The NYT writes about an effective tactic called a resolution of disapproval that Senate Republicans are using to divide and weaken vulnerable Democrats ahead of the 2024 elections. The NYT writes:
Republicans have settled on their procedural weapon of choice for this Congress — and they have it trained squarely on Democrats anxious about their 2024 prospects.
Twice in the past week, Republicans scored wins and divided Democrats by employing an arcane maneuver known as a resolution of disapproval to take aim at policies that they oppose and see as political vulnerabilities for Democrats, using the measures to amplify their message.
The biggest victory came on Thursday, when President Biden told Senate Democrats that he would sign a Republican-led resolution blocking the District of Columbia’s new criminal code if it reached his desk. It was a reversal from his earlier opposition and a frank acknowledgment that Republicans had gotten the better of Democrats on the hot-button topic of violent crime.But the beauty of a resolution of disapproval is that it has special status in the Senate. It can’t be kept off the floor by the majority leader and is not subject to the filibuster, providing a blunt political instrument for lawmakers if they can assemble a simple majority. That is because of the Congressional Review Act, enacted in 1996 after Republicans took power on Capitol Hill, which created the process that allows Congress to upend federal rules.
With little power to set the Senate agenda, Republicans regard the tactic as a handy way to score legislative victories and force Democrats to debate subjects they would rather avoid.
The technique also fits the Republican legislative mind-set, which tends more toward blocking policy rather than creating it.
“We are built to disapprove,” said Senator Kevin Cramer, Republican of North Dakota.
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Defending the radical right echo chamber and faux reality: The NYT writes about how the radical right propaganda Leviathan is dealing with the defamation lawsuit that Dominion filed against Faux News:
Conservative Media Pay Little Attention to Revelations About Fox NewsFox News and its sister network, Fox Business, have avoided the story. Newsmax and One America News, Fox’s rivals on the right, have steered clear, too. So have a constellation of right-wing websites and podcasts.But in the conservative media world? Mostly crickets.Four outlets mentioned the lawsuit in some way, but did not mention the comments from Fox News hosts. One of those, The Gateway Pundit, published three articles that included additional unfounded allegations about Dominion, ....
There is no wonder why the rank and file radical right is ignorant and disinformed about the lies and slanders that Faux has been broadcasting about the 2020 election. They are stuck in an echo chamber dominated by demagoguery, lies (including lies of omission, i.e., the highly effective KYMS tactic*), slanders, irrational emotional manipulation, flawed motivated reasoning and the like.
* KYMS = keep your mouth shut
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The authoritarian radical right witch hunt grounded in gigantic hypocrisy, colossal crackpottery and blatant bad faith: We all knew this was going to happen once the pro-tyranny GOP got its House witch hunts fired up. This is about the Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government, chaired by radical right liar and crackpot Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio). The investigation focuses on the alleged “weaponization” by Democrats of the Department of Justice and the FBI. The WaPo writes:
House Republicans vowing to uncover a “weaponization” of the federal government against conservatives have so far called witnesses who have not presented any evidence of wrongdoing at the Justice Department and FBI but have peddled conspiracy theories about the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, according to Democrats on the panel who have heard their interviews.
The three witnesses who have participated in transcribed interviews, all former FBI officials, have shown no firsthand evidence of the politically motivated misconduct Republicans say they are investigating. But they have variously promoted dissolving the FBI, cited baseless claims that the Jan. 6 insurrection was planned by Democrats, that rioter Ashli Babbitt was murdered, and made Nazi allusions, Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee said in a 316-page report[1] released Thursday night. In addition, they said, two of the witnesses were paid and supported by Kash Patel, an ally of former president Donald Trump.
The WaPo article goes on to point out that last month, Jordan claimed that whistleblowers alleged much wrongdoing by the FBI. They claimed that the FBI manipulated Jan. 6 case files and exaggerated evidence of domestic extremism. But Democrats on the committee say (i) none of the three witnesses who testified has produced any such evidence, and (ii) committee Republicans have not produced the many whistleblowers they claim to have found.
Jordan completely rejects the Democratic analysis of what has transpired so far. He calls it cherry-picking and taking information out of context. Given recent radical right history in congress here is no reason to believe there is one shred of good-will in Jordan or his radical Republican colleagues. The two sides will very likely wind up presenting two incompatible final versions of the truth. When that time comes, it will become clear if the radical right has finally ginned up the courage to fabricate evidence to advance its anti-democratic, authoritarian-Christian theocratic agenda.
GOP House Witch Hunter-in-Chief
Jim Jordan hunting witches
Footnote:
1. The 316 page Democratic staff report starts with comments like these:
This partisan investigation, such as it is, rests in large part on what Chairman Jordan has described as “dozens and dozens of whistleblowers… coming to us, talking about what is going on, the political nature at the Justice Department.” To date, the House Judiciary Committee has held transcribed interviews with three of these individuals. Chairman Jordan has, of course, refused to name any of the other “dozens and dozens” who may have spoken with him. He has also refused to share any of the documents which these individuals may have provided to the Committee.
First, the three individuals we have met are not, in fact, “whistleblowers.” These individuals, who put forward a wide range of conspiracy theories, did not present actual evidence of any wrongdoing at the Department of Justice or the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
Second, the transcribed interviews we have held thus far refute House Republican narrative about “bias” at the Department of Justice. We urge Chairman Jordan to schedule the public testimony of these individuals without delay. The American public should be able to judge for themselves whether these witnesses or their allegations are remotely credible.
Witch hunt!!
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