Injustice Anywhere is a Threat to Justice Everywhere, MLK jr – Page 160

No One Forced Republicans to Do Any of These Things

New York Times – Opinion

No One Forced Republicans to Do Any of These Things

Jamelle Bouie – November 8, 2022

Donald Trump speaks at an open-air rally. — Credit…Illustration by The New York Times; photograph by Scott McIntyre for The New York Times

In “The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte,” Karl Marx famously observed, “Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.”

Our choices are shaped, and even bound, by the histories and institutions we inhabit. And yet they’re still our choices. We are moral agents, responsible for our decisions even if we can’t fully escape the matrix in which we make them.

And yet so much of the conversation about the modern Republican Party assumes the opposite: that Republican politicians are impossibly bound to the needs and desires of their coalition and unable to resist its demands. Many — too many — political observers speak as if Republican leaders and officials had no choice but to accept Donald Trump into the fold; no choice but to apologize for his every transgression; no choice but to humor his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election; and now, no choice but to embrace election-denying candidates around the country.

But that’s nonsense. For all the pressures of the base, for all the fear of Trump and his gift for ridicule, for all the demands of the donor class, it is also true that at every turn Republicans in Washington and elsewhere have made an active and affirmative choice to embrace the worst elements of their party — and jettison the norms and values that make democracy work — for the sake of their narrow political and ideological objectives.

Those objectives, for what it’s worth, are nothing new. To the extent that the Trump-era Republican Party has an agenda, it is what it has always been: to be a handmaiden to the total domination of capital, to facilitate the upward redistribution of wealth and to strengthen hierarchies of class and status. To those ends, Republicans in Washington have already announced plans to reduce social insurance, cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans and restrict abortion rights.

The crucial midterm elections

Republicans seem to be surging heading into November, with Democrats struggling to break through, as voters turn their focus from abortion to crime and inflation. Even if the polls are as off, as pollsters fear, all signs seem to be pointing toward a strong showing for the G.O.P.

For months now, Times Opinion has been covering how we got here. Chloe Maxmin and Canyon Woodward argued that Democrats abandoned rural America. Alec MacGillis traced how the party ignored the economic decline of the Midwest. And Michelle Cottle described the innovative Republican ground game in South Texas.

Opinion has also been identifying the candidates who could define the future of their party. Sam Adler-Bell captured the bleak nationalism of Blake Masters, the Arizona Republican challenging Senator Mark Kelly. Christopher Caldwell described the transformation of J.D. Vance, the venture capitalist from Ohio who went from Trump critic to proud member of the MAGA faithful. Michelle Goldberg traveled to Washington state to profile Joe Kent, a burgeoning star on the right.

And throughout this election cycle, Opinion has held discussions with groups of experts – hosted by Frank Bruni, Ross Douthat and others – that have followed the season’s twists and turns, from reviewing the primary landscape to a Democratic backlash against the Dobbs decision which gave way to a Republican surge in the fall. And we paused to consider the mysteries of polls and the politically homeless along the way.

What’s striking, again, is the extent to which many political commentators refuse to accept the moral and political agency of Republican politicians and officials. If there is a threat to democracy, goes one argument, it’s because liberals and progressives have refused to compromise their priorities in its defense. And according to another, similar argument, which I wrote about last week, the Democratic Party’s rhetoric embracing democracy is, itself, undermining democracy

As it stands, plenty of Republican politicians and officials are making live plans to undermine any election they might lose. According to a report in The Washington Post, “Republican officials and candidates in at least three battleground states are pushing to disqualify thousands of mail ballots after urging their own supporters to vote on Election Day.”

It’s not that those mail ballots are illegal or illegitimate; the problem is that many have presumably been cast by Democrats. If Republicans can invalidate Democratic mail ballots while counting on their supporters to vote in person on Election Day, then they can forge an easier path to victory in closely divided states like Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Republicans have attacked ballot access for Native Americans in Arizona — a Democratic-leaning group in a contested swing state — and embarked on a project of voter intimidation in Florida. In August, the state’s new election police force arrested 20 people accused of voter fraud. Fifteen were Black voters charged with casting ballots illegally. Several said they thought they qualified to cast a vote under a state constitutional amendment that restored the right to vote to many former felons. And in interviews with investigators, all said they had received a voter registration card from their county election supervisors.

In the absence of any evidence of intent, the state’s case against these supposedly lawbreaking voters will fall apart. But that doesn’t mean the arrests were a failure. Some Floridians, accustomed to helping older family members cast ballots by mail, have refrained from giving assistance for fear of running afoul of the state election police.

The larger point is that we should not treat the Republican effort to suppress and intimidate voters — or invalidate elections — as if it were a force of nature or the automatic result of some mechanical process. Republican politicians in Florida chose to respond to hard-fought elections by burdening their opponents. Republican leaders in Washington, likewise, chose to elevate their most irresponsible colleagues into positions of influence and authority. And Republican politicians nationwide chose to embrace the lies and the conspiracy theories that undergird the idea that the only legitimate elections are the ones Republicans win.

Led by Donald Trump and his many acolytes, the Republican Party is poised to plunge this country into political and constitutional crisis over its refusal to share power or acknowledge defeat. We can treat this as some kind of an inevitability, the only possible outcome given the pieces at play, or we can treat it as what it is: a deliberate choice.

Why are Americans okay with voter suppression? We asked more than 1,200 voters

Fortune

Why are Americans okay with voter suppression? We asked more than 1,200 voters—and they failed to appreciate the impact of restrictions on their own turnout

Geoff Tomaino, Ziv Carmon, Asaf Mazar, Wendy Wood – November 8, 2022

Americans are headed to the polls for the pivotal U.S. midterm elections on Nov. 8. But for voters in some U.S. states, a litany of rules, restrictions, and regulations will make voting more difficult. These voters will face obstacles such as limited polling place access, stricter voter identification requirements, and added administrative burdens for mail-in voting.

