Tag: GOP

Hacked emails list right-wing fundraiser partying with Russian fascists and oligarchs

Hacked emails list a vice president at the right-wing Bradley Foundation as partying with Russian fascists and oligarchs,some of whom are now sanctioned by tje US. Credit: Diana Ofosu

A new database of hacked emails reveals attendance at a 2014 gala in Russia.

Last month, a new leak site called Distributed Denial of Secrets went live, compiling a cache of hacked emails and documents of Russian officials, confidants of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, and those steering Russian interference efforts.

Among the revelations: A higher-up at the Bradley Foundation, one of the main financiers of right-wing groups in the U.S. — including the Daily Caller News Foundation and anti-immigrant organizations — apparently attended a notorious “pro-family” conference in Russia in 2014, held shortly after Russia began its invasion of Ukraine.

Dan Schmidt, who worked for decades at the Bradley Foundation, was serving as one of the foundation’s vice presidents in 2014. That same year, according to leaked emails, Russian operatives involved in cultivating the American religious right listed him as attending a swanky gala alongside Russian fascists like Alexander Dugin and now-sanctioned Russian oligarchs like Konstantin Malofeev. The emails indicate the gala also included Igor Shchegolev, who was then working as an adviser to Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Sergei Rudov, who helped host leaders of the National Rifle Association (NRA) during the gun group’s notorious 2015 trip to Russia.

View the complete January 30 article by Casey Michel on the ThinkProgress website here.

RNC Chair Trolled Over Hugely Deceptive Tweet: ‘I Am Dumber For Reading This’

“Ronnnnnnaaaaa, you gotta be kidding me.”

Republican National Committee Chair Ronna McDaniel faced a wave of social media backlash for touting deceptive unemployment statistics in an effort to bash former President Barack Obama and praise President Donald Trump.

On Friday, McDaniel tweeted what she dubbed “a 10-year challenge you haven’t seen before,” featuring a comparison of the numbers from 2009 and 2019, with Obama’s face on one side and Trump’s on the other.

The chairwoman was probably correct in calling it something Twitter hadn’t yet seen, given that the numbers being pinned on Obama existed less than a week into his presidency and were instead reflective of the crippling recession that was already underway. Furthermore, that economic downturn began in 2007 under the presidency of George W. Bush, a Republican.

View the complete January 28 article by Amy Russo on the Huffington Post website here.

All About That Base

President Donald Trump, pictured here with (from left) John Barrasso, John Thune, Mike Pence, Roy Blunt and Mitch McConnell,. Credit: Alex Brandon, AP Photo

Republicans in Congress are sticking with President Trump to please party loyalists, but that could cost them in future elections.

HIS APPROVAL RATINGS are abysmal. Americans overwhelmingly blame him for the government shutdown. A special prosecutor’s investigation has resulted in prison terms for several of his administration and campaign operatives, and may result in more. Cabinet secretaries have been forced to resign, other top officials have left in protest, and Democrats who just regained power on Capitol Hill are talking impeachment. Foreign allies are exasperated with him.

On paper, President Donald Trump ought to have the least amount of political capital in modern presidential history. The approval numbers alone would normally lead members of Congress to avoid the president like he’s a communicable virus.

But Trump, entering the second half of his first term, retains a remarkable level of control over his party, even among those he has personally – and publicly – insulted. The extraordinary dynamic is making it even harder for Congress and the White House to come to some kind of agreement to end the punishing, monthlong government shutdown that is now imperiling everything from housing assistance to farmer support to federal tax refunds.

View the complete January 25 artile by Susan Milligan on The U.S. News and World Report website here.

GOP maps out early 2020 strategy to retake House

Republicans are crafting an early strategy to take back the House in 2020, zeroing in on districts carried by President Trump that recently flipped to Democrats and starting a recruitment process that will have a heavy emphasis on female candidates.

After losing 40 GOP-held seats in the 2018 midterm elections, House Republicans will need to rebound in many of the suburban districts where Trump remains unpopular among some college-educated and female voters — this time with the president at the top of the ticket.

The National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) will target the 31 Democrats running in Trump districts, especially several seats they view as most ripe for the taking: freshman Reps. Kendra Horn (D-Okla.) and Joe Cunningham (D-S.C.), who shocked the political world with upset victories in GOP strongholds.

View the complete January 15 article by Lisa Hagen and Max Greenwood on The Hill website here.

Trump’s week of tumult shakes many in GOP

One of the most tumultuous weeks in President Trump’s turbulent two years in office has turned up the spotlight on divisions between the White House and Republicans — particularly on foreign policy.

