Showing posts with label congress. Show all posts
Showing posts with label congress. Show all posts
Sep 18, 2024
Sep 1, 2024
Representative Government
Jaimie Raskin nails it perfectly - starting at about 11:05.
And there's a lot more, but let's be clear - Republicans have no intention of allowing autonomy of any kind anywhere at any time. They're in the process of strangling democracy little by little.
Aug 2, 2024
Eating Their Own
Bob Good (R-VA05) won his primary four years ago by playing on the homophobia that's still deeply embedded in the minds of American "conservatives" - his predecessor (Denver Riggleman) presided over a gay wedding, and Good used that to beat him in the primary.
Recount confirms Bob Good’s loss after GOP rallies to oust one of their own
A recount on Thursday confirmed that state Sen. John McGuire beat Good in the June election by just a few hundred votes, according to The Associated Press.
Rep. Bob Good is notorious for the scorched-earth tactics he has repeatedly used as the leader of the ultra-conservative House Freedom Caucus.
He just got burned by them.
In just two terms, Good built enemies in every wing of the Republican Party — and that opposition came out in force to align itself with state Sen. John McGuire, who defeated Good to clinch the GOP nomination for a red-leaning seat in south-central Virginia after an official recount of the June 18 primary concluded Thursday.
Good requested the recount after the initial results were within a one-point margin. The race was so close that Good was behind by just a few hundred votes in the final count, enough that the Associated Press could not call the race.
More than a month later, the Thursday recount confirmed the outcome: Good had been ousted, The Associated Press said, unable to make up the roughly 400-vote deficit out of more than 62,000 ballots cast in June. It is a stunning defeat; Good was taken down by neither personal scandal nor an ideological challenge but because of his caustic approach toward his fellow members as well as his alienation of Donald Trump. His loss is even more striking because House Republicans have moved to the right in recent years.
But the Virginia firebrand had made too many foes too quickly.
His determination to block part of the GOP’s legislative agenda by any means necessary made him unpopular with his colleagues. He endorsed Ron DeSantis’ presidential bid even before the Florida governor had entered the race against Trump. Months later, he joined with seven other members last fall to defenestrate former Speaker Kevin McCarthy. And then he needlessly inserted himself into the primaries of his Republican colleagues, spurring personal grievances that compelled them to return the favor.
“Bob Good is universally recognized to be an asshole,” said Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-Wis.), who endorsed McGuire.
And this McGuire guy is no fuckin' prize either.
It seems like these jerks just drift from place to place looking to run for office for no better reason than, "Well now - this looks like easy pickin's. These sorry rubes are just my kinda people."
In October 2019, while campaigning for re-election, McGuire declined to commit to completing his second term in office, responding to widespread speculation that he was considering a congressional campaign. After winning re-election in November, McGuire announced his candidacy for U.S. Congress for Virginia's 7th congressional district. McGuire lost a closely contested convention to state Delegate Nick Freitas, who went on to narrowly lose to Abigail Spanberger in the 2020 election.
McGuire publicly opposed Virginia's ratification of the Equal Rights Amendment, pointing out that the resolution had missed the deadline for ratification.
McGuire attended Stop the Steal rallies throughout Virginia in 2020. He has claimed the COVID-19 pandemic was a "plan-demic" designed to change voting laws and rig the 2020 presidential election. McGuire admitted to attending President Donald Trump's January 6, 2021 rally in Washington, D.C., but has denied participating in the subsequent attack on the United States Capitol.
McGuire has declared his candidacy for the U.S. Congress in 2024, having been recruited by allies of former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy to challenge Bob Good as part of what Politico described as a "vengeance operation" against those who voted to oust him. He was endorsed by several members of Congress and former President Donald Trump.
Jun 3, 2024
On The Roiling Of America
It would give me a warm fuzzy prideful feeling deep down in my heart to watch Fauci look straight into the camera and say, "Here I am, assholes - come and get me."
Obviously, this could rile up those assholes and trigger a whole new spate of threatening or violent actions.
But I'm enough of a cautious optimist to believe there are far more good people in this country than there are the kind of assholes who go around dropping death threats on valued, respected leaders.
So I think lots of those good people would be willing to stand up and defend a guy like Dr Fauci, and beat back the MAGA assholes who just can't manage not to act like they never outgrew their tendencies to behave like the raging morons they were in middle school.
God how I hate those fuckin' guys.
May 20, 2024
May 6, 2024
Not Gonna Happen
Marge The Impaler Greene will probably not get her way.
House set to vote on Marjorie Taylor Greene effort to remove Mike Johnson
Far-right congresswoman has spearheaded effort to oust fellow Republican as speaker but motion to vacate widely expected to fail
The House is expected to vote this week on a motion to remove Republican Mike Johnson as speaker, but the effort, spearheaded by hard-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, faces virtually no chance of success.
Greene announced on Wednesday that she would move forward with forcing a vote on Johnson’s removal this week, following through on a threat she first issued in late March. Greene has consistently attacked Johnson for advancing bills that have attracted widespread bipartisan support, such as the government spending proposal approved in March and the foreign aid package signed into law last month.
As she called for Johnson’s removal, Greene accused the speaker of abandoning his Republican principles in favor of Democratic priorities, such as Ukraine funding.
“Mike Johnson is giving [Democrats] everything they want,” Greene said Wednesday. “I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may. And so next week, I am going to be calling this motion to vacate.”
But Greene’s proposal is widely expected to fail, as House Democratic leaders indicated last week that they would vote to table, or kill, the motion to vacate the chair. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the three leaders cited the passage of the foreign aid package, which included nearly $61bn in funding for Ukraine, to justify their stance.
“At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of pro-Putin Republican obstruction,” the leaders said. “We will vote to table Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate the chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”
Among House Republicans, Greene’s campaign has attracted little interest, as only two of her colleagues – Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona – have expressed their support of the motion.
Although the effort will almost certainly fail, Greene can still force a vote on her motion to vacate. Current House rules stipulate that a single member of the chamber may “offer a privileged resolution declaring the Office of Speaker vacant”. Greene introduced such a resolution in March, but she stopped short of calling for a vote on the matter.
Greene plans to move forward with requesting a vote on the motion, which will force the House to take up the matter within two legislative days.
Before voting on removing the speaker, one of Johnson’s allies is expected to introduce a motion to table the proposal. When then speaker Kevin McCarthy was facing the threat of removal in October, his allies tried the same tactic, but the motion to table failed in a vote of 208 to 218.
This time around, the House will almost certainly be able to pass a motion to table Greene’s resolution. With House Democratic leadership signaling that they will support the motion to table and only two Republican colleagues joining Greene’s cause, she remains hundreds of votes short of the majority that she will need to remove the speaker. (However, Democrats are not expected to unanimously back the motion to table, as some have signaled they will oppose it or vote “present”.)
Johnson himself has appeared largely unbothered by Greene’s threats, criticizing her motion as “wrong for the Republican conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country”. At a press conference on Tuesday, Johnson insisted that he remained laser-focused on advancing House Republicans’ legislative priorities.
“I have to do my job. We have to do what we believe to be the right thing,” Johnson said. “We need people who are serious about the job here to continue to do that job and get it done.”
If Johnson were ousted, he would become only the second House speaker in US history to be formally removed from the position – and yet he would also be the second speaker removed in less than a year. In October, a small group of Republicans joined Democrats in ousting McCarthy, making him the first House speaker to ever endure that humiliation.
McCarthy’s departure set off weeks of chaos in the House, as Republicans repeatedly failed in their efforts to choose a new speaker. The House remained at a complete standstill for three weeks, unable to conduct any official business, until Johnson (the conference’s fourth speaker nominee) won election.