At first glance, such obstacles might seem inconsequential. And yet, even seemingly small obstacles matter. People are deterred from voting when their polling place is farther away, when polling stations’ opening hours are limited, and even when it rains.

Why then do many Americans accept these restrictions?

Uncovering the real (and perceived) drivers of voter turnout

Some Americans accept voting restrictions as a way to mitigate perceived voter fraud, while others support such policies with the apparent intent of suppressing opposition votes. But in new research published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, we uncover another, more fundamental reason: People may just fail to recognize that these policies suppress turnout.

We surveyed a representative sample of over 1,200 eligible American voters in election-competitive states before the 2020 elections and then followed up with them after the election to see if they voted. Friction mattered a great deal to turnout. Americans who faced more obstacles, such as those who didn’t own a car or would have to get childcare or take time off work to vote, were less likely to cast their vote.

And yet in estimations of what would affect voter turnout, the same group of Americans consistently neglected friction. They assumed that whether someone turns out to vote or not primarily depends on their attitudes and values, such as how strongly they identify as conservative or liberal or see voting as their civic duty.

More specifically, only about one in 10 survey participants mentioned any form of friction when asked to indicate what they think drives turnout. In comparison, about nine in 10 mentioned at least one belief (for example, ideology or party affiliation). In other words, Americans think that turnout is largely driven by beliefs and underestimate the role of friction.

Even seasoned politicians can underappreciate friction. Both Joe Biden and Donald Trump spent most of their budgets on media in their 2020 campaigns. After examining the campaign videos, we found that almost all of them mentioned beliefs, whereas hardly any (~10% for both) touched on friction.

A costly blind spot

This blind spot could be perpetuating limited voter access. People who underestimated the effect of friction on voter turnout tended to endorse friction-imposing policies and oppose policies that make voting easier. This helps shed light on legislators’ and voters’ tacit or even vocal support for measures that restrict voters’ access to the polls.

States are enacting such friction-imposing policies, with some segments of would-be voters being disproportionately affected. In particular, those with scarce resources are commonly held back by (seemingly) trivial barriers. Inaccessible polling stations and long queues can be especially challenging for the frail and less able-bodied. For parents juggling work and childcare, the inability to vote by mail or outside work hours puts voting almost out of reach. In other words, these frictions deprive vulnerable citizens of their fundamental right to equal representation.

Policymakers and voters alike tend to argue that if people are motivated enough, they can easily surmount mundane barriers. This naive view ignores the importance of making civic engagement not just possible, but easy.

Making things easy from the ground up

While implementing automatic voter registration and instituting structural changes through legislative reform could widen voting access, national-level attempts such as the ambitious For the People Act have failed to take off.

Fortunately, while some legislators are limiting voters’ opportunities to make themselves heard, grassroots organizations have stepped up to push back against friction. These groups have introduced initiatives such as the All In to Vote online platform, simplifying the voting process.

The new voting restrictions in the 2022 midterm elections are set to put American agency to the test yet again. And while many voters may fail to appreciate the harmful effects of friction on turnout, new initiatives can help expand voter access.

Geoff Tomaino is a Ph.D. student at INSEAD. Ziv Carmon is the Alfred H. Heineken chaired professor of marketing at INSEAD. Asaf Mazar is a behavioral scientist and postdoctoral research fellow at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Wendy Wood is the provost professor of psychology and business at the University of Southern California.

The opinions expressed in Fortune.com commentary pieces are solely the views of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the opinions and beliefs of Fortune.

MAGAnians show their true selves: Republicans Feed Cycle of Misinformation About Pelosi Attack

The New York Times

Republicans Fed Cycle of Misinformation About Pelosi Attack

Annie Karni – November 7, 2022

Breaking down 21 of the elected officials, candidates and other prominent figures who spread misinformation or cast doubt on the attack on Paul Pelosi. (NYT)

WASHINGTON — Within hours of the brutal attack last month on Paul Pelosi, the husband of the speaker of the House, activists and media outlets on the right began circulating groundless claims — nearly all of them sinister, and many homophobic — casting doubt on what had happened. Some Republican officials quickly joined in, rushing to suggest that the bludgeoning of an octogenarian by a suspect obsessed with right-wing conspiracy theories was something else altogether, dismissing it as an inside job, a lover’s quarrel or worse.

The misinformation came from all levels of Republican politics. A U.S. senator circulated the view that “none of us will ever know” what really happened at the Pelosis’ San Francisco home. A senior Republican congressman referred to the attacker as a “nudist hippie male prostitute,” baselessly asserting that the suspect had a personal relationship with Paul Pelosi. Former President Donald Trump questioned whether the attack might have been staged.

The world’s richest man helped amplify the stories.

But none of it was true.

The flood of falsehoods showed how ingrained misinformation has become inside the Republican Party, where the reflexive response of the rank and file — and even a few prominent figures — to anything that might cast a negative light on the right is to deflect with more fictional claims, creating a vicious cycle that muddies facts, shifts blame and minimizes violence.

It happened after the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol, which was inspired by Trump’s lie of a stolen election, and in turn gave rise to more falsehoods, as Republicans and their right-wing allies tried to play down, deny or invent a different story for what happened, including groundlessly blaming the FBI and antifa. Pelosi’s attacker is said to have believed some of those tales.

“This is the dynamic as it plays out,” said Brian Hughes, a professor at American University who studies radicalism and extremism. “The conspiracy theory prompts an act of violence; that act of violence needs to be disavowed, and it can only be disavowed by more conspiracy theories, which prompts more violence.”

