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GOP EXTREMISM

Rick Santorum: ‘I Don’t Know’ if Trump Has Ever Lied – But I Know Obama Has

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Former Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) went down in flames in an epic Wednesday morning interview with CNN’s Chris Cuomo. The claims from the Pennsylvania conservative were so egregious that it even prompted Cuomo to groan and bring up the former senator’s faith.

The conversation began with Cuomo hammering Santorum on “swampy” behavior by cabinet members like EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt. President Donald Trump’s cabinet appointees are growing increasingly unpopular as scandals stack up, but Cuomo noted that former Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price was fired for far less than Pruitt’s scandals.

Santorum attempted to make the argument that there are far worse things that.

“I think that is one of the lesser situations here,” Cuomo began. “There is bad decision making on display here and swampy by definition. If what the president’s mandate was partially about was draining the swamp, getting rid of the people who will choose preference over power, why stand by this guy? The Morocco example alone. Somebody setting up a trip to Morocco and they get hired as a lobbyist.”

Santorum argued that there is “a lot of smoke here” but refused to conceded that it meant there was a fire.

Cuomo brought up the recent moments of honesty from Republican officials, who confessed that the GOP’s tax bill wasn’t actually a benefit for everyday Americans. Similarly, Price admitted that destroying Obamacare’s individual mandate essentially killed the stability of the healthcare market place, exactly as Democrats promised.

Santorum tried to bring up all of the big problems and high costs that happened with Obamacare, but Cuomo noted that many of the states refused to implement the law’s requirements. In fact, 19 states fought the law in court, further delaying the law from taking effect. The result was higher costs passed onto Americans and it allowed the GOP to claim the law was too expensive.

“That is a political argument and a fair one to have,” Cuomo noted. “But what we saw was public sentiment was increasing about the [Affordable Care Act] while you guys were trying to destroy it, because people were realizing what would happen to their prices. Now it is coming home to roost.”

After a discussion about Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-FL) sudden honesty about the GOP tax bill, Cuomo noted everything comes down to the truth about a political dynamic.

“What do we see in this administration?” he asked. “And Rick, you can push back but it is just a fact. The Washington Post did an analysis of, let’s put up some graphic to help with the numbers. In 466 days, this is like the lie-o-meter, the president has made a record number of false claims. You will say, ‘Well, we have never measured it this way.’ Chicken and egg, my brother. If you give me 3,001 misleading, outright lies and often ugly about things that our democracy is supposed to protect, you’re going to get heat.”

Santorum responded to the comment about Trump’s lies but claiming that former President Barack Obama lied, too. It was an argument that prompted Cuomo to note his 8-year-old son knew better than to try. Santorum claimed that Obama’s lies were worse than Trump’s because, despite being considerably fewer, they were more substantive.

“Moral relativism from a practicing Catholic,” Cuomo said, calling out Santorum’s faith.

Santorum tried to explain that he’s been willing to criticize Tump in the past but Cuomo wasn’t letting him get away with it.

“You immediately talked about Barack Hussein Obama when I asked about Trump’s lying,” Cuomo countered. “What does that tell you?”

“Nobody held President Obama accountable for those lies,” Santorum persisted.

Cuomo called folly, noting that over and over Republicans not only campaigned on the mistaken claim “if you like your doctor you can keep it.” Indeed, Santorum himself spent time on CNN calling out mistakes and discrepancies.

Cuomo ultimately asked the former senator if he thinks Trump lies and Santorum replied he “didn’t know.”

“Oh come on, you’ve got to be better than this,” Cuomo said. He went on to described it as being like a child called out for lying, who answers that their parent lied to them too.

“We don’t say that to our children, Rick,” Cuomo noted. “Why justify it with the president of the United States? Why give him cover?”

Watch the full conversation below:

 

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GOP EXTREMISM

Insurrection ‘Truther’ Marjorie Taylor Greene: FBI Was ‘Involved in Organizing and Carrying Out the Capitol Riot’

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3 years ago

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June 16, 2021

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U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) is attacking the Federal Bureau of Investigation, falsely claiming its “operatives…were involved in organizing and carrying out the Jan 6th Capitol riot.”

Like her extremist friends on the far right Greene has become an “insurrection truther,”  like the 9/11 truthers who insist the attack by bin Laden was actually an “inside job” by the U.S. government, which is false.

“We need names and answers about the FBI operatives, who were involved in organizing and carrying out the Jan 6th Capitol riot,” Greene tweeted Wednesday. “First they had a ‘back up plan’ to stop Trump in Russia Collusion witch hunt, now we are finding out they were deeply involved in Jan 6th. Deep State.”

