UPDATED: Romney Donating Sandy Supplies To GOP Swing States — Not NY
Editor’s note: 6:55 PM ET  — Ten minutes ago, CNN updated their story, which we quote below, to state that a Red Cross warehouse has decided to accept donations of Romney’s supplies, though it does not indicate where the supplies will be distributed. This is a direct contradiction of Red Cross policies.
We add the additional CNN reporting at the bottom of this story and have left the remainder of this piece intact.
The Romney campaign still is not sending donations of supplies to New York, where New York City and surrounding areas were extremely hard hit.
Mitt Romney is sending the supplies he asked supporters to bring to his “non-political” campaign event today — to which Romney invited NASCAR driver Richard Petty — in the battleground state of Ohio, only to victims of Hurricane Sandy in swing states that the GOP candidate has a chance of winning: Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania — not the two areas hardest hit by Hurricane Sandy: New Jersey and New York.
READ: Romney Campaigning Off Storm: Holding ‘Relief Event’ With NASCAR’s Petty
The sheer audacity of this is truly staggering.
At least 29 people have now died because of Hurricane Sandy, in the U.S. alone, and almost 100 internationally. Ten of the 29 died in New York City alone.
First, as The New Civil Rights Movement has repeatedly reported, Romney’s urging to supporters to bring supplies, like blankets, water, and canned goods — instead of donating directly to the Red Cross — actually impedes relief efforts. The Red Cross will not even accept hard supplies, as they have no method to properly distribute them, and accepts financial donations only, because it’s easier to manage and less costly.
READ:Â Romney Attempts To Use Hurricane For Campaign, Impede Emergency Response
“After addressing the crowd briefly, the GOP nominee hopped off a makeshift stage to glad-hand with supporters and collect items as they filed past to donate relief goods like bottled water, canned foods and fleece blankets,” CNN reports:
The campaign announced they would load supplies into a campaign bus for delivery in Virginia, North Carolina, New Hampshire and Pennsylvania – all swing states impacted by the storm.
He did not answer questions from reporters on whether he would eliminate the Federal Emergency Management Agency as president – a topic the storm brought back into the political spotlight from the Republican primaries when Romney said he favored states taking a larger role in disaster relief.
Romney’s “non-political” campaign event, held instead of a publicized, presumptuous “victory rally,” was just a differently-dressed campaign rally.
READ: Mitt Romney: Keeping Federal Disaster Relief Agency Is ‘Immoral’
The sheer audacity of this is truly staggering.
“The event itself was billed as a ‘storm relief’ benefit, and the Romney campaign asked supporters to bring with them food and other goods to donate to victims of the storm,” Adam Peck at Think Progress reports:
But soon, reporters poked holes in the campaign’s explanation for staging the rally. First, the relief event was scheduled for the same time and location as a recently canceled political rally. Then, photos emerged, showing that donors were asked to wait to drop off their goods until Romney arrived to accept them himself, suggesting a photo op not unlike the one his running mate Paul Ryan staged earlier this month in a soup kitchen. And Salon noticed that the targeted recipient of all of the donations — the Red Cross — doesn’t even accept most of what the Romney campaign collected in Ohio.
But just in case there were any lingering questions over the political nature of the relief rally, Romney’s staff left no room for doubt when they aired a biographical video that was part of the Republican National Convention in August (and used by the campaign at political events since).
Peck adds:
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) condemned Obama in Ohio, while making an appearance on behalf of the candidate at a “storm relief and volunteer appreciation†event. “This president is either engaged in a massive cover-up deceiving the American people or he is so grossly incompetent that he is not qualified to be the commander in chief of our armed forces. It’s either one of them,†McCain told Romney volunteers.
The sheer audacity of this is truly staggering.
Â
CNN UPDATE:
Romney’s campaign told reporters that a Red Cross warehouse in New Jersey was accepting the donation, and distributed a statement they attributed to the Red Cross.
