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Christian leaders condemn 'radicalized Christian nationalism' -- and link it to January 6 MAGA riots
February 24, 2021
A group of Christian leaders has signed a letter raising alarms about what they describe as "radicalized Christian nationalism" that they say contributed the violent riots that took place at the United States Capitol building last month.
NPR reports that more than 100 pastors and other church leaders signed onto the letter, which accuses Christians who rioted on January 6th of engaging in a "perversion" of the Christian faith.
<p>They also call out trends toward radicalization in many evangelical churches.</p><p>"We recognize that evangelicalism, and white evangelicalism in particular, has been susceptible to the heresy of Christian nationalism because of a long history of faith leaders accommodating white supremacy," they write. "We choose to speak out now because we do not want to be quiet accomplices in this on-going sin."</p><p>Evangelical Christian organizer Doug Pagitt says that it's important for evangelicals to squarely confront the radicalization within their ranks.</p><p>"People from our very communities called people to this action in the days before, unleashed them into the Capitol, and then chose to baptize that action in the name of Christ," Pagitt during a recent Zoom call with other leaders who signed the letter. "And this is our time where we need to stand up."</p>
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‘I didn’t see the hearing’: Wisconsin Republican refuses to denounce Ron Johnson’s Jan. 6 lies
February 24, 2021
On MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Rep. Mike Gallagher refused to denounce his fellow Wisconsin Republican Sen. Ron Johnson's lies about the Jan. 6 insurrection.
Johnson during a Senate hearing read conspiracy theories published by the right-wing Federalist website that baselessly claimed "fake" supporters of former president Donald Trump were among those who stormed the Capitol as Congress certified President Joe Biden's election win, and co-host Willie Geist challenged Gallagher to challenge those false statements.
"Well, I didn't see the hearing," Gallagher began, and then justified Trump's lies about alleged election fraud. "I know that Ron Johnson legitimately wants to get to the bottom of any allegation of voter fraud or voter irregularity. I think there are a lot of states that made changes in the midst of the pandemic and we can have a dispassionate argument about whether those changes were wise going forward, and I do think it's incumbent on every state, Wisconsin included, to do a version of what Florida did post-2000 which is to take a look at what makes sense, what doesn't, you know, where we need to have a little more legislative oversight, but ultimately what I believe is that's not the province of the federal government, right? It's not the role of the federal government to tell the state of the Wisconsin how to conduct its election, let alone how to allocate its electors."<p><br/></p><p>Geist wasn't ready to let him off the hook without answering the question, and asked Gallagher whether he agreed with Johnson that the rioters were anti-Trump provocateurs -- but the lawmaker again tap-danced away from the question.</p> "I didn't see what the senator said," Gallagher said.<p><br/></p><p>So Geist explained the senator's remarks claiming the Trump supporters were largely peaceful and that any violence was likely committed by antifa or other anti-Trump individuals, but Gallagher refused to denounce Johnson's false statements.</p> "Well, again, I didn't see the hearing or exactly what Sen. Johnson said," Gallagher said. "I think all of us could look at that and say, okay, most of the people that showed up at the rally that morning were -- including the Air Force veteran who got <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2021/jan/09/ashli-babbitt-capitol-mob-trump-qanon-conspiracy-theory" target="_blank">killed</a> tragically -- didn't wake up thinking, 'I'm going to be violently assaulting the U.S. Capitol, let alone losing my life,' right?"<p><br/></p><p>In fact, federal prosecutors have <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2021/02/21/us/capitol-riot-attack-militants.html" target="_blank">alleged</a> in multiple indictments that members of the pro-Trump groups the Proud Boys and the Oath Keepers coordinated the assault on the Capitol in an effort to obstruct the congressional certification of Biden's win, and the former chief of Capitol police called it a coordinated military-style attack, but Gallagher insisted their role was minimal and limited to mostly property damage.</p>"There was probably a smaller number of people that showed up that day thinking, 'I want to break things, I want to make a mess,'" Gallagher said. "These are sorts of, like, the Proud Boys crowd and a smaller number militia types, far-right militia that showed up with a no-kidding plan they had been planning for months going forward, and how that complex mix played out, I'm not exactly certain."<p><br/></p><p>"I still have unanswered questions," he added. "I want to get to the bottom of it because at least six people have lost their lives, including tragically a U.S. Capitol police officer, and that's unacceptable. We should all get to the bottom of that, and whether you're a far-right activist or far-left activist, advocating violence, perpetuating violence against your fellow citizens is 100 percent unacceptable."</p><p><br/></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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Senate committee postpones confirmation hearing on Biden OMB pick after Joe Manchin leads revolt over mean tweets
February 24, 2021
The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs is postponing its Wednesday confirmation hearing for Neera Tanden, President Joe Biden's pick to be the Director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), after Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) announced he will vote against her, based on her record of posting mean tweets.
Axios, first reporting the news, calls it "a potential death knell" for Tanden's confirmation, although it could give the Biden White House time to try to shore up support among Republican Senators.
<p>Tanden would be the first woman of color to head OMB.</p><p>Manchin's stunning announcement Friday has led to three Republicans jumping on board, also announcing their opposition.</p><p>None of the opposition is on qualifications – Tanden, a policy expert has led the Center for American Progress for nearly a decade, and worked in both the Clinton and Obama White Houses.</p><p>"We are postponing the business meeting because members are asking for more time to consider the nominee," an unnamed committee aide told Axios. "The president deserves to have a team in place that he wants, and we're going to work with our members to figure out the best path forward."</p><p>But many Democrats see Manchin's opposition as nothing more than sexism, misogyny, and racism. He has voted for far less qualified candidates with far greater issues than Tanden, all of whom happened to be men, and mostly white men. Among them, Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh, who was not only credibly accused of sexual assault, but engaged a shocking on-camera attack promising revenge during his confirmation hearing.</p><p>"Other supporters have accused Tanden's opponents of hypocrisy, noting Manchin and many Republican senators voted to confirm nominees of President Trump who also had posted caustic tweets," Axios adds.</p><p>Manchin followed up his opposition to Tanden with a suggestion he might not support Biden's nominee to head the Dept. of the Interior, a sitting U.S. Congresswoman who is Native American, Deb Haaland.</p>
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