Republicans: continued

[Tero]

"apparently Lauren Boebert's father is a former professional wrestler named Stan Lane and her mom has been trying to get him to acknowledge her existence for years. there are comments from her mom on this video dating back to 12 years ago "

one of these

[Brian Peacock]

Bit gay.

[L'Emmerdeur]

Ted Cruz telling lies that parallel lies told by racists opposed to the civil rights movement of the late 50s/early 60s.

'Ted Cruz's erroneous definition of critical race theory explains white America'

At the conservative Faith and Freedom Forum this past week, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, launched an attack on critical race theory. Such rants have become a staple for Republicans lately, but Cruz set himself apart by asserting that the legal theory was “every bit as racist as the Klansmen in white sheets.”

To say this is nonsense feels painfully obvious. The Ku Klux Klan’s ideology began with the premise that racial differences were an obvious biological and scientific fact and that all human activities had to be organized around that fact; critical race theorists take as their starting point the belief that race is a fiction, that it’s an invented concept that has no basis in biology or science.

The Klan worked to put its racist beliefs into action through Jim Crow laws in the South and immigration restrictions for the nation as a whole; critical race theorists have devoted themselves to identifying the remainders of that racism in the law and rooting it out.

And, most obviously, the KKK was a terrorist organization responsible for decades of white supremacist violence that included thousands of murders, mutilations and bombings of African Americans and other minorities. The law school professors behind critical race theory are not.

...

While Cruz’s claim that critical race theorists are “every bit as racist” as Klansmen is laughable, it notably fits into a larger historical pattern in which white southerners asserted that the critics of white supremacy were just as bad — or worse — than the defenders of white supremacy.

During the civil rights era, segregationist leaders across the South complained that they were being besieged by “extremists on both sides,” by which they meant white supremacist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and its white-collar counterpart, the White Citizens’ Councils, and civil rights organizations, like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

...

Convincing ordinary Americans that the enemies of the Klan were just as bad as the Klan itself was, of course, the entire point. It still is.

This is a tried-and-true line of attack from those who wish to preserve the status quo, but in this instance it’s especially egregious. Critical race theorists seek to expose the ways in which white supremacists — like [Louisiana Democratic Governor Russell] Long [in 1956], the [civil rights era] Louisiana state legislature, or [South Carolina judge J. Henry] Johnson [in 1958] — abused the powers of their offices to embed racist principles and policies in our political and legal systems.

It’s bad enough that Cruz slanders them. But it’s even worse that he uses the exact same line of argument against them that those segregationists did.

[Seabass]

During the civil rights era, segregationist leaders across the South complained that they were being besieged by “extremists on both sides,” by which they meant white supremacist organizations like the Ku Klux Klan and its white-collar counterpart, the White Citizens’ Councils, and civil rights organizations, like the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).

Ah yes, that is some fine vintage bothsidesing! :chefskiss:

[Brian Peacock]

As I've mentioned before somewhere, Nietzsche maintained that the greatest political sin was hypocrisy. Cruz basically declares anti-racists racist hypocrites to make his audience feel comfortable not just woth ignoring racism and/or anti-racists, but to justify opposing and resisting an understanding of how racism plays out in society along with broadly anti-racist outlooks. We know what that makes him. So does he - and he obviously doesn't give a toss.

I think Nietzsche was wrong btw. The greatest political sin is to embrace, embody, and inculcate in others the idea of justified cruelty to others. By justifying opposition and resistance to anti-racist outlooks Cruz is also declaring that he wishes to perpetuate racism in society along with the harm it causes to individuals and society as a whole. Logically he can only hold that position if he believes that racism doesn't exist. Politically though, he only has to pretend that racism is a non-issue, and it is by deliberately operating under that condition of performative Ignorance that he is rendered a hypocrite himself. Again, this works in a political sense if the focus of his side if the conversation is a strawman of critical race theory and the apparent moral failings of anti-racists.

IMO the only response to Cruz's brand of errant racist stool water is to give an example of racism, either historical or in action today, and ask why the blowhard thinks this isn't something worth examining/studying/understanding more about. This at least returns the conversation back to the topic at hand - though perhaps only briefly.

[L'Emmerdeur]

I'm sure if you asked Senator Cruz he would claim that he 'doesn't deny that racism exists,' then proceed to carry on with his errant bullshit. We've seen that dynamic on these pages only recently and will again, no doubt.

[JimC]

I'm sure if you asked Senator Cruz he would claim that he 'doesn't deny that racism exists,' then proceed to carry on with his errant bullshit. We've seen that dynamic on these pages only recently and will again, no doubt.

He would be referring to the most extreme, egregious examples, insisting that they represent only a tiny, unimportant minority, and that systemic racism is non-existent...