“The American Red Cross appreciates the support from the Romney campaign and is working with the campaign to process this donation of supplies,” the statement read. “We are grateful that both the Obama and Romney campaigns have also encouraged the public to send financial donations to the Red Cross. We encourage individuals who want to help to consider making a financial donation or making an appointment to give blood.”
Â
Related:Â
Trump Using Hurricane Sandy Deaths To Promote $5 Million Obama Challenge
Chris Christie: President Obama ‘Has Been Great’ And ‘All Over’ Hurricane
https://youtube.com/watch?v=X3fSqSRVMlc%3Fversion%3D3%26hl%3Den_US
Hat-tip: Joey Gillis
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RIGHT WING EXTREMISM
‘Sodom and Gomorrah’: ND Republican Unleashes Anti-LGBTQ Christian Nationalist Rant Calling for ‘Christ Is King’ Laws
North Dakota state Representative Brandon Prichard, a Republican who co-sponsored legislation that was passed in to law that bans all gender confirming surgeries and medication for minors in his state, went on an anti-LGBTQ Christian nationalist tirade including a call for state ordinances to declare “Jesus Christ is King.”
“Every conservative state should put into code that Jesus Christ is King and dedicate their state to Him. Force RINOs to say no to Jesus and then brutalize them in elections. We need a government of Christians, not fakers,” wrote Rep. Pritchard Sunday evening.
Pushback came swiftly, from politicos including former Republican and former U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh, who responded saying, “Not in this country. Never. Our Constitution won’t allow it. And that’s a damn good thing. Shame on you.”
Rep. Pritchard’s remarks in recent days have taken on a similarly strong Christian nationalist theme.
READ MORE: ‘Part of the Authoritarian Playbook’: Trump’s Courthouse Rant Slammed by Fascism Scholars
“Here is a simple test to determine if you are conservative: Should the church of Satan or satanic temple be allowed the freedom to worship in the same way as Christians? If you answer yes, you need to rethink your claimed political identity because you are not conservative,” he wrote Friday.
Later that same day he added, “Real conservatives will never put the constitution above natural law. The constitution is only useful insofar as it forces our government to limit power and pursue objective truth. It is a powerful means to an end, nothing more, nothing less.”
Over the weekend Pritchard issued a call to ban pornography, saying it “serves no positive benefit in society, destroys men, and treats women as objects.”
A social media account that appears to be for the adult site Just for Fans mocked him, writing on social media, “If you want to cancel an account, please contact our customer service department.”
READ MORE: McCarthy ‘Could Be a Former Speaker by the End of This Week’: Report
Also over the weekend Pritchard called for any Republican who thinks children should be allowed to attend drag shows be “censured or expelled from the party.”
He then wrote he was “extremely disappointed” with North Dakota State University “over their decision to have two homecoming kings and NO homecoming queen. People will be mad when I introduce a bill next session to say that state-funded schools cannot pick homecoming royalty of the same sex, but I didn’t start the fight.”
Pritchard also declared, “All schools should have LGBTQ history taught and lesson one should be Sodom and Gomorrah.”
Monday morning the lawmaker claimed, “All I want is to buy some land, raise a family, and mind my own business. Everything changes when you realize the left is militantly against this existence and will do everything to destroy our families and religion. We must take power or risk being controlled, it’s simple.”
The North Dakota state constitution requires lawmakers to take an oath that reads: “‘I do solemnly swear (or affirm as the case may be) that I will support the Constitution of the United States and the Constitution of the State of North Dakota; and that I will faithfully discharge the duties of the office of _________ according to the best of my ability, so help me God’ (if an oath), (under pains and penalties of perjury) if an affirmation, and any other oath, declaration, or test may not be required as a qualification for any office or public trust.”
Inside New York’s State Supreme Court in Manhattan, Donald Trump unleashed his anger on the first day of Attorney General Letitia James’ $250 million civil fraud lawsuit that has already led to the judge ordering the ex-president’s business licenses be revoked and his businesses dissolved.
