Monthly Archives: June 2024

Importantly, Cannon has not ruled on both sides. Cannon processed pretrial motions at a glacial pace, threw out portions of the case, showed an unfaltering compliance to all of Trumps time-wasting requests, and even indefinitely postponed the actual trial. Last week, it was reported that Cannon refused calls from senior federal judges to hand off the classified documents case, signaling her insistence on keeping the high-profile case on her desk. This week, she has brought the trial to a complete standstill so Trumps lawyers can play out a hearing over the validity of special counsel Jack Smiths appointment.

Faulkner also weighed in on criticism of Cannon. Well, they dont want a judge whos actually going to look at this from a fresh perspective, and follow the justice and the legal systems rules on this, she said, arguing that attacks on the Trump-appointed judge went all the way to the White House and the presidents campaign team.

From a group of people, liberal media, who said, you know, you cant pick on women, they fall to the woman card, the race card, yet they pick on who they need to pick on, she said. When Cannon had announced the hearing into Smiths appointment, the left lost its mind, and this is proof of that. I wish they were classier at it, but theyre not.

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Trump-Backed Candidates Flop Big-Time in Several Republican Primaries - The New Republic

COLUMBIA The last remaining Republican woman in the state Senate is fighting to keep her seat in a primary runoff Tuesday with a former legislators son.

The opposition to Sen. Katrina Shealy has centered on her votes over the last two years on banning abortions in South Carolina, when she joined with her fellow sister senators to help block a near-total ban and ultimately voted against the law that made it illegal past six weeks of pregnancy.

Her challengers have cited Shealys abortion votes in casting the Senates lone female chairwoman as no longer conservative. And Personhood South Carolina, a group pushing to ban all abortions, is working to oust her.

This has been the most negative race that Ive ever run in, Shealy told the SC Daily Gazette of the primary.

Yet, despite a nasty re-election race that has seen protesters outside her church, giant billboards and a website that call her a liar, and even a broken back window, Shealy stands by all of her votes.

Ideally, she said, shed prefer a state law that bans abortions after the actual heartbeat of a fetus can be heard, while keeping exceptions for victims of rape or incest and to save the mothers life.

The states so-called fetal heartbeat law is a misnomer, as it bans abortions as soon as an ultrasound detects cardiac activity. What the ultrasound detects at six weeks are electrical impulses in a growing embryo, not the pumping of a fetus developed heart, which doesnt happen until at least nine weeks.

Shealys runoff challenger, attorney Carlisle Kennedy, supports the six-week ban, according to his campaign website. Its unclear how he would vote in next years renewed GOP push for a ban from the outset of pregnancy. The former prosecutor, in his first bid for elected office, did not respond to multiple requests from the SC Daily Gazette.

We need younger people, a new generation of leadership to step up and take the reins, he told the Gazette in April after filing to challenge Shealy. I believe she has been in the Columbia swamp too long.

While Shealy didnt vote with most Republicans on the six-week law, shes been instrumental in passing other legislation on the GOP agenda, said Senate Majority Leader Shane Massey, explaining why his caucus is spending money to keep Shealy in the upper chamber.

The campaign against Katrina Shealy has tried to paint her as squishy and ineffective, and the reality is the exact opposite, said Massey, R-Edgefield. Theres nothing about Katrina Shealy that is weak. Shes a fighter, and were trying to make sure everybody understands how important and effective shes been.

Republicans have had a very successful four-year Senate term, he continued, rattling off a list that includes a $1 billion income tax cut and taxpayer-funded scholarships for private K-12 tuition. Those big-ticket conservative wins would not have happened without Katrina Shealy.

In the June 11 primary, the chairwoman of the Senate Family and Veterans Services Committee picked up 40% of the vote in a three-way contest for the District 23 seat thats entirely in ruby red Lexington County.

Kennedy, the son of former state Rep. Ralph Kennedy, trailed her in the primary at 36%. The third candidate in the race, former missionary and conservative activist Zoe Warren, has endorsed Kennedy for the runoff. Others backing Kennedy include state Rep. R.J. May of Lexington, a founder of the hardline Freedom Caucus in the House, which is looking to expand into the state Senate.

Shealys other supporters include her predecessor, former state GOP Sen. Jake Knotts.

Twelve years ago, Shealy defeated Knotts as a petition candidate after a lawsuit from his supporters challenging a campaign filing technicality resulted in Shealy and hundreds of other candidates statewide being tossed off primary ballots. Shealy was the lone petition candidate to win a Statehouse seat.

Now, hes broadcasting his support for Shealy with a campaign sign in his yard.

