January 7, 2022

Tactical extremism brought America Reagan, Gingrich, Trump--and a looming threat to democracy

The insurgency that smashed its way into the Capitol on Jan. 6 didn’t end on that day. It certainly didn’t begin on that day. For more than five decades, Republicans have become more and more dependent on a system that feeds the most extreme voices, punishes any sign of moderation, and ensures that there is no such thing as “going too far.”

When wondering why Republicans didn’t turn away from Donald Trump and try to salvage some modicum of responsibility as they tried to rebuild the Republican Party, the answer is simple enough—there is no Republican Party. There hasn’t been one in decades. There is simply nothing there to reform.

This is a party that, in the 2020 elections, did not even bother to write a platform. It makes no promises to the people. It has no defining philosophy. What it has is funding. What that funding demands is extremism.

It’s a six-decade history of using “strategic extremism” to keep people angry and America off-balance.

https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2022/1/6/2073044/-Republicans-heads-for-2022-as-a-pro-insurgency-party-squarely-behind-the-Big-Lie

January 7, 2022

The Next Big Lies: Jan. 6 Was No Big Deal, or a Left-Wing Plot

How revisionist histories of Jan. 6 picked up where the “stop the steal” campaign left off, warping beliefs about what transpired at the Capitol.

It was mere hours after a mob spurred on by the “stop the steal” lies of President Donald J. Trump had attacked the United States Capitol, and already new lies were taking hold in the nearby streets.

The police had pushed the few dozen remaining protesters off the Capitol grounds, but some continued to hurl threats and obscenities at a line of officers in riot gear. “Traitors get the rope,” a man shouted. “Wait until we come back with rifles.”

Only yards away, though, others were spinning fictions about what they had just witnessed, even joined.

“They’re calling us violent Trump mobs,” bemoaned a woman shortly before 8 p.m.

“That’s because antifa came here dressed as Trump supporters and started all this,” added one of the men she was speaking with.

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/06/us/politics/jan-6-lies.html?unlocked_article_code=AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACEIPuonUktbfqYhkSVUbBSbIRp8_qRmHmfnE2_s-j3m7cm2RSDtZieQJBozKs2H8WZ1eXfphlTKKWI0Gd7Y1WP15yuIYMUA1ElLzqJXBycRcL2Bo9onsGzI71sOIULxoq2O0YmSwdrgmjvWlsh2HERTiUKfc0HUgIgx389AyJRzxhyt-luqSGfV129J-wf4iGpl_ID8GbyOBtPXrYA5sbJTENlqPr1lrBJwKHG3bjtWe6LkfcQ1NClqgTH5342Y07Ns0K8rlx3sJl_jFtc-opMszOnOw&smid=url-share

January 7, 2022

2 Florida county commissioners from The Villages removed after perjury charges

Gov. Ron DeSantis removed the men from office several weeks after they were charged with lying during an investigation of possible Sunshine Law violations.

TALLAHASSEE — Two county commissioners in central Florida were suspended from office Thursday, several weeks after being arrested and charged with lying during an investigation of possible Sunshine Law violations.

Gov. Ron DeSantis issued two executive orders to remove Sumter County commissioners Oren Miller and Gary Search from their elected offices until their criminal cases are resolved, in accordance with state law. Miller and Search were arrested Dec. 15 and charged with perjury.

DeSantis, Miller and Search are all Republicans. Miller and Search are both residents of The Villages, a massive retirement community.

Florida’s Sunshine Law requires public access for any gathering of two or more members of the same government board to discuss a matter that could foreseeably come before that board for action. The Fifth Circuit State Attorney’s Office initially received three complaints last year that Miller and Search were communicating through Miller’s wife.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/florida-politics/2022/01/07/2-florida-county-commissioners-from-the-villages-removed-after-perjury-charges/

January 7, 2022

Ted Cruz grovels to Tucker Carlson over Jan. 6 'terrorist attack' remark

If you tried to script an interview that epitomized the GOP’s post-Jan. 6 evolution, its subjugation to its more extreme elements and its rewriting of its own narrative of the Capitol riot, you’d struggle to do better than Sen. Ted Cruz’s interview with Tucker Carlson on Thursday night.