Johnson has often referenced that embarrassing episode in recent weeks, as he has attempted to dissuade Republicans from joining Greene’s campaign.
“We saw what happened with the motion to vacate the last time,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “Congress was closed for three weeks. No one can afford for that to happen.”
And I'll resist crowing about how this could signal continued erosion of the assumed power of the Klown Kar Kauscus, because even though this may be the classic over-reach, it could take a long time for this thing to crumble and fall.
Far-right congresswoman has spearheaded effort to oust fellow Republican as speaker but motion to vacate widely expected to fail
The House is expected to vote this week on a motion to remove Republican Mike Johnson as speaker, but the effort, spearheaded by hard-right congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, faces virtually no chance of success.
Greene announced on Wednesday that she would move forward with forcing a vote on Johnson’s removal this week, following through on a threat she first issued in late March. Greene has consistently attacked Johnson for advancing bills that have attracted widespread bipartisan support, such as the government spending proposal approved in March and the foreign aid package signed into law last month.
As she called for Johnson’s removal, Greene accused the speaker of abandoning his Republican principles in favor of Democratic priorities, such as Ukraine funding.
There's that new oxymoron again: "Republican principles"
“Mike Johnson is giving [Democrats] everything they want,” Greene said Wednesday. “I think every member of Congress needs to take that vote and let the chips fall where they may. And so next week, I am going to be calling this motion to vacate.”
But Greene’s proposal is widely expected to fail, as House Democratic leaders indicated last week that they would vote to table, or kill, the motion to vacate the chair. In a statement issued on Tuesday, the three leaders cited the passage of the foreign aid package, which included nearly $61bn in funding for Ukraine, to justify their stance.
“At this moment, upon completion of our national security work, the time has come to turn the page on this chapter of pro-Putin Republican obstruction,” the leaders said. “We will vote to table Marjorie Taylor Greene’s motion to vacate the chair. If she invokes the motion, it will not succeed.”
Among House Republicans, Greene’s campaign has attracted little interest, as only two of her colleagues – Thomas Massie of Kentucky and Paul Gosar of Arizona – have expressed their support of the motion.
Although the effort will almost certainly fail, Greene can still force a vote on her motion to vacate. Current House rules stipulate that a single member of the chamber may “offer a privileged resolution declaring the Office of Speaker vacant”. Greene introduced such a resolution in March, but she stopped short of calling for a vote on the matter.
Greene plans to move forward with requesting a vote on the motion, which will force the House to take up the matter within two legislative days.
Before voting on removing the speaker, one of Johnson’s allies is expected to introduce a motion to table the proposal. When then speaker Kevin McCarthy was facing the threat of removal in October, his allies tried the same tactic, but the motion to table failed in a vote of 208 to 218.
This time around, the House will almost certainly be able to pass a motion to table Greene’s resolution. With House Democratic leadership signaling that they will support the motion to table and only two Republican colleagues joining Greene’s cause, she remains hundreds of votes short of the majority that she will need to remove the speaker. (However, Democrats are not expected to unanimously back the motion to table, as some have signaled they will oppose it or vote “present”.)
Johnson himself has appeared largely unbothered by Greene’s threats, criticizing her motion as “wrong for the Republican conference, wrong for the institution, and wrong for the country”. At a press conference on Tuesday, Johnson insisted that he remained laser-focused on advancing House Republicans’ legislative priorities.
“I have to do my job. We have to do what we believe to be the right thing,” Johnson said. “We need people who are serious about the job here to continue to do that job and get it done.”
If Johnson were ousted, he would become only the second House speaker in US history to be formally removed from the position – and yet he would also be the second speaker removed in less than a year. In October, a small group of Republicans joined Democrats in ousting McCarthy, making him the first House speaker to ever endure that humiliation.
McCarthy’s departure set off weeks of chaos in the House, as Republicans repeatedly failed in their efforts to choose a new speaker. The House remained at a complete standstill for three weeks, unable to conduct any official business, until Johnson (the conference’s fourth speaker nominee) won election.
Johnson has often referenced that embarrassing episode in recent weeks, as he has attempted to dissuade Republicans from joining Greene’s campaign.
“We saw what happened with the motion to vacate the last time,” Johnson said on Tuesday. “Congress was closed for three weeks. No one can afford for that to happen.”
May 3, 2024
And Another'n
But this is Texas we're talking about, and there's nothing that says they're not in cahoots with a DOJ that's still pretty well peppered with MAGA dicks who feel the need to take down a brown-skinned Democrat who hangs with a Muslim-sounding bunch like The Azerbaijan Caucus - whatever the fuck that is - and blah blah blah.
I may be paranoid,
but that don't mean
nobody's out to get me.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) addressed an expected indictment following reports the Justice Department is preparing charges against him, saying he is “innocent of these allegations” and still plans to seek reelection.
The Justice Department searched Cuellar’s home in January 2022 as part of an investigation into Azerbaijan.
Cuellar, a co-chair of the Congressional Azerbaijan Caucus, said at the time he was not the target of the investigation.
In his Friday statement, Cuellar did not address any specific pending charges but suggested he sought out legal advice on what would appear to be the subject of the allegations and also references his wife’s professional background.
“Before I took any action, I proactively sought legal advice from the House Ethics Committee, who gave me more than one written opinion, along with an additional opinion from a national law firm. The actions I took in Congress were consistent with the actions of many of my colleagues and in the interest of the American people,” Cuellar wrote in a statement issued through his campaign.
“Imelda and I have been married for 32 years. On top of being an amazing wife and mother, she’s an accomplished businesswoman with two degrees. She spent her career working with banking, tax, and consulting. The allegation that she is anything but qualified and hard working is both wrong and offensive.”
Cuellar also said he tried to meet with prosecutors “to explain the facts and they refused to discuss the case with us or to hear our side.”
The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department for comment.
Cuellar, a moderate Democrat from a district along the U.S.-Mexico border, narrowly defeated primary challenger Jessica Cisneros.
“Let me be clear, I’m running for re-election and will win this November,” Cuellar said.
Apr 24, 2024
Today's Ryan
You don't have to put the politician on the payroll. In fact, you don't want to do that because the risk outweighs the payoff.
You can pay lobbying firms to nag the congress critters, but that can get crazy stupid expensive.
So what you do is go with a social media campaign, aimed at getting a politician's constituents to pressure the politician for you.
(We're probably seeing a version of that at work with the Gaza protests, BTW)
Apr 17, 2024
Mar 22, 2024
Another'n Bites It
218 Republicans minus Ken Buck and Mike Gallagher = 216
213 Democrats plus two Republicans willing to vote with them = 215-to-214 and Dems win
Rep. Mike Gallagher announces he’ll resign in April, further narrowing House GOP majority
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-Wis.) announced Friday he will resign effective April 19, further narrowing Republicans’ already razor-thin House majority.
Gallagher, who had already announced he would not seek reelection this year, said he made the decision to resign after conversations with his family. He currently chairs the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party.
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“I’ve worked closely with House Republican leadership on this timeline and look forward to seeing Speaker [Mike] Johnson appoint a new chair to carry out the important mission of” the committee, Gallagher said in a statement.
Republicans currently have a five-seat majority after Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.) resigned Friday, leaving the House earlier than he initially anticipated because he found his majority to be unproductive.
Gallagher has represented Wisconsin’s 8th Congressional District since 2017.
He announced in February he would not run for another term, saying in a statement that “electoral politics was never supposed to be a career and, trust me, Congress is no place to grow old.”