None of her claims are true. She appears to be basing her accusation on a Tuesday night Fox News segment by white supremacist host Tucker Carlson.

She attached a tweet from Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL), who is under DOJ investigation and clearly has an ax to grind against the Dept. of Justice and FBI.

In the clip (below) former FBI Assistant Director For Counterintelligence Frank Figliuzzi says the Bureau may need to arrest sitting members of Congress for domestic terrorism, a reasonable response if any took any part in the January 6 insurrection to overturn the election in a violent and deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, also known as a “coup.”

Carlson went ballistic, twisting Figliuzzi’s words, and then – based on zero evidence, said, “How about rounding up the FBI operatives who rioted on January 6.”

 

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GOP EXTREMISM

Old-School Republican on GOP: ‘A Complete Break from Reality’ Concerning Pelosi

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5 years ago

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December 28, 2018

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President-elect Donald J. Trump and U.S. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi smile for a photo during the 58th Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C., Jan. 20, 2017. More than 5,000 military members from across all branches of the armed forces of the United States, including reserve and National Guard components, provided ceremonial support and Defense Support of Civil Authorities during the inaugural period. (DoD photo by U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Marianique Santos)

Kurt Bardella, a former press secretary for Republican Olympia Snowe, told MSNBC on Friday that when it came to Nancy Pelosi, the Republican Party had had “a complete break from reality.”

“The GOP talking point this morning is that Nancy Pelosi is peacocking for her colleagues, blocking negotiations to look strong, shore up support for her speakership,” said Ayman Mohyeldin, noting that Republicans have historically strongly disliked the incoming House Speaker. “Is that a smart strategic move to say that the left, or the Democrats have a left wing within their party that is making Nancy Pelosi take this hardened position?”

“They can try to say that, but it’s a complete break from what’s actually happening in reality, and I just don’t think anybody’s going to buy that anyway,” replied Bardella. “Nancy Pelosi’s position since the election has been strong. There is not a real severe legitimate challenger to her speakership.”

He added that the Republicans were deluding themselves about her position on the budget as well.

“The reality is that something that the Republicans can not escape from: they had a deal. The Senate passed it unanimously,” he pointed out. “This is all on the House Republicans.” He slammed Speaker Paul Ryan by name for refusing to bring the Senate bill to the floor, and said the party’s refusal to work with Pelosi put the president in an even more precarious position.

“When the Democrats take back the majority in six days, they’re going to put up a bill, they’re going to pass it, and once again Donald Trump is going to be in a position wheres he’s going have to veto a bill that could end the shutdown. He’ll own it twice,” Bardella said, scoffing at his own party. “It’s not going to work. the American people are not going to buy that it is some how all Nancy Pelosi’s fight, because the reality is this started before she was speaker.

Watch the video here.

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GOP EXTREMISM

Exposed: New GOP Nominee Ron DeSantis Manages Hate-Filled Facebook Group That Promotes Racism: Report

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6 years ago

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August 29, 2018

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Florida GOP gubernatorial candidate Ron DeSantis is an administrator of a Facebook group that promotes racist and “deep state” conspiracy theories.

American Ledger — a corruption watchdog news site — reported Wednesday that DeSantis is one of 52 administrators and moderators for the “Tea Party” Facebook group that is also co-run by failed Arizona Senate candidate Kelli Ward.

The GOP candidate’s participation in the large administrator pool was first revealed on Tuesday by Media Matters extremism researcher Natalie Martinez, who posted screenshots of a string of DeSantis campaign posts in the group. She later learned that another administrator named the candidate as one of the group’s admins.

The “Tea Party” group has nearly 95,000 members, the Ledger reported. In the past, group members have posted about the “ghetto scum” that is Black Lives Matter and made fun of the Parkland massacre survivors.

“One member believed the violent far-right rally of neo-Nazis and white supremacists in Charlottesville, Va., in August 2017 was a hoax,” the report noted, “writing in a post liked by 1,600 users that the rally was ‘orchestrated by the left’ to ‘destroy America.’”

Ward and her husband Michael were revealed to be administrators of the group in early July by Media Matters. Michael Ward was known to share posts from the candidate’s (verified) Facebook page and once called John McCain a “strong supporter of the Muslim Brotherhood.”

After winning the GOP gubernatorial primary a day prior, DeSantis made headlines Wednesday after saying people who voted for his Democratic opponent — Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum — would “monkey up” the state.

Image by Gage Skidmore via Flickr and a CC license

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