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Rachael Bade is a political analyst for Politico. Last week, after Nancy Pelosi spiked the appointments of Jim Jordan and Jim Banks to the panel investigating the January 6 insurrection, Bade said the Speaker of the House had given "a gift" to the Republicans. "Pelosi's move to reject GOP picks for the 1/6 panel is going to be a gift to [House Minority Leader] Kevin McCarthy in the long run," Bade wrote. "He wanted this panel to look partisan and political. Now it's definitely going to look partisan and political."
This article was originally published at The Editorial Board
Bade was just doing her job, but she drew a ton of fire. Her "analysis" was precisely the kind that drives everyone crazy—everyone, that is, who is not a total nihilist about the power and promise of American politics. Among the many replies to Bade's tweet, my favorite came from writer and media maven Parker Molloy. "Oh, come on. I know that it's your job to treat politics like sports, but just … for once, can you not? I honestly wouldn't be able to sleep at night if this was what I was putting out into the world."
Bade's critics are correct about the Washington press corps' double standard. While the GOP is expected to act in bloodless self-interest, the Democrats are expected to act selflessly. If they act like partisans, the conventional wisdom tells us, the Republicans have the advantage. So now, when the Republicans accuse the panel in concert of being "Pelosi's partisan pageantry," the accusation will allegedly carry some weight. This presumption, which holds the parties to diametric standards, which actually does give the Republicans the advantage, without the press corps being aware of it, or if it is, it denies having any such effect—this presumption drives people like me up a wall.
For the sake of argument, however, let's accept Bade's silly analysis as true. Let's say that the House select committee is indeed partisan on account of the congressional Republicans saying it is. From this perspective, it would be interesting to think about what partisanship means after Tuesday's testimony by four police officers who were on the front-lines of what each of them described as a battle against more than 9,000 angry and armed insurgents prepared to "stop the steal." It was a battle fought between what Maryland Congressman Jamie Raskin called "heroes of the republic" and "fascist traitors." "Partisanship" therefore must take on a new meaning bigger than it normally does, as a word for the parties and their interests. The cops did not begin as partisans. But in the context of Donald Trump's attempted coup d'etat they became partisans. They were unwilling partisans, to be sure. But partisans all the same. The attempted overthrow of the republic made them partisans for the republic.
The conventional wisdom about both parties is right about one thing. The Democrats, especially moderate Democrats, value the public appearance of being "above the fray." There are many reasons for this, most of them mostly good, but this preference takes on greater significance amid an investigation into the sacking and looting of the United States Capitol. The Democrats must get to the bottom of what happened. Justice, democracy and the love of our country demand it. But they have an interest in appearing principled, not partisan in way that word normally implies. They don't want to appear as if they are merely relitigating the 2020 presidential election. They do want to appear as if they're standing up for freedom, democracy and the country itself.
This balancing act is normally healthy. We do not live in normal times, though. If what it takes to hold power is for the Republicans to attack the character of the police officers who risked life and limb to protect everyone, including GOP lawmakers, so be it. If what it takes to hold power is disgracefully appear indifferent to their suffering, so be it. They may be "heroes" from the point of view of Americans with a stake in being "above the fray." But they were "traitors" from the point of view of Donald Trump. They were in fact damned if they did, damned if they didn't. The same can be said for all Americans. The cops swore an oath to put country over party. They honored themselves and the rest of us by living up to it. Make no mistake, though. The moment they honored that sworn oath was the same moment they became partisans.
If a majority of Americans continues to see partisanship as the mere difference between the Republicans and the Democrats, I'd say the Republicans have as good a chance as any in getting a majority of Americans to see the January 6 investigation as merely "Pelosi's partisan pageantry." But I don't think a majority of Americans is going to continue seeing partisanship as the mere difference between the parties. The Republicans won't let that happen. They'll push and push, and they'll keep pushing so hard that even people who'd normally be on their side, like law enforcement officers, have said out loud that they feel betrayed by the party, betrayed enough to say fine. If I'm a partisan, I'm going to be a partisan you'll live to regret—a partisan for America.
