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'Keep her away from children!' CNN host begs GOP leadership to do something about QAnon Congresswoman
January 28, 2021
CNN's Alisyn Camerota on Thursday begged Republicans in Congress to do something about QAnon-loving Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) after video emerged of her harassing teen school shooting survivors.
During a discussion about the House GOP's new QAnon-believing lawmakers, Camerota referenced video showing Greene chasing after Parkland school shooting survivor David Hogg and accusing him of being a "coward" for ignoring her.
<p>"This is a poisonous person," she said. "Please, leader McCarthy, keep her away from children. please keep her away from children. And yet she's been rewarded with a committee post to the House Education and Labor Committee? How? How can this be happening?"</p><p>CNN's David Chalian slammed Republican leadership for trying to ignore the controversies surrounding Greene, as he said that many Republicans feared that GOP primary voters would oust them if they criticized her.</p><p>"There's a moral bankruptcy going on right now inside the Republican Party that is -- for anyone who has watched, observed, reported on the Republican Party for the last few days -- it's becoming unrecognizable," he said. "There's always been a fringe and now it's just become the actual mainstream of the party."</p><p><iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/OgvsOlbLk9c" width="560"></iframe></p>
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Texas Republican with sketchy past files secession bill to protest Trump election loss
January 28, 2021
A Texas Republican best known for dressing up as "gay Hitler" became only the second U.S. legislator since the Civil War to file a formal bill calling for secession.
State Rep. Kyle Biedermann (R- Fredericksburg) filed the Texas Independence Referendum Act, which would allow voters to decide in November whether to leave the U.S. and establish an independent republic -- although doing so remains illegal, reported The Daily Beast.
<p>"If there was any constitutional issue resolved by the Civil War," ruled the late Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia, "it is that there is no right to secede."</p><p>Other Republicans have <a href="https://twitter.com/leachfortexas/status/1350942651164536835" target="_blank">denounced</a> the bill as a "disgrace" and "seditious," but the fact that it was filed should be yet another warning about the state of U.S. democracy, according to experts.</p><p>"Precisely the kind of violence used at the Capitol on Jan. 6 has been used before to catch pro-Union Texans off the guard and push for separation before it could be stopped," said Richard Kreitner, author of <a href="https://www.richardkreitner.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><em>Break It Up</em></a>, a history of U.S. secession movements. "There are plenty of reasons to conclude it could not happen as easily now as it is then, but little reason to assume it could not happen at all."</p><p>Allen West, who leads the Texas GOP, and talk-radio host Rush Limbaugh have also pushed secession to protest the election of Democratic President Joe Biden, and other supporters of former president Donald Trump -- including the head of Wyoming's GOP, Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-ND) and the right-wing Claremont Institute -- have called for the potential breakup of the U.S.</p><p>Biedermann's primary ally is the Texas Nationalist Movement, whose leaders gained notoriety for making multiple visits to Moscow as part of the Kremlin's efforts to interfere in the 2016 election, and TNM head Daniel Miller <a href="https://www.kqed.org/news/11217187/from-his-home-in-russia-calexit-leader-plots-california-secession" target="_blank">claims</a> to have received some funding from Russia.</p><p>The Texas Republican and Miller have made several appearances together recently, and Biedermann confirmed that he filed his bill at the group's urging.</p><p>Bidermann also <a href="http://herald-zeitung.com/community_alert/article_8355dd5c-56e0-11eb-9a97-a35efbb79b32.html" target="_blank">confirmed</a> that he took part in the pro-Trump demonstration Jan. 6 in Washington that ended in the deadly insurrection attempt at the U.S. Capitol, although he claims not to have engaged in violence and has not been charged with any crimes.</p>
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Experts explain how millions of Americans were radicalized by Donald Trump's big lies
January 28, 2021
Adolf Hitler used the "Big Lie" strategy to help kill democracy in his country. He had one Big Lie after another. Hitler used a Big Lie to explain away Germany's defeat in World War I and it set the stage for his meteoric rise in power. He blamed the Jews for Germany's loss, which was patently untrue. He promulgated that lie over and over. And it led to the biggest, and deadliest, lie in history — that Jews had to be exterminated.
Donald Trump used multiple Big Lies during his presidency. It was his propaganda technique. He took a page right out of Hitler's playbook — and it almost destroyed American democracy. The sad truth is that many Trump surrogates who remain within our government continue to stoke the remaining embers of the Big Lies. The goal of Trump's lies was to establish him as a dictator devoid of laws, rules or norms. He wanted absolute power. He wanted to amass greed with impunity. He wanted to be as corrupt and criminal as he wished.
