What happens to the Republican Party now? (2 Viewers)

[MT15]

This election nonsense by Trump may end up splitting up the Republican Party. I just don’t see how the one third (?) who are principled conservatives can stay in the same party with Trump sycophants who are willing to sign onto the TX Supreme Court case.

We also saw the alt right types chanting “destroy the GOP” in Washington today because they didn’t keep Trump in power. I think the Q types will also hold the same ill will toward the traditional Republican Party. In fact its quite possible that all the voters who are really in a Trump personality cult will also blame the GOP for his loss. It’s only a matter of time IMO before Trump himself gets around to blaming the GOP.

There is some discussion of this on Twitter. What do you all think?

 

[DaveXA]

Since you are in Houston, which is on central time, you started posting today at about 10 AM, and have been posting regularly ever since. Does your school day start at 6AM or something?

It’s pretty hypocritical of you to be dragging Dave for not working when A. You don’t know anything about him and B. You post throughout the day and night.

This is a pretty egregious string of personal attacks on Dave, IMO. For no real reason that I can see.

Tbf, he did say he's on break from teaching.

Appreciate the sentiment tho.

 

[CoolBrees]

I am reminded of the quote from the sheriff of Malibu scolding The Dude after he got drugged and thrown out of Jackie Treehorn's beach party:

"Jackie Treehorn draws alot of water around here. You don't draw shirt, Lebowski."

Tbf, he did say he's on break from teaching.

Appreciate the sentiment tho.

You really are the best Dave

 

[DaveXA]

This could be indicative of what's coming for the Republican Party, and it's not gonna be pretty for them.

 

[LA - L.A.]

This could be indicative of what's coming for the Republican Party, and it's not gonna be pretty for them.

This is why the percentage of Republicans that support Trump keeps rising. The total number of Republicans supporting Trump has been steadily declining, but when those Republicans leave the party due to Trump, it increases the percentage (not the total number) of the remaining Republicans that are Trump supporters.

Republicans had already been slowly losing membership over the past couple of decades. Trump accelerated the loss of membership. If trends continue, 100% of the Republican party will support Trump, but Republicans will only make up around 35% of voters.

 

[MT15]

This could be indicative of what's coming for the Republican Party, and it's not gonna be pretty for them.

The AZ GOP has been particularly bonkers, so good! I’m glad they’re almost broke.

 

[Optimus Prime]

A federal judge in Louisiana ruled last week that a wide range of Biden administration officials could not communicate with social media companies about content moderation issues, and in a lengthy opinion described the White House’s outreach to platforms as “almost dystopian” and reminiscent of “an Orwellian ministry of truth”.

The ruling, which was delivered by the Trump-appointed judge Terry Doughty, was a significant milestone in a case that Republicans have pushed as proof that the Biden administration is attempting to silence conservative voices.

It is also the latest in a wider rightwing campaign to weaken attempts at stopping false information and conspiracy theories from proliferating online, one that has included framing disinformation researchers and their efforts as part of a wide-reaching censorship regime.

Republican attorneys general in Missouri and Louisiana have sued Biden administration officials, the GOP-controlled House judiciary committee has demanded extensive documents from researchers studying disinformation, and rightwing media has attacked academics and officials who monitor social media platforms.

Many of the researchers involved have faced significant harassment, leading to fears of a chilling effect on speaking out against disinformation ahead of the 2024 presidential election.

The Republican pushback against anti-disinformation campaigns has existed for years, alleging that content moderation on major platforms has unfairly targeted conservative voices.

Many tech platforms have instituted policies against misinformation or hateful speech that have resulted in content such as election denial, anti-vaccine falsehoods and far-right conspiracy theories being removed – all which tend to skew Republican.

But research has found that allegations of anti-conservative bias at social media companies have little empirical evidence, with a 2021 New York University study showing that these platforms’ algorithms instead often work to amplify rightwing content.

The rightwing narrative of tech platform censorship persisted, however, intensifying as companies prohibited medical misinformation about Covid-19.

It gained additional momentum last year after the Department of Homeland Security rolled out a disinformation governance board aimed at researching ways to stop malicious online influence campaigns and harmful misinformation.

Republican politicians and rightwing media immediately seized on the board as proof of a leftist authoritarian plot……..

‘A deranged ploy’: how Republicans are fueling the disinformation wars

Several actions by the far right in the last month could result in a flood of conspiracy theories before the 2024 election

www.theguardian.com

 

[Optimus Prime]

After the supreme court’s recent strike down of affirmative action and anti-discrimination precedent, researchers who track the far-right movement are flagging a new model of conservative activism: legal vigilantism, an aggressive, lawsuit-threatening tactic used to intimidate universities and private institutions to comply with the new rulings.