Shes doing a pretty good job, Knotts told the SC Daily Gazette, adding he doesnt know Kennedy at all.

He applauds her for voting against a total ban. Republicans who argue abortions should never be legal, even in cases of rape or incest or when the mothers life is in jeopardy, dont make sense, he said.

In those scenarios, my daughters and my wife are going to win every time, said Knotts, who has two daughters and a granddaughter.

Shealy said that some of the negativity from the race spilled into actual harassment in the runup to the primary. She is not, however, accusing Kennedy of being behind it.

Somebody did slit my tire at church because there was a razor blade. We got the razor blade out of it, she said. Things like that, you know somebody did, but you cant prove who did it.

Shealy did not report the slit tire to police, but she did file a police report after a window in her home was broken. According to the April 19 report from the Lexington County Sheriffs Department, the window was broken from the outside. Shealy thinks someone shot the window with a pellet gun.

Shealy is the longest serving woman in the Senate. When she was elected in 2012, she was the only female in the 46-member chamber.

The Senates two other GOP women definitely wont return next year. In the June 11 primary, freshman Sen. Penry Gustafson, R-Camden, was trounced by an overwhelming margin, while Sen. Sandy Senn, R-Charleston, lost by just 33 votes.

All three GOP women attracted challengers with their abortion votes last year. But Shealy said the attacks on her went too far.

Theyre throwing crazy things up on billboards like, Im not pro-life. Im a baby-killer, Thats just a lie, said Shealy, pointing to her record of advocating for children and families. Ive done more for children in South Carolina than any other legislator.

Personhood South Carolina has been particularly vocal, labeling Shealy, Senn and Gustafson sisters for death a phrase Shealy called childish putting up a website calling Shealy a liar and no longer pro-life, and buying other ads.

The group was founded in 2015 by state Sen. Richard Cash, R-Powdersville, whose main issue is banning abortions. But he told the Gazette that he resigned from the organization the day before being sworn in as a senator in a special election in 2017. The current leadership of the organization could not be reached for comment.

Shealy is proud of her record and says it has allowed her to gain the support of a broad range of elected officials including conservative fellow state senators like Josh Kimbrell and Shane Martin, state Attorney General Alan Wilson and U.S. Sen. Tim Scott.

She has several legislative proposals that she hopes to continue working on if re-elected, including a bill on domestic violence. But she knows there will be a renewed push for banning abortions from the outset of pregnancy.

Were getting over the top here with what were doing to women, Shealy said.

On his website, Kennedy lists a typical list of Republican priorities business friendly policies, backing law enforcement, defending gun rights, securing the border. But he thinks his outsider status will help shake things up.

In his campaign, Kennedy has emphasized his long family history with Lexington County. His website includes a whole page laying out his family history in the area back to 1750 and highlights the next generation of his family Kennedy and his wife are expecting their first child.

With a baby on the way, the stakes for me are personally higher than ever, his website reads. Im running to safeguard the freedoms and rights we cherish today for the sake of our unborn child and all future generations.

Shealy has far outraised Kennedy, with over $200,000 total as of a pre-primary election filing. Kennedy raised almost $22,000, and took out a $50,000 bank loan as well as loaning the campaign almost $10,000 of his personal funds.

SC Daily Gazette Editor Seanna Adcox contributed to this report.

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GOP runoff will decide if SC keeps any of the Republican 'sister senators' SC Daily Gazette - South Carolina Daily Gazette

Republican legislative leadership filed a brief earlier this week with the Montana Supreme Court requesting the court overturn a temporary block placed on two housing bills by a lower court.

In the amicus, or friend of the court brief, the lawmakers say the court should do away with the temporary hold on the bills passed through the 2023 legislature because the courts overstepped the legislatures authority, weighing in on policy choices using unsupported or contested factual assertions and speculative opinions.

Legislative authority has been at the center of several lawsuits Republican state legislators have brought in recent months, with claims the judicial system has not been fairly considering laws passed by the legislature. Plaintiffs in the case, Montanans Against Irresponsible Densification (MAID), see this as a weak argument that isnt persuasive, but another amicus party, Institute for Justice, said the court is blocking legislation intended to combat the immediate housing crisis in Montana.

The two laws in question were part of a four-bill housing package signed into law by Republican Gov. Greg Gianforte. Senate Bill 323, sponsored by Sen. Jeremy Trebas, R-Great Falls, gives permission for duplex housing to go on land zoned for single-family housing. Senate Bill 528 sponsored by Sen. Greg Hertz, R-Polson, adjusts zoning regulations to allow for accessory dwelling units on single-family homes .