To recap, Cruz (R-Tex.) set off a bit of a MAGA backlash on Wednesday by calling the Jan. 6, 2021, assault on the U.S. Capitol a “violent terrorist attack.” Among those criticizing Cruz was Carlson, who laid into the senator on Wednesday night.

So Cruz appeared on Carlson’s show Thursday night to back down, take his medicine and hopefully move on.

It did not go quite so well. But it did at least provide an extremely apt picture of the current state of the post-Jan. 6 GOP — on the evening of the anniversary of Jan. 6, no less.

https://wapo.st/3n4Alb0

January 7, 2022

Liz Cheney Torches Trump on Fox News

The Republican congresswoman’s harsh comments about Trump’s role in inciting the insurrection were unlike anything else Fox News viewers have heard in the year since.

It speaks volumes about the state of conservative politics in 2022 America that the sight of Liz Cheney on Fox News Thursday afternoon was genuinely surprising.

The Republican congresswoman appeared from Capitol Hill with Bret Baier—the network’s last remaining anchor even capable of delivering “straight” news after Chris Wallace’s recent departure—and did not hesitate to tear into former President Donald Trump for his leadership role in inciting the insurrection one year earlier.

After praising speeches marking the anniversary from President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris earlier in the day, Cheney quickly pivoted to attacking Trump. “This was a mob that was summoned by and provoked by the president of the United States in an effort to stop the counting of electoral votes, which is a Constitutional process,” she said, explaining how the events of January 6th were different from the outside threats that hit America in the cases of 9/11 or Pearl Harbor.

Repeatedly during the interview, Baier attempted to goad Cheney into criticizing the current administration, but time and again she explained away her “policy” differences with the Democrats while focusing on the wrongdoing of Trump. When Baier characterized Trump’s speech prior to the attack as “peaceful,” she pushed back, noting that he told his crowd to “fight like hell.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/liz-cheney-torches-trump-on-fox-news-with-bret-baier

January 6, 2022

The ridiculous hypocrisy of Sean Hannity hiding behind 'freedom of the press'

The Fox News host spent years disavowing and attacking the U.S. media. Now his lawyer is trying to hide behind the First Amendment.

The House Jan. 6 committee asked this week that Fox News host Sean Hannity appear and answer investigators’ questions about his text messages to President Trump’s aides before, during and after the attack on the U.S. Capitol. The response from Hannity’s lawyer was every bit as predictable as it was laughable.

“We remain very concerned about the constitutional implications especially as it relates to the First Amendment,” wrote Jay Sekulow, the Trump-team lawyer who represents Hannity. He was even more explicit in a statement to Axios, referring to “concerns regarding freedom of the press.”

Those statements look like a winning entry into the Hypocrisy Hall of Fame.

Everything about Hannity’s text messages, part of a trove of documents the House panel received from former chief of staff Mark Meadows after a subpoena, scream one thing: that the prime-time host is not a journalist.

https://wapo.st/3FYMdm6

January 6, 2022

Tampa Bay is Zillow's hottest housing market for 2022

Nationally, home values are expected to grow 14.3 percent, according to a Zillow analysis. For Tampa Bay, 24.6 percent.

Zillow has named Tampa Bay the top housing market in the nation going into 2022, according to the real estate firm’s annual analysis.

Tampa Bay rose in the ranks from fourth last year to overtake Austin, Texas, for the top spot. Austin’s standing fell to 10th.

Zillow economists expect Tampa’s home values to rise 24.6 percent in 2022, according to a press release. Tampa Bay’s bustling job market, the high demand for housing inventory, a growing population of home buyers and strong home value growth contributed to its rise over other major cities.

The national housing market will likely begin to slow down “a bit” this year, Zillow forecasts, but finding a home in a hot market like Tampa Bay still won’t be easy. About six out of the top 10 markets have added more jobs than new homes over a two-year period, according to Zillow.

https://www.tampabay.com/news/real-estate/2022/01/04/tampa-bay-is-zillows-hottest-housing-market-for-2022/

January 6, 2022

Fox News Anchors Gripe That Biden Didn't Show Enough 'Gratitude' in 'Aggressive' Jan. 6 Speech

“They come back, do the right thing and Joe Biden is inaugurated and he is president, and we as a country have moved on,” Perino said about the aftermath of Jan. 6.