The Justice Department moved swiftly to bring criminal charges against the suspect in the attack — David DePape, 42 — who prosecutors said broke into the Pelosi home intending to kidnap Nancy Pelosi and shatter her kneecaps, and assaulted her husband with a hammer, leaving him with a cracked skull. The San Francisco district attorney said it was imperative for prosecutors to present the facts to the public, given the misinformation circulating widely about the case.

But by then, it was far too late. In a pattern that has become commonplace, a parade of Republicans — helped along by right-wing media personalities including Fox News host Tucker Carlson, and prominent people including newly installed Twitter owner Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man — had already abetted the viral spread of lies about the attack, distorting the account of what happened before facts could get in the way. Finding life on far-right websites and the so-called dark web, conspiracy theories and falsehoods leaped from the fringes to the mainstream.

Although many Republican leaders denounced the violence and some, including former Vice President Mike Pence, expressed sympathy for the Pelosis, none of them publicly condemned the falsehoods their colleagues were elevating or did anything to push back. That left others to fill the void.

“Just produce the police bodycam — why is that so hard?” Carlson demanded on his show Wednesday night. Addressing those criticizing the conspiracy theorizing, he added: “We’re not the crazy people; you’re the liars. There’s nothing wrong with asking questions, period.”

The disinformation surrounding the attack on Pelosi presented many of the standard elements of alt-right conspiracy theories, which relish a culture of “do your own research,” casting skepticism on official accounts, and tend to focus on lurid sexual activities or issues related to children, often driven by a fear of society becoming immoral.

Nina Jankowicz, a disinformation expert, said no amount of evidence — be it police body camera footage or anything else — could get in the way of such falsehoods in the eyes of those who do not want to believe facts.

“It doesn’t matter when there are documents or sworn testimony claiming something is, in fact, not the case,” Jankowicz said. “There will be an elaborate reframing effort. If the footage was released, people would claim it was fabricated. There’s no bottom.”

Many of the Republicans who amplified the fiction couched their comments as jokes, effectively preempting any criticism by suggesting they might not be serious. Hours after the attack, Donald Trump Jr., the former president’s son, shared online a viral image of a costume that included an oversized pair of men’s briefs and a hammer, remarking “the internet remains undefeated.”

A spokesperson for Trump said he “simply posted a joke meme and has always rejected political violence in all forms.”

Rep. Claudia Tenney, R-N.Y., circulated a photograph on Twitter that showed a group of young, white men holding oversized hammers beside a gay Pride flag, commenting simply: “LOL.”

Tenney did not respond to a request for comment.

It is not clear whether the elected officials and media personalities who have trafficked in falsehoods believe the conspiracy theories they are elevating, or simply want to be rewarded by their right-wing base. According to public polling, as many as 70% of Republicans still believe that Donald Trump was the true winner of the 2020 election.

Mary Williams Benefield, a Republican running for a seat in Georgia’s statehouse, said she had responded online to a tweet suggesting the attack was staged because “the official narrative is unwilling to present all the facts.”

“Maybe their daughter has a film crew shooting a documentary on this too,” wrote the mother of three and former music teacher at a church school, making a reference to newly surfaced footage from a documentary that Nancy Pelosi’s daughter Alexandra was filming that showed the speaker in a secure location during the Jan. 6 riot.

In an interview, Benefield brought up a report that the police have debunked, which wrongly asserted that the intruder was dressed only in his underwear. The Fox News affiliate that originally reported the detail issued a correction saying the article had previously “misstated what clothing the suspect was wearing.”

That did nothing to change Benefield’s mind.

“There’s a lot of questions that need to be asked before there’s any legitimacy,” she said.

According to federal charging documents, DePape was enthralled by the conspiracy theories that have portrayed Nancy Pelosi as an enemy of the country. His online activities show him ranting about the 2020 election being stolen, seeming to deny the gassing of Jews at Auschwitz and claiming that schoolteachers were grooming children to be transgender.

His attorney has said he planned to argue that DePape was so influenced by disinformation that it should be considered a mitigating circumstance.

Opinion: MAGA Republicans a bitter, lonely, violent bunch

Asherville Citizen – Times

Opinion: MAGA Republicans a bitter, lonely, violent bunch

Pat Brothwell – November 6, 2022

“Violence of any kind against anyone, even elected officials or a member of their family simply cannot be tolerated in our great country. The attacker of Paul Pelosi should be prosecuted to the full extent the law will allow.” NC-11 Republican congressional candidate Chuck Edwards tweeted this on Oct. 28 in response to the physical attack via hammer of Nancy Pelosi’s husband.

Chuck Edwards can say he condemns violence until his face turns blue, but that doesn’t mean it’s true. He’s aligned himself with a party whose ethos is cruelty. I genuinely want to believe that more people than not are fundamentally good, that they can think for themselves and reject cruelty and violence. However, as much as I want to believe this, I don’t know that I can, not the way things are going, where so many people and politicians are complicit in allowing hate and violence to thrive. Are you OK with it? It’s something you’ll have to ask yourself when voting this week.

Merriam-Webster defines violence as “intense, turbulent, or furious and often destructive action or force.” So while yes, a hammer attack on an elderly gentleman is an unequivocal act of violence (and easy to denounce), any action that perpetuates the destruction is violent.

Chuck Edwards seems OK with the violence of the Jan. 6 insurrection, where police officers were beaten unconscious and people were killed. He’s never denounced Trump’s “Big Lie.”

Edwards seemingly tolerates the vitriol of our Lt. Gov. Mark Robinson. Edwards has campaigned with Robinson, who regularly engages in violence-inspiring hate speech — the same day Edwards tweeted about “not tolerating” violence, Robinson posted on Facebook, “I’m sorry Paul I don’t believe you or the press!!!!” No prominent NC Republicans denounced Robinson’s callousness.

Edwards prides himself on being pro-life, but anyone with an ounce of common sense knows that if abortion is criminalized in North Carolina, many women and girls may meet violent ends. He’ll tolerate that violence, though, because he belongs to a religion more concerned with sanctimony than empathy or people.

