On here I sound right leaning. Talking w my conservative family I'm a commie. I'm center.
registered indpendent from the start. voted both ways until recently. gop offers jack shit in the way of reasonable policy any more. instead they sell fear. thats all. oh and corporations are people that shouldnt pay a dime for anything.
am for a strong military but believe they should be audited like every other dept.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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mickeyrat
up my ass, like Chadwick was up his Posts: 35,937
Sorry, but ‘Gone With the Wind’ is not a history book
Creating a false, Disneyfied version of the past is a disservice to students
Rep.
John Lewis talks to students on the Hill in 2015 about his experience
in Selma, Ala. That bit of history may not make it past curriculum
censors under new laws being pushed across the country, Curtis writes.
(Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call file photo)
The White House issued a proclamation last
week, of the sort that most presidents have issued about historical
events that deserve commemorating, but that were missing, for the most
part, during the Trump reign.
This one marked the
60th anniversary of the first Freedom Rides, on May 4, 1961, when
traveling on a bus meant risking your life, if you were with an
integrated group, sitting in a spot of your choice. Those southbound
heroes were willing to face beatings and the unknown at the hands of
fellow citizens intent on stopping progress by any means necessary.
Angry and afraid, the violent white supremacist mobs refused to
acknowledge the humanity of African Americans or the validity of any law
that looked forward not back.
It’s the reality — and not the myth of uncomplicated greatness the country has told the world and itself for far too long.
And it’s not always pretty.
For
that reason, many Republicans want to “cancel” it, to use a word
today’s conservatives have been misusing with reckless abandon. They’d
like to erase the history and the essential lessons that reveal so much
about how and why America is so divided and its systems — of health
care, housing, education and more — so inequitable in 2021.
Why?
Because for all the chest-thumping toughness so many Americans brag
about, apparently white students are too fragile to hear the truth, or
see the pictures on prized postcards that treated lynchings as
entertainment for the whole family, an indictment of more than a few
rogue racists.
Black students, of course, subject to
disproportionate school suspensions, stereotypical assumptions from
teachers and keen scrutiny by law enforcement on their way to and from,
and sometimes in, the classroom, know all too well that the problems
they face stretch back 400 years and more. But the laws being passed and pushed in states across the country — no surprise — don’t have them in mind.
Alternate reality
For
those making and debating these rules, in states such as Idaho,
Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas, creating an alternate reality, a
version that resembles a Disneyfied diorama, is fine even if it is
false, as long as it accommodates white feelings and gives in to white
fears.
How will these laws be enforced? Government monitors? Would
a fine be imposed if a teacher steps over some vague line? Well, yes, in Arizona, the penalty could be $5,000. If a curious student asks a question, will the teacher no longer be allowed to answer?
The
late Rep. John Lewis, brave and persistent, who endured brutal beatings
as a consequence of his civil rights activism —including his part in
the Freedom Rides — would seem to be someone America’s students could
look up to. But I’m doubtful his march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge
in 1965 would make it past the curriculum censors since his attackers
were agents of the state, enforcing unjust laws that prevented African
Americans from voting, from living a free life.
Can
you imagine? Students might make a connection between those troopers
and Derek Chauvin, a murderer in a uniform, and want to learn about the
racist history of policing in America. Plus, calling that day “Bloody
Sunday” just wouldn’t do.
It’s no coincidence that the defenders
of a white-washed version of history are in many cases the same
legislators rushing through laws that criminalize the protesters who are
the spiritual sons and daughters of Lewis.
Do these arbiters of
education think that if students don’t learn about Jim Crow, they won’t
see anything shameful about “Jim Crow 2.0” laws that restrict voting
rights and harken back to post-Reconstruction rules enacted to crush the
progress of those who, once unshackled, achieved elective office and
thrived?
It’s clear from the twisted views of America’s past held
by many of the staunchest defenders of the anti-history movement that a
more inclusive curriculum is overdue, and they should sign up for a
makeup class.
Get the dunce cap ready for Martha Huckabay, president
of the Women’s Republican Club of New Orleans, who defended
Louisiana GOP state Rep. Ray Garofalo’s words on teaching about the “good” parts of enslaving men, women and children
and offered choice thoughts of her own. Huckabay opined that slavery
resulted in “hard working ethics” and that “many of the slaves loved
their masters, and their masters loved them, and took very good care of
them, and their families.” Was she talking about the torture, the rape
or the selling of children away from moms and dads?