Feb 7, 2024
A Letter
... to the editors at WaPo, from Alan Guttman in Hampton VA:
Opinion
The border bill shows the House is political theater
Regarding the Feb. 5 front-page article “Senate reveals border package”:
While Republican senators continue to work with their Democratic counterparts and President Biden to hammer out legislation to address issues around immigration and border security, more and more House Republicans are jumping on board former president Donald Trump’s ark toward injustice.
The convening of the House Homeland Security Committee to take up articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, along with the announcement from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that a proposed Senate bill on immigration and border security would be “dead on arrival” in the House, is not political theater; it is insidious reality. These actions signal that many House Republicans have now chosen to follow the dictates of a U.S. citizen charged with 91 felonies rather than work with Mr. Biden, the only person who can sign their bills into law.
The former president’s harmful actions and inaction on Jan. 6, 2021, continue to fester within the same legislative body that was attacked on that day three years ago. Rather than doing his job and addressing the crisis at our southern border, Mr. Johnson has made clear his plans to essentially hold the House and the American people hostage at least until after the November election.
Regarding the Feb. 5 front-page article “Senate reveals border package”:
While Republican senators continue to work with their Democratic counterparts and President Biden to hammer out legislation to address issues around immigration and border security, more and more House Republicans are jumping on board former president Donald Trump’s ark toward injustice.
The convening of the House Homeland Security Committee to take up articles of impeachment against Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, along with the announcement from House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) that a proposed Senate bill on immigration and border security would be “dead on arrival” in the House, is not political theater; it is insidious reality. These actions signal that many House Republicans have now chosen to follow the dictates of a U.S. citizen charged with 91 felonies rather than work with Mr. Biden, the only person who can sign their bills into law.
The former president’s harmful actions and inaction on Jan. 6, 2021, continue to fester within the same legislative body that was attacked on that day three years ago. Rather than doing his job and addressing the crisis at our southern border, Mr. Johnson has made clear his plans to essentially hold the House and the American people hostage at least until after the November election.
Mike Johnson is the latest in a string of malignantly incompetent GOP Speakers. And I lump him in with John Boehner and Paul Ryan, who seemed at the time to be trying to bring some regular order to a House that was rapidly degenerating into the Big Fuckin Mess it is now, because I think they both knew where it was headed, but they didn't get up on their hind legs and call it out.
And I think they were unable or unwilling to publicly criticize the rabble (then the Tea Party and now MAGA) because the establishment plutocrats were telling them to let it go, thinking the rubes were doing the work, and the fat cats would reap the rewards.
Even though more people are starting to recognize the danger, we could see the end of American democracy unless these next few election cycles go to the Blue side in a big way.
There's likely a thought that Trump has given us a taste of how bad the bad cop can be, and now it's time to send in the good cop - Nikki Haley.
Project Plutocracy is still on. Don't get cocky and start thinking it's all good, and we can go back to ignoring everything but our hobbies, funny animal videos, and our crazy friends on Instagram.
Democracy is not something we have
if it's not something we do
Dec 1, 2023
Bye, George
State of the GOP:
— BigBlueWaveUSA® 🇺🇸🌊🇺🇦 (@BigBlueWaveUSA) December 1, 2023
105 Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives voted to expel George Santos and his 23 criminal charges. Can’t blame Dems for that!
All 105 Republicans will vote for Trump and his 92 criminal charges. 🤷🏼♂️🤷🏽♀️
DIVA DOWN. Traitors to go.pic.twitter.com/naKOX27F2U
Nov 14, 2023
Fight!
"He's a bully with 17 million dollars and a security detail."
"He's the type of guy that, when you were a kid, he'd throw a rock over the fence and run home and hide behind his mama's skirt."
Stay with it to hear how the NPR lady reported it.
And then some jagoff MAGA dick in the Senate decided he wanted to go a few rounds with a witness in committee.
These idiots are not worth the bucket of piss it'd take to drown 'em.
Nov 3, 2023
Due Process
George Santos is a total scumbag grifter, who should be breaking rocks at a federal lockup.
He was up for expulsion from the House, but he eked it out. Most of his GOP "buddies" voted to give him the boot, but a buncha Dems voted against the resolution because he's not stood trial, and he's not been convicted of anything.
So he wrote letters to the guys who "supported" him.
Jamie Raskin (D-MD08) marked it up and sent it back to him.
"Dear Congressman Santos:
I appreciate your note and only wish someone had proofread it first.
Meantime, you should apologize to the people of New York for all of your lies and deceit.
I know you must have thought you could get away with it all in the party of Trump, but the truth is resilient."
Nov 1, 2023
Buck Bows Out
Ken Buck is a card-carrying member of the Freedom Caucus in the US House of Representatives. Unfortunately - for him - he's not down with "The election was stolen from Trump" or "Let's impeach Biden".
Somebody tell me: What the fuck's the difference here?
Congressman Ken Buck won’t run for reelection in 2024, citing GOP’s embrace of election conspiracies
Buck, who was first elected to the House in 2014, cited Republicans’ embrace of election conspiracies as part of his reason for leaving Congress
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck announced Wednesday that he won’t run for reelection to a sixth term in 2024, citing the GOP’s embrace of election conspiracies and Congress’ inability to get work done.
The Windsor Republican’s decision, first announced on MSNBC, is certain to set off a fierce race to replace him in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, a highly conservative part of the state that spans across the Eastern Plains into Castle Rock.
“I have decided that it is time for me to do some other things,” Buck, 64, told reporter Andrea Mitchell on her show Wednesday. “I have always been disappointed with our inability in Congress to deal with major issues and I’m also disappointed that the Republican Party continues to rely on this lie that the 2020 election was stolen.”
He added: “If we’re going to solve some difficult problems we’ve got to deal with some very unpleasant lies.”
In a video posted to his YouTube page, Buck, who was first elected to the House in 2014, thanked his constituents for their support “as we have fought against the left’s policies that have had real world consequences.”
“Our nation is on a collision course with reality,” Buck said. “A steadfast commitment to truth, even uncomfortable truths, is the only way forward. Too many Republican leaders are lying to America claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, describing Jan. 6 as an unguided tour of the Capitol, and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are a weaponization of our justice system. These insidious narratives read widespread cynicism and erode Americans confidence in the rule of law.”
Buck said “it is impossible for the Republican Party to confront our problems and offer a course correction for the future while being obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past.”
The congressman’s announcement wasn’t exactly shocking news. He has been raising eyebrows and drawing conservatives’ ire for months for making the rounds on TV news shows to criticize fellow Republicans, including over the House GOP’s pursuit of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Buck also voted against U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid to become speaker, citing the Ohio Republican’s participation in efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. But Buck then backed Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to lead the House, despite the Louisiana Republican’s leading role in objecting to the 2020 results.
The difference between Jordan and Johnson, Buck told CNN, is that Jordan “did a number of things that were election denialism in their highest degree,” including texting White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows a legal theory on how Congress could block Biden’s win and talking to President Donald Trump during the Jan. 6 riot.
“Jim Jordan was involved in much of the post-election activity,” Buck said. “Mike Johnson was not. (Johnson) voted to decertify (the election results), absolutely. That wasn’t my vote, but we need to move forward. We have some important business.”
Buck added that it wasn’t OK for Johnson to vote to decertify the 2020 presidential election results, but “we’re at a point now where we need to move forward and make sure the government stays open — that we fund Israel, we fund Ukraine, we fund the border efforts. And that’s going to take a human being in that speaker position. Not a perfect human being, but a Mike Johnson, who has done his very best to move issues forward and is a really good person.”
