Tag: Republican members of Congress

Politicians who hate government give government a bad name

Texas cold snap lays bare hypocrisy of GOP’s limited-government mantra

Ronald Reagan, considered a secular saint before, during and after his two presidential terms by many in the Republican Party, an actor-turned-politician who also served as California’s governor, was famous for his stated disdain of the thing he spent much of his life doing: “The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’” 

Of course, his administration’s tax cuts were plenty helpful for high earners, but it certainly made for a catchy sound bite. And it became a guiding philosophy for his, and now Trump’s, Republican Party.

And that brings us to the culmination of the effort to paint any government acting competently with a dash of compassion as evil — Texas, the Lone Star State that went it alone. We all saw how that worked out. When a cold snap broke the state, exposing glaring failures in everything from its independent energy grid to its power and water systems, the state’s leaders were either ghosts — escaping to Mexico for a vacation, in the case of Sen. Ted Cruz, or to Utah, where state Attorney General Ken Paxton traveled — or defiant apologists. Continue reading.

Minnesota’s Republican Members of Congress Partly to Blame for Violence in D.C.

SAINT PAUL, MINNESOTA – Today, Minnesota DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin condemned Minnesota’s Republican congressional delegation for fueling the baseless conspiracy theories around the 2020 election that are at the heart of the numerous violent protesters taking place on the steps of the United States Capitol.

“For months, Congressmen Stauber, Emmer, Hagedorn, and Fischbach have been fueling the fires of conspiracy and paranoia that now threaten to engulf our nation’s Capitol,” said DFL Party Chairman Ken Martin. “Each of Minnesota Republican members of Congress has worked to sow distrust in the American electoral process and each of Minnesota’s Republican members of Congress bears responsibility for the violence their actions have helped unleash.”

One month after the presidential election results came in, none of Minnesota’s Republican members of Congress were willing to declare President-elect Biden the rightful winner of that election, a sentiment shared by Congresswoman-elect Fischbach. 

In December, Congressmen Stauber, Emmer, and Hagedorn signed an amicus brief in support of a lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to overturn the results of the 2020 elections. Stauber claimed, without offering any evidence, that he did so because there were “questions on the integrity of this presidential election” that needed to be addressed. Today, Congresswoman Michelle Fischbach said she would object to certifying the results of the presidential election.

Following numerous clashes with law enforcement, Republican-aligned protesters have breached the United States Capitol and are engaged in an armed standoff with law enforcement at the door to the House chamber. Members of Congress and staff have been asked to evacuate their offices and one member even received a bomb threat.

“The sustained attack on the integrity of our democracy by Representatives Fischbach, Stauber, Emmer, and Hagedorn has done serious harm to our ability to function as a nation and resolve our differences peacefully via the ballot box,” added Martin. “Today is one of the darkest days I have witnessed. Donald Trump poured the gasoline and Republican leaders lit the match that ignited this dark time in our history. I pray our nation can recover from the wounds inflicted on us by cowardly politicians who would sooner incite violence and sedition than stand up for American democracy and the rule of law.”