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On Tuesday, May 17, the Big Lie and the “Stop the Steal” movement enjoyed a major victory when Pennsylvania State Sen. Doug Mastriano — a far-right Christian nationalist and QAnon ally — won the 2022 GOP gubernatorial nomination in the Keystone State. Mastriano has been a forceful supporter of the claim that the 2020 presidential election was stolen from former President Donald Trump, but he is hardly alone in that regard. From Pennsylvania to the southwestern swing state of Nevada, the Big Lie has become a litmus test in the Trumpified GOP — and the Las Vegas Sun’s editorial board, in a biting editorial published on May 15, poses the question: Are there any Republicans left who are willing to stand up for democracy?
The answer to that question is that yes, some right-wing Republicans are willing to aggressively stand up for democracy — in the U.S. House of Representatives, for example, Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois have been blistering critics of the Big Lie. But Kinzinger isn’t seeking reelection, and Cheney will be gone from the House in 2023 if she loses a GOP congressional primary in Wyoming. Cheney and Kinzinger are the exception, not the norm, in the MAGA-oriented, increasingly authoritarian GOP of 2022.
The Sun’s editorial board focuses heavily on Nevada politics, but its message is relevant whether one lives in Nevada, Texas, Pennsylvania, Florida or Maine.
“No one knows better than Nevadans when it’s time to put our cards on the table,” the Sun’s editorial board writes. “The editorial board, and Nevadans as a whole, are facing an agonizing problem. We have endorsed Republicans in the past and might do so again in the future. Yet as we survey the field of Republican candidates across the state, we are struggling to identify those who are not an active threat to American democracy or the institutions of government that have sustained our republic for 250 years. Those are the stakes here for the GOP. For Nevada. For our voters.”
The Sun’s editorial board goes on to describe the “violent insurrection” of January 6, 2021 and the vicious assault on the U.S. Capitol Building as “one of the darkest days in U.S. history” — arguing that the Big Lie is just as toxic now as it was then.
“Since the insurrection,” the Sun’s editorial board warns, “Republican leadership across the nation has worked to disenfranchise voters, allow themselves to defy the will of voters outright and to allow partisan interference in the vote count…. (Nevada) gubernatorial candidate Joey Gilbert was actually at the Capitol that day, spinning unfounded conspiracy theories about election fraud and accusing those Republicans who believe the vote was legitimate of being ‘RINOs (Republicans in Name Only)’ who should be removed from the party.”
The editorial board continues, “(Gilbert) didn’t think that those who vandalized the halls of our Capitol or threatened police officers should be tossed out; he cheered them on. And he’s not alone…. As we wrote last October, Clark County Sheriff Joe Lombardo disgraced himself by not condemning the violent right-wing groups that have been welcomed into the Nevada GOP, leaving Southern Nevadans to wonder whether their sheriff will protect and serve everyone in our community regardless of political persuasion.”
Nevada’s Republican and Democratic primaries will be held on June 14.
“Of the five leading Republican candidates for the governorship of Nevada, every one of them has gone on record as both supporting and contributing to the Big Lie,” the Sun’s editorial board laments. “In doing so, they have all made a choice to subvert our democracy, undermine the integrity of our elections, and ignore the Constitution of the United States. Will GOP leaders stand up for the rule of law and free and fair elections by rejecting autocracy and lies? Or will they continue to debase themselves and their formerly great party by kneeling to their unhinged demigod, Donald Trump, and his dreams of authoritarianism?”
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The View's Whoopi Goldberg slams racist conspiracy theorists: 'Get over it -- you’re not being replaced'
May 18, 2022
The conversation over the racist "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory has grown since the man accused of the Buffalo mass shooting mentioned it over 20 times in his 180-page manifesto.
Speaking briefly about it on Wednesday, co-hosts of "The View" debated whether Democrats should be willing to point to Republicans and more specifically Fox hosts Tucker Carlson and Laura Ingraham for promoting the theory.
Sunny Hostin noted that she fumbled her words on Tuesday trying to explain what the theory was, but she still gets caught up in the confusing logic. The demographics are shifting, but that doesn't mean that white people are being taken away, like they're thrown down a well, never to be seen again.
"My question is, when white people are saying they're afraid of being replaced, let's say it's true," Hostin said.
IN OTHER NEWS: Louie Gohmert asks abortion hearing witness if mothers 'should have the right to drown a child'
"It's not true," Whoopi Goldberg cut in.
"But let's say it's true," Hostin replied.
"But it's not!" Goldberg shot back. "Don't say it's true!"
"What are you afraid of? What is this fear?" Hostin asked.
"The fear is they're not going to be in the country," said Goldberg.
"But that's not going to happen," said Hostin.
"That's the case! No one is replacing anybody!" said Goldberg.
Sara Haines explained it's a fear that white people will no longer be the majority.
"So, if white people are not the majority, what's going to happen," Hostin asked.
"It doesn't — none of it makes any sense. Get over it! You are not being replaced. — you have to stick to this country just like the rest of us and we got to fix it," Goldberg said. "Also, and again, if you can send me proof that you have been replaced or ten people you know have been replaced by me or any of the black and brown or the Jewish people that you know who have actively been replaced, you have to explain where they went — Okay?"
See the video below or at this link.
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Louie Gohmert asks abortion hearing witness if mothers 'should have the right to drown a child'
May 18, 2022
Rep. Louie Gohmert (R-TX) on Wednesday linked abortion rights to the possible legalization of child drownings.
Gohmert made the remarks at a House Judiciary Committee hearing about the expected impact of a leaked Supreme Court decision that would overturn federal abortion rights for women.
The congressman began his questioning by using the "it's my body, it's my choice" slogan to call for an end to Covid-19 vaccine mandates.
"The same people that seem to think when it comes to a vaccination, it's not your body and it's not your choice," he said.
IN OTHER NEWS: Watch: Marjorie Taylor Greene hounds DC mayor's office about January 6 'prisoners of war'
Gohmert then turned to one of the witnesses, anti-abortion activist Catherine Foster, to ask if she believed in personal autonomy.
"Do you believe that people have the right to choose what happens to their own bodies?" he wondered.
"I believe in protecting every human being," Foster replied. "Whatever you call that is what I'm for. And that absolutely includes human beings in the womb."
The Texas congressman pressed Foster about legalized child drownings.
"We've heard testimony about the mental duress of carrying a child," Gohmert pointed out. "And of course, I'm sure you're aware of what's called postpartum depression. Some have it very severely and I'm wondering if a mother is suffering severe depression as a result of having a child that she's not mentally a physically able to take care of, do you believe that a mother should have the right, like, to drown a child, to get rid of the child because of the mental stress and duress and problems that the mother is having?"
"That would be horrifying," Foster remarked. "And that's why we have safe haven laws to provide support and resources and an outlet for women in difficult situations."
Watch the video below from the House Judiciary Committee.
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