Fox News anchors Dana Perino and Bret Baier took aim at President Joe Biden on Thursday over the tone of his speech condemning the Jan. 6 insurrection, calling the president’s remarks “aggressive” and “political.” Additionally, Perino griped that the president didn’t show enough “gratitude” that his 2020 election win was eventually certified.

Delivering a passionate 25-minute address to commemorate the one-year anniversary of the Capitol riot, Biden blasted former President Donald Trump without once mentioning his predecessor by name. Repeatedly referring to the ex-president as “defeated” and “failed,” Biden noted that Trump “can’t accept he lost” while excoriating him for inciting the failed coup attempt.

“What did we not see?!” Biden angrily exclaimed at one point. “We didn’t see a former president who had just rallied the mob to attack, sitting in the private dining room off the Oval Office in the White House watching it all on television and doing nothing for hours as police were assaulted, lives at risk, the nation’s Capitol under siege.”

Immediately reacting to the speech, Perino lamented that the president’s remarks were “quite political” and “divisive in many ways,” adding that “everyone has a choice on how they want to communicate.” She then turned to Baier, the network’s chief political anchor, for his main takeaways.

https://www.thedailybeast.com/fox-news-anchors-dana-perino-bret-baier-gripe-that-joe-biden-didnt-show-gratitude-in-jan-6-speech

January 6, 2022

Anti-Vax Radio Host Who Got COVID at QAnon-Friendly Conference Dies

Douglas Kuzma contracted the coronavirus at a Texas conference that right-wingers had claimed was the victim of an anthrax attack.

Far-right podcast host Douglas Kuzma—who was an outspoken critic of the COVID-19 vaccine—has died while battling the coronavirus, which he contracted after attending a QAnon-friendly gathering in Texas that right-wingers baselessly claimed was the victim of an anthrax attack.

“I really loved him and I would do anything for him,” Amanda Kuzma told The Daily Beast on Thursday morning while confirming her father’s death earlier this week. “He was a great father.”

Kuzma, who hosted a program on the far-right “Frog News Network” and called his listeners “froganites,” had come down with COVID-19 after attending the right-wing “ReAwaken America Tour” gathering held in Texas in mid-December. Friends of Kuzma told The Daily Beast that Kuzma had fallen ill following the event and was later admitted to the hospital, causing many of his loyal allies to lose touch with him.

The news initially kicked off with pro-Trump attorney Lin Wood posting to Telegram in later December that Kuzma had “taken a turn for the worse” as his lungs aren’t responding to treatment. “Doug is suffering from Covid after returning from a recent patriot conference. Anna [a friend of Kuzma] informs me that Doug has taken a turn for the worse,” Wood wrote. “His lungs are not responding to treatment.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/covid-infected-radio-host-douglas-kuzma-dies-after-qanon-friendly-conference-with-baseless-anthrax-rumors

January 6, 2022

DeSantis in West Palm Beach: Jan. 6 anniversary events and coverage are 'nauseating','politicized'

WEST PALM BEACH — Saying he expected "nauseating" coverage of the anniversary of the deadly insurrection at the U.S. Capitol, Gov. Ron DeSantis said Thursday he would tune out watching news coverage.

"It's interesting how everything in our society becomes very politicized. Honestly I'm not going to watch any of it," he said during a COVID briefing at the Rehabilitation Center of the Palm Beaches in West Palm Beach.

However, the governor tweeted he had plans for an appearance on Fox News.

While at the post-acute care and skilled nursing facility located just north of 45th Street, DeSantis announced that Florida would distribute nearly 1 million rapid at-home COVID-19 testing kits to senior living facilities and nursing homes as case numbers skyrocket across Florida and in Palm Beach County.

https://www.heraldtribune.com/story/news/politics/state/2022/01/06/florida-governor-desantis-says-jan-6-capitol-riot-anniversary-christmas-national-media/9115206002/