Parroting Donald Trump, GOP primary losers cast doubt on elections
It was no shock that state Rep. Ron Hanks and Mesa County Clerk Tina Peters handily lost their recent Republican primaries in Colorado for U.S. Senate and secretary of state. Hanks was outspent 14-to-1 by his rival. Peters, who was vying to become Colorado’s top elections official, had been indicted on seven felony charges alleging she helped orchestrate a breach of her voting system’s hard drive. But this past week, both candidates formally requested recounts of their primary elections from June 28, suggesting widespread irregularities seen by no one other than their own campaigns and allies. “I have reasons to believe extensive malfeasance occurred in the June 2022 primary,” Peters wrote in her recount request, “and that the apparent outcome of this election does not reflect the will of Colorado voters not only for myself but also for many other America First statewide and local primary candidates.” America First is a coalition of conservative candidates and officeholders who, among other things, promote the falsehood that Democrat Joe Biden did not win the 2020 presidential election. This idea has seeped deeply into this year’s Republican primaries, which have revealed a new political strategy among numerous candidates: running on a platform that denies President Donald Trump’s defeat two years ago. As some of those candidates lose their own races, they are reaching new frontiers in election denial by insisting that those primaries, too, were rigged. “There’s a clear reason they’re doing it, and it’s a much broader, coordinated attack on the freedom to vote across the country,” said Joanna Lydgate of States United Action. Her group supports election officials who recognize the validity of the 2020 election. Noting that she coaches youth basketball, Lydgate added another reason: “Really, what this is is people who are sore losers, people who don’t want to accept defeat.” The primary losers have an obvious role model: Trump himself. After his first election loss during his 2016 run for the White House, in the Iowa caucuses, Trump baselessly claimed fraud and demanded an investigation. When he was elected president later that year, he claimed that fraud was the reason Democrat Hillary Clinton won more votes than he did. Trump set up a commission to try to prove that. That commission was disbanded when it failed to produce any evidence. After his 2020 defeat, Trump and his supporters lost 63 of 64 legal challenges to the election. Trump continued to blame fraud without evidence, even after his own attorney general and election reviews in the states failed to turn up any widespread wrongdoing that would have any impact on the outcome. This year’s post-primary election denial may be a preview for November when Republicans face Democrats in thousands of races across the country. The GOP is expected to do well — an expectation that could set the stage for more false claims of fraud when some of those candidates lose. Still, some Republicans aren’t waiting for Democratic voters to weigh in before making unsubstantiated fraud claims. Some recent candidates who have done that are relatively marginal ones. In Georgia, Trump’s two recruits to challenge the state’s governor and secretary of state — former Sen. David Perdue and Rep. Jody Hice — admitted defeat after they lost the May primaries. But Kandiss Taylor, a fringe candidate who won only 3% of the primary vote for governor, refused to concede, claiming there was widespread cheating. In South Carolina, Republican Harrison Musselwhite — who goes by Trucker Bob — lost his primary against Gov. Henry McMaster by 66 percentage points. Still, he complained of problems with the election to the state party, as did another losing GOP contender, Lauren Martel, who ran for attorney general. The party rejected their claims. Others who have cried fraud are more prominent. Joey Gilbert, who came in second in the Nevada Republican primary for governor, posted a Facebook video days after the June tally showing him 26,000 votes short. “These elections, the way they’ve been run, it’s like Swiss cheese,” he said. “There’s too many holes.” Gilbert, who attended Trump’s rally near the White House on Jan. 6, 2021, before the riot at the U.S. Capitol, demanded a recount. The results appear unlikely to substantially change the final tally. He did not return messages seeking comment. In Arizona, former newscaster Kari Lake won Trump’s endorsement in her quest for the party’s nomination for governor, insisting that he won the presidency in 2020. This past week, she told supporters that her top opponent in the primary “might be trying to set the stage for another steal” in next month’s primary. That earned her a rebuke from Gov. Doug Ducey, a Republican who has endorsed Lake’s chief rival, Karin Taylor Robson. “The 2022 elections haven’t even been held yet, and already we’re seeing speculation doubting the results – especially if certain candidates lose,” Ducey tweeted. “It’s one of the most irresponsible things I can imagine.” Lake’s campaign did not return messages seeking comment. In Colorado, county clerk Peters immediately questioned the primary results once the tally showed her losing badly in the secretary of state’s race. Claiming fraud as she trailed former county clerk Pam Anderson, a regular debunker of Trump’s election lies, Peters said: “Looking at the results, it’s just so obvious it should be flipped.” She and Senate candidate Hanks repeated Trump’s election lies, a position that had won them strong support last spring at the 3,000-strong GOP state assembly, a convention attended by the party’s strongest activists. Both candidates, in letters to the secretary of state’s office this past week demanding a recount, cited that support in explaining why they could not have lost their primaries. Hanks referred a reporter to an email address for media for the two candidates, though no one responded to questions sent to that address. The activists who attend the GOP gathering are just a small fraction of the 600,000 who voted in the June primary. According to preliminary results, Peters lost by 88,000 votes and Hanks by 56,000 votes. Their recount letters gave reasons why the candidates believed those vote tallies were “being artificially controlled.” The Colorado Secretary of State’s office said
Katie Britt wins tumultuous Alabama Senate race scrambled by Donald Trump
