Congress

LOLOL: Fox News is Already Hyping Trump for Speaker of the House, and He is Open To It

Posted by on October 4, 2023 at 11:59 am. 2 Comments :

The chaos emanating from the Republican Party as they endeavor to demolish the foundations of their own congressional caucus is nothing new. To the contrary, it is a familiar pattern of incompetence and a tunnel-blind fixation on hoarding power at the expense of advancing the interests of the American people.

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Donald Trump Fox News

Nothing better exemplifies that than the way they banished their Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, for the sin of making concessions to Democrats in order to prevent a devastating government shutdown that most Republicans seemed to have been hoping for. And now that McCarthy is gone, there are factions in the party that are anxious to oust Rep. Matt Gaetz, the guy who led the McCarthy coup.

SEE THIS: GOP-ers Ponder Expelling Matt Gaetz for Ethics Violations After His Failed Shutdown Scheme

No rational person thinks that this is the way that government should operate. But to the GOP, it’s the only way they know. So it should come as no surprise that some of them are plotting to make a bad situation monstrously worse.

Since there is no apparent heir to McCarthy’s throne, desperate members of the disgruntled GOP caucus are floating a name from outside the House: Donald J. Trump, the twice impeached former White House occupant who is currently awaiting trial on four criminal indictments consisting of 91 felony charges.

Trump’s name will likely be put into nomination by someone like Marjorie Taylor Greene or Troy Niels, who have both already expressed their support. However, advocates for a Trump speakership are also coming from his Ministry of Propaganda, Fox News. On Tuesday night during an interview of Jim Jordan on Fox News, Sean Hannity revealed that…

“Sources telling me at this hour that some House Republicans have been in contact with – have started an effort to draft former president Donald Trump to be the next speaker and I have been told that president Trump might be open to helping the Republican party at least in the short term if necessary.”

That’s right! It didn’t take Hannity – Fox’s Senior Trump-fluffer – but a few hours to promote his favorite soon-to-be felon to assume control of the People’s House. As if Trump would have the slightest idea what the job entails. And Jim Jordan was open to it too. Except for the minor problem that he announced Wednesday morning that he is running for the post himself.

Hannity said that he thinks that the “stable genius” Trump could be both president and speaker. That would be quite a feat. He would have to squeeze it in between his court hearings and potential periods of incarceration. But what Hannity and the GOP Trumpists appear to be ignorant of are their own rules that prohibit criminals like Trump from serving as speaker.

Rule 26(a) of the Republican House Conference Rules: “A member of the Republican Leadership shall step aside if indicted for a felony for which a sentence of two or more years imprisonment may be imposed.” [So you’re cool if you’re a Republican who has been indicted for a felony with only a one year sentence]

Trump himself is ignorant of this rule as well. On Wednesday morning he was asked by reporters if he would take the job of House Speaker. He replied that…

“A lot of people have been calling me about speaker … If I could help them during the process, then I’d do it.”

It’s hard to imagine Trump being helpful during this or any other process. He would be a worst case scenario for Republicans in the House or, for that matter, America. Trump knows even less about the administration of Congress than he does about the White House. And even after four years in office he has proven that he knows nothing about that. But then again, do Republicans have any better candidates? Do Jordan, or Gaetz, or Steve Scalise, or Elise Stefanik, or anyone else, stir their passions? Not so far.

If we’re lucky, Democratic Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries will be elected Speaker. He would only need four or five Republicans to stay home in order to prevail. There are at least eighteen Republicans who are either fed up with their party or nervous about being reelected in Democratic districts. And Jeffries could offer them perks to encourage them to sit out the vote. Then he could maintain his position by proposing some form of power sharing. It’s a long shot, to be sure. But it’s way more likely than Trump – aka Cadet Bone Spurs – riding to the rescue.

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GOP-ers Ponder Expelling Matt Gaetz for Ethics Violations After His Failed Shutdown Scheme

Posted by on October 1, 2023 at 12:42 pm. 3 Comments :

This week Republican House Speaker, Kevin McCarthy, demonstrated his legendary incompetence as a leader with his mismanagement of legislation to avert a government shutdown. After weeks of making impotent demands to slash popular programs that would harm millions of Americans, he ultimately agreed to a compromise with Democrats that included none of his stated priorities.

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Matt Gaetz

McCarthy’s concession to work with Democrats was driven by the opposition he encountered from his GOP confederates, Particularly the ultra-rightist MAGA faction led by Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida. It must be especially embarrassing to be beaten by a notorious numbskull whose only notable skill is scoring hits on Fox News and other wingnut media.