Tennessee Republican state Rep. Justin Lafferty somehow interpreted the three-fifths compromise in the original Constitution, which counted the enslaved as three-fifths of a human being, as a step toward ending slavery.
CNN contributor Rick Santorum has tried and failed miserably
to explain his comments that “we birthed a nation from nothing. I mean,
there was nothing here. I mean, yes we have Native Americans, but
candidly there isn’t much Native American culture in American
culture.” Why, when he was a senator from Pennsylvania, could Santorum
not be bothered to stroll to the National Museum of the American Indian? Was he too lazy or just incurious, either way not an example for school kids of any age?
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has weighed in on the debate.
He seems fine with teaching the words of America’s founding documents —
the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution. Does he want to stop
there, leaving out how, when and why the country failed to live up to
the lofty principles in those documents until forced to by true
patriots? He has said the year 1619, when the first enslaved Africans
arrived in colonial Virginia, means little to him. Considering his slave-owning ancestors
benefited from trading and “owning” human beings and, presumably,
passed the wealth on to family members, you’d think McConnell would be a
little more “woke.”
History repeats
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” wrote William Faulkner. The depressing proof can be seen in the tiki-torch-carrying white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., chanting, “Jews will not replace us!” You have to wonder if avowed neo-Nazi James Fields Jr.,
serving life in prison for the killing of Heather Heyer, would even be
charged under new laws that give a pass and winking approval to drivers
who mow down protesters blocking a roadway?
Just
months ago, on Jan. 6, violent, hate-filled mobs — cousins in crime to
those who greeted the Freedom Riders — stormed the U.S. Capitol,
attacking police with the same weapons of batons and bats, hoisting
Confederate flags, erecting gallows, hunting for lawmakers and
endangering democracy itself.
How will the next generations do better if they are forbidden from learning the history they must not repeat?
Mary C.
Curtis has worked at The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The
Charlotte Observer, as national correspondent for Politics Daily, and is
a senior facilitator with The OpEd Project. Follow her on Twitter @mcurtisnc3.
CQ
Roll Call is a part of FiscalNote, the leading technology innovator at
the intersection of global business and government. Copyright 2021 CQ
Roll Call. All rights reserved.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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mickeyrat
up my ass, like Chadwick was up his Posts: 35,937
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Conservative group boasts of secret role in voting laws
By NICHOLAS RICCARDI and ANTHONY IZAGUIRRE
2 hours ago
The head of a national conservative group that is spending $24 million to push new voting restrictions told supporters it secretly helped draft legislation in Republican-controlled statehouses across the country.
Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action, made the claim during a recent meeting with supporters in Arizona. A recording of the event was released by the liberal investigative website Documented, which made a copy available for The Associated Press to review. Heritage Action confirmed its authenticity.
“In some cases, we actually draft them for them,” Anderson said of legislation written for state lawmakers. “Or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation, so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.”
Anderson gave the example of Georgia, where she said an activist affiliated with Heritage had given a letter outlining the group's recommendations to key legislators. The activist first had the proposal signed by thousands of other activists. Other states where she said the group helped write bills included Iowa and Texas.
In a statement Friday, Anderson said: “Heritage Action is proud of our work to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. That work begins at the state level through our grassroots and continues in state legislatures throughout the country.”
Heritage Action is one of several Republican-affiliated groups that jumped into elections issues for the first time after former President Donald Trump’s false claims about election fraud led to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The lies also have fanned deep suspicions about the integrity of the country’s voting systems among GOP activists and donors — Anderson noted Heritage activists cited it as a top issue in a survey — and led to new laws in Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Kansas and other states.
Democrats have argued that the laws make it harder for people to vote, and disproportionally affect Black, Latino, young and other Democratic-leaning voters. Republicans argue the tougher rules will guard against fraud and are needed to restore trust in the election system.
Heritage Action announced its effort in March, saying it would push legislation in eight battleground states based on model principles formulated by its parent organization, the conservative Heritage Foundation. Hans von Spakovsky, the foundation's top voting expert and a former member of Trump's 2017 election fraud commission, appeared at the event with Anderson and boasted of regularly talking with Republican secretaries of state. Anderson added that Heritage Action had just had a “huge” call with secretaries of state, who often serve as a state's chief elections official.
Anderson also said the group runs a Tuesday call to “give marching orders” to other conservative organizations that have just launched voting pushes, including the anti-abortion rights Susan B. Anthony List and the small government group FreedomWorks.
