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Zeldin Steps Away, But McDaniel Faces Two Challengers For RNC Chair

Zeldin Steps Away, But McDaniel Faces Two Challengers For RNC Chair

Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY), an election denier who voted against certifying the 2020 election results, announced Wednesday that he’d hold off, for now, on challenging Ronna Romney McDaniel for the Republican National Committee’s top spot.

Zeldin — fresh off a defeat in the grueling New York gubernatorial election, a race he refused to concede hours after it was called — was considered a strong contender for the position, which he had been “seriously” mulling for about a month.

In a statement on Twitter announcing his decision to withdraw from the race, Zeldin slammed incumbent McDaniel’s re-election bid and demanded that she step aside for some “fresh blood.”

"RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel should not run for a 4th term. I won’t be running for RNC Chair at this time with McDaniel’s reelection pre-baked by design, but that doesn’t mean she should even be running again. It’s time the GOP elects new leadership! It’s time for fresh blood!" Zeldin wrote.

The Long Island Republican said McDaniel had acted in seeking to retain the RNC Chair “as if the disappointing results of every election during her tenure, including yesterday in Georgia, do not and should not even matter."

Indeed, McDaniel, also a close Trump ally, had just overseen a disappointing midterm election for the GOP, which had, in the months before, fervently anticipated sweeping up both chambers of Congress in a “red tsunami" but ended up with the smallest of majorities in the House and losses down ballot as well.

The Republican party’s historically underwhelming midterm performance culminated in a run-off defeat of the Trump-endorsed Republican candidate for Senate in Georgia, Herschel Walker.

Like many Republicans subservient to Trump, McDaniel revels on the fringe side of political discourse. She peddled false allegations of wrongdoing in the 2020 elections; refused to acknowledge Joe Biden as president more than a year into his tenure; mocked Democrat John Fetterman’s post-stroke speech issues; and kept mum about Trump’s recent attack on the Constitution.

Besides Trump’s endorsement, McDaniel earned the support of many RNC voting members for her far-right stance, which stood in stark contrast with views disseminated by her centrist conservative uncle, Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT).

In a signed letter Friday, a large bloc of RNC voting members endorsed McDaniel’s bid for a fourth bout as party chair, writing: “We, the undersigned members of the Republican National Committee, are proud to offer our endorsement for your re-election as Chairman of the Republican National Committee.”

Despite the rousing endorsement, several Republicans are considering challenging McDaniel, including South Dakota Gov. Kristi Noem and former White House aide Mercedes Schlapp.

McDaniel has two declared challengers thus far, including My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, a conspiracy theorist of interest to the House Select Committee and the U.S. government for his participation in the Trump-led effort to undermine the 2020 elections.

The pillow-peddler denounced McDaniel for “fail[ing] in her leadership” and said, “we need someone who knows how to run a business to lead one of the most important organizations in our country.”

Various right-wing commentators and agitators, many aligned with Trump, also have taken umbrage at McDaniel’s re-election biid.


Was Zeldin 'Keychain Assault' Incident A Republican Set-Up?

Was Zeldin 'Keychain Assault' Incident A Republican Set-Up?

Mainstream media outlets have largely followed conservative media’s framing after a man allegedly attempted to injure Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-NY) with a small self-defense-style keychain tool at a July 21 speech. Right-wing media, often quoting Zeldin or people associated with his campaign, have used the event to attack New York state’s modest bail reform laws. Several mainstream outlets adopted this basic template, further spreading the incorrect idea that the reforms were to blame for the alleged assailant’s release from custody.

There are two key pieces of information that have been almost entirely ignored in the mainstream national press but were reported in local media. First, the initial prosecutor in the case, Monroe County District Attorney Sandra Doorley, was listed publicly as Zeldin’s campaign co-chair as recently as July 25. The Albany Times Unionreported Doorley’s connection with the campaign in its coverage, but was given conflicting responses by the various parties as to whether Doorley was in fact an active campaign co-chair. (Doorley has recused herself from the case.)

Second, as the Times Union also reported, Doorley’s office charged the alleged perpetrator, David G. Jakubonis, with second degree attempted assault on Friday, July 22. That nonviolent charge – which was not eligible for bail – was a surprise to many, the Times Union reported, because “law enforcement in Monroe County is known for pressing heavier charges than prosecutors in many other counties.” The previous year, Monroe prosecutors had only brought that charge one time, instead usually pursuing far harsher penalties that would include bail. (Jakubonis was separately arrested and charged in federal court, and is in custody pending a hearing scheduled for July 27.)

Initial reporting from The Washington Post, The Associated Press, Politico, and CNN all failed to mention Doorley’s close ties to the Zeldin campaign. However, each one similarly mentioned New York’s bail reform laws, either implicitly or explicitly in a negative light. The AP, for example, twice referenced calls to “toughen” the laws. None of those stories included direct quotes from any proponents of bail reform.

Additionally, Politico included an absurd quote from GOP congressional candidate and New York state Assembly member Mike Lawler, who said the bail reforms had an “Attempted Assassination Loophole.” The piece’s headline adopted conservative talking points wholesale.

