The Republican Agenda 2021 and Forward

[Huntn]

Since lying to their base for at least the past 4 decades has been a heavy component of their winning strategy, it should come as no surprise that they consider this the highest form of protected speech.

To make a distinction, Democrat politicians lie about the level they are going to fight for or against something. The reality ranges from not at all to not much. Republicans lie about the cause of all your problems. The reality is whatever they are leaning heavy on probably doesn’t even make the top 10 reason list and is likely one of the most farthest removed reasons.

Democrats have been pushing since Biden’s election. They don’t have enough of a majority. There need to be more people in Congress aligned with their goals.

 

[Huntn]

There should be a penalty for state legislatures that intentionally pass unconstitutional laws. Maybe if they pass X number of them, then in the future, every law they pass has to go through a judicial review panel before it can become law? We used to have that for voting restrictions (before the right wing SCOTUS judges killed it).

I remember Southern State(s) under Federal supervision for voting rights, while the State claimed prejudice was no longer a thing. What a variety of Republican controlled states are illustrating now is that the assault on our democracy and against voter rights is in full swing. It’s a full court press. If the Democrats, independents, and the people don’t engage in time, the Republicans will have rigged the system in their favor.

 

[JayMysteri0]

Hey look who's back in the news for things we've already covered

Rep. Lauren Boebert used campaign funds for rent and utilities, new filing shows

Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert paid utility and rent bills with campaign funds, according to a new filing the Republican lawmaker made this week with the Federal Election Commission.

www.cnn.com

(CNN)Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert paid utility and rent bills with campaign funds, according to a new filing the Republican lawmaker made this week with the Federal Election Commission.

The report, submitted to the FEC on Tuesday, details a series of four payments this year totaling $6,650 to John Pacheco, whose address is the same as Shooters Grill in Rifle, Colorado -- the gun-themed restaurant that Boebert owns. The payments are described as rent and utilities that had been erroneously billed to campaign.

Boeber refused to answer CNN's questions Thursday. In an email, her spokesman Ben Stout said the funds in question "were reimbursed months ago when Rep. Boebert self-reported the error."

It is against the law to use campaign funds for personal use. And Adav Noti, a top official with the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center, said using donors' money to pay rent and utilities is a "flagrant violation."

"There are some gray areas in campaign finance law, and this is really not one of them," added Noti, a former associate general counsel at the FEC.

But how federal regulators respond, he said, depends on the circumstances and whether payments represented an intentional attempt to misuse campaign dollars or were the result of sloppy compliance processes within the campaign.

Seems that's a lot of amending going on with Boebert, who you would think would know better as a business person. A person who's business hasn't made money in the last two years, didn't pay unemployment taxes, but suddenly did when things were erroneously billed to her campaign.

Lets not forget also her campaign travels.

Rep. Lauren Boebert received $22,000 worth of gas reimbursements while running for Congress

That amount of money in gas would be enough in the tank to take 14 trips from Seattle to DC, or circumvent Earth 1.5 times.

www.businessinsider.com

Republican Rep. Lauren Boebert of Colorado raked in an eye-popping total of more than $22,000 in gas-mileage reimbursements from her campaign for Congress in 2020.

The rather large sum, which can be seen in campaign-finance data on the website OpenSecrets, was first reported by The Denver Post and the local blog Colorado Pols.

While Boebert amassed a total of $2,989,510 in her campaign for office, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, the gas-reimbursement figure is remarkably high given the travel habits of her predecessor on the campaign trail and her relative lack of events during the pandemic.

Boebert's gas reimbursement dwarfs the amount Rep. Scott Tipton spent on travel while campaigning in the same district for a decade. Before Boebert defeated Tipton in last year's GOP primary for the seat, he claimed a total of $9,797 for travel over 10 years, including airfare, according to The Denver Post.

With very few actual campaign dates scheduled, Boebert somehow traveled IN Colorado, 1 & a half times the span of the globe.

 

[JayMysteri0]

Evidently the agenda now seems to be "burn it all down" because they didn't win...