Anderson took credit for an Arizona law that bans donations to election offices from outside groups. The law was meant to fight back against $300 million in donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg last year. She also claimed credit for a controversial provision in Iowa that moves voters to inactive status after missing a single election.
“Iowa is the first state that we got to work in, and we did it quickly and we did it quietly," Anderson said. "We helped draft the bills. ... Honestly, nobody even noticed. My team looked at each other, and we’re like, ‘it can’t be that easy.’”
Iowa Republicans who worked on the voting legislation have said they had no contact with Heritage. In March, Republican state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, who wrote the legislation, told The Associated Press that he had not talked to Heritage or any other outside groups. On Friday, he reiterated that denial.
“Heritage is telling a bold-faced lie,” Kaufmann said. Asked if claiming credit for the bills was a fundraising technique, Kaufmann replied: “That's exactly what it is.”
At the event, Anderson said there was another task besides simply passing new laws. Many Republicans fear that their voters lost trust in the system due to Trump’s allegations and then in Georgia didn’t cast ballots during two January Senate run-offs, which Democrats won. Heritage wants to make sure conservative voters hear that voting rules are being tightened to prevent fraud.
“It's our job to tell them that was done, with the hope that it will restore voter confidence and let people return to the polls in 2022,” Anderson said.
__
Riccardi reported from Denver and Izaguirre from Lindenhurst, New York. Michael Biesecker in Washington and Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
According to the Club for Growth, a conservative pro-business group, Ilhan Omar has a higher “conservative” voter rating than Elsie Stefanik, the new third-ranking member of the house GOP.
According to the Club for Growth, a conservative pro-business group, Ilhan Omar has a higher “conservative” voter rating than Elsie Stefanik, the new third-ranking member of the house GOP.
Cult of personality... that's all it is. That's worse than I thought, but I knew she was pretty liberal.
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brianlux
Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 40,772
From Heather Cox-Richardson's letter today:
"This morning, as expected, the House Republicans elected Elise Stefanik
(R-NY), Trump’s choice for conference chair, to replace Representative
Liz Cheney (R-WY). This means that the four top House Republican
leaders—Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA), Minority Whip Steve
Scalise (R-LA), Stefanik, and Policy Committee Chair Gary Palmer
(R-AL)—all voted to overturn Biden’s 2020 victory after the January 6
attack on the Capitol."
Go ahead, GOP, shoot your other foot.
“The fear of death follows from the fear of life. A man [or woman] who lives fully is prepared to die at any time.”
According to the Club for Growth, a conservative pro-business group, Ilhan Omar has a higher “conservative” voter rating than Elsie Stefanik, the new third-ranking member of the house GOP.
But a much lower Trump Boot Licking rating.
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
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mickeyrat
up my ass, like Chadwick was up his Posts: 35,937
feels like a stalling tactic...
·
MAY 18, 2021, 5:59 PM
Senate Republicans don't offer Biden aides new infrastructure plan
Susan Cornwell, Makini Brice
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican lawmakers met on Tuesday with top officials from President Joe Biden’s administration to seek common ground on an infrastructure proposal but did not unveil a new plan of their own, according to a congressional aide.
FILE PHOTO: Senator Shelly Moore Capito (R-WV) speaks at the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee hearing on proposed budget estimates and justification for FY2018 for the Treasury Department on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S. July 26, 2017. REUTERS/Eric Thayer
Senator Shelly Moore Capito, who is leading the Republican effort, has announced a $568 billion plan here, far short of Biden's $2.3 trillion plan package. A bipartisan group of senators has discussed a package of roughly $1 trillion.
Capito was one of several Republicans meeting with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at the U.S. Capitol.
Biden’s administration has said it is willing to work with Republicans but also will forge ahead with only Democratic support if necessary. The White House had set a Tuesday deadline for any Republican counter-proposal, but Republicans were not likely to meet it, Capito spokeswoman Kelly Moore said.
Biden’s mammoth infrastructure proposal includes traditional projects to revitalize roads and bridges, but would also seek to address climate change and social issues such as elder care. The president said he would pay for the plan by raising taxes on U.S. corporations.
Republicans have rejected Biden’s proposal as too broad and too expensive and instead have sought to reach a bipartisan deal that focuses on roads, bridges, waterways and broadband access.