A follow-up story from CNN had only one subheading, capturing the tenor of almost all the mainstream coverage:

The New York Timesdidn’t mention Doorley’s links to Zeldin until the 24th paragraph of its story. Instead, the paper foregrounded Zeldin’s position in the second paragraph, paraphrasing his argument “that the episode viscerally drove home the need to increase policing and tighten New York’s bail laws to make it easier for judges to hold people charged with certain crimes.”

The unusually lenient charge from an office known for pursuing harsher penalties led some bail reform advocates to speculate whether Doorley’s office’s decision virtually to ensure that Jakubonis would be released quickly was deliberate.

New York lawmakers passed a bill in 2019 eliminating cash bail “for most misdemeanors and some nonviolent felony charges,” according to the NYCLU, which argued the change was “an overdue recognition that a person’s wealth should not determine their liberty.”

Then, in 2020, police, prosecutors, and reactionary politicians from both parties used misleading data and deliberate misinformation campaigns to blame the reforms for the increase in some – but not all – categories of crime. There is in fact no evidence linking these issues. Nonetheless, the reforms were rolled back and “two dozen crimes [were added] to the list of serious charges for which a judge could impose cash bail,” according to the New York Times. “They included sex trafficking, grand larceny, second-degree burglary, vehicular assault and any crime that results in a death.”

Conservative media outlets are pushing to weaken the reforms even further. Mainstream media shouldn’t adopt their misleading framing to help them in that campaign.

Reprinted with permission from Media Matters.

Republicans Who Don't Represent New York City Are Furious Over Its Vaccine Mandate

Republicans Who Don't Represent New York City Are Furious Over Its Vaccine Mandate

House Republicans are blasting a new COVID-19 safety requirement implemented by New York City, including several who don't represent districts anywhere near the city.

"Mayor de Blasio will impose a first-in-the-nation vaccine mandate for all PRIVATE sector workers in NYC," Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs tweeted on Monday. "Bill de Blasio isn't a mayor, he is a tyrant."

Michigan Rep. Lisa McClain wrote, "Mayor de Blasio is placing vaccine mandates on the NYC private sector. Maybe he doesn't understand what the word private means."

"Just because Bill de Blasio lost his job doesn't mean he has to make New Yorkers lose their jobs," complained Texas Rep. Lance Gooden.

Rep. Lee Zeldin, whose New York district does not include any of the city, also added, "No one wants to live through this de Blasio gone wild power kick anymore. This new COVID vax mandate isn't just wrong & disastrous for NYC, but it's also illegal. If courts don't intervene, many NYC residents are about to lose their job which they don't deserve & can't afford."

They were upset that Mayor Bill de Blasio, who is term-limited and serving out the final weeks of his time leading New York City, announced a private sector vaccine mandate earlier in the day.

Under the order, which de Blasio calls a "pre-emptive strike" to prevent another wave of COVID-19 cases, nearly all in-person workers will be required to get vaccinated by the end of the month. Everyone above age 5 will also be required to get vaccinated before entering dining or entertainment venues.

The new order comes as coronavirus cases are trending back up nationally and the first domestic omicron variant cases are being reported.

It also comes as new data shows that areas with high rates of vaccination are faring noticeably better than those with lower rates. A Washington Postanalysis on Saturday found that death rates were far below the national average in counties with the highest rates of vaccination.

And in large part due to high vaccination rates in Democratic-leaning areas, an NPR report on Sunday noted, the COVID-19 death rates in counties that voted heavily for ex-President Donald Trump in the 2020 election were nearly three times as high as in counties that favored President Joe Biden.

Despite significant data indicating that vaccine requirements work, congressional Republicans have fought to block them.

More than 200 House Republicans last month signed on to an effort to overturn Biden's requirements that workers at businesses with 100 employees or more either get vaccinated or get tested for COVID-19 weekly. Biggs, Gooden, McClain, and Zeldin all are co-sponsors of that effort.

Now, in addition to opposing a national policy, these lawmakers are trying to dictate what elected officials in localities far from their own districts can do to combat the pandemic and keep their constituents safe.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnel

Republican Complaint: Workers Don't Flock To Poverty-Wage Jobs

Reprinted with permission from American Independent

Republican lawmakers are blaming disappointing jobs numbers on unemployment benefits they claim incentivize employees to avoid returning to work — all while ignoring pleas for a higher minimum wage that might solve the supposed problem.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated on Friday that employers added 266,000 jobs in April — significantly less growth than the previous month — with the unemployment rate remaining almost unchanged at 6.1 percent.

Though administration officials say there is no evidence of a connection, Republican lawmakers were quick to blame this slowdown on the emergency unemployment benefits that were passed as part of President Joe Biden's COVID relief package, the American Rescue Plan. Because the federal government is giving jobless Americans an extra $300 a week, they argued, it must mean people are finding unemployment more lucrative than the jobs available to them.