<p>Trump wanted to overturn our democratic way of life. He had no interest in public service. He had no desire to serve and protect the public. In fact, he wanted the public to serve him by acknowledging and accepting his absolute power.</p><p>Trump's biggest lie was that the national election was rigged and stolen from him; a lie <a href="https://www.npr.org/2016/10/20/498713509/donald-trump-says-hell-accept-the-results-of-the-election-if-he-wins" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>he telegraphed in 2016</u></a>. This was totally false, and he knew it. Trump lost fair and square. It was the most open and transparent election in history. There were recounts and more than 60 adjudicated lawsuits. No legitimate claims of voter fraud were ever presented by Trump or his allies. But it was this Big Lie that Trump hoped to ride to overthrow our democracy in order to remain in power. His incitement of the insurrection at the Capitol was a direct outgrowth of this Big Lie.</p><p>Another Big Lie was that the coronavirus pandemic was a hoax — or was overblown or exaggerated or was totally contained. Trump minimized and denied its severity from the beginning. His federal response was weak and passive. Despite the deaths of nearly 400,000 Americans, Trump continued the Big Lie and did almost nothing. For months he didn't even mention the pandemic or the thousands of deaths. Trump did not want the pandemic to ruin his re-election chances. All he cared about was maintaining power. He was cruel and callous about the mounting numbers of cases and deaths. His Big Lie successfully <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2021/01/25/deborah-birx-interview-trump-covid/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>muzzled our nation's experts on infectious disease and epidemiology</u></a>. </p><p>A third Big Lie was that the free press is the "enemy of the people" because it produces "fake news." This lie was long-lasting yet completely false. Trump wanted no oversight and no accountability, and viewed the press as a threat to the continuation of his power. Let us be clear: The free press is protected by the Constitution and is a defining feature of our representative democracy. Trump's Big Lie here was completely self-serving, disingenuous and false.</p><p>So Trump's three Big Lies — individually and in combination — defined his presidency. His idea of governing was to use propaganda to solidify his grip on power. But more than that, his "Big Lies" reflected his anti-democratic and anti-American beliefs. Trump does not love democracy and does not love our country.</p><p>There were many Big Lies spread by Trump during his tenure. His claims that Robert Mueller's investigation was a hoax was a Big Lie. His "perfect" call with the Ukrainian president was a Big Lie. His claim that he would save protections for pre-existing conditions in health care coverage was a Big Lie. In fact, it has been shown that Trump <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/01/24/trumps-false-or-misleading-claims-total-30573-over-four-years/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank"><u>lied more than 30,000 times</u></a> in four years.</p><p>It is undeniable that Trump's plan was to ride his Big Lies into a dictatorship. He is an authoritarian at heart. He is a fascist in his thinking and in his impulses. </p><p>Trump's plan was to activate an anti-democratic movement in the country. The way he connected with millions of supporters was through his Big Lies. That was his hook to capture the attention and irrational passion of his supporters. He was the pied piper of Big Lies.</p><p>The Republican Party has been complicit with Donald Trump for four years and counting. They have supported his anti-democratic and anti-American Big Lies. Until and unless the party extricates itself from Trump, millions of Americans will continue to believe in their cult leader and his Big Lies. </p><p>Mitch McConnell, Kevin McCarthy, Ted Cruz, Josh Hawley and many others must change course and condemn Donald Trump. They must correct the Big Lies — and to this point there is no sign they will do so. If they don't, they will take the Republican Party down a rabbit hole of darkness, doom and failure. </p><p>Here is what should be verbalized by every single Republican: "I condemn Donald Trump. The election was not stolen. He completely botched the response to the pandemic. The free press is crucial to our democracy. The Republican Party needs new leadership to maintain our democracy." Members of Congress who cannot make this statement openly and loudly should be expelled. Yes, this should be a litmus test for our democracy. Democracy cannot truly prevail until Trump and his Big Lies are renounced and defeated. His anti-democratic rhetoric, behavior and intentions cannot continue to circulate like a metastasizing cancer. Trump's propaganda agenda is still alive. His Big Lies must be repudiated before any healing and unity are even possible. </p><p>This is urgent and necessary. Our democratic experiment hangs in the balance.</p>
Trump supporters attack the host of their own rally for trying to enforce COVID-19 guidelines
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNDk3ODg5Ny9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2MTExNTEwM30.K4uBsYhbeT6Cwg-phYSJC4hRz6cNKaGea3AgNVPob1k/img.jpg?width=980" id="b059a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="54d204cb3ceb4f3cc4840908fd997286" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Trump supporters attack the host of their own rally for trying to enforce COVID-19 guidelinesTrump supporters rally in Wisconsin (Screen cap).
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