Katie Britt won the Republican nomination for Senate in Alabama Tuesday, defeating six-term Rep. Mo Brooks in a primary runoff after former President Donald Trump took the unusual step of rescinding his initial Brooks endorsement. The loss ends a turbulent campaign that pit Brooks, a conservative firebrand who has spent more than a decade in Congress, against someone who has never held elected office. Brooks ran under the banner “MAGA Mo” and fully embraced Trump’s election lies. But that wasn’t enough for the former president, who initially backed Brooks in the race to replace Britt’s former boss, retiring Sen. Richard Shelby, but then pulled his support as Brooks languished in the polls. The race was among a handful of contests held Tuesday at the midpoint of a primary season that has been shaped by Trump’s effort to influence the GOP. By the time Trump backed her earlier this month, Britt was already considered the favorite in the race. She emerged as the top vote-getter in the state’s May 24 primary, but just missed the threshold that triggered a runoff. Still, Tuesday’s result gives Trump a win at a time when his influence over the GOP has come under scrutiny. The former president has had a mixed record of success in backing candidates this election season, helping lift Senate contenders in Pennsylvania and Ohio while floundering elsewhere, particularly in Georgia. Voters in the one-time Republican stronghold rejected his efforts to unseat the state’s GOP governor and secretary of state, both of whom rebuffed his extraordinary pressure to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. And his trouble in the crucial swing state deepened Tuesday as two of his endorsed congressional candidates faltered in their GOP runoff elections. In the 6th District in Atlanta’s northern suburbs, emergency room physician Rich McCormick beat Trump-backed lawyer Jake Evans. And in the 10th District east of Atlanta, trucking company owner Mike Collins bested Democrat-turned-Republican Vernon Jones. Trump persuaded Jones to run for the seat and drop his long-shot bid for governor to clear the field for his chosen candidate, former Sen. David Perdue. Perdue lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who endorsed Collins. The seat is being vacated by Republican Rep. Jody Hice, who also lost his bid to unseat Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, another top Trump target. Meanwhile, in Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser won the Democratic nomination to serve another term, fending off a pair of challengers amid concerns over rising crime and homelessness. But the Alabama Senate runoff had drawn particular attention because of the drama surrounding Trump’s endorsement and because the winner, who will face Democrat Will Boyd in November, is considered the overwhelmingly favorite in the Republican state. Britt, 40, cast herself as part of a new generation of conservative leaders while disparaging Brooks, 68, as a career politician. If victorious in November, Britt will be the first woman elected to the U.S. Senate from Alabama and one of its youngest members. The state’s previous female senators had been appointed. “Alabama has spoken. We want new blood. We want fresh blood,” she said at her victory party. “We want someone who will fight for Christian conservative values, who will fight for the freedoms and liberties this nation was founded on and will fight for the American dream for the next generation and the next generation.” That argument seemed to resonate with some voters Tuesday. “She’s young. She’s smart,” said 86-year-old Carolyn Bowman. “That’s what we need in Congress.” Brooks, who is known for his bombastic oratory style, described the race as a battle for the soul of the Republican Party, pitting the “true conservative” wing against establishment members of the GOP. He disparaged Britt, 40, as a RINO — the GOP pejorative meaning “Republican in name only” — and maintained he was the only one with a proven conservative record. The founding member of the conservative House Freedom Caucus, Brooks has a history of bucking party leadership and made his opposition to Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell a pillar of his campaign, embarking on a “Fire McConnell Tour” of town halls. In his concession speech Tuesday night, Brooks told supporters he respected the race’s outcome. But in a sign of the contentious race, he accused voters of having been seduced by false advertising and congratulated high-dollar donors and “special interest groups” for funding Britt’s campaign. “We are sending to Washington, D.C., the exact opposite of what we need in the United States Senate. But the voters have spoken. They might not have spoken wisely,” he groused. Brooks was initially considered the frontrunner when he announced his Senate candidacy, and Trump quickly offered his support, rewarding an ally who had been an ardent supporter of Trump’s false claims of election fraud. Brooks voted against certifying Democrat Joe Biden’s presidential election victory and delivered a fiery speech at the “Stop the Steal” rally that proceeded the U.S. Capitol insurrection, telling the crowd, “Today is the day that American patriots start taking down names and kicking ass.” But their relationship soured as Brooks struggled to gain traction. Trump eventually pulled his support in March, accusing Brooks — one of the most conservative members in Congress — of going “woke” for saying at a rally that it was time to move on from litigating the 2020 presidential election. Brooks clawed his way into a second-place finish in the May primary and tried once again to get Trump to back him. But Trump instead threw his support to Britt 11 days before the runoff she was widely expected to win. Elsewhere, in Virginia, Republicans chose a pair of Trump-aligned congressional candidates to take on two of the most vulnerable Democrats in the fall. In the coastal 2nd District, state Sen. Jen Kiggans won the Republican race to try to unseat Democrat Elaine Luria, a retired Naval commander and member of the January 6 committee, in the general election. And in central Virginia’s 7th District, Yesli Vega emerged from a competitive six-candidate field to face Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger. At the polls Tuesday in Virginia Beach, Nanci
What to watch in Alabama Senate runoff, DC mayor’s race
The two Republican candidates in Alabama’s U.S. Senate primary runoff on Tuesday can each boast that at one point, they had Donald Trump’s endorsement in the race. Trump first backed U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks in the spring of 2021. That endorsement stood for nearly a year until Trump rescinded it as the conservative firebrand languished in the polls. The former president took his time in issuing a second endorsement, supporting Katie Britt in the race only after she emerged as the top vote-getter in the state’s May 24 primary. In other races Tuesday, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser is facing voters amid growing concerns about crime. Runoffs in Georgia will resolve close contests in several congressional races and a secretary of state nomination, while primaries in Virginia will set up competitive congressional contests for the fall. Arkansas is holding primary runoffs for several legislative races. What to watch in Tuesday’s primaries: ALABAMA The Senate runoff will decide the GOP nominee for the seat being vacated by 88-year-old Republican Sen. Richard Shelby, who announced his retirement in February 2021 after serving six terms. Two months later, Trump announced his endorsement of Brooks, rewarding the six-term congressman who had objected to the certification of the 2020 presidential election and spoke at the “Stop the Steal” rally that preceded the January 6 insurrection at the U.S. Capitol. But Trump soured on Brooks as the primary campaign progressed, growing unhappy with his showing in the race and some of his comments urging the party to move on from the