Tuesday's testimony, in fact, seemed to suggest the Republicans had finally politicized what it means to be an American such that being an American is now a controversy with two sides. As I said, "one side is for democracy. One side is against it. One is for the Constitution and the principles it enshrines. One is for the GOP and its fuhrer. One side honors duty and sacrifice. One side belittles them. One side sees selfishness, disloyalty and betrayal as fair game. One side has unvarnished contempt for treason."
If partisanship means party over country, then Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi probably did give House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy "a gift" when she spiked the appointments of Jim Jordan and Jim Banks to the House select committee investigating the day a sitting president sent paramilitaries to the US Congress.
But if partisanship means country over party, Pelosi did no such thing. It would mean that Kevin McCarthy himself made a grave error. He chose not to have anything to do with it. He chose to smear the committee from the sidelines as "a political sham." But the more you allege partisanship against people trying hard to honor principle, the more people trying hard to honor principle are going to think of themselves as principled partisans—partisans for the United States and everything it stands for. I don't think the Republicans quite understand they are digging their own grave.
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Sidney Powell pushed a ‘legal fantasy’ that came from a ‘social media echo chamber’: City of Detroit to judge
July 29, 2021
The city of Detroit offered a "blistering critique" of Sidney Powell, L. Lin Wood and the other attorneys who took part in the infamous "Kraken" lawsuit that attempted to overturn the will of the voters in the state.
The filing came as U.S. District Judge Linda V. Parker is considering whether to sanction the lawyers involved in pushing Donald Trump's "Big Lie" inside Michigan courtrooms, the Detroit Free Press reported Thursday.
"This lawsuit is the dangerous product of an online feedback loop, with these attorneys citing 'legal precedent' derived not from a serious analysis of case law, but from the rantings of conspiracy theorists sharing amateur analysis and legal fantasy in their social media echo chamber," David Fink, the lead attorney for Detroit, argued in a 20-page brief.
"There are no words to describe how detached these lawyers are from the basic rules of professional responsibility, civility and ethical legal representation. They must not be given the opportunity to further abuse our judicial system and to undermine our democracy," he wrote.
Reuters journalist Jan Wolfe quoted extensively from the filing on Twitter. Here is the full thread:
The Kraken lawyers "knew that their names were on the signature blocks and not one of them asked to be removed. The… https://t.co/nsTYObRXYy— Jan Wolfe (@Jan Wolfe) 1627570028.0
"Like any bully, when Lin Wood thought he was safe and it might help him, he admitted his involvement in Michigan,… https://t.co/1DElDfGqRU— Jan Wolfe (@Jan Wolfe) 1627571850.0
Here's a link to the brief, filed by the father-son team of David Fink and Nathan Fink, who have arguably done more… https://t.co/L38rHojrzu— Jan Wolfe (@Jan Wolfe) 1627573349.0
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A doctor promoted by former President Donald Trump last year is filing a $100 million lawsuit against CNN for allegedly defaming her reputation by quoting her past statements.
A new lawsuit filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas alleges that CNN host Anderson Cooper defamed Dr. Stella Immanuel when he called her a "snake-oil salesman" due to her promotion of hydroxychloroquine, the Trump-promoted anti-malarial drug that multiple studies have shown to be ineffective at treating COVID-19.
In fact, Cooper called her a snake-oil salesman not only for her advocacy of hydroxychloroquine as a COVID-19 treatment, but also for her theories about demons impregnating human women during their sleep and about physicians using "alien DNA" to treat their patients.
However, the lawsuit claims that "Cooper and CNN attributed statements to Dr. Immanuel that she never made" and says that "the statements regarding demons and aliens were simply fabricated."
However, Immanuel's speech about demons impregnating women can still be found on YouTube, and she promotes it with the following tagline: "Deliverance From Spirit Husbands and Spirit Wives (Incubus and Succubus) -- these are demons the lust men and women and sleep with them in the dream."
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