Republicans Filibuster Bill Averting Government Shutdown, Debt Default

Congress has only a few days to act before the federal government shuts down and begins furloughing workers in the middle of a pandemic.

www.huffpost.com

Senate Republicans blocked a House-passed bill on Monday that would have averted a government shutdown as well as an unprecedented default on U.S. debt holdings that could roil financial markets and disrupt basic government operations.

The vote on the measure fell along party lines, well short of the 60 needed to advance. Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) changed his vote to “yes” at the last minute, a procedural move that allows him to bring the bill up for a vote again.

“The Republican Party has solidified itself as the party of default, and it will be the American people who pay the price,” Schumer said afterward. He called the vote “one of the most reckless, one of the most irresponsible votes I have seen taken place in the Senate.”

What happens next regarding government funding, the more immediate problem, is unclear. The government is funded through Sept. 30, meaning lawmakers only have a few days to act before the federal government begins furloughing workers in the middle of a pandemic.

The House voted last week to fund the government through Dec. 3 and suspend the debt ceiling, the legal limit on the amount of money the government can borrow, through December 2022. But Senate Republicans have refused to back an increase to the debt ceiling despite helping to rack up trillions of dollars in debt under the previous administration.

 

[SuperMatt]

Evidently the agenda now seems to be "burn it all down" because they didn't win...

Just kill the filibuster, then pass voting rights legislation. When Republicans can’t rig elections, they can’t win. So then there’s little chance of them getting a majority anymore.

 

[Hrafn]

Evidently the agenda now seems to be "burn it all down" because they didn't win...

That's been SOP for the past... 40 years as far as I can tell. Bipartisan means "libs go along with refuclitard policies because it's mostly still in the interest of the public."

Refuctlicants are: F* your feelings.

I'm a little bothered, tonight.

 

[ronntaylor]

Just kill the filibuster, then pass voting rights legislation. When Republicans can’t rig elections, they can’t win. So then there’s little chance of them getting a majority anymore.

Schumer doesn't have every Democrat. So it won't happen. Let the default happen and see if the GOP gets the blame. Both sides will get criticized, but the Dems can't afford to give ground. It's really a lose-lose situation. But the strategy is to lose as little as possible or pull off a surprise win. I think the former is more likely and the latter is a dream with the current Dem leadership.

 

[JayMysteri0]

 

[JayMysteri0]

 

[JayMysteri0]

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1443318804210143239/

 

[JayMysteri0]

Was not aware this happened

‘Incendiary device’ failed to ignite, sparing Travis County Democrats office after vandalism, arson attempt

Austin Police were notified about the fire on East 6th and Navasota Streets in East Austin at about 2:18 a.m.

www.kxan.com

AUSTIN (KXAN) — The Austin Fire Department is investigating possible arson after a witness saw a fire at the offices of the Travis County Democratic Party on Wednesday morning.

Austin police and AFD were notified about the fire on East Sixth and Navasota streets in east Austin at about 2:18 a.m.

Capt. Brandon Jennings with AFD said the suspect, an unidentified man wearing a gray shirt, black shorts with black and grey tennis shoes with a flag bandanna and mask, was seen on surveillance footage throwing something at the door of the building twice. On the second try, the object broke the door’s window, Jennings said.

The suspect then put something, what AFD is calling the “incendiary device,” inside the door near a stack of papers. Jennings said it was then the fire started to be visible, but the incendiary device did not catch fire, just the papers it was near.

Employees from a neighboring business were able to put the fire out with a fire extinguisher before the flames from the papers could spread, Jennings said.

When asked if the damage could have been worse, Jennings replied, “Absolutely.”

“The use of an incendiary device like this is to throw it at something once you light it, the liquid comes out and catches on fire, the fire spreads upward and outward and causes more damage,” Jennings said.

Jennings referred to the device as its common name, a Molotov cocktail.