And lest we forget, on the afternoon that 19 children and two teachers were violently torn apart by the bullets of an AR-15, Edwards’s Republican State Senate colleagues held a press conference to introduce a North Carolina version of Florida’s controversial “Don’t Say Gay” bill that would lead to increased violence towards LGBTQ+ students. Edwards voted affirmatively for that bill and has neglected to address gun control — the kind that would make it harder for mentally disturbed young men to obtain and perpetrate violence with semi-automatic weapons — in any meaningful way because that might dent his income.

Edwards isn’t the worst of the bunch by any means, but his complicity is emblematic of today’s MAGA right.

On Oct. 29, also in response to the Pelosi attack, U. S Representative Eric Swalwell (D-CA) tweeted, “Almost all my family are Republicans. We’ve disagreed about a lot throughout the years, but I never thought they were cruel. This isn’t my parents’ Republican party. MAGA-Republicans are a bitter, lonely, and violent bunch. When we need compassion they choose cruelty.” This resonated with me.

Like Swalwell, I grew up in a very conservative area and often disagreed politically with my mostly Republican family. However, while I think many are guilty of not thinking critically enough about why they believe what they believe, I don’t think most are cruel and maintain close relationships with many.

My father, one of my favorite people in the world, and cliche as it may be, still my hero, had always been a Republican, the type Swalwell alludes doesn’t have a place in this new order. After Trump was elected and made abject cruelty and violent rhetoric under the guise of “telling it like it is” an accepted norm, I watched my father become just as disturbed and disgusted with the flagrant hypocrisy and cruelty of the MAGA right as I was. My father and I might have once disagreed politically, but we’ve always shared the same values, those he taught me: treating others with kindness, making people feel welcome, fairness, integrity, and that as long as people aren’t hurting you, their personal choices aren’t any of your business.

At one point, my father and Chuck Edwards probably had similar political views, but my father actually doesn’t tolerate violence, and he doesn’t just say this, his actions and shifting votes show so. I hope more people show that they don’t tolerate violence this election day. There’s nothing weak about changing your point of view.

Pat Brothwell is a former high school teacher, and current writer and marketing professional living and working in Asheville.

Republicans Are Bad for the Economy. Here’s Why.

Daily Beast

Republicans Are Bad for the Economy. Here’s Why.

David Rothkopf, Bernard Schwartz – November 4, 2022

Illustration by Elizabeth Brockway/The Daily Beast

According to a wave of recent polls, the economy is the dominant issue on the minds of Americans going into next week’s elections.

A recent Pew poll concluded nearly eight in 10 voters said the economy will be “very important” to their voting decisions. Another such poll, by ABC News and Ipsos, showed that almost half of respondents cited either the economy or inflation as the issue about which they were most concerned. The poll indicated that concerns about the economy and inflation are “much more likely to drive voters towards Republicans.”

But that impulse is not only ill-considered, every bit of available evidence makes clear that the GOP is the wrong party to which to turn if you seek better U.S. economic performance in the future.

In fact, it is not close. When it comes to the economy, the GOP is the problem and not the solution. If anything, it is a greater obstacle to our economic well-being today than it has ever been.

What Ron DeSantis’ Silence on Antisemitic Messages Says About the GOP

At the same time, the economic record of President Joe Biden and the Democrats is not just consistent—in creating jobs, reducing the deficit, and enhancing our competitiveness—during the past two years their record has been one of extraordinary, often record-breaking success.

History tells a very stark tale. Ten of the last 11 recessions began under Republicans. The one that started under former President Donald Trump and the current GOP leadership was the worst since the Great Depression–and while perhaps any president presiding over a pandemic might have seen the economy suffer, Trump’s gross mismanagement of COVID-19 clearly and greatly deepened the problems the U.S. economy faced. Meanwhile, historically, Democratic administrations have overseen recoveries from those Republican lows. During the seven decades before Trump, real GDP growth averaged just over 2.5 percent under Republicans and a little more than 4.3 percent under Democrats.

<div class="inline-image__credit">Drew Angerer/Getty</div> — Drew Angerer/Getty

Republicans have also historically presided over huge expansions in the U.S. deficit, while Democrats (since Bill Clinton’s administration) have overseen dramatic deficit reduction. Ronald Reagan more than doubled the deficit from $70 billion to more than $175 billion. George H.W. Bush nearly doubled that to $290 billion. Clinton ended his administration with a $128.2 billion surplus.

George W. Bush inherited that… and left office with a record deficit of more than $1.4 trillion. Obama reduced that by very nearly $1 trillion. Each of Donald Trump’s last two years in office saw federal budgets with deficits of over $3 trillion. In fact, in total, the national debt rose almost $8 trillion during Trump’s time in office. According to ProPublica, it was the third biggest such increase in U.S. history—after George W. Bush and Abraham Lincoln during the Civil War years.

What about job creation?

The U.S. lost jobs under Trump and created relatively few under George W. Bush. Of the 14 presidents since World War II, seven were Democrats and seven were Republican. Of the seven with the highest job creation rates, six were Democrats. Of the seven with the lowest job creation rates, six were Republicans.

There’s No Democrat Equivalent to GOP Election Deniers’ Scumbaggery

What about now? Biden and the current Democratic Congress have created more jobs than the past three Republican administrations combined.

<div class="inline-image__credit">Saul Loeb/Getty</div> — Saul Loeb/Getty

The job creation rate in 2021 was the most ever in a single year. GDP growth in 2021 was the highest since 1984. This year, the unemployment rate fell to 3.5 percent, its lowest level in 50 years. As part of that, we are seeing record low unemployment for Blacks and Latinos.

Ok, you might say, but what about inflation?