One of Trump’s rants was highly-criticized by a fascism expert who compared it to language used by authoritarian strongmen including “Mussolini, Hitler, Berlusconi, Erdogan.”
Trump told reporters Monday the New York fraud case “is a continuation of the single greatest witch hunt of all time.” He described Justice Arthur Engoron as a “rogue judge” and Attorney General James as a “racist attorney general” and a “horror show,” and the case against him “a scam” and “a sham.”
READ MORE: McCarthy ‘Could Be a Former Speaker by the End of This Week’: Report
Trump, at an NYC courthouse, attacks the judge and prosecutors involved in his fraud case pic.twitter.com/LqjNW7x5AC
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) October 2, 2023
Ruth Ben-Ghiat, a New York University professor of history and Italian studies, responded to Trump’s remarks, saying “the witch hunt/victimhood rhetoric is part of the authoritarian playbook and was/is used by the following corrupt leaders: Mussolini, Hitler, Berlusconi, Erdogan. If extended to the whole country being victimized, add Putin, Xi, and more.”
Fascism expert Federico Finchelstein, a historian and history department chair at New York’s New School for Social Research, responded to Trump’s comments: “Fascist lies are about the projection onto others of what fascists are/do. Trump today as usual displayed his wannabe fascist mindset.”
Sherrilyn Ifill, the former President and Director-Counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) exclaimed, “So he’s in the courthouse calling the judge ‘rogue’ and calling the prosecutor ‘racist.’ Not on the steps outside the courthouse (bad enough) but inside the very courthouse.”
Trump also told reporters at the courthouse Monday that he’s been indicted because he’s running for president. Multiple reports have revealed he announced his White House run in an effort to avoid prosecution.
Donald Trump: “The reason I got indicted was that I ran. If I didn’t run, I would be sitting at a beach like Biden does every time even though he is supposed to be working.” pic.twitter.com/cPxrlAxJ8B
— Republican Accountability (@AccountableGOP) October 2, 2023
Watch the videos above or at this link.
At noon on Monday as the House opens for business U.S. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL) may file a motion to oust Speaker Kevin McCarthy for crossing the aisle and working with Democrats to avoid a federal government shutdown just hours before midnight on Saturday.
The Florida lawmaker, who is blamed by his fellow Republicans for leading the shutdown charge, has very publicly blamed Speaker McCarthy for the crisis. On Sunday he vowed to end McCarthy’s leadership. McCarthy said he’s unafraid, but how he can keep his job without the help of House Democrats is being questioned, and if he does, how he governs his volatile GOP conference is also being questioned.
Rep. Mike Lawler (R-NY): “There’s only one person to blame for any potential government shutdown and that’s Matt Gaetz. He’s not a conservative Republican; he’s a charlatan. As far as I’m concerned, when you’re working with Democrats to try to vacate the Speaker, you’re a joke.” pic.twitter.com/9Juy7xN8Af
— The Recount (@therecount) September 29, 2023
“Bring it on,” McCarthy said on CNN.
The Speaker also added, “let’s start governing.”
Big week for Kevin McCarthy’s Speakership: Will he keep his job?
Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-FL): “I think we need to move on with new leadership…”
McCarthy: “If he’s upset bc he tried to push us into shutdown and I made sure government didn’t shut down, then let’s have that fight.” pic.twitter.com/zY3zNrlpSd
— The Recount (@therecount) October 2, 2023
McCarthy’s call to “start governing” followed months of news reports detailing House Republicans’ infighting.
At the end of July, Axios ran a headline that read: “Congress gets a timeout after dysfunctional summer.”
“House members finally reached their August recess this weekend after a string of unusual, and at times contentious, incidents that clouded efforts to avoid a government shutdown,” the news outlet reported, pointing also to “January’s marathon speaker election to May and June’s close call on defaulting on the federal debt — not to mention conservatives’ unprecedented tactics to grind the House floor to a halt.”
On Tuesday, September 12, the House returned from its August recess.
