GOP Operatives - Actions and Issues

[GURPS]

House approves bill slashing Pete Buttigieg's salary to $1​

"I’m proud to announce my amendment to FIRE Pete Buttigieg just PASSED the House. Pothole Pete staged fake bike rides to the White House and used private planes funded by taxpayers to receive awards for the way certain people have sex," Greene said in a social media post Tuesday. "American taxpayers should not be on the hook for paying for his lavish trips or his salary."

"Pete Buttigieg doesn’t do his job. It’s all about fake photo ops and taxpayer-funded private jet trip to accept LGBTQ awards for him," Greene added. "I’m happy my amendment passed, but he doesn’t deserve a single penny."

 

[GURPS]

House censures Rep. Rashida Tlaib amid bipartisan backlash over Israel comments​

 

[Kyle]

House votes to censure Rashida Tlaib over anti-Israel comments

The punishment, while largely symbolic, was a formal bipartisan rebuke


The House of Representatives has voted to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Mich., in a 234 - 188 vote on Tuesday night.

The punishment, while largely symbolic, was a formal public rebuke of her most recent anti-Israel comments made in the wake of the Jewish nation’s war against terror group Hamas.

Twenty-two Democrats voted with 212 Republicans to censure Tlaib. Four GOP lawmakers voted against the measure. Four lawmakers voted present. The measure was introduced by freshman Rep. Rich McCormick, R-Ga., on Monday.

House votes to censure Rashida Tlaib over anti-Israel comments

Twenty-two Democrats joined 212 House Republicans to censure Rep. Rashida Tlaib on Tuesday night.

www.foxnews.com

Meaningless fingerwag.

Nothing more.

 

[Kyle]

House approves bill slashing Pete Buttigieg's salary to $1

Secretary Buttigeig inquired "Who do you have to blow to get a paycheck around here?"

 

[GURPS]

Grassley letter shows pathetic DOJ desperate to hide Biden corruption​

In a bombshell letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and FBI Director Christopher Wray, Sen. Chuck Grassley alleges that top Justice and FBI officials repeatedly, over the course of years, moved to shut down investigations into the Biden family.

Grassley says more than 40 confidential sources provided “criminal information” related to Hunter Biden and others in the clan to the FBI — with those cases rapidly closed, largely because of bogus findings that it was all “foreign disinformation.”

Per the senator, the FBI’s Washington Field Office’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act squad began investigating Mykola Zlochevsky, the owner of Ukrainian natural gas company Burisma Holdings in January 2016 — when Joe Biden was still vice president.

In 2017, a source referred to Hunter Biden being on the board of Burisma, which “the handling agent deemed at the time non-relevant information to the ongoing criminal financial case,” Grassley notes.

 

[GURPS]

Senate Republicans Launch Investigation Into Justice Department for Spying on Congressional Staffers​

Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are reportedly delving deeper into allegations that the Justice Department conducted a number of covert surveillance operations on congressional staffers during the period when the agency was embroiled in the Trump-Russia investigation hoax. An exclusive by the Washington Examiner reports:

Senate Judiciary Committee Republicans are investigating allegations the Justice Department spied on congressional staffers while they probed the agency, including during its handling of the Trump-Russia inquiry, the Washington Examiner has learned.

Virginia-based whistleblower firm Empower Oversight said in a late October Freedom of Information Act request to the DOJ that its founder, Jason Foster, former chief investigative counsel to ex-Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), was notified on Oct. 19, 2023, that the agency in 2017 subpoenaed Google for records on Foster's telephone and email accounts, as well as those of other House and Senate staffers. Now, Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX), Mike Lee (R-UT), and Grassley are demanding the DOJ turn over a trove of documents on these allegations, which they wrote in a Monday letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland demonstrate "executive branch overreach."

"We write to express deep concern regarding recent revelations that the Department of Justice engaged in a campaign of covert surveillance of the personal communications of attorneys advising congressional oversight committees," the senators wrote to Garland in the letter, first obtained by the Washington Examiner. "The decision by unelected government bureaucrats to investigate the elected congressional representatives and congressional staff trying to hold them accountable is a true attack on our democracy."