Rising prices are a real problem for many Americans. But the origins of inflation have very little to do with the Biden administration or the Congress. Inflation is a global problem that is related, according to economists, primarily to supply chain problems associated with COVID, Vladimir Putin’s escalation of the war in Ukraine, and corporate profiteering.

Dems Do Big F*cking Deals, the GOP Does Fake Big Dick Energy

What makes the Republican focus on this issue so shockingly hypocritical is that Trump’s mismanagement of the COVID crisis, his support for Putin, and Republicans’ protection of Big Oil (and big businesses) actually helped create the conditions that have driven prices up. Further, Republicans unanimously opposed every single measure by the Biden administration to reduce prices and help those hit by inflation—including the landmark Inflation Reduction Act’s efforts to lower drug costs and to help those hardest hit.

Meanwhile, the U.S. just reported stronger than expected growth in the last quarter and the price of gasoline, an oft-cited sign of inflation, has been falling for months.

At the same time, a substantial majority within the GOP have sought to block virtually every single new economic measure proposed or passed by Biden and the Democratic Congress. That includes the America Recovery Act that lifted millions out of poverty and drove job creation, the Chips and Science Act to enhance competitiveness, and even the so-called “Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill” which garnered the support of fewer than half of the GOP caucus in the Senate.

You might assume that if the GOP opposed these initiatives but were critical of what Biden was doing, that they had alternative plans that they have presented to the American people. But, you would be wrong. In fact, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has bragged that he would not even discuss his agenda until after the election. They have no inflation plan. And the plans they’ve said they admire—like that of the United Kingdom’s prime minister-for-a-second Liz Truss—have been a catastrophe.

The last time the Republicans were in charge, during the Trump years, they passed precisely one significant piece of economic legislation, a tax cut that benefited the very rich at the expense of everyone else and, as we have established, helped explode the federal budget deficit.

Putin’s Last Hope to Win in Ukraine Is a GOP Victory in November

Republicans are just plain bad at managing the economy. They have been for as long as anyone who is alive can remember. And they continue to be—although they are achieving previously unattained new levels of cynicism and obstructionism that make the current crowd of Republicans look even worse than their very unsuccessful predecessors.

History and data make it clear that Democrats are good for the economy—while Republicans, especially the current Republicans in Congress, are not.

Up next for the Republicans are plans to cut Medicare and social security, plans to increase costs for average Americans on a wide variety of fronts, and they’re even contemplating reducing support for Ukraine—at a critical moment in its war to defend its democracy and stop the Russian aggression that threatens not only them, but the West.

Republicans have done a great job fooling voters into thinking that their simplistic economic philosophies of tax cuts and minimal regulation are “good for business.” But facts, history, and logic show otherwise.

If you care about the economy, want to fight inflation, want to create jobs, want a better life for your family, want to preserve democracy, and want to defend your fundamental rights, then you should vote for the Democrats.

Herschel Walker’s Senate run is a stain on American democracy

USA Today

Herschel Walker’s Senate run is a stain on American democracy

Rita Omokha – November 4, 2022

So much has been said about Herschel Walker’s gross incompetency as he takes aim at securing a seat in the U.S. Senate. As I looked at the recent nail-biter polling – Walker and incumbent Sen. Raphael Warnock are even at 46.4% on Thursday night – my first thought was: How could this race be this close?

Then, I felt enormous shame for this country. A place my family and I, Nigerian immigrants who became naturalized citizens more than 20 years ago, have always viewed as a symbol of true democracy. A country where we proclaim justice and freedom and fight fiercely to uphold those signature markers. A nation fervently striving, still, for common decency.

But in recent years, there has been a trend away from these American hallmark qualities. Since the rise of Donald Trump, the pursuit and upkeep of democracy is slipping away before our eyes, morphing into his vision of totalitarianism by way of misinformation indoctrination. Walker’s ascending candidacy, endorsed by Trump, has proved just that.

Issues driving voters this election: What matters more – abortion rights or the price of bread?

Here is a verifiable unqualified man following the same playbook of the former, similarly inept president who willfully and gleefully incited a takedown of democracy on Jan. 6, 2021, and God help us all, Walker may just break through in Georgia.

Shame on you, America

Much like Trump with the presidency, when Walker threw his hat into the Senate race, people scoffed at the idea. There was no way a man who can barely form a coherent sentence could convince reasonable citizens that he, over a well-respected, educated pastor, was the better choice. And, much like Trump, I strongly doubt, given his rambling speeches and cringe gaffes, that Walker knows what the Constitution is, let alone grasp his duties to protect it. The celebrity-turned-politician based on popularity and name recognition needs to end. Walker is the most dangerous embodiment of this.

Walker shows fake badge at debate: C’mon Georgia voters, give Herschel Walker what he really wants. Elect him sheriff!

The requirements to run for Senate ought to be more than that, no? The actual prerequisite is that the nominee must be 30, a U.S. citizen and a resident of the state. That’s it.

Perhaps after this embarrassment of a candidate and the slew of election deniers we’ve seen throw their hats into races, we ought to have stricter rules. Perhaps testing their knowledge of the Constitution? The founding of democracy? A standard qualifier that serves as a screening of those seeking to be responsible for preserving America’s self-governing system.

And no, neither Walker’s former quick feet on the field of the University of Georgia (where he did not graduate) and later in the NFL nor his Heisman Trophy are qualifications.

And not his faith. As someone of Christian faith, and a staunch one at that, it’s infuriating to see Walker use God as a guise for his numerous depravities. Don’t get me wrong, I believe in “being born again,” being repentant, and receiving grace. I’m all for it. That’s the core principle of the Bible – to aspire to walk and live like Christ. But, when someone who clearly doesn’t understand being “saved by grace through faith in Christ Jesus,” as the Ephesians scripture promises, and all but uses the faith as a prop to blind voters, to cover up lie after lie, to bend reality, where is the integrity in that? Where is God in that?