SEE THIS: Matt Gaetz Guest Hosts Show on Newsmax, Affirming that Both are Unethical Propagandists

In a summary of the events that led to McCarthy’s humiliating legislative defeat, CNN published an article that sought to retrace the road McCarthy took to achieve virtually nothing for his party or himself. It said in part that…

“McCarthy took the only option on the table to avoid a government shutdown, relying on Democratic votes to pass a continuing resolution Saturday to keep the government funded until mid-November. But in so doing, McCarthy opened up a fight with the right wing of his conference, which had warned him for weeks that taking this step could mean the end of his speakership.”

Indeed, McCarthy’s speakership was, and is, in jeopardy. Gaetz appeared on CNN’s “State of the Union” the morning after the continuing resolution vote to announce that…

“I do intend to file a motion to vacate against speaker McCarthy this week. I think we need to rip off the band aid. I think we need to move on with new leadership that can be trustworthy. Look, the one thing that everybody has in common is that nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy. He lied to Biden. He lied to House conservatives.”

However, the article later noted what it seemed to regard as a tangential matter. It reported that many of Gaetz’s colleagues are unhappy with his tactics and grandstanding. And some appear to be anxious to be rid of him…

“Gaetz’s threat of ousting McCarthy has also rankled some inside the GOP conference. One Republican lawmaker pointed to the ongoing Ethics Committee investigation into Gaetz, warning if he wasn’t cleared, he could get expelled by those who want him gone. ‘We want him out,’ the member said.”

What this member is referring to is the Ethics Committee probe into misconduct by Gaetz that includes allegations of sex trafficking of minors, illicit drug use, misuse of campaign funds, and accepting a bribe. The Justice Department declined to indict Gaetz on any of those charges, but that doesn’t preclude the Congress from taking action. And even reporting from Fox News reveals that the GOP is tiring of Gaetz’s antics

“House GOP members are seeking to quickly expel Gaetz if the ethics report comes back with findings of guilt. Following threats to vacate McCarthy, one tells me ‘No one can stand him at this point. A smart guy without morals.'”

There are a couple of truthful revelations in all of this. First, Gaetz’s statement that “Nobody trusts Kevin McCarthy.” And second, Fox’s reporter stating that “No one can stand” Gaetz. And if voters can just assimilate those truths, the nation will take a big step forward toward healing.

The next step would be accepting the obvious truth that the “leader” who looms over both McCarthy and Gaetz, Donald Trump, is a recidivist criminal, pathological liar, and aspiring authoritarian dictator, and vote against him and his GOP cohorts in November of 2024.

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Trump’s Latest Infantile Rant is Chock-Full of Cheap Shots that Expose His Pathetic Weakness

Posted by on September 30, 2023 at 1:58 pm. 2 Comments :

With only a few hours to spare, the House of Representatives passed a stop-gap measure to delay a potential government shutdown for forty-five days. Despite it being a Republican bill, it got more votes from Democrats than Republicans. Ninety Republicans voted to shutdown the government, but only one Democrat did so.

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Donald Trump, Twitter

This confirms that it is Republicans who favored throwing the nation into economic chaos and significantly hurting the American people. It’s a position that they adopted on behalf of their Dear Leader, Donald Trump, who had been pressing hard for Republicans to reject any bipartisan agreement. The stubborn opposition by members of his own party seemed to surprise GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy.

SEE THIS: Squeaker McCarthy Laments Learning that the GOP’s Mission is to ‘Burn the Whole Place Down’

Meanwhile, Trump was posting more of his hostile diatribes on his failing social media scam, Truth Social. The tenor of his tirades was typically juvenile as he sought to ridicule Congress, including his own party’s leaders, for not submitting to his demands. In a late attempt to sabotage the deal, Trump wrote that…

“I hear that Old Crow Mitch McConnell, together with his small band of weak and ineffective RINOS like Mitt Romney and ‘Hopeless’ John Cornyn, are, as usual, trying to cobble together a series of massive concessions for Cryin’ Chuck Schumer and the Lunatic Left, in order to ‘bail out’ Crooked Joe Biden, THE WORST & MOST CORRUPT PRESIDENT IN THE HISTORY OF THE UNITED STATES. The Old Crow, and his group of ten (plus) COWARDS, have savaged our Country by approving Trillions of Dollars for Green New Deal Insanity, and the Weaponization of our System of ‘Injustice.’ Don’t do it!!!”

There has been a lot of speculation as to whether Trump is suffering from cognitive decline. And there has been some compelling evidence of it as well. But what seems unarguable is that he has reverted to the emotional maturity of an eight year old with his recent remarks. In the short comment above Trump lashed out with profound immaturity at…

  • Old Crow Mitch McConnell
  • Weak and ineffective RINOS like Mitt Romney
  • ‘Hopeless’ John Cornyn
  • Cryin’ Chuck Schumer
  • The Lunatic Left
  • Crooked Joe Biden

This is the sort of presidential diplomacy and stature that impresses the glassy-eyed MAGA cult. However, the rest of the American population is repulsed by such demonstrations of prepubescent posturing. Particularly when it is employed to undermine policies that the people support.