Buck has been a staple in Colorado’s Republican politics for decades.
Buck was elected Weld County’s district attorney in 2004. He went on to be the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010, running unsuccessfully against Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who was appointed to the seat in 2009.
He lost by nearly 30,000 votes in a year when Republicans took over both the U.S. House and Senate. Some attributed Buck’s narrow loss to his handling of a rape case as district attorney.
In 2013, Buck initiated another run for U.S. Senate but dropped out of the contest when Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner entered the contest, running instead for Gardner’s seat. Buck was then elected to the House in 2014 and served as Colorado Republican Party chairman in 2019 and 2020.
But Buck’s long tenure in the upper echelons of the state’s Republican ranks have not made him immune from criticism as of late. The Colorado GOP, now under the leadership of Dave Williams, a 2020 election denier, has blasted Buck for his opposition to Jordan’s speakership bid and unwillingness to go along with he impeachment inquiry.
The congressman also said he received death threats and was being evicted from his office, owned by a major GOP donor, for refusing to back Jordan.
Buck is leaving Congress at a time when other Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, of Utah, are opting against reelection, too, because of election conspiracies.
Buck said his departure from the House, however, won’t be his departure from politics.
“I’m not going to be leaving the party and I’m not going to be leaving my role in trying to talk truth to the public,” Buck told Andrea Mitchell.
Among the Republicans rumored to be interested in running for Buck’s seat are
So he won't stand for re-election. Which opens a primary to give Colorado voters a shot at picking a Republican who isn't totally bat-shit crazy - which is exactly what would happen if he stayed in it. Voters could choose a semi-nutty Buck instead of some rabid MAGA dingleberry. So I don't know how to read this at all.
Somebody tell me: What the fuck's the difference here?
Congressman Ken Buck won’t run for reelection in 2024, citing GOP’s embrace of election conspiracies
Buck, who was first elected to the House in 2014, cited Republicans’ embrace of election conspiracies as part of his reason for leaving Congress
U.S. Rep. Ken Buck announced Wednesday that he won’t run for reelection to a sixth term in 2024, citing the GOP’s embrace of election conspiracies and Congress’ inability to get work done.
The Windsor Republican’s decision, first announced on MSNBC, is certain to set off a fierce race to replace him in Colorado’s 4th Congressional District, a highly conservative part of the state that spans across the Eastern Plains into Castle Rock.
“I have decided that it is time for me to do some other things,” Buck, 64, told reporter Andrea Mitchell on her show Wednesday. “I have always been disappointed with our inability in Congress to deal with major issues and I’m also disappointed that the Republican Party continues to rely on this lie that the 2020 election was stolen.”
He added: “If we’re going to solve some difficult problems we’ve got to deal with some very unpleasant lies.”
In a video posted to his YouTube page, Buck, who was first elected to the House in 2014, thanked his constituents for their support “as we have fought against the left’s policies that have had real world consequences.”
“Our nation is on a collision course with reality,” Buck said. “A steadfast commitment to truth, even uncomfortable truths, is the only way forward. Too many Republican leaders are lying to America claiming that the 2020 election was stolen, describing Jan. 6 as an unguided tour of the Capitol, and asserting that the ensuing prosecutions are a weaponization of our justice system. These insidious narratives read widespread cynicism and erode Americans confidence in the rule of law.”
Buck said “it is impossible for the Republican Party to confront our problems and offer a course correction for the future while being obsessively fixated on retribution and vengeance for contrived injustices of the past.”
The congressman’s announcement wasn’t exactly shocking news. He has been raising eyebrows and drawing conservatives’ ire for months for making the rounds on TV news shows to criticize fellow Republicans, including over the House GOP’s pursuit of an impeachment inquiry into President Joe Biden.
Buck also voted against U.S. Rep. Jim Jordan’s bid to become speaker, citing the Ohio Republican’s participation in efforts to overturn the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. But Buck then backed Speaker Mike Johnson’s bid to lead the House, despite the Louisiana Republican’s leading role in objecting to the 2020 results.
The difference between Jordan and Johnson, Buck told CNN, is that Jordan “did a number of things that were election denialism in their highest degree,” including texting White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows a legal theory on how Congress could block Biden’s win and talking to President Donald Trump during the Jan. 6 riot.
“Jim Jordan was involved in much of the post-election activity,” Buck said. “Mike Johnson was not. (Johnson) voted to decertify (the election results), absolutely. That wasn’t my vote, but we need to move forward. We have some important business.”
Buck added that it wasn’t OK for Johnson to vote to decertify the 2020 presidential election results, but “we’re at a point now where we need to move forward and make sure the government stays open — that we fund Israel, we fund Ukraine, we fund the border efforts. And that’s going to take a human being in that speaker position. Not a perfect human being, but a Mike Johnson, who has done his very best to move issues forward and is a really good person.”
Buck has been a staple in Colorado’s Republican politics for decades.
Buck was elected Weld County’s district attorney in 2004. He went on to be the GOP nominee for U.S. Senate in 2010, running unsuccessfully against Democratic U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, who was appointed to the seat in 2009.
He lost by nearly 30,000 votes in a year when Republicans took over both the U.S. House and Senate. Some attributed Buck’s narrow loss to his handling of a rape case as district attorney.
In 2013, Buck initiated another run for U.S. Senate but dropped out of the contest when Republican U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner entered the contest, running instead for Gardner’s seat. Buck was then elected to the House in 2014 and served as Colorado Republican Party chairman in 2019 and 2020.
But Buck’s long tenure in the upper echelons of the state’s Republican ranks have not made him immune from criticism as of late. The Colorado GOP, now under the leadership of Dave Williams, a 2020 election denier, has blasted Buck for his opposition to Jordan’s speakership bid and unwillingness to go along with he impeachment inquiry.
The congressman also said he received death threats and was being evicted from his office, owned by a major GOP donor, for refusing to back Jordan.
Buck is leaving Congress at a time when other Republicans, including U.S. Sen. Mitt Romney, of Utah, are opting against reelection, too, because of election conspiracies.
Buck said his departure from the House, however, won’t be his departure from politics.
“I’m not going to be leaving the party and I’m not going to be leaving my role in trying to talk truth to the public,” Buck told Andrea Mitchell.
Among the Republicans rumored to be interested in running for Buck’s seat are
- State Rep. Richard Holtorf, R-Akron
- Heidi Ganahl, a former CU regent who ran unsuccessfully for governor in 2022
- Deb Flora, a conservative talk radio host and failed 2022 U.S. senate candidate
- Former Colorado GOP Chairwoman Kristi Burton Brown
- Former 18th Judicial District Attorney George Brauchler
- Former state Sen. Jerry Sonnenberg, who is now a Logan County commissioner
- Former Colorado House Minority Leader Patrick Neville of Castle Rock
Why Are We So Cynical?
Because every time we try not to do that sweeping generalization thing (ie: "all Republicans are phonies and crooks"), another one turns out to be a phony and a crook.
House Speaker Mike Johnson was once the dean of a Christian law school.
It never opened its doors
WASHINGTON (AP) — Before House Speaker Mike Johnson was elected to public office, he was the dean of a small Baptist law school that didn’t exist.
The establishment of the Judge Paul Pressler School of Law was supposed to be a capstone achievement for Louisiana College, which administrators boasted would “unashamedly embrace” a “biblical worldview.” Instead, it collapsed roughly a decade ago without enrolling students or opening its doors amid infighting by officials, accusations of financial impropriety and difficulty obtaining accreditation, which frightened away would-be donors.