With 64% of Americans practicing the faith, Christianity is the dominant religion in the nation. In Georgia, among the most religious states, 80% of the population practices the faith. It’s a con people like Walker have realized help their candidacy, and voters, mostly white evangelicals, are none the wiser.

Walker-Warnock debate: Herschel Walker beat expectations in Georgia U.S. Senate debate. Will it matter in election?

Republican U.S. Senate Herschel Walker campaigns in Cumming, Ga., on Oct. 27, 2022.

Similar to Trump, who before the presidential election had an audio leaked where he bragged about sexual assaults and his pervasive objectification of women, yet, voters – overwhelmingly, white evangelicals – overlooked this, and this man who knew and knows nothing about American democracy, the Constitution and the urgent need to protect it became president because … God. Because religion. Shame on you, America.

Token Black puppet of the GOP

This, I’m afraid, is the Republicans’ new playbook. Bad people behaving badly has become on brand with American conservatism.

And much like Trump taking the highest office in the land, Walker could follow suit in Georgia. A man prone to violent outbursts, with a track record of domestic violence and sexual abuse, who once talked about “having a shoot-out with police” and threatened his former wife’s life with a gun, is who Georgians see as the best man to represent them in the U.S. Senate? A man who flashed a phony law enforcement badge as a campaign prop? The token Black puppet of the GOP who doesn’t know the supreme law of the land from the Bill of Rights, who, because of a famous name, has voters seriously thinking, yes, he can represent the state because he’s run down a football field?

Herschel Walker’s senate campaign shames Black Americans: Herschel Walker embodies every negative stereotype Black Americans have fought against for decades

Walker symbolizes the stereotyped Black man, forever misunderstood. He’s being paraded around by GOP leaders as a pervasive caricature of who Black Americans, specifically men, have been typecast to be – illiterate, lazy, only good at being an athlete, absent father and a dunce. And he wears it like a prize. And Georgia voters – predominantly white Americans – love all of it. This is the kind of Black candidate they want – the antithesis of Warnock.

This combination of photos shows Democratic Sen. Raphael Warnock, left, and Republican Senate candidate Herschel Walker.

That is exactly what the GOP has been banking on. Walker resembles Warnock in skin tone alone but is an empty vessel – an instrument they can contort to get Republicans one more vote in the Senate. It’s all about the vote.

A threat of fascism swirling

To be clear, this is not a knock on American conservatism. American conservatism is intended to preserve the principles of this nation and its Founding Fathers. Founders who were rebelling against tyranny.

Now, conservatism is synonymous with tyrannical oppressors and criminals.

Is GOP’s ‘big tent’ shrinking?: Traditional conservatives find themselves without a home

It’s a stain, like Walker’s candidacy and ascent, on America’s storied legacy that has long been the pride of many. For immigrants like me, knowing that America is our beacon of hope and a land of endless opportunities, we fight to hold on to what America has always symbolized. A hope-against-hope type of faith in its still-young democracy, remembering still and always what the fight up to this point has been for. When ill-equipped, dishonest people like Walker threaten America’s path forward with their baseless candidacy, it fractures the hard-fought foundation of this country.

Inactive voters have power in midterms: Poor, low-income voters can’t afford to sit out this election. There’s too much at stake.

Trump’s presidency cracked open this setback. Since then, there has been a threat of fascism swirling. If this trajectory of tyranny and misinformation continues, the regression is far worse than any of us could’ve imagined. Just this year alone, we’ve seen glimpses of it: the reversal of Roe v. Wade, and the legal challenges to same-sex marriage, contraception and affirmative action.

It’s a stain on America’s legacy that we’ve allowed election deniers, demonstrated idiots and outright criminals to hold any power. Walker may very well become the U.S. senator of Georgia, and that’s on you – on us – America.

Rita Omokha, an adjunct at Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism, is an award-winning Nigerian American journalist and essayist.

Midterm elections will leave us even more divided — the ‘Disunited States of America | Opinion

Miami Herald

Midterm elections will leave us even more divided — the ‘Disunited States of America | Opinion

Andres Oppenheimer – November 4, 2022

If Republicans win the Nov. 8 midterm elections by a wide margin, as several polls are forecasting, the U.S. Congress will be virtually controlled by legislators who have not accepted the results of the 2020 elections, including many who have supported the violent takeover of the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

A Congress controlled by election skeptics and coup-mongers — people who are not willing to accept their rivals’ victory — may turn an already politically divided country into an even more polarized one.

Worse, it may lead to greater political violence, prompting more incidents like the recent attack on the 82-year-old husband of House Speaker Nancy Pelosi by a right-wing extremist. We may soon become known as the Disunited States of America.

According to a Washington Post investigation, 51% of Republican candidates running for Congress, governorships and attorney general positions in Tuesday’s elections have either challenged or questioned President Biden’s victory in 2020. Many of those candidates are likely to be elected, and will be in charge of certifying the votes in the 2024 presidential elections.

A similar study by the New York Times found that 70% of Republicans running for Congress on Nov. 8 have echoed former President Trump’ s false claims that Biden’s election was rigged.

For the record, virtually all of Trump’s lies about the 2020 elections have been proven wrong by numerous vote recounts.

In addition to the Electoral College, the conservative-majority U.S. Supreme Court, more than 60 lower courts, Trump’s then-Vice President Mike Pence and former Trump Attorney General William Barr looked into Trump’s fraud claims and concluded that Biden was legitimately elected in 2020.

Biden won the Electoral College by 306 electoral votes to Trump’s 232 and the popular vote by 7.5 million votes. By comparison, Trump had won the Electoral College in 2016, but lost the popular vote by 3 million votes.