The two policies cited by Trump were, in his demented words, “Green New Deal Insanity” and “Weaponization of our System of ‘Injustice.” However, broad majorities of the American people favor efforts to mitigate the climate crisis. And they likewise support efforts to hold Trump and his accomplices accountable for inciting a violent insurrection and attempting to stage an anti-democratic coup and overturn an election.

SEE ALSO: Post-Mugshot: Trump’s Phony Bravado Falls Apart as Poll Shows Most Americans Say He’s Guilty

Trump addressed the question of his guilt at a California GOP conference on Friday. He whined that “When they indicted me — and then again and again and again — I was never indicted, now I’m setting records. Al Capone was not indicted so much.”

Which is a peculiar defense. Trump is comparing himself to mobster Al Capone, and complaining that he was indicted more than Capone was. Which only serves to remind people of two things. First, that Trump is a bigger criminal who broke more laws. And second, that he wasn’t as smart as Capone, who managed to conceal most of crimes and avoid prosecution.

For the record, Al Capone was convicted on five of twenty-three counts contained in two indictments for tax evasion. Trump is awaiting trial on 91 felony counts in four criminal indictments. So yeah, Trump can legitimately brag that he is “setting records” for criminal and ethical malfeasance. He is leading everyone else by levels never seen before. Congratulations!

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OH NO! Fox News Frets About Government Shutdown Because it Might Stall the Biden Impeachment

Posted by on September 24, 2023 at 1:33 pm. 5 Comments :

There is less than one week to go before the Republican Congress throws the U.S. government into yet another costly shutdown. In that time the GOP will likely continue debating against itself and making threats aimed at Democrats that will ultimately result in harm to the American people.

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Fox News, Joe Biden, Fake News

GOP House Squeaker, Kevin McCarthy, has totally lost control of his caucus, Twice he failed to advance a rule allowing the pending appropriations bills to be debated. All of the opposition is coming from within his own party, who seem to believe that a shutdown would actually be beneficial. Sure it is. So long as you don’t ask the millions of Americans who rely on services related to everything from building permits, to interstate and international travel, to financial aid, to veterans benefits, to tax information and filing, and so much more.

SEE THIS: GOP Wants a Government Shutdown Because ‘Most of What We Do is Bad, Hurts the American People’

On Sunday morning GOP Sen. Mike Lee was interviewed on Fox News by their Senior Trump-Fluffer, Maria Bartiromo. During their chat Bartiromo and Lee expressed their deep concern as to the potential disruptions that a shutdown would cause. And in this segment they revealed what they regard as the most pertinent matter facing the nation…

Bartiromo: If we see a government shutdown does the investigation of President Biden stop? We’ve learned so much about what he and his family have been doing in the last decade.
Lee: And those allegations are very troubling. They need to be investigated. And I applaud Speaker McCarthy for launching this inquiry. I am aware of no reason, Maria, why that inquiry could not continue if the government were to shut down temporarily. There is nothing suggesting to me that Congress can’t do its work if that happens. In any event, we shouldn’t use that as an excuse unilaterally to disarm and to accede to whatever the Democrats want.

So with vital government services at risk of being curtailed, the top priority for Bartiromo and Lee is a bogus impeachment inquiry into baseless allegations against President Biden. And Bartiromo’s claim that “We’ve learned so much” about alleged Biden wrongdoing is patently false. To the contrary, every attempt to manufacture some pseudo-scandal actually resulted in proof that Biden and his administration have been extraordinarily honest and ethical.

As for Lee’s reassurance to Bartiromo that the shutdown wouldn’t impede the ill-considered inquiry, he is either placating her wingnut anxieties, or he is woefully ignorant of congressional business. While Congress can continue to operate during a shutdown, each member would make decisions as to which staffers would be considered “essential” and keep working. The others would be furloughed. And while the member would continue to be paid, none of the remaining staff would be until the shutdown was over.

What’s more, offices in other branches of government would be closed or reduced in staff during a shutdown. So any requests made by the GOP’s investigating committees would not be able to be answered. Which would, in effect, shut down their work, other than to whine about how the administration is allegedly stonewalling them.

It’s notable that Lee’s position contradicts that of McCarthy, whose post as House leader is more directly responsible for these considerations. And on this matter McCarthy made it clear that a shutdown would indeed impact any pending House investigations. As reported by Reuters…

“The looming U.S. government shutdown that some hardline Republicans, including Donald Trump, are cheering for could slow one of their other priorities: the recently launched impeachment inquiry of Democratic President Joe Biden. […] ‘If we shut down, all of government shuts it down, investigation and everything else,’ McCarthy said in an interview with Fox News.

