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Ron DeSantis provides a 'sneak preview' of how the GOP plans to disrupt Biden initiatives
October 24, 2021
In a column for the Daily Beast, journalist Wajahat Ali suggested that Republicans will go to extraordinary lengths to disrupt President Joe Biden's agenda in the near future even if it means the deaths of thousands of Americans -- including children.
As his "Exhibit A" he offers off up the recent actions of Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) who, he claims, has already shown that he cares little about the safety of his constituents as long as he raises his profile by battling with the Biden administration.
Calling the Republican Party "death cultists" over their opposition to Biden and CDC health mandates aimed at eliminating the spread of Covid-19, Ali pointed to DeSantis attempting to put up roadblocks to hamper health officials.
"Florida's Ron DeSantis gave us a sneak preview of how Republican leaders will challenge the Biden Administration's proposed mandate that would require private sector employers with 100 or more employees to either vaccinate their staff or impose weekly COVID tests," the Beast columnist wrote before adding, "DeSantis called for a special session of the state legislature, which will cost Florida taxpayers $1 million, to oppose the federal mandate and punish businesses with vaccine mandates, recommending they be held liable if a worker has an 'adverse reaction.' He also said these businesses will no longer qualify for COVID-19 liability protection."
Following up on his "sneak preview" theme, Ali continued, "This madness is just a sneak preview of the all-out obstruction by the GOP and its base once the FDA approves vaccines for children ages 5 to 12," before writing, "As I've written before, we cannot win over a pro-death cult. I'm tired of bending the knee to violent, ideological extremists and being hijacked by their white rage, economic anxiety, delusional conspiracy theories, and perpetual sense of victimhood. Their selfish actions are jeopardizing our children's lives during an ongoing pandemic."
He then suggested a plan to battle the GOP "death cult."
"If it's litigation GOP wants, then two can play at that game. Businesses and school districts need to fight back in court to protect their rights from Republican intimidation and overreach," he proposed before adding, "[Attorney General Merrick] Garland needs to unleash The Department of Justice and consider criminal investigations if Republican anti-mask and anti-vaccine policies have misrepresented information in a way that actively led to deaths across the nation. Prosecutorial authorities at the federal, state and local levels should be encouraged to hold elected individuals accountable."
Turning back to DeSantis, he concluded, "In Florida, all you have to do is follow the facts. It will take you to the graveyard where you'll find 58,000 tombstones—and counting."
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Inside Trump and Eastman's Jan. 2 'Big Lie' call with more than 300 GOP state legislators
October 24, 2021
Michigan Senate Oversight Committee Chair Ed McBroom (R-Vulcan) was on a call with hundreds of GOP lawmakers days before the Jan. 6 insurrection with President Donald Trump and his legal advisers, the Washington Post reported Saturday.
Trump was on the call along lawyers John Eastman — who wrote a memo outlining how Vice President Mike Pence could disregard the 2020 Electoral College vote and install Trump for another term — and Rudy Giuliani, who Michigan House Republicans allowed to lead a long post-election hearing airing myriad baseless right-wing election conspiracy theories.
The call with 300 state legislators was a strategy session on decertifying 2020 presidential election results. Michigan's Board of State Canvassers approved in November President Joe Biden's more than 154,000-vote victory over Trump and Michigan's electors cast their ballots for Biden in December.
“You are the real power," Trump told the state lawmakers, according to the Washington Examiner. “You're the ones that are going to make the decision."
The Post also reported that Giuliani ran a “command center" at the Willard, a Washington, D.C., hotel, plotting with Eastman and other Trump loyalists like Stephen Bannon about how to overturn the 2020 election.
McBroom told the Washington Post of the call he was on: “I didn't need any convincing about our plenary powers," adding, “I was listening to hear whether they had any evidence to substantiate claims" of significant voter fraud that could change the results in Michigan. His office did not immediate return a request for comment from the Advance.
McBroom told the Post he did not hear such evidence and didn't support efforts to delay the vote count. However, a majority of the GOP caucus in the Michigan Senate went on to sign a letter asking members of Congress to examine baseless allegations of election fraud. An earlier version asked to delay the electoral vote count, as the Advance reported on Jan. 6.
