The Thread For New Republican Legislation

[Loren Pechtel]

thing is we have had multiple cases of people maxing out their credit cards to buy guns for a mass shooting/suicide since they know they won't be around to have to pay the bill. That's what this change is hoping to address.

"Multiple cases"?
I'm sure it's happened. But it doesn't seem like a major contributor to violent idiots bent on mayhem.

Looks more like a bandaid, virtue signaling, response.
Tom

Two have made the news recently. It's easy enough to check for that it's a reasonable thing to be looking at--but it would have been much better had it been done quietly. And it's not about it being a major contributor, but of a possibility of stopping a shooter. Suddenly maxing your credit out on firearms is not a usual thing to be doing!!

 

[lpetrich]

Then a section on "This lone Republican knows how to get stuff done"

It doesn’t have to be this way. Ask Mike Gallagher. The Wisconsin Republican has been put in charge of the new House select committee on the Chinese Communist Party — and the chairman so far is turning his panel into everything the covid committee isn’t: bipartisan, serious and productive.

“This is an existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century, and the most fundamental freedoms are at stake,” he said in opening the panel’s prime-time hearing Tuesday — the same day the covid committee held its frivolous forum. “Time is not on our side. Just because this Congress is divided, we cannot afford to waste the next two years lingering in legislative limbo or pandering to the press.”

He took no partisan shots, and he screened “a joint video that the ranking member and I put together to help set the stage for the hearing.” That ranking Democrat, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (Ill.), reciprocated by acknowledging that “both Democrats and Republicans underestimated the CCP” and praising the bipartisanship and “our unity as Americans.”

The main dissent was some Code Pink activists that showed up with signs with “China is not our enemy” and “Stop Asian Hate.”

Gallagher is exactly the sort of person you want in this role as China’s growing aggression pushes us toward a new cold war. A 39-year-old Princeton graduate and former Marine captain with a PhD in international relations, he noted with satisfaction this week that his panel has “no bomb throwers.”

Gallagher, by Krishnamoorthi’s account, worked closely with Democrats to draft a rules package that will guide the panel over the next two years — “a bipartisan agreement that has my full support.” It passed Tuesday without debate, amendment or a single dissenting vote.

That’s what happens when a leader puts country before party.

'Clash of civilizations' rhetoric in US committee hearing on China
After mentioning the "War on Terror",

On Tuesday, February 28, a new US House select committee on China met for the first time publicly to discuss another conflict in extreme terms. Republican Chairman Mike Gallagher called US issues with China no less than “an existential struggle over what life will look like in the 21st century—[in which] the most fundamental freedoms are at stake.” As Republican Representative Darin LaHood added, “It’s become more clear to me than ever that China has a plan to replace the United States and they’re working at it every day: replace our economy, replace us in technology, replace us when it comes to national security in the military and diplomatically.”

The bipartisan committee, which includes top Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi, emphasized that its target for these and coming proceedings was the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) currently headed for an unprecedented third term by Xi Jinping, and not general Chinese citizens. However, this is a delicate claim to make in a sociopolitical context that saw anti-Asian violence rise 338 percent in the US in 2021, in strong part from a narrative that blamed COVID-19 on China.

 

[lpetrich]

The Washington Post then turned to James Comer, R-KY, head of the Oversight Committee.

Last week, he sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg about the Ohio train derailment in which he referred to “DOT’s National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)” and demanded of Buttigieg “all documents and communications regarding NTSB’s progress on the cause of the derailment.”

Buttigieg responded by saying he was “alarmed to learn that the chair of the House Oversight Committee thinks that the NTSB is part of our department. NTSB is independent (and with good reason).”

Comer, on Fox News, claimed it was “a typo” — a 19-word typo, it would seem

Then about JC pausing his attacks on Hunter Biden to attack the President's other son, Beau.

Alas, more of the House GOP committee chairs are following the Comer model of leadership than the Gallagher model, using their positions to give platforms to extremists. As I’ve noted, the House Energy and Commerce Committee joined Comer’s panel in elevating the voices of those who adhere to the racist “great replacement” conspiracy theory.

