Jeff Danziger lives in New York City. He is represented by CWS Syndicate and the Washington Post Writers Group. He is the recipient of the Herblock Prize and the Thomas Nast (Landau) Prize. He served in the US Army in Vietnam and was awarded the Bronze Star and the Air Medal. He has published eleven books of cartoons and one novel. Visit him at DanzigerCartoons.com.
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For GOP Senate Wannabes, A Race To The Bottom
On Tuesday, Ohio Republican Senate hopeful J.D. Vance celebrated receiving the endorsement of Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).
Though she is a QAnon conspiracy theorist who has spread antisemitic, racist, and Islamophobic hate and been stripped of all committee assignments for conduct that does not "reflect creditably on the House," as House rules put it, Vance tweeted, "Honored to have Marjorie's endorsement. We're going to win this thing and take the country back from the scumbags." His campaign told Fox News that the two would campaign together on Sunday in Ohio.
Around the country, Republican Senate hopefuls like Vance are doing everything possible to appeal to the far-right wing of their party and are touting endorsements from an array of bigots, pardoned criminals, conspiracy theorists, and shock jocks.
Greene has also backed former football player and accused domestic abuser Herschel Walker for the Senate nomination in Georgia. After the two posed for photos together and Greene began running Facebook ads backing Walker, the Democratic Party of Georgia filed an ethics complaint in October alleging campaign finance violations.
After receiving an endorsement from Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), who among other issues has a history of making antisemitic comments, North Carolina Senate hopeful and former Rep. Mark Walker hailed him as "a fierce conservative and a proven fighter who will ensure our North Carolina Values are not forgotten in Washington, D.C."
Vance and other candidates have also touted backing from bigoted anti-LGBTQ extremists and organizations.
Penny Nance of the Concerned Women for America, an organization that says that it fights against "sexual promiscuity," "cohabitation," and efforts to "eliminate natural distinctions between men and women," has endorsed Vance and Missouri Rep. Vicky Hartzler in their Senate races.
FRC Action, the political arm of the Southern Poverty Law Center-designated anti-LGBTQ hate group Family Research Council, has also endorsed Hartzler for Missouri's open Senate seat. The group's Alaska state affiliate is backing Kelly Tshibaka, a Republican candidate taking on incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).
A handful of right-wing figures who accepted pardons from former President Donald Trump for their crimes have also been in high demand.
Former New York City Police Commissioner Bernard Kerik, pardoned for felony tax fraud, has endorsed the Senate campaign of former Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens and campaigned with Jane Timken, the former chair of the Ohio Republican Party.
Former Trump national security adviser Michael Flynn, pardoned for making false statements to federal investigators, has backed Greitens, former Nevada Attorney General Adam Laxalt, Alabama Rep. Mo Brooks, New Hampshire Senate hopeful Don Bolduc, and Pennsylvania candidate Kathy Barnette.
Bobby Jeffries, a Pennsylvania Senate candidate, has touted the backing of former Trump lobbyist and political dirty trickster Roger Stone, pardoned for witness tampering and obstruction.
Other Trump apologists and election conspiracy theory spreaders have also been a hot commodity.
Ric Grenell, a Twitter troll and former Fox News contributor who was selected by Trump to briefly serve as his acting director of national intelligence, has claimed that the real tragedy of the Jan. 6 Capitol insurrection was that it cost his former boss his social media accounts. He has backed Ohio candidate Bernie Moreno, Alaska's Tshibaka, and Arizona's Jim Lamon.
Jenna Ellis, an attorney who helped oversee Trump's unsuccessful effort to overturn the 2020 election results, endorsed former Ohio Treasurer Josh Mandel.
Sebastian Gorka, a former Trump adviser known for his neo-Nazi ties who also pushed false claims that President Joe Biden was not the true victor in the 2020 elections, is supporting Greitens in Missouri and Barnette in Pennsylvania.
Some candidates have also enjoyed the backing of pro-Trump media figures.
