U.S. Politics

[Rick Plant]

The White House @WhiteHouse

As a result of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, Wolfspeed is making the largest manufacturing investment in North Carolina history – creating 1,800 good-paying jobs while expanding semiconductor production.



https://twitter.com/WhiteHouse/status/1643616479244369920

[Rick Plant]

Move by Tennessee Republicans to oust 3 Dem lawmakers startles state
House GOP leadership is trying to kick out a trio of Democrats for participating in gun reform protest.



There’s the Oregon lawmaker expelled for his involvement in an armed incursion into the state capitol. The Idaho House member kicked out following a federal fraud conviction. And the Arizona representative removed over multiple accusations of sexual harassment.

It’s rare but not unheard of for state legislators to oust their own colleagues, typically in cases where individuals are found guilty of crimes or accused of severe ethical lapses.

But what’s unfolding in the Tennessee State Capitol, where Republican leaders want to expel three Democrats over participation in a protest demanding new gun-safety laws, is extraordinary for its political brazenness and scope.

“It will echo across the country. I think it will have a chilling effect on all states where there’s supermajorities or very red states,” Rep. Gloria Johnson, one of the Democrats under threat of expulsion, said in a phone interview Tuesday. “This is chipping away at our democracy, there’s no question, because everybody’s going to wonder, ‘am I next?’”

The ACLU in Tennessee also issued a warning the effort “undermines Democracy.”

“Expulsion is an extreme measure that is used very infrequently in our state and our country because it strips voters of representation by the people they elected,” Kathy Sinback, the executive director of the ACLU in Tennessee, said in a statement.

State legislatures often go decades without taking such an action against members.

The dustup began last week, when hundreds of protestors gathered at the capitol in Nashville to urge lawmakers to pass gun safety measures in the aftermath of a shooting at a local school that left three adults and three children dead.

Amid the protests that leaked into the building, Reps. Gloria Johnson, Justin Jones and Justin Pearson led chants on the House floor in which they called on their colleagues to pass new gun laws. The lawmakers were aided by a bullhorn.

Their stunt enraged Republicans, who promptly introduced resolutions calling for their removal, sparking further chaos on the House floor.

Now, Republican leaders — who likened those actions to an “insurrection” — will vote Thursday on whether the members should be allowed to continue serving in the House or be removed from office. The Democrats have already been stripped of their committee assignments.

Resolutions filed against the three declared that they had participated in “disorderly behavior” and “did knowingly and intentionally bring disorder and dishonor to the House of Representatives.”

Critics of the move to evict the members argued that Republicans have failed in the past to remove their members of their own party who acted egregiously, such as a former representative who was accused of sexually assaulting teenagers when he was a basketball coach.

“It’s morally insane that a week after a mass shooting took six lives in our community, House Republicans only response is to expel us for standing with our constituents to call for gun control,” Jones tweeted Tuesday afternoon. “What’s happening in Tennessee is a clear danger to democracy all across this nation.”

Johnson, a former teacher who survived a school shooting that left one student dead, said she plans to bring an attorney to Thursday’s vote and “defend herself.”

"I’m happy to show up and make my case heard, because I will always lift up the voices of the people in my district who want to see gun sense legislation,” Johnson said.

https://www.politico.com/news/2023/04/04/tennessee-gop-oust-dem-lawmakers-00090456

[Rick Plant]

Right wing loon Ali Alexander admitted to his followers on Twitter that Republicans have no path to win the Electoral College in 2024 after the GOP lost the Wisconsin Supreme Court election on Tuesday night. This is the first time that I agree with him. Alexander is also admitting that Republicans were going to use the Wisconsin Supreme Court to overturn Biden's victory. Why else would he make this statement? Republicans are dejected, demoralized, and in disarray after their massive defeat in Wisconsin.     

[Rick Plant]

96% of the results are in for the Wisconsin Supreme Court election, and it's an 11 point landslide victory for Janet Protasiewicz over MAGA Dan Kelly.

The main issues that drove voters to the polls were abortion, gun reform, democracy, and the economy.

Voters rejected the Republican big government overreach of controlling women's bodies, banning books, discrimination against the LGBTQ community, trying to control what teachers can do in the classroom, and the Republican evangelicals forcing religion on society.

This is not freedom, this is Republican fascism, and the voters of Wisconsin sent a message loud and clear that they reject Republican fascism in their state.   

Common sense tells you these same voters will come out again in 2024 to vote for President Biden and Democratic candidates because Republicans will still run on these same far right wing unpopular polices that voters have already rejected more than once.           

[Rick Plant]

ProPublica has just published an explosive scandal involving Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

Clarence Thomas was secretly accepting luxury vacations from GOP billionaire Harlan Crow for over 20 years. This of course is illegal because it violates the financial disclosure law. It's obvious that Thomas was being influenced by Harlan Crow to vote on important rulings that affects our lives with these vacations he was getting in return for free.

GOP corruption at its finest.         

Clarence Thomas Secretly Accepted Luxury Trips From Major GOP Donor
https://www.propublica.org/article/clarence-thomas-scotus-undisclosed-luxury-travel-gifts-crow

[Rick Plant]

Phil Williams @NC5PhilWilliams

WATCH: To better understand Democratic frustrations surrounding how business is conducted in Tennessee's GOP supermajority House, watch this segment from our award-winning Revealed investigation - long before #TheTennesseeThree made national news. (Please like and share.) 1/2

Watch Here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1644772286195531778

Our on-going Revealed investigation can be found here: https://www.newschannel5.com/news/newschannel-5-investigates/revealed

https://twitter.com/NC5PhilWilliams/status/1644772286195531778

[Rick Plant]

House Republicans are 'in a hole and digging' as Democrats watch them flail



The inability of House Speaker Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) to get his leadership team on the same page as they attempt to come up with a budget plan is being greeted with joy by House Democrats and White House officials who are more than willing to watch the GOP infighting go public.

The once-again embattled McCarthy has been sniping at some of his top lieutenants, with Politico reporting that he"...has taken shots at Budget Chair Jodey Arrington (R-TX) as 'incompetent' and chief deputy Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) as 'ineffective,'" with the report adding, "People close to McCarthy tell us that he perceives both men as disloyal (and we know from covering McCarthy for almost a decade that he holds grudges)."

According to Axios, things aren't getting any better, and in fact are getting worse, allowing Democrats to sit back and not have to throw him a lifeline.

One top Democrat who is observing the House Republican's "dysfunction" told Axios, Republicans are "in a hole and digging ... so why take away their shovels?"

The report adds, "The report has reassured Democrats that the Biden administration's refusal to move forward with talks before McCarthy releases a GOP budget outline is the correct approach."

"A White House official told Axios that Biden's strategy of holding out for a 'clean' debt ceiling increase and only negotiating on the budget once Republicans present a proposal remains unchanged," the Axios report added.

https://www.axios.com/2023/04/08/gop-dysfunction-fuels-dems-hardball-budget-tactics