After the Biden bus attack, I guess this is a direction for the more inspired rabid membership

Katie Naranjo, the chairperson of the Travis County Democratic Party, said the suspect left a “threatening note” next to the building and said the incident was politically motivated.

“When you leave a threatening note, the intent is to try to terrorize people,” she said. “Anyone who wears an American flag as a bandanna, and then throws a Molotov cocktail into a building is a coward. We call on everyone to denounce this behavior.”

Jennings said there was another vandalism incident two hours at the Granger building that appeared to be done by the same person. The Granger building houses county offices like the county attorney’s office and the district attorney’s office.

 

[Alli]

Was not aware this happened

Watched the videos on Maddow last night. I have a feeling they’ll get the guy pretty quickly.

 

[Roller]

Watched the videos on Maddow last night. I have a feeling they’ll get the guy pretty quickly.

Maybe, but they still haven't caught the guy who left the pipe bombs in Washington on January 5.

 

[Alli]

Watched the videos on Maddow last night. I have a feeling they’ll get the guy pretty quickly.

And they caught him. Bravo!

 

[JayMysteri0]

 

[Hrafn]

Do we have a 'well, duh' emoji?

 

[JayMysteri0]

I think at some point we have to accept that some people have moved themselves to a completely different reality, where the same things that happen to many of us, somehow happen differently for them because they need it to. Case in point, how Josh Hawley sees things in his protected bubble, versus what actually happens.

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1445528654142836738/

Josh Hawley Defends Violent “Protests” And Harassment Of School Boards By Misinformed Parents - HillReporter |

Critical Race Theory isn’t taught in public K-12 schools. Unfortunately, far-right activists have told parents otherwise, and school boards are facing threats from parents who believe their kids are learning upsetting facts. Now, federal law enforcement is having to take action to protect...

hillreporter.com

Critical Race Theory isn’t taught in public K-12 schools. Unfortunately, far-right activists have told parents otherwise, and school boards are facing threats from parents who believe their kids are learning upsetting facts. Now, federal law enforcement is having to take action to protect teachers and school staff, and Representative Josh Hawley (R-MO) isn’t happy about it.

There are school personnel being attacked, getting death threats, and more so the DoJ is finally stepping in. Hawley thinks it's just concerned parents voicing their concerns, and does NOT want school personnel protected. Instead in his world it's the FBI cracking down on innocent CRT protestors for no reason. Jan 6th was just a time to get out with the family and do a little protesting. What could happen? All because in his world where he stokes & helps direct this shit, he isn't affected by it, so why not fan the flames?

 

[SuperMatt]

Trump’s administration raised the national debt by $8 Trillion. Republicans voted to raise the debt ceiling 3 times while Trump was president. This is complete and utter bullshit, period. It‘s just a game, trying to hold the entire country hostage for their own political gain. Shame on them.

 

[JayMysteri0]

https://www.twitter.com/i/web/status/1445810174757720067/

 

[JayMysteri0]

THIS is the republican agenda going into 2022

Kari Lake Says She Wouldn't Have Certified Biden's Win

Despite the Maricopa County election audit upholding Biden's victory, some Republicans have continued to claim the election was stolen from Trump.

www.newsweek.com

Kari Lake, a Republican running to become the next governor of Arizona who was endorsed by former President Donald Trump, said that she wouldn't have certified Joe Biden's win in Arizona, even as the GOP-backed audit upheld his victory.

Lake, a former news anchor in Phoenix, said people have "witnessed things that were wrong" with the election while appearing on the right-wing network One America News.

"Considering how much already at the time information we had about serious irregularities and problems with the election, I would not have certified it right then," Lake said.

Lake is running in a crowded primary field that has attracted notable Republican candidates including Arizona Treasurer Kimberly Yee and former Congressman Matt Salmon. Incumbent GOP Governor Doug Ducey is not eligible to run for a third consecutive term.

Electing ( somehow missing the irony ) individuals who would unashamedly crap away democracy in the name of cult like partisanship.

It's boggling to see an individual proudly say that out loud, and not laughed off & shamed away from any platform.