Tag: gop civil war
Bannon Furiously Denounces McConnell Over 'Direct Challenge To Trump'

Bannon Furiously Denounces McConnell Over 'Direct Challenge To Trump'

Like many other Republicans, former Trump White House chief strategist Steve Bannon was not pleased with Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for siding with Democratic lawmakers last week on lifting the debt ceiling.

On Friday Bannon again torched the top-ranking Republican lawmaker during the latest segment of his War Room podcast. Bannon's remarks were evidently a reaction to McConnell's recent interview on Spectrum News where he applauded the investigative work of the House Select Committee investigating the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol. In fact, McConnell even described the deadly day as "horrendous."

"I think the fact-finding is interesting. We're all going to be watching it," the top Senate Republican explained. "It was a horrendous event, and I think what they're seeking to find out is something the public needs to know."

For many Republicans, McConnell's remarks were baffling because it contradicts his previous opposition toward creating the investigative committee in the first place. "He is a direct challenge to President Trump, and Trump is trying to lead this country through these horrible times," Bannon said. "Mitch McConnell, that dirtbag right there, gave the Biden regime $2.5 trillion to fund their madness."

Although no Republicans voted in favor of the $2.5 trillion debt ceiling increase, McConnell and 13 additional Senate Republicans "voted to advance the deal that allowed Democrats to pass the increase with a simple majority vote," reports Newsweek.

According to Bannon, McConnell's latest actions would likely guarantee that he will not be the majority leader again if Republicans regain control of the Senate. Confident of his projection, Bannon said, he was "as sure as the turning of the Earth" as he labeled McConnell a "'little wimp,' claiming that he 'loves' being referred to as 'leader,'" reports Newsweek.

"Here's what your legacy will be. People are going to throw up in their mouth," Bannon said to McConnell. "You have betrayed the Republican Party. You've betrayed this movement. You're only there because of Trump. You never had any loyalty."

Bannon's latest remarks come months after McConnell weighed in on the Capitol insurrection as he acknowledged former President Donald Trump's role in the riots.


Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, right, and Rep. Matt Gaetz

Greene Says She And Gaetz Are 'Taking Charge' In GOP 'Civil War'

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Earlier, we reported that nearly one-third of Republicans believe QAnon conspiracy theories, which some observers say is enough to eventually take over the GOP.

Georgia Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, a QAnon believer, suggested Thursday that the takeover is already happening before our very eyes. During an appearance on the Real America's Voice network, Greene claimed there is a "civil war" within the party between Trump-hating Republicans and devout worshippers of the former president like her and Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz.

Greene, who recently launched an "America First" speaking tour with Gaetz, butted heads with House GOP leaders this week after they criticized her for comparing mask mandates to the Holocaust. Gaetz, meanwhile, says he's considering running for president in 2024 despite an ongoing federal investigation into whether he sex-trafficked minors.

"We're also seeing the civil war within the GOP, and Matt and I have teamed up because we refuse to allow Liz Cheney or Adam Kinzinger or any Trump-hating Republican and Republican that just sells out all the Republican voters — we won't allow the GOP to turn into their party," Greene said. "So we're taking charge, we're bringing it to the people, we know what the people want. The people overwhelmingly support President Trump as the leader of the Republican Party. Matt and I both support President Trump as the leader of the Republican Party, and Matt and I are just going to drive it home all over the country to make sure that America First policies are the only way forward for the Republican Party."

Watch below.

 Sen. Lisa Murkowski

GOP Civil War Erupts Again Over  Primary Challenge To Murkowski

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

In the minds of Trumpistas, conservative Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska committed an unpardonable sin when, earlier this year, she voted "guilty" during former President Donald Trump's impeachment trial for "incitement to insurrection." Trump devotees are hoping to unseat Murkowski via a 2022 GOP senatorial primary, and Republican challenger Kelly Tshibaka is campaigning on an overtly Trumpian platform — slamming Murkowski for failing to honor Trump,

CNN reporters Manu Raju and Alex Rogers explain, "Nearly a dozen years after overcoming a Tea Party-inspired challenge from the right, Murkowski again is facing a Republican seeking to claim the mantle as the most aggressive version of today's GOP — or in this case, the Trumpiest. Republican Kelly Tshibaka, a former Alaska Department of Administration commissioner, has offered herself as a vessel for the supporters of the former president, who won the state twice, as she lambasts Murkowski for her penchant for deal-cutting and breaking with Trump."