Gallatin County District Court Judge Michael Salvagni issued the preliminary injunction on the bills in December, saying the laws were contradictory, confusing and did not involve the public in the process. The state later appealed the injunction to the Supreme Court.

In their filing submitted Monday, Republican leaders pushed back on Salvagnis order, saying the bills went through the legislative process, which included public hearings.

Republicans also said MAID did not have a legitimate constitutional challenge because they were dissatisfied with the laws that passed.

The leaders said Salvagnis order mentioning the effectiveness of the legislation had no judicial remedy as no judge may substitute his or her personal judgment for that of the legislature.

It is wholly inappropriate to declare legislative policies ineffective and therefore inoperable in advance of carrying out those policies, the filing read. Furthermore, if the policy choices prove ineffective once implemented, the Legislature may revisit those choices next session or in any session where stakeholders prevail upon the body to so act.

Attorney James Goetz with MAID said in an interview the brief was unpersuasive and makes pretty garden-variety comments on separation of powers at sort of a high-school level.

They keep making this kind of argument in the kind of general abstract way, he said.

Goetz said the filing is also late in the game as both sides have already submitted their filings to the Supreme Court.

Attorney Ari Bargil with Institute for Justice, one of the other amicus parties, said in a statement the laws that are being blocked by the courts intend to help Montanas housing affordability crisis.

By eliminating some of these zoning barriers, they return to citizens the right to use their properties to add much-needed housing stock and bring down costs, Bargil said in an email. We look forward to a decision from the Montana Supreme Court that vindicates Montanans property rights and rejects the challengers case for what it isanother attempt to exclude.

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Republican legislative leadership files amicus brief in housing bill lawsuit Daily Montanan - Daily Montanan

This is a developing story.

After a disastrous election night for party-endorsed candidates, and amid lingering anger over anti-LGBTQ Pride emails, efforts are moving forward to try to oust embattled Colorado GOP chair Dave Williams.

The vice chair of the El Paso County Republican Party submitted a petition Wednesday calling for a special meeting by the partys central committee to vote on Williams removal. To force action, the petition includes the signatures of at least a quarter of central committee members.

Hope Scheppelman, Vice Chair of the party, confirmed that if the Executive Committee finds the petition has enough valid signatures, the removal vote will be put on the agenda for a special meeting on August 31.

Williams has been dogged by criticism since being elected chair in the spring of 2022. Hes tried to move the party to the right, taking the exceptional move of publicly criticizing Republican candidates and office holders. This spring the party broke with its long-standing tradition of neutrality in contested primaries by endorsing candidates who gave the right answers on a party questionnaire.

On Tuesday, voters issued a stinging rebuke to that policy, rejecting 14 out of 16 of the candidates who received the party endorsement. That included Williams himself, who had the partys backing for his primary run in Congressional District 5. He lost by a two-to-one margin.

On election night, Williams Republican opponents were gleeful about his defeat and optimistic he might also be forced out as party chair.

I think if he has half a brain, he should resign, said state Senator Larry Liston. He needs to not only resign, but quite frankly he's a bigot and he should move out of the state of Colorado.

Liston handily survived a primary challenge from a GOP-endorsed opponent.

CPR reached out to Williams and other members of Colorado Republican Party leadership for comment and did not immediately hear back.

Williams opponents stepped up their calls for his removal after social media posts and emails earlier this month attacking Pride Month and calling on people to burn all the pride flags.

That effort has divided party members though. After Jefferson County chair Nancy Pallozzi started circulating a petition for Williams ouster, other members of the county party voted to censure her and barred her from publicly speaking about the issue.

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Colorado Republican party officials begin process to try to remove chair Dave Williams - Colorado Public Radio

LAWRENCE Republican Chad Youngs congressional campaign is based on his idea of being a patriot, abolishing anything big including multiple federal agencies and completely eliminating taxes.

Young is the founder of the Life Skills Programs a nonprofit for troubled youths in his hometown of Rogers, Arkansas, with a second location in Pratt. Young has lived in Lawrence on and off for two years and is seeking the GOP nomination in a crowded 2nd District race.

Young defines a patriot as a constitutionalist who supports freedom of the people, regardless of gender, sexuality, or race.

I think its very important to have different perspectives and look at how we can grow as a nation, Young said. We dont know one another.

One perspective he wont accept is that of a tyrant. Young believes that very few of the politicians we have in place are not tyrants, citing those who would turn against the Second and Fourth amendments as examples. He idolizes the unity brought to America by former Presidents John F. Kennedy and Ronald Reagan, as well as civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr.