Last month, Rep. Jim Jordan’s Judiciary Committee featured as a witness a man who is part of the far-right “constitutional sheriff” movement. Constitutional sheriffs — an outgrowth of the white-nationalist posse comitatus movement — claim they are above federal and state government and are the ultimate arbiters of the law.

 

[lpetrich]

Jim Jordan scrambles amid claims "weaponization" probe is a dud

Jordan is under increasing pressure from disappointed Republicans who want results — and from Democrats who say his investigation is being exposed as a sham.

...
Critics say Jordan has been hampered by his off-the-cuff style, lack of structure and separation between Judiciary and its "weaponization" subcommittee — and a tendency to make statements first and hope his investigative work will back them up.

Shows how much support his claims have.

"Jordan is overextended and short-staffed, biting off much more than he can chew," Mike Davis, former chief counsel for nominations for then-Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), wrote in a tweet thread. "This is doomed to fail."

Jeff Carlson, co-host of "Truth Over News" on EpochTV, tweeted, "Is it once again all talk and no action from the ... Weaponization Committee?"

On his show, Fox News' Jesse Watters said: "Make me feel better, guys. Tell me this is going somewhere. Can I throw someone in prison? Can someone go to jail? Can someone get fined?"

About the jacketless Representative,
Boehner Lambasts GOP Rep. Jim Jordan As a 'Political Terrorist'

"Jim Jordan especially, my colleague from Ohio," he replied. "I just never saw a guy who spent more time tearing things apart ― never building anything, never putting anything together."

Jordan, who was first elected to Congress in 2006, has become well-known for his verbal jousting with Democrats on both the Oversight and Judiciary Committees, along with his staunch defense of former President Donald Trump.

 

[Loren Pechtel]

Not exactly legislation but this showed up in my inbox today:

As set forth in Executive Order 2023-003, the Board has been directed to review its regulations (NAC 634A) and identify at least ten (10) regulations for removal. The purpose of this Public Hearing is to: (1) vet the Board’s proposed recommended changes; (2) solicit input as to the merits of those changes; and (3) identify other regulatory changes stakeholders feel are worthy of consideration regarding the potential to streamline, clarify, reduced or otherwise improved regulations that pertain to the Nevada Administrative Code Chapter 634A. Stakeholder input received as a result of this Hearing will be reflected in the Report to the Governor.

I read through the stuff being referenced a few years ago and it didn't strike me as containing unneeded crap. This is a small board with only 100 licensees--and of those three have out of state mailing addresses and two more have no address listed.

And another not-legislation:

https://www.npr.org/2023/03/09/1162380400/a-red-california-county-has-no-way-to-conduct-elections-after-dropping-voting-sy

QOP county, they ditched Dominion and now have no way to actually count votes.

 

[Cheerful Charlie]

Slightly off topic. The election in Wisconsin for state Supreme Court justice elected a liberal Democratic candidate. Who won 55.5% to 44.5%. There are court cases over extreme GOP gerrymandering cases that are going to be decided by Wisconsin's SC. Plus women's health cases. Sometimes in politics, there is good news.

 

[Shadowy Man]

Slightly off topic. The election in Wisconsin for state Supreme Court justice elected a liberal Democratic candidate. Who won 55.5% to 44.5%. There are court cases over extreme GOP gerrymandering cases that are going to be decided by Wisconsin's SC. Plus women's health cases. Sometimes in politics, there is good news.

Except they’re already taking about impeaching her so who knows how long it will last.

 

[ZiprHead]

Right now the Tennessee legislature is voting to oust three dems for participating in an anti-gun protest in the chamber. The first black guy has been ousted. The white woman stayed by one vote. They're still deciding on the third who is a black guy.

The only other times members have been expelled there was for criminal actions and sexual misconduct.

 

[ZiprHead]

The two black representatives have been expelled.

 

[crazyfingers]

Tennessee has been on my never visit list for a long time.

 

[lostone]

A hundred years or so ago they wanted to ban the teaching of evolution. They have not changed much.