Experts have called the decisions a “catalytic event” while far-right groups and influencers are celebrating them with bigoted rhetoric online and mobilizing member support to roll back decades of progressive policy. Despite what they view as significant victories, hardline Trumpist politicians that rely on mining grievances in their quest for power may face a bleak fundraising season.

Brian Levin, director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism, said far-right groups see the supreme court’s affirmative action decision as the first step in ending discrimination against whites. He called it a gateway for “all kinds of vile and racially bigoted statements” with engagement that crosses over to the mainstream.

He compared the exchange of far-right extremist ideologies and mainstream conservatism to the wax mixtures whirling together in a lava lamp.

For example, the “alt-right”, anti-immigration website VDARE published an Ann Coulter column about legacy admissions and university donor preferences being less impactful than race quotas……

‘A taste of victory’: galvanized by US supreme court, far right turns to ‘legal vigilantism’

Experts point to a new, lawsuit-threatening brand of rightwing activism in the wake of recent supreme court decisions

www.theguardian.com

 

[efil4]

Ummm what???? Tuberville is insane. Cmon Bama...wtf yall doin??? This dude is so far out of his league.

 

[DaveXA]

Ummm what???? Tuberville is insane. Cmon Bama...wtf yall doin??? This dude is so far out of his league.

He's a blathering idiot. Man, this is incredibly embarrassing. Someone, anyone, needs to sit his arse down and shut him up.

 

[MT15]

He's a blathering idiot. Man, this is incredibly embarrassing. Someone, anyone, needs to sit his arse down and shut him up.

I don’t get why McConnell doesn’t tear him a new one and get him to quit holding up all military promotions. One has to conclude that McConnell is okay with this nonsense.

 

[DaveXA]

I don’t get why McConnell doesn’t tear him a new one and get him to quit holding up all military promotions. One has to conclude that McConnell is okay with this nonsense.

I actually think Tuberville doesn't give a sheet what they tell him. Maybe he's that far gone. They gonna have to do something like take military bases out of Bama or something that makes it too painful for Tuberville to keep doing this.

 

[LA - L.A.]

I don’t get why McConnell doesn’t tear him a new one and get him to quit holding up all military promotions. One has to conclude that McConnell is okay with this nonsense.

I think McConnell lost some of the influence he had over Senate Republicans as a result of Trumpism.

 

[Optimus Prime]

I hadn’t heard the theory of dueling impeachments being behind the MTG Boebert rift
=============

We’re about to find out just how crazy and dysfunctional this slim House Republican majority really is. If I were a betting man, I’d take the “over.” The next couple of months could be an epic dumpster fire.


I’ll admit I was surprised when Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) got the House to approve a deal on the debt ceiling that takes the threat of default off the table until early 2025, eliminating the possibility of election-year brinkmanship on that issue.

He and President Biden reached a reasonable compromise — far too reasonable, it turns out, for the anti-government zealots in McCarthy’s fractious ranks.


Members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, outraged at the notion of meeting anyone halfway about anything, are trying to renege on the spending targets set in the debt ceiling deal and instead force much deeper cuts. They don’t have the power to get what they want, since all the other actors (Biden, House Democrats, a bipartisan majority in the Senate) are determined to honor the terms of the agreement.

But looney-bin GOP radicals can make McCarthy’s life miserable and perhaps even oust him as speaker. And there is a good chance they can force a government shutdown at the end of September.

Pulling such a stunt would be dumb and self-defeating. The historical record is clear: When Republicans force a shutdown, they end up hurting their own party politically and helping the Democrats. But logic and pragmatism no longer appear to be getting through to the outer-planet far right in the House.

How far into the wilds of extremism have these GOP radicals wandered?

Members of the Freedom Caucus have reportedly voted to oust Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from their club. Her perceived sins include having supported McCarthy’s debt ceiling deal and generally being too cozy with the leadership.

But the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) told reporters, came late last month when Greene called another Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a “little birch” while both were on the House floor.


Greene and Boebert once looked like potential BFFs; you will recall how they previously teamed up to heckle Biden during his State of the Union address. But each seems to want to be recognized as the GOP’s loudest and most telegenic provocateur.

Greene was hopping mad because Boebert had filed an unserious, publicity-seeking resolution to impeach Biden — jumping the gun before Greene could file her own unserious, publicity-seeking resolution to impeach Biden…….

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/10/house-republican-radicals-extreme-dysfunction/

 

[DaveXA]

I hadn’t heard the theory of dueling impeachments being behind the MTG Boebert rift
=============

We’re about to find out just how crazy and dysfunctional this slim House Republican majority really is. If I were a betting man, I’d take the “over.” The next couple of months could be an epic dumpster fire.