As usual, the GOP is a cesspool of chaos and lies. And it shouldn’t surprise anyone that what worries Republicans should a shutdown occur does not seem to include the loss of critical services that Americans rely on, including housing and food programs for low-income families and seniors, learning and education assistance for students, job training and placement for veterans and the un- and under-employed.

Their only concern is that a shutdown could stall their brazenly partisan political attacks on Biden and his family. Which is further evidence – as if it were necessary – that Republicans couldn’t possibly care less about the American people. They only care about advancing their lust for profit and power. And to hell with the needs of their constituents. It’s an old story that just gets more repulsive with each retelling.

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Squeaker McCarthy Laments Learning that the GOP’s Mission is to ‘Burn the Whole Place Down’

Posted by on September 21, 2023 at 1:01 pm. 7 Comments :

The chaos and incompetence that marks the Republican Party’s alleged management of the House of Representatives is spiraling ever downward. The GOP’s razor-thin, and likely short-lived, majority is proving that their party is utterly unfit to govern.

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Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy

In the eight months that Republican leader Kevin McCarthy has been in charge, the GOP agenda has been narrowly focused on defending their Dear Leader Donald Trump from his dozens of pending felony charges, and on struggling to magnify Hunter Biden’s personal troubles into a monstrous political scandal. They have failed pitifully on both counts. Not that they care, since their overarching goal from the start has just been to smear President Biden and other Democrats.

SEE THIS: New GOP Subcommittee Chair Openly Admits His Only Purpose is to ‘Make Life Hell’ for Democrats

The latest example of the GOP’s flaming ineptitude is their inability to pass the defense appropriations bill. That’s usually one of the easiest congressional tasks that garners bipartisan support. And with only days before a government shutdown would be invoked if the legislation – or a Continuing Resolution – isn’t passed, the GOP stalemate persists.

Under McCarthy’s “leadership” the House has now failed twice to pass even a vote to bring up the defense bill for debate. And following the second humiliation, McCarthy vented his frustrations to the press saying that…

“It’s frustrating in the sense that I don’t understand how anyone votes against bringing the idea up and having the debate. And then you’ve got all the amendments if you don’t like the bill. This is a whole new concept of individuals that just want to burn the whole place down. That doesn’t work.”

To be clear, the “individuals” that McCarthy is referring to are members of his own caucus who are hell-bent on sabotaging the legislation unless they get their way. That means weighing down the bill with unrelated irrelevancies such as mandating single-subject appropriations bills, subpoenaing Hunter Biden, and commencing impeachment hearings. Never mind that any bill with anything like those matters in it will never pass in the Senate and the government will be forced to shutdown. Which is what many in the Republican Party actually want.

SEE ALSO: GOP Wants a Government Shutdown Because ‘Most of What We Do is Bad, Hurts the American People’

What’s curious about McCarthy’s whining is that he seems to be learning for the first time that Republicans have always been the party of government failure. Their long-time platform and campaign slogan has been that government doesn’t work. And whenever they have held any measure of power, they did their best to prove it. It is hardly, as McCarthy complained, a “new concept.”

Not to be left out, Trump made his interests known in a posting on his failing social media scam, Truth Social. After making a superfluous aside about his fabled border wall, Trump got to the point of his directive, which typically was focused solely on himself…

“A very important deadline is approaching at the end of the month. Republicans in Congress can and must defund all aspects of Crooked Joe Biden’s weaponized Government that refuses to close the Border, and treats half the Country as Enemies of the State. This is also the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me and other Patriots. They failed on the debt limit, but they must not fail now. Use the power of the purse and defend the Country!”

So Trump is insisting that his minions in Congress “must defund” what he calls a “weaponized Government.” And if that wasn’t clear enough that he wants them to interfere with the duties of the Justice Department, he elaborated saying that this is “the last chance to defund these political prosecutions against me.”

Unfortunately for Trump, he is too self-obsessed and ignorant to know that the Office of the Special Counsel is funded independently and the House of Representatives has no authority to unilaterally obstruct its operations. So Trump’s desperate yearning to impose his will on Congress and evade accountability for his crimes is just more wistful wailing into the void.

This is the environment within which McCarthy must find a way to keep both the government and his speakership post active. And given his demonstrated impotence, it’s unlikely he can succeed. His excuse is that his majority is just too small to work with. But Nancy Pelosi had the same small majority and managed pass numerous significant bill, including the American Rescue Plan to restore the economy and create jobs; the Infrastructure Act to rebuild America’s roads, bridges, airports, and communications; the Inflation Reduction Act that also advanced projects to mitigate climate change; the CHIPS Act to bring technology manufacturing back to the U.S.; and the PACT Act to expand veterans health care.