Democrats have floated a two-track approach that would include a smaller bipartisan package, as well as more sweeping legislation that they could enact without Republican support through a process known as reconciliation.
Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Makini Brice, writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Giuliani's son is running for Governor against Cuomo.
Should be interesting.
He will win most likely.
If ever there was an open door for a third-party challenger...
1995 Milwaukee 1998 Alpine, Alpine 2003 Albany, Boston, Boston, Boston 2004 Boston, Boston 2006 Hartford, St. Paul (Petty), St. Paul (Petty) 2011 Alpine, Alpine 2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Comments
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Sorry, but ‘Gone With the Wind’ is not a history book
Creating a false, Disneyfied version of the past is a disservice to students
The White House issued a proclamation last week, of the sort that most presidents have issued about historical events that deserve commemorating, but that were missing, for the most part, during the Trump reign.
This one marked the 60th anniversary of the first Freedom Rides, on May 4, 1961, when traveling on a bus meant risking your life, if you were with an integrated group, sitting in a spot of your choice. Those southbound heroes were willing to face beatings and the unknown at the hands of fellow citizens intent on stopping progress by any means necessary. Angry and afraid, the violent white supremacist mobs refused to acknowledge the humanity of African Americans or the validity of any law that looked forward not back.
It’s the reality — and not the myth of uncomplicated greatness the country has told the world and itself for far too long.
And it’s not always pretty.
For that reason, many Republicans want to “cancel” it, to use a word today’s conservatives have been misusing with reckless abandon. They’d like to erase the history and the essential lessons that reveal so much about how and why America is so divided and its systems — of health care, housing, education and more — so inequitable in 2021.
Why? Because for all the chest-thumping toughness so many Americans brag about, apparently white students are too fragile to hear the truth, or see the pictures on prized postcards that treated lynchings as entertainment for the whole family, an indictment of more than a few rogue racists.
Black students, of course, subject to disproportionate school suspensions, stereotypical assumptions from teachers and keen scrutiny by law enforcement on their way to and from, and sometimes in, the classroom, know all too well that the problems they face stretch back 400 years and more. But the laws being passed and pushed in states across the country — no surprise — don’t have them in mind.
Alternate reality
For those making and debating these rules, in states such as Idaho, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Texas and Arkansas, creating an alternate reality, a version that resembles a Disneyfied diorama, is fine even if it is false, as long as it accommodates white feelings and gives in to white fears.
How will these laws be enforced? Government monitors? Would a fine be imposed if a teacher steps over some vague line? Well, yes, in Arizona, the penalty could be $5,000. If a curious student asks a question, will the teacher no longer be allowed to answer?
The late Rep. John Lewis, brave and persistent, who endured brutal beatings as a consequence of his civil rights activism —including his part in the Freedom Rides — would seem to be someone America’s students could look up to. But I’m doubtful his march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 would make it past the curriculum censors since his attackers were agents of the state, enforcing unjust laws that prevented African Americans from voting, from living a free life.
Can you imagine? Students might make a connection between those troopers and Derek Chauvin, a murderer in a uniform, and want to learn about the racist history of policing in America. Plus, calling that day “Bloody Sunday” just wouldn’t do.
It’s no coincidence that the defenders of a white-washed version of history are in many cases the same legislators rushing through laws that criminalize the protesters who are the spiritual sons and daughters of Lewis.
Do these arbiters of education think that if students don’t learn about Jim Crow, they won’t see anything shameful about “Jim Crow 2.0” laws that restrict voting rights and harken back to post-Reconstruction rules enacted to crush the progress of those who, once unshackled, achieved elective office and thrived?
It’s clear from the twisted views of America’s past held by many of the staunchest defenders of the anti-history movement that a more inclusive curriculum is overdue, and they should sign up for a makeup class.
Get the dunce cap ready for Martha Huckabay, president of the Women’s Republican Club of New Orleans, who defended Louisiana GOP state Rep. Ray Garofalo’s words on teaching about the “good” parts of enslaving men, women and children and offered choice thoughts of her own. Huckabay opined that slavery resulted in “hard working ethics” and that “many of the slaves loved their masters, and their masters loved them, and took very good care of them, and their families.” Was she talking about the torture, the rape or the selling of children away from moms and dads?
Tennessee Republican state Rep. Justin Lafferty somehow interpreted the three-fifths compromise in the original Constitution, which counted the enslaved as three-fifths of a human being, as a step toward ending slavery.
