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Tag: crazy republicans
QAnon Founder Will Appear On Arizona GOP Primary Ballot

QAnon Founder Will Appear On Arizona GOP Primary Ballot

QAnon leader Ron Watkins gathered enough signatures to make it onto Arizona's Republican congressional primary ballot, the Phoenix New Times reported. Watkins shared the news to his nearly 400,000 followers on Telegram, an encrypted messaging app. He first announced his intention to run last October.

"Our fight is just beginning," he wrote.

Watkins also recorded a video that was posted to Twitter.

"Hello, I just got a confirmation from Arizona Secretary of State Katie Hobbs [D] that I am the first congressional candidate certified for the 2022 ballot in Arizona's Congressional District Number 2," the conspiracy theorist told his followers.

The Grand Canyon State's secretary of state's office requires prospective candidates to collect 1,400 names to qualify. Watkins surpassed that total with 1,741. He faces an upward climb toward power, though, as there is a cluster of hopefuls looking to oust the current officeholder.

"Watkins is hoping to unseat Democratic incumbent Tom O'Halleran in Arizona's newly redrawn 2nd Congressional District. It's the largest district in Arizona, spanning the rural northeast stretches of the state," noted the Phoenix New Times. "But Watkins will have to beat out a slate of Republican challengers who are vying for O'Halleran's seat."

Meanwhile, on his Telegram channel, Watkins shared an alarming story from one of his fans.

"I asked an elderly lady this afternoon if she was a Republican, and she replied, 'If I ever found out my kids voted Democrat, I would shoot them dead,'" Watkins recalled to the Times in a phone call.

He said that he knocked on "thousands of doors" and that he "met many, many people, and they're all excited about my campaign."

The Times noted, however, that Watkins has not raised large amounts of money, which is generally required for mounting a successful bid in a national election.

"Watkins has raised $31,000 from donations. He reported only one donation from Arizona, the filings show. And $3,000 of that sum was a contribution from his father," the paper revealed. "Still, Watkins is unconcerned about money, he said. 'My message vibes with all the people,' he explained, saying that the number of petition signatures showed he had 'grassroots support.'"

Arizona's primary will take place on Tuesday, August 2nd.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Roger Stone Unveils Insane Plan To Install Trump As President (VIDEO)

Roger Stone Unveils Insane Plan To Install Trump As President (VIDEO)

Longtime right-wing political henchman Roger Stone on Thursday revealed his new plan to install Donald Trump into the presidency. Speaking to the Republican Accountability Project, Stone shared his blueprint for, as he sees it, rectifying the crime of Trump's defeat to President Joe Biden in the 2020 election.

The three-point plan goes as follows:

First, Stone expects the House of Representatives to elect Trump as its Speaker if they retake control of the lower congressional chamber in this year's midterm elections. This is permitted in the United States Constitution. Literally, anybody whom a majority of the House chooses can hold the gavel as long as they meet the basic qualifications for getting elected, which in the House is any citizen 25 years of age and up.

Next, Stone predicts that Biden's Cabinet will invoke the 25th Amendment to remove him from office. Over what, he did not say.

In the final stage, according to Stone, Congress will impeach and remove Vice President Kamala Harris for refusing to promote ivermectin, a deworming medication used in horses, as an effective treatment against COVID-19. It is not.

At that point, with Biden and Harris out of office, Trump would ascend to the presidency via the line of succession.

Watch below:

Twitter had some questions.

Something seems missing from this equation.

Removing an impeached president and/or vice president requires the consent of 67 Senators.

Not to mention this little snag.

And this one.

Reprinted with permission from Alternet

Fox Network’s Lara Logan Goes Full QAnon, Questions Moon Landing

Fox Network’s Lara Logan Goes Full QAnon, Questions Moon Landing

Lara Logan, a Fox Nation host whose current relationship with the network is unclear, was interviewed by a QAnon influencer with ties to a QAnon group in Dallas that is awaiting the supposed return of the late President John F. Kennedy and his son. During the interview, the influencer directly invoked “Q,” the conspiracy theory’s central figure, and Logan appeared to suggest that the 1969 landing on the moon was somehow suspect.