That’s what can be achieved by a party that believes that government is there to pursue the interests of the people. And McCarthy’s moaning about his mini-majority won’t fool anyone that he’s interested in serving the people.

RELATED STORY: Kevin McCarthy Can’t Even Lie Well About His Wretched Record as Squeaker of the House

As for “Burning down the House,” here’s a more entertaining version of that notion…

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Rep Swalwell Skewers GOP Committee Chair Jim Jordan for Hypocritical Attack on Merrick Garland

Posted by on September 20, 2023 at 3:55 pm. 4 Comments :

Since the beginning of this year, Republicans have been busying themselves with a variety of laughably ludicrous hearings in the House of Representatives. They are taking advantage of their razor-thin majority to unleash blatantly partisan smears aimed solely at soiling the reputations of President Biden and other Democrats.

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Jim Jordan, Biden's Emails

Unfortunately for the GOP scandal mongers, these hearings have, more often than not, resulted in Democrats revealing the copious crimes, political biases, and ethical lapses of Republicans. What they have never done is to affirm even the slightest hint of any wrongdoing by Biden or any other Democratic official. But perhaps the Republicans don’t mind because it has never been their intention to expose any actual breach of the law. They have not even been shy about admitting their nefarious agenda.

SEE THIS: New GOP Subcommittee Chair Openly Admits His Only Purpose is to ‘Make Life Hell’ for Democrats

On Wednesday the Republican-led Judiciary Committee invited Attorney General Merrick Garland to testify. There was never any doubt that this hearing would be used by Republicans to bash Garland for imaginary misdeeds and manufactured outrages. And on that measure, they didn’t disappoint. Every GOP member wasted their time with tedious complaints that disregarded reality in order to disparage Garland.

The Republican hate-fest was contrasted by the Democrats on the committee, who honestly and effectively shot down all of the GOP’s lame attempts to rattle Garland. A particularly good example of that came when GOP Rep. Thomas Massie complained that he wasn’t getting the answers he wanted and asked, “Aren’t you, in fact, in contempt of Congress when you refuse to answer?” Of course, the short answer to that is “No!” It is not contempt of Congress if the member doesn’t like the answer.

However, it was then Rep. Eric Swalwell’s turn to speak. And he began by responding to Massie’s preposterous charge…

“Mr. Attorney General, my colleague just said you should be held in contempt of Congress. And that is quite rich because the guy who is leaving the hearing room right now, Mr. Jordan, is about 500 days into evading his subpoena. About 500 days. So if we’re going to talk about contempt of Congress, let’s get real.

“Are you serious that Jim Jordan, a witness to one of the greatest crimes committed in America, a crime where more prosecutions have occurred than any crime in this country, refuses to help this country, and we’re going to get lectured about subpoena compliance and contempt of Congress? Jim Jordan won’t even honor a lawful subpoena. Are you kidding me? Are you kidding me? There’s no credibility on that side.”

Indeed, Jordan was subpoenaed by the House Select Committee investigating the January 6th insurrection that Donald Trump incited. Jordan had directly relevant information involving conversations that he admits he had with Trump that day. Jordan could have complied with the subpoena by showing up and taking the Fifth Amendment if he didn’t want to incriminate himself. But he just ignored it. Which is unarguably contempt of Congress.

Yet somehow, Republicans are fixated on trivialities that they are desperately trying to magnify into unholy debauchery. And it goes farther up than just chairman Jordan. GOP House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is just as culpable for the sort of contemptuous behavior toward the body that he purports to lead. He also refused to comply with a subpoena. Which means he also has zero respect for the House and the law. Which might explain why he is so pitifully impotent in his role as Speaker.

SEE ALSO: HUH? Squeaker McCarthy Admits that He Ignored Subpoenas in His Denial that He Ignored Subpoenas

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Fox News and GOP Impeachment Chair Seek ‘Damning Evidence’ Against Biden, But Can’t Find Any

Posted by on September 15, 2023 at 12:32 pm. 4 Comments :

The Republican Party has given up entirely on even pretending to be interested in governing. Their sole purpose now is to smear President Biden and other Democrats with baseless allegations, insinuations, and wholly fictional conjecture. They are professional scandal mongers, and what’s really sad, is that they aren’t even any good at that.