former president’s fixation on his 2020 election defeat. He pulled his endorsement last March. Britt, Shelby’s former chief of staff and a former leader of a state business group, won the most votes in last month’s primary, capturing nearly 45% of the ballots compared to Brooks’ 29%. Britt had needed to earn more than 50% of the vote to win outright and avoid a runoff. Another top candidate, Mike Durant, best known as the helicopter pilot who was held captive in Somalia during the 1993 battle chronicled in the book and film “Black Hawk Down,” finished in third place and failed to advance to the runoff. Brooks has been backed by Texas Sen. Ted Cruz and Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, both of whom campaigned with him. Britt comes into Tuesday’s runoff with a fundraising advantage and a shiny new endorsement from Trump, which came a couple of weeks after the primary. The former president, who has a mixed record of success in backing winning candidates in this year’s midterm elections, waited to make an endorsement to help stave off the embarrassment of backing a losing candidate in a high-profile race. The winner of the GOP race will face Democrat Will Boyd in November, though Democrats have found limited success in the deep-red state in the last 20 years. GEORGIA A Democratic contest for secretary of state headlines the Tuesday runoffs in Georgia, while Republicans will settle three congressional nominations. State Rep. Bee Nguyen, backed by Democratic gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, is trying to defeat former state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler in the secretary of state’s race. The winner will face Republican Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger in the fall. Raffensperger beat back a challenge in his May 24 primary from U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, who was endorsed by Trump. Trump made Raffensperger a top target for rebuffing his efforts to “find” enough votes to overturn Joe Biden’s win in the state’s 2020 presidential election. In congressional runoffs, Vernon Jones, a Trump-backed candidate and former Democrat, is competing against trucking company owner Mike Collins for the Republican nomination for the 10th Congressional District seat east of Atlanta. Collins was endorsed by Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who also won his primary over a Trump-backed challenger. In the 6th District in Atlanta’s northern suburbs, emergency room physician Rich McCormick is trying to hold off Trump-backed lawyer Jake Evans. That race has revolved around accusations by each candidate that the other is insufficiently conservative. The Republican winners in the 6th and 10th are heavy favorites in the November election over their Democratic opponents. Republicans also have high hopes of knocking off 30-year Democratic Rep. Sanford Bishop in southwest Georgia’s 2nd District. The GOP is choosing between former Army officer Jeremy Hunt and real estate developer Chris West. VIRGINIA In Virginia, voters will be picking Republican nominees to take on Democratic U.S. House incumbents in two of the most highly competitive districts in the country. In the coastal 2nd District, which includes the state’s most populous city, Virginia Beach, four military veterans are competing for the GOP nomination. With a big fundraising lead and the backing of the Congressional Leadership Fund, a super PAC dedicated to electing House Republicans, state Sen. Jen Kiggans is widely seen as the front-runner. The winner will face Democrat Elaine Luria, a retired Naval commander and member of the January 6 committee, in the general election. In central Virginia’s 7th District, six candidates are jockeying to take on Democratic Rep. Abigail Spanberger, a former CIA officer. WASHINGTON, D.C. Bowser, the two-term mayor of Washington, D.C., is trying to fend off challenges from a pair of Council members as the district contends with rising crime rates and homelessness concerns. Bowser has had a tumultuous second term that saw her repeatedly face off against Trump and walk a public tightrope between her own police department and a vocal coalition of activists led by Black Lives Matter. She is campaigning on the need for proven leadership and her history as one of the faces of Washington’s ongoing quest for statehood. Her primary challengers are Robert White and Trayon White, who are not related to each other. Both accuse Bowser of favoring developers as spiraling costs of living drive Black families out of the city and of mishandling public safety issues amid rising rates of violent crime, like a Sunday night shooting that left a 15-year-old boy dead and a police officer and at least two other adults wounded. The Democratic primary essentially decides the mayoral race in deeply blue Washington, D.C. Robert White has a history of successful insurgent campaigns, having unseated an entrenched incumbent for an at-large
Election skeptics seek Alabama secretary of state’s office
The Republican runoff for Alabama secretary of state features two candidates who have voiced concerns about election and voter roll integrity while opposing the expansion of early or absentee voting. One candidate, state Auditor Jim Zeigler, is endorsed by a key supporter of former President Donald Trump’s baseless claims that the 2020 election was stolen, and the other, state Rep. Wes Allen, is vowing to withdraw from a national system of shared voter registration data. The two face off Tuesday for the GOP nomination for secretary of state, the state’s top elections official. The winner will take on Democratic nominee Pamela J. Laffitte, a law enforcement officer from Mobile, in November. Interest in secretary of state contests across the nation has surged in the wake of the 2020 election as Republicans campaign on suspicions of voter fraud and, in some cases, deny the result of the last presidential election. Zeigler joined the “America First Secretary of State Coalition,” a slate of candidates who continue to question the legitimacy of the 2020 election, and is endorsed by Trump ally Mike Lindell, the MyPillow founder. Several America First candidates have secured GOP nominations, including Jim Marchant in Nevada, a key political battleground. Another candidate, Jody Hice, lost in Georgia as Trump tried unsuccessfully to unseat Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. “I’m not an election denier. I’m an election questioner. There are many questions about the 2020 election,” Zeigler said in an interview. Allen is a former probate judge who oversaw elections on the county level and is a current member of the Alabama Legislature. In the House of Representatives, Allen sponsored bills to ban curbside voting as well as outside donations to election offices — legislation fueled by conservatives’ suspicions about Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg’s donations to help election offices deal with the coronavirus pandemic. “A core function of our government is to administer safe, secure, transparent elections, and we can do that. I just don’t think that we need that private money infiltrating local jurisdictions that oversee our elections,” Allen said. The League of Women