Our government has become the peoples enemy, Young said. We have to stop that.

How? According to Young, mainly by abolishing things.

We need to abolish things like the IRS, abolish the Federal Reserve, abolish the FBI, abolish the CIA, Young said. Those are not peaceful ways for the people. Those are the enemies of the people.

He wants to get rid of taxes, completely. Young said we would fund things like roads the same way we did 100 years ago we would just do it.

Were strengthening the people by letting them become thinkers of themselves, Young said. Critical thinking is the No. 1 way to free us from the slavery the government has put us in.

Next on his list of things to abolish is the education system. Young wants to redirect our education from what Young views as Standard Oil founder John D. Rockefellers idea. Rockefeller supported vocational school and higher education, something critics like Young say is molding a workforce that serves the interests of the rich. Young also blames destroyed big pharma on Rockefeller.

I want you to be free and not have to take these drugs theyre forcing on you, Young said. Theres natural drugs out there that actually work.

He also wants to get rid of big government: Anything big. Get rid of.

There are some things he doesnt want to abolish like Jesus.

Jesus needs to be brought first of all to the foundation of America, Young said.

He also wants to establish term limits and lower the age requirements to run for Congress. Under the Constitution, candidates must be 25 years old to serve in the U.S. House or 30 for the U.S. Senate.

I think younger people ought to start getting in Congress, Young said.

Young is passionate about sentencing sex crime perpetrators to life in prison. This is a passion that transcends politics for Young, which is why he started the Life Skills Program. Young works with others to teach boxing and provide direction to the kids who participate in the program.

Young said he had a challenging childhood that resulted in aggressive behavior. But with the guidance of a boxing coach, he said, he learned to manage and control his aggression.

I can really give them direction and what they need, because I was one of those children, Young said. I was battered, beaten, severely molested, raped. I dont know what you want to call that, but almost demonic. But growing up, you know, through my teens I was very standoffish because of what happened was likely that I became a little bit violent.

Young is running against four other Republicans in the primaries former Kansas Attorney General Derek Schmidt, former congressional aide Jeff Kahrs, cattleman Shawn Tiffany, and Topeka resident Michael Ogle. Kahrs, Tiffany and Ogle didnt respond to a request to comment for this story.

Kansans know that Derek Schmidt has always stood tall for our conservative values, Schmidts campaign team said in a statement to Kansas Reflector. Hell be a conservative leader we can be proud of in Congress.

This is Youngs first run for public office, but he said it wont be his last.

Ill run again, he said, and again, and again, and again. Till its done.

Excerpt from:

Republican congressional candidate plans to abolish taxes, agencies and 'anything big' Kansas Reflector - Kansas Reflector

You know whats more embarrassing than Trump? The average white American man. Think Ohio Senator JD Vance and House Speaker Mike Johnsonwho are upset about divorces.Late Millennials and Gen Xers with an axe to grind about their own parents' failings. Vances mother married at least three times. Johnson, who was the product of a teen pregnancy, saw his parents divorce as well. But, I digress.

Congress.gov

House Speaker Mike Johnson of Louisiana

Congress.gov

Ohio Senator JD Vance

No, actually I dont.

Now I hear the chorus of Not All rising. Yea, there are some good ones. I married one, but even he has his struggles.

Then, there are the JD Vances and Mike Johnsons who want to trap poor unsuspecting trad wives into marriages that leave them knocked up and financially dependent, in what I call a serious eww brotha eww moment. If you dont know what that means, look up the sound byte and put JD Vances face on it.

Fuck these guys. The destruction of their family structure had nothing to do with the ease of divorce, but probably everything to do with the guys they revere and call, dad.

Apparently there is a growing group of wait for it Republican men who want to make getting a divorce harder. You guessed it, Vance and Johnson are singing that tired, childhood trauma dirge loud and clear instead of seeking therapy.

Its this kind of projection that too many men, particularly white Republican men get trapped in.

Never has it been more obvious that Republicans have jumped the shark past Reagan than right now. The twice-married Reagan signed the first no-fault divorce bill into law as Governor of California in 1969.

And to make this bid to snare women into tragic unhappiness and baby production more ridiculous, they want the thrice-married, multi-extramarital-affairs cad Trump as their leader.

We are living in very stupid times, people.

My question to Republican voters is, what do you really stand for? Dont say American values because what does that mean? If its about the American family, who is the blueprint because it cant be Trump, can it?

If its about fiscal conservatism, how do you explain tax dollars funding silly fights like abortion that keeps tax dollars funneling into legal fights when it would be cheaper to fund healthcare without limits.