There is no indication that Johnson engaged in wrongdoing while employed by the private college, now known as Louisiana Christian University. But as a virtually unknown player in Washington, the episode offers insight into how Johnson navigated leadership challenges that echo the chaos, feuding and hard-right politics that have come to define the Republican House majority he now leads.
The chapter is just the latest to surface since the four-term congressman’s improbable election as speaker last week following the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a reminder of his longstanding ties to the Christian right, which is now a dominant force in GOP politics.
Johnson’s office declined to make him available for an interview and did not offer comment for this story.
“The law school deal was really an anomaly,” said Gene Mills, a longtime friend of Johnson’s. “It was a great idea. But due to issues that were out of Mike’s hands that came unraveled.”
J. Michael Johnson Esq., as he was then known professionally, was hired in 2010 to be the “inaugural dean” of the Judge Paul Pressler School of Law, named for a Southern Baptist Convention luminary who was instrumental in the faith group’s turn to the political right in the 1980s. The board of trustees who brought Johnson onboard included Tony Perkins, a longtime mentor who is now the president of the Family Research Council in Washington, a powerhouse Christian lobbying organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as an anti-gay “hate group.”
In early public remarks, Johnson predicted a bright future for the school, and college officials hoped it would someday rival the law school at Liberty University, the evangelical institution founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
“From a pure feasibility standpoint,” Johnson said, “I’m not sure how this can fail.” According to the Daily Town Talk, a newspaper in Alexandria, Louisiana, he added that it looked “like the perfect storm for our law school.”
Reality soon intruded.
For several years before Johnson’s arrival, the college had been in a state of turmoil following a board takeover by conservatives who felt the school had become too liberal. They implemented policies that restricted academic freedoms, including the potential firing of instructors whose curriculum touched upon sexual morality or teachings contradictory to the Bible.
The school’s president and other faculty resigned, and the college was placed on probation by an accreditation agency.
But a shale oil boom in the area also brought a wave of prosperity from newly enriched donors. And school officials, led by president Joe Aguillard, had grand ambitions beyond just the law school, which included opening a medical school, a film school and making a movie adaptation of the 1960s pastoral comedy TV show “Green Acres.”
Bringing Johnson into the school’s leadership helped further those ambitions. As dean of the proposed law school, Johnson embarked on a major fundraising campaign and described a big-dollar event in Houston with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, then-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Pressler, according to an account Johnson wrote in a 2011 alumni magazine.
But he struggled to draw an adequate amount of cash while drama percolated behind the scenes. That culminated in a flurry of lawsuits, including a whistleblower claim by a school vice president, who accused Aguillard of misappropriating money and lying to the board, according to court records.
A law firm brought in to conduct an investigation later concluded in a 2013 report that Aguillard had inappropriately diverted funds to a school the institution hoped to build in Africa, as well as for personal expenses.
Aguillard declined to comment on Tuesday, citing health reasons.
Meanwhile, the historic former federal courthouse in Shreveport that was selected as the law school’s campus required at least $20 million in renovations. The environment turned untenable after the school was denied accreditation to issue juris doctorate degrees and major donors backed away from their financial pledges.
“Mike worked diligently to assemble a very elite faculty and curriculum,” said Gilbert Little, who was involved in the effort. But “fundraising for a small private college is very, very difficult.”
Johnson resigned in the fall of 2012 and went back to litigating for Christian causes. He also started a new pro-bono firm, Freedom Guard, which Perkins served as a director, business filings show.
Five years later, Pressler, the school’s namesake, was sued in a civil case that has since grown to include allegations of abuse by multiple men who say he sexually assaulted them, some when they were children. The matter, which is still pending in court, helped spark a broader reckoning by the Southern Baptist Convention over its handling of claims of sexual abuse.
Little said the school was named after Pressler because he had a close relationship with the institution’s leaders. Johnson didn’t stray entirely from the school. He represented the college for six more years in a case challenging a mandate in then-President Barack Obama’s health care law that required employers to provide workers access to birth control, court records show.
It was the type of case that has defined his legal career.
The 51-year-old Johnson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the eldest of four children in what he has described as a “traditional Christian household.” Tragedy struck when Johnson was 12.
His father, Pat, a Shreveport firefighter and hazardous materials specialist, was critically injured when ammonia gas leaking inside a cold storage facility exploded during an emergency repair — leaving him permanently disabled, while killing his partner.
“None of our lives would ever be the same again,” his son wrote years later in a commentary piece published in the Shreveport Times.
Johnson and his wife, Kelly, married in 1999, entering into a covenant marriage, which both have touted for the difficulty it poses to obtaining a divorce, and the couple served as a public face of an effort by evangelical conservatives to promote such marriages. In 2005, Kelly Johnson told ABC News that she viewed anything less as “marriage-light.”
Johnson has said he was the first in his family to graduate college, enrolling at Louisiana State University, where he earned a law degree in 1998. He also worked on the 1996 Senate campaign of Louis “Woody” Jenkins, where he had an early brush with a contested election.
Jenkins, a conservative state lawmaker, narrowly lost to Democrat Mary Landrieu amid allegations of voter fraud, including ballots cast by dead people and voters who were paid. A subsequent investigation by the Senate’s then-Republican majority found no evidence “to prove that fraud or irregularities affected the outcome of the election.”
But in the wake of Trump’s 2020 election loss, which Johnson played a leading role in disputing, the congressman offered a differing view of the decades-old contest while describing himself as a young law student “carrying around everyone’s briefcases.”
“Even though we had all the evidence all wrapped up,” Johnson, told Louisiana radio host Moon Griffon in 2020, the Senate “put it in a closet and never looked at it again.”
Even though Jenkins lost, Johnson drew notice from conservative activists who worked on the campaign.
Among them was Perkins, the founder of the Louisiana Family Forum, who has long promoted an existential clash between pious Christians and decadent liberals. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Mills, a longtime Perkins confidant who now leads the Louisiana Family Forum, called Johnson’s ascension to House speaker “a wonderful day in America,” adding, “if you don’t believe God is at work in the midst of this, then you aren’t paying attention.”
Of his initial interactions with Johnson, Mills said, “he just glowed.“
“The reality is Mike added value everywhere he went. And that was evident from the early days,” Mills said.
Soon Johnson was representing the group and others during his roughly decade-long tenure as an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, a nonprofit legal organization still in its infancy, which presented itself as a bulwark for traditional family values.
The group is no longer an upstart. Now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom, or ADF, the organization raised over $100 million in 2022 and conceived the legal strategy that led to the Supreme Court last year overturning the constitutional right to an abortion, among other conservative wins it helped secure from the high court.
Much of Johnson’s early work for ADF was far more prosaic. In court and before public boards, he represented conservatives on issues related to the exercise of faith in schools and alcohol regulations, as well as zoning disputes over casinos and strip clubs.
But Johnson’s vehement opposition to the burgeoning gay rights movement in the mid-2000s soon garnered greater attention.
In 2004, Johnson and the ADF filed suit, seeking to overturn a New Orleans law that allowed same-sex partners of city workers to receive health benefits, which a judge rejected.
He also wrote a semi-regular guest column in the Shreveport Times, where his defenses of “religious liberty” included stridently anti-gay rhetoric, including a prediction that same-sex marriage would be a “dark harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy that could doom even the strongest republic.”
“If we change marriage for this tiny, modern minority, we will have to do it for every deviant group. Polygamists, polyamorists, pedophiles and others will be next in line to claim equal protection,” he wrote in a July 2004 column, as previously reported by CNN. “There will be no legal basis to deny a bisexual the right to marry a partner of each sex, or a person to marry his pet.”