Even the conservative Wall Street Journal’s editorial page, after supporting Trump during his term, concluded after the 2020 elections that the former president’s fraud claims were rubbish. The newspaper said that isolated disputes over mailed ballots did “not add up to a stolen election.” It added that even if Biden’s victory had been overturned in one of the contested states’ vote recounts, Biden would have won in the Electoral College by a comfortable margin.

And yet, despite all of this, Americans are likely to elect many Republicans who reject the basic foundation of democracy: the sanctity of the vote.

Historically, the opposition party tends to win U.S. midterm elections. And polls suggest that the same will happen on Tuesday, with Republicans almost sure to retake the House of Representatives and, perhaps, also the Senate.

Many voters are more concerned about inflation than about the future of democracy.

Although 71% of Americans say they are worried about the future of democracy, only 7% say this is the most important issue facing the country, a recent New York Times -Siena poll shows.

But the Republican Party has been successful in pushing the narrative that the high U.S. inflation rate is all of Biden’s fault and not an international problem mainly caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In fact, America remains one of the world’s strongest economies. The country’s 8.1 annual inflation rate is below Germany’s 10.2%, or Great Britain’s 11.3%, according to International Monetary Fund data.

And Biden has done a good job countering Russia’s invasion, which is the biggest current threat to world peace. Biden managed to revamp U.S. ties with the European Union, which Trump had crippled when he threatened to withdraw from the NATO military alliance, and added Japan and other Asian countries to the trans-Atlantic bloc that is helping defend Ukraine.

Still, I’m pretty pessimistic about the future of America’s democracy. I’m afraid that despite the fact that many moderate Republicans don’t believe Trump’s election lies and are true believers in the rule of law, they will cast their votes based on other issues, and will elect a new generation of extremists who are not ready to play by the rules of democracy.

We are heading toward a more divided, and probably more violence-ridden country.

Americans among dozens held hostage by Indigenous group in Amazon

CBS News

Americans among dozens held hostage by Indigenous group in Amazon

CBSNews – November 4, 2022

A photo posted online by Angela Ramirez on November 3, 2022, shows a group of tourists, including Ramirez, being held on a boat in Peru's Amazon region by an Indigenous group protesting what they say is the government's failure to help after an oil spill. / Credit: Angela Ramirez/Facebook — A photo posted online by Angela Ramirez on November 3, 2022, shows a group of tourists, including Ramirez, being held on a boat in Peru’s Amazon region by an Indigenous group protesting what they say is the government’s failure to help after an oil spill. / Credit: Angela Ramirez/Facebook

A group of Indigenous people in Peru’s Amazon region has taken dozens of foreign and Peruvian tourists hostage as they made their way through the area on river tour boat. The Indigenous group says it took the action to protest the lack of government aid following an oil spill in the area, according to local media and members of the tour group.

“(We want) to call the government’s attention with this action, there are foreigners and Peruvians, there are about 70 people,” Watson Trujillo Acosta, the leader of the Cuninico community, told the country’s national RPP radio network.

The tourists include citizens from the United States, Spain, France, the U.K. and Switzerland.

Lon Haldeman, one of the Americans held captive, said in a statement shared with CBS News on Friday by his wife that the group had been held “for the past 26 hours.”

He said that the hostage-takers were demanding “medical help and clean water and food” after an oil spill in the area “contaminated the wells and river.”

“The villagers are peaceful toward us but they did take over the boat with spears and clubs,” Haldeman said in the statement. “No one had guns. We were parked near an island last night and the villagers took the battery from the boat motor. The captain and drivers are being held in a village jail. The village wants to keep the big boat for ransom. We might get some small rescue boats. There is new action every hour.”

Angela Ramirez, a Peruvian national who said she was among the hostages, said in a Facebook post on Thursday afternoon that there were children, pregnant women and disabled people among those seized on the boat.

Ramirez also said the Indigenous community was treating them with kindness and respect, adding that holding the tourists was “the only way they have found to look for solutions for their community” after oil spills that allegedly led to the deaths of two children and one woman.https://www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3Dpfbid02yScfATG6Qmr29TXQNkKMV8bBK6EV45qzSrrcmG8d2GrJkjjmJ791JQDJNJMqzR6Wl%26id%3D100005041500479&show_text=true&width=500

“The sooner they are heard, the sooner they will let us go,” said Ramirez in the online post. “Help me help them be heard.”

Acosta said his group had taken the “radical measure” in an effort to put pressure on the government to send a delegation to assess the environmental damage from a September 16 incident that spilled 2,500 tons of crude oil into the Cuninico River. He said the detainees would spend the night inside the vessel while awaiting a resolution to the situation.

Susan Notorangelo, Haldeman’s wife, told CBS News her husband had been sending sporadic updates to let her know he was OK, but not responding to many questions, which she suspected was an effort to conserve battery power on his iPad. Notorangelo said she had been told the U.S. State Department was sending a boat with food and water, but didn’t believe it had yet arrived at the remote location.

Haldeman is a tour guide, but was not running the tour that was detained. Notorangelo said her husband and the other tourists were supposed to have ended their boat ride at noon on Thursday and then ridden bikes to the nearby town of Iquitos. She said her husband has an airline ticket to leave Peru on Tuesday, and hopes he and the other hostages will be released in time for him to make the flight.

Ramirez told RPP that the Cuninico community had said it was prepared to hold the hostages for six to eight days, until it receives a response from the government.

She said they were “physically fine,” but in a new post on Friday morning she said the sun was strong, babies were crying and they were almost out of water.

Local media indicated no public comment from the Peruvian government or police on the incident, which took place on a tributary of the Maranon River.

Environmental activists protest outside the headquarters of the Peruvian Petroleum Company (Petroperu) in Lima, Peru, August 22, 2016. / Credit: Getty

Indigenous communities had already been blocking the transit of all vessels on the river in protest against the spill, which was caused by a rupture in the Norperuano oil pipeline.