[Tero]

"give me more money"
https://twitter.com/TinaTmm9294/status/ ... 51/photo/1

[Seabass]

AOC: "We should have UHC and burn less fossil, you know, like developed countries do."
Lauren Boebert: "There have been two nations created for God’s glory, Israel and the United States of America. We will glorify God!"

Republicans: "AOC is crazy and stupid and extreme!"


I hate them. OMG I hate them so much.

[Brian Peacock]

I'm sure if you asked Senator Cruz he would claim that he 'doesn't deny that racism exists,' then proceed to carry on with his errant bullshit. We've seen that dynamic on these pages only recently and will again, no doubt.

Then my question to him would still be, "If racism exits then there must be victims of racism, so why do you think this isn't worth examining/studying/understanding more about?"

[Seabass]

I'm sure if you asked Senator Cruz he would claim that he 'doesn't deny that racism exists,' then proceed to carry on with his errant bullshit. We've seen that dynamic on these pages only recently and will again, no doubt.

Then my question to him would still be, "If racism exits then there must be victims of racism, so why do you think this isn't worth examining/studying/understanding more about?"

In the Fox News fantasy realm, white people are the victims of racism.

[Joe]

Guess who is coming to dinner? Yep, right here in my little town.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene to keynote El Paso County Republicans' annual fundraising dinner

The El Paso County Republican Party has booked U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the Georgia Republican who was stripped of her committee assignments earlier this year, to deliver the keynote speech at the party's annual Lincoln Day dinner.

"Do not miss the event of the year!" reads an invitation to the Aug. 6 fundraising dinner, sent Tuesday night by El Paso County GOP chairman Vickie Tonkins.
...
Tickets to the dinner — traditionally the county party's biggest fundraising event — range from $100 to $2,500, which includes passes to a VIP party. Supporters will also be able to take photos with Greene at $30 a pop.

The county party's Lincoln Day dinners have been major draws over the decades, with keynoters including then-former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, strategist Karl Rove, South Dakota Sen. John Thune and Ohio Rep. Jim Jordan.

For $130, I could get my picture taken with the crazy lady. I think Mrs. Joe and I will got to our favorite upscale restaurant instead.

[L'Emmerdeur]

McConnell is sticking with his 'nothing to see here, move along' line. He may not be particularly imaginative but he's mostly consistent in his bald faced lies.

'Mitch McConnell brazenly lies on Fox News: "There's no voter suppression going on"'

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) attempted to gaslight America on Thursday by lying that there is any voter suppression taking place in America.

McConnell made his remarks on Fox News, which has pushed voter suppression laws in multiple states after repeating Donald Trump “Big Lie” about election fraud that incited the January 6th insurrection by Trump supporters seeking to overturn the election results.

“If the president wants to keep on talking about it, we’d like to keep talking about it too, because there’s no voter suppression going on in any state in America,” McConnell falsely claimed.

In reality, Republicans have focused on voter suppression since decisively losing the 2018 and 2020 election results under then-President Trump.

[Tero]

The McConnell wall is cracking. Mitch has one term left and the politicians will have to either get re-elected, or some will quit. if they quit, they do not give a shit about Mitch.

[L'Emmerdeur]

Those Republicans are so much better than the Democrats when it comes to free speech that free speech warriors will manage to overlook this little slip of the pen.

'Keep History Teachers Free to Teach, in Iowa and the Nation'

The Iowa legislature has just passed a new law on teaching about racism in the Iowa schools. It is long, vague, and contradictory. It is a confusing, poorly drafted piece of legislation. It is clear, though, that it drastically restricts speech on the part of students and teachers. It is now law, but unlikely to have much legal impact as it is almost certainly unconstitutional and does not include tough enforcement measures.

Yet it still matters. We are losing many of our best college graduates to places like Chicago, Minneapolis, and Texas. Our civic leaders try to win new businesses in the state yet employers are unlikely to invest in a state that looks like Mississippi, only with cold weather.

Reading this new law felt like skimming the Terms of Service on a commercial website, or carefully reading the warranty on a new toaster oven. It left me wondering how such a mess received the support of GOP leaders.

Sadly, this law is purely political. It has arrived in the midst of a larger movement against Critical Race Theory (CRT) a doctrine almost solely taught in law schools. Yet it will damage faculty governance over teaching in universities, and, along with recent threats to academic tenure, make it difficult to recruit the best professors to our state. However, it meshes well with current Republican thinking in the age of Trump. Iowa has a long tradition of local control of education. However, this law gives most power to the legislature. On a variety of issues, from hog lots to COVID-19 masking, the Iowa GOP believes in local control, except when it doesn’t.