreak — and after the warning was ignored, pursued his own ad hoc strategy that committed more than $1 billion in federal funds and has since prompted multiple probes, according to newly released documents from congressional investigators.

Peter Navarro, who served as Trump’s trade adviser, warned the president on March 1, 2020, to “MOVE IN ‘TRUMP TIME’” to invest in ingredients for drugs, handheld coronavirus tests and other supplies to fight the virus, according to a memo obtained by the House’s select subcommittee on the coronavirus outbreak. Navarro also said that he’d been trying to acquire more protective gear like masks, critiquing the administration’s pace.

“There is NO downside risk to taking swift actions as an insurance policy against what may be a very serious public health emergency,” Navarro wrote to the president. “If the covid-19 crisis quickly recedes, the only thing we will have been guilty of is prudence.” At the time, there were about 100 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the United States and just two deaths linked to the outbreak. Continue reading.

4 reasons why migrant children arriving alone to the US create a ‘border crisis

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Children arriving at the southern border without their parents have presented a political and humanitarian challenge for the past three presidents.

Their numbers began rising considerably after 2009, when 19,418 children were taken into custody at the border, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Unaccompanied minors peaked in 2014, with 68,000 apprehensions. Analysts say 2021 is on pace to break that record, with more than 600 children arriving dailyto the U.S.-Mexico border. Most are teenagers seeking asylum.

Reports of children in warehouses or jaillike facilities have set President Joe Biden on the defensive about what critics refer to as a “crisis at the border.” In his first press conference, on March 25, 2021, Biden repeatedly stressed that his practice is different from that of former President Donald Trump, who introduced a policy of separating migrant children from their parents and detaining them in cages. Continue reading.

The bogus claim that Democrats seek to register ‘illegal aliens’ to vote

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“Democrats also want to register illegal aliens [to vote].”

— Voice-over in an ad placed by Heritage Action for America, March 23

Heritage Action for America, a conservative group affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, is spending $750,000 on television ads in Arizona targeted at convincing two Democratic senators — Kyrsten Sinema and Mark Kelly — to vote against an elections bill called S.B. 1.

A virtually similar bill, H.R. 1, has already passed the House of Representatives on a party-line vote. The bill, among its provisions, would create uniform national voting standards, overhaul campaign finance laws and outlaw partisan redistricting.

Both senators are co-sponsors of the companion Senate legislation, so the odds are slim that the ad will have an effect. (The ad also looks like it was produced with a minimal budget.) But perhaps it might convince voters that the Democrats are supporting what the ad calls a “partisan power grab.” Continue reading.

Former Trump and GOP officials celebrate the fall of ‘mean’ Matt Gaetz: ‘He’s a blight on the conference’

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Former officials in President Donald Trump White House and the Republican Party were “gloating” Tuesday night when it was revealed that Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) was being investigated by the Justice Department for possible sex trafficking, Business Insider reported.

Gaetz, who is the “subject” of an investigation, could end up being indicted if evidence is found of a crime. It’s possible he could also be completely vindicated. But the latter didn’t matter as Republicans joined with jubilation to celebrate what they thought was Gaetz’s fall. One former senior Trump White House aide was on multiple text chains with former colleagues gossiping about the deluge of news about Gaetz’s legal predicament.

“The former Trump aides aren’t necessarily happy to see the three-term lawmaker in trouble, but they ‘feel a little vindicated,'” BI said, citing a former White House staffer. “He’s the meanest person in politics.” Continue reading.

Republicans seek to make vaccine passports the next battle in the pandemic culture wars

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Republicans are opening a new front in the pandemic culture wars, attacking efforts by the Biden administration to develop guidelines for  coronavirusvaccination passports that businesses can use to determine who can safely participate in activities such as flights, concerts and indoor dining.

The issue has received an increasing amount of attention from some of the party’s most extreme members and conservative media figures, but it has also been seized on by Republican leaders like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, who is considered a potential 2024 presidential candidate.

“We are not supporting doing any vaccine passports in the state of Florida,” DeSantis said Monday. “It’s completely unacceptable for either the government or the private sector to impose upon you the requirement that you show proof of vaccine to just simply be able to participate in normal society.” Continue reading.