 

[ZiprHead]

Those uppity black guys needed to go.

 

[blastula]

Right now the Tennessee legislature is voting to oust three dems for participating in an anti-gun protest in the chamber. The first black guy has been ousted. The white woman stayed by one vote. They're still deciding on the third who is a black guy.

The only other times members have been expelled there was for criminal actions and sexual misconduct.

The two black representatives have been expelled.

I didn't know they were such feminists over there.

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Those uppity black guys needed to go.

It sounds like they were demeaned and attacked by the GOP in their cases, where as the argument against the white female representative was more procedural. It might not have been about race as much as gender. We all remember the "Female Prosecutor" in the Kavanaugh hearings.

 

[ZiprHead]

Those uppity black guys needed to go.

It sounds like they were demeaned and attacked by the GOP in their cases, where as the argument against the white female representative was more procedural. It might not have been about race as much as gender. We all remember the "Female Prosecutor" in the Kavanaugh hearings.

None of this followed the usual procedure.

 

[ZiprHead]

'Conservatives' out to destroy an institution that has defined civilization for 3,000 years

When an exiled Athenian philosopher brought an idea for a new building to one of Alexander the Great’s successors around 300 BC, the proposal met with almost immediate approval. When that building finally opened a few decades later, the Great Library...

www.dailykos.com

Now these institutions are under attack by Republicans. That includes a Missouri bill that removes all state funding for libraries, and the superintendent of a Virginia school district moving to eliminate school libraries completely. This is the second stage of the assault on information that Republicans opened with a wave of bills making it easier to ban books both in school libraries and public libraries. Because, just like Donald Trump, the Republican Party loves the poorly educated. Ignorance may not be bliss, but it certainly makes people easier to control.

Schools are being charged with crimes for refusing to remove books. They’re being sued when they do remove books. How is it possible for schools to operate a library under these conditions?

Answer: It’s not. And that’s the point.

The actions Republican legislators are taking in Missouri, Florida, and states across the nation are certainly destructive to the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, Black Americans, Native Americans, Latino Americans, and others. That is definitely one goal of this effort. But it’s not the only goal. It’s not even the main goal.

In all these actions, Republicans are using their culture war issues as a lever toward something that’s an even bigger plum for their regressive pie. Because let’s be clear about it: Republicans don’t actually give a damn about drag shows. They don’t care one flying f**k about whether schools have a book about two male penguins caring for a chick.

What they care about is how they can use these issues to enrage the public and to attack public institutions. It’s not about banning specific books, or limiting the content of certain classes. It’s about limiting the channels through which knowledge is transmitted to ones where Republicans can exert explicit, overt control.

As MSNBC reports, Republican Congressman Clay Higgins has already made this clear.

“Over time, American communities will build beautiful, church owned public-access libraries. I’m going to help these churches get funding. We will change the whole public library paradigm. The libraries regular Americans recall are gone.”

 

[Derec]

Right now the Tennessee legislature is voting to oust three dems for participating in an anti-gun protest in the chamber. The first black guy has been ousted. The white woman stayed by one vote. They're still deciding on the third who is a black guy.

I thought protests inside the legislative chamber were bad. Are they only good when the cause is left-wing? And if these three participated in the protest contrary to Tennessee legislature rules, then why is it wrong to expel them? Because they are Democrats? Because they are black?

How is it different than what AOC wanted - except that she did not have the votes.
Ocasio-Cortez says GOP colleagues who sought pardons ‘should be expelled’ from Congress
Is AOC "antidemocratic" too for wanting to subvert the will of the voters who elected these Reps?

 

[Derec]

Those uppity black guys needed to go.

If some Republican legislators participated in a protest inside the chamber for a right-wing cause, using bullhorns, would you be defending them too?

And would you be defending them even if they were throwing white-power signs? Because the Justins were throwing black power signs.

 

[ZiprHead]

 

[Jimmy Higgins]

Why the meeting? Just chain the doors one evening and burn it down. This is where we are headed, right? Headed as in, like next week.