Voters of Alabama, Black Voters Matter, and other groups opposed the donation ban, calling it a possible voter suppression measure that would hurt the state’s poorest counties by prohibiting them from accepting grants and other help. Allen also has championed a proposal to remove Alabama from the Electronic Registration Information Center, or ERIC. The system allows the 31 participating states to securely share voter registration data, so they know if someone has moved to another state or died and remove them from their roll. “They are outsourcing who is taking care of our voter registration information. So, on Day 1, I’ll start the process of getting us out of ERIC,” Allen said. Zeigler has said he would review ERIC participation but has not campaigned on withdrawing. Alabama Secretary of State John Merrill, also a Republican, said the push to withdraw from ERIC would actually undermine election security because of its importance in maintaining clean voter rolls. He said the system has had “zero instances” of known problems. Merrill, who cannot run again because of term limits, said he is disheartened by the campaign trend to cast doubt on the integrity of elections and registration maintenance systems. “I am concerned about it because it breeds potential problems in people’s minds. When that happens, it can actually put people in a defensive posture and think, if their candidate loses, ‘Well, then the reason my candidate lost is my candidate got cheated.’ It could just be that you have a poor candidate, or your candidate is not very well funded, or your candidate did not have a good plan for a political campaign.” Merrill said. Allen was one of a handful of Alabama probate judges who stopped issuing marriage licenses to anyone to avoid giving them to same-sex couples after federal court ruled that gay couples had a right to marry. Couples had to go to a neighboring county until lawmakers changed the process. As a member of the Alabama Legislature, he also sponsored legislation, currently blocked by a federal judge from taking effect, that made it a felony to treat transgender minors with puberty blockers or hormones. Zeigler was elected state auditor in 2014 and cannot seek reelection because of term limits. Although the role of state auditor is to keep track of state property and has limited official duties, Zeigler turned the office into a public platform to play gadfly to Republican administrations. In 2016, Zeigler filed an ethics complaint against then-Gov. Robert Bentley, accusing him of misusing state resources after audio leaked of the governor having a romantically charged conversation with a top aide. “As the state auditor, I served as a watchman for the public against government waste, mismanagement, and corruption. As secretary of state, I will serve as a watchman for election integrity and participation,” he said. Both Allen and Zeigler oppose expanding voting beyond Election Day, such as early voting or allowing people to vote by absentee ballot without certifying an illness or travel-related reason. The Democratic candidate in the race, Laffitte, said Alabama should join the majority of states that allow early voting or no-excuse absentee ballot voting. People in both parties are busy with work, child care, and other obligations, she contended and would benefit by having more convenient methods to vote. She said voter turnout is low in Alabama because “we continue to run things as if we are running in the dinosaur days.” Republished with the permission of The Associated Press.
Barry Moore joins lawmakers demanding hearing over treatment of January 6 defendants
Rep. Barry Moore, along with 20 colleagues, sent a letter to Chairman Jerry Nadler and Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney asking that House Judiciary and House Oversight & Reform Committees hold hearings on the treatment of January 6 defendants being held at the D.C. Department of Corrections. The letter states that the defendants are being held in solitary confinement and are not being given needed medical treatment. U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth asked the Department of Justice to conduct a civil rights investigation into the conduct of the D.C. jail regarding a patient who needed treatment for non-Hodgkins. Lamberth stated, “It’s clear to me the civil rights of the defendant were violated by the D.C. Department of Corrections.” “Regardless of the charges an incarcerated person faces, correctional authorities should respect and uphold their civil rights and protect their health and safety. In this country, they have the presumption of innocence. They have not faced trial. And even convicted criminals should get adequate medical care and proper food. They are human beings. The reports coming out of the D.C. Department of Corrections are deeply concerning, and Congress should use our oversight authority to investigate,” said Rep. Moore. Moore stated on Twitter, “Regardless of the charges and incarcerated person faces, correctional authorities should respect and uphold their civil rights & protect their health & safety. In this country they have the presumption of innocence.” “There is clear mistreatment of the individuals being held in the D.C. jail for charges related to January 6th,” stated Biggs. “There is NO excuse for keeping them in these abhorrent conditions and continuing to impose solitary confinement – a punishment that even some on the Left have condemned. It’s time for Chairman Nadler and Chairwoman Maloney to set aside any political motivations, do their job, and hold hearings so that we can get to the bottom of this.” Reps. Marjorie Taylor Greene and Mary Miller expressed disapproval for Deputy Warden Kathleen Landerkin’s actions. Rep. Greene stated, “The atrocious and inhumane conditions for PRE-TRIAL detainees at the D.C. Gulag are a clear example of the two-tiered justice system in America. BLM / Antifa domestic terrorists are allowed to walk free after burning down our cities with violent riots, but suspected J6 defendants are subjected to worse treatment than convicted terrorists in Gitmo. This situation must be investigated, and the officials responsible must be terminated from their positions, starting with avowed Trump-hater Deputy Warden Kathleen Landerkin.” “Deputy Warden Landerkin is using her position to torture her political opponents in a system where justice is supposed to be blind,” stated Miller. “There is clear mistreatment of the individuals being held in the D.C. jail for charges related to January 6th,” stated Andy Biggs. “There is NO excuse for keeping them in these abhorrent conditions and continuing to impose solitary confinement – a punishment that even some on the Left have condemned. It’s time for Chairman Nadler and Chairwoman Maloney to set aside any political motivations, do their job, and hold hearings so that we can get to the bottom of this.” The letter was also signed by Scott Perry, Jeff Duncan, Lauren Boebert, Andy Biggs, Debbie Lesko, Andy Harris, Randy Weber, Bill Posey, Russ Fulcher, Matthew Rosendale, Sr., Louie Gohmert, Andrew Clyde, Mary Miller, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Jody Hice, Matt Gaetz, Bob Good, Michael Cloud, Ralph Norman, and Clay Higgins.