Trump in the last week has announced the removal of all U.S. troops from Syria and a reduction in the U.S. presence in Afghanistan, two decisions that represented a reversal from more than a decade of GOP strategy in the war against terrorism. The top U.S. envoy in the fight against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) resigned.

The decisions on Syria and Afghanistan contributed to Defense Secretary James Mattis’s resignation — a move that rattled lawmakers in both parties who had long seen the respected general as a calming or even stabilizing influence on an administration viewed at times as erratic.

View the complete December 24 article by Jordain Carney on The Hill website here.

Anger, confusion greet Trump’s surprise decision on Syria

Senate Republicans uncharacteristically lashed out at President Trump on Wednesday for announcing a sudden and immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria, a decision that came without consulting Congress and seemed to catch the Pentagon off guard.

Several lawmakers said Congress received no advance notice of Trump’s announcement, leaving them fuming and scratching their heads.

“I don’t know what they’ve done, but this is chaos,” Sen. Lindsey Graham(R-S.C.), a staunch Trump ally and Armed Services Committee member, told reporters, adding that he planned to discuss the matter with Defense Secretary James Mattis.

‘Crisis level’: Republican women sound warning after election losses

Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) speaks ahead of President Trump’s signing of a $716 billion defense policy bill named for John McCain at Fort Drum, N.Y., on Aug. 13. (Hans Pennink/AP)

Republicans lost the House in November as droves of female voters spurned the party, a reflection of the gaping gender gap. The election devastated the GOP’s already meager group of congresswomen. Almost none of the political survivors will hold positions of power in Congress next year.

Republican women recognize this is a serious problem. It’s unclear whether GOP men agree.

“It’s very painful,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers (Wash.), who championed female candidates for a decade as the only woman in Republican leadership. “We need to make sure that we are growing our ranks.”

View the complete December 16 article by Elise Viebeck and Felicia Sonmez on The Washington Post website here.

Legal experts rip judge’s rationale for declaring Obamacare law invalid

A federal judge in Texas on Dec. 14 ruled the Affordable Care Act is unconstitutional, due to a recent change in federal tax law. (Reuters)

A federal judge’s ruling declaring the entire Affordable Care Act invalid came under harsh attack Saturday from legal analysts who predicted higher courts will reject the rationale as a tortured effort to rewrite not just the law but congressional history.

The ruling in Texas came on the eve of Saturday’s deadline for Americans to sign up for coverage in the federal insurance exchange created by the ACA, more commonly called Obamacare. The judge did not issue any injunction in the case, meaning that in the short term, nothing will change in health-care services or insurance while the courts consider the issue.

The 55-page ruling late Friday from U.S. District Judge Reed O’Connor found the law invalid on the basis of the political and legal history of a few key provisions. O’Connor decided that once Congress repealed the tax penalty that enforced a mandate that most Americans get health insurance, the whole law became invalid.

View the complete December 15 article by Devlin Barrett on The Washington Post website here.

Republicans Own Court Ruling That Would Take Health Care Away From Millions

With Friday’s court ruling, Republicans have come as close as they’ve ever been to destroying the Affordable Care Act. It’s now clear that Republicans lied about protecting people with pre-existing conditions. Republicans are responsible for this threat to Americans’ health care, and will stop at nothing to dismantle the ACA.

The court’s ruling could take health care away from 20 million Americans, and puts as many as 130 million Americans with pre-existing conditions at risk.

Politico: “A federal judge in Texas threw the health coverage of some 20 million Americans in limbo by ruling Obamacare must be scrapped because Congress struck the penalty for failing to obtain insurance coverage.”

CBS News: “Around 130 million people in the United States have pre-existing conditions, and without the ACA, insurers would no longer be required to cover those conditions.” Continue reading “Republicans Own Court Ruling That Would Take Health Care Away From Millions”

The Memo: Allies worry as Trump’s woes mount

Republicans, including some allies of President Trump, are worried that the White House is ill-prepared for the sea of troubles it is facing.

Those concerns were made more acute by two dramatic developments on Tuesday and Wednesday: the president’s stormy meeting with Democratic congressional leaders at which he said he would be “proud” to shut down the government, and his former lawyer Michael Cohen being sentenced to three years in prison.

One GOP operative told The Hill the White House had “zero plan or interest” in developing an approach to deal with a radically changed landscape on Capitol Hill.

View the complete December 13 article by Niall Stanage on The Hill website here.