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Fox News, Joe Biden, Fake News

It’s been eight months since Republicans assumed their razor-thin majority in the House of Representatives. And in all that time they haven’t managed to pass a single bill of any significance. That includes most of the critical appropriations bills necessary to prevent a government shutdown. They have, however, held dozens of pointless and futile hearings with the intention of staining the reputation of the President. They have even admitted their purpose early on…

SEE THIS: New GOP Subcommittee Chair Openly Admits His Only Purpose is to ‘Make Life Hell’ for Democrats

On Friday Fox News Senior Trump-Fluffer, Maria Bartiromo, advanced the pitiful platform of the GOP during an interview with Jason Smith, the Republican chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee. That is one of the three committees that Speaker Kevin McCarthy just assigned to the task of conducting a bogus Biden impeachment inquiry. He joins Jim Jordan’s Judiciary Committee and James Comer’s and Oversight Committee in that purely partisan pursuit.

McCarthy had to break his promise – made just two weeks ago – to only empanel an impeachment inquiry after a vote by the full House. But he knows he doesn’t have the votes, even from his own caucus, to to get that passed. So he proceeded unilaterally.

Before the inquiries have even begun, Republicans have deployed to their positions on right-wing media to poison the public record with propaganda. And to that end, Smith appeared on Fox News with Bartiromo to engage in a revealing, and ultimately humiliating, exchange that began with this question…

Bartiromo: What I want to know is what you believe is the most damning evidence that you all have to suggest bribery – that the President was involved in bribery and money laundering. You’ve told us about the $20 million. Is it more than that? [GOP Rep] Nancy Mace told us that it could be $50 million. What were they getting paid for, and how come they set up twenty shell companies while he was Vice-President? What are these shell companies about?

Notice that Bartiromo planted her propaganda in the question with references to millions of dollars in alleged bribery and money laundering funds. She failed to mention that none of that was ever linked to President Biden, and wasn’t even illegal on the part of Hunter Biden. But Bartiromo nevertheless implies, without proof, that the money was for some nefarious purpose. And if you think that’s bad, the reply she got from Smith was even worse…

Smith: Those are all great questions that we need answers to. Unfortunately, since we released the testimony of the IRS whistleblowers, myself, Jim Jordan, Jamie Comer, have sent sixteen different investigative letters to the Biden administration asking questions and demanding answers. And the have stonewalled us this entire time. That is why we’re going to an impeachment inquiry. It’s because we need these questions answered. But guess what? Joe Biden and his administration is stopping us at every level.”

So the answer to “What is your damning evidence?” is “Those are all great questions that we need answers to.” Smith is confirming that he doesn’t have any evidence, damning or otherwise. Which means that here is no justifiable reason to hold any impeachment inquiry at all. Unless it is just to fish for potential morsels of mud that they can magnify into scandalous misconduct. That is not the mission of a congressional inquiry, which generally requires probable cause to initiate.

For the record, contrary to Smith’s complaint, the Biden administration has provided Congress with thousands of pages of documents per their requests. That includes memos, emails, and bank statements. Smith’s real problem is that there isn’t any hint of wrongdoing in any of that production. And the formation of an impeachment inquiry, without a vote by the full House, won’t have any additional authority to persecute Biden. So the best that they can hope for is to spread more rumors and lies.

When the chairman of the committee that is tasked with conducting an investigation concedes that he has nothing to warrant an investigation, you might think that the whole matter would be dropped. But not with this Republican caucus. They see this as an opportunity to cripple the President’s prospects for reelection next year. And they aren’t going to let up, no matter how much they embarrass themselves with failure.

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Trump Threatens ‘Weak’ Republicans in Congress: ‘We Will Put Them All In Jail Where They Belong’

Posted by on September 7, 2023 at 11:22 am. 6 Comments :

The furious hostility and seething animus of Donald Trump are perhaps the most quintessential characteristics of his perverse personality. The only times that he isn’t lashing out malevolently at his perceived enemies is when he is lavishing wholly undue praise upon himself.

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Donald Trump, Republican, GOP

The targets of Trump’s tantrums are generally Democrats and political foes, including President Biden, former President Obama, Hillary Clinton, and leaders in Congress such as Nancy Pelosi. More recently Trump has made it his mission to viciously malign the judges and prosecutors connected to his multitude of criminal indictments and felony charges of crimes against America. His behavior exposes nothing more than his festering fear of the consequences of his crimes.

SEE THIS: Trump is Flush With Fear Over His Dreadful Future and the Deluge of Justice That’s Coming

However, Trump doesn’t reserve his vile vitriol for Democrats and justice officials. He is often equally disparaging toward his confederates in the Republican Party. He regularly attacks Mitch McConnell and other insufficiently worshipful GOP representatives. On Wednesday Trump went a bit farther than his ordinary measure of malice when he posted this comment on his failing social media scam, Truth Social…

“Right now Republicans in Congress and the Senate have to get tough, and put everything together in one big, neat package, because I will be President in one and a half years, and we will pick the strongest, toughest, and most respected Attorney General, and if guilty, we will put them all in jail where they belong, just as they are trying to do to me based on NOTHING.”