Colorado GOP state Rep. Ron Hanks said the three-fifths compromise “was not impugning anybody’s humanity” — after he made a lynching joke. His Republican colleague, state Rep. Richard Holtorf, called another colleague the racist stereotype “Buckwheat,” and insisted it had nothing — nothing — to do with race.
CNN contributor Rick Santorum has tried and failed miserably to explain his comments that “we birthed a nation from nothing. I mean, there was nothing here. I mean, yes we have Native Americans, but candidly there isn’t much Native American culture in American culture.” Why, when he was a senator from Pennsylvania, could Santorum not be bothered to stroll to the National Museum of the American Indian? Was he too lazy or just incurious, either way not an example for school kids of any age?
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell has weighed in on the debate. He seems fine with teaching the words of America’s founding documents — the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution. Does he want to stop there, leaving out how, when and why the country failed to live up to the lofty principles in those documents until forced to by true patriots? He has said the year 1619, when the first enslaved Africans arrived in colonial Virginia, means little to him. Considering his slave-owning ancestors benefited from trading and “owning” human beings and, presumably, passed the wealth on to family members, you’d think McConnell would be a little more “woke.”
History repeats
“The past is never dead. It’s not even past,” wrote William Faulkner. The depressing proof can be seen in the tiki-torch-carrying white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., chanting, “Jews will not replace us!” You have to wonder if avowed neo-Nazi James Fields Jr., serving life in prison for the killing of Heather Heyer, would even be charged under new laws that give a pass and winking approval to drivers who mow down protesters blocking a roadway?
Just months ago, on Jan. 6, violent, hate-filled mobs — cousins in crime to those who greeted the Freedom Riders — stormed the U.S. Capitol, attacking police with the same weapons of batons and bats, hoisting Confederate flags, erecting gallows, hunting for lawmakers and endangering democracy itself.
South Carolina, where Lewis was viciously attacked and left in a pool of blood at the Rock Hill stop of the original Freedom Rides, on Monday officially observed Confederate Memorial Day, honoring traitors who fought to split a nation over the issue of slavery.
This Monday.
How will the next generations do better if they are forbidden from learning the history they must not repeat?
Mary C. Curtis has worked at The New York Times, The Baltimore Sun, The Charlotte Observer, as national correspondent for Politics Daily, and is a senior facilitator with The OpEd Project. Follow her on Twitter @mcurtisnc3.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
www.headstonesband.com
Cancel culture strikes again!
Am I very left or left of center?
I'm confused
The head of a national conservative group that is spending $24 million to push new voting restrictions told supporters it secretly helped draft legislation in Republican-controlled statehouses across the country.
Jessica Anderson, executive director of Heritage Action, made the claim during a recent meeting with supporters in Arizona. A recording of the event was released by the liberal investigative website Documented, which made a copy available for The Associated Press to review. Heritage Action confirmed its authenticity.
“In some cases, we actually draft them for them,” Anderson said of legislation written for state lawmakers. “Or we have a sentinel on our behalf give them the model legislation, so it has that grassroots, from-the-bottom-up type of vibe.”
Anderson's comments shed additional light on precisely how well-funded national organizations have seized on false claims about the 2020 election to try to tighten state voting laws. While it is known that Heritage Action and several other groups are working with state lawmakers on legislation, it is rare to hear a leader detail how the group masks involvement to give the bills the appearance of broad political support.
Anderson gave the example of Georgia, where she said an activist affiliated with Heritage had given a letter outlining the group's recommendations to key legislators. The activist first had the proposal signed by thousands of other activists. Other states where she said the group helped write bills included Iowa and Texas.
In a statement Friday, Anderson said: “Heritage Action is proud of our work to make it easier to vote and harder to cheat. That work begins at the state level through our grassroots and continues in state legislatures throughout the country.”
Heritage Action is one of several Republican-affiliated groups that jumped into elections issues for the first time after former President Donald Trump’s false claims about election fraud led to the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol. The lies also have fanned deep suspicions about the integrity of the country’s voting systems among GOP activists and donors — Anderson noted Heritage activists cited it as a top issue in a survey — and led to new laws in Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Kansas and other states.
Democrats have argued that the laws make it harder for people to vote, and disproportionally affect Black, Latino, young and other Democratic-leaning voters. Republicans argue the tougher rules will guard against fraud and are needed to restore trust in the election system.