On September 27, the government declared a 90-day state of emergency in the impacted region, which is home to about 2,500 members of the Cuninico and Urarinas communities.

The roughly 500-mile-long Norperuano pipeline, owned by the state-run Petroperu, was built four decades ago to transport crude oil from the Amazon region to the ports of Piura, on the coast.

According to Petroperu, the spill was the result of an eight-inch cut made deliberately in the pipeline, which the company said had suffered over a dozen similar attacks in the past.

CBS News’ Maddie Richards and April Alexander contributed to this report.

About 150 tourists are reportedly being held hostage in Peru. Locals are demanding a response to oil spills that have polluted their river.

Insider

About 150 tourists are reportedly being held hostage in Peru. Locals are demanding a response to oil spills that have polluted their river.

Paola Rosa-Aquino, Natalie Musumeci – November 4, 2022

A man shows oil contamination inside Block 192, a dormant Amazon oil field in Peru.Reuters

Locals from a Peruvian area of the Amazon rainforest have reportedly taken up to 150 tourists hostage.
Those detained reportedly include citizens from the US, UK, Spain, France, and Switzerland.
Locals took the hostages in protest of repeated oil spills plaguing the region, RPP Noticias reported.

Locals from an Indigenous tribe in a Peruvian area of the Amazon rainforest have taken up to 150 tourists, including Americans, hostage in protest of repeated oil spills plaguing the region, according to a local report.

Ángela Ramírez, who was among those taken hostage on Thursday while traveling by boat near Cuninico in the Loreto province of Peru, told local media that those taken captive include elderly people, pregnant women, and a one-month-old baby.

“They told us that it was because they wanted attention from the state, in search of a solution for oil spills that have happened 46 times, which led to the death of two children and a woman,” Ramírez told RPP Noticias.

The people being held include Peruvian nationals as well as citizens from the United States, the United Kingdom, Spain, France, and Switzerland, Ramírez told the news outlet.

The woman said that it has been indicated that the hostages could be held for up to eight days. No one had been harmed.

Ramírez’s mother, Araceli Alva, told RPP Noticias that her daughter had been traveling with cyclists through the Peruvian jungle last week. Ramírez decided to leave by boat via the river on Thursday and was taken, Alva said.

Ramírez issued a plea on her Facebook story, saying, “The sooner they’re heard, the sooner they’ll let us go. Help me share, we are well physically. Help me help them be heard,” according to the news outlet.

Watson Trujillo Acosta, the leader of the Cuninico community behind the action, told RPP Noticias that the tourists were taken hostage “in a radical and indefinite manner” in order “to be able to attract the attention of the government.”

“They are in a safe place on the banks of the Marañón River gorge in front of the native community of Cuninico,” said Acosta, who claimed 70 tourists and nationals were taken, according to the news outlet.

Acosta said that his community is seeking “a state of emergency [to] be declared due to the constant [oil] spills that have been taking place in our territory.”

He also wants the Peruvian government to lead an investigation into the matter.

The US Department of State and Peru’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not immediately respond to requests for comment about the situation by Insider on Friday.

‘Morning Joe’ Host Scarborough Explodes on Lack of ‘Humanity’ in GOP: ‘I’m So Sick and Tired of This Bulls–‘ (Video)

The Wrap

‘Morning Joe’ Host Scarborough Explodes on Lack of ‘Humanity’ in GOP: ‘I’m So Sick and Tired of This Bulls–‘ (Video)

Benjamin Lindsay – November 4, 2022

A week out from the attack on House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul, “Morning Joe” host Joe Scarborough became uncharacteristically irate Friday while discussing the Republican Party’s overall response. He even warned viewers at one point to “cover the kids’ ears” so he could curse them out: “I’m so sick and tired of this bulls—!”

The explosive diatribe against the GOP began with Scarborough highlighting the party’s lack of empathy in their response to the attack. Many within the party haven’t responded it all, and of those who have, very few have outright denounced the attack, instead opting to mock Pelosi and spread conspiracy theories about his assailant.

“Here’s a guy who’s in great shape, but he’s 82 years old. He got brutally attacked, he got hit in the head, he had emergency surgery because of a fractured skull. And Republicans and the most powerful people in the world are making fun of this guy and spreading lies,” Scarborough said. “This is not ‘our politics are broken.’ Let’s stop saying, ‘Our politics are broken.’ The Republican Party is broken. The MAGA Right is broken. There is a sickness here.”

The morning show host then acknowledged Senate minority leader Mitch McConnell’s speaking out against the attack, “but not many others spoke out about it.” He also compared the response seen today to how Democrats responded to Louisiana’s Steve Scalise when he was shot in 2017.

Also Read:
‘Morning Joe’: Scarborough Nails Republicans for Pelosi Attack Response: ‘What Is Wrong With Your Soul?’ (Video)

“I’ve gotta say this – cover the kids’ ears – I’m so sick and tired of this bulls— about, ‘Oh but what about Steve Scalise?’ Nancy Pelosi was practically in tears after Steve Scalise was shot, and she said, ‘We’re all one family.’ There is no humanity in the Republican Party. No humanity at all, and this has proven it,” Scarborough said. “Where are these people? They’re mocking Paul Pelosi!

“By the way,” he continued, “the same people who in primetime mocked police officers who wept about Jan. 6 – they wanna support the blue, unless the blue is trying to save American democracy against their most freakish supporters. They wanna support law enforcement – unless it’s the FBI, who’s investigating corruption at the the highest level in the Republican Party. It’s select enforcement. They only support Madisonian Democracy if their side wins. They only support law enforcement if their side gets a free pass. It is a sickness in the Republican Party. It is not a sickness in American politics.”

Watch Scarborough’s “Morning Joe” rant in full in the video above.