The subpoena for the staffers’ records was issued as senators were scrutinizing the FBI's and DOJ's involvement in Crossfire Hurricane, the investigation into false claims that Trump’s 2016 campaign colluded with the Kremlin to influence the outcome of the presidential election.

The Wall Street Journal reported on this revelation in October, highlighting the number of officials who were affected by the DOJ’s actions.

 

[GURPS]

Matt Gaetz Files Ethics Complaint Against Kevin McCarthy For ‘Assaulting’ Tim Burchett​

Republican Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz filed an ethics complaint Tuesday against former Speaker of the House Kevin McCarthy after he and Tennessee Rep. Tim Burchett, who voted to oust McCarthy as speaker, got into a heated altercation after a closed-door GOP meeting.

As McCarthy and Burchett were leaving the closed-door meeting, McCarthy reportedly bumped into the back of Burchett, to which the Tennessee Republican responded by saying, “Hey Kevin, have some guts,” and also called him a “jerk.” Burchett later claimed that he was elbowed in the back and that the incident caught him off guard “because it was a clean shot to the kidneys.”

 

[GURPS]

Jake Tapper DESTROYS Liberal Union Boss Claiming He Was Bullied By GOP Senator With His Own Words!​

 

[GURPS]

The UNION Tool likes to run his mouth

 

[stgislander]

You mean Tapper performed some actual journalism?

 

[GURPS]

I’m sorry. Many of you will be heartbroken over this, but Fox News reported a story yesterday headlined, “Kevin McCarthy to resign from Congress after being ousted as House speaker.” He’s taking his toys and going home. If he can’t be Speaker, he just won’t play at all.



To be fair, McCarthy wrote a whole narcissistic ‘Swan Song’ op-ed for the Wall Street Journal yesterday about his decision. But the Fox story was a lot shorter and more informative.

Kevin’s op-ed offered zero nutritional value. It explained nothing. I suppose the it was nice that its tone was cheerful and upbeat, but why wouldn’t it be? The former Speaker will soon be a vice-president at a big military defense contractor or Merck or someplace, making millions and working from his yacht. You have to read between the lines to discover that Kevin, still sore from his ouster, just jammed his thumb into the GOP’s eye, handing oleaginous Governor Gavin Newsom a special election, to replace Kevin’s vacant republican seat in the narrowly-controlled House.

Oh well. I’ve been intensely frustrated with him at times, and I was happy to see the Speaker position rotate, but I would also have been perfectly happy to see Kevin continue serving as a productive House member representing his California district. Buh bye Kevin.

In a sign of the times, the Fox story pegged Matt Gaetz (R-Fl.) as McCarthy’s “top rival” and credited Matt with “booting” Kevin “from his House speakership position.” Apparently the young, rising Representative also booted Kevin all the way out of Congress.

In terms of political stock, Matt Gaetz is way up, and Kevin McCarthy is down.

☕️ NONSENSE ☙ Thursday, December 7, 2023 ☙ C&C NEWS 🦠

ALERT: Another bomb dropped on the jabs yesterday, and it could be the fatal blow; former Speaker McCarthy quits; and the House Committee publishes major tranche of Biden Bribery evidence.

www.coffeeandcovid.com

 

[GURPS]

“Nancy Pelosi At Least Stuck Around” – Matt Gaetz Responds to Kevin McCarthy’s End of Year Resignation Leaving Republicans With a One Seat Majority​

“This is not an act of patriotism or moving on to the next fight. It is an act of abject selfishness,” Gaetz said of McCarthy’s decision to leave the House before the end of his term. “If he cannot run the place and be Speaker, then he will leave.”

Gaetz added, “Nancy Pelosi, for all her flaws, and there are many, at least stuck around. She didn’t hurt her team by saying, well, if I can’t be the quarterback, I’m just gonna take the ball and go home.”

The Gateway Pundit reported on McCarthy’s Wednesday announcement that he will leave Congress after he was ousted as House Speaker in October by a 216-210 vote. Matt Gaetz filed the Motion to Vacate the Chair, and eight brave MAGA conservatives voted to remove McCarthy after his failure to honor the promises to Republicans that got him elected Speaker in January.