Heritage Action announced its effort in March, saying it would push legislation in eight battleground states based on model principles formulated by its parent organization, the conservative Heritage Foundation. Hans von Spakovsky, the foundation's top voting expert and a former member of Trump's 2017 election fraud commission, appeared at the event with Anderson and boasted of regularly talking with Republican secretaries of state. Anderson added that Heritage Action had just had a “huge” call with secretaries of state, who often serve as a state's chief elections official.
Anderson also said the group runs a Tuesday call to “give marching orders” to other conservative organizations that have just launched voting pushes, including the anti-abortion rights Susan B. Anthony List and the small government group FreedomWorks.
Anderson took credit for an Arizona law that bans donations to election offices from outside groups. The law was meant to fight back against $300 million in donations from Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg last year. She also claimed credit for a controversial provision in Iowa that moves voters to inactive status after missing a single election.
“Iowa is the first state that we got to work in, and we did it quickly and we did it quietly," Anderson said. "We helped draft the bills. ... Honestly, nobody even noticed. My team looked at each other, and we’re like, ‘it can’t be that easy.’”
Iowa Republicans who worked on the voting legislation have said they had no contact with Heritage. In March, Republican state Rep. Bobby Kaufmann, who wrote the legislation, told The Associated Press that he had not talked to Heritage or any other outside groups. On Friday, he reiterated that denial.
“Heritage is telling a bold-faced lie,” Kaufmann said. Asked if claiming credit for the bills was a fundraising technique, Kaufmann replied: “That's exactly what it is.”
At the event, Anderson said there was another task besides simply passing new laws. Many Republicans fear that their voters lost trust in the system due to Trump’s allegations and then in Georgia didn’t cast ballots during two January Senate run-offs, which Democrats won. Heritage wants to make sure conservative voters hear that voting rules are being tightened to prevent fraud.
“It's our job to tell them that was done, with the hope that it will restore voter confidence and let people return to the polls in 2022,” Anderson said.
__
Riccardi reported from Denver and Izaguirre from Lindenhurst, New York. Michael Biesecker in Washington and Ryan J. Foley in Iowa City, Iowa, contributed.
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
2013 Wrigley 2014 St. Paul 2016 Fenway, Fenway, Wrigley, Wrigley 2018 Missoula, Wrigley, Wrigley 2021 Asbury Park 2022 St Louis 2023 Austin, Austin
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/18/politics/andrew-giuliani-governor-new-york/index.html
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/18/politics/kevin-mccarthy-opposes-1-6-commission/index.html
Libtardaplorable©. And proud of it.
Brilliantati©
doesnt want to testify.....
Not today Sir, Probably not tomorrow.............................................. bayfront arena st. pete '94
you're finally here and I'm a mess................................................... nationwide arena columbus '10
memories like fingerprints are slowly raising.................................... first niagara center buffalo '13
another man ..... moved by sleight of hand...................................... joe louis arena detroit '14
Senate Republicans don't offer Biden aides new infrastructure plan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. Republican lawmakers met on Tuesday with top officials from President Joe Biden’s administration to seek common ground on an infrastructure proposal but did not unveil a new plan of their own, according to a congressional aide.
Senator Shelly Moore Capito, who is leading the Republican effort, has announced a $568 billion plan here, far short of Biden's $2.3 trillion plan package. A bipartisan group of senators has discussed a package of roughly $1 trillion.
Capito was one of several Republicans meeting with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo at the U.S. Capitol.
Biden’s administration has said it is willing to work with Republicans but also will forge ahead with only Democratic support if necessary. The White House had set a Tuesday deadline for any Republican counter-proposal, but Republicans were not likely to meet it, Capito spokeswoman Kelly Moore said.
Biden’s mammoth infrastructure proposal includes traditional projects to revitalize roads and bridges, but would also seek to address climate change and social issues such as elder care. The president said he would pay for the plan by raising taxes on U.S. corporations.
Republicans have rejected Biden’s proposal as too broad and too expensive and instead have sought to reach a bipartisan deal that focuses on roads, bridges, waterways and broadband access.
Democrats have floated a two-track approach that would include a smaller bipartisan package, as well as more sweeping legislation that they could enact without Republican support through a process known as reconciliation.
Reporting by Susan Cornwell and Makini Brice, writing by Andy Sullivan; Editing by Scott Malone and Cynthia Osterman
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https://www.cnn.com/2021/05/18/politics/mark-mccloskey-senate-run/index.html
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Should be interesting.
He will win most likely.
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