In videos uploaded in separate parts on February 23 and 24, Logan -- who has been absent from Fox since comparing Dr. Anthony Fauci to the Nazi doctor Josef Mengele -- did an interview with Tom Sidney Bushnell, a QAnon influencer known online as “Tom Numbers.” Bushnell has been associated with Michael Brian Protzman, another QAnon influencer known online as “Negative48” who is leading a gathering in Dallas organized around the belief that John F. Kennedy and John F. Kennedy Jr. will appear at the grassy knoll where the senior Kennedy was shot with former President Donald Trump.

Bushnell’s videos of his interview with Logan were uploaded to his own YouTube channel, despite the platform’s supposed QAnon crackdown, and even appeared to be monetized via ads.

During the interview, Logan alleged that there was some kind of secret technology that could have prevented the attack in Benghazi, Libya, in 2012. She also seemed to suggest that there was something suspicious about the July 1969 moon landing, using air quotes when mentioning Neil Armstrong and (wrongly) claiming that the United States government officially sent astronauts to the moon only once. During the interview, Bushnell also directly invoked Q by claiming that Trump mentioned the number 17 -- referring to Q being the 17th letter of the alphabet -- during an event about the Space Force.

TOM SIDNEY BUSHNELL: I mentioned about the Space Force flag ceremony with President Trump, with POTUS in the Oval Office. And he specifically spoke very deliberately. I think there were a lot of codes -- well there were, but it’s interesting what you’re saying now. He said that there were a number of -- so he had people from the Space Force Command, he said, “Whether people like it or not, the future is space,” and he kept going on and on about it. And he shows the Space Force flag and the Space Force flag is the arrowhead, which is the same symbol as Star Trek.
And he talked about missiles and weapons, and he says -- and he kept repeating. He says, “We have — all these other countries have, you know, really quick missiles, but we have -- we have one that is 17 times quicker than any -- anyone.” ... And he kept repeating the word 17. Seventeen is Q, et cetera, but he kept saying it over and over again. Then he said, “Yeah, it’s faster than anything out there, and it’s 17 times quicker than any, you know, anything that either everyone else has got or we had with the U.S. industry.” I think he was making the point that the U.S. is behind China and Russia and other places, and theirs was a bit faster. But then this one that they’ve got now because of Space Force was 17 times quicker. And he kept reemphasizing that all the time. So I think it was loaded with code.
…
LARA LOGAN (FOX NATION HOST): You think the Chinese didn’t know we had a Space Force or the Iranians or the Russians and so on and so on, right? It’s ridiculous. So it becomes a bigger question that we forget to ask because we get caught up in the arguing, you know, this and that about Trump. Why was this kept secret from the American people? We put Neil Armstrong on the moon. That wasn’t a secret, right? And really, if you think about it, we’re supposed to believe that after putting Neil Armstrong on the moon, we never went back? We just decided to go to the moon once and then we decided, “Oh, we’re going to concentrate on going into Mars, deeper into space. Let’s go into deep space.” Come on. It’s not even logical. And yet all of us fall for these things, me included, you know, because we have this innate faith in our leaders and our institutions and our media, in our government. We know that they lie and this and that. But we sort of think that there’s a threshold below which they won't go -- well that used to be the case anyway. It’s not the case anymore. And it’s a very important question, why was Space Force classified in the first place?

Logan’s appearance with a QAnon influencer comes months after John Sabal, another QAnon influencer who is known online as “QAnon John,” initially claimed that Logan would be appearing at his QAnon conference in Las Vegas, which Fox later denied. This is not Logan’s first brush with conspiracy theory influencers, as she has previously collaborated with Mikki Willis, the director of the viral coronavirus conspiracy theory videoPlandemic.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters

For GOP Senate Wannabes, A Race To The Bottom

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 anti-Semitic, 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 anti-Semitic 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 disgraced 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 in their respective Senate primaries.

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 January 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 percent of Republican voters believe Biden's victory was legitimate. According to the results of a September CNN poll, 59 percent 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 percent of conservative adults embrace at least one QAnon conspiracy theory.

Reprinted with permission from the American Independent