 

[GURPS]

Conservatives Are Mastering the Media War​

Trump managed to drag the media figures into the mud with him–which is not nothing–but Trump’s approach had a downside in that it wasn’t persuasive to people who didn’t already agree with him. People wound up either rooting for Trump or for the media, as if it were a sports event.

His supporters cheered and jeered (I loved watching Trump insult reporters because they richly deserved it), but people in the middle wound up hating both the media and Trump.

A newer generation of conservatives has developed a new strategy for dealing with hostile media, which I think is more devastating. In Canada, we saw Pierre Poilievre absolutely destroy a reporter, not through insulting him or accusing him of anything, but simply by revealing his bias in the most gentle way possible.





[this is EPIC, I want to vote for this guy]










Poilievre’s technique is best tailored to Canadian audiences because they are less inclined to love a good scrap. Still, the principles are the same as in DeSantis’ forcing reporters to defend their ridiculous assertions and in the new clips of Vivek Ramaswamy taking on a Washington Post reporter yesterday and Dasha Burns today.

Vivek was confronted by a Washington Post reporter trying to do the ol’ “gotcha” by framing a question in a way that implies all Republicans are racists. “Do you condemn White Supremacy?” Vivek had none of it and absolutely crushed her by challenging her premises. It was deeply embarrassing for her and on Twitter she is still defending herself, which shows she has lost the battle.







The “Do you condemn White Supremacy?” question wasn’t intended to elicit a genuine response–who, aside from a few people, doesn’t condemn White Supremacy? The point was to suggest that White Supremacy is rampant among the deplorables, and also to imply that it is unique among racisms. Vivek rightly points out that all invidious racism is bad and he condemns all of it, which actually answers the question.

White supremacy, insofar as it is invidious racism, is bad. But “White Supremacy” has been redefined to mean anything that the DEI/CRT mavens want to destroy; then, it is no longer about race but Western culture. Punctuality has been defined as White Supremacy. Speaking English well is now White Supremacy. Capitalism, equality under the law, monogamous marriage, and a whole host of non-racial concepts are now wrapped up in the concept “White Supremacy” and Vivek refused to condemn it all.

 

[GURPS]

Romney and Pro-Migration Senators Try to Revive McConnell’s Border Giveaway​

The establishment backlash on Thursday morning came after the Wednesday admission by Republican Leader Sen. Mitch McConnell that GOP voters and swing voters are increasingly alarmed by President Joe Biden’s ruthless pro-migration economic policy.

“Anger and confusion on Hill as Trump appears to have blown up delicate compromise on immigration — and with it, aid to Ukraine and Israel,” said a tweet from Manu Raju, CNN’s reporter on Capitol Hill.

“Reading the confusion coming from the leader from the border bill puts a lot of question marks in my mind about where we’re going from here,” said Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT), who later insisted to CNN that everything is back on track:

The ambiguity that was around for the last few hours has been clarified for all of us. [McConnell] is fully behind the border bill, fully behind the support for Ukraine, and is not going to let political considerations of any campaign stand in the way of his support … Leader McConnell removed any question about his support. He said he is fully supportive of the border bill as he indicated for the last several weeks.

Democrats bitterly blamed Donald Trump for the breakdown. “We don’t live in a world today in which one person inside the Republican Party holds so much power that they could stop a bipartisan bill,” said Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT), the Democrats’ chief negotiator. “I’m just gonna keep my head down — I’m working with [Republican] partners who want to deal,” he added.

 

[GURPS]

WATCH: Louisiana Senator John Kennedy Embarrasses Clueless Biden Judicial Nominee Who Bombs Two Basic Legal Questions​

Senator John Kennedy (R-LA) is a national treasure with an incisive wit and a dry sense of humor. He has displayed these talents throughout his time in the Senate, whether by stumping unqualified Biden nominees or in interviews with reporters.

Kennedy’s wit was on display again Wednesday when he questioned Robin M. Meriweather before the Senate Judiciary Committee, who is currently a federal magistrate judge for the United States District Court for the District of Columbia. Joe Biden nominated her to be a judge on the Court of Federal Claims earlier this month.

