Bits: Civil war watch; BKC watch; CN watch

In yet another crystal clear sign that the ARRRP (authoritarian radical right Republican Party) is moving toward tyranny and abolition of the Constitution and the rule of law, Georgia Republicans plan to remove Fani Willis from office. Vanity Fair writes: Georgia Republicans Say They'll Move to Remove Fulton County DA Fani Willis From Office With New State Law. Willis is the prosecutor in Atlanta who indicted DJT for trying to overthrow the 2020 election result in Georgia. 

At the same time, in congress the ARRRP controlling the House has started an investigation of Willis. Politico writes:

The House Judiciary Committee on Thursday launched an investigation into Georgia’s Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis, hours before Trump is expected to turn himself in following his indictment on racketeering charges related to his push to overturn the 2020 presidential election in that state.

Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), in a letter to Willis, said the “indictment and prosecution implicate substantial federal interests, and the circumstances surrounding your actions raise serious concerns about whether they are politically motivated.” A spokesperson for Willis didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment on the letter.

Jordan is asking Willis to hand over details on any federal funds the office receives by Sept. 7, as well as communications with the Justice Department — including Special Counsel Jack Smith, who is leading a federal probe into Trump’s challenges to the 2020 election that’s left the former president facing four separate criminal counts.

“Given the weighty federal interests at stake, the Committee is conducting oversight of this matter to determine whether any legislative reforms are appropriate or necessary. Such reforms could include changes to the federal officer removal statute, immunities for federal officials, the permissible use of federal funds, the authorities of special counsels, and the delineation of prosecutorial authority between federal and local officials,” Jordan wrote in the letter.

The ARRRP's strategy to protect DJT in Georgia is clear. ARRRP state legislators attack the prosecutor and remove her from office, while House radicals harass her with frivolous but burdensome demands.  There is no way to spin or rationalize the ARRRP's authoritarian intent into anything other than what it is.

This is what modern radical right civil war in America looks like. The ARRRP has fully transitioned into a pro-tyranny domestic terrorist organization. Radical elites are fighting hard and dirty to stay in power by telling and convincing the ARRRP rank and file they are fighting to preserve both their rights and democracy. The elite's lying is stunning and terrifying. Equally stunning and terrifying is that most of the rank and file appear to believe at least enough to keep supporting attacks on democracy and the law. 

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Meanhwile, BKC (brass knuckles capitalist) elites are moving forcefully to consolidate more power in fewer corporate behemoths. The goal is, as always, more power and wealth for the elites and more damage and risk for the masses and the environment. The NYT Editorial Board comments:

Across the American economy, in industries ranging from air travel to veterinary medicine, big companies keep getting bigger and more powerful. Swallowing smaller rivals has become a widely accepted practice.

The Biden administration is embarking on a wide-ranging effort to check corporate power by promoting competition — a stated goal of both parties — and it needs Congress to support its effort with bipartisan legislation. It has proposed new rules, like a ban on noncompete agreements that prevent workers from changing jobs more freely. It is seeding competition, for example, by investing more than $1 billion to open and expand smaller meatpacking plants. And it has taken a tough line on mergers, blocking some big deals, dissuading companies from pursuing others and even suing to unwind Facebook’s 2012 acquisition of Instagram.

This reassertion of an active government role in protecting competition has the potential to deliver significant benefits. Competition keeps pressure on prices. It encourages the development of better and more diverse products and services.  

Americans have been living as subjects in a large-scale experiment in letting big companies do as they please, and the consequences are increasingly apparent in daily life. Compare the United States with Europe, where authorities have more successfully resisted the consolidation of major industries. Airfares in the United States are now significantly more expensive; North American airlines pocketed more than twice as much in profits from each passenger in 2022 as their European counterparts did. The internet costs more, too: Americans pay more than twice as much for broadband, and the cost of cellular service is also, on average, more than twice as high in the United States as the average in other developed nations.