Gary Palmer demands cost analysis of Build Back Better legislation
Congressman Gary Palmer and several colleagues have sent a letter to Congressional Budget Office Director Phillip Swagel. The group has requested cost analysis of the Democrats’ Build Back Better legislation. In a press release, Palmer stated, “The nation will have to build back from the brink of bankruptcy, should this legislation ever become law. Although the Democrats are pretending to scale back on a number of the unwarranted programs in it, we have no idea what the true price tag is for these policies that would fundamentally undermine our Republic and move us one step closer to socialism.” According to a recent article from the House Committee on the Budget Chairman John Yarmuth, the Build Back Better Act “aims to make an investment of $1.75 trillion in family care, health care, and combatting the climate crisis.” However, Palmer argues that the initiative will cost more than what is being stated. “I have seen more than one or two budget gimmicks during my time in Congress, and this package is full of them,” Palmer continued. “For instance, the legislation partially funds programs and pretends they will come to an end, even though the clear intention is to make them permanent. This is why we have requested that the CBO Director conduct a true analysis, so that Congress and the American people have a real understanding of just how much this monstrosity will cost. Independent groups have consistently said this bill is not paid for and will increase the deficit. This analysis will expose all of the bill’s budget gimmicks and hopefully end this misleading effort to run our country over the fiscal cliff.” The letter states, “H.R. 5376, as it is currently drafted, contains cherry-picked program expirations and phase-out periods that are meant to circumvent congressional scoring procedures. These provisions are disingenuously meant to hide the true costs of these policies and their burden on Americans today and for generations to come. It is of paramount importance that before Congress collectively acts on this legislation, it has an accurate understanding of what the effects of this legislation would be if its policies became permanent law.” The letter was also signed by Reps. Vern Buchanan, Greg Steube, Pete Stauber, Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Jack Bergman, David Rouzer, Tracey Mann, Mary E. Miller, Tedd Budd, Markwayne Mullin, Jody Hice, Eric Crawford, David McKinley, and Andy Biggs.
Barry Moore cosigns letter to boot Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger out of GOP conference
Congressman Barry Moore signed a letter to Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy requesting a reconsideration of a GOP Conference Rule change that would remove members who accept committee assignments or serve on a committee without a recommendation from the Republican Steering Committee or the Republican Leader. The letter, written by Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs, comes in response to the select committee investigating the January 6th attack on the Capitol. McCarthy was given five picks to serve on the committee. However Nancy Pelosi rejected two, and McCarthy pulled his other three as well. Pelosi, in an effort to maintain a bipartisan committee, asked Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger to serve on the committee, and they accepted. Congressman Moore stated, “It is absurd that a formal rule prohibiting this behavior is necessary, but Republicans must be united to defeat Nancy Pelosi’s socialist takeover of America, and the Republican conference should swiftly make this rule change to expel anyone who has chosen to take marching orders from her.” “Accepting committee assignments from Speaker Pelosi and ignoring the long-standing practice and rule of being nominated by designated GOP members is a betrayal to our party’s efforts against Pelosi and the Far Left’s attacks,” stated Biggs. “As Republican Members of Congress, it is our duty to strategize effective measures that protect America’s foundational values. We cannot allow our party, which stands as a bulwark against the socialist agenda of the Democrats, to be infiltrated by individuals who are coordinating with members of the opposition. Our party’s integrity, and the voice of conservative Americans who voted for us, must be protected and upheld.” Removal from the conference requires a two-thirds vote of all its members. Only the party leader can bring such a motion to a vote. Kinzinger’s spokesperson Maura Gillespie said in a statement that the congressman is looking for answers about the January 6 attack. “When a Member makes repeated calls to remove Representatives Kinzinger and Cheney from the Conference, it certainly calls into question their true motives,” Gillespie said. “Especially when that Member pushes conspiracy theories to their constituents and outright lies for their own personal gain.” The letter to McCarthy states, “Congresswoman Cheney and Congressman Kinzinger are two spies for the Democrats that we currently invite to the meetings, despite our inability to trust them.” On Twitter, Kinzinger responded, “I think this is interesting. Just coming off a member declaring bloodshed will happen, many pushing Covid denialism and Jan 6 trutherism….The GOP has a choice. I am even more committed to getting the truth now.” In July, Cheney posted on Twitter, “We cannot leave the violence of January 6th – and its causes – uninvestigated. We must know what happened at the Capitol and the White House on the day.” Matt Gaetz, one of the 16 cosigners commented, “Instead of investigating the Jihad Squad’s connections to groups that foment political violence like BLM and Antifa, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger have taken on Pelosi appointments to target the Republican Firebrands in Congress. Kevin McCarthy should remove them from their committees immediately.” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene stated, “Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger knew all along the Jan. 6 committee was Witch Hunt 2.0, just like the one Democrats launched against President Trump. They’ve sold out Republicans and they must be thrown out of the GOP conference!” Additional cosigners of the letter are Reps. Jody Hice, Matt Gaetz, Andrew Clyde, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Dan Bishop, Randy Weber, Ralph Norman, Andy Harris, Scott Perry, Bill Posey, Madison Cawthorn, Mary Miller, Louie Gohmert, and Bob Good.