The signees included state Sens. John Bizon (R-Battle Creek), Tom Barrett (R-Potterville), Kim LaSata (R-Bainbridge Twp.), Roger Victory (R-Georgetown Twp.), Dale Zorn (R-Ida), Lana Theis (R-Brighton), Kevin Daley (R-Lum), Dan Lauwers (R-Brockway), Curtis VanderWall (R-Ludington), Rick Outman (R-Six Lakes) and Jim Runestad (R-White Lake). The Advance noted at the time that McBroom, who also held hearings in which Republicans made unproven election fraud claims, did not sign on.
Lawmakers in Michigan, Georgia, Arizona, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania also signed letters to Pence asking to delay certification. The Advance reported the 11 Michigan House members who signed on were: Reps. Julie Alexander (R-Hanover), Ken Borton (R-Gaylord), Steve Carra (R-Three Rivers), Gary Eisen (R-St. Clair Twp.), Beth Griffin (R-Mattawan), Matt Maddock (R-Millford), Luke Meerman (R-Coopersville), John Reilly (R-Oakland), Daire Rendon (R-Lake City), Mary Whiteford (R-Casco Twp.) and Doug Wozniak (R-Shelby Twp.).
In June, the Senate Oversight Committee led by McBroom released a 35-page report concluding that there was no widespread evidence of voter fraud and debunking several conspiracy theories.
“Our clear finding is that citizens should be confident the results represent the true results of the ballots cast by the people of Michigan," the report reads. “The committee strongly recommends citizens use a critical eye and ear toward those who have pushed demonstrably false theories for their own personal gain."
Trump was incensed by the report and attacked both McBroom and Senate Majority Leader Mike Shirkey (R-Clarklake).
“Michigan state Sens. Mike Shirkey and Ed McBroom are doing everything possible to stop voter audits in order to hide the truth about November 3rd," Trump said in a statement. “The Senate 'investigation' of the election is a cover up and a method of getting out of a forensic audit for the examination of the Presidential contest."
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Michigan Advance is part of States Newsroom, a network of news bureaus supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Michigan Advance maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Susan Demas for questions: info@michiganadvance.com. Follow Michigan Advance on Facebook and Twitter.
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This psychological factor explains the QAnon movement better than political ideology: scientists
October 24, 2021
The "anti-establishment" ideology is a major contributor to the belief systems that catapulted former President Donald Trump to power and the formation of the QAnon movement, according to findings published by the American Journal of Political Science and The Forum.
Speaking to PsyPost, Adam M. Enders — an assistant political science professor at the University of Louisville and co-author of the study — discussed how they compiled the information.
"While we discuss primarily historical and theoretical literature arguing that anti-establishment viewpoints are hardly new, no one has been empirically tracking them over time," Enders explained. "Our study is a first cut at taking this ignored dimension of public opinion more seriously. We need to track anti-establishment orientations over time to better understand how they ebb and flow. We also need to track them across social and political contexts to see what role these ideas play in other countries with different political systems, economic systems, etc."
Enders also explained why the project piqued his interest.
"I was interested in this project because it increasingly seemed to me that polarization and political identities were increasingly bearing the brunt of the blame –– perhaps erroneously –– for socially undesirable beliefs and actions that were probably the product of other orientations, like conspiracy thinking and a tendency to view politics as a struggle between good and evil," said Enders.
Enders noted how Trump's influence has contributed to the widening gap between red and blue political supporters. "Especially with the ascendance of Donald Trump, we witnessed a blending of left-right political concerns (e.g., partisanship, liberal-conservative ideology) with antagonistic orientations toward the political establishment," Enders said. "I wanted to try and disentangle these dimensions of opinion in order to better understand both how they are related to each other and how they differentially promote the beliefs and behaviors that have so concerned social scientists in recent years."
University of Miami's Joseph E. Uscinski, who also served as a co-author, explained how the evolution of politics and societal issues have contributed to extremism and polarization in American.
"American politics seems to be different than in previous decades and we wanted to know why," Uscinski added. "Many people blame current political problems — conspiracy theories, fake news, political violence — on polarization. But, we were not convinced that our current problems are the fault of people becoming too ideological or too partisan."
Uscinski went on to note how dangerous cancel culture has become as polarization becomes more prominent among party lines. 'We believe that efforts to 'squish' all opinions, people, and groups onto a uni-dimensional space is unwise," Uscinski explained.
He added, "Many people's opinions aren't solely 'left' or 'right,' but rather a mix. Further, many people have antagonisms toward the political system writ large and this has been vastly understudied. It may not be the case that populism is new in the United States; it may instead be the case that in recent years, more politicians are willing to use populist anti-system rhetoric to build coalitions by activating a set of opinions that are already there waiting to be activated."
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