It is hard to imagine the ARRRP would support any government effort to curb corporate power. The modern wave of business consolidation into giant, powerful corporations started with Ronald Reagan. It was supported by both Democratic and Republican administrations. One reason to support consolidation was the idea that corporate concentration was often economically beneficial. The other reason to allow corporation to become giants was that companies engaged in harmful or anti-consumer behavior would be disciplined by market forces. That latter concept fizzled out under intense opposition to regulation and hate of government by rigid, uncompromising ARRRP dogma.

We can wish the Biden administration well in this. But there are good reasons to believe this won't make much difference for consumers or government regulators. One problem is radical federal judges. The NYT board points out that the Biden administration will need to overcome federal judge opposition. Many of whom are rigid ideologues steeped in minimalist BKC dogma. They hate antitrust enforcement. Also, when corporations turn into giants, power essentially always flows from consumers and government to the giants. After all, why grow into a giant if there's insufficient profit and power in it to make the effort? 

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Sojourners Magazine discussed the influence and traits of CN (Christian nationalism) in the GOP generally and in the debate a couple of days ago:

6 WARNING SIGNS OF CHRISTIAN 

NATIONALISM IN US POLITICS

If the first debate for the 2024 Republican primary is any indication, we’re headed toward a combative and chaotic presidential race. .... [DJT’s] refusal to debate his opponents does a disservice to Republican voters and the country, all of whom deserve to hear Trump defend his previous actions and 2024 campaign platform, which includes several dangerously authoritarian proposals such as making it easier to fire career civil servants or deploying the National Guard to fight street crime.

But my main interest in watching the first Republican primary debate was to get a sense of whether Republican candidates would challenge the growing anti-democratic forces within their party. .... I was also on the lookout for indicators of candidates’ support for white Christian nationalism, a set of ideas enjoying an alarming resurgence (and super-charging the anti-democratic forces) that pose a grave threat to both our democracy and the witness of the church.

The term “Christian nationalism” gets used in different ways, but some experts define it as “a constellation of beliefs — that the founding of the United States was ‘divinely inspired’ or that God is invested in the success of the U.S. — that manifest in political goals.” In politics (and some churches), these ideas are part of a coordinated strategy to ensure white Christians maintain their ongoing dominance in all sectors of U.S. society. 

While there are some extreme politicians like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) who proudly claim the label, it’s unlikely the top Republican presidential candidates will explicitly embrace Christian nationalism by that name. Instead, voters in the 2024 election will need to be on the lookout for how candidates’ behavior and rhetoric aligns with Christian nationalist ideals and anti-democratic beliefs. Or as Jesus put it: “You will know them by their fruits” (Matthew 7:16).

1. Does the candidate perpetuate the Big Lie that the 2020 election was stolen from Trump?

.... it was deeply disconcerting that all of the candidates (except former Arkansas governor Asa Hutchinson) raised their hands to signal they would still support Trump if he won the nomination and was convicted of a crime in a court of law.

2. Does the candidate stoke fear through “us-versus-them” rhetoric or by demonizing anyone deemed “other”?

Two recent studies show that Christian nationalism is highly correlated with racism, white supremacy, homophobia, patriarchy, and Islamophobia. While we certainly cannot say that a person who makes racist comments or expresses support for an Islamophobic policy is automatically a Christian nationalist, we can think of this connection as one of several things of which we should be wary.

6. Does the candidate demonize racial justice commitments or dismiss them as being “woke”?

Christian nationalism is often tied to an ethno-nationalist identity, which in the U.S., means being white. Many candidates who claim to be “anti-woke” are simply refusing to imagine an America in which the promise of “liberty and justice for all” is truly extended to people of every racial group. 

Other toxic CN traits that Sojourners mentioned were ARRRP political candidates who (i) assert a false revisionist history with the U.S. founded as “a Christian nation” (which it wasn't), and (ii) talk about faith or “biblical values” when it comes to normalizing and justifying hostility to and opposing LGBTQ+ rights and abortion.

Six out of the 8 openly supported DJT

even if he was convicted of crimes - 

Christie was ambiguous

(Sojourners said it was 7 out of 8)