In December, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt said he was "honored" have Dana Loesch "standing with me in my campaign for the United States Senate." Loesch, a talk show host and former NRA spokesperson, headlined a Texas "Stop the Steal" rally for Trump after the November 2020 election.
Mark Levin, who was among the radio hosts told by their network, Cumulus, last January to stop making claims about the 2020 election having been stolen, has endorsed Mandel in Ohio and state Attorney General Mark Brnovich in Arizona.
Informal Trump adviser and conspiracy monger Sean Hannity has thrown his support to Walker in Georgia and Mehmet Oz in Pennsylvania.
Republican candidates at all levels continue to highlight the endorsements of far-right figures who traffic in conspiracy theories and extreme positions that polls show are popular with a growing segment of the GOP primary base.
While most Americans now support LGBTQ rights, a May 2021 Gallup poll found only a minority of Republicans support allowing transgender people to serve in the military and participate in sports teams that match their gender identify.
Despite there being no evidence that Trump was the real winner in 2020, polling shows most Republicans have bought in to the claim. A December University of Massachusetts at Amherst/YouGov survey found just 21% of Republican voters believe Biden's victory was legitimate. According to the results of a September CNN poll, 59% of Republican voters and GOP-leaning independent voters said believing that Trump had the 2020 election stolen from him was an "important" part of being a Republican.
A summer 2021 poll by Citizen Data found that 62% of conservative adults embrace at least one QAnon conspiracy theory.
Reprinted with permission from the American Independent
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Indicted Florida Shock Jock Offers Cooperation In Gaetz Probe
The guilty plea entered by a former Florida shock jock in connection with yet another bizarre criminal case may indicate that federal investigators are closing in on Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.).
According to The Daily Beast, Joseph “Big Joe” Ellicott, one of Gaetz's associates believed to have key information about his alleged sex trafficking case, entered his plea this week in federal court.
On Jan. 18, according to court documents, Ellicott signed the plea agreement in connection with two different crimes. He was reportedly accused of committing fraud when he agreed "to 'pay bribes and kickbacks' to a public official and a separate drug crime: illegally selling the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder prescription medicine Adderall."
According to prosecutors, Ellicott was the intermediary in the kickback arrangement, carrying a $6,000 cash bribe from an unnamed tax office contractor to a Public Official—Greenberg. In exchange for the bribe, Greenberg and the contractor worked out a deal where the contractor inflated invoices for work with the tax office, pocketing the difference.
The former jock is also said to have sold more than $5,000 in Adderall to one client, in particular, over a two-year period.
Speaking to The Beast, Joe Zwick, Ellicott's attorney, also indicated that his client has been cooperative with federal investigators as they continue the probe into the sex trafficking case against the Republican lawmaker.
“This investigation had nothing to do with the sex scandal, but with the unprecedented things Greenberg was doing with the tax office. The big difference is that Joel Greenberg was elected to serve the people, and Joe was not. And the fact that this was done by criminal information not an indictment is pretty telling of how the prosecutors view him in this case,” Zwick said as he noted that Ellicott had not been arrested. “Obviously they value his continued cooperation, as he does as well. We are going to set off sentencing as long as we can, and do everything we can to reduce his time.”
Ellicott is reportedly a longtime friend of Joel Greenberg, a former tax collector in Seminole County, Fla., who has been described as Gaetz's "wingman in the underage sex operation," per inside sources with knowledge of their acquaintance.
The embattled former shock jock's plea follows The Daily Beast's previous report which "revealed that Ellicott knew intimate details about the teenage girl who was paid for sex by the group—and actually texted what essentially amounted to a confession that they were scrambling to try and coverup details about their sex with a 17-year-old from the feds."
Per the latest report published by The Beast, Ellicott's professional involvement with Greenberg appears to have been impacted the case investigators built against him. Greenberg, who is facing multiple charges including "trafficking a minor, stalking a political opponent, producing fake IDs, identity theft, embezzlement, and bribery," is said to have also had a habit of employing friends for "no-show jobs" at his tax agency.
Reprinted with permission from Alternet
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