Kennedy exposed Meriweather’s utter lack of qualifications during his line of inquiry. He began by forcing her to admit she had never argued a single case before the Court of Federal Claims after multiple tries.

Then things got even worse for Meriweather. She bombed two basic questions a law student could answer. The first was the grounds for granting a new trial, and the second was defining a contract of cohesion. After much prodding from Kennedy, she could only name one of at least six grounds for granting a new trial and was left completely bamboozled by the second question.

This whole six-minute interrogation was a complete mismatch.

 

[GURPS]

Sen. Hawley Humiliates Mark Zuckerberg For Lying About How Big Tech Hurts Kids​

Republican Sen. Josh Hawley forced Meta CEO and Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg to publicly apologize to the families of children victimized by his company’s addictive algorithms and practices.

During opening remarks to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday, Zuckerberg, who is on the record as encouraging his kids to play outside instead of use screens, falsely claimed social media doesn’t damage many kids’ happiness and health.

“Mental health is a complex issue, and the existing body of scientific work has not shown a causal link between using social media and young people having more mental health outcomes,” Zuckerberg said.

 

[GURPS]

Republican Delivers Verbal BEATDOWN On CNN Anchor SPAMMING Anti Trump Gotcha Questions!​

 

[GURPS]

 

[GURPS]

Ron Johnson Says McConnell’s ‘Top Priority’ Was Ukraine Aid, Not the Border​

“My suggestion was to tie funding specifically to border metrics…that [Biden] has to continue to get those numbers down as he gets, let’s say $5 billion dollars a month,” Johnson said.

“Unbeknownst to us, Leader McConnell told his chief negotiator, James Lankford, the border metrics threshold … that enforcement mechanism wasn’t even on the table,” he said.

Johnson said McConnell’s failure to tie Ukraine aid to border metrics “is why a lot of us are really speaking out against Leader McConnell, and his ham handed approach creating this debacle, quite honestly, for the American public in not extracting border security out of this Ukraine deal.”

Johnson said McConnell “just betrayed all of us and didn’t even put that on the table. ”

“Why not? Because top priority was getting funding for Ukraine,” he said.

 

[GURPS]

Super Cool That 'Principled' House GOP Majority Gave a Seat to the Dems​

Seriously though, it's valid to wonder if Republicans in Congress (either chamber) ever ponder the long-term consequences of any of their actions. There are far too many petty ego squabbles and media suck-up opportunities to be dealt with every day to worry about things like, say, the survival of the Republic. As long as everyone still has their invitations to the right Beltway happy hours at the end of the day, all is well.

Reading about their antics makes me feel sleep-deprived even after a great night's rest.

I have been expressing my irritation with the House Republicans' ouster of George Santos since the day it happened. We are at such a critical and fragile juncture that I'm willing to overlook a host of personal foibles in any politician who will vote the way we Constitution-loving folks want him to. A host of foibles, I tell you.

People who disagree with me will no doubt say that George Santos's wrongdoings were well beyond the level of foibles. Let's just say that my definition foible when considering the behavior of people on my side will be greatly expanded during for the duration of this constitutional peril.

The principled Republicans who wanted to stomp their feet and harumph for the media while booting Santos from their ranks pulled off a pathetic self-own in the process: they stopped a three-year win streak for the GOP on Long Island. Rick covered the story:

Former New York 3rd District Congressman Tom Suozzi won the special election to replace Republican George Santos, giving the Democrats a rare victory in New York's Nassau County. Suozzi received 54% of the vote to GOP state legislator Mazi Pilip's 46%.
Suozzi defeated Pilip during a snowstorm on Long Island that almost certainly tamped down the Republican vote total. Democrats had turned out in large numbers during early voting and Pilip couldn't get the Nassau County GOP turnout machine into full gear.

After 40 years of conservative activism and Republican elections, I can honestly say that I don't remember one where the GOP's always anemic Get Out the Vote efforts were a game-changer. Given that, I'm somewhat skeptical that the snowstorm lost this one for the Grand Old Party.