Conservatives decry door-to-door vaccine checks
Two Alabama leaders, Mo Brooks and Barry Moore, and dozens of other members of Congress sent a joint letter to President Joe Biden last week regarding his decision to implement door-to-door checks on the American people to coerce them into receiving the COVID-19 vaccine: The letter states, “Your administration’s decision to go door-to-door to coerce individuals to receive a COVID-19 vaccine is deeply disturbing and violates the privacy of Americans. The private health information of millions of Americans should never be a matter of concern for the federal government. Americans must be free to make their own personal health choices.” The concern, coming mostly from Republicans, comes from a statement from President Biden on July 6, when he stated, “Now we need to go to community by community, neighborhood by neighborhood, and oftentimes, door to door – literally knocking on doors – to get help to the remaining people protected from the virus.” During the White House briefing, the president also called on providing vaccines to all healthcare providers, including pediatricians, and discussed providing mobile clinics that could be set up at events like sports events and festivals. Even though Alabama has one of the lowest rates of COVID-19 vaccinations in the country, there are no plans to start a door-to-door campaign. According to NBC15, Dr. Karen Landers commented that it was a strategy that was discussed but that the state is not adopting it. Dr. Landers stated, “No, we are not doing that in this point in time as far as going door to door.” “Persons just really not necessarily being receptive to persons coming on to their property or coming to their door with information,” she said. Jim Zeigler recently called on Governor Kay Ivey to ban what he called “door-to-door vaccine squads” in Alabama. Zeigler asked Ivey to “use the strongest steps to clearly direct federal agents and their recruits that their entry onto home properties in Alabama could legally be considered trespassing.” Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs said in a statement, “Door-to-door vaccine checks on Americans are a blatant abuse of government authority and a pure power play by the Biden administration. The federal government has no right to track the private health information of Americans or to intimidate people into getting the vaccine. Instead of meddling in private medical decisions, the Biden administration should focus on addressing the border crisis, the rampant rise in inflation, and the crime wave that is plaguing American cities – all crises it created. The door-to-door spying on Americans is one more example of the burgeoning surveillance state by the national government.” Biggs posted on Twitter, “I just sent a letter to Biden demanding answers on his door-to-door vaccine checks. The fed gov has no right to track the private health information of Americans or to intimidate people into getting the vaccine.” Other leaders that signed the letter include David Schweikert, Paul Gosar, Ralph Norman, Bob Good, Warren Davidson, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Thomas Tiffany, Jody Hice, Lauren Boebert, Alex Mooney, Chip Roy, Andy Harris, Scott DesJarlais, Andrew Clyde, Yvette Herrell, H. Morgan Griffith, Bill Posey, Randy Weber, Michael Cloud, Dan Bishop, Ben Cline, Mary Miller, Louie Gohmert, Debbie Lesko, Mike Garcia, and Matt Gaetz.
Barry Moore supports Lauren Boebert’s call to censure Joe Biden over border crisis
Rep. Barry Moore has joined other leaders to support Rep. Lauren Boebert’s bill to censure President Joe Biden over the border crisis. According to a press release, Moore joined Boebert and other leaders in a press conference to address the resolution. Moore has visited the southern border twice this year. President Biden has not visited the border yet. Some statistics Moore emphasized in his release include: Under President Trump, there were 1,400 children in HHS custody at the border. At one point in June, there were 22,000. Over 1 million illegal aliens have been encountered by CBP since Biden took office, including a record-breaking 180,000 illegal aliens in May. Since Biden took office, CBP arrested 1,413 alien drug smugglers—up from 386 last year. Since Biden took office, CBP arrested 40 alien murderers—up from 3 last year. Since Biden took office, CBP arrested 353 alien sex offenders—up from 156 last year. Since Biden took office, CBP arrested 1,118 aliens for DUIs—up from 364 last year. In just the first four months of Biden’s term, enough fentanyl to kill every American four times over has been interdicted by Border Patrol. Moore stated, “Ensuring the integrity of our borders is one of the most fundamental duties of a president, yet President Biden has destroyed four years of progress at the border to satisfy far-left activists and cheap labor-loving globalists. His reckless determination to reverse every Trump administration policy regardless of the outcome has put every American family and our economy at risk. We must hold President Biden to account for putting politics over the people he has sworn an oath to protect.” Moore stated on Twitter, “President Biden’s dereliction of duty at our southern border is completely unacceptable. Proud to join @RepBoebert in holding Biden accountable for putting politics over the people he has sworn an oath to protect.” President Biden's dereliction of duty at our southern border is completely unacceptable. Proud to join @RepBoebert in holding Biden accountable for putting politics over the people he has sworn an oath to protect. https://t.co/hXhV1H98uQ — Rep. Barry Moore (@RepBarryMoore) June 24, 2021 The bill is supported by: American Principles Project, Citizens for Renewing America, Eagle Forum, Federation for American Immigration Reform (FAIR), Heritage Action, and NumbersUSA. Along with Moore, 22 additional Members of Congress joined Boebert to introduce her bill including: Reps. Andy Biggs, Dan Bishop, Madison Cawthorn, Jeff Duncan, Pat Fallon, Matt Gaetz, Louie Gohmert, Bob Good, Paul Gosar, Morgan Griffith, Diana Harshbarger, Jody Hice, Ronny Jackson, Thomas Massie, Alex Mooney, Troy Nehls, Ralph Norman, Marjorie Taylor Greene, Bill Posey, Lance Gooden, Chip Roy, and Randy Weber.