Another column lamented the Supreme Court’s decision in 2004 to overturn a Texas law that outlawed same-sex intimacy, which Johnson referred to as “deviate sexual intercourse.”
His advocacy did not occur in a political vacuum. Then-President George W. Bush’s reelection campaign was looking to energize turnout among social conservatives, tapping allies across the U.S. to place referendums opposing gay marriage on the ballot in hopes of doing so. It’s a role Johnson leaned into.
In 2004, he represented the Louisiana Family Forum in opposing a case filed by gay rights supporters who sought to block a voter-approved state constitutional amendment that prohibited “civil unions” — a legal precursor to same-sex marriage — and codified marriage as between one man and one woman.
The amendment was overwhelmingly approved in an unusual and low-turnout election, held weeks before the 2004 presidential contest, in which it was the only issue on the ballot. The election was marred by the late delivery of voting machines to the Democratic stronghold of Orleans Parish.
In a legal brief, Johnson chided gay rights supporters for challenging the outcome in court.
“Discontent with an election’s results does not entitle one to have it overturned,” he wrote. Nearly two decades later, Johnson, then in Trump’s corner, would effectively argue the opposite.
Johnson’s harsh rhetoric in the early 2000s surrounding the issue of gay rights contrasts starkly with the amiable image he cultivated following his election to public office, which is punctuated with appeals for “a respectful, diverse society where citizens from all viewpoints can peacefully coexist.”
Yet his arguments often obscure a far more striking reality.
The Marriage and Conscience Act, which he sponsored as a freshman state representative in 2015, would have effectively blocked Louisiana from punishing business owners and workers who discriminated against gay couples, so long as it was for religious reasons — similar to arguments invoked during the Civil Rights era against interracial marriage. The bill was rejected by lawmakers in both parties.
The following year, critics charged that his “Pastor Protection Act,” which was focused on gay marriage, would also create a legal defense for clergy who opposed interracial marriage. Johnson, who has an adopted Black son, acknowledged the point but argued it wasn’t a big deal because opposition to interracial marriage was an issue of the past — unlike gay marriage.
“Maybe there are some people out there who do that. But it’s not a big current issue, I think we would agree, at least in the courts and the court of public opinion,” Johnson said during a 2016 committee hearing.
The bill was rejected by lawmakers in both parties. Johnson was elected to Congress the next fall, drawing his short tenure as a lawmaker in Baton Rouge to a close.
Lamar White Jr., a progressive who wrote a widely read Louisiana political blog, said his interactions with Johnson were always pleasant, even if he “disagreed with everything he stood for.”
“His climb to the top is not surprising considering his personal charm, his charisma and intellect, which were disarming,” said White. “That obscured the end goal and what he was really up to.”
It's getting to be unavoidable.
It never opened its doors
WASHINGTON (AP) — Before House Speaker Mike Johnson was elected to public office, he was the dean of a small Baptist law school that didn’t exist.
The establishment of the Judge Paul Pressler School of Law was supposed to be a capstone achievement for Louisiana College, which administrators boasted would “unashamedly embrace” a “biblical worldview.” Instead, it collapsed roughly a decade ago without enrolling students or opening its doors amid infighting by officials, accusations of financial impropriety and difficulty obtaining accreditation, which frightened away would-be donors.
There is no indication that Johnson engaged in wrongdoing while employed by the private college, now known as Louisiana Christian University. But as a virtually unknown player in Washington, the episode offers insight into how Johnson navigated leadership challenges that echo the chaos, feuding and hard-right politics that have come to define the Republican House majority he now leads.
The chapter is just the latest to surface since the four-term congressman’s improbable election as speaker last week following the ouster of former Speaker Kevin McCarthy, a reminder of his longstanding ties to the Christian right, which is now a dominant force in GOP politics.
Johnson’s office declined to make him available for an interview and did not offer comment for this story.
“The law school deal was really an anomaly,” said Gene Mills, a longtime friend of Johnson’s. “It was a great idea. But due to issues that were out of Mike’s hands that came unraveled.”
J. Michael Johnson Esq., as he was then known professionally, was hired in 2010 to be the “inaugural dean” of the Judge Paul Pressler School of Law, named for a Southern Baptist Convention luminary who was instrumental in the faith group’s turn to the political right in the 1980s. The board of trustees who brought Johnson onboard included Tony Perkins, a longtime mentor who is now the president of the Family Research Council in Washington, a powerhouse Christian lobbying organization that the Southern Poverty Law Center classifies as an anti-gay “hate group.”
In early public remarks, Johnson predicted a bright future for the school, and college officials hoped it would someday rival the law school at Liberty University, the evangelical institution founded by the Rev. Jerry Falwell.
“From a pure feasibility standpoint,” Johnson said, “I’m not sure how this can fail.” According to the Daily Town Talk, a newspaper in Alexandria, Louisiana, he added that it looked “like the perfect storm for our law school.”
Reality soon intruded.
For several years before Johnson’s arrival, the college had been in a state of turmoil following a board takeover by conservatives who felt the school had become too liberal. They implemented policies that restricted academic freedoms, including the potential firing of instructors whose curriculum touched upon sexual morality or teachings contradictory to the Bible.
The school’s president and other faculty resigned, and the college was placed on probation by an accreditation agency.
But a shale oil boom in the area also brought a wave of prosperity from newly enriched donors. And school officials, led by president Joe Aguillard, had grand ambitions beyond just the law school, which included opening a medical school, a film school and making a movie adaptation of the 1960s pastoral comedy TV show “Green Acres.”
Bringing Johnson into the school’s leadership helped further those ambitions. As dean of the proposed law school, Johnson embarked on a major fundraising campaign and described a big-dollar event in Houston with former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, then-Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Pressler, according to an account Johnson wrote in a 2011 alumni magazine.
But he struggled to draw an adequate amount of cash while drama percolated behind the scenes. That culminated in a flurry of lawsuits, including a whistleblower claim by a school vice president, who accused Aguillard of misappropriating money and lying to the board, according to court records.
A law firm brought in to conduct an investigation later concluded in a 2013 report that Aguillard had inappropriately diverted funds to a school the institution hoped to build in Africa, as well as for personal expenses.
Aguillard declined to comment on Tuesday, citing health reasons.
Meanwhile, the historic former federal courthouse in Shreveport that was selected as the law school’s campus required at least $20 million in renovations. The environment turned untenable after the school was denied accreditation to issue juris doctorate degrees and major donors backed away from their financial pledges.
“Mike worked diligently to assemble a very elite faculty and curriculum,” said Gilbert Little, who was involved in the effort. But “fundraising for a small private college is very, very difficult.”
Johnson resigned in the fall of 2012 and went back to litigating for Christian causes. He also started a new pro-bono firm, Freedom Guard, which Perkins served as a director, business filings show.
Five years later, Pressler, the school’s namesake, was sued in a civil case that has since grown to include allegations of abuse by multiple men who say he sexually assaulted them, some when they were children. The matter, which is still pending in court, helped spark a broader reckoning by the Southern Baptist Convention over its handling of claims of sexual abuse.
Little said the school was named after Pressler because he had a close relationship with the institution’s leaders. Johnson didn’t stray entirely from the school. He represented the college for six more years in a case challenging a mandate in then-President Barack Obama’s health care law that required employers to provide workers access to birth control, court records show.
It was the type of case that has defined his legal career.
The 51-year-old Johnson was born in Shreveport, Louisiana, the eldest of four children in what he has described as a “traditional Christian household.” Tragedy struck when Johnson was 12.