Trump has been whining that Republicans in Congress have been too weak with regard to defending him. He believes that the GOP in Congress have some role in reigning in the judiciary, despite the Constitution’s separation powers. He wants them to defund and otherwise hamstring the Justice Department and prosecutors investigating his criminal activities. In other words, he is promising to “weaponize” the Department of Justice.

Coming from another angle, Trump is disappointed with Republicans for not more fiercely attacking President Biden and seeking his immediate impeachment. Never mind that they don’t have a shred of evidence of any wrongdoing. They have no use for evidence, particularly when it reveals their own crimes more than anything else. But that hasn’t stopped Trump from castigating them and fantasizing about their incarceration. Some recent examples include…

“Any Republican that doesn’t act on Democratic fraud should be immediately primaried and get out.”

“They impeach me, they indict me. And the Republicans just don’t fight the way … they’re supposed to fight.”

“Biden is a Stone Cold Crook-You don’t need a long INQUIRY to prove it, it’s already proven. These lowlifes Impeached me TWICE (I WON!), and Indicted me FOUR TIMES – For NOTHING! Either IMPEACH the BUM, or fade into OBLIVION.”

“Republicans better get tough and they better get smart because most of them look like a bunch of weak jerks right now.”

“Republicans all, you must finally get tough. You’ve got to get tough and you’ve got to show them, when you arrest your leading political opponent, we no longer have a democracy.”

“Remember, all of these Indictments, Federal, State, and Local, were conceived and generated by Crooked Joe Biden and his staff of Radical Left Lunatics and Thugs for purposes of interfering with the 2020 Presidential Election. None of these trials should be allowed to begin prior to the Election. Republicans must get tougher and smarter, FAST!”

Clearly Trump is desperate and afraid, which is driving him to bully his fellow Republicans into more forcefully supporting his delusions and quest for power. He knows what he’s done, and he knows that he’s guilty, and that he’s likely to be convicted. Yet he appears to have forgotten what he thinks about candidates who are under felony indictments. So this might be a good time to remind him.

SEE ALSO: Donald Trump: Presidential Candidates Under Felony Indictment Have ‘No Right to Be Running’

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Kevin McCarthy Can’t Even Lie Well About His Wretched Record as Squeaker of the House

Posted by on August 31, 2023 at 3:00 pm. 6 Comments :

It’s been seven months since Kevin McCarthy was selected by his caucus to become the Republican Speaker of the House of Representatives after a torturous fifteen vote marathon. In order to finally secure the post that he had craved for years, he traded away virtually all of the authority that normally comes with it.

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Donald Trump, Kevin McCarthy

McCarthy’s deeply unethical promises to the fringiest faction of his caucus has obligated him to concede to the demands of crackpots like Marjorie Taylor Greene and Matt Gaetz in order to keep his speakership. That obligation now includes entertaining unwarranted and evidenceless efforts to impeach President Biden. It is such a brazenly political charade that even Fox News has criticized it.

SEE THIS: UH-OH: Even Fox News Rejects the GOP’s ‘Evidence’ to Impeach Biden as ‘Completely Unverified’

Having nothing to present to voters as resembling an accomplishment, McCarthy is embarking on a press tour to disseminate flagrant falsehoods and fantasies. In furtherance of that agenda, he told one television interviewer that…

“Someone did an analysis of this Congress versus the last Congress. And in the last Congress the Democrats controlled the House, the Senate, and the presidency. But this Congress has actually produced more bills. More become law, which makes it more difficult. But the bigger things we also changed is we opened the House back up. Members now have to come to work.”

First of all, it’s likely that the “someone” who did the analysis that McCarthy referenced – but conspicuously failed to identify – was probably Sean Hannity or some similar right-wing toady. But more to the point, the alleged analysis is wholly unrelated to reality. Here are the facts:

“The 118th United States Congress, which began on January 3, 2023, and will end on January 3, 2025, has enacted 13 public laws and zero private laws.”

“The 117th United States Congress, which began on January 3, 2021, and ended on January 3, 2023, enacted 362 public laws and 3 private laws.”

Now some observers may object to that because the current 118th Congress has only just begun, and it’s unfair to compare it to the 117th Congress, when Nancy Pelosi was Speaker, and had two years to complete their work. But even if you just count the bills from the 117th that were passed in the same seven month period, there were still 39 bills, which is three times as many as McCarthy is bragging (lying) about.