I’ll admit I was surprised when Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) got the House to approve a deal on the debt ceiling that takes the threat of default off the table until early 2025, eliminating the possibility of election-year brinkmanship on that issue.

He and President Biden reached a reasonable compromise — far too reasonable, it turns out, for the anti-government zealots in McCarthy’s fractious ranks.


Members of the far-right House Freedom Caucus, outraged at the notion of meeting anyone halfway about anything, are trying to renege on the spending targets set in the debt ceiling deal and instead force much deeper cuts. They don’t have the power to get what they want, since all the other actors (Biden, House Democrats, a bipartisan majority in the Senate) are determined to honor the terms of the agreement.

But looney-bin GOP radicals can make McCarthy’s life miserable and perhaps even oust him as speaker. And there is a good chance they can force a government shutdown at the end of September.

Pulling such a stunt would be dumb and self-defeating. The historical record is clear: When Republicans force a shutdown, they end up hurting their own party politically and helping the Democrats. But logic and pragmatism no longer appear to be getting through to the outer-planet far right in the House.

How far into the wilds of extremism have these GOP radicals wandered?

Members of the Freedom Caucus have reportedly voted to oust Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) from their club. Her perceived sins include having supported McCarthy’s debt ceiling deal and generally being too cozy with the leadership.

But the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” Freedom Caucus member Rep. Andy Harris (R-Md.) told reporters, came late last month when Greene called another Freedom Caucus member, Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-Colo.), a “little birch” while both were on the House floor.


Greene and Boebert once looked like potential BFFs; you will recall how they previously teamed up to heckle Biden during his State of the Union address. But each seems to want to be recognized as the GOP’s loudest and most telegenic provocateur.

Greene was hopping mad because Boebert had filed an unserious, publicity-seeking resolution to impeach Biden — jumping the gun before Greene could file her own unserious, publicity-seeking resolution to impeach Biden…….

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/07/10/house-republican-radicals-extreme-dysfunction/

Yeah, MTG was basically accusing Boebert of stealing her idea. It was a pretty dumb argument. It's like one was trying to out-stupid the other.

 

[Optimus Prime]

Ummm what???? Tuberville is insane. Cmon Bama...wtf yall doin??? This dude is so far out of his league.

Tuberville trying to moonwalk these comments back
=================================

..............On Tuesday, following condemnation from members on Congress on both sides of the aisle, Tuberville finally conceded that White nationalists were “racists.” He noted, though, that he didn’t reverse course because of GOP leadership pressure – and that he was tired of “so many people looking at conservatives, Republicans and Trump supporters as racist.”

His waffling on the issue is a kind of feigned ignorance that amounts to whitewashing. And we’ve seen this before. In many ways, Tuberville has learned from the best.

As he was running for president in 2016, Donald Trump pulled a similar move in pretending not to know who David Duke was. After the former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard endorsed his candidacy, Trump told CNN’s Jake Tapper, “I don’t know anything about David Duke, okay? I don’t know anything about what you’re even talking about with White supremacy or White supremacists.”

When Tapper pressed Trump to condemn Duke and fellow White supremacists, he, like Tuberville, talked in circles, saying he would have to do research on those groups before passing judgment, but added he would definitely “disavow [them] if I thought there was something wrong.”...........

MSN

 

[Booker]

Their hearings on the weaponization of government don't seem to be going so well...

 

[MT15]

Posted after the hearing today

 

[Optimus Prime]

Swaths of the US are baking under record-breaking heat, yet some lawmakers are still attempting to block any spending to fight the climate crisis, advocates say.

Nearly 90 million Americans are facing heat alertsthis week, including in Las Vegas, Nevada, which may break its all-time hottest temperature record; Phoenix, Arizona, which will likely break its streak of consecutive days of temperatures over 110F; and parts of Florida, where a marine heatwave has pushed up water temperatures off the coast to levels normally found in hot tubs.

Stifling heat is also blanketing parts of Texas, which for weeks earlier this summer sweltered under a record-shattering heat dome which one analysis found was made five times more likely by the climate crisis.

Despite this, the state’s Republican Senator Ted Cruz is rallying his fellow GOP members of the Senate commerce committee to circulate a memo attacking climate measures in Biden’s proposed 2024 budget, Fox News reportedon Wednesday.
The memo specifically calls on Republican members of the Senate appropriations commerce, justice, science subcommittee to reject spending provisions focused on climate resilience and environmental justice efforts for scientific agencies.

In one example, the memo objects to a Nasa request to fund its Sustainable Flight National Partnership, which seeks to help zero out planet-warming pollution from aviation.…….

US Republicans oppose climate funding as millions suffer in extreme weather

Nearly 90 million Americans are facing heat alerts this week, yet GOP members are wrangling over spending to reduce emissions

www.theguardian.com