His father, Pat, a Shreveport firefighter and hazardous materials specialist, was critically injured when ammonia gas leaking inside a cold storage facility exploded during an emergency repair — leaving him permanently disabled, while killing his partner.
“None of our lives would ever be the same again,” his son wrote years later in a commentary piece published in the Shreveport Times.
Johnson and his wife, Kelly, married in 1999, entering into a covenant marriage, which both have touted for the difficulty it poses to obtaining a divorce, and the couple served as a public face of an effort by evangelical conservatives to promote such marriages. In 2005, Kelly Johnson told ABC News that she viewed anything less as “marriage-light.”
Johnson has said he was the first in his family to graduate college, enrolling at Louisiana State University, where he earned a law degree in 1998. He also worked on the 1996 Senate campaign of Louis “Woody” Jenkins, where he had an early brush with a contested election.
Jenkins, a conservative state lawmaker, narrowly lost to Democrat Mary Landrieu amid allegations of voter fraud, including ballots cast by dead people and voters who were paid. A subsequent investigation by the Senate’s then-Republican majority found no evidence “to prove that fraud or irregularities affected the outcome of the election.”
But in the wake of Trump’s 2020 election loss, which Johnson played a leading role in disputing, the congressman offered a differing view of the decades-old contest while describing himself as a young law student “carrying around everyone’s briefcases.”
“Even though we had all the evidence all wrapped up,” Johnson, told Louisiana radio host Moon Griffon in 2020, the Senate “put it in a closet and never looked at it again.”
Even though Jenkins lost, Johnson drew notice from conservative activists who worked on the campaign.
Among them was Perkins, the founder of the Louisiana Family Forum, who has long promoted an existential clash between pious Christians and decadent liberals. He did not respond to a request for comment.
Mills, a longtime Perkins confidant who now leads the Louisiana Family Forum, called Johnson’s ascension to House speaker “a wonderful day in America,” adding, “if you don’t believe God is at work in the midst of this, then you aren’t paying attention.”
Of his initial interactions with Johnson, Mills said, “he just glowed.“
“The reality is Mike added value everywhere he went. And that was evident from the early days,” Mills said.
Soon Johnson was representing the group and others during his roughly decade-long tenure as an attorney for the Alliance Defense Fund, a nonprofit legal organization still in its infancy, which presented itself as a bulwark for traditional family values.
The group is no longer an upstart. Now known as the Alliance Defending Freedom, or ADF, the organization raised over $100 million in 2022 and conceived the legal strategy that led to the Supreme Court last year overturning the constitutional right to an abortion, among other conservative wins it helped secure from the high court.
Much of Johnson’s early work for ADF was far more prosaic. In court and before public boards, he represented conservatives on issues related to the exercise of faith in schools and alcohol regulations, as well as zoning disputes over casinos and strip clubs.
But Johnson’s vehement opposition to the burgeoning gay rights movement in the mid-2000s soon garnered greater attention.
In 2004, Johnson and the ADF filed suit, seeking to overturn a New Orleans law that allowed same-sex partners of city workers to receive health benefits, which a judge rejected.
He also wrote a semi-regular guest column in the Shreveport Times, where his defenses of “religious liberty” included stridently anti-gay rhetoric, including a prediction that same-sex marriage would be a “dark harbinger of chaos and sexual anarchy that could doom even the strongest republic.”
“If we change marriage for this tiny, modern minority, we will have to do it for every deviant group. Polygamists, polyamorists, pedophiles and others will be next in line to claim equal protection,” he wrote in a July 2004 column, as previously reported by CNN. “There will be no legal basis to deny a bisexual the right to marry a partner of each sex, or a person to marry his pet.”
Another column lamented the Supreme Court’s decision in 2004 to overturn a Texas law that outlawed same-sex intimacy, which Johnson referred to as “deviate sexual intercourse.”
His advocacy did not occur in a political vacuum. Then-President George W. Bush’s reelection campaign was looking to energize turnout among social conservatives, tapping allies across the U.S. to place referendums opposing gay marriage on the ballot in hopes of doing so. It’s a role Johnson leaned into.
In 2004, he represented the Louisiana Family Forum in opposing a case filed by gay rights supporters who sought to block a voter-approved state constitutional amendment that prohibited “civil unions” — a legal precursor to same-sex marriage — and codified marriage as between one man and one woman.
The amendment was overwhelmingly approved in an unusual and low-turnout election, held weeks before the 2004 presidential contest, in which it was the only issue on the ballot. The election was marred by the late delivery of voting machines to the Democratic stronghold of Orleans Parish.
In a legal brief, Johnson chided gay rights supporters for challenging the outcome in court.
“Discontent with an election’s results does not entitle one to have it overturned,” he wrote. Nearly two decades later, Johnson, then in Trump’s corner, would effectively argue the opposite.
Johnson’s harsh rhetoric in the early 2000s surrounding the issue of gay rights contrasts starkly with the amiable image he cultivated following his election to public office, which is punctuated with appeals for “a respectful, diverse society where citizens from all viewpoints can peacefully coexist.”
Yet his arguments often obscure a far more striking reality.
The Marriage and Conscience Act, which he sponsored as a freshman state representative in 2015, would have effectively blocked Louisiana from punishing business owners and workers who discriminated against gay couples, so long as it was for religious reasons — similar to arguments invoked during the Civil Rights era against interracial marriage. The bill was rejected by lawmakers in both parties.
The following year, critics charged that his “Pastor Protection Act,” which was focused on gay marriage, would also create a legal defense for clergy who opposed interracial marriage. Johnson, who has an adopted Black son, acknowledged the point but argued it wasn’t a big deal because opposition to interracial marriage was an issue of the past — unlike gay marriage.
“Maybe there are some people out there who do that. But it’s not a big current issue, I think we would agree, at least in the courts and the court of public opinion,” Johnson said during a 2016 committee hearing.
The bill was rejected by lawmakers in both parties. Johnson was elected to Congress the next fall, drawing his short tenure as a lawmaker in Baton Rouge to a close.
Lamar White Jr., a progressive who wrote a widely read Louisiana political blog, said his interactions with Johnson were always pleasant, even if he “disagreed with everything he stood for.”
“His climb to the top is not surprising considering his personal charm, his charisma and intellect, which were disarming,” said White. “That obscured the end goal and what he was really up to.”
Oct 25, 2023
Oct 20, 2023
Oh, Mr Jordan
Jim Jordan lost again - 3rd time's the charm I guess. And his losing margin got three votes bigger - so he quit the race.
House Republicans retreated into private caucus for an hour or so, where they voted by secret ballot, and Jordan was ... uhm ... de-selected as the Speaker candidate.
86 said, "Yeah, Jim - you're our guy."
112 said, "Fuck off, Jim."
It's interesting that out of those 112 who voted NO in secret, only 25 of them had the balls to vote that way on a roll call vote, on the floor of the House, where they have to say it out loud.
A couple of things to remember.
- The MAGA strong-arm tactics got even uglier than they usually are - loud and aggressive harassment of members, and their staffers, and their families, up to and including outright death threats. But it backfired, making more people less likely to support Jordan. I'm not feeling all warm-n-fuzzy about maybe this is some kind of turning of the worm, but I may be able to hold out a bit more hope. (as always - hopeful but not yet optimistic)
- I haven't seen anything in this yet to dissuade me from my belief that Republicans are deliberately causing dysfunction.
Oh yeah - almost forgot. Apparently god got it wrong (?)