What’s more, among the bills passed in the first year of the 117th Congress were the historic “American Rescue Plan” that brought the nation out of the pandemic recession, and the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act” that created millions of jobs restoring America’s roads, bridges, airports, and communications. None of the GOP’s 13 bills in this session had anywhere near that level of benefit to the nation as those passed during Pelosi’s tenure.

Instead, while McCarthy has allegedly been in charge as Speaker, he has focused almost exclusively on ultra-partisan hearings aimed at maligning President Biden and other Democrats. They have sought to slander the Biden family, including his son Hunter and First Lady Jill. They are also seeking to impeach multiple members of the Biden administration, including Attorney General Merrick Garland, FBI Director Chris Wray, and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. In their spare time they are trying to defund the prosecutors and judges associated with the many criminal cases of Donald Trump.

All that McCarthy and the GOP have left at this point are lies, threats to tank the economy, meritless personal attacks, and boycotts of Barbie, Mickey Mouse, and light beer. Their agenda is so warped that Biden even used it in a satirical and hilarious mock campaign ad. Or maybe Republicans actually think that their doctrine of dystopia is what the public wants from their representatives in Washington. If so, that will work out well in next year’s elections – for Democrats.

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Pelosi Skewers Squeaker McCarthy as ‘Pathetic’ for Trying to Expunge Trump’s Impeachments

Posted by on July 23, 2023 at 12:14 pm. 4 Comments :

The traumatic tribulations of Donald Trump continue to unfold as both his political and legal troubles escalate into the 2024 election season. Trump has already been indicted twice with a total of more than 70 felony counts of criminal conduct. And he is currently venting his anxiety over imminent new indictments related to the the January 6th insurrection that he incited.

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Kevin McCarthy, House Speaker (Squeaker), Donald Trump

Special counsel, Jack Smith, is said to be readying the latest batch of charges against Trump. Meanwhile, his first batch has just received a court date of May 20, 2024, which Trump had hoped would be delayed until after the next election. As would be expected of a malignant narcissist under these circumstances, Trump is grasping desperately for help from the glassy-eyed disciples of his cult that reside in Congress and the right-wing press.

RELATED: Scared and Desperate Trump Begs Congress to Save Him From the Meanies Prosecuting His Crimes

Among Trump’s most devoted congressional sycophants is Republican House Squeaker, Kevin McCarthy. And true to form, McCarthy is endeavoring to rescue his Dear Leader from the legal abyss. Although it may be more accurate to say that he is trying to rescue his speakership from the wrath of Trump and his MAGA caucus in Congress. In pursuit of that fear driven goal, McCarthy promised Trump that he would schedule a floor vote to “expunge” Trump’s two impeachments.

“About a month ago, the outlandish idea started to actually gain traction: Two prominent House Republicans — GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik and Marjorie Taylor Greene — introduced parallel resolutions to ‘expunge’ the former president’s impeachments, and a few days later, McCarthy surprised many by endorsing the gambit. ‘I think it is appropriate,’ the House speaker told reporters.”

For the record, there is no constitutional provision that would support such an expungement. At best it might give Trump a fig leaf with which to pretend – contrary to reality – that he had never been impeached. And on Sunday morning former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made the same argument in a pointed way. Pelosi was asked by CNN’s Dana Bash about the matter: “You oversaw both of those impeachment proceedings. What’s your reaction to this?”

“Well, the president was impeached because we had no choice. He had undermined our national security, jeopardized our well being of our country. Kevin is playing politics. It is not even clear if he constitutionally can expunge those things. If he wants to put his members on the spot – his members in difficult races on spot – that is a decision he has to make. But this is not responsible. […]

“This is about being afraid. As I’ve said before, Donald Trump is the puppeteer and what does he do all of the time but shine the light on the strings. These people look pathetic.”

The notion that historic impeachments on the congressional record can simply be disappeared by crybaby members of a wingnut faction of the GOP is patently absurd. But it’s even worse than that. There is a fair chance that the motion to expunge won’t even pass. There are Republicans in districts that Biden won who are not anxious to relitigate these issues. In fact, several Republicans have already said that they won’t vote for it. And McCarthy has a razor-thin margin of five votes in order to succeed.

What’s more, just bringing the question to the floor means that a debate would ensue for at least several days rehashing all of the reasons that Trump was justifiably impeached to begin with. It would refresh the memories of the American people as to just how corrupt he is, at the same time that the new indictments are being revealed.

Anyone with half a brain would recognize what a terrible idea this is for Trump and the GOP. Democrats are salivating at the thought of reminding the nation that Trump is unfit for office as he’s trying to mount a campaign to win it back. However, acting on terrible ideas is pretty much the hallmark of modern Republicanism. Just take a look at what they have been doing in Congress since they assumed their bare majority earlier this year…

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