"People don't want to go back to work. We've sent them so much money, that they compare what they could receive by staying home versus going back to work," Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told Kentucky public television on Sunday. "Every employer I've heard from in Kentucky is having trouble getting people back to work. Enough is enough!"

"Truth: 4 of 10 unemployed get more $ to stay home than work," Texas Rep. Kevin Brady tweeted on Sunday.

"The US economy can't recover from the pandemic if small businesses can't fill jobs bc able bodied adults are paid more by the gov't to stay home & collect unemployment," Rep. Lee Zeldin of New York claimed the same day.

Other Republicans blasted the unemployment benefits as nonsensical, suggesting the jobs numbers were avoidable.

"How can anyone expect job growth when we are paying people more money to stay home and do nothing with expanded unemployment benefits?" Colorado Rep. Lauren Boebert tweeted. "Common sense tells you people will stay home if they're making MORE money that way than working!"

"For months, I've warned of the consequences of the federal government paying Americans more to stay home than go back to their jobs," tweeted Florida Sen. Rick Scott. "Now, businesses across Florida have reopened but are struggling to find enough workers."

And Texas Rep. Pete Sessions claimed in a tweet on Friday, "The slight uptick in the unemployment rate and minimal jobs added to the economy validates that the federal government's unemployment benefits disincentivize individuals from taking jobs. Why work when the government can pay you to watch Netflix?"

Some GOP-run states have responded to the hiring slowdown by reducing the unemployment benefits for their constituents, to supposedly force them back to work. The Republican governors of Arkansas, Montana, and South Carolina, for example, have moved to stop taking the $300-a-week federal subsidy and others are considering doing the same. Montana Gov. Greg Gianforte tweeted Friday that "No-work bonuses won't get Americans back to work."

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce demanded Friday that the federal government stop the subsidy entirely. "The disappointing jobs report makes it clear that paying people not to work is dampening what should be a stronger jobs market," Neil Bradley, the trade group's executive vice president and chief policy officer, said in a press statement.

But while GOP lawmakers and lobbyists for big business are frustrated that people aren't scrambling to take low-wage jobs that don't pay a living wage, they seem uninterested in addressing the problem. Though some Democratic lawmakers have pointed to recent Republican backlash to argue for an immediate $15 federal minimum wage, the idea is wholly unpopular with conservative lawmakers.

Republican in the House and Senate, for instance, opposed such an increase earlier in the year.

Virginia Rep. Don Beyer, chair of the Joint Economic Committee, said in an email on Monday that it was "not surprising to hear some of those who opposed unemployment benefits all along trying to cast blame on this vital assistance for workers," noting that many of the job gains in April were in the leisure and hospitality sector — "the same sector that was the source of the anecdotes about supposed labor shortages."

In addition to getting everyone vaccinated, Beyer wrote, "Congress should work to ensure workers have access to affordable child care more and are paid a living wage; these and other policy changes in the American Jobs Plan and American Rescue Plan will fuel sustained growth that will benefit everyone."

Other Democrats have used the moment to make a similar push.

"It's crazy that people are not being able to make a fair wage that pays more than unemployment benefits," Rep. Ro Khanna of California told MSNBC on Friday. "What that says is we've gotta get to $15 wages in this country so people are able to make a living wage at their jobs and I think that would solve the issue."

"Don't blame the workers who aren't rushing back to frontline jobs to make $7.25/hour. Blame the companies who aren't willing to pay them a living wage," tweeted Washington Rep. Pramila Jayapal, urging colleagues to "focus on RAISING minimum wage instead of LOWERING unemployment benefits."

Experts agree that raising wages could be a boon to the economy.

David Cooper, senior economic analyst at the Economic Policy Institute, told The American Independent Foundation that with the economy still 8.2 million jobs behind pre-pandemic levels, it was not the time to be cutting back unemployment benefits.

"There are far more people looking for work and unable to find it than there are employers unable to fill vacancies, and pulling back on [unemployment insurance] will only slow down the recovery," he said. "To the extent that employers in some industries — like restaurants and leisure and hospitality — are having trouble finding staff, they need to take a hard look at the wages and quality of those jobs. Those industries are notoriously some of the lowest paying industries in the economy."

He added, "I don't think anyone should be surprised that some people might not be eager to take difficult jobs that are even harder now — and that might put their health at risk — if employers aren't offering better pay and benefits than they were offering prior to the pandemic."

"Many low-wage workers are being asked to do more — they're enforcing mask rules for customers and spending more time cleaning, but they're still only making $2.13 an hour plus tips," Lily Roberts, managing director for the Economic Policy Program at the Center for American Progress, said in an email.

"If their kids are in hybrid school or their childcare closed, they'll probably save money by staying home," she continued. "We can get people back to work by having safe and healthy workplaces, in-person care or education for kids, and fair pay for workers."

Michael Madowitz, a Center for American Progress economist, added separately, "We know higher wages bring people into the labor force, especially parents who need to earn enough to afford child care before they can take a job."

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.