Raju and Rogers, in an article published by CNN's website on April 19, describe the Murkowski/Tshibaka competition as "the first proxy battle between Trump, whose top political advisers have joined Tshibaka's campaign, and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who is backing the nearly 20-year incumbent." And they note that the Alaska GOP senatorial primary puts Republican senators and the National Republican Senatorial Committee "in an awkward position as they remain divided about the former president's role in the party" and "try to unify ahead of the 2022 midterms with control of Congress at stake."

In an interview with CNN, Tshibaka promoted the false claim that there was widespread voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election — in contrast to Murkowski, who acknowledged Joe Biden as the legitimate president-elect after the 2020 election.

Tshibaka told CNN, "We don't know the outcome of the 2020 election. In the 2020 election, there were questions raised in several states, and we're not allowed to look into the questions of those allegations to see what actually happened. I still have questions, and I think millions of other Americans do too."

In fact, now-President Biden defeated Trump by more than seven million in the popular vote, and cybersecurity experts for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have stressed that the election was undeniably secure. Even former Attorney General Bill Barr, a Trump loyalist, said he saw no evidence of the type of widespread voter fraud that Trump alleged.

Raju and Rogers note, "There was no evidence of widespread fraud in the 2020 election, which President Joe Biden won resoundingly with 306 electoral votes to Trump's 232. And Trump and his allies' many lawsuits contesting the election were roundly rejected in court, including before conservative judges and the U.S. Supreme Court. But Tshibaka's willingness to cast doubt over the legitimacy of the election illustrates how those eager to win over the former president must adopt his baseless claims."

Voting to impeach Trump was not the first time Murkowski infuriated Trumpistas, who were disappointed when — along with Sen. Susan Collins of Maine and the late Sen. John McCain of Arizona — she voted against repealing the Affordable Care Act of 2010, a.k.a. Obamacare. Trump loyalists have never forgiven Murkowski for helping Obamacare to survive or for voting against the confirmation of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh in 2018.

Murkowski has not officially announced that she will seek reelection in 2022, but she filed a statement of candidacy with the Federal Election Commission on March 9. And Tshibaka is obviously looking forward to taking on Murkowski in the primary.

Murkowski told CNN, "We'll see how much is invested in the sense of time and energy and resources by those that think that I should have been a more loyal Trump supporter."

GOP Feud Flares As McConnell Trolls Trump’s Fundraising Flub

GOP Feud Flares As McConnell Trolls Trump’s Fundraising Flub

Reprinted with permission from Daily Kos

The only thing that's more triggering to Donald Trump than being mocked by his political enemies is being fleeced by them. That means Minority Leader Mitch McConnell scored a twofer in their latest tussle over whether Republican Party committees such as the Senate's campaign arm would be allowed to use Trump's likeness and name in fundraising solicitations.

McConnell apparently boasted in private to his GOP Senate colleagues that their fundraising efforts had amassed a bigger haul than Trump's had. The snub came after a closed-door presentation by Sen. Rick Scott of Florida, chair of the National Republican Senatorial Committee (NRSC), detailing the committee's work in preparation for the midterms, according to TheNew York Times.

But it's not like McConnell just threw a single barb at Trump. He printed out the tally on small cards and then distributed them to attendees so no one could possibly miss it—a little keepsake from the meeting, if you will. McConnell reportedly noted "several times" that the Senate Leadership Fund, the super PAC that typically doles out cash to help reelect GOP incumbents, had surpassed the fundraising totals of Trump's super PAC.

In terms of Senate GOP fundraising for the Georgia Senate races, the card read: "Total: $612+ million," adding, "In 3 cycles: nearly $1 billion."

Below that were the statistics for Trump's PAC, America First: "Trump: $148+ million." Ouch.

McConnell was basically laying fault for the dual losses in Georgia at Trump's feet.

Naturally, that sniping prompted an exchange of pleasantries with Trump spokesperson Jason Miller, who implied that McConnell's weak stimulus package was at fault for the twin failures.

"A better side-by-side comparison would be the $2,000 stimulus checks that the Democrat candidates promised in Georgia versus the $600 stimulus checks that the Republicans offered, which led to us losing both seats," Miller told the Times. "Just think, if we had done that one thing differently, Republicans would be in control of the Senate right now."

But they're not in control right now. Democrats are, and President Biden just helped shepherd the giant relief package through Congress that Trump had dreamed of but wasn't a good enough dealmaker to deliver.

Now Republicans are caught in the endless loop of a circular firing squad born of sheer desperation. A party with any ideas would have pivoted by now to start executing their strategy for 2022. Instead, they're railing about Dr. Seuss and Mr. Potato Head while Democrats just passed what is arguably the most transformational piece of legislation in a generation.