It cant be about religion because most of these folks talk a lot about God but do the very opposite of the teachings.

So please tell me? What is it?

Heres my guess. You dont even know yourself, and I know why.

Have you heard of the game Three Card Monte? Its a game where cards or a ball under a cup gets shuffled around while you try to guess where your card or the ball is.

Thats the Republican platform.

Modern Republicans have no actual intention of helping American people or families, but they will shuffle the cards of manufactured rage and get you all angry about abortion, immigration, or family values but never actually tell you what those are.

Youre never going to guess where the ball is.

Remember when being a Republican meant something?

It wasnt a party for whiners but people who actually stood for something identifiable. Reagan did it. George Bush, Sr. did it but somewhere the messaging got lost in the foolery.

Its been a long time coming. Nixon got it started when he hopped in the cesspool of the Southern Strategy and Reagan sealed it when he cupped the fuzzy balls of evangelical ministers.

Now the Republican party is every bit as stupid as predicted, maybe more. I dont think most folks who identify with that R want to be perceived that way though.

To be fair, and with some bit of compassion, I get why these folks are hanging on to this mess of a party. It isnt about any of those values, immigration, or abortions.

Its about the past and sadly, its a past that wont ever return and the people who should be speaking for them are zealots with attention deficits and mommy/daddy issues.

But what about our guns.

Its the ball again, sorry folks. Its bait to keep you strung out on this stupid carnival ride. Im definitely not trying to convince you to become a Democrat, thats another fucking mess in itself but I would like to urge you to think bigger than what youre being fed by these people.

Think past them. What is the America you want? Write it down. Does your dream match theirs?

Do they even tell you what they want and how they will actually get you there?

If it's a series of rage bombs, Im just going to say to you, thats a big ass red flag and this relationship is a doom spiral.

If this is a story about divorce it is and it isntAmerica needs to divorce Republicans.

BTW, Vance and Johnson, here's a tune by a woman to heal your hurt little man souls.

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[Editor's Note] The 'R' In Spiral: Divorce The Republican Party - Louisville Eccentric Observer (LEO Weekly)

Representative Lauren Boebert, the MAGA lightning rod who switched districts in Colorado to avoid being ousted from the House, won a crowded Republican primary on Tuesday in a conservative area of the state, all but ensuring that she will serve another two years in Congress.

Ms. Boebert, a two-term Republican, overcame multiple challengers in the eastern plains of Colorado, nearly guaranteeing that she will prevail over her Democratic rival in November in the solidly red Fourth Congressional District. The Associated Press called the race for her less than half an hour after polls closed as she led by a wide margin.

An outspoken right-wing lawmaker, Ms. Boebert first won her seat in 2020 after upsetting an incumbent Republican in a primary. She made a name for herself with strong pro-gun views, packing a Glock on her hip and encouraging staff at her now closed restaurant to openly carry handguns. In Congress, she has become known for her strident MAGA views and has become entangled in a series of personal scrapes, including being ejected from a Denver theater in a lascivious episode that was caught on closed-circuit camera.

Facing a strong Democratic threat in the sprawling western Colorado district where she was first elected, Ms. Boebert chose to relocate to eastern Colorado to give herself a better chance of remaining in the House and it appears to have worked.

The seat was vacated earlier this year by Ken Buck, a Republican who left Congress before the end of his term and will be replaced temporarily by Greg Lopez, a Republican former mayor of Parker who won a separate special election on Tuesday. Ms. Boebert did not run in the special election, since that would have required her giving up her current seat, cutting into the thin Republican majority.

Former President Donald J. Trump endorsed her, and her national profile helped her raise significantly more money than her five primary opponents, who split the anti-Boebert vote and enabled her victory despite claims that she was carpetbagging by suddenly changing her residence.

Ms. Boebert narrowly won re-election in her original district in 2022 by just over 500 votes and would have again faced a challenge from Adam Frisch, a Democrat who made the race close two years ago with little outside help. This go-round, he was drawing strong financial support from Democrats who saw a chance to oust Ms. Boebert.

Now, with Ms. Boebert gone, Democrats are hoping to pick up the seat she now holds in the conservative district, which includes high-end ski resorts as well as energy facilities and working ranches. Democrats boosted a right-wing conservative in a crowded primary there, gambling that a far-right Republican might be easier for Mr. Frisch to defeat in November.

But the effort came up short when Jeff Hurd, a Grand Junction lawyer, won the Republican nomination on Tuesday, giving the party establishment the candidate it preferred against Mr. Frisch.

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Boebert Wins a Crowded Primary After Swapping Districts in Colorado - The New York Times