Tag: GOP putting power over country

Republicans weigh ‘cracking’ cities to doom Democrats

Politico logo

GOP officials from D.C. and the states are debating how aggressively to break up red-state cities to maximize the party’s advantage in redistricting.

Kentucky’s GOP congressional delegation entered the redistricting cycle with an unusual request for their state legislative counterparts: leave Democratic Rep. John Yarmuth alone.

The group, which includes Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, wants the state’s Republican supermajority to refrain from cracking Yarmuth’s Louisville-based district into three, even if that might deliver them control of all of Kentucky’s six House seats.

“It’s been my experience in studying history that when you get real cute, you end up in a lawsuit — and you lose it. And then the courts redraw the lines,” said Rep. James Comer (R-Ky.). “So my advice would be to keep Louisville blue.” Continue reading.

McConnell Admits He Tolerated Trump’s Election Lies For Political Expediency

National Memo logo

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell confirmed in an account published Sunday that he declined to publicly confront former President Donald Trump’s election lies because he did not want to upset Trump and wanted to win Senate elections in Georgia.

The Atlantic‘s Jonathan Karl reported that ahead of two January runoff Senate elections in Georgia, McConnell told then-Attorney General William Barr that he wanted Barr to confront Trump over his lies about the 2020 election results and would not do so himself.

“Look, we need the president in Georgia,” he said. According to Karl’s reporting, McConnell was afraid Trump would “sabotage” the Georgia campaigns if he declared Joe Biden had won the election. “And so we cannot be frontally attacking him right now. But you’re in a better position to inject some reality into this situation. You are really the only one who can do it.” Continue reading.

Kevin McCarthy met with officer injured in Trump’s insurrection — and it didn’t end well

Raw Story Logo

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) finally met with a police officer who is still out on medical leave after being brutally attacked during Donald Trump’s January 6th insurrection.

“I asked him specifically for a commitment to denounce that publicly. And he said that he would address it at a personal level, with some of those members. But again, I think that as a leader of the House Republican, or I’m sorry, as the leader of the House Republican Party, it’s important to hear those denouncements publicly,” DC Metropolitan Police Officer Michael Fanone said.

When asked how the meeting went after leaving McCarthy’s office, Fanone replied, “I need a drink.” Continue reading.

Republicans aren’t even pretending to be interested in democracy anymore

Mic.com Logo

Republicans from all levels of government in this country have made little secret in recent years of the fact that their political power derives almost exclusively from a longstanding, and largely successful, effort to manipulate the electoral process to their exclusive benefit. Extreme partisan gerrymandering, voter suppression, allegations of electoral fraud — they’re all tools the GOP and its conservative allies use to maximize the “right” kind of votes (that is: people who vote for them) at the expense of, y’know, actual democracy.

But if the GOP’s semi-whispered reverence for restricted voting was a poorly kept secret before, the past few days have been like turning a dog whistle into a full blown bullhorn. We’ve gone from subliminal, to liminal, to super-liminal in record time. 

Speaking with WLOX last month, Mississippi Secretary of State Michael Watson, a Republican, claimed without evidence that the Biden administration is “basically employing all the federal agencies, universities, and colleges to register as many folks as they can via this automatic voter registration.” It’s possible Watson was talking about the Democrats’ For The People Act, which, while not a Biden administration bill, does indeed tackle automatic voter registration. Continue reading.

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

Washington Post logo

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.

Most Republicans avoid challenging Trump on election

The Hill logo

Republicans are largely avoiding any challenges of President Trump over his refusal to concede the election to Democrat Joe Biden.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) signaled the game plan during a Monday address on the Senate floor while giving his members cover.

McConnell’s remarks were disparaging of Democrats and the media, who have projected Biden as the winner but have no constitutional role in the process, the Kentucky Republican noted. McConnell, who is poised to be his party’s top official in Washington when Biden takes office, also said Trump was well within his rights of challenging the close results and asking for recounts. Continue reading.

GOP chairmen stake out turf in Obama-era probes

The Hill logoGOP chairmen are carving out their turf in controversial probes stemming from the Obama administration.

Senate Republicans are set to escalate their investigations on Thursday, when two panels will vote on dueling subpoenas that have significant areas of overlap.

But Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Ron Johnson (R-Wis.)—who chair the Judiciary and Homeland Security committees, respectively — say they are trying to avoid a jurisdictional fight as they prepare to do a deep dive into decisions stemming from the Obama era.  Continue reading.

Mitch McConnell is intent on getting Trump and himself re-elected ⁠— and will even let Russia help make it happen

AlterNet logo“It sure seems like Russia’s No. 1 ally in compromising American election security is Mitch McConnell.” That’s Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden, talking to Politico at this year’s DEFCON hacker conference in Las Vegas. Wyden and a couple of other Democrats were at the conference, “where a roomful of hackers demonstrated ways to breach insecure voting machines, those lawmakers focused their fury on the man proudly blocking their bills.”

Moscow Mitch, to be precise. “Why hasn’t Congress fixed the problem? Two words: Mitch McConnell,” Wyden said in his keynote address at DEF CON’s Voting Village. Rep. Ted Lieu, Democrat from California was there too, and told Politico his biggest election security concern: “I have two words: Mitch McConnell.” The House, along with having passed two bills that would expand background checks for gun purchases, has also passed election security bills.

McConnell is standing in the way of both, making him a legitimate threat to American’s personal safety and national security. He “knows full well that blocking election security legislation makes it easier for Russia and other foreign powers to attack the next election,” Wyden said. “And my sense is this is a price Mitch McConnell and Donald Trump are willing to accept.” Lieu agreed, “I think you have to ask, why would Mitch McConnell not want to improve election security?”

View the complete August 12 article by Joan McCarter from Daily Kos on the AlterNet website here.