Congressmen call for the reopening of the U.S. Capitol
Today, Congressmen Robert Aderholt, Jerry Carl, Mo Brooks, and Barry Moore joined more than two dozen other leaders, asking Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to reopen the United States Capitol Complex to visitors. The Capitol has been closed since the January 6 attack by a mob of pro-Trump protestors. In March 2020, the U.S. Capitol had restricted access because of COVID-19 concerns. As more and more people become vaccinated, the push to reopen has been becoming louder. However, there are still security concerns. Brooks stated, “The First Amendment to the Constitution establishes the people’s right to petition their government for redress of their grievances. Prior to Pelosi and Schumer’s draconian Capitol access restrictions, the American people could easily visit the Capitol offices of their senators and representatives. Now, to gain access to the House and Senate office buildings, citizens must be on preapproved lists kept by the House and Senate Sergeant at Arms.” He continued, “America has historically prided ourselves on transparency and easy citizens access to government institutions. It is shameful that Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer persist in keeping the law-abiding American citizens out of their own Capitol, especially when states are lifting restrictions and the CDC is recommending fully-vaccinated Americans return to pre-COVID normalcy. Nancy Pelosi said ‘about 75%’ of House members are vaccinated. That exceeds herd immunity requirements.” Aderholt commented, “With the pandemic coming to an end, it is time to open the United States Capitol Complex to the citizens it belongs to. While those of us elected to Congress, and members of our staff all work in the Capitol, we should never come to believe that it is there strictly for our exclusive use. We are there because the people of this country elected us and they should be able to visit their elected leaders and take tours of their Capitol.” Other co-signers of the letter are: Congressman Ralph Norman, Congressman Andy Harris, Congressman Madison Cawthorn, Congressman W. Gregory Steube, Congressman Matt Rosendale, Congressman Brian Mast, Congressman Tracey Mann, Congressman Tom McClintock, Congressman Jody Hice, Congressman Andy Biggs, Congressman Chip Roy, Congressman Tom Tiffany, Congressman Debbie Lesko, Congressman Jeff Duncan, Congressman Warren Davis, Congressman Mike Gallagher, Congressman Bill Posey, Congressman Bob Good, Congressman Randy Weber, Congressman Dan Bishop, Congressman Paul Gosar, Congressman Ronny L. Jackson, Congressman Joe Wilson, Congressman Louie Gohmert, Congressman Brian Babin, Congressman Neal Dunn, Congressman Marjorie T. Greene, Congressman Michael Cloud. The letter can be viewed here.
Donald Trump endorses challenger against Georgia elections chief
Former President Donald Trump on Monday endorsed a conservative Georgia congressman in his bid to unseat the Republican secretary of state who refused to help overturn the November election results. Rep. Jody Hice, a tea party favorite and Trump acolyte, is the first major challenger to Brad Raffensperger since the secretary of state certified President Joe Biden’s narrow victory in Georgia and disputed Trump’s false allegations of fraud. Trump’s endorsement marks his most direct attempt at retribution against those he blames for his loss and reaffirms his continued influence over the Republican Party. “Jody has been a steadfast fighter for conservative Georgia values and is a staunch ally of the America First agenda,” Trump said in a statement that repeated the unsupported allegations of fraud. “Unlike the current Georgia Secretary of State, Jody leads out front with integrity. I have 100% confidence in Jody to fight for Free, Fair, and Secure Elections in Georgia, in line with our beloved U.S. Constitution.” In a statement, Raffensperger criticized Hice for supporting Trump’s false fraud claims and likened him to former GOP Sens. David Perdue and Kelly Loeffler, who lost twin Senate runoffs in January after supporting Trump’s bid to subvert the election results. “Few have done more to cynically undermine faith in our election system than Jody Hice,” Raffensperger said. “We saw in January what Georgia voters will do to candidates who use that rhetoric.” Hice didn’t mention Trump in his announcement but has said previously that he expected the former president’s support, and he echoed Trump’s rhetoric about Raffensperger. “What Brad Raffensperger did was create cracks in the integrity of our elections, which I wholeheartedly believe individuals took advantage of in 2020,” Hice said in a statement Monday, without supporting evidence that would refute Georgia’s three statewide counts of nearly 5 million ballots. “Every Georgian, in fact, every American, has the right to be outraged by the actions and, simultaneously, the inaction of our Secretary of State,” Hice added. Trump has long made clear his intentions to target Raffensperger and Gov. Brian Kemp, also a Republican, for their parts in ratifying Biden’s victory. “I’ll be here in a year in a half campaigning against your governor and your crazy secretary of state,” Trump said at a Georgia rally on Jan. 4, the eve of the two U.S. Senate runoffs that Democrats swept to win control of the chamber. Both Kemp and Raffensperger have said they were simply following the state’s election law and fulfilling their required duties. The developments Monday drew immediate plaudits from the right. “The establishment still doesn’t get how popular Trump is with the base, but they will,” said Debbie Dooley, an early tea party organizer and Trump ally who is close to Hice. “We’ve known Raffensperger was dead, and Jody can excite the base and raise money. This is a serious challenge.” No heavyweight primary opponent has emerged yet against Kemp. Some Trump allies are looking to former Rep. Doug Collins as an