Aug 31, 2023
Another Mitch Glitch
Some of the wiring in Mitch McConnell's brain has gone a little kerflooey.
I imagine you've already seen the video and heard the reports, but this is the era of piling on, so here it is again. He goes off the air for a good 20 seconds, and then kinda reboots enough to continue.
That death grip on the podium seems a bit metaphorical - McConnell desperately holding on to something he thinks will shield him from the humiliation he continually brings on himself.
About a month ago:
I think the interesting angle here is not just that Mitch is having some really alarming episodes, but that the Democratic governor of Kentucky would appoint a replacement Senator if McConnell can't serve out his term, and the Republican legislature has put through a bill requiring the governor to appoint a replacement of the same party as the departing Senator - from a list of candidates proffered by the Kentucky GOP.
So what if Gov Beshear ignores that requirement, appoints a Democrat, and tests it out in the courts, arguing Separation Of Powers?
That's of particular interest for me because the Republicans have been chipping away at the Checks-n-Balances thing for decades, starting at least as far back as Reagan, with the cockamamie "theory of the unitary executive".
The general principle that the President controls the entire executive branch was originally rather innocuous, but extreme forms of the theory have developed. Former White House Counsel John Dean explains: "In its most extreme form, unitary executive theory can mean that neither Congress nor the federal courts can tell the President what to do or how to do it, particularly regarding national security matters."
According to law professors Lawrence Lessig and Cass Sunstein, "No one denies that in some sense the framers created a unitary executive; the question is in what sense. Let us distinguish between a strong and a weak version." In either its strong or weak form, the theory would limit the power of Congress to divest the President of control of the executive branch. The "strongly unitary" theory posits stricter limits on Congress than the "weakly unitary" theory. During his confirmation hearing to become an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court, Samuel Alito seemed to endorse a weaker version of the unitary executive theory.
Alito's seemingly obvious self-interest in preserving his own power not withstanding (the guy did lie his ass off during his confirmation, dontcha know), the GOP position is largely that the Legislative Branch can't really interfere with the Executive's power to run the government. Which is pretty interesting because the Kentucky legislature is trying to do exactly that.
And that contradiction is just too perfectly on-brand for these asshole Daddy State Republicans.
Jun 21, 2023
You Little Bitch
Marj and Bobo got after it pretty good on the House floor. No ripped pantyhose or hair-pulling or busted glasses though.
Republicans have long made their dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden known, with some advocating for impeachment. Earlier this year, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced articles of impeachment, but Boebert took the threat a step further and introduced the articles of impeachment against Biden in a strategic way that would force a floor vote.
Some Republican officials expect the motion to worsen relationships in the Republican Party, and McCarthy is asking the legislators to vote down the proposal when it reaches the House floor.
Boebert announced the motion on Twitter on Tuesday, citing Biden's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border as the reason behind the articles of impeachment.
"The American people can no longer be subjected to a President who refuses to secure our borders. His open border agenda has put every American at greater risk, allowed human traffickers to thrive and given the cartel a free pass. He is not fit to remain as Commander in Chief," she tweeted.
But McCartney advised his party to vote against Boebert's proposal, urging them to bide their time and wait for the right moment before impeaching Biden.
According to a tweet from Punch Bowl News founder Jake Sherman, McCarthy suggested that by voting in favor of Boebert's proposal, House Republicans could lose the majority they just fought so hard to win. He reminded his colleagues that Republicans have taken back the House only five times in the past century: 1946, 1952, 1994, 2010 and 2022.
"But the first 2 times, we lost it right away the next cycle. The second two times we held it for 12 and 8 years," he said, according to the tweet. "What majority do we want to be? Give it right back in 2 years or hold it for a decade and make real change. How are we going to censure [Representative] Adam Schiff for abusing his position to lie and force an impeachment and then turn around and do it ourselves the next day?"
McCarthy reminded House Republicans that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is already investigating Biden, and if the investigation leads to articles of impeachment, then the House should vote to impeach.
Boebert's proposal also annoyed Greene, who allegedly called Boebert a "copycat" for offering a Biden impeachment resolution similar to the one she proposed, according to a tweet by CNN reporter Annie Grayer.
Boebert and Greene have disagreed in the past, such as when House Republicans finally voted in favor of McCarthy for speaker. McCarthy secured the position after 15 rounds of voting, with Greene voting in favor of McCarthy and Boebert voting against him.
Newsweek reported on Tuesday that one political science expert called Boebert's act a "political stunt, pure and simple."
"No one wants to be seen as sticking up for the White House or failing to go after the president. At the same time, they know that an impeachment vote is both substantively baseless and would backfire politically."
It doesn't look like much, but people within earshot have said it was pretty nasty.
It remains to be seen, of course, if the followers of either one will attack the other - rhetorically or bodily or whatever.
We might also look forward to a time when the "grownups" in GOP Leadership step up and try to tell these idiots they're doing harm to their own ambitions, and they ... nah, never mind.
But wait - what's this? Kevin McCarthy speaks.
House Speaker Kevin McCarthy is urging House Republicans to vote against a proposal from Representative Lauren Boebert this week.
Republicans have long made their dissatisfaction with President Joe Biden known, with some advocating for impeachment. Earlier this year, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene introduced articles of impeachment, but Boebert took the threat a step further and introduced the articles of impeachment against Biden in a strategic way that would force a floor vote.
Some Republican officials expect the motion to worsen relationships in the Republican Party, and McCarthy is asking the legislators to vote down the proposal when it reaches the House floor.
Boebert announced the motion on Twitter on Tuesday, citing Biden's handling of the U.S.-Mexico border as the reason behind the articles of impeachment.
"The American people can no longer be subjected to a President who refuses to secure our borders. His open border agenda has put every American at greater risk, allowed human traffickers to thrive and given the cartel a free pass. He is not fit to remain as Commander in Chief," she tweeted.
But McCartney advised his party to vote against Boebert's proposal, urging them to bide their time and wait for the right moment before impeaching Biden.
According to a tweet from Punch Bowl News founder Jake Sherman, McCarthy suggested that by voting in favor of Boebert's proposal, House Republicans could lose the majority they just fought so hard to win. He reminded his colleagues that Republicans have taken back the House only five times in the past century: 1946, 1952, 1994, 2010 and 2022.
"But the first 2 times, we lost it right away the next cycle. The second two times we held it for 12 and 8 years," he said, according to the tweet. "What majority do we want to be? Give it right back in 2 years or hold it for a decade and make real change. How are we going to censure [Representative] Adam Schiff for abusing his position to lie and force an impeachment and then turn around and do it ourselves the next day?"
Uh - 'scuse me, Kev - when did you start getting all ookie about Republicans looking like a buncha fuckin' hypocrites?
McCarthy reminded House Republicans that House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer is already investigating Biden, and if the investigation leads to articles of impeachment, then the House should vote to impeach.
Boebert and Greene have disagreed in the past, such as when House Republicans finally voted in favor of McCarthy for speaker. McCarthy secured the position after 15 rounds of voting, with Greene voting in favor of McCarthy and Boebert voting against him.
Newsweek reported on Tuesday that one political science expert called Boebert's act a "political stunt, pure and simple."
"No one wants to be seen as sticking up for the White House or failing to go after the president. At the same time, they know that an impeachment vote is both substantively baseless and would backfire politically."
What does and doesn't amaze me is that people like Boebert and Greene seem to have no fucking clue how badly they're being manipulated by handlers and staffers who are puppeteering the fuck out of them - it's like they think they're actually smart enough and skilled enough to do this shit on their own.
High on their own supply.
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