“With less than three weeks remaining before government funding runs out on Sept. 30,” The New York Times reported Sunday, Sept. 10, “Congress has not cleared any of its 12 annual appropriations bills, though there has been more progress than in the recent past. Given the rapidly approaching deadline, leaders of both the House and the Senate agree that a temporary stopgap funding measure will be needed to avert a government shutdown beginning Oct. 1. But that usually routine legislation is facing major obstacles in the Republican-led House, making its path to President Biden’s desk unusually fraught.”
Monday morning CNN’s Manu Raju reported, “McCarthy’s future could tested as soon as today. House opens at noon, and Gaetz could file his motion to oust him today. At that point, the speaker could try to table the motion — or kill it. That is what is expected. But if that fails, the motion to oust him would still be alive.”
The question may soon become, will Democrats save McCarthy’s speakership?
“One idea moderate Republicans are proposing to get Democrats on board with saving McCarthy is to revise the rules package that governs how the House operates – and discussing making changes to House Rules Committee,: Raju reports, adding House Democratic leaders are keeping their “powder dry,” meaning not indicating what they want their members to do.
Noting that the House is “lurching from crisis to crisis thanks to the dysfunction inside the GOP conference,” Punchbowl News Monday morning asked: “Can McCarthy survive?”
Congressman Gaetz “acknowledged his effort is likely to fail, suggesting Democrats ‘probably will’ come to McCarthy’s rescue. Gaetz then criticized McCarthy for even considering the possibility of remaining speaker with Democratic support — despite the fact that Gaetz spent weeks courting Democrats in his bid to topple McCarthy.”
“Are we convinced McCarthy will get through this? No, not at all. McCarthy very well could be a former speaker by the end of this week,” Punchbowl News added.
Meanwhile, as questionable as McCarthy’s future is as Speaker, so is Gaetz’s future as a Congressman.
The Florida lawmaker faces a re-opened House Ethics Committee investigation into possible “sexual misconduct, illicit drug use and potential public corruption,” ABC News reported in July.
“House GOP members are seeking to quickly expel Gaetz if the ethics report comes back with findings of guilt,” CNN’s Jacqui Heinrich reported Sunday. “Following threats to vacate McCarthy, one tells me ‘No one can stand him at this point. A smart guy without morals.'”
Watch the videos above or at this link.
‘Part of the Authoritarian Playbook’: Trump’s Courthouse Rant Slammed by Fascism Scholars
McCarthy ‘Could Be a Former Speaker by the End of This Week’: Report
‘Sodom and Gomorrah’: ND Republican Unleashes Anti-LGBTQ Christian Nationalist Rant Calling for ‘Christ Is King’ Laws
‘Sodom and Gomorrah’: ND Republican Unleashes Anti-LGBTQ Christian Nationalist Rant Calling for ‘Christ Is King’ Laws
‘Part of the Authoritarian Playbook’: Trump’s Courthouse Rant Slammed by Fascism Scholars
McCarthy ‘Could Be a Former Speaker by the End of This Week’: Report
‘I’m Broke’: One Day Before Shutdown and With No Plan McCarthy Says He Has ‘Nothing’ in His ‘Back Pocket’
‘Bad News’ for Sidney Powell as First Trump Co-Defendant in Georgia RICO Case Takes Plea Deal: Legal Expert
COMMENTARY3 days ago‘I’m Broke’: One Day Before Shutdown and With No Plan McCarthy Says He Has ‘Nothing’ in His ‘Back Pocket’
News3 hours ago‘Part of the Authoritarian Playbook’: Trump’s Courthouse Rant Slammed by Fascism Scholars
News6 hours agoMcCarthy ‘Could Be a Former Speaker by the End of This Week’: Report
RIGHT WING EXTREMISM16 mins ago‘Sodom and Gomorrah’: ND Republican Unleashes Anti-LGBTQ Christian Nationalist Rant Calling for ‘Christ Is King’ Laws