ideal challenger. Others close to Collins, one of Trump’s most high-profile House defenders during impeachment proceedings, say he is more likely to make another bid for the Senate after his unsuccessful campaign last year in a special election ultimately won by Sen. Raphael Warnock, a Democrat. Collins was Trump’s choice in 2019 for a Senate vacancy, opened by Republican Johnny Isakson’s retirement. But Kemp opted for Loeffler. Collins finished third in a jungle primary behind Warnock and Loeffler last November before Warnock prevailed in the January runoff. Hice has not cut as high a profile since his election in 2014 as Collins did in Washington, but the 60-year-old has been a loyal Trump lieutenant. He was among the many Republican officials in Georgia who relentlessly pushed Trump’s false claims of voter fraud last fall. He endorsed a lawsuit filed by Texas against Georgia and other battleground states seeking to overturn Biden’s victory in the U.S. Supreme Court — a suit the high court rejected — and he objected to the certification of Electoral College votes even after a pro-Trump mob violently stormed the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6. Trump’s ire has proven vexing for Raffensperger and Kemp. Kemp won Trump’s endorsement in a heated Republican primary for governor in 2018 and has never publicly criticized the president. He even reaffirmed recently that he’d back Trump if he sought the White House again in 2024. Raffensperger has pushed back more directly, arguing forcefully in national media interviews last fall that the election was accurate and fair. He wrote an op-ed saying he felt “thrown under the bus” by a president he’d supported. Weeks before the Capitol insurrection, a Raffensperger aide angrily predicted the president’s rhetoric would lead to violence. Since then, both Kemp and Raffensperger have tried, carefully, to appeal to the Republican base by calling for changes to the state’s election law. Most specifically, the two men support requiring voter identification for absentee voting to replace the current signature-match requirement. But some GOP lawmakers want to go considerably further, rolling back Georgia’s no-excuse absentee voting altogether, contracting weekend early voting options in some counties, and ending automatic voter registration. Raffensperger and Kemp have been more circumspect publicly about their positions on the more sweeping proposals, though the incumbent secretary of state has continued to vouch for the integrity of absentee voting and the success of automatic registration. Hice, despite his criticism of Raffensperger, also avoided any specifics about what changes he’d like to see in Georgia’s election, saying only that he is “encouraged to see the General Assembly taking it upon themselves to address some of the glaring issues in our elections.” Republished with the permission of the Associated Press.
Mo Brooks moves forward on challenging Electoral College votes
Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks is challenging the Presidential Election votes and is following through with the threat to ask certain electoral college votes to be thrown out. Brooks wants certain electoral votes thrown out based on President Donald Trump’s allegations of massive voter fraud, News 19 reported. So far every lawsuit that has been filed has been dismissed, including one in the U.S. Supreme Court. This time Brooks, along with 18 other leaders, are asking Mitch McConnell and others to “do their jobs and conduct voter fraud and election theft hearings and investigations so that Congressmen and Senators will be better informed when Congress faces questions about the legitimacy of various federal elections held on November 3, 2020.” Brooks posted on Facebook and Twitter, calling on Congress to reverse the presidential election results and give the win to Donald Trump. At the end of the letter, Brooks asks Congress to hold hearings to do three things: 1. Probe all allegations of illegal conduct concerning the November 3, 2020 elections. 2. Investigate systemic problems affecting our elections. 3. Hear from election experts to explore legislative solutions that lessen the impact of fraudulent and illegal votes and restores faith that America can hold a free and fair election. Political analyst and attorney Mark McDaniel told News19, “Not only does Congressman Brooks have a right to do it. He has a duty to do it if he feels there is a problem with the election, then he should raise objections to it. And I know there will be a number of other members of The House of Representatives that will probably go along with Congressman Brooks on this.” David Person, political analyst and radio host, has a different opinion on Brooks’ actions. Pearson stated, “This is what’s disturbing about these efforts, by Mo and others. They don’t seem to have the focus or the energy to try to address arguably the largest health crisis of the past 50, 60 years, but they have all of the energy and all of the focus in the world to focus on an election that was lost.” Other leaders who have signed the letter are Andy Biggs, Mike D. Rogers, Jim Banks, David Rouzer, Paul Gosar, Ted Budd, Brian Babin, Bob Gibbs, Ralph Norman, Greg Steube, Jody Hice, Mike Kelly, Jeff Duncan, Louie Gohmert, Randy Weber, Scott DesJarlais, and Mike Garcia. Brooks needs support from at least one Senator to trigger a debate before Congress. According to a Washington Examiner article, Brooks told Washington Secrets this week, “I’m cautiously optimistic that there will be one or more United States senators who will fight to reject voter fraud and election theft. Ultimately, whether a senator acts on behalf of our country will be determined by whether that senator’s employers, the American people, have made it known to the senators that this is a litmus test issue.” Brooks continued, “Either you fight for America, or voters never vote for them again and fight against them.”
